Collection

2025 ASEE North Central Section (NCS) Annual Conference

Authors

Alexa July Hoffman, Marshall University; Trevor Joseph Bihl, Marshall University

state linking also with Ohio, but with Virginia, Maryland, and Pennsylvania.Notably, most transmission lines are sub 500kV and few lines go through the more mountainsparts of the state. Additionally, West Virginia’s transmission infrastructure is aging and faceschallenges from extreme weather events, including ice storms, heavy winds, and flooding [26]. 10Power outages are more frequent in rural areas, where grid resilience is limited. Modernizationefforts, such as upgrading substations and implementing real-time grid monitoring, are underwaybut require significant investment due to the rural and remote location of many infrastructureelements [26

Collection

2025 ASEE North Central Section (NCS) Annual Conference

Authors

Sudipta Chowdhury, Marshall University; Ammar Alzarrad, Marshall University; Sungmin Youn, University of Texas at El Paso

Tagged Topics

Diversity

Paper ID #49561Evaluating the Impact of a Summer NSF REU Program on UndergraduateStudents’ STEM Career Aspirations and Educational Goals: A Case StudyDr. Sudipta Chowdhury, Marshall University Sudipta Chowdhury is an Assistant Professor at the Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering in Marshall University. His area of research includes Critical Infrastructure Resilience, Disaster Restoration Planning, Supply Chain and Logistics, and formal and informal STEM Education. He has published over 20 peer-reviewed journal articles and multiple conference proceedings. He serves as a reviewer of multiple journals such

Collection

2025 ASEE North Central Section (NCS) Annual Conference

Authors

Ethan Scott Stevenson, Marshall University; Jay Cook, Marshall University; Trevor Bihl, Marshall University

Tagged Topics

Diversity

payment, is acritical issue that affects power distribution systems worldwide. In the United States (U.S.),electricity theft leads to an estimated $1.6 billion in annual losses for utility companies, creatinga significant financial burden that is ultimately passed on to honest consumers through higherelectricity rates [1]. While this issue is not frequently discussed in the U.S., its financial andoperational impacts are felt across the energy sector [2]. The challenge lies not only in themonetary losses but also in the inefficiencies and operational difficulties introduced by electricitytheft, which compromise the reliability and resilience of power grids.Globally, electricity theft is recognized as a pervasive problem, particularly in developing

Collection

2025 ASEE North Central Section (NCS) Annual Conference

Authors

Preston K Sellards, Marshall University; Mathew Allen, Marshall University; Pingping Zhu, Marshall University; Ben Taylor, Marshall University

in the use of AI in response to wildfires.IntroductionWith the continuation of climate change, society is beginning to experience an increase in wildfiresas well as an increase in intensity, threatening ecosystems and infrastructure [1]. Traditionalwildfire detection methods like satellite monitoring and ground-based patrol fall into certainweaknesses like limited coverage of an area. Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs), more commonlyknown as drones, can be equipped with advanced technologies, like AI, as a solution to thedetection and monitoring of wildfires [2]. Bitcraze's Crazyflie drones are a lightweight andmodular drone system that allows the drone to be equipped with special hardware like the AI deckto enable real-time sensing and image