Engineering Commons^™

Using Regular Languages To Explore The Representational Capacity Of Recurrent Neural Architectures, Abhijit Mahalunkar, John D. Kelleher

Conference papers

The presence of Long Distance Dependencies (LDDs) in sequential data poses significant challenges for computational models. Various recurrent neural architectures have been designed to mitigate this issue. In order to test these state-of-the-art architectures, there is growing need for rich benchmarking datasets. However, one of the drawbacks of existing datasets is the lack of experimental control with regards to the presence and/or degree of LDDs. This lack of control limits the analysis of model performance in relation to the specific challenge posed by LDDs. One way to address this is to use synthetic data having the properties of subregular languages. …

Hierarchical Hybrid Architectures For Robust And Reusable Nano-Devices, Sharmila M. Mukhopadhyay

Mechanical and Materials Engineering Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Multi-Phase Waste Gasification – Reaction Engineering For Sustainable Living Environments, Kristen M. Reyes, Mason J. Lang

Undergraduate Research Posters 2018

Gasification converts carbon-based (organic) materials into gaseous products typically referred to as synthetic gas. This technology is an alternative for reducing carbon footprint of energy generation as well as for waste management. This research examines Catalytic Gasification as a route to Sustainability while converting spaceflight and municipal waste into high-value products. As polyethylene (PE) makes up one of the largest portions of both municipal and space waste, this project centered its attention on the gasification of mid-density PE. We used a slurry containing middensity PE, water, and solid catalysts (ruthenium on alumina, Ru/Al2O3) in a 1:1 PE/Ru ratio. The gasification …

Methodology Development For The Implementation Ofmicrofluidic Mixers, Tahir Butt, Gautam Mahajan

Undergraduate Research Posters 2018

Microfluidic platforms have been widely regarded as defining technologies for the development of chemical and biological synthesis and analysis systems, due to benefits associated with reduced reactant consumption, increases by orders of magnitude of the surface-to-volume ratios, and greatly enhanced control over reactions variables such as temperature and pressure. However, one of the bottlenecks for their wide application is the difficulty in achieving mixing, given the typical laminar flows in these systems. In this work we implement experimentally, various strategies using geometrical features to control the fluid motion and induce stirring flows. The mixers are fabricated using soft-lithography in PDMS …

Characterizing Complexes Of Dna And Elastin-Like Polypeptides, Bryce Noe

Undergraduate Research Posters 2018

Elastin-like polypeptides (ELPs) are a class of environmental responsive materials. When prepared with a protein motif that selectively binds to nucleic acids, a nucleic acid-ELP complex can be formed, conferring the responsive properties of ELP onto the nucleic acid. One possible use for such a complex is in DNA origami, where nanoscaled assemblies of DNA can be transformed into nanomachines by using the ELP as an actuator. Other possible uses include the isolation and extraction of a selected strands of genetic material, or the delivery of genetic material to a cell. Using a bacterial expression system, our lab has prepared …

Surface Functionalization Of Pure-Chirality Carbon Nanotubes By Covalent And Noncovalent Chemistry, Fjorela Xhyliu, Niyousha Mohammad Shafie

Undergraduate Research Posters 2018

Single-wall carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) are one-dimensional cylindrical nanostructures with distinct electronic and optical properties. With all its atoms on the surface, SWCNTs have been widely explored for chemical modification through noncovalent and covalent chemistry, which can provide promising applications in bioimaging and sensing. Here we investigated surface functionalization of purechirality SWCNTs with various glycopolymers, surfactants, and RPMI cell culture media with and without fetal bovine serum (FBS). Raman, vis-NIR absorption, and vis-NIR fluorescence spectra of SWCNTs in various solvent environments were monitored over time. While nanotube aggregation was not observed for incubation in FBS containing RPMI for 8 hours, interactions …

Test 2190: Case Ih Farmall 50a, Nebraska Tractor Test Lab

Nebraska Tractor Tests

ABOUT THE TEST REPORT AND USE OF THE DATA The test data contained in this report are a tabulation of the results of a series of tests. Due to the restricted format of these pages, only a limited amount of data and not all of the tractor specifications are included. The full OECD report contains usually about 30 pages of data and specifications. The test data were obtained for each tractor under similar conditions and therefore, provide a means of comparison of performance based on a limited set of reported data. EXPLANATION OF THE TEST PROCEDURES Purpose The purpose of …

An Uncertainty-Aware Visual System For Image Pre-Processing, Christina Gillmann, Pablo Arbelaez, Jose Tiberio Hernandez, Hans Hagen, Thomas Wischgoll

Computer Science and Engineering Faculty Publications

Due to image reconstruction process of all image capturing methods, image data is inherently affected by uncertainty. This is caused by the underlying image reconstruction model, that is not capable to map all physical properties in its entirety. In order to be aware of these effects, image uncertainty needs to be quantified and propagated along the entire image processing pipeline. In classical image processing methodologies, pre-processing algorithms do not consider this information. Therefore, this paper presents an uncertainty-aware image pre-processing paradigm, that is aware of the input image’s uncertainty and propagates it trough the entire pipeline. To accomplish this, we …

Towards An Image-Based Indicator For Pad Classification And Localization, Christina Gillmann, Johh H. Matsuura, Hans Hagen, Thomas Wischgoll

Computer Science and Engineering Faculty Publications

Peripheral Artery Disease (PAD) is an often occurring problem caused by narrowed veins. With this type of disease, mostly the legs receive an insufficient supply of blood to sustain their functions. This can result in an amputation of extremities or strokes. In order to quantify the risks, doctors onsult a classification table which is based on the pain response of a patient. This classification is subjective and does not indicate the exact origin of the PAD symptoms. Resulting from this, complications can occur unprompted. We present the first results for an image-based indicator assisting medical doctors in estimating the stage …

A Framework For Energy Monitoring Of Machining Workshops Based On Iot, Xingzheng Chen, Congbo Li, Ying Tang, Li Li, Qinge Xiao

Henry M. Rowan College of Engineering Departmental Research

Machining workshop is a widely distributed manufacturing system that consumes massive energy in low efficiency. Due to the complicated and dynamic energy flow of the machining workshop, machinery manufacturers still lack an effective method to monitor and manage the energy efficiency. Hence, this paper proposes an energy efficiency monitoring system for machining workshop with the support of the newly emerging Internet of Things (IoT) technology. With the application of the proposed system, potential opportunities for energy efficiency improvement can be identified. Machinery manufacturers can easily reduce energy consumption and energy cost by managing the machining process.

Vehicle-To-Barrier Communication During Real-World Vehicle Crash Tests, Samil Temel, Mehmet C. Vuran, Mohammad M.R. Lunar, Zhongyuan Zhao, Abdul Salam, Ronald K. Faller, Cody S. Stolle

School of Computing: Faculty Publications

Vehicle-to-barrier (V2B) communication is expected to facilitate wireless interactions between vehicles and roadside barriers in next-generation intelligent transportation systems. V2B systems will help mitigate single-vehicle, run-off-road crashes, which account for more than 50% of roadside crash fatalities. In this work, the characteristics of the wireless channel prior to and during a crash are analyzed using orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) techniques, which has been used in existing vehicular communication systems. More specifically, the performance of OFDM-based V2B links are measured in real-world crash tests for the first time. Three crash tests conducted at the Midwest Roadside Safety Facility, Lincoln, Nebraska, …

Uneven-Layered Coding Metamaterial Tile For Ultrawideband Rcs Reduction And Diffuse Scattering, Jianxun Su, Huan He, Zengrui Li, Yaoqing Lamar Yang, Hongcheng Yin, Junhong Wang

Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering: Faculty Publications

In this paper, a novel uneven-layered coding metamaterial tile is proposed for ultra-wideband radar cross section (RCS) reduction and diffuse scattering. The metamaterial tile is composed of two kinds of square ring unit cells with different layer thickness. The reflection phase difference of 180° (±37°) between two unit cells covers an ultra-wide frequency range. Due to the phase cancellation between two unit cells, the metamaterial tile has the scattering pattern of four strong lobes deviating from normal direction. The metamaterial tile and its 90-degree rotation can be encoded as the ‘0’ and ‘1’ elements to cover an object, and diffuse …

Ultraviolet Laser Photolysis Of Hydrocarbons For Nondiamond Carbon Suppression In Chemical Vapor Deposition Of Diamond Films, Li-Sha Fan, Loic Constantin, Da-Wei Li, Lei Liu, Kamran Keramatnejad, Clio Azina, Xi Huang, Hossein Rabiee Golgir, Yao Lu, Zahra Ahmadi, Fei Wang, Jeffrey E. Shield, Bai Cui, Jean-Francois Silvain, Yong-Feng Lu

Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering: Faculty Publications

In this work, we demonstrate that ultraviolet (UV) laser photolysis of hydrocarbon species alters the flame chemistry such that it promotes the diamond growth rate and film quality. Optical emission spectroscopy and laser-induced fluorescence demonstrate that direct UV laser irradiation of a diamond-forming combustion flame produces a large amount of reactive species that play critical roles in diamond growth, thereby leading to enhanced diamond growth. The diamond growth rate is more than doubled, and diamond quality is improved by 4.2%. Investigation of the diamond nucleation process suggests that the diamond nucleation time is significantly shortened and nondiamond carbon accumulation is …

The Long Term Effect Of Agricultural, Vadose Zone And Climatic Factors On Nitrate Contamination In Nebraska’S Groundwater System, Pongpun Juntakut, Daniel D. Snow, Erin M.K. Haacker, Chittaranjan Ray

Nebraska Water Center: Faculty Publications

A four-decade dataset (1974–2013) of 107,823 nitrate samples in 25,993 wells from western and eastern parts of Nebraska was used to assess long-term trends of groundwater nitrate concentration and decadal changes in the extent of groundwater nitrate-contaminated areas (NO₃-N≥10 mg N/L) over the entire state. Spatial statistics and regressions were used to investigate the relationships between groundwater nitrate concentrations and several potential natural and anthropogenic factors, including soil drainage capacities, vadose zone characteristics, crop production areas, and irrigation systems. The results of this study show that there is no statistically significant trend in groundwater nitrate concentrations …

Anisotropy And Phonon Modes From Analysis Of The Dielectric Function Tensor And The Inverse Dielectric Function Tensor Of Monoclinic Yttrium Orthosilicate, Alyssa Mock, Rafal Korlacki, Sean Knight, Mathias Schubert

Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering: Faculty Publications

We determine the frequency dependence of the four independent Cartesian tensor elements of the dielectric function for monoclinic symmetry Y₂SiO₅ using generalized spectroscopic ellipsometry from 40–1200 cm⁻¹. Three different crystal cuts, each perpendicular to a principle axis, are investigated. We apply our recently described augmentation of lattice anharmonicity onto the eigendielectric displacement vector summation approach [A.Mock et al., Phys. Rev. B 95, 165202 (2017)], and we present and demonstrate the application of an eigendielectric displacement loss vector summation approach with anharmonic broadening. We obtain an excellent match between all measured and model-calculated dielectric …

Efficient One‑Step Fusion Pcr Based On Dual‑Asymmetric Primers And Two‑Step Annealing, Yilan Liu, Jinjin Chen, Anders Thygesen

Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering: Faculty Publications

Gene splicing by fusion PCR is a versatile and widely used methodology, especially in synthetic biology. We here describe a rapid method for splicing two fragments by one-round fusion PCR with a dual-asymmetric primers and two-step annealing (ODT) method. During the process, the asymmetric intermediate fragments were generated in the early stage. Thereafter, they were hybridized in the subsequent cycles to serve as template for the target full-length product. The process parameters such as primer ratio, elongation temperature and cycle numbers were optimized. In addition, the fusion products produced with this method were successfully applied in seamless genome editing. The …

Optimal Computational Power Allocation In Multi-Access Mobile Edge Computing For Blockchain, Yuan Wu, Xiangxu Chen, Jiajun Shi, Kejie Ni, Liping Qian, Liang Huang, Kuan Zhang

Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering: Faculty Publications

Blockchain has emerged as a decentralized and trustable ledger for recording and storing digital transactions. The mining process of Blockchain, however, incurs a heavy computational workload for miners to solve the proof-of-work puzzle (i.e., a series of the hashing computation), which is prohibitive from the perspective of the mobile terminals (MTs). The advanced multi-access mobile edge computing (MEC), which enables the MTs to offload part of the computational workloads (for solving the proof-of-work) to the nearby edge-servers (ESs), provides a promising approach to address this issue. By offloading the computational workloads via multi-access MEC, the MTs can effectively increase their …

Structure-Mediated Excitation Of Air Plasma And Silicon Plasma Expansion In Femtosecond Laser Pulses Ablation, Qingsong Wang, Lan Jiang, Jingya Sun, Changji Pan, Weina Han, Guoyan Wang, Feifei Wang, Kaihu Zhang, Ming Li, Yongfeng Lu

Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering: Faculty Publications

Femtosecond laser-induced surface structures upon multiple pulses irradiation are strongly correlated with the pulse number,which in turn significantly affects successive laser-material interactions. By recording the dynamics of femtosecond laser ablation of silicon using time-resolved shadowgraphy, here we present direct visualization of the excitation of air plasma induced by the reflected laser during the second pulse irradiation.The interaction of the air plasma and silicon plasma is found to enhance the shockwave expansion induced by silicon ablation in the longitudinal direction, showing anisotropic expansion dynamics in different directions. We further demonstrate the vanishing of air plasma as the pulse number increases because …

Deformation Behavior Of Foam Laser Targets Fabricated By Two-Photon Polymerization, Ying Liu, John H. Campbell, Ori Stein, Lijia Jiang, Jared Hund, Yongfeng Lu

Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering: Faculty Publications

Two-photon polymerization (2PP), which is a three-dimensional micro/nano-scale additive manufacturing process, is used to fabricate component for small custom experimental packages (“targets”) to support laser-driven, high-energy-density physics research. Of particular interest is the use of 2PP to deterministically print millimeter-scale, low-density, and low atomic number (CHO) polymer matrices (“foams”). Deformation during development and drying of the foam structures remains a challenge when using certain commercial acrylic photo-resins. Acrylic resins were chosen in order to meet the low atomic number requirement for the foam; that requirement precludes the use of low-shrinkage organic/inorganic hybrid resins. Here, we compare the use of acrylic …

Bias-Dependent Scanning Tunneling Microscopy Signature Of Bridging-Oxygen Vacancies On Rutile Tio2(110), Willie B. Maddox, Danda P. Acharya, G. Jeremy Leong, Peter Sutter, Cristian V. Ciobanu

Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering: Faculty Publications

The rutile TiO₂(110) surface has long-served as a wellcharacterized, prototypical transition-metal oxide surface used in heterogeneous catalysis and photocatalytic water splitting. Naturally occurring defects on this surface, called bridging-oxygen (BO) vacancies, are important as they determine the overall reactivity of the surface. Herein, we report a bias-dependent, scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) signature of the BO vacancies on TiO₂(110): for sample bias voltages past a threshold of +3 V, the bright vacancies are flanked on either side (along the oxygen row) by two dark spots approximately shaped like half-moons. The BO vacancies have a bright aspect below …

Experimental Analyses On Multiscale Structural And Mechanical Properties Of Ε-Si/Gesi/C-Si Materials, Wei Qiu, Lu-Lu Ma, Hong-Tao Wang, Ren-Rong Liang, Yu-Cheng Zhao, Yun-Shen Zhou

Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering: Faculty Publications

Strained silicon (ε-Si) is a promising material that could extend Moore’s law by enhancing electron mobility. A ε-Si material is usually composed of multiscale, multilayer heterostructures, where the strained-silicon film or strap is tens-of-nanometers thick, and its buffer layers are of the micrometer scale. The structural properties determine the electrical performance and reliability of ε-Si-based devices. Inhomogeneous residual stress is induced during the preparation, which induces ε-Si structure failure. In this work, biaxial strained-silicon films that contain graded and relaxed germanium-silicon buffer layers were prepared on monocrystalline silicon wafers through reduced-pressure chemical-vapor epitaxy. The layer components and thicknesses were measured …

Adaptive Transmission Range Based Topology Control Scheme For Fast And Reliable Data Collection, Haojun Teng, Kuan Zhang, Mianxiong Dong, Kaoru Ota, Anfeng Liu, Ming Zhao, Tian Wang

Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering: Faculty Publications

An Adaptive Transmission Range Based Topology Control (ATRTC) scheme is proposed to reduce delay and improve reliability for data collection in delay and loss sensitive wireless sensor network. The core idea of the ATRTC scheme is to extend the transmission range to speed up data collection and improve the reliability of data collection.The main innovations of our work are as follows: (1) an adaptive transmission range adjustment method is proposed to improve data collection reliability and reduce data collection delay. The expansion of the transmission range will allow the data packet to be received by more receivers, thus improving the …

Information Theory And Cognition: A Review, Khalid Sayood

Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering: Faculty Publications

We examine how information theory has been used to study cognition over the last seven decades. After an initial burst of activity in the 1950s, the backlash that followed stopped most work in this area. The last couple of decades has seen both a revival of interest, and a more firmly grounded, experimentally justified use of information theory. We can view cognition as the process of transforming perceptions into information—where we use information in the colloquial sense of the word. This last clarification is one of the problems we run into when trying to use information theoretic principles to understand …

Integrated Vacuum-Ultraviolet, Mid And Near-Ultraviolet, Visible, Near, Mid And Far Infrared And Terahertz Optical Hall Effect (Ohe) Instrument, And Method Of Use, Tino Hofmann, Mathias M. Schubert, Stefan Schoeche, Philipp Kuehne, Craig M. Herzinger, John A. Woollam, Gregory K. Pribil, Thomas E. Tiwald, Sean R. Knight

Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering: Faculty Publications

Optical Hall Effect (OHE) method for evaluating such as free charge carrier effective mass, concentration, mobility and free charge carrier type in a sample utilizing a permanent magnet at room temperature.

Fiber - Optic Temperature And Flow Sensor System And Methods, Ming Han, Guigen Liu, Weilin Hou

Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering: Faculty Publications

A fiber optic sensor, a process for utilizing a fiber optic sensor, and a process for fabricating a fiber optic sensor are described, where a double-side-polished silicon pillar is attached to an optical fiber tip and forms a Fabry-Perot cavity. In an implementation, a fiber optic sensor in accordance with an exemplary embodiment includes an optical fiber configured to be coupled to a light source and a spectrometer; and a single silicon layer or multiple silicon layers disposed on an end face of the optical fiber, where each of the silicon layer(s) defines a Fabry-Perot interferometer, and where the sensor …

Non-Vacuum Preparation Of Wse2 Thin Films Via The Selenization Of Hydrated Tungsten Oxide Prepared Using Chemical Solution Methods, Christopher L. Exstrom, Scott A. Darveau, Megan E. Falconer, Jessica R. Blum, Whitney M. Colling, Natale J. Ianno

Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering: Faculty Publications

It is known that tungsten oxide may be reacted with selenium sources to form WSe₂ but literature reports include processing steps that involve high temperatures, reducing atmospheres, and/or oxidative pre-treatments of tungsten oxide. In this work, we report a non-vacuum process for the fabrication of compositionally high quality WSe₂ thin films via the selenization of tungsten oxide under milder conditions. Tungsten source materials were various hydrated WO₃ and WO_2.9 compounds that were prepared using chemical solution techniques. Resulting films were selenized using a two-stage heating profile (250 °C for 15 minutes and 550 °C for 30 …

Non-Vacuum Preparation Of Wse2 Thin Films Via The Selenization Of Hydrated Tungsten Oxide Prepared Using Chemical Solution Methods, Christopher L. Exstrom, Scott A. Darveau, Megan E. Flaconer, Jessica R. Blum, Whitney M. Colling, Natale J. Ianno

Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering: Faculty Publications

It is known that tungsten oxide may be reacted with selenium sources to form WSe2 but literature reports include processing steps that involve high temperatures, reducing atmospheres, and/or oxidative pre-treatments of tungsten oxide. In this work, we report a non-vacuum process for the fabrication of compositionally high quality WSe2 thin films via the selenization of tungsten oxide under milder conditions. Tungsten source materials were various hydrated WO3 and WO2.9 compounds that were prepared using chemical solution techniques. Resulting films were selenized using a two-stage heating profile (250 oC for 15 minutes and 550 oC for 30 minutes) under a static …

Drug Delivery Strategies For The Treatment Of Advanced Lung Cancer And Various Lung Metastases, Elizabeth Bielski

Wayne State University Dissertations

Lung cancer remains the leading cause of cancer-related deaths in the United States. Secondary lung tumors metastasized from other cancer sites also remains highly prevalent, in which most metastatic tumors cannot be cured with existing therapies. Chemoresistance (multi drug resistance – MDR) that develops intrinsically or acquired is one of the key factors leading to fatality in these patients. MDR develops form a variety of resistance mechanisms that can occur consecutively or concurrently, therefore, making most current treatments unsuccessful. Current therapies have known to slow tumor growth, but rarely provide a cure. Immunotherapy has seen some promise, including the use …

Reliability Analysis By Considering Steel Physical Properties, Wujun Si

Wayne State University Dissertations

Most customers today are pursuing engineering materials (e.g., steel) that not only can achieve their expected functions but also are highly reliable. As a result, reliability analysis of materials has been receiving increasing attention over the past few decades. Most existing studies in the reliability engineering field focus on developing model-based and data-driven approaches to analyze material reliability based on material failure data such as lifetime data and degradation data, without considering effects of material physical properties. Ignoring such effects may result in a biased estimation of material reliability, which in turn could incur higher operation or maintenance costs.

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In Defense Of The Broader Application Of Virtual Queues, Evan Rapone

Honors Program Theses

The broader application of virtual queues is proposed. A review of the current state of queuing theory is presented as well as an acknowledgment of the deficiencies in the practicality of queuing theory. It is suggested that the queuing process can be improved by implementing the option of pursuing a virtual line. Specifically, the potential utility of introducing virtual queues is discussed in the context of the FastPass system, highlighting the major features of the method as well as examining the disadvantages of the service. The implementation of a FastPass-style queuing process outside of theme parks is presented as a …