The rapid increase in the use of embedded systems for performing secure transactions, has proportionally increased the security threat, faced by such devices. Security threats are an issue of concern at both software and hardware level. The field of cryptography has been intensively researched for secure implementation techniques, methods to attack secure systems and countermeasures to avoid such attacks. In this thesis, we provide solutions for two interesting problems in the field of hardware security using reconfigurable hardware. First, we discuss a countermeasure to prevent side-channel analysis (SCA) attacks on an embedded system. We present an SCA-resistant processor design in the context of an embedded design flow for FPGA. It integrates an SCA-resistant custom instruction set on a soft-core CPU and derives an SCA resistance from dual-rail precharge principle. The resulting countermeasure applies to a broad class of block ciphers that consist of lookup tables and logical operations. While many countermeasures have been proposed previously, we show that our solution achieves an excellent trade-off between SCA resistance, (software and hardware) design complexity, performance, and circuit area cost. Secondly, we present a system to attack a special type of cryptography called Elliptic Curve Cryptography(ECC). It targets the Elliptic Curve Discrete Logarithmic Problem (ECDLP) for a NIST-standardized ECC-curve over 112-bit prime field. We implement a successful demonstration of an ECC cryptanalytic engine using the Pollard rho algorithm on a hardware-software co-integrated platform. We propose a novel, generalized architecture for polynomial-basis multiplication over prime field and its extension to a dedicated square module. Its design strategy is portable to other prime field moduli. / Master of Science

That a theory is merely effective has historically counted against it, especially in pro-realism discourse. For example, many realists take the interpretation of a theory to amount to specifying what the world would be like was the theory true (or characterizing the possible worlds picked out by the theory). But effective theories are not true simpliciter. They describe a limited subset of nature and only approximately so, giving the traditional realist little to work with. The effective realist gives up on the traditional realist project, noting that contemporary physical theories tell us nothing, or very little, about what's fundamental. The traditional realist gives us unreliable results for our ontology at fundamental length scales. Effective realism responds by taking effective theories seriously. I have two primary goals in this paper. First, I consider a few responses to arguments provided by Ruetshce (2017). Ruetsche worries that the theory space over which the effective realist quantifies might fail to be comprehensive. I hope to defend the effective realist through the use of first-order scientific evidence and with a response motivated by Fraser (forthcoming). Second, I develop an objection to effective realism similar in kind to one posed by Ruetshce. Rather than a skepticism in the space on which the renormalization group acts, I entertain a more general skepticism with respect to the construction of effective field theories. I then tease out a response grounded in theory space constraints to justify the effective realist's use of effective field theories to guide ontological commitment. / Master of Arts / Realism, or the view that we can believe in the approximate truth of scientific theories or parts of those theories, has long struggled to overcome its skeptics. Many past theories have been discarded. Many new theories have replaced their predecessors. Many problems plague our interpretations of the results of the theories we have access to. To bolster the case for realism, I defend a modest view in the context of high energy physics by taking advantage of a tool called renormalization. The tool allows us to partly characterize domains that we have not yet empirically probed, and I argue that this provides fertile grounds for realism.

Thesis (M.S.)--Boston University / PLEASE NOTE: Boston University Libraries did not receive an Authorization To Manage form for this thesis or dissertation. It is therefore not openly accessible, though it may be available by request. If you are the author or principal advisor of this work and would like to request open access for it, please contact us at open-help@bu.edu. Thank you. / 2999-01-01

Thesis (Ed.M.)--Boston University / PLEASE NOTE: Boston University Libraries did not receive an Authorization To Manage form for this thesis or dissertation. It is therefore not openly accessible, though it may be available by request. If you are the author or principal advisor of this work and would like to request open access for it, please contact us at open-help@bu.edu. Thank you. / 2999-01-01

The thesis presents a defocusing technique to extract bubble depth information. Typically, when a bubble is out of focus in an image, the bubble is ignored by applying a filter or thresholding. However, it is known that a bubble image becomes blurred as the bubble moves away from the focal plane. Then, this technique is applied to determine the bubble distance along the optical path based on the blurriness or intensity gradient information of the bubble. Using the image processing algorithm, images captured in three different experiments are analyzed to develop a correlation between the bubble distance and its intensity gradient. The suggested models to predict the bubble depth are also developed based on the measurement data and evaluated with the measured data. When the intensity gradient of the bubble is lower or when a bubble is located farther from the focal plane, the model can predict the distance more accurately. However, the models show larger absolute and relative error when the bubble is near the focal plane. To improve the prediction in that region, another model should be considered. Also, depth of field analysis is introduced in order to compare three experimental results with different imaging setups. The applicability of the approach is analyzed and evaluated. / Master of Science / Gas and liquid measurements of two-phase flow are very challenging, but it has become more important because of many industrial applications such as chemical, petroleum, and energy industries. Many two-phase flow measurement techniques have been developed and utilized for different flow conditions such as fiber optic probe, multi-sensor conductivity probe, wire-mesh sensor, as x-ray densitometry, particle image velocimetry (PIV), and optical imaging. With the development of the technology, the imaging technique can provide better spatial and temporal resolutions as well as image processing speed has improved greatly. In this study, the imaging and defocusing techniques are combined and used to extract bubble depth information. An image processing algorithm has been developed to process bubble images captured by high speed cameras. By measuring the blurriness or intensity gradient information of the bubble, the bubble distance along the optical path is determined. Based on the measurement data, mathematic models are developed to predict the bubble depth. In addition, depth of field analysis is suggested to compare three experimental results with different imaging setups. The applicability of the approach is analyzed and evaluated.

This study aims at explaining the significance of the &ldquo / field&rdquo / concept in contemporary architecture and urbanism, in reference to the technical definitions of the term in different disciplines. In this context, it investigates the concepts of &ldquo / field&rdquo / in physics, psychology, art theory and criticism. It highlights the reinterpretation of the &ldquo / field&rdquo / concept in physics by eminent Gestalt psychologists, and its consequences for architecture and urbanism. Starting from the definitions of the concept of &ldquo / field&rdquo / by Kurt Koffka and Kurt Lewin, and from the Gestalt Theory that constitutes the basis of these definitions, it brings into discussion a group of related notions that have been employed in art and architectural theory and criticism: &ldquo / psychophysical field,&rdquo / &ldquo / psychological life space,&rdquo / &ldquo / figure-ground,&rdquo / &ldquo / figure-field,&rdquo / and &ldquo / field-field.&rdquo

Typescript (photocopy). / Digitized by Kansas Correctional Industries

Call number: LD2668 .T4 1955 S85 / Master of Science

High magnetic fields greater than 100 Tesla applied to laser generated plasmas can generate unique and interesting conditions. High power laser systems at the University of Texas in the Center for Higher Energy Density Sciences readily produce short lived fusion plasmas in cluster targets. A strong magnetic field could increase fusion neutron yield and plasma confinement while providing a unique plasma physics environment. For this purpose, Sandia National Laboratories in collaboration with the University of Texas designed and constructed a pulsed power device to produce more than 2 megaamperes. This current produces strong magnetic fields in small coils with duration on the order of microseconds. At the University of Texas, tests with this device determined the operational characteristics. I will describe the behavior of this device with currents of approximately a megaamp and magnetic fields of more than 60 Tesla. Emphasis is placed on understanding the behavior of the fields and coils. / text

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