Services have been constantly evolving and operational efficiency has been a key initiative for progress. In this collection of academic papers, we investigate the efficiency of three different industry practices, to each of which we dedicate a chapter. Chapter 1 and Chapter 2 cover completed research, while the research covered...
There is growing interest in and demand for lightweight, age-hardenable alloys such as aluminum (Al) alloys in the transportation sector. This interest is due to the potential for reducing vehicle mass and thereby improving fuel economy. Precipitation microstructures improve the mechanical properties of materials, such as yield stress, by impeding...
Two-dimensional (2D) materials such as graphene exhibit unique, superlative electronic, optical, and mechanical properties that are dictated by the precise atomic structure within each layer. Consequently, control of this atomic-scale configuration is critical to engineering desirable characteristics. To date, however, most 2D materials have been discovered by isolating mono- or...
Quantum information processing (QIP) is an emerging computational paradigm with the potential to enable a vast increase in computational power, fundamentally transforming fields from structural biology to finance. QIP employs qubits, or quantum bits, as its fundamental units of information, which can exist in not just the classical states of...
Tumor progression depends on both tumor-intrinsic processes and interactions with different cell types within tumor microenvironment. Identifying targets that have dual effects on both tumor cells and their interacting surrounding cells, such as tumor-infiltrating immune cells, represent a novel therapeutic approach to treat cancer patients
CD44 is a ubiquitously expressed...
Intrahepatic islet transplantation is a promising therapeutic option for the treatment of Type-1 diabetes that offers the ability to restore endogenous insulin production. Widespread use of islet transplantation is currently limited by poor survival of transplanted islets due to the harsh environment of the liver portal vein, prompting investigation into...
My dissertation, “Talking Drum: Chicago’s WVON Radio and the Sonorous Image of Black Lives, 1963-1983,” studies WVON radio as a mediating institution of the black public sphere in Cold War Chicago. “Talking Drum” explores how WVON celebrated, represented, and mobilized black public life in the mid-twentieth century amid a dominant...
Allergic diseases, including asthma, atopic dermatitis, and food allergy, are a widespread health issue. The prevalence of these diseases has been increasing, but the mechanism behind this increase and how allergies develop is not well understood. Although the immune system is central to the pathology of allergy, recent work has...
Reinforcement sensitivity theory (RST) has enormous potential to become a paradigmatic model of individual differences. However, while its foundations in experimental genetic and neurophysiological research on nonhuman animals are among the strongest in personality psychology, it has perhaps not gained the foothold within the field that it deserves. It is...
Intelligent behavior in humans is largely associated with encoding information to discrete symbols. However, symbolic behavior in robotic systems is not widespread, mainly due to lack of tools that constitute symbol-based automation implementable in real time. This thesis proposes real-time algorithms that facilitate and promote symbol-based action and sensing. In...