This dissertation proposes a theory that views beats as probabilistic domains that I term “pockets,” taking a vernacular term commonly used by jazz, funk, and popular music performers to describe the state of being in a good groove and making it concrete through empirical methods. Pockets have three key properties:...
The ubiquitous role of water in biochemical, electrochemical, and geochemical systems has driven scientific interest in studying the fundamental hydrogen-bonding interactions that water molecules exhibit in the presence of different materials.Specifically, we focus on the interactions characterizing water at the interface between two bulk media, as these are essential to...
We structure our lives around social groups – belonging to them and thinking about them. In this dissertation, I develop a new stereotype content measure to assess the attributes associated with groups in America today, propose and support a theory of sociocultural essentialism, and explore the strategic activation of sociocultural...
This work examines important heterogeneous processes of organic molecules on surfaces, in the contexts of atmospheric and indoor environments. In large forest ecosystems, biogenic secondary organic aerosols (SOAs) constitute a dominant fraction of organic particulate matter in the atmosphere. The formation of SOAs starts from the emission of volatile organic...
Although research has shown LGBTQ+ youth are overrepresented in counts of homeless youth, scholars have yet to investigate whether this trend exists among adults experiencing homelessness. This dissertation uses an organizational analysis of four Chicago homeless centers that cater to young adults to argue that most LGBTQ+ youth are not...
Metallic conductivity and broken inversion symmetry were long thought to be contraindicated properties, under the assumption that long-range Coulombic interactions (screened by free charge carriers) were necessary for coordinated polar displacements. Within the past decade, the discovery of polar metals has prompted a rethinking of the relationship between metallicity and...
How we remember, narrate and teach the past is an inherently political and ethical act. This is especially true when teaching about race and racism within the context of United States history. In this dissertation, I ask: how do young people narrate the durability of racial inequality in the United...
Manufacturing processes are known for their intricacies in changing material shapes and properties. New generations of manufacturing technologies, known as flexible manufacturing, are moving toward design freedom, which allows producing parts with optimized geometries and high customizations at an affordable cost even for low-volume productions. Two prominent flexible manufacturing processes...
The explosion of data in the digital age has provided new possibilities for policy creation,the development of knowledge, and societal innovations. In this way, data becomes an essential
tool in personal decision-making, legal change, and policy creation as we leverage new forms of
data to understand social phenomena. But along...
Cyber-physical systems (CPS), as a multidisciplinary area, have been widely adopted in our daily life and attract experts from various fields. CPS aims to achieve real-time and resilient connection with physical world through integration of computation, communication and control technologies. Many CPS systems, such as automotive, avionics, and industrial system,...