Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

New Psychoactive Substances Detected In Wastewater Samples Collected Along The Interstate Highway Rest Areas In Kentucky, Durga Prasad Kodati

Murray State Theses and Dissertations

The rapid emergence and proliferation of new psychoactive substances (NPS) pose significant challenges to public health and law enforcement. The potential for abuse and toxicity of these substances, which are intended to mimic the effects of controlled drugs, has been raising concerns as these compounds are designed to evade being regulated. There are traditional methods of tracking NPS, such as seizures and forensic toxicology, but they are delayed and seldom effective because these substances continue to evolve rapidly. Wastewater-based epidemiology (WBE) has emerged as a promising tool for real-time surveillance of drug consumption. The primary objective of this research was …

Data Injustice In Global Justice, Asaf Lubin, Cherry Tang

Articles by Maurer Faculty

In May 2020, the United Nations Secretary-General unveiled a sweeping “Data Strategy for Action by Everyone, Everywhere,” seeking to unlock the UN’s “full data potential.” The International Criminal Court’s Office of the Prosecutor followed suit, declaring in 2023 its intent to acquire advanced cyber forensic tools so as to hold the “widest range of digital evidence globally.” Across international institutions, data-driven governance has become the norm, with humanitarian agencies and tribunals transforming into “data hubs and information clearinghouses.” This Article critiques the unfettered datafication of global justice by international courts and organizations. These entities have aggressively expanded their data-driven operations …

Assessment Of The Genetic Population Structure And Extent Of Clonality In A Rare Serpentine Endemic, Lathyrus Biflorus T.W. Nelson & J.P. Nelson (Fabaceae), Using Ddrad Sequencing, Ashley Dickinson

Cal Poly Humboldt theses and projects

Lathyrus biflorus, or the two-flowered pea, is a rare herbaceous perennial restricted to a single population in Northern California. The species is considered critically imperiled but remains unprotected under state or federal endangered species acts. Despite its rarity, little is known about its life history, reproductive biology, or genetic diversity. Using genome-wide reduced representation sequencing, this study aimed to address these gaps by investigating the molecular evidence of clonality, the number and diversity of genets (unique genetic individuals which can be made up of one or many clonal units or ramets), and overall genetic health of the population. My …

Groundwater Pumping Impacts On Stream Depletion In Humboldt County, Ca: Integrating Analytical Models And Field Data, Andy Hans Heise

Cal Poly Humboldt theses and projects

This study addresses the significant concern of stream depletion from groundwater pumping in Humboldt County, CA. The objective of this study is to develop an analytical model for estimating stream depletion and integrating field data into model parameters.

The methodology involved conducting a field study near three operating wells by a stream, installing stream gages upstream and downstream of the wells, and recording pumping rates and schedules for two of the wells. The third well’s pumping data was synthetically generated, for privacy concerns of the well owner. The StreamDepletR package was used for estimating depletion rates in a stream in …

Home Range, Habitat Use, And Fall Migration Of Lewis’S Woodpeckers In The Eastern Cascade Range, Oregon, Cameron Piper

Cal Poly Humboldt theses and projects

Lewis’s woodpecker (Melanerpes lewis), a burn specialist, is experiencing range-wide population declines despite increasing fire activity in the western U.S. The White River Wildlife Area in Oregon hosts the state's only year-round population, raising questions about their breeding, habitat use, and migration. In summer 2024, we tracked nine woodpeckers using telemetry to estimate home range size and overlap. Full home ranges averaged 428 ha, with 66 ha core areas, and showed evidence of growing after nesting. Home ranges overlapped extensively (Full: 91 ± 13%; Core: 63 ± 29%), though individuals had distinct areas of intense use. Males had …

An Economic And Production Analysis Of Seaweed Farms In California And The Pacific Northwest, Brian Donovan

Cal Poly Humboldt theses and projects

Since the early 2010s, the seaweed aquaculture industry has steadily expanded in the United States, with states like Alaska, Maine, Hawaii, and Connecticut leading the way in the development of this emerging sector. However, information gaps remain concerning certain aspects of the domestic seaweed aquaculture industry. The purpose of this study was to examine the status of the seaweed aquaculture industry along the West Coast of the United States; specifically in the states of California, Oregon, and Washington. Seaweed farmers in these states were invited to voluntarily complete surveys asking important production, economic, and commercial questions regarding their operations. Data …

Common Raven Habitat Selection Along The Northern California Coast, Alon Averbuj

Cal Poly Humboldt theses and projects

Nest predation by common ravens (Corvus corax) is considered one of the most significant barriers to the recovery of the population of the federally threatened western snowy plovers (Anarhyncus nivosus nivosus) in Northern California. To increase productivity of snowy plovers, conservation managers in Northern California employ three main techniques; placing symbolic fencing to deter pedestrian entrance to snowy plover nesting areas, invasive vegetation cutback, and deposition of oyster shells to increase snowy plover nest crypsis. However, little is known on how these techniques affect habitat selection of ravens in the area. I modeled habitat selection of …

Autonomous Landscape Exploration Rover Using Imaging Surface Navigation (Alexis), Noah Jones, Dominic Salupo

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

The objective is to develop a small-form-factor rover prototype that can be used to prove out a novel traversal method for use on extraterrestrial surfaces. The novel traversal method being proposed is LIDAR/CV-enhanced navigation, provided by a detachable flight vehicle that can communicate with the rover. On planets with thin atmospheres, cold gas thrusters or similar may be needed, but for the scope of this project more traditional flight/propulsion methods will be used.

Moore Graphs, Trevor Saxton

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

A Moore graph is a simple regular graph, with n vertices, degree d, and diameter k, that satisfies the Moore bound: n = 1 + d (d − 1)k − 1 d − 2 . There are graphs for which the bound is met and in which existence and uniqueness are known. For k = 2 it is known that the Moore bound is achieved for d = 2, 3, 7, with the case of d = 57 conjectured to exist. For k = 3 the bound is achieved for only d = 3 [5]. Due to the construction of …

Analyzing Car Theft Trends In Central Texas: A Comparative Study Of Waco, College Station, And Killeen, Daniel Njogu

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

This study examines motor vehicle theft (MVT) trends from 2019 to 2023 in three Central Texas cities—Waco, College Station, and Killeen—using temporal analysis, geospatial hotspot mapping, and make/model data. In Killeen, thefts generally rose over the period, with notable peaks in October and on Mondays. College Station saw an overall decline in thefts but experienced a seasonal spike each March, and Waco’s thefts increased until around 2021 before beginning to fall. Local festivals—such as the Spirit of Texas in College Station and the Heart O’ Texas Fair in Waco—appear to coincide with these seasonal upticks. Hyundais and Kias were most …

Synthesis Of Noval Hydroxy Chalcone And Study Of Fluorescent Properties, Margaret Hilliker

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

Chalcones are a class of naturally occurring compounds found in plants, which have a general structure of Ar–CO–CH=CH–Ar’. They have shown significant potential as tunable organic fluorophores due to their extended π-conjugation and structural simplicity. In this study, a 2-hydroxy-substituted chalcone featuring a terminal dimethylamino group was synthesized via a pyrrolidine-catalyzed aldol condensation and characterized for its photophysical properties. The electron-donating and -accepting ends of the molecule establish an intramolecular charge transfer (ICT) pathway, while the hydroxyl group enables excited state intramolecular proton transfer (ESIPT), leading to complex emission behavior. Room temperature fluorescence analysis revealed broad, featureless emission, while low-temperature …

Provenance Of Clastic Sedimentation In Middle Deadfall Lake And Paleoclimate Modelling Of Glacier Fluctuations At Mount Eddy, Eastern Klamath Mountains, California, Usa, Emily Stebbins

Cal Poly Humboldt theses and projects

This study reconstructs the timing, extent, and paleoclimate conditions associated with late Pleistocene glaciation in the Mount Eddy region of the eastern Klamath Mountains, northern California and investigates the provenance of clastic sedimentation in Middle Deadfall Lake, just east of Mt Eddy. Using a multi-pronged approach that combines geomorphic mapping, sediment core analysis, X-ray fluorescence (XRF) geochemistry, tephrochronology, and glacier modeling using PalaeoIce 2.0, this research provides new insights into glacial dynamics and climate variability in a region with limited glacially derived paleoclimate datasets, as well as past volcanic eruption deposits.

Field and GIS-based geomorphic mapping identified three generations …

Kelp Guardians Can Save The World: A Food Sovereignty Lab Report Of The Ghvtlh-K’Vsh Shu'-Srnelh-'I~ (Kelp Guardians) California Sea Grant, Delaney A. Schroeder-Echavarria

Cal Poly Humboldt theses and projects

As partners of the Ghvtlh-k’vsh Shu'-srnelh-'i~ (Kelp Guardians) California Sea Grant project, the Rou Dalagurr Food Sovereignty Lab and Traditional Ecological Knowledges Institute has actively engaged with local educators, Tribal organizations, and Tribal Nations to create youth-centered curricula, researched through a community-based participatory research lens. This is demonstrated through an innovative approach to recruiting and retaining Indigenous youth and community interest in coastal and marine ecosystems and resources by connecting with Indigenous cultural practices, Indigenous sciences, and community-based programs to encourage future careers. The Kelp Guardians project is led by the Tolowa Dee-ni’ Nation (TDN or Nation) and includes various …

Every Publication Needs An Author Verified Tl;Dr Statement, Sarah Oerther, Daniel B. Oerther

Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

No abstract provided.

Enhanced Continual Reinforcement Learning-Based Output Feedback Control Of Heterogeneous Quadrotors Formation, Ehsan Soleimani, S. Jagannathan

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

This paper presents a unified framework for the safe and optimal control of heterogeneous quadrotor unmanned aerial vehicles (QUAVs) in formation, enabling multitask missions without requiring precise system dynamics. To address partial state observability, a multilayer neural network (MNN) observer is designed to estimate unmeasured states. Reinforcement learning (RL) is employed for optimal control utilizing an MNN ensuring adaptability. Barrier Lyapunov Functions (BLFs) are integrated into the RL framework to enforce safety by maintaining QUAVs within predefined constraints. An enhanced continual learning (ECL) method is proposed to improve the adaptability of MNNs. This method enables effective multitask learning while mitigating …

Mxene-Based Materials For Enhanced Water Quality: Advances In Remediation Strategies, Ali Mohammad Amani, Milad Abbasi, Atena Najdian, Farzaneh Mohamadpour, Seyed Reza Kasaee, Hesam Kamyab, Shreeshivadasan Chelliapan, Mostafa Shafiee, Lobat Tayebi, Ahmad Vaez, Atefeh Najafian, Ehsan Vafa, Sareh Mosleh-Shirazi

Electrical & Computer Engineering Faculty Publications

Two-dimensional MXenes are promising candidates for water treatment because of their large surface area (e.g., exceeding 1000 m²/g for certain structures), high electrical conductivity (e.g., >1000 S/m), hydrophilicity, and chemical stability. Their strong sorption selectivity and effective reduction capacity, exemplified by heavy metal adsorption efficiencies exceeding 95 % in several studies, coupled with facile surface modification, make them suitable for removing diverse contaminants. Applications include the removal of heavy metals (e.g., achieving >90 % removal of Pb(II)), dye removal (e.g., demonstrating >80 % removal of methylene blue), and radioactive waste elimination. Furthermore, 3D MXene architecture exhibit enhanced performance in antibacterial …

Energy-Aware Sensor Fusion Architecture For Autonomous Channel Robot Navigation In Constrained Environments, Mohamed Shili, Hicham Chaoui, Khaled Nouri

Electrical & Computer Engineering Faculty Publications

Navigating autonomous robots in confined channels is inherently challenging due to limited space, dynamic obstacles, and energy constraints. Existing sensor fusion strategies often consume excessive power because all sensors remain active regardless of environmental conditions. This paper presents an energy-aware adaptive sensor fusion framework for channel robots that deploys RGB cameras, laser range finders, and IMU sensors according to environmental complexity. Sensor data are fused using an adaptive Extended Kalman Filter (EKF), which selectively integrates multi-sensor information to maintain high navigation accuracy while minimizing energy consumption. An energy management module dynamically adjusts sensor activation and computational load, enabling significant reductions …

Deep Learning For Uav Classification: Impact Of Noise And Multipath Fading In Rf Signals, Prajoy Podder, Maciej Jan Zawodniok, Sanjay Kumar Madria

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

The increasing presence of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) raises serious security concerns, particularly regarding unauthorized drone operations. Recent U.S. security statistics report a sharp rise in unauthorized UAV activities, with the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) receiving over 100 monthly reports of illegal drone operations near airports. In 2024 alone, Dedrone records 1.19 million unauthorized drone flights across major U.S. cities, highlighting the need for robust UAV detection and classification systems. In this work, a lightweight Convolutional Neural Network (CNN) model is proposed for RF-based UAV classification under noisy and multipath fading conditions. The proposed CNN consists of multiple convolutional blocks, …

From Cyclones To Cybersecurity: A Call For Convergence In Risk And Crisis Communications Research, Ann Marie Reinhold, Ross J. Gore, Barry Ezell, Clemente I. Izurieta, Elizabeth A. Shanahan

VMASC Publications

Effective risk and crisis communication can improve health and safety and reduce harmful effects of hazards and disasters. A robust body of literature investigates mechanisms for improving risk and crisis communication. While effective risk and crisis communication strategies are equally desired across different hazard types (e.g., natural hazards, cyber security), the extent to which risk and crisis communication experts utilize the “lessons learned” from scientific domains outside their own is suspect. Therefore, we hypothesized that risk and crisis communication research is siloed according to academic disciplines at the detriment to the advancement of the field of risk communications research writ …

Age Of Information-Based Optimal Scheduling With Energy Cost Trade-Off For Smart Warehouse: A Deep Reinforcement Learning-Based Approach, Sandip Roy, Abhishek Bisht, Ashok Kumar Das, Sachin Shetty

VMASC Publications

Recent advances in the integration of high-speed mobile networks and real-time IoT devices have facilitated in building of smart warehouses, where a set of beacons and Internet of Things (IoT) devices (or source nodes) can monitor the status of various physical processes in a time-critical way. In real-time status monitoring systems, like smart warehouses, quantifying the freshness of the Internet of Things (IoT) data based on the age of information (AoI) metrics becomes quite crucial. As source nodes are battery-constrained, a balanced trade-off between AoI minimization and preservation of source node battery energy is essential. In this paper, in a …

Quantum-Augmented Ai/Ml For O-Ran: Hierarchical Threat Detection For Synergistic Intelligence And Interpretability, Tan Le, Vanessa Le, Sachin Shetty

VMASC Publications

Open Radio Access Networks (O-RAN) enhance modularity and telemetry granularity but also widen the cybersecurity attack surface across disaggregated control, user and management planes. We propose a hierarchical defense framework with three coordinated layers—anomaly detection, intrusion confirmation, and multiattack classification—each aligned with O-RAN’s telemetry stack. Our approach integrates hybrid quantum computing and machine learning, leveraging amplitude- and entanglement-based feature encodings with deep and ensemble classifiers. We conduct extensive benchmarking across synthetic and real-world telemetry, evaluating encoding depth, architectural variants, and diagnostic fidelity. The framework consistently achieves near-perfect accuracy, high recall, and strong class separability. Multi-faceted evaluation across decision boundaries, probabilistic …

A Critical Juncture: The Convergence Of Natural Resource Management And Tribal Sovereignty, Anna Aleta Butterfield

Graduate Student Portfolios, Professional Papers, and Capstone Projects

This portfolio reflects the work I’ve done in my four years as a dual degree student, pursuing a Master of Science in Environmental Studies and a juris doctorate degree, and focuses on policies and laws surrounding natural resource management. It touches on how those policies relate to and expand or constrict the exercise of sovereignty by indigenous populations.

This piece first considers the effects of plastic on salmon populations and those indigenous groups that rely on salmon for subsistence and cultural purposes. The remaining three pieces focus on various aspects of the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes - Montana Water …

Adaptive Nussbaum Design For Nonholonomic Systems With Asymptotic Stabilization Against False Data Injection, Guilong Liu, Yongliang Yang, Weinan Gao, Donald C. Wunsch

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

This article addresses the stabilization challenges of nonholonomic systems under the threat of false data injection (FDI) attacks, which compromise the integrity of state information. A novel adaptive control strategy using Nussbaum-type gains is proposed to ensure the asymptotic stability of the closed-loop system while maintaining signal boundedness. The approach extends conventional Nussbaum designs to handle multiple unknown control directions. It integrates online learning mechanisms to mitigate the impact of FDI attacks. Additionally, adaptive backstepping and fuzzy-logic systems are utilized to approximate and compensate for unknown nonlinear dynamics. The methodology transforms nonholonomic systems into equivalent cascade structures to address inherent …

An Extensive Analysis Of Match-Tracking Methods For Artmap, Niklas M. Melton, Leonardo Enzo Brito Da Silva, Donald C. Wunsch

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

This paper identifies and studies five match-tracking (MT) methods in the adaptive resonance theory (ART) literature and conducts a detailed comparative analysis of these in ARTMAP applications. We focus on model performance for each MT method with respect to time and space efficiency as well as classification accuracy. Experimental results indicate that one MT variant, used in ARTMAP applications for the first time in this work, provides significant improvements in computational efficiency: depending on the ARTMAP variant, it was able to achieve up to one order of magnitude reduction in both time and space requirements, albeit with a compromise in …

Monitoring Plastic Pollution Using Bioindicators: A Global Review And Recommendations For Marine Environments, Matthew S. Savoca, Neil Angelo Abreo, Andres H. Arias, Laura Baes, Matteo Baini, Elisa Bergami, Susanne Brander, C. Anela Choy, Illaria Corsi, Bavo De Witte, Camila Domit, Sarah Dudas, Emily M. Duncan, Claudia E. Fernández, Maria Cristina Fossi, Ostin Garcés-Ordóñez, Brendan J. Godley, Daniel Gonzalez-Parades, Victoria González Carman, Bonnie M. Hamilton, Britta Denise Hardesty, Sang Hee Hong, Shirel Kahane-Rapport, Lauren M. Kashiwabara, Mariana Baptista Lacerda, Guillermo Luna-Jorquera, Clara Manno, Sarah E. Nelms, Cristina Panti, Diego J. Pérez-Venegas, Christopher K. Pham, Jennifer F. Provencher, Sara Purca, Harunur Rashid, Yasmina Rodríguez, Conrad Sparks, Chengjun Sun, Martin Thiel, Catherine Tsangaris, Robson G. Santos

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications

Monitoring the movement of plastic into marine food webs is central to understanding and mitigating the plastic pollution crisis. Bioindicators have been a component of the environmental monitoring toolkit for decades, but how, where, and which bioindicators are used in long-term monitoring programs has not yet been assessed. Moreover, these programs have yet to be synthesized and evaluated globally. Doing so is imperative if we are to learn from these pioneering programs and expand on their efforts. We reviewed global monitoring programs using bioindicators that focus on plastic pollution and found 11 worldwide that met our definition of long-term monitoring. …

Cellular Responses Of Astrangia Poculata (Ellis And Solander, 1786) And Its Symbiont To Experimental Heat Stress, Tyler E. Harman, Daniel Barshis, Briana Hauff Salas, Kevin B. Strychar

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications

Climate change has had devastating effects on tropical coral reefs; however, much less is known regarding how heat stress affects temperate coral. This research focuses on Astrangia poculata (Ellis and Solander, 1786) collected from Narragansett Bay, RI, during the summer and winter seasons and understanding the effect of experimental thermal extremes (i.e., 26 °C) on seasonally different populations. Photosynthetic efficiency (Fv/Fm), symbiont density (via an inverse relationship with pixel intensity), and oxidative stress via reactive oxygen species (ROS) concentrations were measured on symbiotic and aposymbiotic A. poculata. Higher Fv/Fm rates were observed in summer- vs. winter-collected corals (p ≤ …

The First Iucn Red List Of Cold-Water Corals Highlights Global Declines, Julia D. Sigwart, A. Louise Allcock, Renata Carolina Mikosz Arantes, Kelsey Archer Barnhill, Narissa Bax, Julia S. Beneti, Saskia Brix, Gudmundur Gudmundsson, Catherine S. Mcfadden, Severin A. Korfhage, Christi Linardich, Declan Morrissey, Pedro De Oliveira Nascimento, Bárbara De Moura Neves, Steinunn H. Ólafsdóttir, Stefán Ragnarsson, Kaveh Samimi-Namin, Íris Sampaio, Mark E. De Wilt

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications

The most well-known species-based conservation tool is the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species. The current coverage of species in the Red List is known to under-represent benthic marine species. Cold-water corals (CWCs) are increasingly recognised as key to deep-water biodiversity and integral to protected vulnerable marine ecosystems (VMEs), but no deep-sea coral species were previously included in the Red List. We selected 22 cold-water coral species in the Northeast Atlantic, including 4 reef-forming stony corals and 18 octocorals including sea pens and gorgonians, and completed the first IUCN Red List global assessments …

Thermal Tolerance Limits Of Mesophotic Corals In American Samoa, Daniel Barshis, Veronica Z. Radice, Katherine E. Parker, Nicholas Evensen

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications

We analyzed the thermal tolerances of multiple coral species from an upper mesophotic (38–40m) and a shallow reef (5–10m) with our portable Coral Bleaching Automated Stress System (CBASS). Depth generalist Montipora grisea (deep and shallow) and depth specialists Pachyseris speciosa and Leptoseris sp. (deep only) were assayed from Leone, located on the western coast of Tutuila in American Samoa. Fragments from 10 genotypes of each species were exposed to a 17-hour thermal stress assay reaching four maximum temperatures ranging from 30–38°C under in situ light conditions (150 μmol photons m⁻² s⁻¹ under a Lee Filters “deep …

A Multispecies, Multisite Assessment Of Coral Thermal Tolerances In American Samoa, Using Acute Heat Stress Assays, Ponchanok Weeriyanun, Nicolas R. Evensen, Katherine E. Parker, Veronica Z. Radice, Daniel J. Barshis

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications

Reef-building corals are being impacted by increasing seawater temperatures, with marine heatwaves leading to mass bleaching events and extensive mortality. However, corals can display variation in thermal tolerance, both within and among species. In this study, we sampled four coral species (Acropora hyacinthus, Montipora grisea, Pocillopora verrucosa, and Porites lobata) from two sites on Tutuila, American Samoa, with contrasting environmental regimes but similar Maximum Monthly Means (MMM). Coral fragments were subjected to short-term acute heat stress experiments using the Coral Bleaching Automated Stress System (CBASS). PAM Fluorometry was used to measure the symbiont’s effective quantum yield (Fv/Fm) following heat stress …

Building Heat-Resilient Caribbean Reefs: Integrating Thermal Thresholds And Coral Colonies Selection In Restoration, Macarena Blanco Pimentel, Johanna Calle-Triviño, Daniel J. Barshis, Sancia E. T. Van Der Meij, Megan K. Morikawa

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications

Caribbean reefs face increasingly frequent and intense bleaching events, adding to the numerous other threats impacting these ecosystems. Addressing these challenges requires global action to reduce climate drivers, along with local efforts like reef restoration. Active restoration using thermotolerant coral colonies offers a potential strategy to alleviate these impacts; however, gaps remain in identifying context-specific temperature thresholds to guide colony selection and standardize thermotolerance assessment methods. This study addressed these gaps in two phases. First, by determining practical thresholds to differentiate species responses to heat stress; and second, by developing a framework to identify and prioritize resilient colonies for restoration. …