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Air Force Institute of Technology

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Articles 1321 - 1350 of 3057

Full-Text Articles in Physical Sciences and Mathematics

Electronic Device, Display And Touch-Sensitive User Interface (Nov 2012), Michael E. Miller, Jerald J. Muszak, Michael J. Telek Nov 2012

Electronic Device, Display And Touch-Sensitive User Interface (Nov 2012), Michael E. Miller, Jerald J. Muszak, Michael J. Telek

AFIT Patents

Display devices and methods for operating the same are provided. In one embodiment, the display device has an electronic display having an active area for presenting visual content; a housing holding the electronic display and having an opening allowing a person to view a first portion of the active area; and a bezel about the opening, the bezel covering a second portion of the active area and providing a window through which at least a part of the second portion can be viewed. A sensor system senses when a person is close to touching the bezel or when a person …

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Emulation-Based Software Protection, William B. Kimball, Rusty O. Baldwin Oct 2012

Emulation-Based Software Protection, William B. Kimball, Rusty O. Baldwin

AFIT Patents

A method of emulation-based page granularity code signing comprising the steps of: copying guest operating system instructions and associated hash message authentication codes and/or digital signatures of each guest operating instruction from an untrusted guest operating system memory into a trusted host operating system memory; recomputing the hash message authentication codes using a secret key in the trusted host operating system memory; maintaining the secret key in the trusted host operating system memory and inaccessible by the untrusted guest operating system instructions; translating each guest operating system instruction that has a valid hash message authentication code to a set of …

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Degenerate Parallel Conducting Layer And Conductivity Type Conversion Observed From P-Ge1 - YSnY (Y = 0.06%) Grown On N-Si Substrate, Mee-Yi Ryu, Yung Kee Yeo, M. Ahoujja, Thomas R. Harris, Richard T. Beeler, John Kouvetakis Sep 2012

Degenerate Parallel Conducting Layer And Conductivity Type Conversion Observed From P-Ge1 - YSnY (Y = 0.06%) Grown On N-Si Substrate, Mee-Yi Ryu, Yung Kee Yeo, M. Ahoujja, Thomas R. Harris, Richard T. Beeler, John Kouvetakis

Faculty Publications

Electrical properties of p-Ge1−ySny (y = 0.06%) grown on n-Si substrate were investigated through temperature-dependent Hall-effect measurements. It was found that there exists a degenerate parallel conducting layer in Ge1−ySny/Si and a second, deeper acceptor in addition to a shallow acceptor. This parallel conducting layer dominates the electrical properties of the Ge1−ySny layer below 50 K and also significantly affects those properties at higher temperatures. Additionally, a conductivity type conversion from p to n was observed around 370 K for this sample. A two-layer conducting model was used …

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Investigation Of Diode Pumped Alkali Laser Atmospheric Transmission Using Tunable Diode Laser Absorption Spectroscopy, Christopher A. Rice Sep 2012

Investigation Of Diode Pumped Alkali Laser Atmospheric Transmission Using Tunable Diode Laser Absorption Spectroscopy, Christopher A. Rice

Theses and Dissertations

A field deployable, tunable diode laser absorption spectroscopy (TDLAS) device fiber coupled to a pair of 12.5" Ritchey-Chretien telescopes was used to study atmospheric propagation for open path lengths of 100 m to 1,000 m to estimate atmospheric transmission at key High Energy Laser (HEL) wavelengths. The potassium (K) version of the Diode Pumped Alkali Laser (DPAL) operates in between two of the sharp oxygen rotational features in the PP and the PQ branches. Initial experiments were performed in the vicinity of molecular oxygen X3Σ-g to b1Σ+g electronic transition lines near the potassium emission line at 770 nm. More than …

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Effects Of Architecture On Information Leakage Of A Hardware Advanced Encryption Standard Implementation, Eric A. Koziel Sep 2012

Effects Of Architecture On Information Leakage Of A Hardware Advanced Encryption Standard Implementation, Eric A. Koziel

Theses and Dissertations

Side-channel analysis (SCA) is a threat to many modern cryptosystems. Many countermeasures exist, but are costly to implement and still do not provide complete protection against SCA. A plausible alternative is to design the cryptosystem using architectures that are known to leak little information about the cryptosystem's operations. This research uses several common primitive architectures for the Advanced Encryption Standard (AES) and assesses the susceptibility of the full AES system to side-channel attack for various primitive configurations. A combined encryption/decryption core is also evaluated to determine if variation of high-level architectures affects leakage characteristics. These different configurations are evaluated under …

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Creating Network Attack Priority Lists By Analyzing Email Traffic Using Predefined Profiles, Eric J. Merrit Sep 2012

Creating Network Attack Priority Lists By Analyzing Email Traffic Using Predefined Profiles, Eric J. Merrit

Theses and Dissertations

Networks can be vast and complicated entities consisting of both servers and workstations that contain information sought by attackers. Searching for specific data in a large network can be a time consuming process. Vast amounts of data either passes through or is stored by various servers on the network. However, intermediate work products are often kept solely on workstations. Potential high value targets can be passively identified by comparing user email traffic against predefined profiles. This method provides a potentially smaller footprint on target systems, less human interaction, and increased efficiency of attackers. Collecting user email traffic and comparing each …

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Quantifying Performance Bias In Label Fusion, Alexander M. Venzin Sep 2012

Quantifying Performance Bias In Label Fusion, Alexander M. Venzin

Theses and Dissertations

Classification systems are employed to remotely assess whether an element of interest falls into a target class or non-target class. These systems have uses in fields as far ranging as biostatistics to search engine keyword analysis. The performance of the system is often summarized as a trade-off between the proportions of elements correctly labeled as target plotted against the number of elements incorrectly labeled as target. These are empirical estimates of the true positive and false positive rates. These rates are often plotted to create a receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve that acts as a visual tool to assess classification …

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Utilizing Graphics Processing Units For Network Anomaly Detection, Jonathan D. Hersack Sep 2012

Utilizing Graphics Processing Units For Network Anomaly Detection, Jonathan D. Hersack

Theses and Dissertations

This research explores the benefits of using commonly-available graphics processing units (GPUs) to perform classification of network traffic using supervised machine learning algorithms. Two full factorial experiments are conducted using a NVIDIA GeForce GTX 280 graphics card. The goal of the first experiment is to create a baseline for the relative performance of the CPU and GPU implementations of artificial neural network (ANN) and support vector machine (SVM) detection methods under varying loads. The goal of the second experiment is to determine the optimal ensemble configuration for classifying processed packet payloads using the GPU anomaly detector. The GPU ANN achieves …

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Mapping Nuclear Fallout Using The Weather Research & Forecasting (Wrf) Model, Joseph C. Schofield Sep 2012

Mapping Nuclear Fallout Using The Weather Research & Forecasting (Wrf) Model, Joseph C. Schofield

Theses and Dissertations

There are many models that attempt to predict transport & dispersion (T&D) of particulate matter in the sensible atmosphere. The majority of these existing models are unable to incorporate atmospheric processes such wet deposition through scavenging and cloud condensation nuclei (CCN) formation. To this end, the numerical weather prediction (NWP) model known as the Weather Research & Forecasting with Chemistry (WRF/Chem) Model is studied to determine its suitability as a potential tool for predicting particulate T&D following an atmospheric nuclear detonation. This is done by modifying relevant modules, originally designed to predict the settling of volcanic ash, such that a …

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Eliciting A Sensemaking Process From Verbal Protocols Of Reverse Engineers, Adam R. Bryant, Robert F. Mills, Gilbert L. Peterson, Michael R. Grimaila Aug 2012

Eliciting A Sensemaking Process From Verbal Protocols Of Reverse Engineers, Adam R. Bryant, Robert F. Mills, Gilbert L. Peterson, Michael R. Grimaila

Faculty Publications

A process of sensemaking in reverse engineering was elicited from verbal protocols of reverse engineers as they investigated the assembly code of executable programs. Four participants were observed during task performance and verbal protocols were collected and analyzed from two of the participants to determine their problem-solving states and characterize likely transitions between those states. From this analysis, a high-level process of sensemaking is described which represents hypothesis generation and information-seeking behaviors in reverse engineering within a framework of goal-directed planning. Future work in validation and application of the process is discussed.

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Design And Analysis Of A Dynamically Configured Log-Based Distributed Security Event Detection Methodology, Michael R. Grimaila, Justin M. Myers, Robert F. Mills, Gilbert L. Peterson Jul 2012

Design And Analysis Of A Dynamically Configured Log-Based Distributed Security Event Detection Methodology, Michael R. Grimaila, Justin M. Myers, Robert F. Mills, Gilbert L. Peterson

Faculty Publications

Military and defense organizations rely upon the security of data stored in, and communicated through, their cyber infrastructure to fulfill their mission objectives. It is essential to identify threats to the cyber infrastructure in a timely manner, so that mission risks can be recognized and mitigated. Centralized event logging and correlation is a proven method for identifying threats to cyber resources. However, centralized event logging is inflexible and does not scale well, because it consumes excessive network bandwidth and imposes significant storage and processing requirements on the central event log server. In this paper, we present a flexible, distributed event …

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Half-Life Learning Curves In The Defense Acquisition Life Cycle, Adedeji B. Badiru Jul 2012

Half-Life Learning Curves In The Defense Acquisition Life Cycle, Adedeji B. Badiru

Faculty Publications

Learning curves are useful for assessing performance improvement due to the positive impact of learning. In recent years, the deleterious effects of forgetting have also been recognized. Workers experience forgetting or decline in performance over time. Consequently, contemporary learning curves have attempted to incorporate forgetting components into learning curves. An area of increasing interest is the study of how fast and how far the forgetting impact can influence overall performance. This article introduces the concept of half-life analysis of learning curves using the concept of growth and decay, with particular emphasis on applications in the defense acquisition process. The computational …

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Using Modeling And Simulation To Examine The Benefits Of A Network Tasking Order, Matthew D. Compton, Kenneth M. Hopkinson, Gilbert L. Peterson, James T. Moore Jul 2012

Using Modeling And Simulation To Examine The Benefits Of A Network Tasking Order, Matthew D. Compton, Kenneth M. Hopkinson, Gilbert L. Peterson, James T. Moore

Faculty Publications

The Global Information Grid (GIG) is the military’s computer and communications network which supports the myriad of military missions. Military missions are highly planned, passing through many hands in the strategy-to-task methodology to ensure completeness, accuracy, coordination, cohesion, and appropriateness. A benefit of this planning is the possibility to collect knowledge of future conditions that could be of use to network designers whose goals include optimizing and protecting the GIG. This advanced knowledge includes which networked military equipment will be involved, what their capabilities are, where they will be, when they will be there, and particulars on the required data …

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Decentralized Riemannian Particle Filtering With Applications To Multi-Agent Localization, Martin J. Eilders Jun 2012

Decentralized Riemannian Particle Filtering With Applications To Multi-Agent Localization, Martin J. Eilders

Theses and Dissertations

The primary focus of this research is to develop consistent nonlinear decentralized particle filtering approaches to the problem of multiple agent localization. A key aspect in our development is the use of Riemannian geometry to exploit the inherently non-Euclidean characteristics that are typical when considering multiple agent localization scenarios. A decentralized formulation is considered due to the practical advantages it provides over centralized fusion architectures. Inspiration is taken from the relatively new field of information geometry and the more established research field of computer vision. Differential geometric tools such as manifolds, geodesics, tangent spaces, exponential, and logarithmic mappings are used …

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The White-Hat Bot: A Novel Botnet Defense Strategy, Tyrone C. Gubler Jun 2012

The White-Hat Bot: A Novel Botnet Defense Strategy, Tyrone C. Gubler

Theses and Dissertations

Botnets are a threat to computer systems and users around the world. Botmasters can range from annoying spam email propagators to nefarious criminals. These criminals attempt to take down networks or web servers through distributed denial-of-service attacks, to steal corporate secrets, or to launder money from individuals or corporations. As the number and severity of successful botnet attacks rise, computer security experts need to develop better early-detection and removal techniques to protect computer networks and individual computer users from these very real threats. I will define botnets and describe some of their common purposes and current uses. Next, I will …

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Forensic Memory Analysis For Apple Os X, Andrew F. Hay Jun 2012

Forensic Memory Analysis For Apple Os X, Andrew F. Hay

Theses and Dissertations

Analysis of raw memory dumps has become a critical capability in digital forensics because it gives insight into the state of a system that cannot be fully represented through traditional disk analysis. Interest in memory forensics has grown steadily in recent years, with a focus on the Microsoft Windows operating systems. However, similar capabilities for Linux and Apple OS X have lagged by comparison. The volafox open source project has begun work on structured memory analysis for OS X. The tool currently supports a limited set of kernel structures to parse hardware information, system build number, process listing, loaded kernel …

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Enhancing Trust In The Smart Grid By Applying A Modified Exponentially Weighted Averages Algorithm, Andrew T. Kasperek Jun 2012

Enhancing Trust In The Smart Grid By Applying A Modified Exponentially Weighted Averages Algorithm, Andrew T. Kasperek

Theses and Dissertations

The main contribution of this thesis is the development and application of a modified Exponentially Weighted Moving Algorithm (EWMA) algorithm, and its ability to robustly function in the face varying numbers of bad (malicious or malfunctioning) Special Protection System (SPS) nodes. Simulation results support the use of the proposed modified EWMA reputation based trust module in SPSs within a smart grid environment. This modification results in the ability to easily maintain the system above the minimum acceptable frequency of 58.8 Hz at the 95% confidence interval, when challenged with test cases containing 5, 10 and 15 bad node test cases …

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Process Flow Features As A Host-Based Event Knowledge Representation, Benhur E. Pacer Jun 2012

Process Flow Features As A Host-Based Event Knowledge Representation, Benhur E. Pacer

Theses and Dissertations

The detection of malware is of great importance but even non-malicious software can be used for malicious purposes. Monitoring processes and their associated information can characterize normal behavior and help identify malicious processes or malicious use of normal process by measuring deviations from the learned baseline. This exploratory research describes a novel host feature generation process that calculates statistics of an executing process during a window of time called a process flow. Process flows are calculated from key process data structures extracted from computer memory using virtual machine introspection. Each flow cluster generated using k-means of the flow features represents …

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Calibration Of A Silver Detector Using A Pube Source, Melanie E. Mace Jun 2012

Calibration Of A Silver Detector Using A Pube Source, Melanie E. Mace

Theses and Dissertations

During the initial design of the Field Reversed Compression and Heating Experiment (FRCHX), magnetohydrodynamic simulations performed by Los Alamos National Laboratory using MACH2 predicted a neutron yield on the order of 1012 neutrons. However, Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) measurements indicate a total of 107-108 neutrons are generated from the FRCHX. A PuBe source was used to create a burst of neutrons to calibrate an AFRL silver detector based on distance to determine if the four order of magnitude discrepancy was cause by an improperly calibrated detector. It was determined that the calibration equation in use …

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Vulnerability Analysis Of The Player Command And Control Protocol, John T. Hagen Jun 2012

Vulnerability Analysis Of The Player Command And Control Protocol, John T. Hagen

Theses and Dissertations

The Player project is an open-source effort providing a control interface specification and software framework for abstracting robot hardware. This research presents five exploits that compromise vulnerabilities in Player's command and control protocol. The attacks exploit weaknesses in the ARP, IP, TCP and Player protocols to compromise the confidentially, integrity, and availability of communication between a Player client and server. The attacks assume a laptop is connected in promiscuous mode to the same Ethernet hub as the client and server in order to sniff all network traffic between them. This work also demonstrates that Internet Protocol Security (IPsec) is capable …

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Cross Hallway Detection And Indoor Localization Using Flash Laser Detection And Ranging, Istvan M. Prileszky Jun 2012

Cross Hallway Detection And Indoor Localization Using Flash Laser Detection And Ranging, Istvan M. Prileszky

Theses and Dissertations

A flash LADAR is investigated as a source of navigation information to support cross-hallway detection and relative localization. To accomplish this, a dynamic, flexible simulation was developed that simulated the LADAR and the noise of a LADAR system. Using simulated LADAR data, algorithms were developed that were shown to be effective at detecting cross hallways in simulated ideal environments and in simulated environments with noise. Relative position was determined in the same situations. A SwissRanger SR4000 flash LADAR was then used to collect real data and to verify algorithm performance in real environments. Hallway detection was shown to be possible …

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Resource Provisioning In Large-Scale Self-Organizing Distributed Systems, M. Brent Reynolds Jun 2012

Resource Provisioning In Large-Scale Self-Organizing Distributed Systems, M. Brent Reynolds

Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation researches the mathematical translation of resource provisioning policy into mathematical terms and parameters to solve the on-line service placement problem. A norm called the Provisioning Norm is introduced. Theorems presented in the work show the Provisioning Norm utility function and greedy, random, local search effectively and efficiently solve the on-line problem. Caching of placements is shown to reduce the cost of change but does not improve response time performance. The use of feedback control theory is shown to be effective at significantly improving performance but increases the cost of change. The theoretical results are verified using a decentralized, …

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Implementation Of Branch-Point-Tolerant Wavefront Reconstructor For Strong Turbulence Compensation, Michael J. Steinbock Jun 2012

Implementation Of Branch-Point-Tolerant Wavefront Reconstructor For Strong Turbulence Compensation, Michael J. Steinbock

Theses and Dissertations

Branch points arise in optical transmissions due to strong atmospheric turbulence, long propagation paths, or a combination of both. Unfortunately, these conditions are very often present in desired operational scenarios for laser weapon systems, optical communication, and covert imaging, which suffer greatly when traditional adaptive optics systems either cannot sense branch points or implement non-optimal methods for sensing and correcting branch points. Previous research by Pellizzari presented a thorough analysis of various novel branch point tolerant reconstructors in the absence of noise. In this research a realistic model of the Air Force Institute of Technology's adaptive optics system is developed …

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Application Of An Imaging Fourier-Transform Spectrometer For The Means Of Combustion Diagnostics, Michael R. Rhoby Jun 2012

Application Of An Imaging Fourier-Transform Spectrometer For The Means Of Combustion Diagnostics, Michael R. Rhoby

Theses and Dissertations

A passive remote sensing technique for accurately monitoring the combustion efficiency of petrochemical flares is greatly desired. A Phase II DOE-funded SBIR lead by Spectral Sciences, Inc. is underway to develop such a method. This paper presents an overview of the progress of AFIT's contribution. A Telops Hyper-Cam Mid-wave infrared imaging Fourier-transform spectrometer is used to examine a flame produced by a Hencken burner. Ethylene fuel was burned at four different equivalency ratios φ = 0:80; 0:91; 1:0 and 1:25. Presented is qualitative spectrally-resolved visualization of a Hencken burner flame and the spatial distribution of combustion by-products. The flame spectra …

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Short Message Service (Sms) Command And Control (C2) Awareness In Android-Based Smartphones Using Kernel-Level Auditing, Robert J. Olipane Jun 2012

Short Message Service (Sms) Command And Control (C2) Awareness In Android-Based Smartphones Using Kernel-Level Auditing, Robert J. Olipane

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis addresses the emerging threat of botnets in the smartphone domain and focuses on the Android platform and botnets using short message service (SMS) as the command and control (C2) channel. With any botnet, C2 is the most important component contributing to its overall resilience, stealthiness, and effectiveness. This thesis develops a passive host-based approach for identifying covert SMS traffic and providing awareness to the user. Modifying the kernel and implementing this awareness mechanism is achieved by developing and inserting a loadable kernel module that logs all inbound SMS messages as they are sent from the baseband radio to …

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Converting Three-Component To Four-Component Image (2012), Ronald S. Cok, Michael E. Miller May 2012

Converting Three-Component To Four-Component Image (2012), Ronald S. Cok, Michael E. Miller

AFIT Patents

A method of converting a three-or-more-color-component image input signal to an image output signal includes acquiring an input signal having a plurality of pixel signals, each pixel signal having three, or more, color components; determining a residual difference for each color component of each pixel signal; determining a limit value of the residual differences; calculating a common scale factor for each of the color components based upon the limit value; and applying the common scale factor to the image input signal to produce the image output signal.

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Quest Hierarchy For Hyperspectral Face Recognition, David M. Ryer, Trevor J. Bihl, Kenneth W. Bauer Jr., Steven K. Rogers May 2012

Quest Hierarchy For Hyperspectral Face Recognition, David M. Ryer, Trevor J. Bihl, Kenneth W. Bauer Jr., Steven K. Rogers

Faculty Publications

A qualia exploitation of sensor technology (QUEST) motivated architecture using algorithm fusion and adaptive feedback loops for face recognition for hyperspectral imagery (HSI) is presented. QUEST seeks to develop a general purpose computational intelligence system that captures the beneficial engineering aspects of qualia-based solutions. Qualia-based approaches are constructed from subjective representations and have the ability to detect, distinguish, and characterize entities in the environment Adaptive feedback loops are implemented that enhance performance by reducing candidate subjects in the gallery and by injecting additional probe images during the matching process. The architecture presented provides a framework for exploring more advanced integration …

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Electronic Device, Display And Touch-Sensitive User Interface, Michael E. Miller, Jerald J. Muszak, Michael J. Telek Apr 2012

Electronic Device, Display And Touch-Sensitive User Interface, Michael E. Miller, Jerald J. Muszak, Michael J. Telek

AFIT Patents

Display devices and methods for operating the same are provided. In one embodiment, the display device has an electronic display having an active area for presenting visual content; a housing holding the electronic display and having an opening allowing a person to view a first portion of the active area; and a bezel about the opening, the bezel covering a second portion of the active area and providing a window through which at least a part of the second portion can be viewed. A sensor system senses when a person is close to touching the bezel or when a person …

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Using Predictive Analytics To Detect Major Problems In Department Of Defense Acquisition Programs, Austin W. Dowling Mar 2012

Using Predictive Analytics To Detect Major Problems In Department Of Defense Acquisition Programs, Austin W. Dowling

Theses and Dissertations

This research provides program analysts and Department of Defense (DoD) leadership with an approach to identify problems in real-time for acquisition contracts. Specifically, we develop optimization algorithms to detect unusual changes in acquisition programs’ Earned Value data streams. The research is focused on three questions. First, can we predict the contractor provided estimate at complete (EAC)? Second, can we use those predictions to develop an algorithm to determine if a problem will occur in an acquisition program or subprogram? Lastly, can we provide the probability of a problem occurring within a given timeframe? We find three of our models establish …

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Low-Loss Meta-Atom For Improved Resonance Response, Derrick Langley, Ronald Coutu Jr., Peter J. Collins Mar 2012

Low-Loss Meta-Atom For Improved Resonance Response, Derrick Langley, Ronald Coutu Jr., Peter J. Collins

Faculty Publications

Measurements of a meta-atom integrated with a low noise amplifier into the split-ring resonator are presented. A comparison is made between baseline meta-atoms and one integrated with a GaAs low noise amplifier. S-parameter measurements in a RF strip-line show the resonant frequency location. The resonance null is more prominent for the integrated meta-atom. Biasing the low noise amplifier from 0 to 7 VDC showed that the resonant null improved with biasing voltage. As the biasing voltage increases, the transmission null reduced from -11.82 to -23.21 dB for biases from 0 to 7 VDC at resonant frequency.

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