If we are to understand human-level intelligence, we need to understand how meanings can be learned without explicit instruction. I take a step toward that understanding by focusing on the symbol-grounding problem, showing how symbols can emerge from a system…

Gene expression arrays are a technology used to measure quantities of messenger ribonucleic acid (mRNA). Application of the technology involves a variety of physical processes beginning with the acquisition of mRNA samples and ending with the fluorescence imaging of a…

Despite recent progress in materials synthesis, there are few materials with narrow pore size distributions and well-defined pore structures in the size range of 100 - 500 A. Materials with pores of 100 - 500 A possess a potential combination…

This thesis developed and applied tools to bridge the gap between available data and action for urban air quality management, focusing on strategies to reduce particle concentrations. One of the principal thesis contributions is a Bayesian method to exploit the…

(cont.) which is expected, given their additional knowledge resources. The respondents' urgency in looking for the relevant knowledge is the primary explanation for this difference between the two networks. This difference in knowledge networking among the different groups did not…

(cont.) To demonstrate its practical value in large-scale engineering systems, the research applied OPN to two space exploration programs and one aircraft design problem. In our experiments, OPN was able to significantly change the modeling and architectural reasoning process by…

(cont.) In this blurred area, a project/group-based curriculum can be developed to involve casual work areas that can fluctuate in size, based on the specifications of the project. Through the cultivation of this type of environment, the social energies of…

(cont.) characterization, and kink criterion implementation, form a synergistic analysis of the mechanistic debonding behavior affected by moisture. Results have shown that moisture affected debonding is a highly complex phenomenon that involves physical changes in the bond as well as…

The purpose of this research was to generate the knowledge required to design compliant mechanisms that (1) attenuate undesired small-motion angular vibrations in rotational power transmission systems and (2) preserve the desired transmission of large-motion torque/angle inputs. This thesis investigates…

Currently, Draper Laboratory is in the development stages of a gliding autogyro airdrop system. The goal of the project is to design a platform capable of placing small, high value items into urban terrain. Theoretically, autogyros can achieve descent rates…