Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

Elephant 2000: A Programming Language For Remembering The Past And Building On It, Kerry J. Holmes

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

Elephant 2000 is a programming language to specify programs that accept user speech as text inputs and outputs speech text. The inputs and outputs are based on Dialogue Act theory which describes several forms of speech outputs, such as requests, questions, and answers. The language also relies on Named Entity Recognition to determine what types of objects a user references. These entities include persons, locations, times and so on. Using these attributes of user speech, a program is able to perform simple rule matching and pattern recognition to respond to input. The result is a programming language with English like …

Comparing The Usage Of React Native And Ionic, Sam Borick

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

This project will compare two popular programming frameworks for building mobile applications. These frameworks are called ‘cross-platform frameworks’ as they can develop applications on multiple platforms. The scope of this project is to understand the structural reasons for the differences in these frameworks. While this project does speculate on reasons for choosing either framework, this project does not attempt to make a hard recommendation.

In this project, I built two applications, as similar as possible, in React Native and Ionic. I found that there were differences in the goals of these frameworks, lending each of the two better to different …

Two Stream Instability In Graphene, Mitchell Duffer

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

Mitchell Duffer

Major: Physics

Project Sponsor: Ben Yu-Kuang Hu

Number of Project Credits: 2

Two Stream Instability in Graphene

We investigate the unstable modes of the two-stream instability in graphene to determine if they can occur. This instability occurs when a population of electrons streams past another inside graphene. We obtain the unstable modes by numerically determining the zeros of the non-equilibrium graphene dielectric function using MATLAB. The dielectric function used in this study, in contrast to previous studies, includes the effects of the particle-hole excitation continuum (PHEC) that normally quells the evolution of unstable plasmons. MATLAB’s built in zero …

Two Notes On A Piano, Samuel Thomas

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

In an increasingly digital world, the analog tends to be neglected in exchange for the convenience and precision of digital devices. However, many analog systems exhibit physical phenomena that can be difficult to reproduce digitally. The purpose of this project is to explore the piano and parts of its sonic character that are not currently accounted for in digital systems. Specifically, when multiple notes are being propagated on a soundboard, they affect each other’s tone because each one changes the state of the soundboard. The effect is evident in the partials of each note: the partials (not quite harmonics but …

Catastrophe Modeling With Financial Applications, Jeremy Gensel

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

Catastrophe modeling is used to prepare for losses caused by natural catastrophes such as earthquakes, hurricanes, or tornadoes and man-made catastrophes such as terrorism. Modeled data can be used to create a comprehensive distribution of possible disasters. The distribution gives probabilities of potential catastrophes of different severities occurring over a certain time frame. Calculating potential losses and probability of those losses occurring allows insurance companies to plan and reserve enough money to protect themselves from catastrophic events. Using a catastrophe case study posted online from the Casualty Actuarial Society and R software, this paper shows the use of statistical techniques …

Pip: An Abstract Dataplane And Virtual Machine, Samuel Goodrick

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

We present an abstract machine and S-expression-based programming language to describe OpenFlow-style software-defined networking. The implemented Pip virtual machine and language provide facilities for packet decoding, safely writing and setting bitfields within packets, and switching based on packet contents. We have outlined an abstract syntax and structural operational semantics for Pip, thus allowing Pip programs to have predictable and provable properties. Pip allows for easy and safe access and writing to packet fields, as well as a programmable packet pipeline that will rarely stall.

Grocery List: An Android Application, Daniel Mcfadden

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

Grocery List is an android application that allows the user to save a grocery list to their device for reference at a store as opposed to the traditional pen and paper. Grocery List was created in Android developer, and uses Java and XML to run the application and display different layouts.

Grocery Lists' main purpose is to be an easy to use, flexible listing application that can serve multiple different listing uses such as grocery lists, to do tasks, and even just some simple reminders.

A Review Of The Utility Of Bayesian Network Models, Luke Magyar

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

Bayesian Networks are probabilistic models built from conditional probability tables that relate two observable instances to one another in parent-child fashion. The networks’ strength lies in their ability to use inferential logic to make likelihood assessments about a parent node based on an observation of its child. Additionally, they make it very easy to combine quantitative data with qualitative knowledge from industry experts. These abilities make them very attractive for use as formulation tools in the paint and rubber industries. Paint and rubber formulation has long proven to be a challenging task because companies have a difficult time compiling the …

Interfacial Corrosion Of Copper And The Formation Of Copper Hydroxychloride, Mary Teague, Shengxi Li, Hongbo Cong

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

Electrical circuitry is an industry, among many others, heavily using the element of copper. Ensuring the mechanical integrity of Cu is crucial, especially in salt environments, for the multifaceted composition of circuits. 4N NaCl solution (equilibrium concentration in ~84% RH) simulated this three-phase system. Rectangular Cu samples were partially immersed in both ambient and continuous lab air sparging atmospheres to understand waterline corrosion of the metal. Open circuit potentials (OCP) were continuously taken during the immersion testing for a maximum of 5 days. A scanning electron microscopy (SEM) equipped with an energy dispersive X-ray spectrometer (EDS), Raman spectroscopy, and 3-D …

Exercising Efficiently With An Equipment Ticketing Mobile Application, Eric Merryman

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

The purpose of this project is to explore the discipline of developing mobile applications using a cross-platform framework. Mobile devices have had a large influence on our lifestyles and with the global mobile application market grossing billions of dollars, many companies are adapting to the change and creating mobile applications for their business. With a variety of competing mobile devices and operating systems, companies must cater to each system. Cross-platform frameworks allow developers to quickly create mobile applications that can be used on many different devices. Xamarin.Forms is a cross-platform framework that allows developers to create a mobile application using …

An Algorithm To Determine All Odd Primitive Abundant Numbers With D Prime Divisors, Jacob Liddy

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

An abundant number is said to be primitive if none of its proper divisors are abundant. Dickson proved that for an arbitrary positive integer d there exists only finitely many odd primitive abundant numbers having exactly d prime divisors. In this paper we describe a fast algorithm that finds all primitive odd numbers with d unique prime divisors. We use this algorithm to find all the number of odd primitive abundant numbers with 6 unique Divisors. We use this algorithm to prove that an odd weird number must have at least 6 prime divisors.

The Importance And Development Of Catastrophe Models, Kevin Schwall

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

The Importance and Development of Catastrophe Models

I thought this was a very interesting project to work on. I was intrigued by catastrophe models and how the insurance industry will be able to use them to better predict natural disasters moving forward. From my research, I found that these models are quite effective, and will only improve as time goes on. As more data is gathered and input into the models, the quality of output will only improve, helping insurers and all of us, in the form of more accurate insurance rates. I was surprised to see just how devastating …

Synthesis Of New Bodipy Analogs, John Dilyard

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

This report examines the synthesis of new ligands based upon dipyrazolylmethane and diindazolylmethane. The goal of these modifications is to increase the acidity of the proton on the methyl carbon to allow for deprotonation. The ligands synthesized were dipyrazolylphenylmethane and diindazolylphenylmethane, as well as modifications of the latter. The products were analyzed by NMR spectroscopy and one crystal structure was obtained of diindazolylphenylmethane.

Effect Of A Pre-Existing Lattice Preferred Orientation On The Strength Of Quartzite, Casey Braccia

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

Ductile deformation of the middle to lower crust during interseismic periods influences loading of brittle faults in the upper crust. Quartz is a common mineral in the middle to lower continental crust and is thought to significantly affect the strength of this zone. Quartz deformed by dislocation creep produces a crystallographic alignment of quartz grains, or lattice preferred orientation (LPO), because deformation is easier along specific crystallographic planes and directions. However, formation of a LPO may cause the strength of the quartz aggregates to be anisotropic, approaching the properties of a single crystal.

In order to determine the viscous anisotropy …

Using A Coupled Bio-Economic Model To Find The Optimal Phosphorus Load In Lake Tainter, Wi, Mackenzie Jones

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

In Dunn County, Wisconsin the lakes suffer from algae blooms due to excess phosphorus runoff. A coupled bio-economic model is studied with the intent of finding the optimal level of phosphorus that should be allowed into the lake depending on certain biologic and economic parameters. We model the algae and phosphorus concentration in the lake over time based off the phosphorus input. Community welfare is modeled by comparing the costs and benefits of phosphorus fertilizer. This model is proposed to find the phosphorus level that maximizes community welfare and then determine how certain environmental and social change initiatives will affect …

A Mathematical Model Of A Corrosion System Containing Inhibitors, Abigael Frey

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

A two dimensional model is developed to describe how organic and inorganic inhibitors slows down the corrosion damage of a coated metal plate that contains a defect. The model contains a metal covered on one side by a coating that contains organic and inorganic inhibitors, electrolytes that are on the outside of the coating, and a small defect in the coating. The defect is an area where the coating is more porous and allows the electrolytes to leak in faster. In this model the organic inhibitor is presumed to be dissolved into the coating and the inorganic inhibitor is released …

Car Insurance Rate-Making With An Eye Toward The Future, Stephen Howard

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

For my project, I investigated car insurance rate-making. I took an in-depth look at the car insurance industry. I also studied driverless cars, and the expected timeline surrounding them. I also took a look at how driverless cars are expected to change the car insurance industry in the coming decades. In general, what I found did not surprise me. I did, however, glean insight from various opinions that I read about how the insurance industry is likely to change. Change of some sort in the car insurance industry is sure to come, with companies likely to become much more multi-faceted. …

Understanding The Nature Of Nanoscale Wetting Through All-Atom Simulations, Oliver Evans

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

The spreading behavior of spherical and cylindrical water droplets between 30Å and 100Å in radius on a sapphire surface is investigated using all-atom molecular dynamics simulations for durations on the order of tens of nanoseconds. A monolayer film develops rapidly and wets the surface, while the bulk of the droplet spreads on top of the monolayer, maintaining the shape of a spherical cap. Unlike previous simulations in the literature, the bulk radius is found to increase to a maximum value and receed as the monolayer continues to expand. Simple time and droplet size dependence is observed for monolayer radius and …

Decision Trees: Predicting Future Losses For Insurance Data, Amanda Lahrmann

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

Big data is a term that has come to the spotlight for companies within recent years. Data analysis and business intelligence have become prominent sectors of companies and agencies. But what is big data? How has it impacted large companies and agencies? Why must it be embraced?

The best way to approach utilizing a big data set is to establish a question to answer. For this data set, the question that must be answered is “What variables cause a loss to occur?” To answer this question, first, we must understand what is meant by a “loss”, and take a look …

An Implementation And Usability Study Of A Natural User Interface Virtual Piano, Zackery Frazier

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

We present an implementation of a Natural User Interface (NUI) virtual piano keyboard. Using the Unity game engine and a Leap Motion hand controller, users are able to use their hands to interact with and play music in a virtual scene. Various approaches were attempted in refining the user experience of the virtual piano, and the successes and shortcomings of each implementation method are outlined and elaborated upon. Additionally, the most successful method, which was achieved by using Unity’s physics engine to detect rigid body collisions between virtual fingers and keys, was used to complete a usability study involving both …

The Rsa Cryptosystem, Rodrigo Iglesias

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

This paper intends to present an overview of the RSA cryptosystem. Cryptosystems are mathematical algorithms that disguise information so that only the people for whom the information is intended can read it. The invention of the RSA cryptosystem in 1977 was a significant event in the history of cryptosystems. We will describe in detail how the RSA cryptosystem works and then illustrate the process with a realistic example using fictional characters. In addition, we will discuss how cryptosystems worked prior to the invention of RSA and the advantage of using RSA over any of the previous cryptosystems. This will help …

Campus Climate Sexual Assault Survey (2015) Analysis, Felicia Rosin

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

The issue of sexual assault has garnered widespread attention in recent years, as is evident by the growing number of high-profile cases and mainstream social movements. With this increasingly bright spotlight, it is no surprise that The University of Akron has interest in improving the sexual violence education programs offered to students. In 2015, the university conducted a survey to gather information on the campus climate surrounding sexual assault. This analysis dives into a deeper analysis of the data gathered in an attempt to pinpoint areas that require the university’s attention. The analysis covers topics identified by Dean of Students …

Functionalizing Titanium Implants With Bioactive Peptides To Increase Osseointegration, Neil Bernard

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

Orthopedic surgeries have continued to increase, but the material of choice remains constant: titanium. Titanium has become the benchmark implant material due to its durability and non-immunogenic properties. However, while high rates of success are correlated with joint replacement surgery, certain patients with predisposed diseases such as diabetes or arthritis may have increased complications.¹ This can be due to lack of osseointegration due to decreased bone formation and mineralization,² which will lead to increased rates of infection or aseptic loosening of the implant from the bone. ³ Current methods to alleviate these complications include invasive revisional surgeries, which …

Multi-Dimensional Mass Spectrometry For The Characterization Of Glycopolymers, Maria Ganios

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

Several glycopolymers synthesized by Activators regenerated by electron transfer atom transfer radical polymerization (ARGET ATRP), were characterized by mass spectrometry to elucidate their microstructure and architecture. Analyses were performed using Matrix Assisted Laser Desorption Ionization- Time of Flight/ Time of Flight (MALDI-ToF/ToF) and Electrospray Ionization Mass Spectrometry (ESI-MS) instruments. The linear isopropylidenated glycopolymer (P65B1) analyzed with ESI-MS also was examined with multi-stage mass spectrometry (MSⁿ) using collision induced dissociation (CID) to examine the tetramer parent ion. This glycopolymer was found to be either cyclic or linear (sans end groups) due to the data being fit for both forms …

Tandem Mass Spectrometry (Ms/Ms) For Determination Of Architecture Of Synthetic Polymers, Shoumik Saha

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

Tandem Mass Spectrometry (MS/MS) was used to determine the architecture of synthetic polymers and they are difluorene-N₃, 3-difluorene-N₃ and VPOSS-3-difluorene. VPOSS materials usually exhibit electrochemical properties and the research was performed to determine their accurate structure and to provide evidence of their proper synthesis. The compounds were mixed with a matrix solution, DCTB, and a silver salt to enable proper protonation. The solvent mixture was on a MALDI plate and then put into the mass spectrometer. The mass spectrum generated was analyzed and each fragment was identified to structures with the synthetic polymers via ChemDraw. Thus, trial …

Comparing Various Machine Learning Statistical Methods Using Variable Differentials To Predict College Basketball, Nicholas Bennett

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

The purpose of this Senior Honors Project is to research, study, and demonstrate newfound knowledge of various machine learning statistical techniques that are not covered in the University of Akron’s statistics major curriculum. This report will be an overview of three machine-learning methods that were used to predict NCAA Basketball results, specifically, the March Madness tournament. The variables used for these methods, models, and tests will include numerous variables kept throughout the season for each team, along with a couple variables that are used by the selection committee when tournament teams are being picked. The end goal is to find …

Continued Monitoring Of The Effects Of Two Dam Removals On The Middle Cuyahoga River Summit County, Ohio, Connor Estes

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

In order to improve water quality of the middle Cuyahoga River, the Munroe Falls and Lefever Dams were removed in 2005, and 2013, respectively. These dam removals have provided an opportunity to quantify how rivers respond to dam removal. This thesis research extends eleven years of river morphology monitoring by measuring channel sedimentologic properties of sediment samples as well as geomorphic transects in 2016 and determined the volume of impoundment sediment prior to the removal of the Munroe Falls Dam.

In the three years following the removal of the Munroe Falls Dam, flow energy increased and the sediment in the …

Smart-Teleprompter: An Online Teleprompter With Text Editing, Mikyla Wilfred

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

Mikyla Wilfred

Major: Computer Science

Project Sponsor: Dr. Collard

Number of Project Credits: 3

Smart-Teleprompter

The smart-teleprompter is a website that allows a logged in user to edit text files as well as teleprompt them straight to the screen. A teleprompter is used by newscasters and other media professionals to read scripts while still looking at or near the camera. My project uses this concept creating a page that defaults to white font on a black background that can scroll through the script. The website allows the logged in user to save defaults of font color, background color, font style …