The overarching goal of this work is to understand nanometer scale junctions and electron transport through molecules in these junctions. Calculations detailing quantum interference in the electron transport through molecules, and the control of these features, show great potential for use as discrete electronic elements. Concurrent work on the fabrication...
The expansion of public education at the beginning of the twentieth century had a profound effect on the American economy. This dissertation explores the impact of changing educational institutions on both individuals and communities with a study of Iowa during its introduction of modern grammar schools and high schools during...
Nitrogen (N) deposition can alter belowground microbial communities, especially ectomycorrhizal (ECM) fungi, resulting in a reduced ability of associated trees to access organic nutrients. This study tested whether N addition decreases ECM species richness and shifts ECM species composition across spatial scales in a subtropical slash pine (Pinus elliottii) plantation...
The vertebrate brain, which is made up of a vast array of individual neurons, is responsible for controlling numerous functions and behaviors, including distinguishing between visual cues, learning to navigate in a new environment, or making complex decisions. These neurons form specific networks that receive, process, and integrate chemical and...
Okilactomycin and chrolactomycin are antitumor antibiotics isolated in 1987 and 2001, respectively. These tetracyclic natural products possess a unique 6-5 fused tetrahydropyrone-butyrolactone. The spirocenter is part of a highly functionalized cyclohexene ring, which together with the aforementioned 6-5 system compose the core of these molecules. A six carbon, 1,3-dialkyl-substituted carbon...
Cluster Analysis deals with classifying a sample of multivariate measurements into different categories. In this dissertation we study the effect of the correlation structure of the data on the performance of a clustering method. We begin with the analysis of two-component normal mixture models and then proceed to cluster analysis...
In this work, the processing of the superconductor MgB<sub>2</sub> was studied to create a fundamental scientific background for the production of superconducting composite wires. The synthesis of MgB<sub>2</sub> from Mg and B powders was investigated in situ to determine reaction rates and kinetic parameters for the application of powder-in-tube technology...
This thesis is a description of the measurement of the W boson mass using the D0 Run II detector with 770 pb^-1 of proton-antiproton collision data. These collisions were produced by the Tevatron at sqrt(s) = 1.96 TeV between 2002 and 2006. We use a sample of W -> e...
Serious games that are designed for educational purposes promote acquisition of knowledge and skills that are valued in the both the virtual realm and the real world. The challenge is to design serious games that leverage meaningful play to produce positive learning outcomes in the real world. I argue that...
We first introduce the concept of copulas and advocate its use for multivariate option pricing. We focus on four types of bivariate options: basket, rainbow-max, rainbow-min, and spread options. We derive expressions for these options as a function of the copula. We then construct pricing bounds for these bivariate options...