Graduate and Professional Student Association

Sample Abstracts


About this guide

Below are examples of abstracts for Oral and Poster presentations.

Poster Presentation Abstract

Degro, Atis. Optimization of Fluid Solvers With Respect to Fault Tolerance and Memory Latency

Constant advancement of computational systems lifts the theoretical boundaries of what is possible to achieve with numerical simulations. In order to fully utilize the capabilities of advanced computational resources, codes must be adapted accordingly. One major challenge that comes with petascale and exascale computing is fault tolerance. The larger the number of nodes used for code execution the lower the expected time between hardware failures. Based on available research data, several failures per day can occur when running massively parallel applications. Several fault tolerance enabling techniques have been analyzed and proposed in past years; however, currently there are no fault tolerant computational fluid dynamics (CFD) solvers that can efficiently execute an application at the Exascale or Petascale level. The aim of this PhD dissertation is to analyze and implement available resilience techniques to develop a fault-tolerant CFD solver.

Oral Presentation Abstract

Deray, Austin A. The Frat House: A Conception of a Meshing Space in a Single Place

The fraternity house is the inhabited primary space of a fraternity where social interactions are had, social pressures are felt, and social norms are followed. The house itself is where the chapter spends a large amount of their time. The laws and codes of both the (inter)national fraternity and the specific chapter will be not only passed down, but indoctrinated within its walls. Some will live within the space, the house representing a social, business, and domicile space. For others, the space will be a place of social and business interaction and visitation; a place where they go every day to have fun, but also a place to go once or twice a week to get business done. What becomes apparent is a lack of internal understanding of the space of the fraternity house. Scholars and researchers alike tend to incorporate the frat house into their analysis of fraternities; however, rarely, if ever, do they offer an analysis of the house itself. The problem with this practice is that the members’ understanding of their space is not articulated, let alone an actual interest of the examiner. This presentation is an attempt to reinstitute the fraternity members’ lived experience into the research of the frat house as a space. By looking at recent scholarship on fraternity houses, looking at spatial theories on researching space, and interviews from fraternities in the state of Georgia, a union of the issues scholar’s research are tied to the lived experience of fraternity members in their space and a complete study of the fraternity house is made. While relying on spatial theorists – Lefebvre, De Luna, and Barad – to form and inform the questions asked during the interview component of my mixed method ethnography, I have and will continue to interview and observe these collegiate social Greeks to gage their understanding on the issues at hand. Through interviews taken and ethnographic observation of both social gatherings and ritualistic meetings, the fraternity house as a hegemonic site of study illuminates the codes of supremacy of the fraternal order, silence, and homosocial panic. By observing collegiate interactions and interviewing members from four active pledge classes, the norms they live and the pressures that guide their life showcase the gender and culture codes that create not only the fraternal subculture, but also the aspects of hegemonic masculinity. This presentation does not represent a completed project, but is an attempt to share what has been gleaned thus far and get some feedback.

Keywords: Ethnography, spatial theory, masculinity theory, Higher Education, and intersectionality