Electrical and Computer Engineering Commons^™

Trust-Me: Resource Allocation And Server Selection Based On Trust In Multi-Access Edge Computing, Sean Tsikteris

Electrical and Computer Engineering ETDs

Multi-access Edge Computing (MEC) is crucial for Internet of Things (IoT) applications by optimizing data processing and reducing latency. This thesis presents contributions to resource allocation and decision-making in edge computing environments. The TRUST-ME model is introduced, involving multiple edge servers and IoT devices (users) offloading computing tasks to MEC servers. A utility function is designed to assess latency and cost benefits for IoT devices using server resources. The core innovation is a novel trust model that evaluates IoT devices’ confidence in MEC servers by integrating both direct and indirect trust, based on interactions and feedback from other devices. In …

Design, Fabrication, And Characterization Of Electro-Optic Radio-Frequency Probes For High Field Environments, Michael D. Sherburne

Electrical and Computer Engineering ETDs

Design, Fabrication, and Characterization of Electro-Optic Radio-Frequency Probes For High Field Environments

Physical Layer Entropy Analysis For Physical Unclonable Functions, Jenilee Jao

Electrical and Computer Engineering ETDs

Process variations within Field Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGAs) provide a rich source of entropy, making them well-suited for the implementation of Physical Unclonable Functions (PUFs). This dissertation presents three studies on FPGA-based PUFs. First, we explore a ring-oscillator (RO) PUF that leverages localized entropy from individual look-up table (LUT) primitives, analyzing design bias. Next, we investigate delay variations that occur through the routing network and switch matrices of FPGAs using a feature of Xilinx called dynamic partial reconfiguration (DPR). Finally, we evaluate entropy across FPGAs from Xilinx, Altera, and Microsemi using the Shift-Register Reconvergent-Fanout (SiRF) PUF architecture to compare path …

Advancing Drug Discovery And Disease Understanding Through Knowledge Graphs And Machine Learning Techniques, Swastika Tenkila Purushotham

Electrical and Computer Engineering ETDs

This thesis investigates knowledge graphs with particular reference to the NIH-funded Common Fund Data Ecosystem Data Distillery project. By combining data from nine Common Fund projects and other sources, this project has created a large knowledge graph using Neo4j. To find new and undiscovered drug targets, UNM’s Illuminating the Druggable Genome (IDG) Data Coordinating Center has supplied data and use cases. Condensed Knowledge Graph, a condensed version that is based on the Data Distillery Knowledge Graph, improves usability for IDG applications. Condensed Knowledge Graph research endeavors to enhance data organization through the categorization of disease terms, examination of Cerebellar Stroke …

Autonomous Coalition Formation For Energy Trading In Intelligent Grid Systems, Issiac Baca

Electrical and Computer Engineering ETDs

This paper introduces an interactive model and architectural framework for a smart grid system, emphasizing the prosumers dual roles as energy buyers and sellers within localized energy trading markets, i.e., coalitions. Initially, the utilities of both buyers and sellers are formulated to capture the benefits derived from their energy-related activities. Then, the paper presents the Approximate SMARTFORM (ASMARTFORM) mechanism, based on the principles of matching theory, to enhance the prosumers engagement in coalitions by addressing externalities influencing their decisions. To further improve the coalition formation process, the Accurate SMARTFORM (AccSMARTFORM) mechanism is formulated based on the theory of coalition games, …

Periodic Information Leakage Fault Detection On A Risc-V Microprocessor, Idris Somoye

Electrical and Computer Engineering ETDs

The execution behavior of a Microprocessor (μP) in the presence of a fault is difficult to predict because of the complex interactions across pipeline stages and between functional units within the architecture. Fault effects are known to not introduce any type of anomaly in the input-output behavior for 10s of thousands to millions of clock cycles. These characteristics increase the difficulty of evaluating μP architectures for resilience to information leakage events, i.e., scenarios where a fault causes sensitive data such as an encryption key to be inadvertently diverted to a primary output channel. This dissertation explores two promising strategies for …

Secondary Electron Yield Of Metals, Alloys, And Metal Oxides From First Principles Based Monte Carlo Simulations, Raul E. Gutierrez

Electrical and Computer Engineering ETDs

Density Functional Theory (DFT) based Monte Carlo (MC) simulations of the Sec-
ondary Electron Yield (SEY) of metals, alloys, and metal oxides are performed to
find material properties that could help reduce or influence the multipactor effect.
In order to accurately model the SEY of materials, knowledge of the frequency- and
momentum-dependent Energy Loss Function (qDepELF) is required. The qDepELF
is difficult to determine from experiment; however, it can be calculated from first
principles. The DFT-MC approach for simulating the secondary electron genera-
tion, propagation, and emission processes is described herein. Material properties,
which are calculated using DFT and used …

Fabrication And Characterization Of A Monolithic Photonic Integrated Circuit With High-Aspect Ratio Photonic Device Structures, Sami A. Nazib

Optical Science and Engineering ETDs

The focus of this work was to create a process to fabricate an InP-based Photonic Integrated Circuit (PIC). The design of the PIC required the photonic components of this device to be created by deep etching of an epitaxially-grown multilayer structure. Therefore, a novel dry etching process was developed to produce very high aspect- ratio (HAR) features. This process not only involved the development of dry etch chemistry but also the engineering of a metal mask structure. The next step of the challenge was to use a polymer-based material that would have two functions: cladding for the etched photonic components …

Distributed Energy Trading Models Utilizing Reinforcement Learning And Game-Theoretic Based Approaches In Smart Grids, Nicholas Kemp

Electrical and Computer Engineering ETDs

Community-driven energy initiatives have become crucial for effective energy management, particularly in trading and management. The rise of Distributed Energy Resources in smart grids demands a redesign of traditional Demand Response Management (DRM) models to account for prosumers' dynamic behavior in energy markets. Decentralization, including peer-to-peer (P2P) energy trading, is vital for resilience and sustainability. This thesis introduces two coalitional DRM models: one based on hedonic community formation games, and the other combining matching theory with coalition games. These models empower prosumers to autonomously select energy trading communities using partially available data. To optimize energy consumption, two additional models are …

Exploration Of Semiconductor Gain Medium, Resonator, Pump, And Frequency Stabilization For Laser Guide Star Applications, Mingyang Zhang

Optical Science and Engineering ETDs

Laser Guide Star (LGS) systems are essential for adaptive optics in ground-based astronomical observation. This dissertation demonstrates the feasibility of semiconductor-based LGS systems using the membrane external-cavity surface-emitting laser (MECSEL) platform, employing multiple quantum wells. Various laser cavity configurations were analyzed through simulations and experiments. The in-well pumping method was explored to reduce the quantum defect and address thermal limitations. Multi-pass pumping schemes were designed with Zemax modeling and demonstrated experimentally. To simplify multi-pass pumping, the hybrid-MECSEL (H-MECSEL) design was introduced. COMSOL modeling studied thermal management and thermal lensing effect.

The H-MECSEL achieved approximately 30 W of output power at …

Embedding Direction Of Arrival And Antenna Beamforming Algorithms On Automated Software Defined Radio Platforms, Adrian J. Lewis

Electrical and Computer Engineering ETDs

Antenna arrays are an essential technology in the modern era in both communications and radar applications. The algorithms used for antenna arrays are beginning to be embedded in smart device applications to enable greater communication abilities. This thesis explores the idea of embedding direction of arrival and beamforming algorithms using a software defined radio platform. Specifically, the Multiple Signal Classification (MuSiC) algorithm and Minimum Variance Distortionless Response (MVDR) algorithm are combined. The combination of similar algorithms has the potential to be used in many internet of things applications to enable more dynamic communication ability.

Adaptive Screen Capture Video Analysis, Ugesh Egala

Electrical and Computer Engineering ETDs

This thesis presents a system for analyzing student activities during class sessions to gain insights into the learning process. A dataset consisting of 14 screen recordings, with 2 videos labeled across two stages, was used for training, validation, and testing. The methodology employs adaptive sampling, initially at 10 frames per minute to identify active regions, followed by detailed analysis at 1 frame per second using OCR to detect typing activities through character changes. The results demonstrate over a 50% reduction in computational load while maintaining high accuracy in detecting student engagement. A total of 26 hours of screen capture videos …

On The Surface Topography Of Local Overheating And Plasma Formation Due To Initial Condition Perturbations Sourcing The Electrothermal Instability On High-Current-Density Conductors, Maren Whiting Hatch

Electrical and Computer Engineering ETDs

The electrothermal instability (ETI) is a Joule heating-driven instability that instigates runaway heating on conductors driven to high current density, altering the 3D evolution of the expansion and phase state. Most metals include complex distributions of imperfections (voids, resistive inclusions) which seed ETI. To simplify comparison with modeling and theory, experiments examined growth of ETI from various alloys of stainless steel as well as relatively void/inclusion free, 99.999% pure, diamond-turned, 1 mm-diameter aluminum rods. Aluminum surfaces included a variety of deliberately machined and well-characterized perturbations, including 10-micron-scale quasi-hemispherical voids, or “engineered” defects (ED), and sinusoidal patterns of varying wavelength and …

Pulsed Secondary Electron Yield Measurements Of Metallic And Dielectric Materials Of Interest For High Power Vacuum Electron Devices, Bilal Ahmed Malik

Electrical and Computer Engineering ETDs

Secondary electron emission (SEE) from conductors is thought to play an important role in the initiation of Multipactor breakdown in vacuum electron devices. The SEE of dielectric materials plays a crucial role in numerous scientific and technological applications, including particle accelerators, spacecraft charging, and plasma diagnostics. Additionally, the SEE of an insulator may depend on its electrical stress history. In both cases, SEE strongly depends on any conditioning of the material surface. We present measurements on both conducting and insulating materials of interest in these applications. Measurements are being made in an existing test stand, recently modified to enable measurements …

Deep Learning For Multiple Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Coordination In Air Corridors, Liangkun Yu

Electrical and Computer Engineering ETDs

In the future, city skies will be filled with Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) for rapid urban transport, including parcel deliveries and air taxis. NASA's Urban Air Mobility (UAM) envisions UAVs navigating air corridors. These virtual pathways ensure safety and compliance with regulations. However, current research on UAM practical applications is limited. This dissertation focuses on designing air corridors, developing UAV control systems, and ensuring the robustness of control algorithms against disturbances in real-world environments.

Our design features an air corridor system with horizontal lanes and on-off ramps, conceptualized as cylindrical spaces and tori, respectively. To enable each UAV to locally …

Advancing Influence In Social Networks Based On Game Theory, Adedamola Adesokan

Electrical and Computer Engineering ETDs

Online Social Networks (OSNs) have become part of our everyday life, as a means of interacting with people, sharing content, attending events, etc. Influencers are professional OSN users, who have a large loyal audience and use the OSNs to market various goods or services based on brand partnerships. In this thesis, we introduce a novel mechanism to enable OSN users to become influencers by strategically deciding their activity within the OSN. Initially, the concepts of social coordinates and social communities are proposed. Then, a non-cooperative game is introduced to enable the users to make optimal decisions regarding their activity in …

Deep Learning Framework For Graph-Based Molecular Drug Discovery, Daniel Manu

Electrical and Computer Engineering ETDs

This dissertation proposes the GraphGANFed framework, which combines Graph Convolutional Networks (GCN), Generative Adversarial Networks (GAN), and Federated Learning (FL) to generate novel molecules while preserving data privacy. FL allows learning from distributed clients without sharing local datasets, GCN extracts molecular structural properties, and GAN generates new molecules retaining the learned properties. Extensive simulations on three benchmark datasets show GraphGANFed's effectiveness, producing molecules with high novelty (≈ 100) and diversity (> 0.9). Results indicate a trade-off among evaluation metrics, and the right dropout ratio avoids mode collapse. Additionally, Conditional GraphGANFed (cGraphGANFed) incorporates a critic network from Reinforcement Learning (RL) to …

Engineering Composite Gridlines For Improved Solar Module Reliability, Andre Chavez

Electrical and Computer Engineering ETDs

Renewable energy sources, such as solar power, are rapidly expanding worldwide to meet increased energy demands. However, these sources are exposed to challenging environmental stressors, such as extreme wind, heavy snow loads, and hailstorms that can cause irreversible damage to the crystalline semiconductor solar cells. Today, single crystalline silicon solar cells dominate the market, and our work is focused on improving their reliability against environmental stressors. One of the main degradation mechanisms caused by environmental stressors is cell cracks. These microcracks can go virtually undetected and lead to reduced power output from solar modules over time. To solve this engineering …

Securing The Skies: Safety-Constrained Decentralized Multi-Uav Coordination With Deep Reinforcement Learning, Jean-Elie Pierre

Electrical and Computer Engineering ETDs

In the dynamic landscape of autonomous aerial systems, the integration of uncrewed aerial vehicles (UAVs) has sparked a paradigm shift, offering unprecedented opportunities and challenges in collaborative decision-making and navigation. This thesis explores the application of multi-agent reinforcement learning (MARL) for the planning and coordination of UAVs in complex environments.

The first part of this thesis provides an introduction to single-agent reinforcement learning and MARL. We provide examples of the use of MARL for countering uncrewed aerial systems (C-UAS). We formulate the Counter-UAS problem as a multiagent partially observable Markov decision process (MAPOMDP), and we propose Multi-AGent partial observable deep …

Plasma Diagnostics For Anode Cathode Plasmas And High Energy Density Physics On A Linear Transformer Driver, Robert Beattie-Rossberg

Electrical and Computer Engineering ETDs

A twelve-brick air insulated linear transformer driver (LTD) was characterized by charging to voltages ranging from 30 to 70 kV and delivering energy to two separate resistive loads. Various plasma diagnostics were built and fielded with an emphasis on the design, implementation and analysis of a Mach Zehnder interferometer, a moiré deflectometer and a spectroscopy system providing information on the temporal evolution of plasma electron density and atomic composition. Rogowski coils, XRD radiation detectors, framing camera images and time integrated DSLR images are used to further understand load conditions where current data, x ray radiation data, velocity data and instability …

W/V-Band Propagation Modeling, Nolan Rebernick

Electrical and Computer Engineering ETDs

Enhancing the accuracy of atmospheric loss modeling holds the potential to significantly refine estimations of received power, thereby enhancing the overall quality of satellite communication links. This study aims to pioneer and validate an innovative modeling framework to reliably predict atmospheric attenuation along satellite-to-ground propagation paths, particularly focusing on portions of the W-band (81-86 GHz) and V-band (71-76 GHz). By leveraging meteorological data, this approach will encompass various weather scenarios, including clear skies, cloud cover, and diverse forms of precipitation. Utilizing the generated time domain data, the research aims to construct complementary cumulative distribution functions, enabling the analysis of satellite …

Ml/Ai Enabled Intelligent Next Generation Autonomous Network System: Performance Enhancement And Management, Harsh Kumar

Electrical and Computer Engineering ETDs

The smart next generation autonomous system for network performance enhancement and management, specifically suitable for networks like 5G, B5G, 6G, and SDN, is presented in this PhD dissertation powered by ML/AI. The dissertation has been divided into six critical parts. First, it focuses on QoS monitoring and provisioning using intelligent QoS agent design in 6G network. Second, it elaborates on LSTM and SP-LSTM comparative analysis towards network traffic prediction in 6G networks. Third, digging into 6G frontier navigation using SE-DO for intelligent Agent Optimization. Fourth, the dissertation delves into role delegation function as a service to improve reliability and latency …

A Framework For Managing System Resources And Pricing In Multi-Provider Edge Computing Environments, Matthew Paul Salcido

Electrical and Computer Engineering ETDs

Multi-provider multi-user multi-access edge computing provides a recent market driven networking paradigm facilitating the user data offloading process. In this thesis, we introduce the AGORA framework, which employs a sophisticated multi-leader multi-follower Stackelberg game that jointly optimizes the data offloading, computing resource allocation, and computing resource pricing, all facilitated through a non-cooperative game-theoretic approach. In order to support the aforementioned modeling and approach, a novel utility function that quantifies the users satisfaction, factoring in the computing service cost, and an innovative profit function for the MEC providers is introduced, emphasizing the market penetration and the computing service provision costs. Numerical …

A Symbiotic Content Caching Approach In Next-Generation Information-Centric Networks Based On Game Theory, Aisha B Rahman

Electrical and Computer Engineering ETDs

The continuous growth of mobile data traffic with strict time requirements calls for the development of sustainable edge content caching solutions. This becomes more prominent in the setting of Information-Centric Networking (ICN) architectures, where different ICNs are leasing caching slices to the available content providers (CPs), who in turn offer their services to the users. In this thesis, we introduce a novel symbiotic content caching framework that provides the necessary economic benefits to the ICNs and the CPs to mutualistically collaborate among each other. The corresponding mutualistic interactions among the ICNs and CPs are studied under the prism of two …

A Bio-Inspired Alternative Positioning, Navigation, And Timing Approach Based On A Potential Game-Theoretic Model, Md Sadman Siraj

Electrical and Computer Engineering ETDs

This thesis addresses the challenge of designing of alternative Positioning, Navigation, and Timing (PNT) solutions. Inspired by the evolution of biological ecosystems, we introduce a novel symbiotic PNT solution, based on the principles of Game Theory and the exploitation of Reconfigurable Intelligent Surfaces (RISs). A set of actors, consisting of anchor nodes and RISs with known coordinates, collaborator nodes having a rough estimate of their positions, and targets of unknown positions, are cooperating to accurately determine the targets’ positioning and timing. The key objective is to minimize the estimation error of each target and collaborator node, as well as of …

Control Of Fully-Actuated Aerial Manipulators And Omni-Directional Multirotors, Riley M. Mccarthy

Mechanical Engineering ETDs

This thesis details the system modeling, design, control, simulation, construction, and
testing of both a fully-actuated and omni-directional multirotor aerial system created
for the primary purpose of performing active tasks with their environment. This work
verifies the capabilities of both systems through empirical testing, and demonstrates
how through the use of new control methods and physical designs multirotors can
expand their purpose from passive inspection based tasks to active contact based
tasks. These systems take advantage of newly implemented control allocation features present in the PX4 flight control software, version 1.14. The use of which makes designing controllers for such …

Design, Fabrication And Characterization Of Zero Power Sensor/Harvester For Smart Grid Applications, Zeynel Guler

Mechanical Engineering ETDs

This study presents a flexible sensor/harvester device to be used in both electromagnetic sensing and energy harvesting applications for smart grids. When a current passes through a wire, the sensor detects the magnetic field created by that current. The sensor magnet interacts with the wire magnetic field resulting in a transfer of energy through the piezoelectric cantilever. Piezoelectric, conductive, magnetic, and magnetostrictive composite thin films were prepared to fabricate this device.

Initially, the magnet of the cantilever was optimized considering its shape, thickness, length, taper angle etc. via both simulations and experiments. Peak to peak voltage versus cantilever position graph …

Location Aware Task Offloading Framework For Edge Computing Empowered By Reconfigurable Intelligent Surfaces, Md Sahabul Hossain

Electrical and Computer Engineering ETDs

In this thesis, an energy efficient task offloading mechanism in a multi-access edge computing (MEC) environment is introduced, based on the principles of Contract Theory. The technology of Reconfigurable Intelligent Surfaces (RIS) is adopted and serves as the enabler for the energy efficient task offloading, from the perspective of location-awareness and improved communication environment. Initially a novel positioning, navigation, and timing solution is designed, based on the RIS technology and an artificial intelligent method that selects a set of RISs to perform the multilateration technique and determine the Internet of Things (IoT) nodes’ positions in an efficient and accurate manner …

Ai Assisted Workflows For Computational Electromagnetics And Antenna Design, Oameed Noakoasteen

Electrical and Computer Engineering ETDs

These days large volumes of data can be recorded and manipulated with relative ease. If valuable information can be extracted from them, these vast amounts of data can be a rich resource not just for the digital economy but also for scientific discovery and development of technology. When it comes to deriving valuable information from data, Machine Learning (ML) emerges as the key solution. To unlock the potential benefits of ML to science and technology, extensive research is needed to explore what algorithms are suitable and how they can be applied.

To shine light on various ways that ML can …

A Moving Target Architecture As A Side-Channel Countermeasure, Rachel M. Cazzola

Electrical and Computer Engineering ETDs

We investigate a novel side-channel attack countermeasure called Side-channel Power analysis Resistance for Encryption Algorithms using Dynamic partial reconfiguration (SPREAD). The countermeasure leverages a strategy that is best characterized as a moving target architecture. Modern field-programmable gate array (FPGA) architectures provide support for dynamic partial reconfiguration (DPR), a feature that allows real-time reconfiguration of portions of the programmable logic (PL) while the FPGA continues to carry out computing tasks. Using the Advanced Encryption Standard (AES), the proposed moving target architecture leverages DPR to change the implementation characteristics of the substitution boxes (SBOX) in real time. We present experimental hardware results …