Master of Science (MS), Ohio University, 2022, Biological Sciences (Arts and Sciences)

Bats in North America face many threats to their survival, including heavy metal pollution, a less widely studied and understood contributor to bat mortality. Arsenic, cadmium, and lead are three of eleven heavy metals of highest concern for wildlife due to their damaging effects to health at low levels of exposure. The purpose of this study was to better understand trends in concentrations of these metals in the fur of three bat species so as to manage conservation efforts more effectively. To do so, I examined concentrations of arsenic, cadmium, and lead in the fur of big brown bats (Eptesicus fuscus), little brown myotis (Myotis lucifugus) and eastern red bats (Lasiurus borealis) collected from museum samples and bats submitted for rabies testing. Among samples taken from museum collections, little brown myotis had higher arsenic levels in their fur than big brown and eastern red bats. Among big brown bats submitted for rabies testing, the presence of coal-fired power plants in the counties where bats were collected was associated with higher levels of arsenic in fur. Big brown bats with higher concentrations of lead and arsenic in their stomach contents also had greater concentrations in their fur. These data provide additional evidence that bats acquire heavy metals through their prey and that species accumulate metal differently, possibly due to difference in diet.

Committee: Joseph Johnson (Advisor); Viorel Popescu (Committee Member); Willem Roosenburg (Committee Member) Subjects: Ecology; Environmental Science; Toxicology; Wildlife Conservation

Master of Architecture, The Ohio State University, 2009, Architecture

The paper explores the notion of a digital detail for the design and the fabrication of a multi per formative building skin. The performative aspects of the building skins are inquired using a taxonomy which classifies the envelope according to the materials, the structural system, the passive thermal strategies, the transparency and the construction techniques. The research proves the need for a rational computational approach, a digital detail that integrates the materiality, the performance and the fabrication techniques. The method employs an algorithmic process that synthesizes the information from a double curved surface to construct an emergent, a performative and an intricate detail. The process uses a recursive computing technique to generate the variations, which makes it difficult to decide a discrete moment where the transformation happens from structure to transparency or vice versa. The material and tectonic implications of the process are addressed in a smaller scale, using a material that simulates the fabrication and construction technique.

Committee: Tsamis Alexandros Phd (Committee Chair); Ashley Schafer Phd (Advisor); John McMorrough Phd (Committee Member) Subjects: Architecture

Master of Arts (MA), Ohio University, 2013, Film (Fine Arts)

This thesis deals with the construction of American Indian identity in what I define as Native American cinema. It takes into account issues relating to the representation of American Indians in Hollywood film and television, as well as the idea that Native American cinema functions as a counter cinema in relation to Hollywood. This work examines notions of American Indian identity through the films of Chris Eyre, Sherman Alexie, Kent Mackenzie, Michael Linn, and others.

Committee: Ofer Eliaz Dr. (Committee Chair); Louis Schwartz Dr. (Committee Member); Katherine Jellison Dr. (Committee Member) Subjects: Film Studies