FYR 2021 Graduate RISE Impact Report- Research & Innovation- Prairie View A&M University by PVAMU Research&Innovation

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GRADUATE

RISE

Research and Innovation for Scholarly Excellence Grant Program

TABLE OF CONTENTS 05

An Integrated Approach for Supporting Distributed Sensor-Based Services: Modeling, Implementation, and Evaluation Ahmed Ahmed

Angela Broadus Ahmed Ahmed

Mental Health Concerns and Coping among Black College Students Impacted by Triple Pandemics: A Multi-Site Survey Dorie Gilbert

Different Techniques for Converting Plastic Wastes into Useful Chemicals Emmanuel A. Dada

Implementation of the PVAMU Banking Institute (PBI) Erick Kitenge

Expanding the Horizon of Multidisciplinary Research to Improve Future Food Security Ghaffari Noushin

Identification of Fatty Acids, Fatty Acid Esters and Triglycerides in Plant and Animal-Based Milk Lipids Using Mass Spectrometry Harshica Fernando Structural Optimization of Planar Fixture Adaptor for Drilling Top Drive Test Stand Jaejong Park Implementation of Bast Fibers as Reinforcement Material in Bio-composites Manufacturing Jiang Lai A Secure Networking Platform to Connect Diasporic Cyber-Communities Lealon Martin

Experimental Investigation of The Desiccation Cracking Behavior of Houston Soil Md Jobair Bin Alam Repatriation as A Form of Black Religious Expression Michael Royster Effects of Carrier Gases and Catalysts on Bio-oil Yield and Quality in a Fluidized Bed Reactor Paul O. Biney

Flood Management Using Hydrologic and Remote Sensing Data Ram Ray

TABLE OF CONTENTS 19

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Securing ZigBee-Based IoT Network Against HULK Distributed Denial of Service Attack Using Various Machine Learning Algorithms Sarhan Musa

Will Faculty Survive? The Effects of COVID-19 on the Mental Health and Productivity of Faculty and How They Are Coping in Higher Education. Selena D. Tate Measuring Enhancement of Thermal Conductivity for Particle Beds Under Different Boundary Conditions Shahin Shafiee Safe, Oral Delivery of Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients in Children Sheena Reeves Design and Testing of Ultra-low Power Active Radiation Sensor by Custom Microcontroller-Based Module with Nano-current Amplifier Binzaid Shuza

24 Protecting Piney Point, Houston's Forgotten Freedmen's Town Tiffany D. Thomas

Develop Liquid Crystalline Elastomer Based Novel Materials for Anisotropic Tissue Engineering Yunziang Gao Structural Health Monitoring of Blade for Floating Offshore Wind Turbine Using Numerical Simulation Model Based on Geometrically Exact Beam Theory Ziaul Huque

GRADUATE

RISE

MAGESH T. RAJAN, PH.D., P.E., MBA VICE PRESIDENT DIVISION OF RESEARCH & INNOVATION Being the Vice President of the Division of Research & Innovation (R&I), I have been granted the opportunity to elevate and invigorate the research agenda for Prairie View A&M University (PVAMU).This mission of course includes the dedicated faculty and research scientists who are exploring their passion while also serving as research mentors to PVAMU students. I initiated the Graduate Fellows Program (GFP) as a vehicle to enrich the graduate student experience as future researchers and to promote the spirit interdisciplinarity across the university. The GFP provides an opportunity for them to work with faculty on their research projects and encourages their further study into an area of additional study. This report is focused on a unique set of academicians: graduate students who are dedicated to developing their interest in the sciences. They are the emerging scholars I had in mind when I created the Graduate-Research and Innovation Success and Excellence (Graduate-RISE) program. Graduate students bring a wealth of knowledge and life experience from around the world to our campus. They chose PVAMU to establish and further develop their research skills. Because of the diverse cultures represented by these students, each brings a perspective from their native country. Researching at PVAMU allows them to expand their science acumen expand the cultural awareness of fellow students and faculty, which means a deeper, richer reservoir of critical thinkers and scholars from which to collaborate and learn from. The Graduate-RISE topics expand the eight colleges and schools at PVAMU. From engineering and agriculture to nurse practitioner, psychology, and educational leadership. The graduate student research opportunities are limitless. Enjoy this glimpse into the enriched environment in which these Graduate-RISE carried out their research. From masters’ students to doctoral level, their dedication to research is inspiring. Their collaboration with faculty and scientists is fueling their passion for a research career to improve the lives of others through life-enhancing or life-changing explorations.

AN INTEGRATED APPROACH FOR SUPPORTING DISTRIBUTED SENSORBASED SERVICES: MODELING, IMPLEMENTATION, AND EVALUATION

With sensors becoming increasingly ubiquitous, there is a tremendous potential for distributed sensor-based services which can take advantage of the data collected by these sensors. The overarching goal of this research is to use an integrated approach that has both foundational and practical contributions to address some key challenges in supporting sensor-based services and real-time data analytics to better understand the tremendous amount of sensor data being generated by sensor-based systems every day. To achieve this goal, the PI will develop a programming framework which encapsulates a high-performance big data platform that can be used for initiating and managing such services. This project will initiate a new paradigm for sensor-based systems that account for deployment, communication, and resilience constraints from the ground up, in addition to precision and reliability requirements.

AHMED AHMED, PH.D.

Assistant Professor

This project will foster innovative IoT technologies in different domains such as transportation, agriculture, etc. It also has the potential to minimize the risks to health, safety, and the environment by deploying sensor-based services to reduce preventable disruptions. There are three main challenges to be addressed by this project: (1) Address the challenge of understanding and representing the fundamental mechanisms underlying distributed sensor-based services; (2) Address the challenge of enhancing the programmability and deployment of such services, and (3) Address the challenge of collecting and analyzing sensor data from different sensors deployed remotely for automated decisionmaking based on analyzed/observed data.

Sheikh Ahmed Graduate Student Department of Computer Science College of Engineering

STATEWIDE ADOLESCENT NEEDS ASSESSMENT

Using a mixed-methods approach, the Texas Juvenile Crime Prevention Center (TJCPC) will assess adolescent needs related to the reduction of juvenile crime within eight Regional Councils of Government (COG) that encompass 39.4% of all Texas counties. Recruitment efforts for focus groups and online surveys will center on parents of adolescents and key community members from middle and high schools, churches, law enforcement, courts, juvenile justice, businesses, mayor and/or council members, and other interested community members. Qualitative and quantitative outcome data will be analyzed to determine the top 10 areas of adolescent need per COG and collectively across the eight selected regions. Comparison analysis of the study outcome data, the most recent annual COG Strategic Planning reports, and the 2017 TJCPC Statewide Needs Assessment (SNA) outcome data will provide insight into the effectiveness of current TJCPC strategies for accessing community perceptions of adolescent needs and the reduction of adolescent risk behaviors.

ANGELA BROADUS, PH.D.

Training Specialist

We anticipate that our mixed-methods research approach will provide a more comprehensive understanding of adolescent needs within each of the eight targeted COG regions than did our 2017 Statewide Needs Assessment survey. We hypothesize that our findings will enrich the information secured at the COG level and provide them with valuable data for prioritizing COG delinquency reduction efforts. Finally, we anticipate that the outcomes will assist in the development of future training priorities for the TJCPC.

Roberta De Freitas Graduate Student Department of Texas Juvenile Crime Prevention Center College of Juvenile Justice & Psychology

MENTAL HEALTH CONCERNS AND COPING AMONG BLACK COLLEGE STUDENTS IMPACTED BY TRIPLE PANDEMICS: A MULTI-SITE SURVEY

Currently, little has been broached about the overlapping consequences of the COVID-19, economic crisis, and systemic racism on African American/Black college student populations. The project examines this topic from a broad perspective of both historically Black college/universities (HBCUs) and predominantly white institutions (PWI). The objectives of this study are three-fold: (1) to examine the nature and prevalence of mental health concerns among African American/Black college students associated with the triple pandemics; (2) to determine variances in experiences between African American/Black college students attending HBCUs versus PWIs; and (3) to determine strategies for designing university-based mental health responses to support African American/Black college students.

DORIE GILBERT, PH.D.

Professor

This research aims to determine the overall mental health concerns and coping among Black college students impacted by the triple pandemics of COVID-19, economic crisis, and systemic racism. A significant facet of this project is to develop strategies to assist higher education institutions to design robust mental health supports for African American/Black college students. Best practices identified will inform university-based mental health policies and practices throughout academia.

Ashley Nelson Graduate Student Division of Social Work Behavioral and Political Sciences College of Arts & Sciences

DIFFERENT TECHNIQUES FOR CONVERTING PLASTIC WASTES INTO USEFUL CHEMICALS

Plastic is essentially an indispensable commodity, relatively cheap, and production continues to rise because of its numerous industrial and domestic applications. The accumulation of plastic wastes continues to grow as its usage increases globally. Plastic is a nondegradable substance and resistant to environmental degradation, thus resulting in environmental pollution. This project will address problems associated with plastic wastes and investigate different technological approach to utilizing plastic wastes. Analyses of various conversion processes, including thermal pyrolysis, catalytic degradation, and photo-catalytic pyrolysis, will be considered to evaluate their economic viability. The focus will be developing a greener and sustainable process for converting waste plastics into useful chemicals like formic acids, liquid fuel, and lubricating oil, thereby identifying the most economical route to utilizing plastic wastes. The outcome will significantly help solve global environmental issues associated with plastic wastes and mitigate the undesirable impacts of micro-plastics.

EMMANUEL DADA, PH.D.

Assistant Professor

"Impact: Microplastics accumulation in the oceans pose threats to fishes, aquatic animals and human health. This project will help mitigate this environmental issue associated with plastic wastes, and the proposed conversion process is designed for optimal degradation, safer and reduced derivatives. Anticipated result: Greener and sustainable route for utilizing plastic wastes will be developed. The viable green laboratory to be set up will be for PVAMU and would be useful for future research. A great opportunity to set up a state-of-the earth green laboratory using external funding for carrying out research on plastic waste."

Elizabeth Osadare Graduate Student Department of Chemical Engineering College of Engineering

IMPLEMENTATION OF THE PVAMU BANKING INSTITUTE (PBI)

The lack of diversity in the banking industry has triggered numerous initiatives from policymakers and financial institutions to encourage the participation of minorities on the supply side of the financial industry. This lack of diversity has been identified as one of the potential causes of lower participation and/or discrimination against minorities. Therefore, this project will identify potential local partners, create the PVAMU Banking Institute (PBI), and then select the first group of participants. This project will attempt to replicate a better version of the Summer Banking Institute (SBI) implemented at Central State University in 2017. More than 60 students have participated in the SBI, and most of those students tend to seek employment in the banking industry after they graduate from school.

ERICK KITENGE, PH.D.

Assistant Professor

This institute will enhance the visibility and the economic impact of Prairie View A&M in local communities, provide financial education and internship and/or job opportunities for students, and facilitate diversification efforts from financial institutions and policymakers. This PBI will constitute an opportunity for financial institutions that are heavily investing in “diversity and inclusion” projects.

Chinonso Ndukuba Graduate Student Department of Marketing and Management College of College of Business

EXPANDING THE HORIZON OF MULTIDISCIPLINARY RESEARCH TO IMPROVE FUTURE FOOD SECURITY

Multidisciplinary research is crucial to successfully address the agricultural challenges of the 21st century and maintain food security. The aim of the proposed project is to introduce a graduate student in the Department of Computer Science (CS) at Prairie View A&M University (PVAMU) to the world of multidisciplinary research and equip him/her with analytical tools necessary for handling most challenges in the Data Science era, focusing on bioinformatics analysis. PI will recruit a graduate student and train the individual in basic biology, Data Analysis, and Artificial Intelligence concepts in preparation for conducting research. Through our proposed project, a PVAMU CS student will gain experience with multidisciplinary research and the bioinformatics methods to analyze our current and developing data generated by advanced molecular level assays such as reduced representation bisulfite sequencing of DNA (DNAm) and RNA-Seq analyses of different tissues from control and prenatally stressed calves. Our goal is to educate a student to cohesively work on similar projects and enhance his/her analytical skills. Furthermore, PI will apply Artificial Intelligence to merge the embedded knowledge in RNA-Seq and DNAm data as a long-term goal.

HARSHICA FERNANDO, PH.D.

Assistant Professor

Bernard Nyarko Graduate Student Department of Computer Science College of Engineering

IDENTIFICATION OF FATTY ACIDS, FATTY ACID ESTERS AND TRIGLYCERIDES IN PLANT AND ANIMAL-BASED MILK LIPIDS USING MASS SPECTROMETRY

Milk and dairy products are an essential part of - diet in almost everyone today. In the market, we find all different varieties of milk products extracted from either animals or plants. Many diseases are associated with lipid dysregulation. One such disease is fatty liver disease. Fatty liver disease is accompanied by changes in lipids, and identification of lipids in highly consumed food is essential for the treatment of the disease. Phospholipids play a crucial role in the development of the disease, and introducing good lipids through the diet will prevent/reduce the risk of forming the disease. This project aims to identify and characterize the acyl chains present in the lipids of animal and plant milk using a mass spectroscopic approach. We anticipate finding more unsaturated fatty acyl chains in the plant lipids compared to the animal lipids, and a clear difference among all different types of lipids in terms of the acyl chains and unsaturation. The impact of the results is that it can be used as a base for the treatment of diseases where lipid dysregulation occurs.

HARSHICA FERNANDO, PH.D.

Assistant Professor

Denzel Alexander Graduate Student Department of Chemistry College of Arts and Sciences

STRUCTURAL OPTIMIZATION OF PLANAR FIXTURE ADAPTOR FOR DRILLING TOP DRIVE TEST STAND

There exists a design discrepancy in the mounting mechanism among oil well drilling top drives from different manufacturers; the testing site used to build a big test stand for each type of mounting configuration, which poses preventable space and financial issues. This problem has been partially solved by designing a fixture adapter that allows the installation of several top drives onto single testing equipment, making it semi-universal. The purpose of this proposed research activity is to implement structural topology optimization in designing a vital planar component in the universal fixture for the top drive test stand to increase the structural efficiency and predict the component longevity. The resulting structure will be 3D printed for down-sized design validation purposes in this proposed research. However, it would also be readily manufactured using traditional machining for the field application due to the planar nature. This may open a collaboration opportunity with Canrig Drilling, a local drilling company in the oil and gas industry. It will also broaden the research scope and funding opportunities of the PI.

JAEJONG PARK, PH.D.

Assistant Professor

Achille Louodom Chedjour Graduate Student Department of Mechanical Engineering College of Engineering

IMPLEMENTATION OF BAST FIBERS AS REINFORCEMENT MATERIAL IN BIO-COMPOSITES MANUFACTURING

In the proposed project, engineering biocomposite demo parts manufactured in an optimized way using treated bast fiber reinforcements infused with bioresins will be made. Biodegradability tests will follow. They are expected to have comparable mechanical properties to those made of fiberglass-reinforced ones and possess lower cost, higher fiber-resin interfacial bindings, and most importantly, better biodegradability after the end of their service life. This project will serve as preliminary studies for a larger, comprehensive proposal idea that studies the cradle-to-grave life of bast fiber biocomposite products which involves agriculture, botany, chemistry, and mechanical engineering fields, which would be a good fit to several external grant opportunities from funding agencies such as NSF and USDA.

JIANG LAI, PH.D.

Assistant Professor

"Anticipated results of the proposed research are: 1. Optimized combination of bast fiber and bio-resin systems for manufacturing biocomposite parts, with the proper fiber-resin interface treatment that significantly promotes the fiber-resin interfacial bindings. 2. Validated manufacturing processes for making bast fiber-reinforced biocomposite parts. 3. High-quality biocomposite demo products made using the validated process can replace specific unsustainable ones. 4. Biodegradation test results that indicate the parts’ high biodegradability. This implementation will become another economic and environmental-friendly option for manufacturing biocomposite parts in the U.S., serving as a good example for the future development of biocomposite manufacturing strategies."

Quinten Jackson Graduate Student Department of Mechanical Engineering College of Engineering

A SECURE NETWORKING PLATFORM TO CONNECT DIASPORIC CYBERCOMMUNITIES

This RISE proposal describes an effort that involves building infrastructure to connect diasporic communities in cyberspace. Our specific goal is to design a study that characterizes the formation, coalescence, and evolution of group clusters; and that models timevariant cluster behavior using data analytic techniques. For the purpose of this study, “group clusters” consist of individuals from physically disparate environments but with a non-trivial set of shared attributes. Users (subscribers) within a group cluster are “federated.” Our team will engineer innovative cyber-physical tools that facilitate content generation and information share between federated subscribers to drive the study. The proposed system enables reliable data and information sharing to achieve a pre-determined, critical function in one application. In another embodiment, the platform provides an interface that serves to connect inherently disjoint physical communities in a cyber-environment. The graduate researcher employed with RISE funds will help develop a preliminary software application for the study.

LEALON MARTIN, PH.D.

Assistant Professor

Ensuring data integrity from independent sources is essential in managing client users' cyber- and physical security (subscribers). This project establishes a novel, permissioned, subscription-based network architecture, enabling decentralized services between edge, cloud, and enterprise servers. It offers a practical alternative to Distributed Ledger technology for certifying network security and data integrity. Our team will build a decentralized information management platform that shares data between federated subscribers – individuals or entire organizations. The key benefit is the near-complete elimination of data loss and corruption from single-point tampering or database failure, resulting in enhanced user data security and platform confidence.

James Fearon Graduate Student Department of Chemical Engineering College of Engineering

EXPERIMENTAL INVESTIGATION OF THE DESICCATION CRACKING BEHAVIOR OF HOUSTON SOIL

The objective of the study is to identify the critical parameter of clayey soil available in the greater Houston area that impact the formation and propagation of desiccation cracks. Local clayey soil samples with different characteristics will be collected from this region and will be investigated in the laboratory. The environmental condition (e.g., rainfall, temperature) of Harris County will be simulated in the laboratory to investigate the generation of cracks and its development in the soil on different clay samples. The effect of physical, hydraulic, and mechanical properties of the clay samples will also be investigated and will be combined with the environmental parameters to find the critical condition for crack formation in this region for geotechnical design and construction.

MD JOBAIR BIN ALAM, PH.D.

Assistant Professor

We anticipate achieving the significant parameters of clayey soil that are critical when exposed to the local environmental condition in Harris County. We are also anticipating finding the optimum clay properties based on series of laboratory tests, which can develop the framework during construction to lessen the severity of desiccation crack-related problems in this region. The research results will be disseminated to the local geotechnical industry professionals and TxDOT to provide in-depth knowledge of this issue to bring sustainability in the design and construction of infrastructure with clayey soil.

Turk Nejress Graduate Student Department of Civil and Environmental College of Engineering

REPATRIATION AS A FORM OF BLACK RELIGIOUS EXPRESSION

Black theology within the broad context of the African Diaspora contains a consistent theme of liberation as part of the eschatological trajectory. Rather than solely focusing on “other-worldly” notions of hope, collectively, the quest for such freedom begins in the present. Physical and, more often, psychological repatriation to the pre colonized condition entails a return to what has been interpreted as part of one’s intended purpose of existence. Although the act of physically vacating one’s residence to relocate to Africa may lack feasibility, alternative forms of reconnecting with African, ancestral wisdom and culture, and other members of the African Diaspora has become the viable alternative. The use of "content analysis" is a universal story of dehumanizing effects of physical displacement and becoming separated from one’s sacred heritage

MICHAEL ROYSTER, PH.D.

Assistant Professor

One of the under-explored aspects of African American studies includes motivating factors for individuals, families, and communities to engage in acts of repatriation to Africa from the U.S. and, to an extent, from the Caribbean. Potential variables include: generational cohorts, religious orientation, and political ideology. The findings will play a role in explaining discontent with diasporic life despite a higher standard of living and the image of Africa.

Angela E. Thomas Graduate Student Department of Division of Social Work Behavioral & Political Sciences College of Arts and Sciences

EFFECTS OF CARRIER GASES AND CATALYSTS ON BIO-OIL YIELD AND QUALITY IN A FLUIDIZED BED REACTOR

The current interest in biofuels [1-2], which are carbon neutral, has led to a surge in research activities related to the production of bio-oil from biomass of non-food energy crops such as switchgrass, arundo, and alfalfa. Dr. Biney & team have established research in this area and constructed fixed [3] and fluidized bed reactors for scaling up research. Currently, one graduate student is studying the effects of carrier gases and catalysts on yield and quality of bio-oil from pyrolysis of biomass in a fixed bed reactor, while a second student is researching upgrading of the bio-oil into transportation fuels. The two full-scale experiments conducted so far (without catalyst) show that bio-oil yield increased from 26.8% to 34.1 % when the carrier N2 gas flow was increased from 75 L/min to 100 L/min. Additional experiments at carrier gas flow of 50 and 125 L/min. are planned with and without catalysts.

PAUL O. BINEY, PH.D.

Professor

This research will (1) support two graduate students who are highly interested in pursuing their Ph.D. degrees and work in the academic fieldwhere minority representation is highly desirable, (2) serve as the background work that will improve our chances of getting funding for proposals being prepared for submission to NSF and USDA to expand the biofuels research at PVAMU, (3) help in supporting undergraduate students who will be trained and encouraged to pursue graduate studies, and (3) result in identifying the optimum career gas flow rate and the extent of quality enhancement resulting from the use of ZSM-5.

Abdelhadi Hussein Graduate Student Department of Mechanical Engineering College of Engineering

FLOOD MANAGEMENT USING HYDROLOGIC AND REMOTE SENSING DATA

Floods are one of the most destructive natural disasters, causing human lives, public and private infrastructures, socio-economic activities, and agricultural and ecological services. Flood management, including the assessment and mitigation of flooding risk and exposure, is, therefore, important considering future worsening of flood frequency and extent due to climate change. The main goal of this project is to develop a methodological framework for flood management using publicly available remote sensing and hydrological data for the Bosque watershed in Texas. A comprehensive literature review will be carried out to identify and collect data on important parameters and hydrologic model combined with satellite data used in flood management. A methodological framework will then be developed for flood management in the Bosque watershed. Satellite data collected during a historical flooding event will be used to evaluate the framework. Project findings will be used to develop manuscripts and proposals for external funding.

RAM RAY, PH.D.

Associate Professor

The main goal of this project is to develop a methodological framework for flood management using publicly available remote sensing and hydrological data for the Bosque watershed in Texas. The satellite data combined with hydrologic model techniques used in flood management will help develop a methodological framework for flood management in the study area. Findings from this project will help generate preliminary data and knowledge to develop full proposals for external funding from agencies such as NSF, NASA, and NIFA. Results will also be presented at local and regional conferences, meetings, workshops, and other student-focused events.

Abimbola Badmus Graduate Student Department of Cooperative Agricultural Research Center College of Agriculture and Human Sciences

SECURING ZIGBEE-BASED IOT NETWORK AGAINST HULK DISTRIBUTED DENIAL OF SERVICE ATTACK USING VARIOUS MACHINE LEARNING ALGORITHMS

"Recent reports, like from the Worldwide Infrastructure Security Report, show that there have been significant financial losses to industry and governments due to distributed denial of service (DDoS) attacks. The high success rates for this attack are because the main routers typically use the FIFO (First-In-First-Out) and Drop-Tail queuing schemes, which are not able to differentiate between types of traffic, thereby causing equal loss rates for attack and legitimate traffic. Although legitimate traffic tends to retreat to prevent further congestion, attack traffic does not have this commitment and causes the links to be exceeded. As a consequence, legitimate traffic is also obstructed. This project presents a Smart Detection System, which is an online approach to DoS/ DDoS attack detection. The software uses Machine Learning algorithm to classify network traffic based on samples taken by the ZigBee network protocol directly from network devices."

SARHAN MUSA, PH.D.

Professor

"Several experiments will be performed to calibrate and evaluate the proposed system performance. This will be done by comparing with recent and relevant approaches based on performance metrics such as Detection Rate (DR), False Alarm Rate (FAR), Accuracy, Precision, and F1-Score. Our proposed model's expectation for impact will be to realize an online detection approach to feature selection, developed using a cross-validation technique for model searches that meet specific classification quality criteria. When deployed in the IoT Home Area Network, this can reduce losses to industries and governments by a significant margin."

Ekele Arthur Asonye Graduate Student Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering College of Engineering

WILL FACULTY SURVIVE? THE EFFECTS OF COVID-19 ON THE MENTAL HEALTH AND PRODUCTIVITY OF FACULTY AND HOW THEY ARE COPING IN HIGHER EDUCATION.

Uncertainty surrounding the longevity of COVID-19 imposes continuous adjustments for faculty. Recent studies explore psychological distress, post-traumatic stress, work anxiety for medical staff and the general population, whereas few studies explore the effects of COVID-19 on faculty in higher education. This study aims to understand the effects of COVID-19 on the mental health and productivity of faculty in higher education. "This study aims to explore COVID-19 further to gain a better understanding of the lived experiences of faculty. Specifically, the researchers will attempt to: 1. To develop an understanding of the types of mental health effects faculty experience due to the onset of COVID-19. 2. To develop an understanding of the influence of COVID-19 on faculty teaching and productivity. 3. To further expand on the literature addressing the psychological effects of COVID-19 on individuals returning to work.

SELENA D. TATE, PH.D.

Assistant Professor

By examining the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, higher education institutions may be better prepared to understand faculty challenges and needs."

Ingri Reyes Graduate Student Department of Agriculture Nutrition & Human Ecology College of Agriculture Nutrition & Human Ecology

MEASURING ENHANCEMENT OF THERMAL CONDUCTIVITY FOR PARTICLE BEDS UNDER DIFFERENT BOUNDARY CONDITIONS

Thermophysical properties of materials, including heat conduction, are assumed to be fixed, although they can change under different conditions. The involved mechanisms in heat conduction are the movement of electrons and phonons, bipolars, or atomic vibrations. My hypothesis is that applying magnetic fields on ferro/paramagnetic materials can enhance their ability to conduct heat. This hypothesis is inspired by the fact that, on an atomic scale, conduction happens through the movement of electrons and phonons; and some boundary conditions (e.g., magnetic fields) affect the moving ability of electrons. The hypothesis is supported by three basic thermodynamics laws: Thermal Hall Effect, Lenz Effect, and Faraday's Law. All these laws focus on the effect of magnetic fields on the movement of charge carriers in materials. This project aims to provide an experimental assessment and measurement of changes in the thermal conductivity coefficient of different ferro/paramagnetic particle beds under different boundary conditions, including magnetic fields.

SHAHIN SHAFIEE, PH.D.

Assistant Professor

The project has the potential to be funded by NSF-HBCU-EiR. A summary of the project has been communicated with its related NSF program director and is encouraged to apply. A LOI has been submitted in this regard by PVAMU. The results will show how the application of magnetic fields can alter thermal conductivity of magnetic materials. The idea is applicable to heat transfer enhancement techniques involving particulate beds, and thermal management of beds formed by magnetic particles. At the graduate level, the project will introduce the subject of micro-scale thermal transport and the study of phonon scattering and electrons.

Arash Karimbaksh Graduate Student Department of Mechanical Engineering College of Engineering

SAFE, ORAL DELIVERY OF ACTIVE PHARMACEUTICAL INGREDIENTS IN CHILDREN

The manipulation of tablets is a very common method used by the pharmaceutical industry, doctors, and parents when administering medicine to children. The simplest form of manipulation is tablet splitting. The effectiveness of this method highly depends on the tablet content and whether it was previously scored. Various methods are utilized when splitting a tablet – by hand, a knife, or a device. The various methods often result in either an over-dosage or underdosage for young children due to inadequate splitting. These results may have an insignificant impact on adults; however, they have a significant impact on children's developing bodies. This work seeks to compare the dissolution and disintegration profiles of commercial whole tablets, split tablets, and laboratory-produced mini pills.

SHEENA REEVES, PH.D.

Assistant Professor

The proposed work will establish dissolution kinetics for the laboratory-produced mini pills for comparison with commercial brands. This work seeks to develop a better method for the oral delivery of medicine to children.

Mahmoud Soliman Graduate Student Department of Chemical Engineering College of Engineering

DESIGN AND TESTING OF ULTRA-LOW POWER ACTIVE RADIATION SENSOR BY CUSTOM MICROCONTROLLER-BASED MODULE WITH NANO-CURRENT AMPLIFIER "Ionizing radiation is present everywhere, particularly in the earth and space environment. This harmful radiation which has high penetration ability into the human body, cannot be easily detected without applying the right sensing technology. The negative impacts of ionizing radiation on human wellbeing should be methodically checked to forestall harm and overexposure. Ionizing radiation is known to be in the electromagnetic spectrum, outside the visible region, and has no odor. Therefore, it is essential to design a multifunctional radiation sensor that can detect both static and electromagnetic ionization environments. "Special poly-materials with lattice polling effects are applied in the multifunctional sensor prototypes to test under radiation for electrical characterization. This research will develop simulation techniques using the test results for a wide range of atomic-scale modeling techniques based on this innovative multifunctional concept of the sensors.

BINZAID SHUZA, PH.D.

Associate Professor

Since there is currently no sensor that multi-functions in a single device, this innovation promises a wide range of detection capabilities from dangerous air ionization to harmful radiation. The sensor can help provide safety to lives in a harsh environment as well as in the complex areas of modern human civilization.

Adeyemi Taylor Graduate Student Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering College of Engineering

PROTECTING PINEY POINT, HOUSTON'S FORGOTTEN FREEDMEN'S TOWN

"Prairie View A&M University, an 1890 institution, is the only HBCU and university in Texas with a degree in community development and will soon offer an African American Studies program. As an institution, Prairie View is in the best position to underscore the importance of preserving Black Towns in Texas through students, research, and interdisciplinary faculty expertise (Lambert-Pennington, 2011). These include architecture, historic preservation, agriculture, economic development, real estate, social work, public health, and more. The Texas Freedom Colonies Project recently verified 350 remnants of Freedom Colonies, or these "Freedmen Towns" or "Settlements, " including Piney Point, Houston's forgotten Freedmen's Town, founded in 1865 by Reverend Mack Austin and Sister Sarah Hannah, both freed slaves (Turner, 2015).

TIFFANY D. THOMAS, PH.D.

Assistant Professor

Five neighborhoods were created within the Piney Point settlement: Blossom Heights, Harlem Heights, Ullrich, Piney Point, and Carver Crest. Now only one hundred lots remain while being valued as some of Houston's most expensive real estate. Aggressive forms of commercial and residential gentrification, poor planning policies, contemporary immigration, and the lack of interest from younger generations to uphold the historic neighborhood's integrity have nearly erased the community nestled between Midwest Houston. My previous work in this community and with an ongoing project requires graduate research assistance to continue the community action plan, oral stories, digital archival research, and historic preservation practices.

Kennedy Wallace Graduate Student Department of Community Development School of Architecture

DEVELOP LIQUID CRYSTALLINE ELASTOMER BASED NOVEL MATERIALS FOR ANISOTROPIC TISSUE ENGINEERING

We plan to make use of this cell-substrate mechano-sensing phenomenon to automatically align cells without any geometrical confinements. The project targets realizing anisotropic tissue engineering purely based on material’s chemistry design. Upon successful completion of this sub-project, we will make a key contribution in revealing the essential factors affecting LCE’s performance in anisotropic tissue engineering. Low substrate thickness and high crystallinity are expected to facilitate cell mechanosensing of the anisotropic substrate. The work will also expand the applications of anisotropic soft matter. YUNZIANG GAO, PH.D.

Assistant Professor

Chidumga Izuzu Graduate Student Department of Chemistry College of Arts and Sciences

STRUCTURAL HEALTH MONITORING OF BLADE FOR FLOATING OFFSHORE WIND TURBINE USING NUMERICAL SIMULATION MODEL BASED ON GEOMETRICALLY EXACT BEAM THEORY This research provides an efficient vibration-based health monitoring method of Floating Offshore Wind Turbine blade and inspects its feasibility through time-domain simulation. The validation is performed by comparing the modal properties obtained in the simulation to those obtained in the FEM modal analysis. The merit of the modal-based Structural Health Monitoring is that the damage detection can be done based on the modal properties in the intact condition. The blade dynamics and tower dynamics are examined in pre-damaged and postdamaged conditions. Through the difference in modal properties between pre-damage and damaged conditions, the damage's location and the extent of the damage can be determined. ZIAUL HUQUE, PH.D.

In this present study, the inspection of the feasibility of a wind turbine blade through two different time-domain simulations can be verified. Damage detection for wind turbine blades can be found out by comparing the difference between modal properties obtained by Operational Modal Analysis (OMA). The examination of modal properties by previous authors can be validated.

Assistant Professor

Pranay Krishna Katari Haribabu Graduate Student Department of Mechanical Engineering College of Engineering

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