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Cadets at VMI are able to present their research each year at the Undergraduate Research Symposium (URS).
The 2026 URS took place April 20 in Marshall Hall with the following cadets participating. Their abstracts are available to view and we thank members of the VMI community who attended this important event.
This study analyzes cost optimization for inbound freight operations at Trinity Industries by comparing trucking and rail transportation modes. Using shipment and financial data from January to May 2025, the research evaluates how shipment volume, transportation rates, and logistical factors influence cost efficiency. Results indicate an average trucking cost of approximately $61.19 per unit (“head”) across 7,169 units shipped during the study period. A breakeven analysis shows that rail transport becomes more cost-effective when shipment sizes reach approximately 106 to 114 units, depending on flat-rate rail pricing assumptions between $6,500 and $7,000 per railcar.
The study also identifies key operational trends, including the concentration of vendor spending among major rail providers and the influence of part size on cost efficiency, with smaller-diameter units incurring higher per-unit costs due to reduced space utilization. Based on these findings, a decision-support model is developed to assist in selecting the most cost-effective transportation mode based on shipment characteristics such as volume, weight, and delivery urgency.
Overall, the results demonstrate that trucking is more efficient for smaller or time-sensitive shipments, while rail provides significant cost advantages for larger, less urgent loads. These findings offer actionable, data-driven recommendations for improving supply chain efficiency and reducing inbound freight costs.
North American bats are threatened by white-nose syndrome (WNS), a disease caused by the fungus Pseudogymnoascus destructans (Pd). WNS primarily affects hibernating bats in caves and mines, where conditions are highly suitable for fungal growth. Although Pd is presumed to spread to bats in a variety of situations, few studies have assessed its potential for transmission in places other than caves and mines. In an observational study, I assessed the prevalence of Pd DNA in bat feces and swab samples collected from several habitat types and seasons. Guano samples were collected from bats captured in mist nets, roosts in bridges, and rock-crevice roosts on talus slopes in Virginia, Pennsylvania, Ohio, West Virginia, and Arkansas, between May 2012 and April 2025. Swab samples were collected in Rockbridge County, Virginia, between February 2013 and November 2023. I tested the presence of Pd DNA with PCR followed by gel electrophoresis, using positive and negative controls. Out of 169 guano samples, 97% were negative for Pd. We detected Pd in 3% of guano samples from Eastern Small-footed Bats (Myotis leibii) and Big Brown Bats (Eptesicus fuscus) on talus slopes in Virginia that served as roost sites throughout much of the year. Similarly, a total of 245 swab samples were collected from talus slopes in Rockbridge County. 18 swabs were positive for Pd (7% overall prevalence). It has yet to be determined whether Pd-positive samples represented viable fungal spores, but my results preliminarily suggest there may be potential for bats to spread Pd at rocky landscape features. Because rocky sites are biologically important habitats for bats across North America, additional research needs to be conducted to determine the role they play in the spread of WNS.
My research will engage new perspectives on American and South American attitudes toward American extra-political and diplomatic influence in South America from 1919 to 1939. Doing so will enrich our understanding of the complex relationships between American policymakers and businessmen and South American countries during the pivotal period between the institution of President Roosevelt’s ‘Good Neighbor’ approach to diplomatic relations before the start of WWII.
I am interested in this topic to better understand how U.S.-South American relations affected South American culture and socio-economic status. A future goal of mine is to help with humanitarian efforts that combat the effects of the drug trade in Colombia after serving in the military. This project will help me understand the cultural and diplomatic dynamics locals face daily. Academically, this project also offers an opportunity to insert myself into scholarly debates focused on U.S.-South foreign relations. Recent declassification of South American documents that provide Latin perspectives regarding how American actions affected their countries is newly available. This opportunity for analysis will allow me to add to our understanding of this important history and articulate a more balanced argument.
This presentation is a comprehensive study of Tolkien’s translation of The Book of Jonah, which he translated from the French Bible de Jerusalem for the English Jerusalem Bible, finished in 1966. I seek to answer the following questions: why did Tolkien translate the book? Why did the translation come from French instead of Hebrew? What is unique about Tolkien’s translation? And, how does this work fit in with his other works, particularly regarding his literary ideals. The essay has two main parts, the first of which addresses the first two questions, and the second of which addresses the latter two. In the first part I present research on the historical context of this edition of the Bible, both its original French translation and its English counterpart. To do this I discuss two papal encyclicals, as well as the writings of other Popes, the writings of the editor-in-chief of the Bible de Jerusalem, and other essayists. In doing so, I seek to discover the historical narrative in which this translation fits, and how Tolkien’s contribution fits into that story. In the second part, I present the results of a close comparison of Tolkien’s original draft of the translation to the edited edition that made it into the final edition of the translation, to discover some of Tolkien’s instincts in biblical translation. I also consider popular exegesis of Jonah that closely examines the Hebrew, as well as The Lord of the Rings and Tolkien’s personal letters, to see how his translation affirms or contradicts other writers’ notions of the book, and how Tolkien’s own notions about Jonah are informed by his religious and literary ideals.
Since 1968, the Chinese population of Chinatown in Washington, D.C. has steadily declined, resulting in the loss of the culture that defined the community. Attempts have been made since to preserve the neighborhood. However, as argued by Lou(2008) in her article, although businesses are required to use Chinese characters, they are often overshadowed and less prominent than English words. Furthermore, Chinese is often poorly translated. However, Lou (2008) claimed a local committee was created to assist in approving store designs in order to correct these flaws. Now that over twenty years have passed, this study is asking if there has been any significant improvement in the use of Chinese in the Washington DC Chinatown? To answer this question, a field study was conducted in this neighborhood in November 2025. Photographic samples were collected from thirty different storefronts. This study also uses photos from Google Maps street view in order to compare the thirty samples collected during the field study to the same business during the years 2010, 2015, and 2020. After analyzing the data through a linguist landscaping lens, this study found that while English still remains the dominant language on signage, Chinese translations have become better and more representative of the Chinese community. Illustrating that while the Chinese community in Washington, D.C.’s Chinatown has assimilated into using more English, local leaders have been able to preserve their culture by using authentic Chinese.
Phishing websites and deceptive online content continue to be major contributors to financial loss, identity theft, and large-scale cyber incidents. Despite significant progress in automated detection, most existing systems rely on a single analytical approach, such as machine-learning classification or linguistic analysis, which limits their ability to interpret evolving social-engineering tactics. This project asks the central research question: Can a hybrid framework that integrates machine-learning models with a large-language-model (LLM) multi-agent system improve the accuracy and interpretability of phishing detection? To investigate this question, we develop a two-tier detection architecture that combines a Random Forest classifier trained on a publicly available dataset of phishing websites with a specialized LLM-driven multi-agent subsystem. The machine-learning component evaluates URLs using 87 lexical, structural, and external features to produce a baseline classification score. The multi-agent subsystem consists of three independent analytical agents—a Market Researcher, Language Analyst, and Threat Analyst—that examine factual inconsistencies, linguistic cues, and manipulative behavioral signals within suspicious messages. A Final Evaluator synthesizes all outputs to generate a unified deception score on a scale from 1 to 10.
Our methodology includes dataset preprocessing, feature-correlation analysis, model training, and rigorous performance evaluation using accuracy, precision, recall, and F1-score. In parallel, we construct prompt-engineered LLM agents that emulate expert reasoning in fraud investigation, linguistic forensics, and social engineering analysis. Preliminary results show that while the Random Forest model achieves strong performance across all evaluation metrics, the multi-agent LLM subsystem consistently enhances detection accuracy, reduces false negatives, and provides human-interpretable explanations for high-risk classifications. The combined system demonstrates noticeable improvements over conventional single-model approaches. The outcome of this work is TrustNet, a web-based platform that integrates both subsystems to deliver real-time risk assessments of URLs and textual content.
Iridium (III) complexes are widely used for medical, catalytic, and OLED applications, but developing research into these complexes is often time-consuming and expensive. By applying machine learning, streamlining of metal-ligand complex synthesis is possible, reducing costs of conventional quantum computational and the time required to organically calculate and experimentally determine key molecular properties of new developed complexes. In creating a ML model capable of these, a dataset was built using 43 initial complexes and ran through a series of codes, utilizing open-source tools engineered for computational synthesis of complexes and interpreting data produced by the model. This was further refined through the use of validation sets and other verifiable computational programs to properly track the model’s performance and continuously teach the model how to better understand the ligand structure-property relationships to produce higher-quality work and more accurate data. In practice, the model built was capable of interpreting information provided through the experimental dataset and generating new complexes with specific properties attached, with a mean squared error around 24.14%, which improves upon expansion of the dataset and continuous model validation.
The generated complexes predicted absorption values were also accurate within 8% of other computationally ran DFT calculations, which also improves as more information is provided to the ML model through verification and dataset expansion. While there is a margin of error present in the model, it is continuously being refined and improving the clarity and quality of data, proving to be an accurate and effective method for predicting specific complex properties.
My research was focused on becoming familiar with contemporary and historical opinions regarding literary endings. I conducted this research by reading multiple novels and literary technique books. I came to the understanding that a story can have many endings, but that the happy ending is particularly important and powerful. My project emphasizes why happy endings are necessary to literature and how to write them. I demonstrate my research findings and ideas in multiple original works of creative fiction.
For this experiential learning panel, three English majors participating in the ERH 411: Rockbridge Memoir Fieldwork Project will each present memoir as an imaginative journey into community experience and research in biology and psychology of memory, offering memoir readings and self-reflective research from their own work with local writers from Kendal. 3 short presentations will be followed by a brief interactive memoir activity for audience members. For cadets, ERHS’ core course in Fieldwork fosters an ethics of community-based practice and service, providing real-world opportunities to conduct civic research and learn by doing in community contexts.
Oral
Brown, Collin, Diaz, Amiel, Setaswatpong, Nicky and Mai, Xinwen
Journey to the West (西游记, xiyouji), is one of China’s most recognizable stories. Emerging during the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911) as one of China’s Four Great Classics, Journey to the West portrays the story of the Tang Priest and his disciples, most notably Sun Wukong, a mischievous monkey who can see peoples’ true nature, but who also causes a lot of trouble for the Tang priest. Journey to the West has been brought to live through several mediums, including film, literature and even a video game. Our group will be performing using Chinese shadow puppetry (皮影戏, piyingxi), one of China’s oldest performing arts. In this project, students were given invaluable cultural immersion by learning the linguistic and cultural significance of Journey to the West, as well as being able to collaborate in order to create perform the shadow puppetry. This further allows students to gain an understanding of Chinese culture, giving them an advantage in a world where an understanding of China is becoming increasingly crucial.
OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study is to perform a methodological replication of Bornstein (1994), but with the trait of neuroticism instead of dependency, and to determine the utility of implicit testing (evaluations with low face validity) as compared to more standard evaluations with high face validity in a modern setting (Explicit testing). Bornstein found a significant effect for instructional set on implicit (ROD) and explicit (IDI) evaluation measures.
METHOD: Data was collected from an adult sample ranging from 18 to 64 years old (n = 60). Participants were given one of three different instructional sets prior to completing evaluations, and were then administered the Big Five Inventory survey, Wartegg Drawing Completion Test, and a brief demographic questionnaire. RESULTS: Results revealed a significant main effect for gender on BFI neuroticism scores, F(1, 54) = 7.9, p = .007. Results revealed a significant main effect for gender on WDCT neuroticism scores, F(1, 54) = 6.8, p = .012. There was no effect for instructional set on BFI or WDCT responses.
CONCLUSIONS: Bornstein’s study was not effectively replicated, as there was no significant effect for instructional set on BFI or WDCT responses. Results suggest that high face validity can be a disadvantage when it comes to psychological evaluation. Results indicate evaluations with high face validity are more prone to fakability and unconscious bias than evaluations with low face validity. Results suggest that evaluations with low face validity are more reliable measure than evaluations with high face validity. Female participants displayed more neuroticism than males when administered explicit measures, while male participants displayed more neuroticism than females when administered implicit measures, which indicates that neuroticism is displayed in more than one way, suggesting that implicit measures should be used more in psychological assessment.
Over the last five years, the college town of Rockbridge County, VA has seen a 40% increase in Spanish-speaking students, leaving local schools and teachers racing to find inclusive, scaffolded ELL (English Language Learner) strategies despite VA Dept of Education’s English immersion policies. Rural VA communities lack resources and bi-lingual support staff, affecting student growth in English and Spanish. Because Virginia Standards of Learning (SOLS) restrict alternative literacy instruction, Rockbridge County teachers are often unequipped to bridge language barrier gaps. Without adequate and consistent resources, ELL students lose confidence because they are not reaching the same level as their peers in basic reading skills and content learning.
This creative research presentation weaves an autobiographical literacy narrative alongside grounded, qualitative analysis from a semester-long ELL Fieldwork Project mentoring 5th grade, second language learners. During her mentorship, Chavez developed a supportive program for rural, bilingual students by designing guided language think-alouds and organizing an Inclusive Reading Bookshelf to validate student confidence, motivation and prior knowledge within regulated classroom routines. This mentorship inspired Chavez to reconsider her own bilingual literacy in a rural Arizona border town. She explores her own emotional themes and experiences of learning as an “outsider” and draws on Mexican-American author Sandra Cisneros’ memoir, A House of My Own – Stories of My Life (2015) As a bilingual student that grew up in a failing education system, she compares the obstacles faced during her literacy journey with current challenges for ELL students.
The rat tapeworm, Hymenolpeis diminuta, is an obligate parasite that uses rats as its definitive host and beetles in the family Tenebrionidae as an intermediate host. As a part of the lifecycle, eggs are passed in the infected rats feces which are then consumed by the beetles. Feces from rats infected with the rat tapeworm H. diminuta are more attractive to beetles in the family Tenebrionidae, specifically Tribolium confusum and Tenebrio molitor. Research confirmed that volatile chemicals in the infected rat feces were attracting the beetles and further research identified four carboxylic acids found only in infected rat feces and limonene only in the uninfected feces. The aim of this study was to better understand the relationship between the four acids found in the infected feces and the limonene found only in the uninfected feces. We found no statistically significant attractive or repellent properties in regard to the limonene. These results support the use of limonene as a control for further research.
Oral
Coker, Ian, Jorgensen, Michael, McEneaney, James, and Mettasat, Kanokpon
At the 2026 IEEE Southeast Conference, Virginia Military Institute participated in the Software, Circuits, Ethics, and Technical Presentation competitions, each highlighting a different dimension of the engineering practice. The Software competition challenged student teams to demonstrate their understanding of systems and coding by creating a functional game from the ground up, which was ultimately judged against other teams. The Circuit Design competition required teams to complete a hands-on design challenge within a set time using provided materials and deliverables, demonstrating practical circuit analysis, prototyping, and implementation skills. The Ethics competition centered on analyzing an engineering ethics scenario and defending a reasoned response, reinforcing the importance of professional responsibility and sound judgment in technical decision-making. The Technical Presentation competition gave students the opportunity to submit an abstract and present their work in a formal setting, sharpening their ability to communicate technical ideas clearly and professionally.
Chemical cues play an important role in how intermediate hosts interact with parasite-contaminated environments, particularly in systems where transmission depends on host foraging behavior. The tapeworm Hymenolepis diminuta infects rats as its definitive host, and its eggs are shed in rat feces that beetles encounter while foraging. Previous studies with Tribolium confusum and Tenebrio molitor have shown that beetles may prefer feces from infected rats, likely due to volatile chemicals associated with infection. These findings suggest that odor cues, along with hunger state and social interactions, can influence beetle behavior in ways that increase the parasite’s chances of completing its life cycle. This project expands on earlier work by testing whether specific fecal-associated volatile compounds can independently attract T. molitor.
To investigate this question, adult beetles were fasted for 24 hours and tested in a two-choice circular arena similar to designs used in previous behavioral assays. Each trial presented beetles with a choice between coverslips treated with different odor solutions: deionized water, limonene, or a four-acid mixture consisting of butanoic acid, methyl butanoate, 2-methyl butanoate, and pentanoic acid. Thirty beetles were released into the arena for each run, and their positions were recorded once per minute for ten minutes to determine whether they aggregated preferentially toward a particular odor.
This study helps clarify the role of individual volatile chemicals in T. molitor host-seeking behavior and contributes to broader understanding of how H. diminuta may influence intermediate host activity to enhance transmission.
Self-awareness is often cited as a crucial component of leadership; however, existing measures do not account for leadership specific nuances and often treat the construct as unidimensional. Due to this, we chose to create a new survey that was leadership specific and treated leadership self-awareness (LSA) as a multidimensional concept, the Multidimensional Leadership Self-Awareness Questionnaire (MLSAQ). Two studies were conducted using exploratory factor analysis to test the validity of our new LSA survey. Study 1: defined LSA through several domains of self-awareness (cognitive, emotional, motivational, behavioral, values) but failed to yield a factor structure in line with our theory, indicating problems with factorial validity, item redundancy, and low total variance explained. Instead, data aligned in a 3-factor framework loosely driven by self-awareness processes (self-reflection, socially anchored self-awareness, self-awareness deficit) Study 2: using the results from Study 1, we revised the MLSAQ, and hypothesized a multidimensional structure focused on 5 different processes of self-awareness (reflection, comparison with others, feedback seeking, situational awareness, inattentive-avoidance). Study 2 results revealed a stable 4-factor structure which aligned with our new process driven theory (comparative awareness, feedback seeking, situational awareness, and inattentive-avoidance). Using construct validity and standardized alpha’s, each subscale was reduced to 10 final items. Further concurrent and discriminant validity analysis supported the importance of multidimensionality in interpreting leadership self-awareness.
Previous research shows that students tend to define college success in terms of academic performance and social relationships. However, minimal research has been conducted that observes how military school students define success. Due to a strict military lifestyle and the mental and physical needs required to excel at a military college, it is expected that these students may have a different definition of success. Some of these differences may include developing a sense of ethical behavior and maintaining or developing a sense of physical health. Twenty-four participants completed a survey and initial data analysis shows that there are some similarities between the literature on student definitions of success and the present study, which includes graduating and having a job upon graduation. However, contrary to previous literature, results of the present study did not rank social relationships highly. Additionally, the present study resulted in leadership qualities being highly ranked.
Collision welding is an atypical welding method first discovered during the Second World War. Known as explosion welding, it is unique among welding methods because it can bond metals with differing characteristics, such as melting points and heat capacities, in addition to similar metals. It employs explosives to accelerate a flyer plate into an awaiting base plate. When they collide, the surfaces of the metal plates hit with so much force that the metals, briefly, act like liquids. This causes the formation of sinusoidal waves to propagate along the joined surfaces where the two plates meet, called the interface. The goal of my research is to compare which wave characteristic, wavelength, frequency, or amplitude, contributes most to the weld shear strength. Using Python code, we used various methods, ranging from a first derivative test to capture which x-values crossed the midline, in order to obtain the aforementioned wave characteristics, which should be noted that they are only averages across the whole interface. Using statistical methods, we examined to see if there is a relationship between any of the characteristics and the shear strength.
This project will investigate the portrayal of Arab characters within the Indiana Jones movies. Specifically, I will examine how the Indiana Jones films reinforce orientalism by portraying Arabs as stereotyped mindless militant henchmen and evil characters. The Indiana Jones films portray Arab characters as mindless and one-dimensional, falling back on Shaheen’s militant stereotype. These characters act as henchmen for evil groups, and these characters are used to depict Arabs in a negative light, often degrading and offending Arabs through their stereotypes. I will draw upon scenes from the movie to fuel this research, such as when they discover the Ark of the Covenant in the first movie – portraying Arabs as workers while traditionally western characters are the owner – or in the third movie when the Arab characters provide disposable henchmen to the antagonists.
This project will rely upon film scenes from the Indiana Jones movies, definitions and examples from Shaheen’s “Reel Bad Arabs”, and the framework from the Orientalist works of Edward Said. This is an extremely important topic to understand, because Arabs are often portrayed in media as being unilateral and one-dimensional, but in reality, Arab identity and culture are complex, multifaceted, and very dissimilar to what is seen on screens. The images portrayed in the Indiana Jones films negatively contribute to representation of Arabs, their culture, and their role in society. The media representation of Arabs will continue to be degraded for what can only be described as comic relief or common expectations
This research paper aims to go in-depth into the portrayal of Middle Eastern actors in Hollywood films, specifically focusing on Mr. Habib in “Father of the Bride II”. My research question is how Mr. Habib’s behavior, particularly his interactions with his wife, reinforces harmful stereotypes about Middle Eastern Individuals. The argument is that Mr. Habib exemplifies orientalist stereotyping through his representation as a wealthy and showing no regard figure who silences his wife. This shows a reinforcement of negative points of view towards Middle Eastern men as controlling and dismissive towards women, highlighting cultural differences and power dynamics. The primary evidence for this analysis comes from specific scenes featuring Mr. Habib in “Father of the Bride II,” in which his actions and demeanor are examined. Supporting evidence will be brought from film reviews, critiques, and academic journals on Orientalism and Hollywood stereotypes. This research paper is important because it shows the implications of power dynamics and societal views. By analyzing this in depth, we should gain a vision that lets us see what Hollywood media is showing the world.
The CHIPS and Science Act, enacted in 2022, was created to increase the microchip
production in the United States. One way of bolstering this economy is utilizing nanoimprint
lithography. Nanoimprint Lithography is a method of creating nano-scale imprints via roll to
plate, plate to plate, or roll to roll techniques. These methods are done by pressing a template onto a resin, and using UV radiation or thermal treatment to cure the mold. The machine used for this research is the Stensborg Roll to Plate (R2P) Nanoimprinter. This device is utilized for both instructional and research purposes. I will present the functionality of the equipment and the application of the machine, and I will run a sample to demonstrate how the machine works. I will also discuss the importance of optimizing this process as it pertains to mass production.
In the Judeo-Christian faith, the book of Genesis outlines the origin stories of these two world religions while providing one of the earliest accounts of morality, societal structure, and wisdom. My research paper explores this wisdom in the Book of Genesis through the archetypal conflicts and familial trauma that the text weaves into its monumental narrative. Using Marilynne Robinson’s ‘Forgiveness in Genesis’, I was able to focus specifically on one archetypal conflict between siblings through the Joseph story which was, in my view, the crowning example of wisdom in the Book of Genesis. My comments and analysis of Robinson’s article and my own biblical study married Robinson’s views on the Joseph story with traditional interpretations allowing me to present a well-rounded approach to my question: what is the best example of wisdom in the Book of Genesis?
I will present my project to the audience. I will begin by briefly introducing the Law of Armed Conflict (LOAC) as a concept, then present the various education and training methods commonly used in LOAC classrooms. I will evaluate the research indicating the shortcomings of these approaches and present research on the benefits of “experiential learning and training techniques”.
I will then present my hypothesis, the experiment itself and the results. The separate groups and how we controlled for confounding variables, the results themselves, the implications of said results, and a call for a continuance of research into the subject. I will conclude with presenting my call for a novel form of LOAC training: a combination method relying on traditional lecture-based instruction in conjunction with experiential instruction via playing a video game in virtual reality.
The material properties of steel is a well-studied subject including specific research in: stresses induced in industrial machining processes, stresses induced in heat treatment, crystalline structure, specific steel properties, as well as stress relieving processes. However, all the vast research done on steel is specifically for industrial purposes. In recent years there has been a revitalization of blacksmithing, and with that, an increase of hand forged architectural fixtures, railings, and gates.
The modern blacksmith uses a variety of processes to shape steel; however, these processes are relatively inconsistent when compared to industrial processes. Furthermore, there is no substantial data on whether these processes weaken steel.
A series of steel samples, both forged and standard, were created and tested. Material properties were recorded for each including tensile stress, yield stress, modulus of elasticity, ductility, modulus of resilience, and modulus of toughness. The differences between samples show some consistent variance in their properties, which points towards a legitimate difference in the properties of hand forged steel compared to factory made steel.
I will be looking at how a specific movie studio portrait Palestinians through the eyes of a camera lens in late 1970s to late 1980s fashion. The Cannon group was founded 1967 and was later sold to two Israeli cousins, Menahem Golan and Yoram Globus, were they later made a multitude of movies with anti-Palestinian sentiment and harsh stereotypes showing them as violent, barbaric, and truly evil. I will be using their 1986 film The Delta Force starring Chuck Norris and Lee Marvin as my case study. My question I propose is, how does The Delta Force repeat and reinforce negative stereotypes on the Arab people, specifically Palestinians, using visuals and the plot’s narrative? My argument is that this movie is a part of a larger movement of Hollywood films with the harmful portrayals of the Arab people, specifically Palestinians, and that this film directly reinforces a negative stereotype. I will be using different scenes throughout the movie and the film’s general plot to illustrate the intentions and true design of the film showcasing scenes of extreme prejudice and exaggerated portrayals of the Palestinians and Jack Shaheen’s personal study on orientalism and his examples of the Palestinian sub genre. It is important to highlight the issue of repetitive extreme stereotyping of a certain group of people in one of the biggest entertainment industries in order to highlight the glaring issue of reinforcing a harmful image to audiences globally. It has a long-lasting effect on culture and people’s biases on the Arabs leading to preconceived notions on how they act and what they believe. I just hope to point out this issue using one of the biggest action movies of its time which has been viewed by a larger audience.
The importance of human-made art and its impact on life in a growing Al world. The spread of artificial intelligence (Al) in everyday life has caused a surge of uncertainty when determining what is human and what is not, especially in the realm of art. From this uncertainty, I decided to find out if Al artwork makes people react differently than art made by humans. This was determined by looking at scientific studies as well as the philosophical connection between humans and art. Previous research has looked at either the philosophical perspective or the scientific perspective, never both perspectives at the same time. It is by applying multiple scientific studies (KAUST and BGSU) and entropy scores (Khan and Kim) to philosophers from the late 1900s (Hegel and Langer) that demonstrates the positive impact on emotions and brain activity created by human-made art. Al art, while found to create emotion, was less influential on the individual than human made artwork. By conducting this study, our findings have shown that the numerous scientific experiments and research models line up with the ideas of the philosophers with regards to their opinions on art expressing a sense of freedom. This study demonstrates the importance of human-made art in a rapidly growing Al world, with support from both science and philosophy.
Effective cybersecurity training requires preparing personnel at every organizational level to operate under pressure, interpret incomplete information, and make rapid, high-stakes decisions. However, current training practices struggle to capture the dynamic, adaptive, and adversarial nature of real-world incidents. These methods lack realism, rely on rigid scripts, and fail to model evolving attacker behavior or the cascading consequences of defensive decisions. As a result, organizations continue to show substantial readiness gaps. CISA’s recent assessments indicate that most victims remain unprepared across both technical controls and decision-making processes, from junior analysts to executive leadership. Meanwhile, large-scale exercises such as Cyber Storm demonstrate the value of adaptive, inject-driven training but demand resources and coordination not feasible for routine use. This gap motivates the need for a training system that combines the accessibility of tabletop exercises with the realism and adaptivity of full-scale cyber simulations. In this work, we introduce an AI-driven immersive emulation platform that transforms traditional tabletop scenarios into dynamic, decision-responsive training experiences.The system integrates multiple specialized AI agents (Including adversary emulation, scenario orchestration, content generation, and performance analysis) coordinated through a modular Model Context Protocol (MCP) architecture. These components enable real-time scenario evolution, realistic attack behaviors aligned with the MITRE ATT&CK framework, and automated generation of supporting artifacts such as logs, emails, and incident injects. The platform also delivers structured, role-specific feedback through a performance intelligence engine that evaluates both quantitative metrics and qualitative decision-making. By blending adaptive AI agents with scalable microservice architecture, the system offers a practical, repeatable, and highly realistic alternative to traditional tabletop training. We expect this approach to measurably improve situational awareness, decision-making speed, ethical and legal compliance, communication effectiveness, and overall readiness during cybersecurity incidents.
The Traveling Salesman Problem (TSP) is a classic NP-hard combinatorial optimization problem that seeks the shortest route visiting each of (n) cities exactly once and returning to the origin. TSP has numerous real-world applications, including vehicle routing, logistics, DNA sequencing, circuit board manufacturing, and urban planning. While exact solvers such as Concorde can guarantee optimal solutions, they become computationally infeasible for moderately sized instances (e.g., ) due to factorial growth in complexity. Consequently, heuristic algorithms—such as Nearest Neighbor—remain widely used for large problems because they are fast, though they often produce suboptimal tours.
In this work, we propose a general framework for improving the performance of classical TSP heuristics by modifying the distance matrix. Specifically, we introduce tree-penalized distance matrices which combine the original intercity distances and tree penalties derived from hierarchical clustering trees. We use tree-penalized matrices to replace the original distance matrix to guide heuristic decisions. Extensive experiments on 40 benchmark datasets compare the performance of four well-known heuristics—Nearest Neighbor, Nearest Insertion, Cheapest Insertion, and Farthest Insertion—with and without the proposed modifications. Results show that the approach can significantly improve the quality of the tours generated by the heuristics, while maintaining practical runtime efficiency.
The present study investigates the relationship between levels of extrinsic religiosity, intrinsic spirituality, and psychological wellbeing within a military college environment, as well as possible moderating effects of Religion and Spirituality. While multitudes of research have taken place in educational, military, and healthcare settings, studies on the training environment of future military leaders prior to commissioning are few and far between. A sample of students at a Senior Military College in the Eastern United States (N=695) voluntarily responded to a 77- question item based on measure of stress, emotional intelligence, and anxious and depressive symptoms that was sent to the entire student population. Initial data analysis suggests that within a military school population religiosity and spirituality are predictors of lower levels of depressive symptoms, less stress, and higher levels of emotional intelligence. Implications of this research include possible changes in focus of resilience training, availability of religiously focused extra curriculars, and response techniques used to combat mental health emergencies in the military college environment.
As utility-scale solar photovoltaic (PV) installations become more widespread, understanding their influence on watershed hydrology has become increasingly important. These systems create hybrid surface conditions in which impervious panels are elevated above pervious ground, complicating traditional stormwater modeling approaches. This study applies the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Storm Water Management Model (SWMM) to simulate runoff from a 50-acre solar farm in Fairfield, Rockbridge County, Virginia, using a structured modeling framework adapted from Nair et al. (2023). Each solar panel row is represented by four subcatchments: the panel surface, dripline wet area, under-panel ground surface, and vegetated spacer between rows.
Two slope configurations were evaluated. In the first case, panel slope is aligned with the ground slope, while in the second case the panel slope opposes the ground slope. These configurations represent common field conditions and illustrate how slope orientation influences flow paths and infiltration potential. Soil properties were obtained from the USDA NRCS Web Soil Survey, and rainfall inputs were derived from NOAA precipitation data. For modeling simplicity, a uniform ground slope was assumed.
Simulation results showed consistently lower peak flows under post-development conditions compared to pre-development conditions, consistent with trends reported in the site design plans. The results suggest that high-roughness vegetation, such as fescue, may partially offset increased runoff associated with solar infrastructure. Overall, the study demonstrates the capability of EPA SWMM to simulate runoff generation, peak flows, and outfall volumes for solar PV installations.
This paper will examine how the movie Kingdom of Heaven represents military leadership within the medieval Middle East and Islamic era in comparison with the cultural aspects of the region found in the literary work One Thousand and One Nights. More specifically, the study asks the following question: How does Kingdom of Heaven use or go against the Orientalist interpretations of the Middle East that have appeared in Western adaptations of the Arabian Nights stories? Furthermore, using the work of Edward Said in his book Orientalism, this paper will make the argument that while the film attempts to present a more balanced and respectful portrayal of Muslim leadership, it still frames the narrative through a Western perspective centered on European values.
The analysis portion of this paper will focus on the portrayal of key historical and fictional figures, such as Salah Al Din and Balian of Ibelin, as well as the depiction of the city of Jerusalem and the cultural interactions between Christian and Muslim societies during the Crusades. Specific scenes and dialogues from the film Kingdom of Heaven, such as scenes of the city of Jerusalem, and speeches given by Salah Al Din, will be compared with narrative themes and cultural portrayals found in One Thousand and One Nights, with a particular focus on Western traditions of depicting the Middle East as exotic, mysterious, or politically unstable.
Lastly, this topic is important because Western media plays a powerful role in shaping global perceptions of Middle Eastern history and culture. By analyzing Kingdom of Heaven through the lens of Orientalism and literary analysis, this paper will show how modern films both challenge and promote the long-standing cultural narratives about the Islamic world and Arabs as a whole.
