There is a growing need for individualized instructional designs in 4-year institutions due to: 1) growing undergraduate enrollment trends across the U.S., 2) broader diversity in students backgrounds, and 3) the growing prevalence of asynchronous remote learning. With the growth in computer technology in education, tools such as adaptive intelligent...
The environmental impact of the nuclear industry has prompted the need for innovative remediation strategies and accurate radiological assessments. This paper synthesizes three studies that collectively explore the potential of endemic plant species for phytoremediation, the development of anatomically accurate phantoms for precise dosimetry calculations, and the critical evaluation of...
This work explores the electric field induced strain mechanisms in environmentally benign Bi0.5Na0.5TiO3 (BNT) based piezoelectric thin films. Although BNT-based materials show promise as replacements for toxic Pb-based piezoelectrics, the displacement mechanisms are not consistent between thin films and bulk materials, and the differences have yet to be well understood....
Smoldering combustion in wildland fires is a critical phenomenon that needs in-depth study because it can initiate with weaker ignition sources, can persist for long periods, is difficult to suppress, and can transit to flaming combustion. Cellulose, hemicellulose, and lignin are the major organic constituents within biomass, in varying proportions...
Oomycetes are an important group of organisms with a variety of ecological roles similar to fungi. Although many are well-studied plant pathogens known for their devastating effects on agricultural systems, most are little-studied saprobes and parasites of plants and animals in nearly every ecosystem on earth. The advent of affordable...
Addiction is a word that represents a condition that, at best, causes minor disruptions to one’s life and, at worst, is lethal. The current definition was developed by 80 neuroscientists. It references substance use and other behaviors and includes food and sex. Addictions do not seem to be lessening but...
Oomycete and fungal pathogens threaten food, fiber, and forests around the world. With climate change, these pathogens are expected to emerge more frequently. Evolution can facilitate their emergence through mechanisms such as mutations that change or expand host range. Characterizing evolutionary mechanisms in plant pathogens will contribute to our ability...
While human tool-use proficiency helped define our history, the cognitive and perceptual mechanics of how humans use tools are not fully understood. This question is of great value to the design of hand-held tools and prosthetics. A prominent theory, tool embodiment, suggests that tool use is facilitated by a flexible...
We do not know how to align a very intelligent AI agent's behavior with human interests. I investigate whether—absent a full solution to this AI alignment problem—we can build smart {\ai} agents which have limited impact on the world, and which do not autonomously seek power. In this thesis, I...
Polyoxometalates are discrete anionic oxo clusters of the Group V and VI transition metals that can be conceptualized as molecular metal oxides. Because they are pairable with any alkali cation, a great deal of fundamental chemistry can be gleaned from their study, including solubility trends and insight into cation binding...
Roadway departure crashes accounted for 18,275 fatal crashes in 2017 across the United States (Jones et al. 2017). Rumble strips (RS) provide audible and haptic interior alert when a vehicle is departing the roadway reducing run-off-the road crashes. Although inexpensive to install, and easy to maintain, RS are not installed...
Pseudomonas aeruginosa is a ubiquitous bacterium that has an incredible ability to survive in various extreme environments and to persist despite bombardment by all types of antimicrobial agents. Its virulence and success within a broad range of hosts are largely thanks to the strength of its biofilms. The rheology of...
The modern world has presented many threats to the health and stability of ecosystems worldwide. One of the most biodiverse ecosystems, coral reefs, faces particularly strong pressures, and is already declining rapidly in complexity and area. Although the stressors that affect reefs are diverse, ranging from nutrient pollution to overfishing,...
Software entropy impacts the overall quality of software systems. High entropy hinders developers from understanding the purpose of a piece of code and can cause developers to make sub-optimal changes and introduce bugs. Researchers have used entropy scores to measure the naturalness of code. However, thus far, no one has...