Doctoral Dissertations: Recent submissions
Now showing items 1-20 of 14916
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Elementary Assistant Principals' Self-Perceived Preparedness to Lead Diverse Schools through the Lens of the Culturally Responsive School Leadership Framework
(Virginia Tech, 2021-03-05)Shifting demographics in the U.S. population, persistent disparities in achievement, and student discipline call for school leaders who are culturally responsive to the diversity present in their schools and communities ... -
Controlling non-equilibrium dynamics in lattice gas models
(Virginia Tech, 2021-03-05)In recent years a new interesting research avenue has emerged in non-equilibrium statistical physics, namely studies of collective responses in spatially inhomogeneous systems. Whereas substantial progress has been made ... -
Statistical Methods for Multivariate Functional Data Clustering, Recurrent Event Prediction, and Accelerated Degradation Data Analysis
(Virginia Tech, 2019-09-12)In this dissertation, we introduce three projects in machine learning and reliability applications after the general introductions in Chapter 1. The first project concentrates on the multivariate sensory data, the second ... -
On Integral Quadratic Constraint Theory and Robust Control of Unmanned Aircraft Systems
(Virginia Tech, 2019-09-11)This dissertation advances tools for the certification of unmanned aircraft system (UAS) flight controllers. We develop two thrusts to this goal: (1) the validation and improvement of an uncertain UAS framework based on ... -
Species Chemistry and Electrochemical Separation in Molten Fluoride Salt
(Virginia Tech, 2019-09-11)Fluoride salt-cooled high-temperature reactor (FHR) is a safer and potentially less expensive alternative to light water reactor due to the low pressure of primary system, passive decay heat cooling system, chemically inert ... -
Wildland Fire in the Central Appalachian Mountains: Impacts on Above- and Belowground Resources
(Virginia Tech, 2021-03-03)Prescribed fire use in Virginia and West Virginia has increased over the past ten years as forest managers on public lands have increasingly used prescribed fire to meet management goals. These goals include hazardous fuel ... -
Modal Analysis of General Cyclically Symmetric Systems with Applications to Multi-Stage Structures
(Virginia Tech, 2019-10-10)This work investigates the modal properties of general cyclically symmetric systems and the multi-stage systems with cyclically symmetric stages. The work generalizes the modal properties of engineering applications, such ... -
Energy Harvesting from Human Body, Motion and Surroundings
(Virginia Tech, 2019-09-10)As human dependence on electronic devices grows, there is an emerging need on finding sustainable power sources for low power electronics and sensors. One of the promising possibilities in this space is the human body ... -
Impact of Manure Management Practices on the Environmental Fate of Antibiotics in Manure-Applied Fields
(Virginia Tech, 2019-09-10)Antibiotics and antibiotic resistance genes from animal manure applied to soil as fertilizer are now among the most concerned contaminants in soil. The widespread use of antibiotics in livestock might amplify the risk of ... -
Principals' and Assistant Principals' Self-Reported Levels of Preparedness to Assist Instructional Staff Working with English Learners in Two School Districts in Virginia
(Virginia Tech, 2021-03-02)English Learner (ELs) are the fastest growing student population in the United States. With this increase of ELs, come many challenges at the federal, state, and local level. Research shows that teachers and administrators ... -
Modeling Temperature Effects on Vector-Borne Disease Dynamics
(Virginia Tech, 2019-09-09)Vector-borne diseases (VBDs) cause significant harm to humans, plants, and animals worldwide. For instance, VBDs are very difficult to manage, as they are governed by complex interactions. VBD transmission depends on the ... -
Identifying Principal Leadership Practices to Effectively Support Gifted Learners and Gifted Programs
(Virginia Tech, 2019-09-09)The success of gifted learners and gifted programs in public schools depends upon principals who are well versed in the needs of gifted learners (Gallagher and Gallagher, 1994). Principal leadership in setting direction, ... -
Development of a Nanoparticle Vaccine Delivery System with Polymeric Oral Adjuvants for Poultry
(Virginia Tech, 2019-09-06)Development of new vaccination technology has been hindered by a lack of new adjuvants to enable development of protective immunity using different vaccine delivery methods. A vaccine delivery system using oral adjuvants ... -
Power System Stability Improvement with Decommissioned Synchronous Machine Using Koopman Operator Based Model Predictive Control
(Virginia Tech, 2019-09-06)Traditional generators have been decommissioned or replaced by renewable energy generation due to utility long-standing goals. However, instead of flattening the entire plant, the rotating mass of generator can be utilized ... -
High-sensitivity Full-field Quantitative Phase Imaging Based on Wavelength Shifting Interferometry
(Virginia Tech, 2019-09-06)Quantitative phase imaging (QPI) is a category of imaging techniques that can retrieve the phase information of the sample quantitatively. QPI features label-free contrast and non-contact detection. It has thus gained ... -
Cybersecurity for the Internet of Things: A Micro Moving Target IPv6 Defense
(Virginia Tech, 2019-09-04)As the use of low-power and low-resource embedded devices continues to increase dramatically with the introduction of new Internet of Things (IoT) devices, security techniques are necessary which are compatible with these ... -
Representation Learning Based Causal Inference in Observational Studies
(Virginia Tech, 2021-02-22)This dissertation investigates novel statistical approaches for causal effect estimation in observational settings, where controlled experimentation is infeasible and confounding is the main hurdle in estimating causal ... -
Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Vulnerability in Women: The Neuropsychological Impact of Emotional Trauma from Rape
(Virginia Tech, 2019-08-30)The current experiment aims to integrate the neuropsychological and physiological consequences of rape trauma and physical restraint. Given the preponderance of rape on college campuses, it is important for continued ... -
Dynamics of Multi-functional Acoustic Holograms in Contactless Ultrasonic Energy Transfer Systems
(Virginia Tech, 2020-08-28)Contactless ultrasonic power transfer (UPT), using piezoelectric transducers, is based on transferring energy using acoustic waves, in which the waves are generated by an acoustic source or transmitter and then transferred ... -
Half-Heusler Thermoelectric Materials and Modules
(Virginia Tech, 2019-08-29)High temperature waste heat recovery has been gaining attention in recent years as it forms one of the largest sources of available energy. A rapid development of thermoelectric (TE) materials that can directly convert ...