VictorJuiz/thesis huggingface dataset:
Designs for an Ocean: Transoceanic Imaginaries and Geographic Techniques of American Empire in the North Pacific and Bering Sea, 1867-1973

This dissertation explores transformations in the geographic imaginary of American empire as it reached up into the North Pacific and Arctic Oceans, from the purchase of Alaska in 1867 through the middle period of the Cold War. In a series of three long-form essays, I argue that the waters around the Aleutian and Pribilof islands— commonly called Unangam Tanangin by Native Unangax̂ before Russian (c.1740-1867) and U.S. (1867-) colonial occupations— incubated a uniquely transoceanic formation of U.S. imperialism that set the stage for later global designs. Strung across almost 2,000 miles of ocean between the Alaska and Kamchatka peninsulas, the Aleutian chain comprises more than 300 volcanic islands at the subductive interface between the Pacific and North American tectonic plates. Volcanic activity and ocean circulation between waters of the deep Aleutian Trench and much shallower Bering make it a zone of extraordinary biophysical productivity and geophysical dynamism. These qualities made the Aleutians a rich environment for Unangax̂ forms of life; so too for i) geoeconomic, ii) geopolitical, and iii) geophysical and technoscientific modes of imperial speculation. First, for late-19th and early-20th century U.S. expansionists, the Aleutians were a two-way axis of control linking speculative transpacific markets with the prospects of Arctic resources and transpolar passage. Second, the power to police—if not entirely claim sovereignty over—that axis became a geopolitical imperative involving the complex racialization of Unangax̂ laborers and, later, Japanese adversaries in an imagined global race war. Third, the equally tempestuous oceanic and volcanic milieu fomented theoretical work by early hydrographers and nuclear scientists alike on the entangled nature of geographic relations and the powers of the earth itself—both of which would become the improbable objects of imperial desire. In each case, these transoceanic imaginaries of American empire envisioned the Aleutians as both lock and key to increasingly global—even planetary—futures. Drawing on a variety of archival materials and approaches from critical scholarship in geography, science and technology studies, philosophy, and environmental history, I trace these themes through what I call the “geographic techniques” of U.S. imperialism. Toward that end, I follow the drawing of three different kinds of lines— the hydrographic surveyor’s line, the global color line, and the waveform of a nuclear detonation, respectively–– as they index the tenuous compositions of technics, bodies, and milieu conscripted (and refused) to make the transoceanic formations of American empire.

Advisor: Watts, Michael J
Accelerating Robot Learning and Deformable Manipulation Using Simulated Interactions, Architectural Priors, and Curricula

The robotics community has seen tremendous advances in grasping and manipulating a wide variety of objects using learning-based techniques. Deep learning approaches are often sample inefficient, and most work deals with grasping rigid objects rather than deformable objects such as ropes, clothing, and bags, which are ubiquitous in our daily lives. In this thesis, I will present novel approaches that can result in more efficient robot learning, including learning from simulation by using a skilled supervisor or building a dynamics model, learning using action-centric neural network architectures, and learning using a curriculum of samples. I will demonstrate results on manipulating deformable objects in simulation and real settings, and learning policies for Atari and MuJoCo environments.

Advisor: Canny, John
Goldberg, Ken
Ilmu lan Laku: The Arts of Praxis in Indonesian Transformative Movements

This research explores symbolic action and the intergenerational imagination in transformative social movements in Indonesia. Two community-based schools located in Central Java, Indonesia—Sanggar Anak Alam (SALAM, the Nature Childrens’ Studio) and Komunitas Belajar Qaryah Thayyibah (KBQT, the Learning Community for Village Empowerment)—form the grounds for this study. Scholarship on social movements in Indonesia often views cultural resistance as determined by large-scale acts of protest through the actions of high-profile figures in predominantly urban sites. In the context of 20th century activism against the authoritarianism of the New Order state (1965-1998), the strength of cultural hegemony of the time made it so that these kinds of movements were easily suppressed due to their public staging and internal fragmentation. In this project, I explore movements that are not often represented in scholarship. The community schools of SALAM and KBQT also began as counter-movements to the New Order hegemony but grew out of small-scale negotiations among a diverse set of actors at the interface between rural and urban experience in Java. As they continue to organize today, what actions contributes to the sustained movements of these communities? How do they effect transformative change? I investigate these questions through creative productions by members of SALAM and KBQT: works of literature and performance arts gathered from fieldwork conducted in Indonesia in 2015, combined with oral histories, as well as my own participation within these schools. This dissertation makes several contributions to existing social movement scholarship in Indonesia. First, it demonstrates how change takes place over long periods of time, through processual steps constituted by intergenerational communities. Second, the efficacy of transformative social movement action is shown to be contingent upon participation by a multiplicity of decentralized actors. Third, as action itself is distributed more widely, cultural resistance is transformed into cultural resilience through symbolic actions. This work reflects the ways in which the community schools of SALAM and KBQT sustain movements of transformation. By drawing from the ways in which they situate symbolic actions within intergenerational communities at the rural-urban interface in Java, this research shows how new imaginations of transformative change are constituted in scholarship and in Indonesian social movements.

Advisor: Tiwon, Sylvia
Polysaccharide Monooxygenases Involved in Non-Catabolic Physiological Processes

Polysaccharide Monooxygenases (PMOs) activate molecular oxygen through a copper active site to hydroxylate and subsequently cleave polysaccharides. These enzymes are of interest for their potential role in biofuel production and C-H activation chemistry. The biological role of many of the first described members of this superfamily family was in polysaccharide breakdown for carbon uptake carried out by fungi and bacteria. More recently, roles for these enzymes outside of carbon utilization have emerged. This dissertation will focus on two fungal PMOs and one bacterial PMO that fulfill roles other than catabolism. Chapter 1 outlines the current understanding of PMOs as a superfamily of enzymes. This introduction details the copper active site, known substrates of PMOs, and what is known about the steps involved in catalysis. The following three chapters focus on putative PMOs that have unique biological roles other than nutrient degradation for uptake by the organism. Chapter 2 focuses on the biochemical characterization of the PMO, CWR-1, and how it plays a role in the allorecognition process of Neurospora crassa. Evidence shows that CWR-1 enzymatic activity is not crucial for this role but is likely a PPI. Chapter 3 focuses on the putative PMO, HAM-7. This PMO is involved in fungal development, and N. crassa strains that lack this protein have severe growth phenotypes. The chapter details efforts to express and purify this protein to obtain more detailed biochemical information. Chapter 4 focuses on the Vibrio cholerae PMO, GBPA, and the proteases VcLAP and VcLAPX. GBPA has been shown to play a role in adherence to mucin during the infection lifecycle of the bacteria Vibrio cholerae. The potential activity of GBPA on mucin and the characterization of these proteases is presented.

Advisor: Marletta, Michael A
Functional Super-Resolution Microscopy and Its Applications in Biophysics and Cell Biology

Conventional fluorescence microscopy, despite its high sensitivity, lacks resolution at a scale comparable to biomacromolecules due to the diffraction of light. Single-molecule-based super-resolution microscopy (SRM), developed in the past 15 years, has enabled researchers to visualize the structural organization of the cell at molecular resolution with high specificity. Nevertheless, the power of single-molecule measurement in resolving inter-molecular heterogeneities has not been fully explored by the SRM field. There is plenty of room for expanding the scope of SRM to access measurement domains beyond biomolecular structures, such as the heterogeneity of physicochemical properties within the cell, a conceptual framework named “functional super-resolution microscopy” (f-SRM). This dissertation describes the efforts by the author and colleagues in developing f-SRM for living cells and applying f-SRM to discover previously unknown physicochemical heterogeneities within the cell. Part I of this dissertation describes the design, development, and application of f-SRM, which has revealed novel nanoscale properties of the cell invisible to conventional SRM. Specifically, I elaborate on the experiments of fluorescence emission spectrum-encoded single-molecule measurements of chemical polarity and molecular diffusivity at nanoscale resolution. Part II concerns a fluorescence excitation-based strategy for functional imaging, which led to the unexpected discovery of a tubular ER-Golgi intermediate compartment (t-ERGIC) in transporting a specific group of soluble proteins. In-depth biochemistry and cell biology analyses elucidated the biogenesis mechanism of the t-ERGIC involving the cargo receptor.

Advisor: Xu, Ke
Adaptive Prediction and Planning for Safe and Effective Autonomous Vehicles

Despite recent advances in and many potential benefits of autonomous vehicles (AVs), therestill remain several challenges until wide-scale adoption. The largest gap is in trust, where both passengers and proximal road users need to feel comfortable using and sharing the road with AVs. To bridge this gap, both prediction and planning algorithms need to include high fidelity driver models. This will help AVs to integrate better in mixed roadways and behave in a manner that conforms to the expectations of human stakeholders, helping to improve trust and acceptance./nWe investigate algorithmic frameworks that adapt to observed behaviors and balance routeefficiency with safety. After demonstrating the benefits of context-aware, data-driven, multi- modal predictions both for nominal and set-based trajectory prediction, we tackle the issue of handling prediction errors made online with a confidence-aware framework. In particular, a confidence threshold is adaptively updated online based on the consistency of behaviors with the corresponding predictions. This enables the AV to make efficient route progress when faced with a consistent target vehicle, but prioritize safety faced with an erratic target vehicle. In addition to the confidence-aware approach, we present an alternative approach that incorporates feedback policies in a stochastic model predictive control framework. Benefits in metrics of mobility, comfort, and efficiency demonstrate the advantages of adaptive feedback policies for multimodal predictions.

Advisor: Borrelli, Francesco
Darrell, Trevor
Exploring the Factors Controlling the Solution Stability of Metal-oxo Clusters with Computations

Metal-oxo clusters are discrete molecular metal-oxides that are important for applications in catalysis, medicine, precursors for thin film deposition, flash memory devices, switchable transparent films, and high-resolution nanopatterning, to name a few. There are many factors that control the solution stability of metal-oxo clusters; the internal chemistry of the coordination complex as well as the solution conditions can influence the thermodynamic stability of the species. Currently, there is a lack of understanding surrounding how to best manipulate these factors in order to achieve a specific isomer, geometry, or size of metal-oxo cluster in solution. Therefore, the work presented in this dissertation contains an evaluation of the influence of heteroatoms, caps, ligands, pH, electrochemical potential, metal ion concentration, and counterions on stabilizing metal-oxo clusters. Quantum chemical computations were employed to model tin-based and zirconium-based clusters with varying factors, to determine their hydrolysis Gibbs free energies and electronic structures./nSn-oxo clusters, specifically of Keggin geometry, have been shown to be an excellent photoresist candidate for next-generation extreme ultraviolet lithography manufacturing of advanced integrated circuits. I showed how changing the Sn-Keggin heteroatom, caps, and ligands impact the stability ordering of the five known Keggin isomers. This Sn-Keggin ion represents the only Keggin ion family thus far, that favors the lower-symmetry isomers. The computational results provide a means to isolate a single isomer to promote a pure and stable material for advanced lithography./nZr-oxo clusters, specifically the Zr hexamer, has been shown to be a good node for a metal- organic framework (MOF) which is a 3D porous network that can act as a nanoscale carrying device. However the ”green” manufacturing of Zr-based MOFs requires that the Zr hexamer stabilize in an aqueous solution without organic ligation, which has yet to be successfully accomplished. I examined how the pH, electrochemical potential, metal ion concentration, and counterions all influence the aqueous solution stability of Zr(IV) ions clusters and solids. This study successfully elucidates the magnitude of and reason for the thermodynamic instability of the hypothetical Zr hexamer compared to the ubiquitous Zr tetramer./nThe knowledge gained from these computational studies on Sn-oxo and Zr-oxo clusters can expedite experimental syntheses through implementation of the strategic tuning of chemistry and solution conditions.

Advisor: Persson, Kristin
Combinatorial Invariants on Smooth Projective Spherical Varieties

The Knop Conjecture, which was proven by Losev in [Los09a], states that smooth affinespherical varieties are classified up to equivariant isomorphism by their weight monoids. This is in contrast with the standard classification of spherical varieties, which involves combinatorial invariants related to divisors and valuations. In this thesis, we prove that some of these combinatorial invariants are also determined by weight monoids in the smooth projective case. This results in certain partial analogs of the Knop Conjecture for smooth projective spherical varieties. We provide counterexamples to demonstrate that these partial analogs are relatively optimal./nOur results indicate that weight monoids of smooth projective spherical varieties are closelyrelated to the data of certain divisors on these varieties. In analogy with the total coordinate ring discussed in [Bri07], we develop methods for comparing the data of weight monoids with the data of divisors, even without smoothness hypotheses. We then show that, under mild hypotheses, the data provided by weight monoids is equivalent to the data provided by divisors on projective spherical varieties.

Advisor: Olsson, Martin
To Form a More Perfect Human

To Form a More Perfect Human is a work composed between 2017 and 2021 for the Eco Ensemble in Berkeley, California. The instrumentation is as follows: clarinet, piano, violin, cello, double bass, two concealed musicians – trumpet and percussion – and a stagehand who appears on stage toward the end of the piece. The two concealed musicians perform on stage, but are hidden from the audience’s view by a screen and are amplified. This piece explores issues of imperfection, identity, and the impact of withholding visual information from the listener./nThe first part of the piece represents the contradictory ways in which we attempt to blend in and hide our imperfections, while simultaneously holding a deeper impulse to be genuine and honest. The amplified trumpet and percussion, hidden from view, portray this first impulse by performing fragile textures, rendering their identities unrecognizable. The rest of the ensemble eventually joins with similar cold and mechanical textures. Over time, the piece intensifies and becomes more colorful, the expressiveness attempting to emerge and make itself increasingly vulnerable. Ultimately the tension between these impulses builds to the stagehand’s climactic scream, a culmination of repressed emotion and anguish finally releasing and resigning itself./nI explored this idea in my work Behind the Forget-Me-Nots (2016), for trombone and electronics, in which the trombone player is concealed behind a screen. The inspiration for hiding instruments from view also stems from the nature of the sounds themselves: they are both so intimate as to be inaudible without amplification, and unidentifiable when knowledge of the means of production is withheld. For example, imagine hearing a trumpeter blow air into the trumpet, periodically altering valve combinations to create starkly contrasted shades of white noise. We would not likely know that the sound was produced by a trumpet unless we could see the performer and their instrument./nHiding the instruments in this way while producing unidentifiable sounds creates mystery in the listener’s mind. This relates to Denis Smalley’s notion of source bonding, “the natural tendency to relate sounds to supposed sources and causes” in acousmatic music. Lacking visual confirmation of the source of a sound, our imaginations work to fill in the missing information. Many of the textures used in this piece – both from the hidden instruments and from the visible ones – are fragile, intimate, imperfect, lacking control, without the refined sound quality of electronics. The result is more vulnerable and flawed, better reflecting the human experience.

Advisor: Campion, Edmund
Renewable Energy and Flexibility Integration on the Electricity Market

Electricity is the most common way to transport, transform and consume energy. However, the total electricity generation accounts for 40% of worldwide CO2 emissions. With the threat of climate change, it is crucial to lowering emissions related to electricity generation and grid operation./nWhile renewable energy sources provide a solution to decarbonize the electric grid, they bring new challenges due to their inherent volatility. The grid requires balancing capacity to maintain a stable frequency and storage to adapt generation hours to consumption hours. Meanwhile, 54% of the world's electricity consumption happens in countries that rely on competitive markets for efficient dispatch [4]. Therefore, it is essential to provide correct incentives and dispatch mechanisms on the electricity markets to integrate renewable energies and develop new market mechanisms for balancing renewable energy variability./nThis dissertation explores methods to integrate flexible resources into the electricity market. First, we develop an optimal bidding strategy for grid-scale storage on a wholesale electricity market. The specific role of the storage system creates market power which challenges the design of the bidding algorithm./nSecondly, the dissertation focuses on flexible resources located on the distribution grid. Indeed, the simplest way to lower overall CO2 emissions with a decarbonized grid is to electrify all energy use. This electrification entails the deployment of electric vehicles, electric heaters, or electric stoves. In addition, rooftop solar panels, household batteries, and other local energy resources are installed on the distribution grid, known as distributed energy resources (DERs). As a result, the distribution grid faces dramatic changes and requires precise monitoring and maintenance. Controlling DERs and integrating them into the electricity market could provide new flexibility to the grid. This dissertation introduces a new market dispatch model for the day-ahead wholesale electricity market where DERs are integrated as stochastic sources of flexibility./nHowever, the control and integration of DERs on the distribution grid rely on having a complete and accurate distribution grid model. Because the distribution grid lacks sensors and monitoring equipment, developing a detailed grid model is challenging for the system operator. Research on this subject is recent but provides diverse solutions dependent on modeling assumptions and data acquisition. In order to give future researchers a good understanding of existing methods and challenges left to tackle, this dissertation provides a detailed review and analysis of methods to estimate distribution grid topology.

Advisor: Moura, Scott J
Nuclear Data Evaluation of High-Energy Proton-Induced Reactions for Isotope Production

This dissertation details the first experiments of a newly formed Tri-laboratory Effort in Nuclear Data (TREND) between Lawrence Berkeley, Los Alamos, and Brookhaven National Laboratories. TREND was established to address lacking high-energy charged-particle data needs for isotope production by measuring proton-induced nuclear reaction cross sections from 35 to 200 MeV. The experimental methods and results for multiple stacked-target irradiations performed in support of this effort using arsenic, niobium, copper, and titanium targets are discussed. An extensive focus dedicated to the characterization of the 75As(p,x)72Se, 68Ge excitation functions is included on account of their sought-after promise as generator nuclei for PET imaging./nIn addition to providing direct information for the production of medical radionuclides, the TREND results were used to develop a new data analysis methodology for high-energy (p,x) reactions. Moreover, this thesis uniquely merges experimental work and evaluation techniques with the introduction of a standardized original evaluation procedure that can be used to optimize the planning and execution of isotope production with high-energy, high-intensity proton accelerators. The presented methodology provides insight into pre-equilibrium reaction dynamics and a host of nuclear data properties relevant to the accurate modeling of high-energy proton-induced reactions. Notably, this evaluation approach also includes a new method for charged-particle data validation./nFinally, this dissertation discusses the fabrication and characterization of the thin arsenic targets used in the stacked-target irradiations at the heart of the TREND experiments. The work herein aims to bolster modern targetry knowledge and depicts the difficulties and successes in meeting uniformity and thickness requirements for arsenic targets. A new thin-target characterization technique, developed using traditional neutron activation tools, that is reliable, accessible, and non-destructive is presented./nThere exists untenable uncertainty and unreliability for the use of nuclear reaction codes in the medical isotope production community, particularly at high-energies, where charged-particle modeling suffers or is naïvely determined because little guiding data and evaluation exist. Altogether, this dissertation is an essential improvement of the infrastructure critical to the future of charged-particle isotope production and foundational nuclear data.

Advisor: Bernstein, Lee A