In this thesis, I aim to bring two ancient spiritual guides into dialogue with each other and with modern psychology: the Bodhisattvacaryāvatāra by Śāntideva of the Mahāyāna Buddhist tradition and The Ladder of Divine Ascent by St. John Climacus of the Christian tradition. I draw from Tibetan Buddhist commentaries on...
This project created a stand-alone unit capable of providing on-board sensing and processing for robotic vehicles. This unit was designed to be compact, lightweight, inexpensive, and adaptable. The goal of this project is to help advance robotics research in mapping and multi-agent coordination by making it easier to equip vehicles...
This paper explores the mutual constitution between language, thought, and culture within the context of Tibetan honorifics. I employ Van Dijk’s Critical Discourse Analysis to argue that changes in honorific usage pre- and post-Chinese occupation reflect and reify changes in ideology and culture within Tibetan communities. Analyzing usage patterns and...
Modern walking robots have shown that dynamic gaits can be achieved without ankle motors. It seems logical that the additional control authority that they provide can be used to improve the stability of the walking gait against foot placement errors caused by low level control. This thesis develops and compares...
This thesis includes a satirical novel and a short analytical reflection on the writing process and the general themes and takeaways from the novel itself. While the analytical reflection appears before the novel in the paper, they can be read in either order. The novel satirizes how people respond to...
Controllers for robotic systems can be complex and difficult to write by hand. Learning offers an approach to improve a controller through direct feedback. Learning is not trivial, as the feedback does not tell the agent how to improve, only how well its current actions solve the given task. Learning...
Unmanned Aerial System (UAS) technology is a rapidly developing technological marketspace. This thesis focuses on micro, tethered, coaxial UASs and the development of an electrically-tethered observation platform (ETOP). The thesis details the current status of the technology as well as current products on the market. Stability considerations, critical when adding...
This thesis aims to address barriers that K-5 educators face when implementing environmental education in classrooms. An in-depth study of the history of environmental education in the United States identifies primary barriers and issues. Focusing specifically on garden education programs, six lesson plans for K-5 were created to address the...
Red Signal Countdown Timers (RSCTs) are devices placed at intersections to inform drivers of the time remaining on a red indication before it turns green, typically to improve intersection efficiency. This study examines the visual attention of Oregon drivers to circular red (CR) indications with RSCTs as compared to standard...
Artificial Intelligence has gained resurgence in popularity through machine learning methods. This thesis investigates the current use of AI, the impact it will have on the economy and the ethical considerations for developing this technology. In the coming decade AI could increase global economic output over $10 Trillion. AI will...