Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

The Effect Of Nanomorphology As Quantified Via The K‑Index On The Drug Delivery Properties Of Isocyanate-Derived Aerogels, Stephen Y. Owusu, A. B. M. Shaheen Ud Doulah, Vaibhav A. Edlabadkar, Kamden J. George, Chariklia Sotiriou-Leventis

Miners Solving for Tomorrow Research Conference

No abstract provided.

Amorphous Metal Transparent Conducting Oxide P-Type Semiconductors, Joshua Santy

Miners Solving for Tomorrow Research Conference

No abstract provided.

Fractional Brownian Motion With Mean-Density Interaction, Jonathan House, Skirmantas Janusonis, Ralf Metzler, Thomas Vojta

Miners Solving for Tomorrow Research Conference

No abstract provided.

Palynological Analysis To Interpret Inputs And Paleoenvironmental Conditions Of Tidal Flat Sediments In The Wouri Estuary, Rahmatoulaye Thialaw Diop, Fatou Penda Cisse, Maguette Ka, Onema Adojoh, Henry Agbogun

SACAD: Scholarly Activities

This study examines the environmental significance of microfossils in specifically pollens, spore and cuticles in understanding paleoenvironment and sediments inputs in Tidal flats in the tropical Wouri estuary. Palynological slides of sediments from different depths with two sediment cores from the east and Western flanks of the Wouri estuary were examined using a trinocular microscope. Results showed the predominance of pollens families of Rhizophoraceae and Poaceae at different depths. Cuticles also varied with depth in both the West and east Wouri sediments cores. The Rhizophoraceae family are interpreted to indicate coastal and mangrove environment inputs into the sediments of the …

Reframing Information Seeking In The Age Of Generative Ai: A Critical And Humanistic Approach, Joseph Kevin Sebastian

Library Faculty Research

Information-seeking has long been the subject of theoretical modeling, often drawing from cognitive, behavioral, computational, and even evolutionary perspectives to explain how individuals navigate, filter, and utilize information. Several dominant frameworks—Carol Kuhlthau’s Information Search Process, Marcia Bates’ Berrypicking Model, Peter Pirolli & Stuart Card’s Information Foraging Theory, Kiyohiko Nakamura’s Information Criteria framework, and Ian Ruthven’s Information Shaping Theory —have provided structured ways of understanding how people interact with information environments. However, while these frameworks offer valuable insights, they often operate within mechanistic or efficiency-driven paradigms, which risk overlooking the complex, embodied, and socioculturally situated nature of human information behaviors. These …

Integrating Standards For Infrastructure Improvement And Resilience In University Curricula, Lisa Greenwood, Jennifer Schneider, Sumita Mishra, Yewande S. Abraham, Shriram Karpoora Sundara Pandian

Articles

In today’s ever-changing world, we are increasingly vulnerable to shocks and stresses that disrupt industry and society. Persistent threats from natural and manmade hazards require our communities and infrastructure to be resilient despite possible disruption. Creating robust infrastructures is founded on operational and physical standards to withstand and respond to threats such as environmental exposures, climate change, and informational security breaches. The significant U.S. investment in infrastructure projects through the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act has amplified the need for professionals in engineering and related fields who – in addition to technical knowledge - possess the necessary knowledge and skill …

Water Holding Capacity Of Soil And Resilience To Drought, Taro Mieno

Cornhusker Economics

For the past two years, I have been involved in an NSF-funded research project titled “RII Track-2 FEC: Supporting Rural Livelihoods in the Water-Stressed Central High Plains.” The overarching goal of this project is to evaluate the potential of microbials and biochar to enhance soil water holding capacity (hereafter, WHC), thereby improving drought resilience in crop production and reducing irrigation demand to slow aquifer depletion. Visit the project website for more details. A key component of this research is assessing the economic viability of these interventions, a task for which I am responsible.

To understand the economic benefits of increasing …

Stealthy Query-Efficient Opaqueattack Against Interpretable Deep Learning, Eldor Abdukhamidov, Mohammed Abuhamad, Simon S. Woo, Eric Chan-Tin, Tamer Abuhmed

Computer Science: Faculty Publications and Other Works

Deep neural network (DNN) models are susceptible to adversarial samples in white-box and opaqueenvironments. Although previous studies have shown high attack success rates, coupling DNN models with interpretation models could offer a sense of security when a human expert is involved. However, in white-box environments, interpretable deep learning systems (IDLSes) have been shown to be vulnerable to malicious manipulations. As access to the components of IDLSes is limited in opaquesettings, it becomes more challenging for the adversary to fool the system. In this work, we propose a Query-efficient Score-based opaque attack against IDLSes, which requires no knowledge of the target …

Development And Application Of Self-Supervised Machine Learning For Smoke Plume And Active Fire Identification From The Fire Influence On Regional To Global Environments And Air Quality Datasets, Nicholas Lahaye, Anastasija Easley, Kyongsik Yun, Hugo Lee, Erik Linstead, Michael J. Garay, Olga V. Kalashnikova

Engineering Faculty Articles and Research

Fire Influence on Regional to Global Environments and Air Quality (FIREX-AQ) was a field campaign aimed at better understanding the impact of wildfires and agricultural fires on air quality and climate. The FIREX-AQ campaign took place in August 2019 and involved two aircraft and multiple coordinated satellite observations. This study applied and evaluated a self-supervised machine learning (ML) method for the active fire and smoke plume identification and tracking in the satellite and sub-orbital remote sensing datasets collected during the campaign. Our unique methodology combines remote sensing observations with different spatial and spectral resolutions. With as much as a 10% …

Chain Theorems For Different Classes Of 3-Connected Graphs, Avin Sunuwar

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

This dissertation explores the structural properties of graphs by extending the classical result of Tutte's Wheel Theorem. In particular, we develop an improved version of Tutte's Wheel Theorem along with new chain theorems for subclasses of 3-connected graphs. These chain theorems provide a systematic approach to characterizing graphs that exclude certain minors, leading to significantly shorter proofs of established results.

In Chapter 5, we present a generalization of the block-tree theorem for connected graphs, which removes the restriction on cut vertices and allows greater flexibility in separator sizes. By integrating the results from Chapters 3, 4, and 5, we …

Optimizing Fisher Information In Quantum Technology, Bran Purvis

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Fisher information is a statistical metric whose inverse represents a lower bound on the variance of an unbiased estimator. Naturally, in order to make the best estimates of a given unknown parameter, one would desire to find ways to minimize the value of this lower bound. Thus, the Fisher information can also be used to compare the quality of different estimators for a given parameter: whichever estimator has a lower value for its Fisher information must also provide better estimates. The same holds true in the framework of quantum information theory, where an analog to the Fisher information, dubbed quantum …

Identifying Saharan Air Layer Events And Their Relationship To Instability And Rainfall Patterns In The Tropical North Atlantic Ocean, Charles H. Dolce

LSU Master's Theses

Every year, strong North African winds across the Sahara loft dust particles and advect them westward within the Saharan Air Layer (SAL). These plumes of dust often reach the Caribbean Sea and can heavily affect regional weather patterns by suppressing convection. When concentrations are high, decreased rainfall can yield negative societal and ecological impacts, potentially leading to drought. The Puerto Rican early rainfall season (ERS), spanning from 1 April through 31 July, overlaps with Saharan dust migration periods, and systematically detecting instances of SAL activity near the island is important for understanding longer-term drought-forcing trends in the region.

Corridors of …

Gaussian Quantum Markov Semigroups In The Fock-Anti-Fock Representation Of Weyl Algebra, A Dhahri, Franco Fagnola, D Poletti, Hyun Jae Yoo

Journal of Stochastic Analysis

No abstract provided.

7 Plus Minus 2 Law Revisited: Alternative Geometric Explanation, Mayan Arithmetic, And Using 9- And 18-Based Numbers In Jewish Tradition, Julio C. Urenda, Olga Kosheleva, Vladik Kreinovich

Departmental Technical Reports (CS)

A recent paper showed that to make sure that the movements in the crowd are not chaotic, the directions of all the motions should deviate from some fixed direction by no more than 13 degrees. We show that this results provides a new geometric explanation for the seven plus minus two law in psychology, according to which we can keep in mind no more than 7 plus minus 2 items. We also show that all this is related to the somewhat mysterious appearance of 9- and 18-based number systems in Jewish and Mayan traditions.

Why Um And U*Log(U) Are The Most Effective Nonlinear Functions In Fuzzy Clustering: Theoretical Explanation Of The Empirical Fact, Olga Kosheleva, Vladik Kreinovich, Yuchi Kanzawa

Departmental Technical Reports (CS)

In fuzzy clustering, we need to have non-linear functions of the membership degrees. Different nonlinear functions have been tried. Empirical evidence shows that for fuzzy clustering, the most effective nonlinear functions are um and u*log(u). In this paper, we provide a theoretical explanation for this empirical fact.

Egyptian Triangle And Geometry Of Airplane Wings: A Simplified Explanation, Julio C. Urenda, Olga Kosheleva, Vladik Kreinovich

Departmental Technical Reports (CS)

In historically first planes, wings were orthogonal to the fuselage. However, later it turned out that from the aerodynamic viewpoint, it is most efficient to place the wings at about 37 degrees from this orthogonal direction -- and this is where wings are placed in most modern planes. There exist theoretical explanations for this optimality -- explanations based on solving the equations of aerodynamics. In such situations when only a complex not-very-intuitive explanation exists, it is desirable to come up with a simpler more intuitive explanation. For the wing angles, such an explanation is provided in this paper. Namely, we …

"At Least K Out Of N" Under Fuzzy Uncertainty: Efficient Algorithm For General "And"-Operations, Olga Kosheleva, Vladik Kreinovich, Klaus-Peter Adlassnig

Departmental Technical Reports (CS)

In medicine, many diagnoses are made when, for some value k, at least k of n possible symptoms are present. Many of such symptoms -- such as fever -- are, in reality, fuzzy. For example, it makes no sense that say that 38.0 is fever while 37.9 is not a fever, both are fever to some degree. Once such degrees are given, we need to use them to estimate the degree to which the patient has the corresponding disease. For this problem, the usual fuzzy techniques require exponentially many computational steps -- so it is desirable to have a more …

Why Interval-Valued (And Type-2) Fuzzy Methods Are Often More Effective, Christian Servin, Olga Kosheleva, Vladik Kreinovich

Departmental Technical Reports (CS)

Interval-valued and type-2 fuzzy techniques were designed to provide a more adequate representation of expert knowledge than the traditional (type-1) fuzzy techniques. Somewhat unexpectedly, they also often turn out to be more effective even when there is no expert knowledge at all -- when we are simply using fuzzy rules to fit experimental data. In precise terms, for the same number of parameters, interval-valued and type-2 systems often provide a better fit for the data and/or better quality control than traditional (type-1) fuzzy techniques. In this paper, we provide a theoretical explanation for this surprising phenomenon.

Why Convex Combinations Of Interval Endpoints: Related Explanations For Cases Of Data Processing And Decision Making, Christian Servin, Olga Kosheleva, Vladik Kreinovich

Departmental Technical Reports (CS)

There are two cases in which it has been empirically shown that a convex combination of the interval's endpoints works better than any other combination: processing interval data and dealing with situations in which we know both approximate probability and possibility and we need to make a decision. In this paper, we provide an explanation of both phenomena.

Ceker: A Generalizable Llm Framework For Literature Analysis With A Case Study In Unikernel Security, Alex Wollman, John Hastings

Research & Publications

Literature reviews are a critical component of formulating and justifying new research, but are a manual and often time-consuming process. This research introduces a novel, generalizable approach to literature analysis called CEKER which uses a three-step process to streamline the collection of literature, the extraction of key insights, and the summarized analysis of key trends and gaps. Leveraging Large Language Models (LLMs), this methodology represents a significant shift from traditional manual literature reviews, offering a scalable, flexible, and repeatable approach that can be applied across diverse research domains. A case study on unikernel security illustrates CEKER's ability to generate novel …

Parameter Estimation Of Binary Black Hole Coalescence Using Lstm Neural Networks, Lane Scheel

Undergraduate Honors Papers

The Advanced Laser Interferometer Gravitational Wave Observatory (aLIGO) made its first detection of gravitational waves in 2015. Since then, the rate of event detection has only increased, with a detection being made every 2-3 days during the current observing run, O4. This rapid influx of data has the potential to create bottle-necks in data analysis efforts, and can delay the scientific progress which require those efforts. Traditional gravitational wave data analysis techniques, such as matched filtering, require extremely large template banks of synthetic gravitational waveforms and can often fail to provide meaningful limits on system parameters. Not only is this …

Number Talks To Promote Discourse In The Algebra 1 Classroom: A Number Talk Curriculum Development For A Unit On Quadratic Expressions, Lindsay C. Borger

Masters Theses/Capstone Projects

This project sought to develop a curriculum of Number Talks for use at the secondary level, specifically in an Algebra 1 class as a supplement to a unit on quadratic expressions. The project begins with a look at existing research on constructivism and social constructionism as well as the reforms in mathematics education informed by those learning theories. It then looks at calls for more discourse in the mathematics classroom as a part of these reform efforts, and the part Number Talks play in fostering discourse and mathematical thinking for students. The Number Talk curriculum includes a guide for implementing …

Evaluating Microplastic Removal Efficiency In Portable Filtration Methods, Abagail Dupriest, Abbey Lowe, Allie Smith, Kat Orsi

Expo Student Presentations

2025 Spring Expo Poster Presentation

• Physical & Applied Sciences

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The Effect Of Sampling Approach In One-Dimensional Bayesian Optimization Processes, Erik Jimenez, Renato Camata

Expo Student Presentations

2025 Spring Expo Poster Presentation

• Physical & Applied Sciences

Quarterback Statistics Vs. Season Success, Brendan Woods

Mathematics Senior Capstone Papers

The purpose of this research is to determine which quarterback statistic most significantly impacts team success in the National Football League. By analyzing data from quarterbacks with at least 100 pass attempts per season from 2006 to 2023, we examine the relationship between quarterback rating, passer rating, completion percentage, and TD-INT ratio with end-of-season power rankings. We ran the data through multiple linear regression models to identify which statistic has the strongest correlation with team performance. Our model considers variations across different seasons and accounts for statistical trends over time. With over 17 seasons of data analyzed, further exploration could …

The Effect Of Internal Consistency On Ncaa Women’S Gymnastics Scores, Jordan Williams

Mathematics Senior Capstone Papers

The aim of my research is to examine internal consistency in relation to the validity of scores in NCAA Women’s Gymnastics. This study focuses on scores from the now infamous 2024 Tennessee Collegiate Classic. Patterns from several different deviations and correlation coefficients are analyzed, and a “gold standard” score to test against is created. This allows me to identify several patterns in results that could signify invalid scores.

Handle Traversals Of Toroidal Graphs, Clay Cook

Mathematics Senior Capstone Papers

In this paper we define a characteristic of toroidal graphs called the handle number. The handle number is the minimum number of edges which must traverse the handle in a toroidal embedding of a graph. After defining the characteristic, flat polygon projections are used to explore efficient toroidal embeddings. Using this exploration we then show an upper bound for the handle number of toroidal graphs. Finally, we prove an inequality between the handle number and graph skewness and conjecture an equality.

Faculty Diversity And Minority Enrollment In Advanced Stem Courses: A Case Study At Neville High School, Anaya Cormier

Mathematics Senior Capstone Papers

This study investigates the correlation between the diversity of STEM faculty and the enrollment rates of minority students in honors, Advanced Placement (AP), and dual enrollment STEM courses at Neville High School. Recognizing the long-standing underrepresented minority students in advanced STEM education, this research explores whether a more diverse faculty positively influences student participation in these courses. Using a quantitative correlational design, data on faculty demographics and student enrollment patterns were analyzed through descriptive statistics and chi-square tests of independence. The results are expected to provide information on the role of faculty diversity in fostering equitable academic opportunities. The findings …

An Analysis Of The Alaskan Salmon Harvest, Carson Allen

Mathematics Senior Capstone Papers

The objective of this paper is to analyze the annual Alaskan salmon harvest and the variables that effect the harvest differently each year. Every year, thousands of workers’ livelihoods depend on the annual salmon harvest to provide for themselves and their families. This paper takes this reality and aims to use data gathered from previous fishing seasons to understand what variables affect the salmon population. To analyze the salmon harvest, multiple linear regression will be used over a 41 year period with variables including water temperature, air temperature, yearly harvest, and species of salmon. By modeling these and other variables, …

Explorations Of Plane Graphs With No Odd Faces, Collyn Valentine

Mathematics Senior Capstone Papers

In this paper, we will explore the intersection of two classes of graphs which are foundational in graph theory. The class of planar graphs, P, and the class of bipartite graphs, χ2. In particular, we will explore the edge-maximal graphs in the intersection. Excluded minors are well studied, and the two fundamental operations of deletion and contraction have become core to the field. The focus of our work is to consider the operations in reverse – that is, through single-edge extensions and single-edge co-extensions in the class P ∩ χ2, namely those graphs that are planar having chromatic number 2.