Location-aware technologies, such as personal navigation applications, location-based AR games, and artificial intelligence systems that learn from data about places, increasingly mediate our understanding of and interactions with the world. However, a number of risks associated with location-aware technologies have emerged, jeopardizing the welfare of its users. This dissertation seeks...
If life exists on Mars, it likely resides in a deep subsurface environment. The Martian rocky subsurface is a primary target for the search for extraterrestrial life because it offers a stable habitat for microbial life. On Earth, the continental subsurface is a key astrobiological analog for understanding what properties...
This dissertation investigates the nature of the interface between morphosyntax and cognition. My goal is to connect formal semantic theories of meaning with theories of cognition, drawing on the initial hypothesis that the interface between language and cognition is transparent. I look at different forms of adjectival comparatives -- positive...
This dissertation explores the fundamental science of flexoelectricity and its implications using a combined experimental and theoretical approach. I begin by introducing the flexoelectric effect and formalizing the basics of strain gradients, polarization, and flexoelectric coefficients. Next, I describe the development of a flexoelectric characterization system based upon three-point bending...
Coiled-coil helix coiled-coil helix domain containing 10 (CHCHD10) is a nuclear gene that encodes for a mitochondria-enriched protein of unknown function. This type of protein is typically imported into mitochondria via the disulfide relay system which facilitates the formation of disulfide bridges between each coiled-coil helix, resulting in maintenance of...
One of the fundamental observations in oncology is that the rate of cancer malignancy increases with age, which applies to most human malignancies including breast cancer. Therefore, it is crucial to elucidate the mechanistic connection between aging and carcinogenesis. The NAD+-dependent sirtuin family, specifically SIRT3, the primary mitochondrial deacetylase, which...
Data Science and related fields like Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, and Statistics provide indispensable research methods for understanding a wide variety of phenomena from large datasets. However, as methodical and empirical as these methods aim to be, there are many subjective and discretionary choices that the data scientist must make...
Understanding associative memory is fundamental for a variety of neurological and neurodegenerative diseases, however, a large proportion of this research has excluded female subjects due to unsubstantiated bias. By including intact females, ovariectomized females and males in the study of associative memory, clear sex differences in acquisition emerged. Female mice...
Economic growth in contexts of state weakness presents a puzzle. If the state’s provision of property rights is necessary for financial investment and related pro-growth behaviors, then why do we observe private investment and commercial transactions in settings where state institutions are far from reliable property guarantors? This study addresses...
Directed energy deposition (DED) has pushed the frontiers of manufacturability by enabling the creation of multi-material, functionally graded components, the repair or modification of existing components, and the addition of wear resistant coatings. This additive manufacturing method creates a 3D object by depositing powder directly into a small molten pool...