Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

Knot Equivalence, Jacob Trubey

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

A knot is a closed curve in R3. Alternatively, we say that a knot is an embedding f : S1 → R3 of a circle into R3. Analogously, one can think of a knot as a segment of string in a three-dimensional space that has been knotted together in some way, with the ends of the string then joined together to form a knotted loop. A link is a collection of knots that have been linked together.

An important question in the mathematical study of knot theory is that of how we can tell when two knots are, or are …

Effect On Focusing Fields By Ferromagnetic Cell Cores In Linear Induction Accelerators, Cooper Guillaume

Senior Honors Theses

In the Los Alamos National Laboratories DARHT facility, there are two perpendicular linear induction accelerators, LIAs. The LIAs’ solenoids produce magnetic fields which focus the electron beam. Simultaneously, the accelerating pulse creates a magnetic field. These two field intensities act upon a ferromagnetic material in the cells to enhance magnetic flux density. Due to the nonlinearity of the material, this flux density will reach a saturation point. In turn, the magnetic field intensity of the axial solenoidal magnetic field will be affected and slightly altered. The width of the electron beam will increase, causing a decrease in effectiveness. Through simulation, …

Spinning Up A Daze: Tess Uncovers A Hot Jupiter Orbiting The Rapid Rotator Toi-778, J. T. Clark, B. C. Addison, J. Okumura, S. Vach, A. Errico, A. Heitzmann, J. E. Rodriguez, D. J. Wright, M. Clerté, C. J. Brown, T. Fetherolf, R. A. Wittenmyer, P. Plavchan, S. R. Kane, J. Horner, J. F. Kielkopf, A. Shporer, C. G. Tinney, L. Hui-Gen, S. Ballard, B. P. Bowler, M. W. Mengel, G. Zhou, A. S. Lee, A. David, J. Heim, M. E. Lee, V. Sevilla, N. E. Zafar, N. R. Hinkel, B. E. Allen, D. Bayliss, A. Berberyan, P. Berlind, A. Bieryla, F. Bouchy, R. Brahm, E. M. Bryant, J. L. Christiansen, D. R. Ciardi, K. N. Ciardi, K. A. Collins, J. Dallant, A. B. Davis, M. R. Díaz, C. D. Dressing, G. A. Esquerdo, J.-V. Harre, S. B. Howell, J. M. Jenkins, Eric L.N. Jensen, M. I. Jones, A. Jordán, D. W. Latham, M. B. Lund, J. Mccormac, L. D. Nielsen, J. Otegi, S. N. Quinn, D. J. Radford, G. R. Ricker, R. P. Schwarz, S. Seager, A. M. S. Smith, C. Stockdale, T.-G. Tan, S. Udry, R. Vanderspek, M. N. Günther, S. Wang, G. Wingham, J. N. Winn

Physics & Astronomy Faculty Works

NASA's Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) mission has been uncovering a growing number of exoplanets orbiting nearby, bright stars. Most exoplanets that have been discovered by TESS orbit narrow-line, slow-rotating stars, facilitating the confirmation and mass determination of these worlds. We present the discovery of a hot Jupiter orbiting a rapidly rotating (v sin (i) = 35.1 ± 1.0 km s⁻¹) early F3V-dwarf, HD 115447 (TOI-778). The transit signal taken from Sectors 10 and 37 of TESS's initial detection of the exoplanet is combined with follow-up ground-based photometry and velocity measurements taken from Minerva-Australis, TRES, CORALIE, and …

Examining The Effect Of Word Embeddings And Preprocessing Methods On Fake News Detection, Jessica Hauschild

Department of Statistics: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Work

The words people choose to use hold a lot of power, whether that be in spreading truth or deception. As listeners and readers, we do our best to understand how words are being used. There are many current methods in computer science literature attempting to embed words into numerical information for statistical analyses. Some of these embedding methods, such as Bag of Words, treat words as independent, while others, such as Word2Vec, attempt to gain information about the context of words. It is of interest to compare how well these various methods of translating text into numerical data work specifically …

Importance Of Access Deregulation Of Hiv Prevention Services In Tennessee, Rene Garrett

The Synapse: Intercollegiate science magazine

No abstract provided.

Climatological Analysis Of Tropical Cyclone Occurrence Dates And Landfall Characteristics In The North Atlantic And Eastern North Pacific, Nicholas Sava Grondin

Doctoral Dissertations

Tropical cyclones (TCs) are significant hazards to coastal and inland regions across the globe, especially in North America. North America is affected by TCs from two basins, the North Atlantic (NATL) and eastern North Pacific (ENP), with the former being the predominate focus of past research. In this dissertation, I present three studies that directly compare TCs in the NATL and ENP by using the same methods for each basin in studying occurrence dates and intraseasonal variability, effects of environmental parameters on occurrence dates and seasonal forecasting, and the behavior of TCs during the final 36 hours before landfall in …

Neutrino Physics At A Research Reactor: Backgrounds And Analysis, Blaine Alexander Heffron

Doctoral Dissertations

The field of neutrino physics has a rich history and is currently the subject of much active research. The discovery of neutrino oscillations led to the conclusion that neutrinos have mass which was in contradiction to the Standard Model. Now researchers are investigating a number of open questions regarding neutrino properties such as their mass values or the existence of CP violation in the weak interaction. In order to answer these questions experimental and analytical techniques of neutrino detection are becoming more advanced, entering into an era of precision neutrino detection.

Nuclear reactors as a source of antineutrinos have played …

Understanding And Simulating Wildfire Changes Using Advanced Statical And Process-Oriented Models, Rongyun Tang

Doctoral Dissertations

This study aims to investigate the spatiotemporal dynamic of global wildfires, their underlying climate-driving mechanisms, and their predictability by utilizing multiple data sources (both process-based model simulations and satellite-based observations) and multiple analytical methods including machine learning techniques (MLTs).

We first explored the global wildfire interannual variability (IAV) and its climate sensitivity across nine biomes from 1997 to 2018, leveraging the state-of-art U.S. Department of Energy’s Energy Exascale Earth System Model (E3SM) land component (ELM-v1) simulations with six sets of climate forcings. Results indicate that 1) ELM simulations could reproduce the IAV of wildfire in terms of magnitudes, distribution, bio-regional …

Concurrency Controls In Event-Driven Programs, Yonglun Li

Theses and Dissertations

Functional reactive programming (FRP) is a programming paradigm that utilizes the concepts of functional programming and time-varying data types to create event-driven applications. In this paradigm, data types in which values can change over time are primitives and can be applied to functions. These values are composable and can be combined with functions to create values that react to changes in values from multiple sources. Events can be modeled as values that change in discrete time steps. Computation can be encoded as values that produce events, with combination operators, it enables us to write concurrent event-driven programs by combining the …

Methods For Preparing And Characterizing Granular Materials For Electron Yield Measurements, Tom Keaton

All Graduate Plan B and other Reports, Spring 1920 to Spring 2023

This work presents a systematic study on sample preparation methods and accuracy of electron yield (EY) measurements of highly insulating, granular materials. EY measurements of highly insulating materials, especially those with high EY, are challenging due to the effects of sample charging even for very low fluence electron probe beams. EY measurements of particulates are complicated by: (i) roughness effects from particulate size, shape, coverage, and compactness; (ii) particle adhesion; (iii) substrate contributions; and (iv) electrostatic repulsion and potential barriers from charged particles and substrates. Numerous methods were explored to rigidly affix particles on conducting substrates at varying coverages for …

Listening For Common Ground In High School And Early Collegiate Mathematics, Gail Burrill, Henry Cohn, Yvonne Lai, Dev P. Sinha, Ji Y. Son, Katherine F. Stevenson

Department of Mathematics: Faculty Publications

Solutions to pressing and complex social challenges require that we reach for common ground. Only through cooperation among people with a broad range of backgrounds and expertise can progress be made on issues as challenging as improving student success in mathematics. In this spirit, the AMS Committee on Education held a forum in May 2022 entitled The Evolving Curriculum in High School and Early Undergraduate Mathematical Sciences Education.¹ This article is a report on that forum by the authors listed above, who were among the organizers and presenters.

Carbon Dioxide Reduction On Large Area Liquid Metal Gallium-Indium Electrocatalysts, Thomas Hollis

Chemistry & Biochemistry Undergraduate Honors Theses

Carbon dioxide (CO₂) is widely known as a greenhouse gas that contributes to global warming due to the burning of fossil fuels. The carbon dioxide reduction reaction (CO₂RR) is widely studied to reutilize CO₂ to useful products, including methane, ethane, and carbon monoxide. This project studies the use of liquid metal gallium-indium as an electrocatalyst to perform CO₂ reduction to carbon monoxide (CO) or possibly solid carbon in various solutions. Gallium-indium is characterized and studied through its “wetting” properties and adhesion to substrate foil through the measurement of contact angles inside solution. These liquid …

An Investigation On The Effect Of Conserved Hinge Histidine On Influenza Hemagglutinin(Ha2) Protein Conformation Using Md Simulations, Nada Tolba

Chemistry & Biochemistry Undergraduate Honors Theses

Hemagglutinin is a protein on the surface of Human Influenza Viruses.¹ It is composed of two glycopolypeptide domains, the HA1 and HA2 domains. Previous studies have found that across different strains of Influenza viruses, HIS435 residues remain conserved.⁴ In studies where mutations occurred in hinge-site histadine residues, the Influenza virus was inactive.⁴ These investigations indicated a significant role of HIS435 (hinge-site histadines) in virulence. Four systems were created using Molecular dynamics (MD) simulations. Each system was composed of an Isolated HA2 trimer solvated in a 150 mM NaCl rectangular water box at 310 K under isobaric and …

Correlation Between Fire And Preservation In The Pacific Northwest & Most Cost-Efficient Mitigationtactics, Liam Doherty-Herwitz

Department of Environmental Studies: Undergraduate Student Theses

This study was conducted entirely online with occasional help from advisors and editors on zoom meetings. I completed the research in Lincoln, Nebraska. A meta analysis of online data has been conducted to form the answers to my hypotheses and research questions. I used specific keywords and phrases in research databases, and search engines such as google scholar to point me towards the answers I was looking for. The keywords and phrases were split up into four different categories which are mitigation techniques, ecosystems, fire severity: PNW, and fire season: PNW. The reason the topics land preservation and fire science …

An Analysis Of Factors Affecting Municipal Biochar Implementation In Voluntary Carbon Markets, Jadon Basilevac

Department of Environmental Studies: Undergraduate Student Theses

This paper serves as a review article and incorporates elements of survey research in order to identify and address factors inhibiting biochar availability from municipal sequestration projects in voluntary carbon marketplaces. In determining which barriers exist, and devising strategies for solving them, this study can help to expand the role of biochar in mitigating emissions contributing to climate change, and encourage project developers to support municipal biochar projects that provide various co-benefits. To do so, this study addresses how the pyrolysis production process might be made more efficient, economically viable, and see improved public image, the various urban sectors to …

Observing Wildlife In Different Urban Environments, Colleen Ballinger

Department of Environmental Studies: Undergraduate Student Theses

My project was about comparing ecological communities in different locations. As many of us Natural Resource studiers know, urbanization has become a prime factor in ecosystems and landscapes of the modern world. Numerous studies from the Urban Ecology field have shown us that urbanization is on an unstable trajectory for the future (Wu 2014). My research will be to find out where and what species of wildlife live in varying levels of urbanization. This topic is important to me because of how impactful habitat loss is to wildlife. Habitat loss is the number one cause of wildlife death here in …

Recycling Attitudes And Behaviors Toward Single-Use Plastics At The University Of Nebraska-Lincoln, Jadyn Chasek

Department of Environmental Studies: Undergraduate Student Theses

Today, single-use plastics pose an issue in the world with pollution from improper disposal as well as from the manufacturing of single-use plastic products. There is a need for change, plastic products have begun to consume the planet and harm life on Earth. Many people look to college universities for an opportunity to change issues such as the overconsumption of single-use plastics. A college campus is the perfect environment to study what changes can be made to fix an issue as well as how to implement those changes. This study was conducted at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, where the undergraduate …

Spatiotemporal Activity Patterns Of Red Foxes And Coyotes In Wilderness Park, Lincoln, Nebraska., Adam Carlson

Department of Environmental Studies: Undergraduate Student Theses

Wildlife species that share a landscape may vary their use of time, space, and resources, thereby enabling sympatry between species. Interspecific relationships among sympatric canids are often inferred through temporal and spatial activity patterns. Body size is an important influence on interspecific relationships, as it affects competition, access to prey, resources, and vulnerability to predation. Coyotes and red foxes are canids that differ in body size and occur sympatrically in Wilderness Park, which suggests that they interact and could imply competition. In and around Lincoln, the number of coyote sightings has increased in recent years, Although the ecology of both …

Perception Of Nature Based On Childhood Experiences, Kaitlyn Richards

Department of Environmental Studies: Undergraduate Student Theses

It is essential that humans view themselves as a part of nature rather than viewing themselves as separate from it. Especially with issues on the rise such as climate change, habitat destruction, and the degradation of natural resources. Childhood experiences with nature are critical in developing pro-environmental behaviors (Duzenli, 2019). Pro-environmental behaviors are defined as attitudes and actions that focus on the improvement of environmental conditions, while also being vigilant of ways to reduce negative impacts on the environment (Tian, 2022).

State Of Utah Et Al. V Walsh Et Al., Ethan Halman Gonzalez

Department of Environmental Studies: Undergraduate Student Theses

To expand upon that, the State of Utah et al. wants to show the Department of Labor’s “Prudence and Loyalty in Selecting Plan Investments and Exercising Shareholder Rights” Rule proposed in December 2022, is arbitrary and capricious under the Administrative Procedure Act (APA) and Employment Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA). The suit argues that the Department of Labor (DOL) oversteps the APA—as under the APA, the Court “shall… hold unlawful and set aside agency action, findings, and conclusions” that are “in excess of statutory jurisdiction, authority, or limitations,” or “arbitrary capricious, an abuse of discretion, or otherwise not …

Student Perspectives Of Sustainable Transportation Use On A College Campus, Brynn Fuelberth

Department of Environmental Studies: Undergraduate Student Theses

As climate change grows in relevance in society, attention has often been turned to large universities to look at what solutions can help minimize the impacts contributing to the devastation. Sustainable transportation is an alternative that can help combat these issues. This study specifically focuses on what sustainable transportation looks like at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln (UNL), and what barriers and motivations are present in the undergraduate students’ eyes. This was investigated through an open-ended qualitative survey administered to the undergraduate population of the UNL. This study asks how students make their mode decisions in relation to sustainable transportation methods, …

Analyzing Sea Level Rise Adaptation & Mitigation Strategies In Louisiana And The Netherlands, Jonah Mcdowell

Department of Environmental Studies: Undergraduate Student Theses

Sea level rise is an increasingly dangerous threat. As a byproduct of climate change, this is an issue that has the potential to impact countless people, animals, and ecosystems across the globe. As sea level rise continues to worsen, it is imperative that coastal communities develop their own strategies and plans to combat this problem. This study focuses on two areas, the state of Louisiana and the country of the Netherlands, and studies how they have responded to this problem. These locations were chosen because sea level rise is proportionally more severe at these two locations compared to other areas …

Analyzing The Effects Of Cold Frontal Passage On The Feeding Habits Of Micropterus Salmoides (Largemouth Bass), Ethan Lang

Department of Environmental Studies: Undergraduate Student Theses

For many decades, it has been theorized as to what happens to the feeding habits of largemouth bass (Micropterus Salmoides) when a significant short term weather change occurs. Here in the midwest and all throughout the United States cold front boundaries are a weather phenomenon that occur on a regular basis. They can occur on a very large or small scale and have a rapid effect on the weather locally. These cold front systems have been looked at as one of the main drivers to having an effect on the feeding habits of largemouth. However, up until this point, any …

Roots Of Passion In Environmental Unl Students, Shane Vrbicky

Department of Environmental Studies: Undergraduate Student Theses

“Passion” is an elusive idea - a simple word invented by man - able to depict vastly different realities and meanings dependent entirely on the user. Highly influential in nature, the simple thought of a passion within human beings can evoke a wide spectrum of strong emotions from pure joy and satisfaction to utter desperation and dread. Sometimes people have never known a life without their passion, guided by a headstrong feeling towards a path they have always dreamed of. Sometimes people can never seem to find passion, not knowing where to look and yet constantly chasing after it. Sometimes …

The Decline Of Upland Birds In Nebraska: Maximizing Limited Habitat, Hunter Tesarek

Department of Environmental Studies: Undergraduate Student Theses

Ring-necked Pheasants were introduced into the United States around 150 years ago and since then have become an important species both culturally and economically. There population health is of growing concern as upland bird populations in much of the United States have been declining rapidly throughout the latter half of the last century. In Nebraska millions of acres have been transformed from habitat that benefits upland birds into row crop agriculture, mostly in the form of corn and soybeans. Rural Mail Carrier Surveys conducted for pheasants from 1960 through 2020 in comparison to change in acres harvested depict the relationship …

Place-Based Pedagogies In Post-Secondary Science Education: A Scoping Literature Review, Megan Swain

Department of Environmental Studies: Undergraduate Student Theses

How do we connect students to a class and how do educational professionals create those connections? What makes an educational experience memorable? How do we cultivate students who are passionate and engaged? These are all important questions in educational fields and ones that have increasing importance in a world of growing virtual education. This thesis aims to look deeper into one method, place-based education that attempts to answer some of these questions.

Place-based education (PBE) is a pedagogy that utilizes the local physical environment and community as an educational tool. Educators focus lessons on places, people, and things surrounding their …

Identifying A Consumer-Producer Agricultural Knowledge Gap, Aspen Rittgarn

Department of Environmental Studies: Undergraduate Student Theses

The purpose of this paper and online survey was to see if an agricultural knowledge gap between consumers and producers be found. Low agricultural literacy rates can lead to misconceptions of the agriculture industry, unhealthy food choices, environmentally unfriendly product choices, food waste, etc. The hypothesis for this thesis is that those born in the mid1960s to early 1980s (Generation X) will be the start of an increased knowledge gap. The survey was compiled of both qualitative and quantitative questions and questions were inspired by American Farm Bureau’s AITC Benchmarks. Responses were analyzed and the results revealed that my participants …

Evaluating Ecosystem Health Of The Salt Creek Basin Through Two-Eyed Seeing, Shelby Serritella

Department of Environmental Studies: Undergraduate Student Theses

Few instances of prior research into socio-ecological health have brought together both Indigenous Knowledge Systems and Western science, especially in Nebraska. This study attempts to fill this gap in Lancaster County, Nebraska by using “Two-Eyed Seeing”. This equitably combines both Indigenous Knowledge Systems (qualitative data), obtained through oral interviews with Indigenous community members, and Western science (quantitative data), obtained through USGS, UNL, and U.S. Drought Monitor databases, to assess ecosystem health. Changes to the Salt Creek Basin were collected and analyzed through this Two-Eyed Seeing framework. Results found that there are high levels of consensus between both knowledge systems regarding …

Spot1328 Meira Spit Derived Data, Robert C. Mahon, Elizabeth J. Trower, Benjamin P. Smith, Tyler A. Lincoln, Juliana Olsen-Valdez, John S. Magyar, Cedric J. Hagen

2D Wave Spectral Data, South Arm, Great Salt Lake, Utah

Data in this folder are produced by a SoFarOcean Spotter wave buoy deployed along the south arm of the Great Salt Lake, near Antelope Island State Park from the period of July 13, 2021 through June 28, 2022, in relatively shallow water, approximately 1.6m.

IMPORTANT NOTE: Water depths for #1328 (Miera Spit) started at ~1.7 m, but dropped rapidly to 0.9 m on July 15, 2021 and dropped further to ~0.4 m on August 17, 2021. The timing of these rapid water depth changes matches the timing of buoy location changes when the anchor was dragged inshore by waves. When …

Consumers' Perceptions Of Digital Privacy In The United States And Japan, Destiny Randle

Whittier Scholars Program

The purpose of my study is to explore the contours of contemporary consumer privacy protections derived from legislation, regulations and publicly available company policies as a way to get a better understanding of how consumer data is protected. A few examples ranging from company-based consumer protection in the United States to data breaches in Japan will be explored and examined. Finally, this paper includes a comparative survey of consumer perceptions and concerns related to personal data privacy in the U.S. and Japan. As a way to assess the degree to which digital privacy and personal data breaches have adversely influenced …