Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

Accelerating Precision Station Keeping For Automated Aircraft, James D. Anderson

Browse all Theses and Dissertations

Automated vehicles pose challenges in various research domains, including robotics, machine learning, computer vision, public safety, system certification, and beyond. These vehicles autonomously handle navigation and locomotion, often requiring minimal user interaction, and can operate on land, in water, or in the air. In the context of aircraft, one specific application is Automated Aerial Refueling (AAR). Traditional aerial refueling involves a "tanker" aircraft using a mechanism, such as a rigid boom arm or a flexible hose, to transfer fuel to another aircraft designated as the "receiver". For AAR, the boom arm may be maneuvered automatically, or in certain instances the …

Direct Parameter Fitting Of Action Potentials In Skeletal Muscle Cells Which Include Longitudinal Segments, Tyme Suda

Browse all Theses and Dissertations

Excitation of skeletal muscle cells triggers a large voltage spike known as an action potential (AP), leading to muscle contraction. Modeling of an AP is typically done using the method developed by scientists Hodgkin and Huxley (HH). In the HH method, voltage and time gated Na+ and K+ ionic currents are simulated, along with a positive “Leak” ionic current and capacitive current. Due to the complexity and the computational time required for simulation, direct fitting of HH parameters to experimental APs has rarely been attempted. A previous thesis at Wright State performed direct fitting for the case of a single …

Image Schema Decompositions Of The Conceptual Dependency Ingest Primitive: A Study Of Paraphrases, Jamie C. Macbeth, Alexis Kilayko, Zoie Zhao, Sophie Song, Winniw X. Zheng

Computer Science: Faculty Publications

One of the hallmarks of the Schank-Minsky Conceptual Dependency Trans-Frames meaning representation system is that it attempts to express complex meanings by building large and complex conceptual structures using a relatively small number of primitives. Recently comparisons of image schemas with Conceptual Dependency primitives revealed ways of possibly reducing the number of primitives while maintaining the expressiveness of the set—an important research goal because it increases the flexibility and richness of the primitive-decomposed structures in a way that better approximates human cognition. Inspired by this prior work, we employ a paraphrase generation system to explore the replacement of the Conceptual …

An Experiment On The Effects Of Using Color To Visualize Requirements Analysis Tasks, Yesugen Baatartogtokh, Irene Foster, Alicia M. Grubb

Computer Science: Faculty Publications

Recent approaches have investigated assisting users in making early trade-off decisions when the future evolution of project elements is uncertain. These approaches have demon-strated promise in their analytical capabilities; yet, stakeholders have expressed concerns about the readability of the models and resulting analysis, which builds upon Tropos. Tropos is based on formal semantics enabling automated analysis; however, this creates a problem of interpreting evidence pairs. The aim of our broader research project is to improve the process of model comprehension and decision making by improving how analysts interpret and make decisions. We extend and evaluate a prior approach, called EVO, …

Visualizations For User-Supported State Space Exploration Of Goal Models: Supplemental Material, Yesugen Baatartogtokh, Irene Foster, Alicia M. Grubb

Computer Science: Faculty Publications

Supplemental material for the research paper entitled, "Visualizations for User-supported State Space Exploration of Goal Models". This paper presents a technique for valuation-based filtering and coloring to assist users in understanding a solution space and selecting custom states from it. This supplement contains the data from our initial evaluation and associated models.

Visualizations For User-Supported State Space Exploration Of Requirements Models, Yesugen Baatartogtokh, Irene Foster, Alicia M. Grubb

Computer Science: Faculty Publications

Automated analysis has been used in goal-oriented requirements engineering (GORE) to evaluate scenarios and make trade-off decisions. For higher complexity problems (e.g., backwards analysis), using a search-based solver may be more efficient than custom algorithms. When these black-box solvers produce a single solution, users may be suspicious about whether the given answer is ideal or believable. Users would like to explore the potential solutions but are prevented from doing so because these inquiries often suffer from a state explosion problem. In this RE@Next! paper, we introduce the use of valuation-based filtering and coloring to assist users in understanding a solution …

Coming Out While Going Fast: Queer Conviviality In Speedrunning Live Streams, Johanna Brewer

Computer Science: Faculty Publications

Drawing on ethnographic research of LGBTQIA+ live streaming speedrunners, this article demonstrates how by centering queer perspectives, we can catalyze meaningful social changes for all. Though for most people, beating the original Super Mario Bros. in under five minutes would seem unfathomably difficult, LGBTQIA+ speedrunning live streamers regularly accomplish this superhuman feat, while coming out to an audience of thousands at the same time. For queer and trans folks, broadcasting such a transgressive, transformational form of play is defiant demonstration of vulnerability; one that creates a comfortable space for a community to thrive, by cultivating a culture of queer conviviality. …

More Human Than Human: Llm-Generated Narratives Outperform Human-Llm Interleaved Narratives, Zoie Zhao, Sophie Song, Bridget Duah, Jamie C. Macbeth, Scott Carter, Monica Van, Nayeli Bravo, Matthew Klenk, Katherine Sieck, Alexandre Filipowicz

Computer Science: Faculty Publications

Narrative story generation has gained emerging interest in the field of large language models. The present paper aims to compare stories generated by an LLM only (non-interleaved) with those generated by interleaving human-generated and LLM-generated text (interleaved). The study’s hypothesis is that interleaved stories would perform better than non-interleaved stories. To verify this hypothesis, we conducted two tests with roughly 500 participants each. Participants were asked to rate stories of each type, including an overall score or preference and four facets—logical soundness, plausibility, understandability, and novelty. Our findings indicate that interleaved stories were in fact less preferred than non-interleaved stories. …

A Proposal For Primitive Decomposition Of Spatial Orientation Relationships, Jamie C. Macbeth, Mackie Zhou, Zoie Zhao

Computer Science: Faculty Publications

This short paper continues work on primitive decomposition systems for meaning representation which combine image schemas and conceptual dependency primitive systems. An important thread of this research seeks small abstract sets of conceptual primitives so that decompositions of imagery evoked by language give rise to rich sets of mappings between language and the language-free representations, reflecting the linguistic variation of human language behavior. In this brief paper, we present a proposal for novel primitive decompositions of positions, spatial relationships, and orientations of objects in space in a conceptual representation framework. As an abstract first approximation, we introduce a spatial primitive …

Treatment Plan And Educational Guide For Removing Invasive Barnyard Grass, Canada Thistle, And Cocklebur Within The Baduwa't (Mad River) Estuary, Ashley S. Turner, Alex D. Lallman

Cal Poly Humboldt Capstone Honor Roll

Our project is located at the Baduwa’t Estuary. We partnered with CalTrout to assist them with meeting one of the objectives for their Mad River (Baduwa’t) Estuary Floodplain Habitat and Public Access Enhancement Project. CalTrout partnered with the landowner, McKinleyville Community Services District, to restore 4.25 acres of the estuary. Our project focused on reducing the abundance of invasive plant species within the estuary area. The target plant species were barnyard grass, Canada thistle, and cocklebur. First, we conducted a literature review to learn the best management practices for eradicating the three target species. Then we conducted a field survey …

Comparing Fish Species Assemblage Between Impacted And Restored Estuarine Salt Marshes Within The Eel River Estuary, Humboldt Co. Ca, Adam Aguilar, Isaac Basham-Clair, Tristan F. Parkinson, Larkin C. Wells

Cal Poly Humboldt Capstone Honor Roll

This report details a study assessing the fish assemblages of a recently restored estuarine salt marsh site, and a similar unrestored and impacted site along the Eel River estuary. These two sites are located within the Eel River (Wiya’t) estuary, roughly 10 miles west of the city of Fortuna, CA. This study was conducted during the months of September through October 2023. Data collection was done through seine net dragging at randomly selected sample points across both sites. Seine net hauls were recorded by species and species count, which were later computed using a diversity index to provide values representative …

Analysis Of Benthic Macroinvertebrate Response To Restoration Flows And Scour In The Trinity River, Northern California, Sarah Gutierrez, Julie Avina

Cal Poly Humboldt Capstone Honor Roll

This study investigates the ecological impact of restoration flows and scouring events on benthic macroinvertebrate (BMI) communities within the Trinity River, an ecosystem historically impacted by anthropogenic activities. Central to this study is the examination of how hydrologic alterations, especially the construction of the Lewiston Dam, have influenced these vital ecological indicators. Using data collected earlier in 2023 from a current study by Benjamin King, we analyzed BMI samples from three river sites (Junction City, Pear Tree, and Lorenz Gulch), both prior to and following a major scouring event in January 2023. This paper utilizes statistical analyses, including ANOVA and …

Invasive Buckthorn Mapping: A Uav-Based Approach Utilizing Machine Learning, Gis, And Remote Sensing Techniques In The Upper Peninsula Of Michigan, Vikranth Madeppa

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

An Invasive species is a species that is alien or non-native to the ecosystem which causes harm to economic, environmental, or human health (E.O. 13112 of Feb 3, 1999). Invasive species have posed a serious threat to ecosystems across the globe. These invasive species have impacts on the biodiversity and productivity of invaded forests. Remotely sensed data is a valuable resource for understanding and addressing issues related to invasive species. This study presents a novel approach for mapping the distribution of two invasive plant species, Common and Glossy Buckthorn, using unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), machine learning algorithms, geographic information systems …

Statistical Methods For Gene Selection And Genetic Association Studies, Xuewei Cao

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

This dissertation includes five Chapters. A brief description of each chapter is organized as follows.

In Chapter One, we propose a signed bipartite genotype and phenotype network (GPN) by linking phenotypes and genotypes based on the statistical associations. It provides a new insight to investigate the genetic architecture among multiple correlated phenotypes and explore where phenotypes might be related at a higher level of cellular and organismal organization. We show that multiple phenotypes association studies by considering the proposed network are improved by incorporating the genetic information into the phenotype clustering.

In Chapter Two, we first illustrate the proposed GPN …

Study Of Electronic And Magnetic Properties Of Bilayer Graphene Nanoflakes And Bimetallic Chalcogenides Using First-Principles Density Functional Theory And Machine Learning, Dharmendra Pant

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

Graphene, a one-atom-thick material, has been a wonder material since its discovery because of its superlative electronic, mechanical, and optical properties. When a layer of graphene is rotated over another layer, it exhibits many intriguing behaviors, ranging from superconductivity to the anomalous Hall effect to ferromagnetism at a magic angle of 1°, and hence the twisted bilayer graphene has been the subject of intense research in recent years. The surge in interest in this moiré structure can be attributed to the emergence of electronic flat minibands near the magic angle. Here, we studied the electronic and magnetic properties of twisted …

An Exploration Of Cloud Droplet Growth By Condensation And Collision-Coalescence In A Convection-Cloud Chamber, Jacob T. Kuntzleman

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

Atmospheric clouds are crucial to weather and climate, and the rate at which droplets collide and coalesce to form precipitation is one of the fundamental controlling processes. The convection-cloud chamber allows the interactions between aerosols and cloud droplets produced by condensation to be investigated within a turbulent environment. Studying the full range of microphysical conditions in atmospheric clouds is not possible, however, unless conditions for droplet growth by collision and coalescence are also achieved. In this study, we explore the conditions favorable to collision-coalescence growth in convection-cloud chambers, extending previous work on steady-state droplet size distributions due to condensation alone. …

Comprehensive Analysis Of Seismic Signals From Pacaya Volcano Using Deep Learning Event Detection, Jessica L. Devlieg

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

Pacaya volcano located 30 km SW of Guatemala City, Guatemala, has been erupting intermittently since 1961. Monitoring of seismicity is crucial to understanding current activity levels within Pacaya. Traditional methods of picking these small earthquakes in this noisy environment are imprecise. Pacaya produces many small events that can easily blend in with the background noise. A possible solution for this problem is a machine learning program to pick first arrivals for these earthquakes. We tested a deep learning algorithm (Mousavi et al., 2020) for fast and reliable seismic signal detection within a volcanic system. Data from multiple deployments were used, …

Physical, Optical, And Chemical Properties Of Light Absorbing Aerosols And Their Climatic Impacts, Susan Mathai

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

Aerosols are particles suspended in the atmosphere; they are emitted during natural phenomena such as dust storms, wildfires, and volcanic eruptions, and during anthropogenic activities like household wood burning, vehicles operations, and industrial productions, or they can form in the atmosphere from gas to particle partition. Aerosols impact earth’s weather and climate by absorbing and scattering the incoming solar and the outgoing earth thermal radiation and interacting with clouds. The optical properties of aerosols evolve as the chemical and physical properties vary during their residence in the atmosphere. In addition, the aerosols’ properties strongly depend on the vertical distribution in …

Using The 3-30-300 Rule To Assess Urban Forest Access And Preferences In Florida (United States), Andrew Koeser, Richard Hauer, Michael Andreu, Robert Northrop, Mysha Clarke, John Diaz, Deborah Hilbert, Cecil Konijnendijk, Shawn Landry, Grant Thompson, Rebecca K. Zarger

School of Geosciences Faculty and Staff Publications

Background: Public engagement is needed to make sure urban forestry management efforts align with the values of the public being served. Noting this, we determined current and desired urban forest access of Florida (United States) residents using the criteria from the 3-30-300 rule (i.e., 3 trees visible from home, 30% canopy in neighborhood, and a green space within 300 meters of home). Methods: A survey of 1,716 Florida residents was conducted to assess canopy coverage and green space access. Respondents were then asked if this level of urban forest access was sufficient for their needs. We also asked their perceptions …

Slices Of C_2, Klein-4, And Quaternionic Eilenberg-Mac Lane Spectra, Carissa Slone

Theses and Dissertations--Mathematics

We provide the slice (co)towers of \(\Si{V} H_{C_2}\ul M\) for a variety of \(C_2\)-representations \(V\) and \(C_2\)-Mackey functors \(\ul M\). We also determine a characterization of all 2-slices of equivariant spectra over the Klein four-group \(C_2\times C_2\). We then describe all slices of integral suspensions of the equivariant Eilenberg-MacLane spectrum \(H\ulZ\) for the constant Mackey functor over \(C_2\times C_2\). Additionally, we compute the slices and slice spectral sequence of integral suspensions of $H\ulZ$ for the group of equivariance $Q_8$. Along the way, we compute the Mackey functors \(\mpi_{k\rho} H_{K_4}\ulZ\) and $\mpi_{k\rho} H_{Q_8}\ulZ$.

Small Mammal Community Structure And Bait Preference In Missouri Prairie Patches, Sofia L. Orlando

MSU Graduate Theses

Ecological community studies provide insights on how species interact with biotic and abiotic factors in an ecosystem. Community assembly is dynamic and often mediated by stochastic processes or deterministic properties. Establishing patterns in community composition could help to predict the suitability of a patch, which is crucial in endangered ecosystems. Small mammals are a model indicator for community change as their populations experience perplexing fluctuations. Many mechanisms have been proposed to drive small mammal species composition, but inconsistencies in past studies warrant further investigation. A previous study on prairie patches in Missouri revealed that there was an unknown catalyst for …

Computational Comparison Of Platinum, Base Metals, And Binary Intermetallic Compounds’ Efficiency In Hydrogenation Catalysis, Lauren M. Sayler

MSU Graduate Theses

In the petroleum industry, platinum is used as a catalyst in hydrogenation reactions during petroleum refining. Although platinum is extremely effective as a catalyst, it is expensive. This is an investigation into platinum and what characteristics make it so efficient, with the end goal of finding intermetallic compounds composed of base metals that are as effective in hydrogenation catalysis. The metals used in this investigation are Fe, Co, Ni, Mo, and W. The research performed here is computational and used to support and direct decisions made in the laboratory. The computation is first-principle, which is accomplished using Vienna Ab initio …

Experimental Determination Of Zinc, Potassium And Rubidium Diffusion Coefficients In Olivine, Christopher J. Willingham

MSU Graduate Theses

One of NASA’s key strategies is to learn more about the early solar system and its formation. Chondrites were formed from the most primitive materials at the collapse of the solar system and over time have been classified into different categories based on their elemental abundance. These chondrites have fallen to Earth and have even formed entities such as asteroids and planetary bodies. It has been found through studies that one of these chondrites is close to the elemental abundance of the Sun. The other types of chondrites were up to two orders of magnitude less in concentration …

Machine Learning Strategies For Potential Development In High-Entropy Driven Nickel-Based Superalloys, Marium Mostafiz Mou

MSU Graduate Theses

In this study, I developed Deep Learning interatomic potentials to model a multi-phase and multi-component system of Ni-based Superalloys. The system has up to three major phase constituents, namely Gamma, Gamma Prime, and Transition-metal rich Carbide. I utilized invariant scalar-based and/or equivariant, tensor-based neural network (NN) approach as implemented in DEEPMD, NEQUIP/ALLEGRO codes, respectively, and Moment Tensor Potential (MTP). For the training and validation sets, I employed the ab-initio molecular dynamics (AIMD) trajectory results and ground state DFT calculations, including the energy, force, and virial database from highly diverse compositions, temperatures, and pressures following a “High Entropy Strategy.” The Deep …

Dynamics And Timescales Of Magmatic Processes At Cerro Uturuncu, Bolivia, Sarah Jane Rasor

MSU Graduate Theses

Between 12-25°S latitude there is prolific volcanism fueled by the Altiplano-Puna Magmatic Body (APMB), a mid-crustal magma body above the 30° angle subduction of the Nazca plate and within 60-70 km thick South American crust. Cerro Uturuncu, a stratovolcano constructed above the center of the APMB, can provide insight to the evolution of the APMB over time. Previous research suggests that the APMB is more homogenous near its center as opposed to its edges. However, the processes that led to greater homogenization as well as the structure of the magma body below Cerro Uturuncu remain unknown. This research contributes greater …

On Covering Groups With Proper Subgroups, Collin B. Moore

MSU Graduate Theses

In this paper, we explore groups that can be expressed as a union of proper subgroups. Using “covering number” to denote the minimal number of proper subgroups required to cover a group, we explore the nature of groups with covering numbers 3 and 4, while also finding covering numbers for p-groups, dihedral, and generalized dihedral groups.

An Explainable Deep Learning Prediction Model For Severity Of Alzheimer's Disease From Brain Images, Godwin O. Ekuma

MSU Graduate Theses

Deep Convolutional Neural Networks (CNNs) have become the go-to method for medical imaging classification on various imaging modalities for binary and multiclass problems. Deep CNNs extract spatial features from image data hierarchically, with deeper layers learning more relevant features for the classification application. The effectiveness of deep learning models are hampered by limited data sets, skewed class distributions, and the undesirable "black box" of neural networks, which decreases their understandability and usability in precision medicine applications. This thesis addresses the challenge of building an explainable deep learning model for a clinical application: predicting the severity of Alzheimer's disease (AD). AD …

Impact Of Sample Conditions On Dna Phosphodiester Backbone Bi/Bii Conformational Equilibrium Dynamics, Autumn C. Pilarski

MSU Graduate Theses

DNA damage, such as single base lesions and mismatches, is highly prevalent within cells. If these DNA damage events are not repaired, they could lead to mutations and thus disease and cancer. Intricate repair mechanisms are in place to fix these damage events, one such being Base Excision Repair (BER) and associated enzyme: Thymine DNA Glycosylase (TDG). The first step of this repair process, recognition of the lesion by TDG, is not well understood. The following thesis presents results to better understand the fundamental biophysical question of how a DNA lesion within a mismatch context is recognized in a million …

Renewable Fuels: Molecular Dynamics Investigations Into Pyrolysis Of Methyl Linoleate, Elson Osakpolor Eguaosa

MSU Graduate Theses

With the rapid depletion of the world’s supply of fossil fuels, especially petroleum products, petroleum prices have risen by approximately 800% between the 1970s and now and are projected to continue rising. It is also expected that the world’s consumption of energy will increase commensurate with its growing population. Although biodiesel is a good renewable alternative, it has its limitations including high production costs and poor low-temperature performance. We seek to improve conventional biodiesel with pyrolysis to produce low molecular-weight compounds with high energy densities. Understanding the pyrolysis path on the atomic scale is key as it will allow us …

Growth And Characterization Of Sm3hfbi5, Patrick Lambdin

MSU Graduate Theses

First found experimentally in 2015, topological Weyl materials are desirable compounds that have garnered much interest due to their ability to conduct electricity via their surface states even though the bulk material is a semimetal. Such a candidate, Sm3HfBi5, was discovered with a flux crystal growth method, following an extensive amount of reaction syntheses. This thesis reports on the discovery, growth, structural characterization via x-ray diffraction, and magnetization measurements on Sm3HfBi5.