DRUM - Digital Repository at the University of Maryland

DRUM collects, preserves, and provides public access to the scholarly output of the university. Faculty and researchers can upload research products for rapid dissemination, global visibility and impact, and long-term preservation.

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Submit to DRUM

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Equitable Access Policy

Equitable Access Policy

The University of Maryland Equitable Access Policy provides equitable, open access to the University's research and scholarship. Faculty can learn more about what is covered by the policy and how to deposit on the policy website.
Theses and Dissertations

Theses and Dissertations

DRUM includes all UMD theses and dissertations from 2003 forward.

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Recent Submissions

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    Potential Mitigation of Adverse Effects of Antiretroviral Therapy with Antioxidants
    (2026) White, Cameron; Reddy, Eesha; Ferguson, Graham; LaPadula, Hannah; Costello, Kenna; Semler, Madeline; Kato, Margaret; Chen, Megan; Rajapandi, Nivetha; Orezzoli, Sofia; Mumuney, Tami; Zhang, Yanjin
    Antiretroviral therapy (ART) is highly effective in suppressing human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) replication. Still, it is frequently associated with adverse side effects with long-term use of the drugs, including oxidative stress from mitochondrial dysfunction. This study aimed to investigate whether Thymus vulgaris (garden thyme) could serve as a viable source of antioxidants to reduce ART-induced oxidative stress. Antioxidant capacity assays were conducted to quantify and verify phenolic content and free radical-neutralizing potential of extracts. Hepatocytes were used to assess the cytotoxicity of thyme and to determine the effect of the combined treatment with thyme and tenofovir disoproxil fumarate (TDF), a commonly prescribed nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitor (NRTI) for HIV that is associated with mitochondrial toxicity. Cell viability and oxidative stress assays were performed to evaluate whether thyme could reduce the adverse effects of TDF. Results demonstrate that thyme extracts possess antioxidant capacity and affect cellular viability in a concentration-dependent manner, suggesting the potential use of Thymus vulgaris in mitigating oxidative stress associated with ART treatment. The combined treatment of thyme and TDF yields inconclusive results and needs further testing. While further investigation is needed, these findings suggest that antioxidants such as Thymus vulgaris may be useful to combat ART-related oxidative stress. This work contributes to ongoing efforts to identify supportive interventions that improve treatment tolerance and adherence, particularly for populations disproportionately affected by HIV.
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    Development of a Toroidal Propeller for Marine Applications
    (2026) Colombi, Daniela; Cooper, Julian; Greenberg, Benjamin; Lei, Nicolas; Stock, Catherine; Unnithan, Varun; Larson, Johan
    Toroidal propellers have demonstrated promise for increased efficiency and reduced cavitation in an aerial environment, particularly in small-scale applications such as unmanned aerial vehicles. However, there is limited research on their performance in a marine environment. To address this gap, we developed a methodology to design marine toroidal propellers with an expanded area ratio (EAR) equivalent to that of a traditional screw propeller. The toroidal propeller geometry is parametrically varied by blade reference line and blade angle modifications to attempt to achieve an efficiency identical to the screw propeller. Using computational fluid dynamics (CFD), the baseline screw propeller and toroidal propeller geometries were simulated in identical marine environments, which were validated against experimental data. Thrust, torque, and efficiency were compared to assess effective parametric variation. This provides a process for evaluating toroidal propeller applications and contributes to a better understanding of how toroidal propellers behave in marine environments. CFD results revealed that toroidal propellers require a higher torque and produce a higher thrust than traditional screw propellers. A careful variation of propeller parameters is needed to balance torque and thrust for a noticeable increase in efficiency.
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    Exploring the Impact of AI on Educators and Syllabus Policies
    (2026) Bennett, Eric; Crisologo, Gavin; Harrington, Amari; Lebson, Talya; Lian, Daniel; Sobhani, Shayan; Butler, Lucas; Liu, Jing
    In this study, we examined the growth of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in higher education, supplemented by a survey on middle school teachers’ perspectives. Over the past few years, AI has become increasingly common in the classroom and has sparked conversation about its harms and benefits. We analyzed university course syllabi from the University of Maryland spanning Fall 2022 to Fall 2025, which showed a clear trend towards allowing the usage of AI in the classroom, especially by students training to be future educators. Across our dataset, a requirement to cite AI usage was the most popular restriction on AI usage, indicating educators are increasingly willing to allow AI as long as its use is transparent. Adoption is not consistent across disciplines, with the humanities and education representing the highest observed adoption, and business and engineering representing the least adoption. Additionally, we performed a supplemental study, surveying middle school teachers and their opinions on AI in the classroom, where we explored educators’ perceptions of AI and their willingness to adopt it in the classroom. Our survey results show that educators still are not sure of the potential use cases of AI in the classroom, but are encouraged by the possibility of reducing the workload. Future work should survey more instructors across more disciplines to get a more widespread opinion on AI in the classroom.
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    Vision-Based Human Detection for Maritime Search and Rescue Unmanned Surface Vehicles
    (2026) Allen, Liam; Miller, Patrick; Hevesy, Griffin; Gelvanovski, Jakub; Jetton, Vijay; Patel, Kush; Webb, Aaron; De Lausnay, Mats; Park, Harold; Kantareddy, Akshith; Prashanth, Aditya; Otte, Michael
    Maritime search and rescue (SAR) operations rely heavily on manned crews, and the time required to organize and deploy personnel can significantly delay the location and rescue of individuals in distress. Unmanned Surface Vessels (USVs) are robots that operate autonomously or semi-autonomously on the surface of the water. They have been applied to an expanding range of scenarios, including mine countermeasures, water surveying, oceanographic research, and SAR. However, limitations in water-level vision systems, autonomous navigation, and reliable data transfer complicate the effectiveness of a SAR USV. For example, the lack of representative datasets that feature people in water further impedes the development and training of SAR-applicable machine vision. To fill a gap in the research, we created applicable datasets, developed, tested, and trained a vision system, and integrated that vision system into a fully autonomous USV.
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    Using Diachronic Static Word Embeddings to Detect and Characterize Term Toxification on Reddit
    (2026) Oh, Terranova; Puranam, Akhilesh; Nesse, Erik
    Toxic discourse on the internet has a powerful influence on its users, and recognizing increasingly negative or derogatory usage of specific terms–such as ‘Karen’ or ‘woke’–can help signal potential “toxification” of an online space. Our research demonstrates that a novel approach building on prior work on diachronic static word embedding analysis can assist in tracking and understanding term toxification on Reddit, a popular online social media platform, by observing how the usages of words with multiple meanings (including a pejorative/negative one) change over time. This study can be expanded by using contextual word embeddings, expanding comparisons to other social media platforms, and examining word toxification in different languages.