Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

Drill Design Suite, Neil Nordhof

Computer Science and Software Engineering

Drill Design Suite is a lightweight tool for creating drill for marching band programs.

Advanced Topics In Experimental Design, Jason Anderson

Statistics

No abstract provided.

A Study Of The Parametric And Nonparametric Linear-Circular Correlation Coefficient, Robin Tu

Statistics

Circular statistics are specialized statistical methods that deal specifically with directional data. Data that is angular require specialized techniques due to the modulo 2π (in radians) or modulo 360^◦ (in degrees) nature of angles.

Correlation, typically in terms of Pearson’s correlation coefficient, is a measure of association between two linear random variables x and y. In this paper, the specific circular technique of the parametric and nonparametric linear-circular correlation coefficient will be explored where correlation is no longer between two linear variables x and y, but between a linear random variable x and circular random variable θ.

A simulation …

Statistical Consulting - Senior Project, Cary Hernandez

Statistics

No abstract provided.

#Twittercritic: Sentiment Analysis Of Tweets To Predict Tv Ratings, Isabel Litton

Statistics

Twitter has rapidly become one of the most popular sites of the Internet. It functions not just as a microblogging service, but as a crowdsourcing tool for listening, promotion, insight and much more. From the perspective of TV networks, tweets capture the real time reactions of viewers, making them an ideal indicator of a show’s ratings. This paper predicts Internet Movie Database (IMDB) television ratings by text mining Twitter data.

Tweets for five television shows were downloaded over a period of several months utilizing a SAS macro. Television show data, such as rating, show title, episode title, and more were …

Multiplayer Browser-Based Game Utilizing Javascript And Webgl Frameworks, Cy Tan, Benjamin Naftali, Matthew Tong, Vincent Chan

Computer Science and Software Engineering

The goal of our project is to make an online large-scale multiplayer game with persistent user data. This will involve real-time player interaction and many customization options. This game will be a massively-multiplayer online tactics role-playing game (MMOTRPG), a genre that has been insufficiently explored. This area of browser-based massive multiplayer games is also a platform of gaming that has yet to realize the capabilities of modern browsers and the level of interaction and graphics they now support.

The scope of our project does not encompass the complete feature set we have intended for the game, but rather a technical …

Resound.Fm, Matthew Bleifer

Computer Science and Software Engineering

The goal of this senior project was to create a social platform for people to share and discover the music they love. Current music streaming technologies lack an effective tool for helping users find new music. The personal element of music that used to exist in the days that people gathered around record players or shared mixtapes has been lost online and Resound.fm seeks to bring it back. Resound.fm is a Ruby on Rails web application, which uses some of the latest web technologies and design patterns to create a powerful new music discovery experience online. The project was completed …

Temporal Changes To Fire Risk In Disparate Wildland Urban Interface Communities, Nicola C. Leyshon

Master's Theses

Since 1990, thirteen fires over 100,000 acres in size have burned in California seven of which were recorded to be some of the most destructive wildfires of all time (California Department of Forestry & Fire Protection 2013). To aid the development of policy that reduces the destruction caused by wildfires, it is important to evaluate how risk changes through time in communities that are expanding into fire-prone areas. The objective of this study is to discover how the likelihood of structural loss is changing in WUI as newer; more fire resilient structures replace older structures on the edges of the …

Cuore Image Analysis And Cuore-0 Shifting: A Contribution To The Search For Neutrinoless Double Beta Decay, Dakota Christopher Rose

Physics

In an effort to aid in the work of the Cryogenic Underground Observatory of Rare Events (CUORE) in moving towards confirming the existence of Neutrinoless Double Beta Decay, a six week trip was made to Assergi, Italy to work as an Onsite Shifter for the previous generation of the experiment, CUORE-0, as well as to aid in construction of the full CUORE detector. Furthermore, to help in understanding possible sources of experimental error, work was done analyzing images taken of the glue spots on the faces of each Tellurium Oxide detector crystals (also containing the source of the decay, Tellurium-130). …

Hydrologic Response To Conifer Removal From An Encroached Mountain Meadow, Gregory F. Van Oosbree

Master's Theses

Meadows in the Sierra Nevada Mountains are an important ecological resource that have degraded in quality and distribution due to several environmental and anthropogenic stressors. The encroachment of conifers beyond forest meadow ecotones is largely responsible for the decline of meadow habitat throughout the past century. Currently, there is little research that quantifies the hydrologic response to removal of conifers encroaching meadows in terms of implicating successful meadow restoration. This study has implemented a before after control intervention (BACI) study design to determine the hydrologic response associated with the removal of conifers from a historic meadow encroached by conifers. The …

Sudden Cardiac Arrest Prediction Through Heart Rate Variability Analysis, Luke Joseph Plewa

Master's Theses

The increase in popularity for wearable technologies (see: Apple Watch and Microsoft Band) has opened the door for an Internet of Things solution to healthcare. One of the most prevalent healthcare problems today is the poor survival rate of out-of hospital sudden cardiac arrests (9.5% on 360,000 cases in the USA in 2013). It has been proven that heart rate derived features can give an early indicator of sudden cardiac arrest, and that providing an early warning has the potential to save many lives. Many of these new wearable devices are capable of providing this warning through their heart rate …

Transition Orbits Of Walking Droplets, Joshua Parker

Physics

It was recently discovered that millimeter-sized droplets bouncing on the surface of an oscillating bath of the same fluid can couple with the surface waves it produces and begin walking across the fluid bath. These walkers have been shown to behave similarly to quantum particles; a few examples include single-particle diffraction, tunneling, and quantized orbits. Such behavior occurs because the drop and surface waves depend on each other to exist, making this the first and only known macroscopic pilot-wave system. In this paper, the quantized orbits between two identical drops are explored. By sending a perturbation to a pair of …

Critical Point Pairs For Smectic-A* - Smectic-C* Phase Transitions., Ted Cassirer

Physics

Liquid crystals is a class of materials possessing properties from both solids and fluids. Similar to solids the molecules arrange themselves in some sort of order. In the liquid crystal state there are multiple phases, smectic being one of them. In a smectic liquid crystal the molecules are aranged (along $z$) in layers. Of the smectic liquid crystals there exists different phases. In the smectic-A (Sm-A) phase the avarage tilt is $0$ relative to $z$ and in the Smectic-C (Sm-A) phase the avarage tilt is non-zero relative to $z$. Normally the liquid crystal will transition between the two phases by …

Determining The Relationship Between The [Oiii] 5007 Å Emission Line Profile And The Stellar Velocity Dispersion In Active Galaxies, Nathaniel Milgram

Physics

The empirical relation between the stellar velocity dispersion (SVD) of the bulge and the mass of the central supermassive black hole (BH) suggests a link between host galaxy and BH evolution. For active galactic nuclei (AGNs), the BH mass (MBH) can be estimated in a straightforward way from the Doppler broadening of the broad emission lines using the so-called virial method. However, the powerful AGN continuum emission often outshines the underlying stellar absorption lines, making it difficult to measure SVD of the host galaxy. Thus, the MBH - SVD relation is difficult to establish for galaxies containing AGNs. As a …

Saddle Force Mapping, Molly Totten

Physics

In horseback riding, the size and shape of a saddle can drastically effect the comfort, attitude and performance of the horse as well as the effectiveness of the rider. In an effort to create an accurate means of fitting the saddle to the horse, I have created a pressure sensing device that maps the force differences along critical areas of the horse's back during motion. Using an Arduino microprocessor and appropriate circuits, data was collected about the pressure levels between the saddle and the horse's back and a graphic representation of the findings was created.

Frequency Of Seyfert Type Transitions In A Sample Of 102 Local Active Galactic Nuclei, Jordan Runco

Physics

A sample of ∼100 type-1 local (0.02 ≤ z ≤ 0.1) active galaxies (AGNs) was selected from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey with black hole masses M_BH > 10⁷ M_ʘ and re-observed using the Keck 10-m telescope to study the local scaling relations between M_BH and the host galaxy properties. As a side product, the data provides insight into any changes of the broad-line region within the 3-9 year time-frame covered by the two sets of spectra. The variability of the broad Hβ emission line is of particular interest to us, not only because it is used …

Effect Of Surfactant Architecture On Conformational Transitions Of Conjugated Polyelectrolytes, Greg A. Braggin

Master's Theses

Water soluble conjugated polyelectrolytes (CPEs), which fall under the category of conductive polymers, possess numerous advantages over other conductive materials for the fabrication of electronic devices. Namely, the processing of water soluble conjugated polyelectrolytes into thin film electronic devices is much less costly as compared to the processing of inorganic materials. Moreover, the handling of conjugated polyelectrolytes can be performed in a much more environmentally friendly manner than in the processing of other conjugated polymers because conjugated polyelectrolytes are water soluble, whereas other polymers will only dissolve in toxic organic solvents. The processing of electronic devices containing inorganic constituents such …

Geospatial Data Modeling To Support Energy Pipeline Integrity Management, Austin Wylie

Master's Theses

Several hundred thousand miles of energy pipelines span the whole of North America -- responsible for carrying the natural gas and liquid petroleum that power the continent's homes and economies. These pipelines, so crucial to everyday goings-on, are closely monitored by various operating companies to ensure they perform safely and smoothly.

Happenings like earthquakes, erosion, and extreme weather, however -- and human factors like vehicle traffic and construction -- all pose threats to pipeline integrity. As such, there is a tremendous need to measure and indicate useful, actionable data for each region of interest, and operators often use computer-based decision …

Calculating Staircase Slope From A Single Image, Nicholas Joseph Clarke

Master's Theses

Realistic modeling of a 3D environment has grown in popularity due to the increasing realm of practical applications. Whether for practical navigation purposes, entertainment value, or architectural standardization, the ability to determine the dimensions of a room is becoming more and more important. One of the trickier, but critical, features within any multistory environment is the staircase. Staircases are difficult to model because of their uneven surface and various depth aspects. Coupling this need is a variety of ways to reach this goal. Unfortunately, many such methods rely upon specialized sensory equipment, multiple calibrated cameras, or other such impractical setups. …

Moxel Dags: Connecting Material Information To High Resolution Sparse Voxel Dags, Brent Robert Williams

Master's Theses

As time goes on, the demand for higher resolution and more visually rich images only increases. Unfortunately, creating these more realistic computer graphics is pushing our computational resources to their limits.

In realistic rendering, one of the common ways 3D objects are represented is as volumetric elements called voxels. Traditionally, voxel data structures are known for their high memory requirements. One of the standard ways these requirements are minimized is by storing the voxels in a sparse voxel octree (SVO). Very recently, a method called High Resolution Sparse Voxel DAGs was presented that can store binary voxel data orders of …

Gpuhelib And Distributedhelib: Distributed Computing Variants Of Helib, A Homomorphic Encryption Library, Ethan Andrew Frame

Master's Theses

Homomorphic Encryption, an encryption scheme only developed in the last five years, allows for arbitrary operations to be performed on encrypted data. Using this scheme, a user can encrypt data, and send it to an online service. The online service can then perform an operation on the data and generate an encrypted result. This encrypted result is then sent back to the user, who decrypts it. This decryption produces the same data as if the operation performed by the online service had been performed on the unencrypted data. This is revolutionary because it allows for users to rely on online …

Using The Papathoma Tsunami Vulnerability Assessment Model To Forcast Probable Impacts, And Planning Implications, Of A 500-Year Tsunami In Cayucos, California, Andrew Robert Marshall

Master's Theses

This report focuses on using the Papathoma Tsunami Vulnerability Assessment Model (PTVA) to demonstrate the vulnerability of Cayucos to a 500-year tsunami, and using the results to inform specific planning recommendations. By modeling inundation with GIS and analyzing building attributes via the PTVA model, this study has gone beyond any previous vulnerability assessments of Cayucos. Findings include: delineation of the most vulnerable areas, estimates of numbers of lost civic buildings, commercial buildings and houses, as well as estimates of people displaced from tsunami damaged homes. The report goes on to discuss what mitigation measures are in place and what further …

Detecting Change In Central California Coast Coho Salmon Habitat In Scotts Creek, California, From 1997–2013, Ashley Brubaker Hillard

Master's Theses

Scotts Creek, in Santa Cruz County, Calif., supports the southernmost extant population of Coho Salmon (Oncorhynchus kisutch) in North America. In 1997, the California Department of Fish and Game (now Fish and Wildlife) conducted an extensive habitat typing survey of mainstem Scotts Creek, describing all habitat units from the top of the estuary to the limit of anadromy approximately 12 km upstream. I repeated this survey in 2013 to (1) assess changes in the quantity and quality of instream habitat, (2) compare the current condition to goals and standards established in the federal Central California Coast (CCC) Coho …

Directed Energy For Relativistic Propulsion And Interstellar Communications, Philip Lubin, Gary Hughes, J Bible, Isabella Johansson

Statistics

An orbital planetary defense system that is also capable of beamed power propulsion allows mildly relativistic spacecraft speeds using existing technologies. While designed to heat the surface of potentially hazardous objects to the evaporation point to mitigate asteroid threats the system is inherently multi-functional with one mode being relativistic beamed spacecraft propulsion. The system is called DE-STAR for Directed Energy Solar Targeting of Asteroids and exploRation. DE-STAR is a proposed orbital platform that is a modular phased array of lasers, powered by the sun. Modular design allows for incremental development, test and initial deployment, lowering cost, minimizing risk and allowing …

Development Of A Tridimensional Measuring Application For Ipads, Michael Casebolt, Nicolas Kouatli, Jack Mullen

Computer Science and Software Engineering

In today’s fast-paced distribution centers workers and management alike are constantly searching for the quickest and most efficient way to package items for distribution. Even with the advancement of app-oriented solutions to a variety of problems across many industries there is a distinct unmet need in distribution environments for an application capable of increasing the efficiency and accuracy of packaging items. This senior project focused on the development and testing of an application utilizing the Structure Three Dimensional Sensor and a 4th generation iPad to scan an object or group of objects to be packaged and determine the overall dimensions …

Orbital Simulations For Directed Energy Deflection Of Near-Earth Asteroids, Qicheng Zhang, Kevin J. Walsh, Carl Melis, Gary B. Hughes, Philip Lubin

Statistics

Directed energy laser ablation at the surface of an asteroid or comet produces an ejection plume that will impart a thrust on the asteroid. This thrust can mitigate a threatened collision with the Earth. This technique uses the asteroid itself as the deflection propellant. The DESTAR laser system is designed to produce a sufficiently intense spot on the surface of an asteroid to accomplish this in one of two operational modes. One is a complete "stand-off" mode where a large space based phased-array laser directed energy system can interdict asteroids at large distances allowing sufficient time to mitigate nearly all …

Hst Imaging Of Fading Agn Candidates. I. Host-Galaxy Properties And Origin Of The Extended Gas*, William Keel, W. Peter Maksym, Vardha Nicola Bennert, Chris J. Lintott, S. Drew Chojnowski, Alexei Moiseev, Aleksandrina Smirnova, Kevin Schawinski, C. Megan Urry, Daniel A. Evans

Physics

We present narrow- and medium-band Hubble Space Telescope imaging, with additional supporting ground-based imaging, spectrophotometry, and Fabry–Perot interferometric data, for eight galaxies identified as hosting a fading active galactic nucleus (AGN). These are selected to have AGN-ionized gas projected kpc from the nucleus and energy budgets with a significant shortfall of ionizing radiation between the requirement to ionize the distant gas and the AGN as observed directly, indicating fading of the AGN on ≈50,000 yr timescales. This paper focuses on the host-galaxy properties and origin of the gas. In every galaxy, we identify evidence of ongoing or past interactions, including …

Reagent Pencils: A New Technique For Solvent-Free Deposition Of Reagents Onto Paper-Based Microfluidic Devices, Haydn T. Mitchell, Isabelle C. Noxon, Cory A. Chaplan, Samantha J. Carlton, Cheyenne H. Liu, Kirsten A. Ganaja, Nathaniel W. Martinez, Chad Immoos, Philip Costanzo, Andres W. Martinez

Chemistry and Biochemistry

Custom-made pencils containing reagents dispersed in a solid matrix were developed to enable rapid and solvent-free deposition of reagents onto membrane-based fluidic devices. The technique is as simple as drawing with the reagent pencils on a device. When aqueous samples are added to the device, the reagents dissolve from the pencil matrix and become available to react with analytes in the sample. Colorimetric glucose assays conducted on devices prepared using reagent pencils had comparable accuracy and precision to assays conducted on conventional devices prepared with reagents deposited from solution. Most importantly, sensitive reagents, such as enzymes, are stable in the …

An Analysis Of Strategic Treatment Interruptions During Imatinib Treatment Of Chronic Myelogenous Leukemia With Imatinib-Resistant Mutations, Dana Paquin, David Sacco, John Shamshoian

Mathematics

Chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML) is a cancer of the white blood cells that results from increased and uncontrolled growth of myeloid cells in the bone marrow and the accumulation of these cells in the blood. The most common form of treatment for CML is imatinib, a tyrosine kinase inhibitor. Although imatinib is an effective treatment for CML and most patients treated with imatinib do attain some form of remission, imatinib does not completely eradicate all leukemia cells, and if treatment is stopped, all patients eventually relapse (Cortes, 2005). In Kim (2008), the authors developed a mathematical model for the dynamics …

Building Conflict-Free Fft Schedules, Stephen Richardson, Dejan Markovic, Andrew Danowitz, John Brunhaver, Mark Horowitz

Computer Science and Software Engineering

A conflict-free schedule lets an FFT run to completion without ever having to pause for memory-conflict resolution. We show how to build such schedules for FFTs having any number of butterfly units B operating at any radix R, transforming any number of datapoints D. Our algorithm works for FFT datapaths with or without pipeline overlap, and for memory banks having any number of access ports. Specifically, it enables construction of conflict-free schedules using single-ported memory banks, which require less area than more traditional multi-ported designs.