Masters Theses

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If Heaven Had a Color
Raveen, Ifreen (Virginia Tech, 2026-06-17)
If Heaven Had a Color is a multigenerational novel following a family across eight decades, from the 1920s to the 1990s. Set in a time where Kashmir moves through various forms of oppression — the begar system, partition, and insurgency — the novel traces the impact of prolonged conflict on the people of the valley through the experience of one family. It is a novel about the women who remained behind, who had to navigate the war from within the walls of their homes, who had to do fundamental things like go to college even as the conflict rewrote the world around them. If Heaven Had a Color also explores how ecological trauma mirrors human trauma. For a place like Kashmir where identity is inseparable from its springs, mountains, and trees, conflict does not only wound people. It wounds the land. To lose your basic rights is also to lose access to the places that have always held you: springs barricaded, mountains occupied, forests closed off by army camps. The land you grew up on, the nag your grandmother prayed beside, the hill you walked to as a child are seized, fenced, forbidden. In Kashmir, the occupation of land and the occupation of a people are the same violence. The folklores passed down through generations reflects the rich and layered culture of Kashmir. In times of war, these stories also become acts of preservation of an identity and history that the occupation seeks to erase.
Doing liberatory museum work: Ways of presenting im/material culture beyond containment
Crowell, Alaina Jane (Virginia Tech, 2026-06-17)
"Doing liberatory museum work: Ways of presenting im/material culture beyond containment" examines material culture and narratives of U.S. history beyond their materiality to consider how sensory experiences of im/material culture can disrupt the production of symbolic violence through museum work. Museum work that de-centers normalized narratives of U.S. history and material culture is liberatory when the museum work practiced is towards the intention of dismantling systems of abusive power such as white supremacy, colonialism, and capitalism. Liberatory museum work is thus a queering project for how museum work disrupts normalized representations of material culture and historical narratives, particularly through a de-centering approach to conceptualizing exhibitions and organizational structuring. I propose that liberatory museum work is also informed by an ethics of care and attention to Black and Indigenous histories. By practicing liberatory museum work in conceptual and practical ways, museum workers get closer to dismantling systems of abusive power as well as the limitations they impose on what museum work, material culture, and understandings of our self-identity are experienced as. I ground my theoretical conceptualizations of liberatory museum work in critical theory, material culture studies, memory studies, and queer theory, building from existing theoretical terms such as Black shoals, relationality, care, and disruption. I explore MONUMENTS, a contemporary art exhibition in Los Angeles, to determine how museum practitioners can work towards practicing liberatory museum work. I carry lessons learned from MONUMENTS forward by providing recommendations for practitioners at a local history museum, the Blacksburg Museum and Cultural Foundation, who must consider how their organization will practice liberatory museum work in the future. Ultimately, I argue that liberatory museum work, when done with an ethics of care, attunement to Black and Indigenous perspectives, and with the intention to disrupt normative presentations of U.S. historical narratives and material culture, is a necessary approach to working in museums because of liberatory museum work's power to eliminate the reproduction of symbolic violence in museum contexts and dismantle systems of abusive power.
A Study of Aedes and Culex Mosquitoes' Thermal Biology
Aronson, Helle Summers (Virginia Tech, 2026-06-17)
Mosquitoes pose a global threat to public health due to the pathogens they transmit through blood feeding. These disease vector ectotherms are impacted by global climate change which is helping facilitate range shifts and exposing mosquitoes to new thermal challenges. This work presents two main projects investigating field collected Culex spp., Ae. j. japonicus, and Ae. albopictus mosquitoes to gain a better understanding of their thermal biology. The first project focuses on n Ae. j. japonicus of temperate origin in its invasive range, including quantifying their response to a range of thermal conditions, upper and lower critical thermal limits, and the effects of larval environmental conditions on adults. This study includes comparisons with Ae. albopictus, a species of tropical origin. Project 2 focuses on quantifying adult thermal biology and the effects of larval nutritional diet on adult behavior and energy reserves of Culex pipiens Assemblage mosquito populations collected from the Northern and Southern halves of the USA. Together, these studies provide a better understanding of how these species respond and react to their thermal environment and the effects of population origins on thermal biology. Ultimately, these results aim to improve research-informed mathematical models for the prediction of range shifts, thermal performance, and vector-borne disease outbreaks.
Symbiotic Architecture: Constructing Awareness Through Ecologies of Encounter
Fulk, Madeline Lee (Virginia Tech, 2026-06-17)
This thesis explores how architecture can participate in ecological systems by fostering mutually symbiotic relationships between architecture, flora, fauna, and users through site design, form, and exploitation of light and water. This project aims to emphasize the importance of preserving and enhancing the biodiversity around us by creating a model of environmental education. Three different interactions reveal user awareness of their relationship with the environment: objectification, oversight, and immersion. These interactions will be explored through a series of educational pavilions and path types – how they interact with the site and how users interact with the architecture. Grounded in landscape ecology principles, the site is explored on two different scales: patch and matrix. Through this, the pavilions become fragmented patches embedded in the larger matrix of the site. The rich biotic network in this small-scale project will serve as a revelation to the ecological diversity of the world and provide a model of architecture that works in tandem with its environment.
Humor, Memes, and Brat Green: Use of Humorous Attacks within the Harris Campaign on Instagram
Premock, Mallory Kay (Virginia Tech, 2026-06-17)
Since the 2008 Obama campaign, there has been an expected form of interaction by presidential campaigns on social media platforms, but Donald Trump's distinct use of X as an avenue for rapid and inflammatory attacks against political opponents upended this norm. Media attention on the Harris 2024 campaign use of social media via Kamala HQ possibly points towards a new avenue of driving engagement with attacks by a Democratic candidate contrasting that of Trump. Given the lack of research on the use of Instagram accounts by large U.S. political campaigns and the change in traits in social media posts from the 2016 and 2020 Trump campaigns, this raises questions about the use of the Instagram platform by the Harris campaign. To what extent do the frequency of posting habits, and the content of posts differ between the rapid response account Kamala HQ and Kamala Harris' personal account? Additionally, how does engagement from users differ across the two accounts and types of content? More specifically, I ask: How does the use of non-attack, traditional attack, humorous attack, and humorous meme attack content on the rapid response account Kamala HQ and Kamala Harris' personal account differ? Additionally, how does user engagement differ across types of posts both within and across the two accounts? To answer these questions, I use two Instagram accounts associated with Kamala Harris' 2024 presidential campaign. I first analyze the differences in content type, frequency, follower count, and potential measurements across the two accounts. Following this, I analyze the differences in the frequency, and user engagement with, non-attacks, traditional attacks, humorous attacks, and humorous meme attacks on the two accounts. I find that Kamala HQ posted more frequently over the course of the campaign, while Kamala Harris' personal account gained more followers. Additionally, I find that non-attacks see the highest engagement on both accounts, but the rapid response account Kamala HQ saw greater engagement on attacks than Kamala Harris' personal account. I also find that Kamala HQ posted attacks, especially humorous attacks, at a greater rate than the candidate's account. Surprisingly, the candidate's personal account posted no humorous attacks despite humor being authentic to the candidate herself.
Automorphisms of Hermitian Codes and Applications
Lichtenwalner, Monica M. (Virginia Tech, 2026-05-07)
Code automorphisms have long been studied due to their many applications. Decoding, erasure recovery, local decodability, and local correctability can all benefit from codes with rich automorphism groups. Rigid codes, or codes that have a trivial automorphism group, are also interesting, mainly for applications to code-based post-quantum cryptography. It has been shown that, with high probability, a random linear code has a trivial automorphism group, but it can be difficult to explicitly construct a code that is rigid. Automorphisms of one-point Hermitian codes were first studied by Xing in 1995. In this thesis, we determine the automorphisms of multi-point Hermitian codes that are induced by certain curve automorphisms. We also introduce the notion of curve-rigid codes, and we present a family of three-point Hermitian codes that are curve-rigid. Lastly, we demonstrate how we can use the automorphism group of a one-point Hermitian or norm-trace code to correct certain error patterns via permutation decoding, which is a decoding procedure developed by Prange in 1962 and extended by MacWilliams in 1964.
Elastoplastic Buckling of Functionally Graded Beams using Tamura-Tomota-Ozawa and Ramberg-Osgood Material Models
Sundaram Ezhilarasi, Ganesh Aravind (Virginia Tech, 2026-06-16)
Functionally Graded Materials (FGMs) are an advanced class of composite materials characterized by a gradual, continuous variation of material properties spatially. While buckling of slender Functionally Graded Beams (FGBs) can be analyzed using linear eigenvalue analysis and is well documented, the buckling response of FGBs with low and medium slenderness ratios is under-researched. This behavior is highly complex due to coupled shear effects and material yielding in the elastoplastic region. The goal of this work is to investigate the nonlinear elastoplastic buckling of short and medium metal-ceramic FGBs. The beam kinematics are modeled using the First-Order Shear Deformation Theory (Timoshenko beam theory) within a semi-analytical Ritz framework. To simulate the elastoplastic behavior of FGBs, a modified rule-of-mixtures law, based on the Tamura-Tomota-Ozawa model, is coupled with the Ramberg-Osgood phenomenological constitutive equations. The nonlinear stress-strain behavior of the metal component of the FGB is described using Hencky's total plastic strain model. Finally, an arc-length solver is employed to trace the FGB's nonlinear load-displacement path. Parametric studies are conducted by varying power-law coefficients and thickness ratios, and the results are compared with those from a 3D Finite Element Analysis (FEA) using Abaqus/Standard. The analytical model demonstrates excellent agreement with FEA for beams with a medium length-to-thickness ratio, with a maximum error of just about 4% for thickness ratios > 15. However, some discrepancies are observed when comparing very short FGBs with thickness ratios between 5 and 15. These discrepancies stem from the fundamental divergence between the deformation theory of plasticity employed in this formulation and the flow theory used in FEA models, which highlights the 'plastic buckling paradox', and from differences between 3D FEA and 1D First-Order Shear Deformation Theory, reinforcing the critical need for experimental validation.
Statistical Multistatic Radar with Imperfect Time Synchronization
Anders, Tomasz Andrzej (Virginia Tech, 2026-06-16)
A radar system observes radio-frequency (RF) reflections in order to detect targets and estimate where they are, what they are, and how they are moving. Distributed multistatic radar refers to a type of radar system in which signals transmitted and received at multiple spatially separated sites are processed jointly. A practical issue in multistatic radar is establishing a common reference for time and frequency between distributed sites. Without ideal timing coordination, signals at distributed sites will be misaligned in time, complicating processing and causing additional error in range measurement. Without ideal frequency synchronization, target Doppler frequency measurements will contain additional error. In this thesis, the fundamental topics of detection and estimation using a multistatic system are examined when synchronization is imperfect. A flexible system model is developed to describe multistatic configurations in a standardized way. Based on this system model, a signal model is derived to describe the signals received across the system, including the impact of inter-site synchronization errors. Frameworks for analyzing the core radar capabilities of detection and estimation are developed using the aforementioned signal model, with simulation analysis focused on time synchronization. In the detection portion, a single transmitter detection framework utilizing waveform diversity to accommodate coarse synchronization is proposed and studied. In the estimation portion, the Cramer-Rao Lower Bound (CRLB) is derived for a single-shot multistatic estimation scenario with Gaussian timing errors modeled in a novel way. An iterative Gauss-Newton position estimator is developed and compared to this bound, assuming statistics of the synchronization error are known.
Disaggregated LLM Serving with CXL Shared Memory KV Cache at Rack-Scale
Yoon, Dongha (Virginia Tech, 2026-06-16)
Disaggregated LLM serving improves resource efficiency by separating prefill and decode across workers, but introduces a new bottleneck: key/value (KV) tensors generated during prefill must be transferred to decode workers, typically through the network stack. CXL memory offers an attractive alternative by enabling multiple hosts to share a large byte-addressable memory pool, allowing KV blocks to be published and consumed without network transfer. Realizing this vision is challenging because current CXL devices provide neither cross-host atomic operations nor full-device cache coherence, and expose only raw shared memory. This thesis presents TraCT, a rack-scale LLM serving system that uses CXL shared memory as both a network-free KV-transfer substrate and a rack-scale prefix-aware KV cache. TraCT overcomes three key challenges imposed by current CXL hardware: inter-node mutual exclusion without hardware atomics, correct visibility on non-coherent shared memory, and portable shared-memory data structures without shared pointers. To this end, it introduces a two-tiered lock, a software-managed coherence discipline, and a shared object directory. Implemented as a general-purpose CXL shared-memory library with a vLLM external KV-caching plugin, TraCT achieves up to 2.6x reduction in average time-to-first-token (TTFT), 3.0x lower P99 latency, and 1.9x higher peak goodput than RDMA-based baselines on a real-world multi-turn conversational workload. These results demonstrate that CXL shared memory is a practical and efficient substrate for KV transfer and prefix caching in rack-scale disaggregated LLM serving.
Architecture as Habitat
Robinette, Rachel (Virginia Tech, 2026-06-16)
As global pollinator populations decline due to habitat loss, climate change, and accelerating urbanization, the built environment presents an underutilized opportunity for ecological intervention. This thesis investigates architecture as habitat by developing a pollinator-responsive façade prototype that integrates nesting infrastructure for native solitary bees directly within the building envelope. Moving beyond conventional sustainability strategies that aim to reduce harm, this research positions architecture as an active participant in ecological systems. The project synthesizes biological research on native bee nesting behaviors with architectural design methodologies to establish criteria for viable habitat integration, including cavity dimensions, material performance, microclimatic stability, and protection from predation and moisture. Through iterative prototyping, material testing, and spatial analysis, the façade system is designed to support bee habitation while maintaining architectural performance in terms of constructability, durability, and aesthetic integration. By embedding ecological function within the tectonics of the façade, this thesis reframes the building envelope as a productive interface between human and nonhuman systems. The proposed prototype demonstrates how architectural surfaces can be leveraged as distributed habitat infrastructure, contributing to urban biodiversity and resilience. Ultimately, this work advocates for architectural practice that expands the role of buildings from passive enclosures to active participants within broader ecological networks. This study is the intersection of classical architecture theory, environmental research, and location.
Systematic Analysis of Current Curricular Experiences and Proposed Learning Outcomes for Finite Element Analysis Education in Undergraduate Mechanical Engineering
Gregg, Katherine (Virginia Tech, 2026-05-13)
As simulation and computational tools continue to advance, engineers are expected to use these tools to inform design decisions. Computer-aided engineering (CAE) tools enable engineers to robustly design and test solutions without physically constructing prototypes. Furthermore, computer-aided simulation allows for robust, complimentary validation of mechanical products along with traditional methods. Thus, there is significant demand for engineers who have the knowledge and skills to effectively use CAE tools. The Finite Element Method is a numerical method of solving differential equations to represent the mechanical response of physical systems. Since its introduction in the 1950s, interest in Finite Element Analysis (FEA) research and technology has steadily increased. Post-secondary education has educated engineers on FEA with two primary approaches: 1) training students to operate Finite Element Analysis software and 2) providing theoretical instruction on the mathematical fundamentals of the Finite Element Method (FEM). Higher education institutions have largely taught FEA through specialized, upper-level courses. However, today’s engineering graduates are expected to have a familiarity and competence with FEA tools regardless of the specific job or sector they pursue. Integration of FEA competencies throughout the mechanical engineering curriculum is necessary to prepare students for success in industry. Despite the need to integrate FEA content throughout the curriculum, extant research has not investigated the current experiences or future curricular needs of mechanical engineering students. While other researchers have assessed the impact of FEA modules on individual courses, few studies have examined students’ FEA experiences throughout the curriculum. Furthermore, a systematic, educational research-informed approach is needed to identify the goals of FEA instruction for undergraduate mechanical engineering students. This study analyzed the integration of FEA education within the mechanical engineering curriculum at Virginia Tech, a large, public university in the US. The analysis included a quantitative survey of upper-level student experiences with CAE, qualitative analysis of the FEA learning environment, and proposed learning outcomes for fundamental knowledge of FEA in ME. The institutional context of this study serves as a representative case for similar large, ABET accredited mechanical engineering programs in the US and contributes new survey instruments, qualitative and quantitative data, and curriculum design tools to the ongoing conversation of FEA education.
The Timber Stage: A Design Proposal for Virginia Tech's Mass Timber Theater
Zebermai, Z. A. Saleh (Virginia Tech, 2026-06-15)
This thesis is a design proposal for a theater complex for Virginia Tech's extended campuses in the Washington D.C. region. Despite Virginia Tech's growing footprint and increasing student numbers in the Northern Virginia, the school does not have space for graduation ceremonies. Proposed project matches the need and Virginia Tech's presentation in this area as a forerunner of innovative sustainable practices. Consecutively, the project investigates the potential of mass timber as a structural and building material for a large space like a theater. The thesis begins with finding the appropriate site through an analytical urban study of the City of Alexandria. Comparing access, distance, relevance, future projection and other factors, the proposed site is at Potomac yard, near the metro station and Virginia Tech's innovation Campus. Then a detailed study about the site investigates its urban potential and the observations are translated into design strategies for further development about the building form, urban spaces, orientation and directions. Investigation about the mass timber as the building material revisits the study of ancient timber roof building techniques of the Norwegian Churches, searching for the relationship between the ship building techniques and the large span timer truss system, which can be interpreted to modern buildings along with the latest technological development in the mass timber industry. Timber can be used for both technical and aesthetic purposes. The comparative study showed how mass timber is the appropriate material for the context considering sustainability, carbon footprint, material quality, sourcing etc. Although a large part of the program of the proposed design is the Commencement Event for Virginia Tech, there are other flexible functions of the building which serve the community on regular basis. A high-performance building facing a large open Public Plaza creates a dialogue between the current innovation campus building through an axis of pedestrian movement. Additionally, this project explores solar gain through double layered exposed timber screen, modular timber construction and joining details, Biophilic indoor shadow patterns, smooth circulation for a large gathering and the technical aspects of a high-performance theater space. Combining all the design considerations, the thesis proposes meaningful public building which serves Virginia Tech as well as the local community.
It's Not About Him, But It Might Still Be: Applying the Stereotype Content Model to Male Characters in Female-Led Films
Kuhl, Alyssa Renae (Virginia Tech, 2026-06-15)
This thesis connects the stereotype content model to film reviews by uncovering how audiences perceive and communicate about their perceptions of gender stereotypes in a movie Specifically, this study examines a male character within a female-led film to better understand the context surrounding a film's perceived quality or lack thereof. The hypotheses of this study explore how the two dimensions of the stereotype content model (warmth and competence) play a role in an audience's perceptions of the male character and the overall film. The study utilized a 2 x 3 factorial design experiment embedded in an online survey and analyzed results from 145 (N= 145) individuals using SPSS statistical software (Version 31). Results revealed that there was no main effect of the condition on the reader's perceived quality of the overall film or intention to view the film. However, a post-hoc analysis of results that tested gender of the participant along with the condition found that only male participants were affected by the condition. Male participants viewed warmth as more realistic than competence, regarded both warmth and competence as significantly more interesting than competence, and considered competence as more realistic than their female counterparts. A discussion follows with theoretical and practical implications of the results, suggestions for movie reviewing websites, and future directions for additional research on movie reviews and the stereotype content model.
স্বপ্ন এবং সরণের সন্ধিক্ষণে | Between Dreams and Displacement - Translation, Immediacy, and Construction of Hybrid Visual Language
Kabbya, Mir Ahnaf (Virginia Tech, 2026-06-15)
As a Bangali non-binary artist, I exist across linguistic and cultural boundaries. My MFA thesis work, titled 'Between Dreams and Displacement', showcased in the group exhibition 'SOMA' installed at Perspective Gallery in Blacksburg, Virginia from March 20 - May 15, 2026, explores how dreams and identity continue to unfold through ongoing translation among parallel states of consciousness, language, and media. The work consists of three animations and a holographic projection sculpture translating 2D ink drawings into motion. This written document records my ideas about, my inspirations for, and my reflections on this artwork. In the context of this research, translation is approached as a generative condition of artistic practice. 'Between Dreams and Displacement' positions dreams as a transitional space where dream figures emerge as manifestations of parallel selves. My dreams are the primary material that provides access to subconscious narratives shaped by cultural upbringing and sociopolitical contexts. This thesis presents them as a culturally conditioned experience that becomes intelligible through animation as an interpretive method. The artistic process emphasizes the immediacy of dream content and unfolds through the production of animation, through physical and digital modes of making, and through motionless and flowing forms. The resulting short animations function as visual narratives of scattered and non-normative identities of the self. Placing the works in the context of Bangali folklore and a surreal meditation on lived experiences, the thesis argues that translation between consciousness, language, and media is a process of adapting and performing the uncensored inner mind. I continually re-examine identity in this research, proposing dream-based animation as a space to reflect on the fragmentations of life.
A Soft Capacitive Tactile Sensor for Force Feedback in Vision-Based Robotic Manipulation
Balusu, Sai (Virginia Tech, 2026-06-15)
Robotic pick and place of fragile objects, such as ripe produce, is difficult not because of motion accuracy but rather force resolution at the moment of contact. The force estimates from a joint force sensor on a commercial robot arm cannot reliably halt a descent before the contact force exceeds the extremely low force thresholds of items like ripe tomatoes and strawberry slices. There exist soft tactile sensors that can resolve contact forces in the millinewton range, but they are packaged in a form that is difficult to integrate with other soft robotic end-effectors, such as octopus-inspired adhesives, which provide compliant contact at the interface for safe handling but lack the required force feedback to perform manipulation. This thesis presents a soft capacitive tactile sensor and an octopus-inspired adhesive end- effector module that close this gap. The sensor uses an Ecoflex 00-30 dielectric, a stretchable SIS/Ag-flake/EGaIn LM composite electrode pair, and an embedded plasma-treated PTFE electret that boosts low force sensitivity. A bare sensor calibration was performed and yielded a capacitance to force response that is well fit by a power law, which was read with a custom AD7745-based readout board. This board allows a resolution as low as 20 mN with a worst case SNR above 27 dB across all the trials performed for validation. The combined sensor and octopus-inspired adhesive module is mounted on a Franka Emika Research 3 robot arm and used to pick and place objects such as a rigid block, a ripe tomato, and a strawberry slice. To perform the manipulation task, a vision pipeline consisting of a Gemini based open vocabulary model paired with a state machine controller is used. Across the three object classes, which ranged from rigid to extremely fragile, the proposed sensing modality reduced the peak descent force overshoot into the range of millinewtons and increased the success rate from 0% to 100% on the two fragile objects (tomato and strawberry slice), showcasing that low-force tactile feedback is the missing element for vision-based robotic manipulation of fragile objects.
Spaces of the Unspoken
Faltes, Veronka Romany (Virginia Tech, 2026-06-15)
This thesis argues that architecture can directly support grief and emotional healing by offering spaces for reflection, awareness, and emotional processing. Although grief is deeply personal and complex, the built environment often lacks spaces that nurture this experience. Rather than viewing grief as something to hide or overcome, this thesis examines how architecture can honor it as a natural process that deserves dedicated time, space, and sensory engagement. The project proposes a retreat that guides visitors through five stages reflecting the emotional journey from grief to acceptance. Each stage, arranged as a gradual progression through the landscape, introduces a distinct spatial condition shaped by material, light, sound, and sensory experience. As visitors move through these spaces, architecture actively supports healing by encouraging individuals to slow down, reflect, and engage with their emotions. By integrating landscape, movement, and sensory perception, this thesis examines how architecture can create environments that support emotional well-being. By shaping spaces that acknowledge grief rather than avoid it, the project suggests architecture can help individuals confront loss, process memory, and move toward healing.
Managing Values in Science: From Democratic Alignment to Systematic Value Pluralism
Qiu, Huidang (Virginia Tech, 2026-06-15)
Many philosophers of science now argue that value judgments can play a legitimate role in policy-relevant scientific research. This raises what has been called the New Demarcation Problem: how should we distinguish legitimate from illegitimate value influences in science? One prominent answer is the Democratic Alignment Approach, which holds that scientists should align their research-stage value judgments with democratically endorsed values. In this paper, I argue that the systematic implementation of this approach would come at a significant cost: it would weaken science's capacity to help democratic publics revise and improve their values over time. I then outline an alternative approach, Systematic Value Pluralism, and argue that it offers a more promising way of securing political legitimacy and public trust while preserving science's critical role in democratic self-correction.
Reliquary Among the Sunflowers
Govea IV, Jesus (Virginia Tech, 2026-06-15)
Gregorio Fambre was a man always driven by his hedonistic desires. Well established in the literary world, with a gorgeous wife, a tenured teaching job, Gregorio has much, yet is still unsatisfied. While dove hunting in Argentina, Gregorio goes into cardiac arrest. After having a heart transplant, he is informed that he has received the heart from a man who is to be canonized as a saint. He is also informed that a miracle we be performed through him to usher this heart donor into sainthood. Returning to Chicago, weeks before opening day of is operatic magnum opus, he anticipates this supposed miracle while trying to maintain his relationships and his sanity. When unrequested grace is bestowed on one who desires it not, what is the response?
How Forage Scarcity Shapes Nutritional Status and Reproductive Function in Cattle
O'Neill, Hannah Caitlyn (Virginia Tech, 2026-06-15)
Nutrient restriction caused by limited forage availability can increase the prevalence of negative energy balance (NEB) in cattle. This impacts reproductive function as energy needs are preferentially redistributed to more critical physiological systems. Two experiments analyzed follicular and ovarian health through the measurement of non-esterified fatty acids to indicate metabolic stress in nutrient restricted cattle. The second experiment additionally analyzed responses to follicle stimulating hormone (FSH) in nutrient restricted cattle. In study 1, 18 beef heifers were grouped in pens of three by age, weight, and body condition, and assigned to a treatment group: CON (n=9, 100% hay, cracked corn, corn gluten, mineral, water) or RES (n=9, 60% hay, cracked corn, corn gluten, mineral, water), fed from C-lock feeders (C-lock Inc., Rapid City, SD). The experiment lasted 80 days beginning with a 20-day training period for transition from pasture to c-lock feeders. Animals underwent hormonal synchronization for dominant follicle attainment, which was collected via ovum-pickup probe and aspiration needle. Blood was collected weekly and at the time of follicular fluid collection via coccygeal vein. In study 2, 16 beef heifers were individually penned and selected based on age, weight, and body condition, then assigned to a treatment group: CON (n=8, 100% hay, cracked corn, corn gluten, mineral, water) or RES (n=8, 60% hay, cracked corn, corn gluten, mineral, water), fed in J-bunk feeders. Cattle underwent hormonal synchronization with additional exogenous FSH and were ultrasounded pre- and post-stimulation to assess follicular response under the nutrient restriction. Study 1 determined significant NEFA values within follicular fluid (P<0.05) at replicate 2, and significant NEFA values within the serum at replicate 2, 3, and 4 (P=0.002) with a positive correlation between the two detected (P=0.013). However, the association between these two sets of values was weak (r2 = 0.105). Study 2 determined significant NEFA values at OPU 2, 3, and 4 for serum (P=0.01). The same FSH-stimulated effect on follicle development from small to medium sizes was observed in both the CON and RES treatments. Based on these results, two conclusions can be made: NEFAs are validated in indicating the metabolic status (NEB) in nutrient restricted cattle, and FSH supplementation may be a potential solution for overriding poor nutritional status regarding oocyte recovery in NEB cattle.
Spaces for the Unseen: Reframing Safe Routes to School as Third Places for Children
Dollete, Sheliza Zafra (Virginia Tech, 2026-06-15)
This thesis examines how transportation infrastructure, as a component of the built environment, has historically contributed to social exclusion and continues to shape patterns of inclusion and marginalization, particularly for children. Through a thematic and interdisciplinary literature review, the study synthesizes research on children's well-being, transport systems, and built environment evaluation, identifying a critical gap in the ability to systematically measure the social and experiential dimensions of mobility. Building on this approach, the research develops a conceptual framework that operationalizes third place qualities into measurable spatial indicators, linking abstract social concepts to observable conditions in the built environment. By positioning SRTS as a form of social infrastructure, the thesis illustrates how transport planning can move beyond technical performance metrics toward more socially responsive evaluation and design strategies. Ultimately, the study argues that operationalizing third place theory provides a systematic means of understanding and enhancing children's social well-being within everyday mobility environments. In doing so, it reframes transport systems not only as a means for movement, but as critical spaces for advancing inclusion, interaction, and belonging in the built environment.

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