The Brutality of Prostitutes: A Study on Society In America Between 1775-1783
Women during colonial America were widely misrepresented, even in scholarly research after the time. This treatment was even worse for “women of the night.” Many of these women would serve in the trade of sexual deeds as prostitutes as a form of survival, resorting to this when they have nothing else left. Unfortunately, records, contemporary and modern, are left with heavy bias. The question of morality of the trade of sexual actions comes long before the colonial era, but remains prominent during the time. This creates problems in modern studies as talk of prostitutes during the time spoke on bias related to immorality and male victimhood. These women held an important role in the structure of the war as they increased the fear of disease, particularly venereal disease, among soldiers. This fear they created extended the bias against them during the time, a sentiment that has prevailed through research, and is something I will unravel in this study.

Continue reading Eryn Drobins »

Exploring 2D and 3D facial recognition systems and its security

Two-dimensional (2D) face recognition is widely deployed for authentication and security, yet it remains vulnerable to spoofing attacks using printed photos, replay videos, and deepfakes. Its reliability also degrades when real-world conditions drift from the enrollment image, especially under changing lighting, facial
expressions, and occlusions such as masks or glasses, creating ongoing concerns about both security and robustness. Three-dimensional (3D) facial recognition is often presented as a stronger alternative because it can exploit depth and facial geometry, but its practical resilience and attack surface under adversarial conditions still need clearer, reproducible evidence.

This study evaluated and compared the accuracy, robustness, and security of 3D facial recognition systems against 2D baselines, benchmarking open-source pipelines across public datasets and controlled laboratory experiments. Testing systematically varies illumination (direction and intensity), expression changes, and occlusions, measuring performance in verification and identification tasks. To assess security, the systems were exposed to spoofing attempts using printed media and 3D-printed facial models, recording attack success rates and characteristic failure patterns.

We revealed where 3D methods provide meaningful gains (for example, reduced sensitivity to harsh lighting and certain occlusions) and where weaknesses persisted (for example, vulnerability to high-fidelity 3D replicas or sensor-specific artifacts). By linking failure modes to specific conditions, the work aims to propose targeted upgrades, such as depth-consistency checks, temporal liveness cues, and multi-modal fusion, to harden 3D recognition. Overall, the research clarified trade-offs between 2D and 3D facial recognition and supports the development of more robust and secure 3D authentication in realistic environments.

Continue reading Zakaria Frane »

Control System Optimization for a Smart Residential Microgrid

This thesis began with a simple objective: to restore and optimize the control system of a smart residential microgrid so that it can respond intelligently to electricity prices while remaining safe and reliable on low-cost embedded hardware. The central research question is whether artificial intelligence can improve economic dispatch decisions without compromising system stability.

The work required restoring a legacy microgrid commissioned in 2015. Data acquisition was rebuilt using a Raspberry Pi 4 and an AcuRev smart meter to log voltage, current, power, power factor, and frequency at five-minute intervals. A stable data pipeline was achieved, with over 99 percent local logging uptime and 93 percent cloud upload reliability. This phase transformed the project from a control study into a grounded cyber-physical systems investigation.

A two-layer artificial neural network framework was developed. Layer 1 predicts next-hour PJM Real-Time Locational Marginal Prices using historical and time-based features, explaining about 92 percent of price variation. Layer 2 integrates predicted prices with real-time electrical measurements to guide operational modes such as load management and islanded operation. Although the controller achieved measurable economic improvement over a rule-based baseline, its performance was limited by constrained historical and seasonal data. Nevertheless, the implementation validated the complete data-to-decision pipeline and established a practical foundation for refinement.

The key finding is that economic optimization alone is insufficient. Safety must be explicitly enforced through hybrid control, combining AI prediction with rule-based protections.

Continue reading Anthony Nyoyoko »

Detecting Landcover from satellite images using AI and Ellmer

Continue reading Jean Marie Ngabonziza »

Discharge Process Optimization and Evaluation of Waste Streams from Spent Lithium-Ion Battery

Lithium-based batteries are increasingly replacing traditional battery technologies, leading to a growing accumulation of spent lithium batteries. These used batteries contain valuable heavy metals that can be recovered through various recycling methods. Due to their residual voltage, they must first be safely discharged before dismantling can occur. This research investigates optimal solvents for discharging lithium-based batteries to a safe voltage level for handling and recycling. Additionally, the study evaluates the environmental impact of the discharging process, with a focus on potential pollution risks if the resulting waste enters the environment without further treatment. Analytical techniques were employed for waste liquid analysis and waste solid characterization. Three solvents were tested: sodium chloride (NaCl), sodium sulfate (Na₂SO₄), and iron sulfate (FeSO₄). NaCl had the highest discharge efficiency, nearly 40%. At this voltage, the batteries can be safely dismantled. Preliminary results show that NaCl produced the highest heavy metal ion concentrations, with nickel, lithium, and magnesium being the most abundant. Na₂SO₄ produced lower concentrations overall but still showed elevated levels of nickel, copper, and zinc. GC-MS analysis confirmed that none of the solvents caused leakage of volatile organic compounds. Waste solid characterization revealed that sodium chloride use leads to precipitates of iron oxide (Fe₂O₃) and some unreacted NaCl. Sodium sulfate use results in the formation of solid copper sulfate (CuSO₄). Although no volatile organic compounds were detected, the high heavy metal concentrations and precipitate formation indicate that the waste could cause significant environmental pollution if not treated further.

Continue reading Noah Thorpe »

Co-Liquefaction of Food Waste and Waste Cooking Oil: Reaction Mechanisms, Product Characterization and Ozonation of the Aqueous Phase
Food waste (FW) and waste cooking oil (WCO) make up a large portion of organic waste and are disposed of in ways that create environmental challenges. However, this waste can serve as valuable sources of sustainable energy and materials. This study investigates the hydrothermal liquefaction (HTL) of carbohydrate-rich FW and WCO to evaluate potential to produce biocrude as a sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) precursor, while examining HTL byproducts and post-treatment strategies. HTL experiments were conducted at temperatures between 280 and 320 °C and reaction times of 20–60 minutes with varying ratios of WCO and FW. Biocrude was extracted using diethyl-ether and acetone. The study results indicate reaction temperature strongly influenced product yields and conversion pathways. Increasing the temperature from 280 to 300 °C during FW liquefaction increased biocrude yield from 55.7 to 62.7 wt.%, while increasing the temperature to 320 °C reduced yield to 50.5 wt.%. Extending the reaction time to 60 minutes reduced byproduct formation while maintaining moderate biocrude yields.
Co-liquefaction of FW and WCO at a 1:1 ratio and 320 °C for 60 minutes produced the highest biocrude yield (77.1 wt.%). Biocrude composition varied with HTL severity and feedstock, with lower temperatures favoring oxygenated compounds and higher temperatures increasing hydrocarbons and aromatics. The addition of WCO altered the aqueous phase composition, and subsequent ozone treatment further oxidized and simplified organic species, improving suitability for downstream treatment.
Overall, this study demonstrates a promising pathway for food waste valorization with environmental and resource recovery benefits.

Continue reading Maura Michalczyk »

Incubation effort and telomere dynamics in Leach’s storm-petrels

Avian embryos cannot regulate their own temperature, necessitating parental thermal buffering to stabilize developmental conditions throughout incubation. Many pelagic seabird pairs take turns between incubation and foraging during the breeding period. However, because of unpredictable food resources and fluctuating environmental conditions, breeding pairs often differ in how they divide parental tasks. This variable parental care during the incubation period may impose a physiological cost, which can be investigated using cellular biomarkers. Telomeres—the protective, terminal caps on linear chromosomes—are one biomarker of organismal cellular health. In previous studies of seabirds, shorter telomeres have been linked to improved reproductive performance, which could suggest that decreased energy expenditure towards self-maintenance has a cellular cost on telomeres. Here, we examine the impact of incubation effort on telomere dynamics in Leach’s storm petrels (Hydrobates leucorhous). To assess changes in telomere length, blood samples were collected from adults approximately 10 days post-egg lay date and 3 days before expected hatch date (average incubation period: 41.7 2 days). Erythrocyte telomere length was measured using the telomere restriction fragment assay. We will discuss telomere length changes at both the individual and pair level to evaluate how incubation effort may trade off with somatic maintenance. This study improves our understanding of the physiological costs of parental investment during incubation, with potential long-term effects on organismal physiology and future reproductive outcomes.

Continue reading Axel Uribe »

A Conceptual Approach to Estimate the Environment Impact of Electric Aircraft in the U.S. NAS
Electric aircraft are becoming more prevalent in our skies, and they are currently being developed with short ranges and small payloads. Electric aircraft offer a solution for reducing the environmental impact of the NAS, and, as with advances in aircraft fuel efficiency, battery technology has continued to improve, advancing electric aircraft over time and reducing NAS emissions. Similar to integrating electric cars into the U.S. National Transportation System, an important question is: What is the environmental impact of integrating electric aircraft into the U.S. National Airspace System (NAS)? This research proposes a methodology to quantify the environmental impact of the NAS by optimizing electric aircraft for inclusion in the NAS and then creating a “mixed” NAS comprising petrol and electric aircraft. This mixture then changes as battery technology improves. Results of this research show that for one day of aircraft operations in the U.S., with battery technologies of 250, 350, 500, 1000, and 2000 Wh/kg, 2.25%, 4.82%, 8%, 13.8%, and 14.81% of all petrol aircraft in the NAS can be replaced by electric aircraft, respectively. This mixed NAS leads to a total reduction in NAS emissions of 0.26% (161 mt of CO2), 0.688% (386 MT CO2), 1.14% (746 mt of CO2), 4.55% (2,017 mt of CO2), and 6.92% (2,744 mt CO2) for 250, 350, 500, 1000, and 2000 Wh/kg battery capabilities, respectively.

Continue reading Kade Davidheiser »

Assembling the genome of a bat (Epomophorus labiatus) with an XO sex determination system

Several members of the Pteropodidae family of bats are among the few mammals described without a Y chromosome. In these animals, sex is presumably determined by the dosage of the X chromosome. Additionally, bat genomes can reveal the genes involved with viral tolerance, as bats are notably asymptomatic to certain viruses. Therefore, we assembled the genome of a male epauletted fruit bat (Epomophorus labiatus) using Pacbio HiFi reads and Hi-C sequencing data to generate chromosome-scale scaffolds. The resulting assembly spans 2.1 billion bases, with a BUSCO completeness score of 99.56%. With visualization tools PretextView and HiGlass, we manually curated the assembly into 17 autosomes and an X chromosome. Annotation was performed with TSEBRA, which integrates gene predictions from the TOGA2 and Stringtie pipelines. These annotations will enable us to perform comparative genomics to identify positively-selected immune-related genes across bat lineages. Additionally, we plan to obtain a karyotype from samples collected in Uganda to confirm the absence of a Y chromosome in this species. We are currently identifying the genes under selection that facilitate this XO sex determination, including genes found on autosomes that are present on Y chromosomes in other bat species. Ultimately, this work will increase our understanding of the evolution of mammalian sex determination and the evolutionary genomics of bat immunity.

Continue reading Ava Hendrix »

Development and Assembly of Plasmids for Biodegradable Plastic Using the Golden Gate Toolkit in Yarrowia Lipolytica

Reliance on single-use plastics continues to harm the environment as toxic chemicals leach into waterways, threatening plants, animals, and ecosystems. To help address this issue, I worked to develop a biodegradable plastic alternative that could reduce environmental damage while maintaining similar performance properties. My objective was to design and compare several plasmids to determine which would be most effective for producing biodegradable plastics. Using Benchling, I selected compatible components from the Yarrowia lipolytica Golden Gate Toolkit and combined them with PHB genes. I chose a diverse set of genetic parts to increase the likelihood that at least one plasmid design would successfully produce the target polymer. To guide my selections, I referenced the publication “A Modular Golden Gate Toolkit for Yarrowia lipolytica Synthetic Biology.” After finalizing the designs, I assembled the plasmids using Golden Gate assembly, which allows multiple DNA fragments to be joined in a single reaction. Each plasmid included inserts from three genes—PhaA, PhaB, and PhaC—which encode enzymes required for synthesizing polyhydroxybutyrate (PHB), a biodegradable polymer that can serve as an alternative to conventional plastics. I analyzed gene sequences in Benchling and designed forward and reverse primers for each insert. The genes were amplified using PCR and verified through gel electrophoresis. After several iterations, the plasmids were successfully assembled, transformed into competent cells, and confirmed through colony PCR to match the expected DNA lengths.

Continue reading Katelyn School »