• Physics-based detection of cyber-attacks in manufacturing systems: A machining case study

  Rahman, Md Habibor; Shafae, Mohammed; Department of Systems and Industrial Engineering, University of Arizona (Elsevier BV, 2022-04)

  The overlap between operational technologies and information technology has resulted in profound improvements in the manufacturing ecosystem, but it increases the risk of a non-conventional class of cyber-attacks capable of inflicting physical damages on manufacturing processes and/or products. If successful in penetrating traditional cyber-only defenses, such attacks may not be detected timely, leading to financial losses, and potentially endangering human safety. However, malicious alterations of products and/or processes intended by these attacks can be manifested as anomalous changes in process dynamics. Hence, monitoring physical process variables such as vibration and power consumption (known as side-channels in cybersecurity literature) can provide a physical-domain defense layer to detect such attacks. Focusing on product-oriented attacks, we propose a method to connect the product design, process design, and in situ monitoring to identify the physical manifestations of these attacks. The proposed approach can verify the geometric integrity of a machined part by observing cutting power signals during machining. We utilize the process and product knowledge to segment the power signal into the cutting cycles corresponding to specific geometrical features and extract process-related information accordingly. This work primarily focuses on extracting machining times for individual geometric features in parts. Next, we use the extracted information to construct quality control charts to use in detecting geometric integrity deviations of machined parts. Finally, we demonstrate our proposed method using a case study of cyber-physical attacks on machining processes aiming to tamper with different product's dimensional and geometrical features.
• 

  Serum per‐ and polyfluoroalkyl substance concentrations in four municipal US fire departments

  Burgess, Jefferey L.; Fisher, Julia M.; Nematollahi, Amy; Jung, Alesia M.; Calkins, Miriam M.; Graber, Judith M.; Grant, Casey C.; Beitel, Shawn C.; Littau, Sally R.; Gulotta, John J.; et al. (Wiley, 2022-07-21)

  Background: Firefighters have occupational and environmental exposures to per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS). The goal of this study was to compare serum PFAS concentrations across multiple United States fire departments to National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) participants. Methods: Nine serum PFAS were compared in 290 firefighters from four municipal fire departments (coded A–D) and three NHANES participants matched to each firefighter on sex, ethnicity, age, and PFAS collection year. Only Departments A and C had sufficient women study participants (25 and six, respectively) to compare with NHANES. Results: In male firefighters compared with NHANES, geometric mean perfluorohexane sulfonate (PFHxS) was elevated in Departments A–C, sum of branched perfluoromethylheptane sulfonate isomers (Sm-PFOS) was elevated in all four departments, linear perfluorooctane sulfonate (n-PFOS) was elevated in Departments B and C, linear perfluorooctanoate (n-PFOA) was elevated in Departments B–D, and perfluorononanoate (PFNA) was elevated in Departments B–D, but lower in A. In male firefighters compared with NHANES, perfluoroundecanoate (PFUnDA) was more frequently detected in Departments B and D, and 2-(N-methyl-perfluorooctane sulfonamido) acetate (MeFOSAA) was less frequently detected in Departments B–D. In female firefighters compared with NHANES, PFHxS and Sm-PFOS concentrations were elevated in Departments A and C. Other PFAS concentrations were elevated and/or reduced in only one department or not significantly different from NHANES in any department. Conclusions: Serum PFHxS, Sm-PFOS, n-PFOS, n-PFOA, and PFNA concentrations were increased in at least two of four fire departments in comparison to NHANES.
• 

  Land Suitability Analysis of the Fredericksburg Viticulture Area in the Texas Hill Country

  Sánchez-Trigueros, Fernando; Teet, Stacy (The University of Arizona., 2022)

  In the last 50 years, commercial vineyards in Texas have increased to more than five hundred. Wine production has tripled since 2012, making Texas the fifth largest wine producer in the United States. Like California’s Napa Valley, the Texas Hill Country is ripe for agritourism and wine cultivation bringing millions of visitors and billions of dollars to the state annually. Vineyards continue to increase, but most new owners lack agricultural experience. Due to its unique climate and lack of historical data, Texas growers and winemakers are still determining the best use of terrain while navigating harsh weather and regional hazards. Proper site selection is crucial. Spatial analysis of climate, soil and terrain characteristics was used to determine variables with the most impact on land suitability in the Fredericksburg viticulture region of the Texas Hill Country. Geospatial software was used to create a weighted overlay model of potential variables. Surface analysis found aspect, slope, solar radiation, flood frequency, drainage class, current land usage and available water storage to be statistically significant to this study. Potential areas were ranked on a scale of one to five, with one being permanently unsuitable and five being highly suitable for viticulture. Results found 594 acres or 27% to be highly suitable, 1,158 acres or 53% to be moderately suitable, and 430 acres or 20% not suitable for viticulture. Results of this study could help growers select prime areas for viticulture, but site-specific climate, environmental, and varietal specific factors should also be taken into consideration.
• 

  Crafting the Internship: An Empathy-Driven Approach

  Blakiston, Rebecca; University of Arizona Libraries, University of Arizona (Association of College & Research Libraries, 2022)

  At their core, internships are for student learning and career preparation. Students aim to get hands-on experience in a professional environment, building specific competencies and skills and deepening their understanding of a particular field and potential career path after graduation. At the University of Arizona, students are encouraged and often required to complete real-world experiences as part of their degree programs. The 100% Engagement initiative, an outcome of the university’s strategic plan in 2013, called for “100 percent of our students to have the opportunity to engage in integrating and applying their knowledge through real-world experiential learning.” 1 In response to this initiative, the School of Information added an internship requirement for its master’s in library and information science degree in 2015.2 The school has approximately two hundred students in its program, with the majority being distant students who are seeking local or remote opportunities. Even students who aren’t required to complete an internship as part of their program often seek one out as a way to supplement course instruction and strengthen their qualifications and future job prospects. 184 Chapter 11 Most graduate-level internships hosted at the University of Arizona Libraries are designed as structured learning experiences, so they are unpaid and compensated through academic credit. The time and effort required for a student to complete an internship is equivalent to a three-credit course, which is nine hours per week during a regular (fall or spring) semester. Departments across the library host interns regularly, including Student Learning and Engagement, Research Engagement, the Health Sciences Library, and the University of Arizona Press. The majority of library interns are graduate students seeking master’s degrees from the School of Information, though interns have come from a range of disciplines and have also included high school students, undergraduate students, and PhD students. Some of our library internships are publicly posted, competitive positions, whereas others are individually tailored to specific students. This book chapter focuses on those tailored experiences.
• 

  Using Earth Observations to Map the Spatial Distribution of Buffelgrass in the Sonoran Desert

  Lukinbeal, Chris; Olsson, Aaryn; Batres, Victor (The University of Arizona., 2022)

  The Sonoran Desert is recognized as an arid ecosystem with a year-round warm climate and biodiverse desert flora. The desert spans across the southwestern United States and northwestern Mexico. Much of the native flora, like the saguaro cactus (Carnegiea gigantea), are important members of the Sonoran Desert for native wildlife and human society. Currently, the ecosystem is being threatened by the rapid spread of an invasive grass species known as buffelgrass (Cenchrus ciliaris), as it is changing the desert landscape to a grassland and contributes to more flammable fuel of surging wildfires. This project, in partnership with the Tucson Sonoran Desert Museum’s “Save our Saguaros” initiative, utilized satellite imagery of Tumamoc Hill and Sentinel Peak from Google Earth to develop and assess an optimal workflow marking the spatial distribution of buffelgrass via manual mapping. This would aid in early detection and rapid response management not only within the study area but other areas of the Sonoran Desert. Geographic Information System (GIS) analysts worked with a predetermined buffelgrass identification key to manually plot growth sites of the species across the study site. Satellite Imagery from 2016-2020 was found to provide the best visual reference for historical buffelgrass growth and through remote mapping and ground truthing a significant accuracy level was achieved.

View more