The goal of the work in this dissertation was to identify alternative soil amendments to improve plant growth and yield during establishment of highbush blueberry (Vaccinium hybrid). Woody materials, such as sawdust and wood chips, have a high carbon to nitrogen (C:N) ratio and low water holding capacity, which can...
Machine learning applied to computer architecture has rapidly transitioned from a theoretical novelty to being a driving force behind design, control, and simulation in practically all components. These machine-learning-based methodologies are further notable for their scalability to increasingly complex design challenges, which has allowed these methodologies to surpass the prior...
The developmental milestones of Sustainability are consistent with the post-normal versus traditional science, where transdisciplinary and policy/action research are among the important approaches to be added to traditional analysis. This shift requires a new perspective to look at the problem at hand: we are no longer considering a group of...
Public housing (PH) provides a substantial portion of the housing in both developed and less developed countries, and the demand for it is increasing. The PH projects, however, are facing many challenges that are affecting their performance and cause their failures. The United States has demolished large portions of their...
As one of the most popular data types, the point cloud is widely used in various appli- cations, including computer vision, computer graphics and robotics. The capability to directly measure 3D point clouds is invaluable in those applications as depth information could remove a lot of the segmentation ambiguities in...
The reliability and survivability of a wave energy converter (WEC) is highly dependent on the variability and non-linearity of the ocean itself. Ocean variability occurs on many time scales. Climate variability occurs decade-to-decade, and year-to-year in the number and intensity of winter storms. Seasonal variation of wave height and period...
Marine biofouling is a major problem in many industries. Shipping has been afflicted with reduced vessel speed and hindered maneuverability due to organisms attaching since the dawn of sailing. To date, the primary method developed to prevent fouling is the application of biocide laden coatings with various release mechanisms. Mass...
Moisture intrusion in residential structures can lead to substantial fungal decay and this damage costs billions in repair/replacement costs. The extent of damage and the rate at which it occurs are primarily dependent on the wood moisture content and temperature in the structure. Determining the risk of decay for various...
Understanding the interplay between energy and water is central to effective natural resource management. With enough energy it is possible to secure sufficient water, with enough water it is possible to produce nearly boundless energy. The sun is the engine which drives the availability of both these resources; nearly every...