Lossy compression is a form of compression that slightly degrades a signal in ways that are ideally not detectable to the human ear. This is opposite to lossless compression, in which the sample is not degraded at all. While lossless compression may seem like the best option, lossy compression, which is used in most audio and video, reduces transmission time and results in much smaller file sizes. However, this compression can affect quality if it goes too far. The more compression there is on a waveform, the more degradation there is, and once a file is lossy compressed, this process is not reversible. This project will observe the degradation of an audio signal after the application of Singular Value Decomposition compression, a lossy compression that eliminates singular values from a signal’s matrix.

The research presented in this Honors Thesis provides development in machine learning models which predict future states of a system with unknown dynamics, based on observations of the system. Two case studies are presented for (1) a non-conservative pendulum and (2) a differential game dictating a two-car uncontrolled intersection scenario. In the paper we investigate how learning architectures can be manipulated for problem specific geometry. The result of this research provides that these problem specific models are valuable for accurate learning and predicting the dynamics of physics systems.<br/><br/>In order to properly model the physics of a real pendulum, modifications were made to a prior architecture which was sufficient in modeling an ideal pendulum. The necessary modifications to the previous network [13] were problem specific and not transferrable to all other non-conservative physics scenarios. The modified architecture successfully models real pendulum dynamics. This case study provides a basis for future research in augmenting the symplectic gradient of a Hamiltonian energy function to provide a generalized, non-conservative physics model.<br/><br/>A problem specific architecture was also utilized to create an accurate model for the two-car intersection case. The Costate Network proved to be an improvement from the previously used Value Network [17]. Note that this comparison is applied lightly due to slight implementation differences. The development of the Costate Network provides a basis for using characteristics to decompose functions and create a simplified learning problem.<br/><br/>This paper is successful in creating new opportunities to develop physics models, in which the sample cases should be used as a guide for modeling other real and pseudo physics. Although the focused models in this paper are not generalizable, it is important to note that these cases provide direction for future research.

High-entropy alloys possessing mechanical, chemical, and electrical properties that far exceed those of conventional alloys have the potential to make a significant impact on many areas of engineering. Identifying element combinations and configurations to form these alloys, however, is a difficult, time-consuming, computationally intensive task. Machine learning has revolutionized many different fields due to its ability to generalize well to different problems and produce computationally efficient, accurate predictions regarding the system of interest. In this thesis, we demonstrate the effectiveness of machine learning models applied to toy cases representative of simplified physics that are relevant to high-entropy alloy simulation. We show these models are effective at learning nonlinear dynamics for single and multi-particle cases and that more work is needed to accurately represent complex cases in which the system dynamics are chaotic. This thesis serves as a demonstration of the potential benefits of machine learning applied to high-entropy alloy simulations to generate fast, accurate predictions of nonlinear dynamics.

In the last two decades, fantasy sports have grown massively in popularity. Fantasy football in particular is the most popular fantasy sport in the United States. People spend hours upon hours every year building, researching, and perfecting their teams to compete with others for money or bragging rights. One problem, however, is that National Football League (NFL) players are human and will not perform the same as they did last week or last season. Because of this, there is a need to create a machine learning model to help predict when players will have a tough game or when they can perform above average. This report discusses the history and science of fantasy football, gathering large amounts of player data, manipulating the information to create more insightful data points, creating a machine learning model, and how to use this tool in a real-world situation. The initial model created significantly accurate predictions for quarterbacks and running backs but not receivers and tight ends. Improvements significantly increased the accuracy by reducing the mean average error to below one for all positions, resulting in a successful model for all four positions.