Colorism is pervasive globally and holds salience within Latine populations. Adolescence is an important developmental period when Latine youth make meaning of racialized experiences, and examining how racism and colorism shape youth development and lived experiences is needed. First, it is important to understand how racism and colorism co-occur, and research should explore how racism and colorism relate to how youth feel about their ethnic-racial identity (ERI; i.e., negative affect) and come to terms with their ERI (i.e., exploration and resolution), as well as how youth view their skin tone (i.e., skin tone satisfaction). Second, research utilizing advanced longitudinal methods is needed to understand how racialization experiences inform youth development across time. The current dissertation sought to contribute to colorism and ERI literature through these foci across two papers by using advanced quantitative methods and analyses. The first paper explored how negative racialization experiences (e.g., racial microaggressions) relate to the ERI of Latine adolescents, and how skin tone, skin tone satisfaction, and gender moderate this association from an intersectional and cultural ecological lens. The second paper examined how racial discrimination relates to skin tone satisfaction over four days among Latine adolescents, and how skin tone self-concept moderates this association. Understanding the complexity of colorism, racism, and ERI across distinct dimensions and approaches will advance our understanding of Latine youth development and well-being.

Aerosols and their interactions with clouds remain the largest sources of uncertainty in our understanding of the atmosphere and climate. A major factor in this uncertainty is the wet scavenging (removal) of aerosols in global models, which negatively impacts model capabilities to capture aerosol lifetimes and, consequently, aerosol impacts on climate and air quality. This dissertation focuses on scavenging over the tropical West Pacific region and consists of three distinct approaches: (1) a ground-based study investigating factors contributing to the inter-seasonal persistence of aerosol concentrations in a tropical coastal megacity despite higher precipitation during the wet season, (2) a multi-tool study using aircraft data that determines meteorological variables relevant for scavenging during long-range transport, and (3) an aircraft-based study calculating in-cloud scavenging efficiencies of multiple aerosol species and sizes in tropical convection. In the first part of the dissertation, we analyzed size-resolved aerosol composition, aerosol optical depth, and meteorology to understand why Metro Manila, Philippines exhibits similar aerosol concentrations across seasons despite large differences in seasonal rainfall. We identified two major factors: (1) opposing seasonality of black carbon and water-soluble aerosol, and (2) inefficient scavenging by short rain events (< 1 h). We demonstrated that the presence of rain does not imply efficient wet scavenging and it is important to consider rain characteristics like duration. In a changing climate with increasing urbanization, these factors are expected to become more critical for air quality policymaking and sustainable urban development. This work was published in Environmental Science: Atmospheres (Hilario et al., 2022). In the second part, we identified meteorological variables relevant for estimating wet scavenging using trajectory modeling and a combination of aircraft, satellite, and reanalysis data. We found that the accumulated precipitation along trajectories – often interpreted as a wet scavenging indicator in the literature – does poorly when used to predict aerosol scavenging and was outperformed by the following variables: (1) upper percentiles of relative humidity (RH) along trajectories, (2) the fraction of hours along trajectories exceeding a threshold value for RH or water vapor mixing ratio, and (3) precipitation intensity along trajectories. This work was published in Atmospheric Measurement Techniques (Hilario et al., 2024). The final part of this dissertation quantified in-cloud scavenging efficiencies (SE) in tropical convection. In-cloud scavenging is the primary removal pathway for accumulation mode aerosols, but SEs have not been calculated for shallow to moderate convection. We used aircraft data to calculate SEs for three cases. Efficient scavenging was observed for sulfate (>86%) and black carbon (70 – 80%); moderate scavenging for organic aerosol (53 – 60%) and nitrate (62%); and a wide range of SEs for ammonium (53 – 87%). We also found that accumulation and coarse mode aerosol volume concentrations were nearly totally scavenged in-cloud (>92%), suggesting a preferential activation of large aerosols. Comparisons of differing cloud tops showed that SEs did not vary significantly on an aerosol mass basis with cloud top height. These results demonstrate that aerosol size and composition are more important for in-cloud SEs. This work was published in the Journal of the Atmospheric Sciences (Hilario et al., 2025). This dissertation provides an explanation for how aerosol loadings can be sustained during the wet/rainy season, which should be investigated in other developing cities due to the health risks associated with pollutant accumulation. The dissertation also provides suggestions for meteorological variables that could be considered in model scavenging parameterizations. The presented method can be repeated in different environments to identify regional differences in factors that influence scavenging. Finally, the calculated in-cloud SEs motivate improvements in chemical transport models through future observation-model comparisons.

Recent NASA satellite missions such as the Ice Cloud and Land Elevation Satellite version 2 (ICESat-2) and Global Ecosystem Dynamics Investigation (GEDI) have been deployed to survey the Earth’s surface with mission goals of monitoring changes in glacier ice, sea ice, and vegetation for ICESat-2 and retrieval of 3-D structure of mid-latitude and tropical canopies globally for GEDI. Both instruments have provided the community with unprecedented high-resolution active remote sensing measurements of variables relating to processes in the water cycle. These advancements in spaceborne lidar technology motivate the works performed in this dissertation that demonstrate the importance of using these instruments for the retrieval of hydrometeorological variables and provide motivation for future spaceborne lidar missions. Mitchell et al. (2025a) evaluated snow depths retrieved from ICESat-2 multiple lidar scattering measurements, a new and novel technique developed by Y. Hu et al. (2022) and Lu et al. (2022). Snow depths from ICESat-2 are compared to the in-situ measurement – derived University of Arizona (UA) product for two distinct regions of the contiguous U.S. (CONUS): the Mountain West (complex terrain) and the Great Lakes (homogeneous terrain). Biases between the snow products are co-located with several terrestrial datasets (i.e., Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS), GEDI, ICESat-2, and USGS LANDFIRE) and then evaluated in terms of the time of snow season (December – April) and snow density to understand the performance of the retrieval. The retrieval performance performed well overall, but results showed the performance decreased with increasingly complex terrain and in the presence of tall canopies. Additionally, the retrieval’s performance decreased later into the snow season and with higher snow densities. The findings provided insights into future corrections that can be made to the retrieval in future studies. Mitchell et al. (2025b) co-located GEDI spaceborne lidar canopy measurements and snow depths from UA with MODIS LAI and land cover (LC) products over the CONUS for a two-year period (2019-2021) to address the questions of if the underestimation of the MODIS LAI data for evergreen forest are due to deficiencies related to the misclassification of the input LC data or the LAI retrieval itself? Comparisons between GEDI plant area index (PAI) and MODIS LAI highlighted the MODIS retrieval deficiencies in evergreen forests, where the median GEDI PAI and MODIS LAI winter/summer ratios are 0.87 and 0.29 respectively. The sensitivity of LAI to snow cover is highest in evergreen forests where LC analyses also demonstrate the highest potential for misclassified pixels according to the International Geosphere Biosphere-Programme LC classification using GEDI canopy metrics. Corrections to wintertime LAI using the winter/summer PAI ratios are applied to tall forest LC types and showed the greatest improvements over evergreen needleleaf forest. Finally, a decision tree approach leveraging several GEDI canopy metrics showed potential to reclassify the MODIS-misclassified LC pixels and demonstrate the advantage of leveraging active spaceborne lidar measurements to improve passive remote sensing data. Following Mitchell et al. (2025b), corrections are made to MODIS LAI prescribed to the Community Land Model version 5 (CLM5.0) for evergreen trees in the third study, to investigate the impact of using LAI datasets improved by spaceborne lidar measurements on land modeling. The findings show promising results in the improvement of the representation of LAI for evergreen throughout the year. In boreal evergreen forest, changes to the LAI substantially impacted snowpack, evaporation, and runoff by shifting the seasonal cycles by a month. For tropical evergreen forest, the largest changes were seen in wet season partitioning of evaporation, but overall changes were relatively small . These studies highlight the need for continued improvement of the retrieval of hydrometeorological properties from spaceborne lidar and the importance of continuing future spaceborne lidar missions with new advancements in lidar technology.

As finite and social beings we depend on one another for survival, flourishing, and for the mundane forms of assistance that allow us to move through our days. Understanding the resulting “web of social interconnection” is an essential part of the care ethical project. In this dissertation, I critique previous attempts to theorize this “web”, offer a novel account of interpersonal dependence, and explore the nature of the dependence involved in caring and loving relationships.In Chapter 1, “Dependency Relations Are Not (Necessarily) Need-Meeting Relations,” I provide negative arguments against the way dependency has traditionally been theorized in care theory – namely, as a need-meeting relationship. In Chapter 2, “Depending on Others,” I offer a positive account of dependence itself. I analyze dependency as a relation in which someone normatively expects another person to perform work, and that second person countenances their expectations. I also address an obvious objection: what about the dependency of, for instance, newborn infants, who don’t appear capable of normatively expecting work of others? On a practice-based view of action, infants can expect insofar as they are meaningfully treated as participants in cross-cultural parenting practices. Chapter 3, “Love, Fairness, and Sharing a Life,” concerns how dependency work is distributed in loving partnerships. I precisify and challenge the idea that considerations of fairness are out of place in relations of love. I argue that love and fairness are integrated in the sense that partners who “share a life” are only able to perform particular “relationally participatory” acts (loving and expressing love) if their actions are sensitive to fairness. Chapter 4, “Rethinking Dependence and Care,” I reject Care Monism, the view that all idealized dependency relations are caring. Embracing Pluralism about dependency ideals allows us to explain the value of non-caring and non-intimate relations of “help”, and to grant disabled people greater control over the meaning of their relationships with personal assistants.

Antithrombin III (ATIII) is a protein which plays a critical role within the regulation of the coagulation cascade. When the concentration of ATIII is found to be insufficient, thrombotic conditions that are caused by hypercoagulability increase in its likelihood to occur. This can result in life-threatening events, such as myocardial infarction or stroke. Methods that are currently available in order to detect ATIII levels lack the ability to be portable and prompt. These inefficiencies result in the inability to effectively serve as a point-of-care (POC) test in urgent and critical settings. This thesis presents a novel method for detecting levels of ATIII through the use of a particle-based assay which is driven through a model involving capillary flow. The platform uses a microfluidic paper-based device (µPAD) in order to measure flow velocity profiling through the quantification of capillary flow alterations which are caused by the immunoagglutination of the antigen, ATIII and anti-ATIII antibody conjugated microparticles. A smartphone was used to take video recordings of the tested samples which traveled through the channels of the µPAD and in addition, cloud-based Google Colab was used to analyze the videos in order to automatically provide raw data tracking the fluid front of the sample as it moves down the channel. ATIII spiked concentrations of 0 ng/mL, 0.5 ng/mL, 1 ng/mL, 3 ng/mL, 6 ng/mL and 12 ng/mL were tested in PBS, 0.5% plasma and 0.1% plasma. In addition, 0 ng/mL, 0.5ng/mL and 1 ng/mL spiked concentrations were tested in 0.001% plasma. All the samples and their flow profiles were determined. Our definition of flow profile represented the flow velocity slope. The average flow velocity slope was found which allowed for a correlation to be seen between the degree of immunoagglutination of ATIII and anti-ATIII antibody conjugated microparticle as it caused alterations in interfacial tension and viscosity for each of the concentration tested. Samples that had a higher concentration of ATIII led to a higher profile of flow velocity slope. The gold standard immunoassay for ATIII quantification is the enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) which provided us with proper quantification of endogenous levels of ATIII in 0.001% plasma and this allowed for steps in the optimization of the assay. This assay does not require intensive training but rather, is affordable, portable, and also capable of rapidly detecting ATIII levels which make it appealing to use within the clinical setting. The work done in this thesis has proven logarithmic linear trends of increasing flow velocity in relation to increasing concentrations of ATIII, providing insight towards developing a foundation in future POC tests targeting ATIII and potentially other biomarkers.

Phase equilibria in a coherent binary alloy for the eutectic and peritectic systems are ana lyzed in this study to construct a theoretical model that will provide conditions for three-phase equilibrium in the presence of coherency stress between the solid phases. Our analysis employs simple quadratic functions for the Gibbs energy for individual phases, considering the solid phases to be temperature-independent. To facilitate an analytical solution, we used simplified assumptions about the system, explicitly considering an infinite volume occupied by three phases and the solid phases being isotropic and linearly elastic. We use a mathematical optimization method, Lagrange multiplier, to minimize the functions of Gibbs free energy subject to the constraints of volume fractions and phase compositions that satisfy the equilibrium conditions. This theoretical study demonstrates the effect of coherency stress on invariant points of phase diagrams, including a liquid leveraging the original Larche-Cahn formulation to evaluate the impact of coherency stress on eutectic and peritectic points in binary alloys. The common tangent construction is not applicable in the presence of strain energy between the solids, and the Gibbs phase rule no longer holds. Our findings demonstrated that coherency stress has distinct consequences on the eutectic and peritectic equilibria due to the difference in compositions between one solid and liquid phase and the difference in the melting points of the solid phases; therefore, instead of forming the three-phase region, usual to eutectic equilibria, a two-phase region with one solid and liquid becomes more dominant in the peritectic equilibria.

This dissertation investigates how culturally responsive pedagogical approaches implemented in introductory STEM courses shape the experiences, learning, and persistence of minoritized students in higher education. Drawing from a qualitative case study design, the research centers on three large introductory STEM courses—Biology, Chemistry, and Mathematics— taught by faculty who received training in culturally responsive teaching and curriculum design at a public research university.Guided by conceptual frameworks that bring together the comprehensive model of Culturally Responsive Pedagogy (CRP) and the Ecology of STEM Education framework, this study explores both classroom-level teaching practices and the broader sociocultural systems influencing STEM education. Data were collected from faculty and student interviews, classroom observations, and analysis of course materials and online learning environments. A comparative thematic analysis was used to examine how CRP was enacted and experienced across the courses. The findings revealed three central themes across the courses: (a) CRP is enacted through student-centered pedagogies that acknowledge and value students’ knowledge and lived experiences as co-constructors of learning; (b) pedagogies of care support students’ academic, social, and emotional well-being, creating inclusive spaces that affirm students’ identities; and (c) humanizing pedagogical practices challenge traditional norms in STEM, fostering belonging, empathy, and redefined notions of STEM success. Students reported that these culturally responsive STEM learning environments enhanced their engagement, sense of belonging, and motivation to persist in STEM, particularly among non-traditional students and those serving as Undergraduate Learning Assistants (ULAs), who often had shared experiences with current students. The study underscores that CRP is not merely a set of teaching strategies; it is a transformative model for disrupting exclusionary norms and reshaping the STEM ecosystem toward equity and inclusion. This research highlights that academic rigor and humanizing STEM teaching are not oppositional, and that science and culture are not incompatible. Persistence in STEM is not solely a matter of students working harder; it requires building ecosystems that support them, value their identities, and create spaces where they can thrive—not despite their backgrounds, but because of them. When such ecosystems are created, students do not merely persist; they lead, mentor others, and imagine new futures. Ultimately, this study contributes to broader discussions on systemic change in STEM education and offers practical implications for pedagogy, curriculum design, and institutional policy aimed at supporting historically minoritized students.

In Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, violence between criminal groups and state actors often erupts without warning, leaving teachers and students caught in the crossfire. In this qualitative study, I sought to understand the experiences of educators working in conflict zones located in North and South Zone favelas. This research analyzes the experiences of educators, the impact of armed conflict on their well-being and that of their students, and their pedagogical strategies in response to violence. Semi-structured interviews and participant observation at educational nonprofits in Rio de Janeiro highlighted several themes, including the unpredictability of violence, the favela as a war zone, self-sacrifice, trauma, the normalization of violence, and resilience. The educators described several coping strategies to manage the psychological toll of armed conflict and employed a range of strategies in their attempt to help students navigate their traumas. While Rio de Janeiro’s perpetual state of exception forces some educators to teach in unbearable conditions where violence is an ever-present threat, they still use the potentiality of the classroom as a way to navigate and reconstitute the possibility of hope for their students. In this sense, the classroom becomes a site of resistance. This thesis addresses a gap in the literature regarding the perspectives of educators in conflict zones and contributes to a broader understanding of how they exercise their agency in the classroom despite structural barriers and urban violence in Latin America.

A history of adversity has been linked to poor physical, mental, and emotional health outcomes across the lifespan. However, pathways linking adversity and health remain unclear and likely involve a complex interplay of biological, physiological, psychosocial, and behavioral factors shaped by individual, social, and societal influences. While adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) are well-established risk factors for sleep disturbances, the role of intergenerational trauma (IT) on sleep health remains underexplored. Sleep is a critical determinant of health and may serve as a pathway between adversity history and long-term health outcomes. Part I of this dissertation provides a comprehensive review of the relationships between ACEs, IT, sleep health, and broader health outcomes. This section also includes empirical studies (previously published and submitted for publication), including work examining social support as a protective factor. Part II presents the primary study of this dissertation, investigating the role of ACEs/IT in relation to cardiometabolic health among Hispanic adults of Mexican descent living at the US-Mexico border. This secondary data analysis uses validated questionnaires, and a novel assessment of IT developed for this study. Cardiometabolic health was assessed using Life’s Essential 8 (LE8), the American Heart Association’s revised framework incorporating sleep as a fundamental pillar of health. ACE score was significantly associated with LE8 Global Score in unadjusted models (B = -1.639, p = 0.024), and IT was marginally associated. Current stress was significantly associated with LE8 Sleep Score in ACE and IT separate and combined models, suggesting a potential indirect pathway linking trauma, sleep, and cardiometabolic health. Age and sex were also significant predictors of LE8 by some metrics. Secondary analyses explore the role of potential resiliency factors that may partially explain the Hispanic Health Paradox.

Rainfall variability in Sub-Saharan Africa creates significant production risks for subsistencefarmers who rely on rainfed agriculture. Weather shocks can alter farmers’ risk preferences, potentially influencing their decision to adopt adaptation strategies. We employ a moments- based approach (Antle, 1983, 1987) to estimate risk aversion among smallholder farmers in Ethiopia, Malawi, and Nigeria in response to weather shocks. Using this framework, we esti- mate Arrow-Pratt and downside risk coefficients across more than 200 model specifications, incorporating various rainfall and rainfall shock metrics derived from six remote sensing weather products. Our findings reveal that estimates of farmers’ risk preferences are highly sensitive to the choice of weather product, while risk preferences are relatively insensitive to different weather shocks. This underscores how data source and model specification choices critically shape risk preference estimates, highlighting key limitations in current empirical methods.