Engineering Commons^™

Analysis Of Hydrological Model Uncertainty In The Response Of Farmers' Decision Models: A Case Study From The Lower Mississippi River Basin Region, Aayush Khadka

LSU New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

Ever since human have evolved on planet earth, they have been dependent on water resources for almost every aspect of their lives. From food production to industry, water has been an integral part of the ever-growing human civilization. Increasing reliance on water has resulted in development of effective and sustainable management strategies. However, water management has remained a complex task due to different human and natural stressors. Hydro-economic models are powerful tools that have been widely used to study water resource systems, management options, economic values, and infrastructures. They have been used to analyze the Water-Energy-Food nexus, climatic interactions, and …

Investigating The Feasibility Of Developing A Fully Solar-Driven Combined Cycle Design, Mazdak Gorji

LSU New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

This study explores the feasibility of a thermal solar-only combined cycle power plant, a concept rarely investigated despite its potential to outperform photovoltaic systems in energy efficiency. Unlike typical hybrid models that use solar energy as a supplement to fuel, this research focuses on a solar-only system that operates a true Brayton-Rankine combined cycle for continuous 24/7 power generation. The study established an efficiency benchmark, comparing eighteen solar generation scenarios across different storage and power block configurations to assess whether the concept was worth pursuing, which it proved to be. Following this, the research focused on simulation, validating ThermoFlex software …

Effects Of Mississippi River Borrow Area Design On Riverine Sediment Transport Using Delft 3d, Kiara B. Horton

LSU New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

This research uses a Delft3D model to investigate the impacts of Mississippi River borrow areas on the Mississippi River navigation channel. The largest navigation concerns for the Mississippi River are operation and maintenance costs down; this includes costs of transportation and dredging. Borrow areas are created to supplement beneficial use of dredge material in various projects. Borrow areas are designed to a standard set of guidelines, according to Coastal Protection and Restoration authority (CPRA), and consider impacts to the navigation channel by requiring and minimum distance from the navigation channel. This study models the total sediment transport and amount of …

Ai-Powered Inspection: A Computer Vision System For Efficient Defects Detection In Underground Infrastructures, Rasha Alshawi

LSU New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

Undetected defects in culverts and sewer pipes pose significant risks to public safety, leading to infrastructure collapses, flooding, and transportation disruptions. Traditional manual inspections are time-consuming, costly, and prone to human error, while existing automated methods struggle with occlusions, irregular defect shapes, class imbalances, and high computational demands. To address these challenges, this dissertation develops advanced semantic segmentation systems that automate defect detection, significantly improving efficiency and accuracy.

This research introduces a series of innovative models designed to overcome these challenges in underground infrastructure inspection. Using dual-attentive mechanisms, sparsely connected blocks, and depth-separable convolutions, these models improve segmentation performance and …

Precooling Ventilation Air For Hospital Operating Rooms And The Affects On Terminal Box Reheat, Joel F. Luke Jr

LSU New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

This study evaluates the impact of climate on the energy performance of two HVAC system configurations—AL1, a conventional air handling system, and AL2, which incorporates a pre-cooling coil and discharge air temperature (DAT) reset strategy. Using EnergyPlus simulations, each system was modeled across multiple U.S. cities representing a wide range of climate zones. Results show that AL2 significantly reduces plant energy consumption, with an average energy savings of 66.61\% compared to AL1. These savings were nearly evenly split between reductions in heating and cooling demands.

A weather normalization analysis using cooling and heating degree days (CDD65 and HDD65) revealed a …

Hybrid Dc-Dc Converters For Soft Charging Capacitive Actuators: Modeling, Analysis And Design, Bahlakoana Mabetha

Dartmouth College Ph.D Dissertations

Recent trends in haptics, microrobotics and ultrasound technology have shown an increasing use of piezoelectric and other electrostatic actuators. These actuators are suited for miniaturized applications due to their high power density and favorable scalability at a small size. Their electrical impedance at lower frequency (their typical operating range) is capacitive, therefore, they can be modeled as capacitive loads.

The driving circuits for capacitive actuators need to deliver and recover (bidirectional) dominantly reactive power, unlike typical power electronics converters for resistive loads which deliver (unidirectional) real power to the load. Therefore, the circuits, operation, and optimization required to drive these …

Computation-Driven Design And Synthesis Of Molecular Sensors For Surface-Enhanced Raman Spectroscopy In Liquids, Junhu Zhou

Dartmouth College Ph.D Dissertations

The reliable detection of molecules in liquid environments is a continuing challenge in chemical sensing and biological diagnostics. While surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) is well-recognized for its high sensitivity and molecular specificity, conventional platforms – based on colloidal nanoparticles or patterned substrates – have shortcomings. These conventional configurations struggle with signal reproducibility, non-uniform hotspot distribution, and, critically, restricted accessibility for large targets such as proteins and exosomes.

This thesis develops a computation-guided approach to developing next-generation SERS sensors capable of overcoming these persistent obstacles. At the heart of the study is the design and fabrication of metal-insulator-metal (MIM) nanoparticles, where …

Adjustable Dynamometer Motor Mount, Garrett Carson Ng, Elijah Siegel Reuven, Ethan Fong, Daniel Larimer

Mechanical Engineering

The Cal Poly Electrical Engineering Department and sponsor Dr. Dolan needs a manufacturable motor fixture that securely aligns motors of various sizes with dynamometers. Previous lab motor fixtures could not accommodate motors of different sizes, making precise alignment between motors and dynamometers time-consuming and unreliable. Our team developed a modular, manufacturable fixture capable of aligning various motor sizes quickly, accurately, and securely, enhancing lab consistency and usability.

Design Considerations Of A Gpu, Nicholas M. Devilliers

Electrical Engineering and Computer Science Undergraduate Honors Theses

With the current era of AI technology, the era of single instruction multiple data has become an increasingly viable solution to accelerate training. The problem is that while software to use GPUs and other hardware accelerators, designing GPUs and ASIC devices has become increasingly more expensive and there aren’t great examples of generic GPUs that anyone can use and modify. In this thesis, there are four design considerations that will be discussed and how they affect the result of a generic GPU. The four considerations that were talked about in the thesis are, word width, arithmetic type, number of stages, …

Evaluating Fly-Ash As A Sustainable Solution For Contaminant Removal From Wastewater, Calyn Wisdom

Chemical Engineering Undergraduate Honors Theses

Access to clean and safe water is an escalating global concern due to the persistent presence of toxic contaminants in aquatic environments. Among these, synthetic dyes and per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) represent two distinct yet significant classes of pollutants, both posing serious environmental and public health risks. Dyes in water contribute to intense coloration, elevated chemical and biological oxygen demand (COD and BOD), reduced light penetration, and disruption of aquatic ecosystems, with potential health risks to humans upon exposure. PFAS, often termed "forever chemicals," are synthetic organofluorine compounds associated with a range of adverse health effects, including endocrine disruption, …

The Augmentation Of A Solar Panel Lab For The Chemical Engineering Curriculum To Introduce Sustainability Principles, Lane A. Wilkins

Chemical Engineering Undergraduate Honors Theses

Photovoltaic solar cells are utilized in solar panels to convert sunlight into usable electricity. Since the energy derived from solar panels produces far less greenhouse gas than typical fuels such as coal and natural gas do, it is considered a clean source of energy and is vital to sustainability efforts. Sustainability is often defined by three pillars: environmental, social, and economical. Solar energy incorporates each of these pillars into its process, allowing it to be an effective tool to teach sustainability to students. A previously written lab that employs solar panels focused on the efficiency of converting light into electricity. …

Engaging Future Engineers: Utilizing Ai-Generated Video To Promote The Chemical Engineering Profession, Madeline G. Mondebello

Chemical Engineering Undergraduate Honors Theses

The expected incline of the chemical engineering profession faces a growing need to attract the next generation of prospective students. This research explores the use of artificial intelligence (AI) software to create an innovative form of media fit for secondary school and early college outreach. The pre- and post-video questionnaires were taken by a voluntary population comprised of high school students, college students, and parents. Overall, the feedback received was generally positive but indicated that the AI avatars and the lip-sync discrepancies may disrupt the video more than enhance it. In the future, a larger population will be surveyed to …

Measuring Selectivity Of Ion Exchange Resin For Use In Activated Wafer Electrodeionization, Hope M. Coffman

Chemical Engineering Undergraduate Honors Theses

Ion exchange resins are a type of ion exchange material used throughout industry. Their insolubility allows for the exchange of ions and an easy separation of the resin itself. They are used alone in industry, but they are also found in processes such as electrodialysis and electrodeionization. This research investigates the selectivity of chloride form ion exchange resin in the presence of solutions of lactate and formate ions. The work of this thesis is a part of a larger study investigating the conversion and separation of glucose into lactic acid via coupled electrocatalysis and electrodialysis. The results of this study …

Extending Simulation-Enhanced Bayesian Optimization Of System Designs: A Computational Study, Luke Kim

Data Science Undergraduate Honors Theses

This honors thesis builds off work initially accepted for publication in the Proceedings of the 2025 IISE Annual Conference & Expo, which introduced “Simulation-Enhanced Bayesian Optimization” (SEBO)—a hybrid testing optimization approach that combined the usage of unbiased but costly physical experiments with the usage of cheaper but potentially biased computer experiments to optimize engineered systems. The original study established the SEBO methodology and demonstrated its effectiveness on a multimodal, two-dimensional benchmark function. Expanding on the work performed, we conduct a broader evaluation of the SEBO framework through parameter testing and experimentation under a variety of additional benchmark functions. This investigation …

Drainage Area Limitations Of Single Watershed, Peak Flow Estimates From Nrcs Methods, Timothy A. Maughan, Rollin H. Hotchkiss, Riley Hales

Nebraska Department of Transportation: Research Reports

Most state Department of Transportation roadway design sections predict peak flow for culvert design using, amongst other approaches, Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) TR-20 technology. Even though this technology is more than 50 years old, there are no clear guidelines for how large a single watershed drainage area may be while remaining appropriate for predicting peak discharge with this method. Our objective was to identify the drainage area where TR-20 peak flow predictions significantly deviate from flow frequency predictions. We developed flow frequency estimates for 130 small-area stream gage sites in rural Nebraska and compared the calculated return period discharges …

Towards A Configurable Platform For The Design And Evaluation Of P4 Network Systems And Applications, Joseph B. Wilkin

Electrical Engineering and Computer Science Undergraduate Honors Theses

Due to the difficulties of running experiments on production networks, researchers often use platforms such as network emulators and testbeds to test their applications before applying them to the real world. There exists a need for a networking platform of this sort designed specifically for running P4 code and for evaluating P4-based experiments. In this work, we design and develop such a platform for use within our lab group based on the Mininet network emulator and its corresponding graphical user interface, MiniEdit. We have successfully integrated the BMv2 software switch into MiniEdit to allow users to build topologies for running …

Becoming A Computer Scientist: Multimethods To Make Sense Of Professional Computer Scientist Identity Development, Tim Ransom

All Dissertations

Professional identity development is both a powerful pedagogical tool and an excellent indicator of overall life satisfaction for students.

This work investigates the experience of undergraduate students as they develop their professional identities into computer scientists. A multimethod research plan makes use of quantitative ethnography (QE) and interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA) to understand the lived experiences of eight undergraduate computer science students professional computer scientist identity development and the messages social media presents about that professional identity.

First, a quantitative ethnography is conducted to investigate the expression of professional computer scientist identity in relevant online communities. This investigation into the …

Aircraft Water And Waste Systems Curriculum Alignment For Updated Airmen Certificate Standards (Acs), Myles Miller

All Graduate Reports and Creative Projects, Fall 2023 to Present

The purpose of this project was to create a curriculum that aligns with the updated Airmen Certificate Standards (ACS) related to aircraft water and waste systems. The curriculum was designed to align with the FAA standards outlined in the ACS section II. Airframe Subject O. Water and Waste Systems. The curriculum includes components, operation, inspection, and servicing requirements for potable water and lavatory waste systems. The curriculum should equip students with the ability to identify, assess, and mitigate risks associated with lavatory waste systems, and the ability to locate and explain the procedures for servicing water and waste systems. The …

Engineering Planktonic And Biofilm Microalgae Systems For Productivity, Power Requirements, Cost, And Scalability, Dallin Chugg

All Graduate Reports and Creative Projects, Fall 2023 to Present

Microalgae cultivation offers dual benefits as an effective wastewater treatment method and a sustainable source of valuable bioproducts, such as biofuels, bioplastics, and feedstocks. This approach supports sustainability by transforming waste into high-value products while minimizing environmental impact. However, scaling microalgae cultivation to industrial levels presents significant challenges, particularly in optimizing harvesting efficiency, reducing mixing and transport costs, and managing large water requirements.

This report compares the productivity, scalability, cost, and energy requirements of two primary cultivation systems: planktonic and biofilm. Planktonic systems, such as open raceway ponds (ORPs), excel in light distribution and nutrient uptake due to continuous mixing, …

Designing And Modeling An Exoskeleton Mobility Device For Individuals With Paraplegia, Dan O'Crowley

All Graduate Reports and Creative Projects, Fall 2023 to Present

The objective of this project is to design and develop a lightweight mobility exoskeleton for individuals with paraplegia that enables transportation of the user in a standing position, supports the user during the sitting to standing transition, and can be loaded by the user into a vehicle. A device like this has the potential to mitigate many negative health impacts of seated mobility devices, reduce social barriers, increase job opportunities for the user, and improve independence, while providing cost savings for the users and the healthcare system.

The system consists of a 3-linkage inverted pendulum with motors at the knee …

Bomb Calorimeter As Proof Of Concept For Low-Cost Calorimeter To Measure Thermal Runaway In Pouch Cells To Facilitate Statistical Characterization, Mykell Johnson

All Graduate Reports and Creative Projects, Fall 2023 to Present

Transportation is becoming increasingly electrified, with the main energy storage system being lithium-ion (li-ion) batteries. Despite the widespread adoption of li-ion batteries, unique design abuse tolerance concerns need to be addressed, specifically regarding the catastrophic exothermic release of energy, called thermal runaway (TR). While TR is a major design consideration in all li-ion applications, it presents unique difficulties in the electric aviation industry. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) considers thermal runaway inevitable in a battery pack and requires containment of the event per DO311-A for certified aircraft. Due to the wide variability of TR, designing for this phenomenon can be …

Effects Of The Gravity Gradient On The Path Of 1i/‘Oumuamua, Hannah R. Richardson

Honors Theses

In October 2017, the asteroid 1I/’Oumuamua first passed into viewing range [1]. The asteroid is notable for being the first interstellar object to enter the solar system. 1I/’Oumuamua was also unusual in its geometry; it is thought to have an aspect ratio of 6:1 and a length of approximately 400 m [2] [3]. The asteroid was observed to experience a non-Keplerian acceleration estimated to be on the order of 1⇥10−6 m s2 . Several theories have been proposed for the cause of this acceleration, all of which are non-gravitational in nature: volatile outgassing, photon pressure, and solar winds [1][4]. However, …

Composition And Rich/Lean Loading-Dependent Density Measurements Of A Series Of Aqueous Ionic Amines For Co2 Capture, Claudia Nguyen

Honors Theses

As climate change worsens worldwide, there is a drive to develop more efficient and sustainable methods to mitigate its impact through carbon capture methods like carbon dioxide scrubbing. Carbon scrubbing directly captures carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from industries or power plants before they are released into the environment. The CO2 captured can be utilized for various applications or can be stored underground. However, this method faces numerous challenges, such as the degradation of the solvent or corrosion of equipment. As a result, research has expanded to find a better medium to overcome these issues. In particular, aqueous ionic amines (AIA) …

Ghosts In Glass: Ghost Crabs As Judges Of Glass Sand For Coastal Restoration, Emily Parrish

Honors Theses

Over 60% of the Gulf of Mexico coastline is actively eroding, which has resulted in thousands of miles of lost coastline over the last 100 years. This drastic loss of coastal land highlights the dire need for coastal restoration across the entirety of the Gulf Coast. A vital aspect of restoring these eroded areas is replenishing eroded substrate, traditionally conducted through offshore dredging of substrates which comes with high economic and ecological costs. Recycled glass sand may be able to fill this role and reduce our reliance on dredging while lowering the amount of glass waste entering landfills each year. …

Key-Based Authentication Scheme For Evtol Drones Using Chebyshev Chaotic Maps, Eduardo A. Hernandez Escobar

Master's Theses

The development of electric Vertical Take-Off and Landing (eVTOL) drones signifies a substantial advancement in urban air mobility, ready to transform transportation models in densely populated regions. These advanced drones, distinguished by their capacity to function in limited spaces and their minimized environmental impact, are set to transform individual, shipping, emergency services, and public safety activities. Nonetheless, like any transformational technology, the implementation of eVTOL systems presents many challenges, especially in the realm of cybersecurity. Adding many devices and entities to an eVTOL network increases the risk of privacy and security attacks. This paper proposes a key-based authentication scheme that …

Exploration Of Polymorphic Gate-Based Watermarking In Asynchronous Circuits, Stephanie Stock

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

With the increasing demand for new state-of-the-art integrated circuits (ICs), intellectual property (IP) reuse has become more commonplace to both accelerate the design process and lessen the non-recurring engineering costs of a design. Reuseable IP poses significant security risks, not only to the creator of the IP, but also to the consumer purchasing the IP. For an IP vendor, this risk can come from illegal distribution, cloning, or overuse. For the purchaser, counterfeit IPs may be purchased from an unvetted vendor, leading to a substandard design, malfunctions, IP infringement, or security vulnerabilities. Hardware watermarking is a method to protect designers …

In Vitro Investigation Of Macrophage Functional And Metabolic Modulation, Shelby Nicole Bess

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Macrophages are a subset of immune cells with a variety of functions that are abundant in numerous tumor types such as colorectal and breast cancer. It has been suggested that macrophages may serve an important function as immune mediators in tumor behavior; however, macrophage activity is complex and remains not completely understood. The overall goal of this dissertation was to explore and exploit tumor-associated macrophage phagocytic function and the changes in their interactions with cancer cells in an in vitro mouse model and in 2D and 3D in vitro culture models. First, we wanted to better understand macrophage behavior under …

A Hierarchical Soft Computational Model For Optimizing Agricultural Uavs: Recruiting Neutrosophic Theory And Tree Soft Sets, Mona Mohamed, Nurhan Alaa, Bilal Arain, Karam M. Sallam

Neutrosophic Systems with Applications

Precision agriculture is being transformed by Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs), which make it possible for yield optimization, targeted spraying, and sophisticated crop monitoring. With an emphasis on their operational capabilities, economic feasibility, and environmental implications, this research explores the revolutionary potential of UAV technology in contemporary farming systems. Practically speaking, the procedure of opting UAVs for agricultural applications is complicated by several competing aspects, inherent uncertainties, and differing stakeholder agendas. This paper suggests a new hybrid decision framework that combines Tree Soft Sets (TrSS), Neutrosophic theory, and Multi-Criteria Decision-Making (MCDM) to methodically handle these issues. Hence, the robust hybrid model …

The Effect Of A Peptide Targeting Ligand On Transfection Efficiency Of Polymeric Nanoparticles To Dendritic Cells, Anthony Radka

Honors Theses

Autoimmune diseases affect approximately 5-8% of the global population, leading to chronic symptoms, long-term treatment, and reduced quality of life. Current therapies primarily rely on lifelong administration of immunosuppressants, which are associated with severe side effects and heightened susceptibility to infections. This has spurred interest in cellular therapies that manipulate dendritic cells (DCs) effectively and can selectively treat these diseases. This work aims to improve the efficacy of dendritic cell-based therapies using cationic polymers that can electrostatically complex with nucleic acids, forming nanoparticles referred to as polyplexes, that can deliver therapeutic nucleic acid cargo. These particles are a favorable alternative …

Development And Characterization Of A Pro-Angiogenic Peptide Amphiphile For Deep Dermal Burn Healing Via Spray Delivery, Loria Dimartino

Honors Theses

Severe burns and other dermatological injuries are frequently accompanied by a range of comorbidities and aesthetic challenges that patients must contend with. The complexity of burn care is exacerbated by the lack of a standardized surgical protocol, as treatment strategies are tailored to individual patient factors, including overall health status, wound size and location, as well as the expertise and resources available to the surgical team. Most commonly, deep dermal burns are treated through grafting, which effectively covers the injury site, but requires the creation of a second wound on the body of approximately the same size. This produces a …