Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

Experimental Design For Scientific Discovery, Quan Minh Nguyen

McKelvey School of Engineering Theses & Dissertations

Experimental design offers an elegant model of many problems where one navigates within a vast search space seeking data points with certain characteristics. A multitude of applications in science and engineering fall under this umbrella, with drug and materials discovery being prime examples. The experimental design approach maintains a probabilistic model of the search space, and uses Bayesian decision theory accounting for this model to guide the accumulation of observed data to maximize an experimentation objective of interest. This dissertation explores Bayesian optimization and active search, two realizations of the experimental design framework that model discovery tasks. While existing solutions …

How Are Entanglement Entropies Related To Entropy Bounds?, Emily Adlam

Philosophy Faculty Articles and Research

In this paper we seek to understand what current knowledge of entanglement entropies suggests about the appropriate way to interpret the covariant entropy bound. We first begin by arguing that just as in the classical case, a universal bound on the von Neumann entropy could have either an epistemic or ontological origin. We then consider several possible ways of explaining the bound as a consequence of features of the entanglement entropy. We discuss consider area laws in condensed matter and quantum field theory, arguing that they suggest an epistemic reading of the bound. We also discuss the ‘spacetime from entanglement’ …

Rigorous Verification Of Stability Of Ideal Gas Layers, Damian Anderson

Theses and Dissertations

In this thesis we develop tools for carrying out computer assisted proof of the stability of traveling wave solutions of the spatially one-dimensional compressible Navier-Stokes equations with an ideal gas equation of state. In particular, we obtain rigorous, tight error bounds on a high-accuracy numerical approximation of the traveling wave profile for parameters corresponding to air, and we obtain rigorous representations in a neighborhood of positive and negative infinity of the solution to the first order ODE associated with linearizing the PDE equations about the traveling wave solution. We also develop supporting tools for rigorous verification of wave stability.

Design And Implementation Of Truly Random Number Generation Using Memristors For In-Memory Computing, Nick Felker

Theses and Dissertations

This paper proposes a new security module based on non-volatile memory. The module uses a memristor-based true random number generator to generate random numbers which can be used for cryptography. The module is implemented in software using a modified RISC-V instruction set architecture. The paper evaluates the performance of the module using the RISC-V simulator Gem5. The results show that the module can generate random numbers at a rate of 63 microseconds per number, which is faster than the standard C library’s random number generator. The module can also be used to scramble strings of characters and generate hashes of …

The Fishing Cat: New Insights On Distribution In The Northern Sector Of Chitwan National Park, Nepal, Rupesh Maharjan, Rama Mishra, Jhamak Bahadur Karki

School of Earth, Environmental, and Marine Sciences Faculty Publications and Presentations

Fishing cat Prionailurus viverrinus (Bennett, 1833) is an elusive and medium-sized feline species with distinguished marking patterns on their head and body separating them from other feline species. Despite being distributed widely among diverse geographic locations, their abundance has declined due to significant habitat loss and human disturbances. There exists a substantial research gap regarding their abundance and distribution in Nepal. In this article, we presented the updated documentation of the fishing cat distribution in the northern sector of Chitwan National Park through our species-focused camera trapping survey. The study was carried out between April and May 2021 with a …

Re: Approval Letter For The Butte Priority Soils Operable Unit (Bpsou), Draft Final Residential Metals Abatement Program Investigation Summary Report (Non-Residential – Interior School Dust) - Gold Hill Lutheran Church (Creativity Factory Preschool) (Dated April 8, 2024), Molly Roby

Silver Bow Creek/Butte Area Superfund Site

No abstract provided.

Re: Approval Letter For The Butte Priority Soils Operable Unit (Bpsou) Draft Residential Metals Abatement Program Construction Completion Report (Non‐Residential Parcels – Indoor Dust) – Silver Bow Montessori (Dated April 25, 2024), Molly Roby

Silver Bow Creek/Butte Area Superfund Site

No abstract provided.

Re: Approval Letter For The Butte Priority Soils Operable Unit (Bpsou), Draft Residential Metals Abatement Program Construction Completion Report (Non-Residential Parcels – Indoor Dust) – Kennedy Elementary (Dated April 17, 2024), Molly Roby

Silver Bow Creek/Butte Area Superfund Site

No abstract provided.

Re: Approval Letter For The Butte Priority Soils Operable Unit (Bpsou), Draft Residential Metals Abatement Program Construction Completion Report (Non-Residential Parcels - Indoor Dust) – Small World Daycare (Dated April 17, 2024), Molly Roby

Silver Bow Creek/Butte Area Superfund Site

No abstract provided.

Peatmoss: A Dataset And Initial Analysis Of Pre-Trained Models In Open-Source Software, Wenxin Jiang, Jerin Yasmin, Jason Jones, Nicholas Synovic, Jiashen Kuo, Nathaniel Bielanski, Yuan Tian, George K. Thiruvathukal, James C. Davis

Computer Science: Faculty Publications and Other Works

The development and training of deep learning models have become increasingly costly and complex. Consequently, software engineers are adopting pre-trained models (PTMs) for their downstream applications. The dynamics of the PTM supply chain remain largely unexplored, signaling a clear need for structured datasets that document not only the metadata but also the subsequent applications of these models. Without such data, the MSR community cannot comprehensively understand the impact of PTM adoption and reuse. This paper presents the PeaTMOSS dataset, which comprises metadata for 281,638 PTMs and detailed snapshots for all PTMs with over 50 monthly downloads (14,296 PTMs), along with …

Changes To Tropical Cyclone Trajectories In Southeast Asia Under A Warming Climate, Andra J. Garner, Dhrubajyoti Samanta, Mackenzie M. Weaver, Benjamin P. Horton

School of Earth & Environment Departmental Research

The impacts of tropical cyclones (TCs) on Southeast Asia’s coastlines are acute due to high population densities in low-lying coastal environments. However, the trajectories of TCs are uncertain in a warming climate. Here, we assess >64,000 simulated TCs from the nineteenth century to the end of the twenty-first century for both moderate- and high-emissions scenarios. Results suggest changes to TC trajectories in Southeast Asia, including: (1) poleward shifts in both genesis and peak intensification rates; (2) TC formation and fastest intensification closer to many coastlines; (3) increased likelihoods of TCs moving most slowly over mainland Southeast Asia; and (4) TC …

Towards Environmentally Sustainable Preservation Of Heritage Buildings, Rozal Rozal Yousef Hanna1, Ayman Gamal El-Din Abd El- Tawab2, Walaa Abou El- Haggag Mehanna3

Journal of Engineering Research

The construction industry, characterized by its intricate processes and extensive stakeholder networks, stands at the cusp of a digital revolution. The adoption of blockchain-smart contract (BCSC) technology is at the heart of this transformation. This research delves deep into the BCSC within the construction arena to provide comprehensive insight into its probable applications, inherent challenges, and potential future trajectories. Leveraging the PRISMA analysis technique, a curated collection of relevant academic research articles was assembled, shedding light on the existing body of knowledge regarding the application of BCSC technology in construction. The authors developed an innovative user interface tool customized to …

Review: Protection Of Wooden Structures With Nano-Titanium Dioxide Coating, Zienab Zienab A. Ahmed1*, And M. M. Mosallem2

Journal of Engineering Research

Wood is widely used for various purposes with good performance. Wood works as the main material for furniture, monuments, decorations and constructions. which has the close relationship with human. Durability of wood is important in ensuring an appropriate life for the structure being designed. Wooden construction deteriorates easily due to UV radiation and weather conditions. Many of wood types need a preservative treatment. Several compounds are available for chemical protection, but not all are completely safe for human health. New technologies with low environmental impact and economically feasible are developed, which improves the life cycle of wood. Titanium dioxide is …

Urbanism Strategies For Linking Existing And New Cities, Naglaa J. Q. Mo’Men Abdel-Qader Ebrahim1, Mohsen Bayad2

Journal of Engineering Research

New cities, designed for urban growth outside existing metropolitan regions, face challenges in street infrastructure due to rapid expansion. Efficient control of mobility is crucial as cities grow. Sustainable transportation involves factors like infrastructure, public transit, delivery networks, affordability, efficiency, air quality, health, and reduced emissions. Commuting between established and new urban areas is common, leading to issues like urban sprawl, longer travel times, and congestion in developing countries. The challenge is to improve accessibility while addressing air quality, traffic, congestion, noise, built environment, emissions, and sprawl. This study aims to explore factors influencing mobility choices in Egypt, focusing on …

Holomorphic Functional Calculus Approach To The Characteristic Function Of Quantum Observables, Andreas Boukas

Journal of Stochastic Analysis

No abstract provided.

Decentralized Consensus And Governance For Collaborative Intelligence, Huiwen Liu

Dissertations and Theses Collection (Open Access)

The data economy today is becoming increasingly collaborative in nature. Take business intelligence, for example. To unleash the full potential of big data, it is essential to integrate multi-source data depicting entities from a multi-faceted and multi-modal perspective, which, not surprisingly, is not achievable by any company alone. In collaborative intelligence, there are two core issues, namely "trust" and "incentive". The core mechanisms to solve these two problems are consensus and tokenization separately.

To solve the trust problem more effectively, we propose a systematic consensus evaluation framework to investigate whether existing consensus algorithms can do so. After a lot of …

Multi-Case Study Of Left-Flank Boundaries Within Supercells, Peyton B. Stevenson

Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

This study investigates the prevalence and significance of forward-flank convergence boundaries (FFCBs) and left-flank convergence boundaries (LFCBs) in shaping the structure and intensity of supercells, using observational data from various field projects. Unlike previous research focusing on individual cases, this study examines a diverse range of cases to provide comprehensive insights into the relationship between these boundaries and supercell characteristics such as intensity, longevity, and tornadogenesis. By analyzing high-resolution surface data, the research addresses the frequency, location, and intensity of these boundaries, and their impact on pseudo vertical vorticity, pseudo convergence, and density gradients. A total of 228 boundary identifications …

Biostratigraphic Revision Of Esthonyx (Tillidontia, Mammalia) In The Contect Of Climate Change In The Lower Eocene Of The Bighorn Basin, Wyoming, John Colter Johnson

Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Esthonyx is an early Eocene tillodont found in North America, Europe, and India. The genus was named by Edward Drinker (E. D.) Cope in 1874 based on specimens from the San Jose Formation in New Mexico. Since then, several species of Esthonyx have been described from North America alone. The best record of Esthonyx comes from the central Bighorn Basin (BHB) in Wyoming, where it appears in 220 localities in a 640 m-thick stratigraphic succession. Since the last summary of Esthonyx in the BHB, several hundred new specimens have been collected and curated at the Denver Museum of Nature and …

Phylogeny And Disparity Of Ammonoid Family Acanthoceratidae Over Ocean Anoxic Event 2, Lindsey Howard

Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

The widespread use of genera as proxies for species in paleobiological studies might affect the results of these studies. Although most attention has been given to taxonomic diversity studies, this could also be true of disparity and phylogenetic studies. In particular, the assumption that particular character states truly diagnose all members of a genus might distort results. This study examines the disparity of Acanthoceratid ammonoids at both the generic and species level. 149 species from 42 genera were examined with 52 characters measured. Following the measurements, an inverse modeling simulation was run 100 times to generate a simulated phylogeny with …

Design And Evaluation Of An Esa-Based Method Of Ensemble Subsetting For A Wofs (Warn On Forecast-Like System), Daniel J. Butler

Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Forecasting severe thunderstorm environments in the southeastern United States can be challenging due to mesoscale heterogeneities such as shortwave troughs, pre-existing airmass boundaries, cold fronts aloft, low-level jets, dry air intrusions, and mesoscale lows. To combat these challenges, ensemble sensitivity analysis (ESA) may be applied to a Warn-on-Forecast (WOF)-like ensemble to improve forecasts of severe convection through ensemble weighting and subsetting. Ensemble-based weighting and subsetting uses ensemble members that most accurately represent the thunderstorm environment in areas of mesoscale heterogeneity. This study creates and evaluates the ensemble-based weighting and subsetting in four cases of severe thunderstorm occurrence. The open parameter …

Critical Behavior And Collective Modes At The Superfluid Transition In Amorphous Systems, Pulloor Kuttanikkad Vishnu, Martin Puschmann, Rajesh Narayanan, Thomas Vojta

Physics Faculty Research & Creative Works

We investigate the critical behavior and the dynamics of the amplitude (Higgs) mode close to the superfluid-insulator quantum phase transition in an amorphous system (i.e., a system subject to topological randomness). In particular, we map the two-dimensional Bose-Hubbard Hamiltonian defined on a random Voronoi-Delaunay lattice onto a (2+1)-dimensional layered classical XY model with correlated topological disorder. We study the resulting model by laying recourse to classical Monte Carlo simulations. We specifically focus on the scalar susceptibility of the order parameter to study the dynamics of the amplitude mode. To do so, we harness the maximum entropy method to perform the …

Eighth-Order Foldy-Wouthuysen Transformation, Ulrich D. Jentschura

Physics Faculty Research & Creative Works

The calculation of higher-order binding corrections to bound systems is a fundamental problem of theoretical physics. For any nonrelativistic expansion, one needs the Foldy-Wouthuysen transformation, which disentangles the particle and the antiparticle degrees of freedom. This transformation is carried out here to eighth order in the momenta or to eighth order in the momentum operators, which is equivalent to the eighth order of the fine-structure constant. Matrix elements of the eighth-order terms are evaluated for F_5/2 and F_7/2 states in hydrogenlike ions and compared with the Dirac-Coulomb energy levels.

Tunneling Dynamics Of 164dy Supersolids And Droplets, S. I. Mistakidis, K. Mukherjee, S. M. Reimann, H. R. Sadeghpour

Physics Faculty Research & Creative Works

The tunneling dynamics of a magnetic Dy164 quantum gas in an elongated or pancake skewed double-well trap is investigated with a time-dependent extended Gross-Pitaevskii approach. Upon lifting the energy offset, different tunneling regimes can be identified. In the elongated trap and for sufficiently large offset, the different configurations exhibit collective macroscopic tunneling. For smaller offset, partial reflection from and transmission through the barrier lead to density accumulation in both wells, and eventually to tunneling locking. One can also reach the macroscopic self-trapping regime for increasing relative dipolar interaction strength, while tunneling vanishes for large barrier heights. A richer dynamical behavior …

Magnetic Properties Of Diluted Hexaferrites, Logan Sowadski, Sean Anderson, Cameron Lerch, Julia E. Medvedeva, Thomas Vojta

Physics Faculty Research & Creative Works

We revisit the magnetic properties of the hexagonal ferrite PbFe_12-xGa_xO₁₉. Recent experiments have reported puzzling dependences of the ordering temperature and the saturation magnetization on the Ga concentration x. To explain these observations, we perform large-scale Monte Carlo simulations, focusing on the effects of an unequal distribution of the Ga impurities over the five distinct Fe sublattices. Ab initio density-functional calculations predict that the Ga ions preferably occupy the 12k sublattice and (to a lesser extent) the 2a sublattice. We incorporate this insight into a nonuniform model of the Ga distribution. Monte Carlo simulations …

Integrity Roofing Nw Sustainability Officer, Sam Woodman

College of the Environment Internship Reports

My internship as the Sustainability Officer at Integrity Roofing NW has been an invaluable learning experience that has enhanced my understanding of sustainable roofing practices and provided me with practical skills and insights into the roofing industry. Over the past few months, I focused on several key objectives, including mastering the ins and outs of sustainable roofing, identifying and promoting cost-effective and environmentally friendly materials, understanding the economic and environmental benefits of sustainable practices, and applying knowledge from my Environmental Science (ENVS) and Economics (ECON) classes to real-world scenarios. Additionally, I sought to develop my proficiency in Excel and gain …

Deception Pass State Park Intern, Chloe Lindstrom

College of the Environment Internship Reports

Most of my background science work and most of what guided me towards Environmental Science was marine science and marine biology. I have an abundance of experience collecting oceanography data, and working in aquatic environments, but one of my learning goals was to branch out and away from marine science. Not only is it a popular destination for guests hoping to go outside and enjoy nature, but Deception Pass is also home to much wildlife. I regularly encountered chipmunks, bunnies, squirrels, bald eagles, red-tail hawks, deer, orcas, and other birds and mammals during my internship. All these organisms rely on …

Wwu Iws Internship, Andrew Aguilar

College of the Environment Internship Reports

For my internship I worked as a research assistant at the Institute for Watershed Studies (IWS). IWS is a research institute affiliated with the College of the Environment at Western Washington University (WWU) that conducts research on freshwater lakes, streams, and wetlands. The main project that IWS works on is the Lake Whatcom Monitoring Project. This project has been monitoring Lake Whatcom since 1988 with the goal of providing a long-term record of data on a variety of water quality parameters. The monitoring program was initiated because Lake Whatcom is the primary drinking water source for the City of Bellingham …

Washington Conservation Corps Crew Member, Eric Newell

College of the Environment Internship Reports

During my time at WCC, I have learned about state government structure and have gotten a closer look at how it works from the inside. Previously I associated DNR with wildland 1 firefighting, which is one of the things they do, but now I understand that DNR has many, many divisions and a very complicated structure. The department is made up of fire experts, geologists, recreation managers, foresters, mappers, conservation experts, and much more. DNR has six regions and each of them operates largely separated from the others. This is advantageous because rules and regulations can be specific to a …

Birch Bay State Park Intern, Kylee Wright

College of the Environment Internship Reports

This past summer I worked at Birch Bay State Park in Birch Bay, Washington as a park aide. I spent the summer working with Park Rangers to keep this protected piece of land along the Strait of Georgia a space where people and nature can mingle. I wanted to work here because it seemed like the perfect way to start down the path towards working in the outdoors in a context where I am doing what I can to keep natural spaces wild and protected, while also making it possible for people to see them in all their splendor so …

Pacmam Intern, Natalia Debardeleben

College of the Environment Internship Reports

For my Summer internship, I assisted PacMam (Pacific Mammal Research) in Anacortes, WA and remotely. PacMam is a 501c3 non-profit organization that is dedicated to better understanding more about marine mammal populations in the Salish Sea. During my time interning for PacMam, the main marine mammals that they were focusing on were harbor seals and porpoises. The work that I conducted for PacMam was primarily in assisting with harbor seal identifications where I identified new seals, even naming a few, but also reidentified seals that had already been confirmed and added to the Seal Codex. With harbor seal research, there …