Enabling resilient operations of unoccupied aerial vehicle (UAV) swarms

UAVs (Unoccupied Aerial Vehicles) are used in fields such as surveying, military operations, and disaster relief due to their cost-effectiveness, temporal efficiency, operational flexibility, and uncrewed capability. Collaborative efforts among UAV swarms can further improve results. However, whereas controlling a single UAV in dynamic environments is challenging, this complexity escalates in swarm operations. Swarms need to be operationally resilient to avoid cascaded failures and maintain mission progress. Resiliency, or the ability of a system to handle disruptions, is critical yet challenging to achieve in UAV swarms. This dissertation assesses current resiliency methods in swarm systems and proposes a comprehensive framework to enhance swarm resilience from the ground up. The approach includes a unified resource tracking framework for UAVs called U-SMART, focusing on robust communication, environmental awareness, and optimized task assignments. Additionally, a novel self-healing module targets distressed agents, tracking their well-being and providing reactive measures. The methods employ a modular approach, integrating predefined schemes and response selection algorithms to improve system resilience. Finally, the impact of external disruptions on swarm behavior through a systematic experimentation methodology for simulations is explored. This study aims to bridge the gap towards a resilient UAV swarm by addressing swarm resilience from both systemic development and simulated disruption perspectives.Computing SciencesCollege of Engineerin

Advanced computer architecture

Pipelining Hazards: Structural Hazards: Insufficient Hardware Resources, Data Hazards: Reading data before it's written, Control Hazards: Branch instructions and stall

Evaluating habitat provision by restored intertidal and subtidal oyster reefs in St. Charles Bay, Texas

Estuarine habitats, such as Crassostrea virginica oyster reefs, are critical to the resilience of coastal environments and provide many ecosystem services. To address declining oyster populations, oyster reef restoration has become a widespread management strategy to recover and restore lost ecosystem functions and biodiversity. While traditional restoration practices in Texas have focused on subtidal oyster reefs to ameliorate harvest impacts, there is growing interest in restoring intertidal reefs to maximize habitat benefits. This study evaluates the development of oyster populations and epifaunal communities on concurrently restored intertidal and subtidal oyster reefs in St. Charles Bay, TX, USA. In May 2022, 2.4 ha of oyster reef complex were restored in intertidal (0.5 m depth) and subtidal (1.5 m depth) areas using recycled oyster shells. Epifaunal and oyster dynamics were measured on the restored reefs and nearby natural reference reefs for 12 months (epifauna) and 18 months (oysters) following restoration. Results indicate distinct timelines for oyster population and epifaunal community development: restored subtidal reefs progressed faster, reaching peak oyster densities of 2203 ind. m-2 and similar epifaunal community composition to natural reference within 6 months post- restoration. In contrast, intertidal reefs reached peak oyster densities of 390 ind. m-2 at 12 months post- restoration with dissimilar epifaunal community compositions compared to natural reefs. Spat recruitment to restored intertidal and restored subtidal reefs occurred immediately following restoration, and oysters grew rapidly during the first 3 months, averaging 0.97- 0.95 mm d-1. Submarket size oysters (25- 75 mm) were observed on both restored intertidal and restored subtidal reefs just 1 month after restoration, and market size oysters (≥ 76 mm) occurred on the restored subtidal reefs within 6 months. Large quantities of drift algae were deposited on the restored intertidal reefs in August 2022 and persisted for 4- 6 months, which may have affected oyster and epifaunal recruitment and growth. On restored subtidal reefs, epifaunal densities, biomass, diversity, and community composition became similar to natural reference reefs within 6 months following restoration. On restored intertidal reefs, although epifauna diversity became similar to natural reefs within 12 months, epifaunal community composition remained distinct throughout the 18-month study period. The findings of this study offer important insights into key differences in restored intertidal and subtidal oyster reef development, making it possible to evaluate the ecological tradeoffs of restoration approaches and inform future restoration efforts.Physical and Environmental SciencesCollege of Scienc

No humans here: Exploration in the digital age

No Humans Here connects a lineage between landscape painters of the Hudson River School and Impressionists with 3D landscape renderings from artists of the early digital age at the turn of the millennium – work that conveyed an era of unbound creativity before dwindling as populated by more and more people over time. This transition diluted elements of exploration and curiosity through actions of curation, control, and exploitation - to the point that what once was, no longer remains. The initial magic, mystery and creativity of those early explorers and inhabitants in this digital age are now merely artifacts. As global exploration began to reach its limits by the mid 20th century, the advent of digital space opened new lands to cultivate and explore. Artists of the 90’s began using modeling programs, beginning with natural landscapes and architecture as a launchpad for creativity, akin to previous eras of landscape art – with particular comparisons to the Hudson River School. These early digital worlds were void of human inhabitants due to the practical nature of digital space itself – that humans do not exist directly within, rather we (currently) interact externally – or their presence is only alluded to because of technical limitations. Unlike early American landscape paintings, users of this new medium were unconstrained by romanticized realism or religious fervor, rather, they were unbound by the vastness of their own imaginations, and fantasy and science fiction literary influences of the 20th century such as J.R.R Tolkien (1892-1973) and William Gibson (b. 1948). Additionally, the use of light, color, and visual-distortion brushstrokes of Impressionist landscape painting parallels the pixelated, low-resolution imagery of the early digital age. As of this writing, humans do not physically exist within digital space but use it as a gateway for mental projection. Digital space exists outside of time itself – records of its early history still live on online, untouched and without decay, while also constantly evolving through the present. No Humans here pays homages to the creativity of early 90's digital landscapes through nostalgia and reimagining, while also questioning hope, loss, and entropy of our digital futures.Art & DesignCollege of Liberal Art

Female empowerment through children's literature: A content analysis of the 2023 rise feminist book project list

A dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Curriculum and Instruction.This dissertation studied the words and illustrations of fictional picture books from the 2023 Rise: A Feminist Book Project for Ages 0-18 (RISE) for children aged four to eight to confirm the presence of female characters with positive character traits such as strong sense of self, self esteem, and determination. This study used a content analysis of a predetermined selection of books to determine whether there are strong positive female characters that could contribute to the positive development of girls’ self-concept. Much of recent children’s literature has been dominated by male characters. Females are underrepresented in children’s literature. They are found in less significant roles in the story, in illustrations, and titles. A qualitative content analysis was conducted in which the researcher used an updated version of an existing research instrument. The words and illustrations of fictional picture books within the data corpus were analyzed, including character traits, relationships between characters, and the effect problems had on the main character in each literature selection. The study found multiple themes: 1. empowerment themes of positive female role models and a strong sense of self; 2. feminist themes of determination to achieve goals, gender equality and gender norms, and collective action. From the findings, several assertions were created about books from the 2023 Rise: A Feminist Book Project for Ages 0-18 (RISE): 1. words and illustrations support positive character traits in the female main characters; 2. educators can confidently choose these books for different perspectives and admirable traits.Educational Leadership, Curriculum & InstructionCollege of Education and Human Developmen

Senator Truan and governor of Massachusetts, Michael Dukakis

Senator Carlos Truan and Michael Dukakis pose for a photograph

Senator Carlos F. Truan onstage at event for Dukakis

Senator Truan onstage at campaign event behind podium with a sign that reads: "Texans for Dukakis"

Advanced computer architecture

Introduction: Instruction Level Parallelism (ILP): ILP refers to the potential to execute multiple instructions concurrently within a processor. Modern processors exploit ILP to achieve higher performance. The Tomasulo Algorithm is a key technique that facilitates dynamic instruction scheduling for maximizing ILP

Synthesis and characterization of aspartic acid-based tripeptide surfactants

Amino acid-based surfactants (AABSs) provide a more environmentally friendly option than traditional surfactants. The introduction of amino acids into the polar headgroup increases bioavailability and biodegradation. This study aimed to introduce three amino acids at the polar headgroup to form a tripeptide surfactant. However, this study used aspartic acid (Asp) as a central amino acid at the polar headgroup and utilized its dicarboxyl groups to form peptide bonds with auxiliary amino acids, thus forming bifurcated tripeptide surfactants. This study used stoichiometric coupling with diisopropylcarbodiimide (DIC) and n-hydroxysuccinimide (NHS) to aid in synthesis. Products were examined with proton NMR (1H-NMR) to analyze synthesis results. Then, solubility tests were performed to determine relative solubility and preliminary critical micelle concentration (CMC) studies were conducted. The 1H-NMR results revealed that the current method of bifurcated tripeptide surfactant synthesis should be amended to obtain desired products, as a mixture of bifurcated tripeptide surfactants and linear dipeptide surfactants formed. Solubility tests revealed the products formed organogels, while preliminary CMC tests revealed an estimated CMC of 51.20 mM.Physical and Environmental SciencesCollege of Scienc

Methane emissions from southern Texas estuaries

Dataset ranging from May 2018 to May 2021 of methane emissions from southern Texas estuaries