Engineering Commons^™

Explainable And Reduced-Feature Machine Learning Models For Shape And Drag Prediction Of A Freely Moving Drop In The Sub-Critical Weber Number Regime, Md Amanullah Kabir Tonmoy

Theses and Dissertations

Accurately predicting the shape and drag of a moving drop is crucial in many spray applications. However, due to the complex interaction between the drag force and drop shape deformation, accurate prediction of drop shape and drag from Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) simulation requires large computational resources and time. A novel data-driven approach using NARXNN (Non-linear Auto Regressive eXogenous input Neural Network) is proposed in this study, which recurrently predicts the drop shape and drag for a given Weber number (We) and Reynolds number (Re), in the sub-critical We regime where there is no drop breakup. The average error in …

The Impact Of Tariffs On Auto Parts Trade With China, Canada And Mexico: Ai-Driven Strategies For Supply Chain Optimization, Katie Cerda, Layla Dickerson, Riley Gibson, Oluwabunmi Sanusi

Posters - 2025

U.S. tariffs (7.5-25%) on auto parts from China, Canada, and Mexico are severely disrupting the automotive industry, a key global economic driver. These tariffs dramatically increase production costs and vehicle prices, potentially by up to $12,200 per vehicle (CBS News, 2025; MarketWatch, 2025). These tariffs necessitate major supply chain adjustments, leading to inefficiencies (MIT Sloan, 2024). Supplier diversification, while intended to mitigate tariff impact, extends lead times and shrinks profit margins (XenonStack, 2025). The industry's complex supplier network is now highly vulnerable, compelling companies to seek more adaptable strategies. AI-driven technologies like predictive analytics and route optimization offer potential solutions …

How Do People Sit In Cars? Reproducibility Of Vehicle Seat And Body Positions For Individual Occupants, Kobie Henson, Nathan Sadler

Posters - 2025

Some crash investigators have assumed that different people having the same stature and gender will reliably choose the same (or a similar) seat adjustments each time they sit in a specific make and model of automobile [Lee]. Knowledge of how a person sits in an automobile is important, because position and seat adjustment can have a significant influence on the way force is distributed throughout a human body during a collision, as they move relative to the vehicle and then contact various components within the interior [West]. However, conclusions reached from such exemplar studies depend on whether assuming that similar-sized …

Speed Measurement On Swri Shell Eco-Marathon Vehicle, Andrew Garza, Benjamin Openshaw, Scott Roelker Murillo

Posters - 2025

Southwest Research Institute (SwRI) operates a fully autonomous electric vehicle known as the Shell Eco-Marathon Vehicle. This platform provides students with the opportunity to develop software, thus gaining hands-on experience in autonomous vehicle systems and advancing their careers. The vehicle competes against other fully autonomous vehicles, testing the performance and reliability of its software in real-world scenarios.

• However, improper handling during shipping damaged the previous speed encoder decoding method. A temporary fix was implemented, but it was limited — it provided accurate readings up to 3MPH but often falsely detected movement when the vehicle was stationary.

• Our project …

Cult: Virtual Tourian, Ian Poll

Posters - 2025

Introduction: The Blank Shepherd Building is an important place at St. Mary’s University where students research, invent, and work together. But not everyone can visit it. This virtual tour solves that problem by using games and technology to bring the building to life.

Stem Voyager, Alexis Nunez, Jaya Mcgill, Patrick Canez, Fernando Jaime, Pedro Perez, Gianluca Porzio

Posters - 2025

"What do you want to be when you grow up?" This is a question that people are far too familiar with. Many STEM professionals would also say that they are not currently in the career that they initially thought. Somehow there was a moment of inspiration in their life that catalyzed their decision to pursue a STEM degree. This project aims to convert a school bus into a mobile STEM lab that brings hands-on, engaging STEM experiences to middle school students and supports teachers with interactive lessons. The bus will address space and cost challenges by serving as a flexible, …

Clinical Use Of Sit2stand Ai Application For Kinematic Analysis In Prosthesis Users., Samerial Brown

Posters - 2025

Biomechanical analysis is a tool to evaluate prosthetic and orthotic patient's. These tools offer the clinician capability of understanding the mechanism of injury, gait deviation or prosthesis problem. Video based analysis require expensive hardware, software, and training which sometimes costs $40-100,000.

The recent advent of artificial intelligence (AI) has opened up the possibility of acquiring high speed human motion video analysis using low-cost hardware and open-source machine learning algorithms. Still, free assessments like the Sit2Stand test is a current clinical outcome measure which assesses ability of a patient to stand and sit as fast as possible 5x. The faster the …

Building Services Engineering March/April 2025

Building Services Engineering

No abstract provided.

Transdisciplinary Collaborations For Advancing Sustainable And Resilient Agricultural Systems, Brooke Mayer

Civil and Environmental Engineering Faculty Research and Publications

Feeding the growing human population sustainably amidst climate change is one of the most important challenges in the 21st century. Current practices often lead to the overuse of agronomic inputs, such as synthetic fertilizers and water, resulting in environmental contamination and diminishing returns on crop productivity. The complexity of agricultural systems, involving plant-environment interactions and human management, presents significant scientific and technical challenges for developing sustainable practices. Addressing these challenges necessitates transdisciplinary research, involving intense collaboration among fields such as plant science, engineering, computer science, and social sciences. Five case studies are presented here demonstrating successful transdisciplinary approaches toward more …

Sustainable Residential Buildings In The Anthropocene: A Case Study Investigating Resilience Strategies For Tiny Houses, Angela Gil , '25

Senior Theses, Projects, and Awards

There is a growing need for affordable, sustainable housing solutions that minimize environmental impact while maintaining livability and safety. This project uses thermal and structural analysis techniques to develop and evaluate a resilient tiny house prototype for a case study in Banning, California. Background research included interviews with experts, such as San Tan Adobe, General Tiny Home, and Francisco Gil, which informed three preliminary designs incorporating a variety of building resilience strategies. These designs were synthesized into a conceptual prototype featuring a gable, wooden roof truss with a one-foot overhang, adobe walls, solar panels, and a raised foundation. This prototype …

Nauplius Swimming Robot, Adelle Robison , '25

Senior Theses, Projects, and Awards

Barnacle nauplii swim in conditions described by a low Reynolds number of around 2 as a result of their small size. It is not fully understood how their method of swimming allows them to move around in an environment with such a low Reynolds number. Additionally, it is unknown to what degree their horns, tail, and the hair-like bristles on their appendages contribute to their motion and their survival. The robot prototype created for this project mimics the features and swimming method of nauplii in order to help study nauplius locomotion and the functions of their unique morphology. Additionally, this …

Silenttalk Final Report, Yihui Wu , '25

Senior Theses, Projects, and Awards

SilentTalk is a noninvasive communication system that uses ultrasound technology to detect and interpret silent speech by analyzing lip and facial movements. This E90 project presents the design, construction, and experimental evaluation of a speaker–microphone device capable of emitting and capturing ultrasonic waves in the 20–55 kHz range. Data wereadS collected under five distinct conditions, including various static mouth gestures, and analyzed using Root Mean Square (RMS) smoothing and Fast Fourier Transform (FFT) techniques. The results show that the distinct features in the time and frequency domains correspond to different mouth shapes, supporting the feasibility of silent gesture classification. A …

Jigsaw Puzzle Solving Robot, Jeffrey Zhang , '25

Senior Theses, Projects, and Awards

Jigsaw puzzles are an exciting activity that people of all ages love to do. This project seeks to develop a robot capable of solving jigsaw puzzles. To do so, I took a preexisting CNC mill and assembled the mill except the spindle. The mill ran using G-code, a programming language I learned. From here I created a program that can move the arm of the mill to any point chosen, and can move up and down, as a proof of concept for the robot. On the puzzle solving side, I started by first taking high resolution scans of the backs …

Closing The Loop: Solar-Powered Vermicomposter, Isabela Ibrahim , '25, Lindsey Turner , '25

Senior Theses, Projects, and Awards

Organic waste is oftentimes poorly managed and directed to landfill and incineration, as more sustainable alternatives such as traditional composting are not always accessible. Swarthmore College has a robust composting partnership offsite, however, it does not leverage avenues for waste stream circularity on campus to its full potential. Vermicomposting, composting that incorporates earthworms (Eisenia fetida), consists of a method to achieve small-scale and accessible composting. The goal of this project was to create an on-campus, low-maintenance, replicable, and sustainable vermicomposter to efficiently repurpose food waste from Swarthmore’s dining hall into nutrient-rich soil amendments for the adjacent Our Food Garden. …

Photovoltaic-Electrolysis Device Optimization, Abigail Turner , '25

Senior Theses, Projects, and Awards

With the exponential rise in fossil fuel consumption, an efficient clean alternative energy source is needed. A promising solution is utilizing solar-driven electrolysis to produce clean hydrogen as a viable clean energy source. Electrolysis currently accounts for 4% of hydrogen production, and this report details the development and optimization of a small-scale solar driven device for PEM electrolysis as an alternative to fossil fuels. This report focused on analysis for the optimization of electrocatalysts, and the integration of a PV-PEM-Battery system. Evaluation of three different membranes performance determined an anode loading of 2 mg/cm² of IrRuO_x to be …

Next-Generation Biomedical Implants And Stimuli Responsive Soft Optical Arrays Via Surface Functionalized Elastomeric Materials, John M. Kapitan

Dissertations and Doctoral Documents, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, 2023–

The demands of emerging technologies, such as soft robotics, stretchable electronics, and next generation biomedical implants, has led to the development of diverse polymeric and hybrid organic/inorganic materials specifically tuned to meet these challenges. These materials typically have low Young’s moduli and are inert with high chemical stability. However, this has led to materials that are static in nature, lacking any meaningful way of responding to changes in their environment and adapting to these changes. This has driven a shift towards the design, manufacturing, and characterization of various stimuli responsive surfaces, relying on precise control of surface chemical coatings and …

Cybermapping Solutions: A Unified Approach In Us/Nato Military Applications And Development, Nicholas Macrino

Electrical & Computer Engineering Projects for D. Eng. Degree

[First paragraph] Cyber threats are evolving in complexity and frequency, posing significant challenges for cybersecurity professionals in identifying, categorizing, and responding to attacks in real time. Unlike traditional warfare, where battlefield awareness is based on fixed geographic warfare, cyber operations involve abstract attack vectors, non-linear threat escalation, and rapidly changing network conditions. Modern cyber threats, such as advanced persistent threats (APTs), polymorphic malware, and distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks, require adaptive visualization techniques that provide real-time awareness and facilitate rapid decision-making. However, existing symbology standards, such as MIL-STD-2525D, were not designed to accommodate the dynamic nature of cyber warfare. The inability …

Amplification In Mems Rlc Circuits For Enhanced Sensitivity And Mems Applications, Mutaz Mohd Hamdi Al Fayad

Durham School of Architectural Engineering and Construction: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Micro-electro-mechanical systems (MEMS) have garnered significant attention due to their unique characteristics, including small size, high sensitivity, and cost-effective mass production. While electrostatic actuation offers low power consumption, it requires high voltage to move the MEMS structure, posing a challenge for applications such as RF switches and MEMS resonator-based sensors. Reducing the required input voltage for electrostatic MEMS remains a key research focus.

This thesis investigates voltage amplification in electrostatic MEMS through integration with resonant RLC circuits. By leveraging resonance, optimized configurations are designed to maximize voltage gain and enhance the signal-to-noise ratio. Through theoretical modeling and simulations using MATLAB …

Intersectional Predictors Of Early Mathematics Identity Among Underrepresented Engineering-Interested Students, Douglas D. Havard, Adriana Quirós-Arauz

Education Faculty Articles and Research

This study examines the intersectional factors influencing early mathematics identity development among underrepresented secondary students (grades 9-10) with aspirations in engineering. Mathematics identity is a well-established predictor of long-term persistence in engineering, making its early formation critical to understanding student retention in the engineering pipeline. Grounded in Bronfenbrenner's bioecological framework, this study situates learning within nested layers of influence. Using data form the nationally representative High School Longitudinal Study of 2009 (HSLS:09), which includes over 23,000 9th-graders, a hierarchical multiple regression analysis was conducted. The analysis examined intersections of race and gender identity across 16 variables spanning individual, micro-, meso-, …

Use Of Wastewater Grit And Milorganite Chaff In Concrete, Carter Deinhammer

Master's Theses (2009 -)

Wastewater grit is a major byproduct from preliminary municipal wastewater treatment. Chaff is a collection of dried biosolids generated as a waste product from Milorganite® fertilizer production. Because landfilling is a costly and unsustainable method, the development of technologies for diverting grit from landfills to a useful product by tapping grit’s inherent values (e.g., sand and gravel) are of great interest. Chaff, consisting of fibers, provides a potential source for bolstering concrete tensile strength through internal means. This research has proposed a concept of grit and chaff additive-based concrete, an expansion of the grit-assisted patch material developed (GAP) in previous …

Experimental Investigation Of External Flow Condensation Heat Transfer In Horizontal Tube-In-Tube Configuration, Jiayuan Li, Jayachandran K. Narayanan, Chirag R. Kharangate

Faculty Scholarship

Flow condensation is an important process used to achieve heat rejection across thermal power and energy systems. Studies on tube condensation have concentrated on the condensing fluid flowing in the inner tube. However, common heat exchanger configurations like the shell-and-tube types see the condensing fluid on the outer surface of the tubes. To address this gap, in this study, we investigate the local and channel-averaged heat transfer characteristics of flow condensation happening on the exterior of a horizontal tube in the tube-in-tube configuration. An external flow condensation module is developed and tested to obtain heat transfer and flow visualization data, …

The Interplay Between Endothelial Glycocalyx Maturity And Both The Toxicity And Intracellular Uptake Of Charged Nanoparticles, Claire A. Bridges, Lu Fu, Jonathan Yeow, Xiaojing Huang, Miriam Jackson, Rhiannon P. Kuchel, James D. Sterling, Shenda M. Baker, Megan S. Lord

Business and Information Technology Faculty Research & Creative Works

Nanoparticles are widely studied for delivering treatments to target tissues, but few have reached clinical use. Most nanoparticles encounter blood vessels on their way to target tissues. The inner surface of these vessels is lined with endothelial cells covered by a glycocalyx, an extracellular matrix rich in anionic glycans. The role of the glycocalyx in nanoparticle interactions is not well understood. Here, we demonstrate that endothelial cells need extended culture times to synthesize a mature glycocalyx. Our research shows that branched polyethyleneimine functionalized gold nanoparticles bind to endothelial cells expressing either a developing or mature glycocalyx, with the interaction involving …

A Formal Simulation Model For Discrete Rate Simulation, Thomas J. Tracey

Electrical & Computer Engineering Theses & Dissertations

Simulation is an essential tool for virtualizing systems by creating a representative model of real or hypothetical systems and observing how they change over time. Two predominant simulation paradigms include Discrete Event Simulation (DES) and Continuous Simulation, which both have their strengths and weaknesses. DES does not handle continuous state variables, while continuous simulation handles continuous state variables but encounters errors where these variables have discrete changes in their behavior. This difficulty between the two predominant simulation paradigms prompted the creation of a new simulation paradigm to cover this gap: Discrete Rate Simulation (DRS). DRS as a simulation paradigm focuses …

Identifying Contributing Factors Of Black American Females’ Long-Term Persistence In Stem Education: A Qualitative Phenomenological Study, Chandra T. Oaks-Garcia

STEMPS Theses & Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to gain insights into contributing factors that have shaped the experiences of eight Black American females who pursued STEM education as they persisted from the secondary education setting to their collegiate setting in a STEM major. This qualitative phenomenological study collected data through in-depth semi-structured interviews with Black American female juniors and seniors studying at four different four-year institutions, all pursuing degrees in STEM-related fields. Demographic surveys and memo writing were incorporated to enhance the data analysis. To explore the lived experiences of Black American females in STEM education and identify factors that contributed …

Development Of Laser-Induced Graphene-Based Bioanode Incorporating Thylakoid For Harvesting Energy, Amit Sarode

Biomedical Engineering Theses & Dissertations

Thylakoid-Based Biofuel Cells (TBFCs) present significant potential as renewable power sources; however, their development is impeded by challenges including delicate thylakoid membranes, limited electron transport efficiency, stability and dependence on expensive mediators. This study aimed to address these challenges by fabricating a novel photo-driven bioanode through the integration of Laser-Induced Graphene (LIG), Nb₄C₃T_x MXene, and thylakoid membranes. The fabrication process involved laser engraving to generate porous LIG electrodes, followed by MXene drop casting and thylakoid immobilization to enhance electrochemical performance and surface area. Morphological characterization supported that MXene incorporation increased active sites and surface roughness, …

Development Of Flexible Lactate-Specific Molecularly Imprinted Polymers Based On Laser-Induced Graphene Electrochemical Biosensors For Disease Diagnosis, Christopher Animashaun

Biomedical Engineering Theses & Dissertations

Lactate is a critical biomarker linked to conditions such as sepsis, ischemia, cancer, and heart failure. Current lactate detection methods remain invasive, costly, and unsuitable for real-time, continuous monitoring. This study presents the development of a flexible, non-enzymatic electrochemical biosensor based on laser-induced graphene (LIG) electrodes modified with gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) and molecularly imprinted polymers (MIPs) for highly selective and sensitive lactate measurement. The integration of AuNPs enhanced surface conductivity and provided nanoscale heterogeneity, facilitating superior signal amplification. The optimized LIG/AuNP/MIP sensor achieved an extensive dynamic detection range from 0.1 μM to 1000 μM, with an outstanding detection limit of …

Wind Tunnel Automation For Propeller Testing, David Ricardo Lara

Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering Theses & Dissertations

An automated propeller test capability for the ODU Low-Speed Wind Tunnel Facility is demonstrated; implementing automation improved both ease of testing and quality of results. An experiment was performed with and without automation to compare results. Prior to this effort, propeller RPM and airstream velocity were manually controlled, leading to time consuming experiments. The setpoint for RPM had to be adjusted at each run to compensate for changes in airstream velocity.

LabVIEW, a graphical programming software, was used to develop the controllers and automation algorithm. A Proportional Integral Derivative (PID) control approach was developed to simultaneously control airstream velocity and …

Wind Tunnel Testing Of A Novel Quadrotor Design, Oliver Marius Tobisch

Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering Theses & Dissertations

This study presents the test development and aerodynamic evaluation of the Quadfoil UAV, a novel quadrotor configuration featuring a central lifting body in the form of an airfoil to enhance forward-flight efficiency. Flight tests conducted by Virginia Tech demonstrated a 25% increase in endurance and a 32% improvement in range compared to conventional quadcopters, validating the aerodynamic benefits of this design. To further investigate its performance, a dynamically adjustable angle of attack model support system was developed for wind tunnel testing, enabling precise replication of in-flight conditions. The support system, controlled via LabVIEW, adjusts angle of attack based on real-time …

Transforming Optical Vernier Effect Into Coherent Microwave Interference Towards Highly Sensitive Optical Fiber Sensing, Ruimin Jie, Jie Huang, Chen Zhu

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

The optical Vernier effect has garnered significant research attention and found widespread applications in enhancing the measurement sensitivity of optical fiber interferometric sensors. Typically, Vernier sensor interrogation involves measuring its optical spectrum across a wide wavelength range using a high-precision spectrometer. This process is further complicated by the intricate signal processing required for accurately extracting the Vernier envelope, which can inadvertently introduce errors that compromise sensing performance. In this work, we introduce a novel approach to interrogating Vernier sensors based on a coherent microwave interference-assisted measurement technique. Instead of measuring the optical spectrum, we acquire the frequency response of the …

A Sysml V2 Implementation Of A Traceability And Verification Metamodel For “-Ilities”, Pacifique Munezero

Engineering Management & Systems Engineering Theses & Dissertations

Multidisciplinary knowledge and exchange of information are two of the most important aspects of complex system design within the Model-Based Systems Engineering (MBSE) domain. The next generation of systems modeling language, SysML v2, is being developed to improve the precision, expressiveness, interoperability, consistency, integration of the language concepts relative to SysML v1, and the implementation and maturation of MBSE approaches. This research focuses on using SysML v2 to model structured notations for -ilities, referred to as non-functional requirements (NFRs), to address how they can be treated with the same rigor as functional requirements and mapped directly and explicitly from the …