A Novel Framework for Data-Driven Modeling, Uncertainty Quantification, and Deep Learning of Nuclear Reactor Simulations

Radaideh, Majdi ProQuest Dissertations & Theses University of Illi 2019 해외박사(DDOD)

This work presents a novel and modern method for reactor modeling, simulation, and uncertainty characterization through an integrated framework developed under the terminology of combining four fundamental principles in scientific modeling and computing: Physics, Models, Data, and UQ (Uncertainty Quantification). The framework houses various physical phenomena that occur inside nuclear reactors, such as neutronics, reactor kinetics, fuel depletion, thermal-hydraulics, and fuel performance as well as outside the reactor such as spent fuel and criticality safety. The framework utilizes various computer models in the nuclear area, which are already validated and known to provide accurate results. The framework is supported and validated by a wide range of experimental data from different single and multiphysics experiments, such as delayed neutron data, void fraction measurements, isotopic composition, nuclear data, and others. Many computational models to simulate the actual physical phenomena are developed under this framework, which vary in their complexity from a simple 2D pin-cell to a complex 3D lattice model with multiphysics coupling. Additionally, the framework is built based upon a wide range of mathematical and statistical methods featuring different areas such as sensitivity analysis, variance decomposition, dimensionality analysis and reduction, reduced order modeling, machine learning, data science, deep learning, Monte Carlo and deterministic uncertainty propagation, Bayesian statistics, correlation analysis, and data assimilation. All efforts in this thesis are expected to yield a better understanding of nuclear reactor simulations, which in turn can lead to improved performance, safety, and reduced costs for nuclear industry. Within this thesis, many frameworks, platforms, and models are developed to support the master framework. An integrated UQ approach is developed through the Bayesian framework, which handles various forms of uncertainty in scientific modeling such as parametric, experimental, predictive, interpolation, and model-form uncertainty. The methodology is useful to account for various uncertainty sources in nuclear computer models. This integrated UQ methodology can also be used for model selection of different physical models, through evaluating them against real data. The methodology is applied in this thesis to nuclear thermal-hydraulics and two-phase flow codes to quantify their predictive and model-form uncertainties. Data science methods are a core part of the framework. Machine learning methods are integrated to alleviate the computational burden of the complex simulations to construct cheap-to-evaluate reduced order or surrogate models. Modern deep learning methods form a major part of this thesis to analyze complex datasets resulting from the advanced simulations generated using the master framework. These machine and deep learning models are tested using real-world and benchmarked nuclear simulations with different underlying physics, from fundamental nuclear data to nuclear fuel performance. Data-driven models are constructed using simulation and experimental data to perform uncertainty propagation, surrogate modeling, model validation, and variance decomposition. Development of a new precursor-group kinetics framework is done to propagate the uncertainty into reactor kinetic parameters due to the fundamental nuclear and delayed neutron data. Coupling of single physics processes (e.g. neutronics, thermal-hydraulics, fuel performance) to form more realistic multiphysics simulations is also accomplished through FUSE platform. FUSE is verified through two test cases of two-way coupled neutronics-thermal-hydraulics and neutronics-fuel performance simulations. Spent fuel analysis and criticality safety frameworks are built as a validation object to assess the accuracy of the framework modeling approaches. The spent fuel composition discharged from the reactor core is assessed in the spent fuel cask to determine the overall system safety. A comprehensive application of the spent fuel framework on BWR spent fuel is carried out in this thesis. All the physics, data, methods, and frameworks are integrated into the master framework developed in this thesis. The major achievements of the framework developed to the nuclear area include: a set of kinetic parameters' values and uncertainties for light water reactor systems, advanced depletion models for accurate burnup credit of BWR, integrated assessment and advanced UQ of nuclear computer models, a platform for nuclear multiphysics simulations, and building deep learning models for high dimensional UQ purposes.Most of the methods and the frameworks developed here are extendable to other problems outside the nuclear area. The reader is strongly recommended to read the first chapter of this thesis as it will provide directions to efficiently access the whole document. The first chapter presents an executive summary of the work done over the whole thesis. This thesis is published in several peer-reviewed articles in premier conferences and journals specialized in nuclear engineering, system safety, uncertainty quantification, and energy resources. A summary of the framework developed in this thesis is published in Radaideh and Kozlowski (2019b).

Empowering Educators: Differentiated Instruction at the Organization Level

Roberts-Lieb, Solomon David ProQuest Dissertations & Theses University of Illi 2020 해외박사(DDOD)

Differentiated Instruction (DI) is the process where educators modify instruction to play to the students' strengths and learning preferences while meeting their individual needs rather than teaching all students in the same manner. DI allows the educator to change how they deliver content, what content is provided, the learning environment, and how students demonstrate their knowledge (Tomlinson, 2001). Unlike other publications, this dissertation's intent wasn't to create a guide on how to implement DI, as that has been well documented in the literature. Instead, the aim is to empower DI educators by creating an organization that supports and enables both the educators and the organization to succeed. In short, the goal of this dissertation is to answer the following question: How can education administrators support Differentiated Instruction educators through faculty development, incentives, and the use of new technology to improve students' success?To investigate this question, the author used two different literature search techniques. First, a substantial literature search on Differentiated Instruction teaching and organizational dynamics was conducted. This provided the evidence needed to validate the research question. The second literature review, an integrative review, was performed to determine specific areas where educators and administrators expressed frustration or a need for assistance (Frederiksen & Phelps, 2018; Whittemore & Knafl, 2005). Next, the author investigated Educative Curriculum Materials (ECM), designed to promote both teacher and student learning rather than traditional curriculum materials focused on student learning (Davis & Krajcik, 2005; Beyer & Davis, 2009). Davis and Krajcik's Design Heuristics for Educative Science Curriculum Materials are a common framework for designing ECMs (Davis & Krajcik, 2005). The author transformed these heuristics into the Guiding Principles for Empowering Educators.The output of this dissertation is a guide titled " Cutting Edge Differentiated Instruction Strategies for Administrators: Supporting Innovation at an Organizational Level," which not only provides a background of differentiated instruction, technology-enabled education, and organization dynamics it also offers high-level initiatives for administrators to empower their educators.This dissertation concludes by brainstorming future applications of this guide, including improvements, distribution, and creating measures of success for organizations to track their progress.

Multimodal Meaning Making and the Doctoral Dissertation – An Exploration of Academic Forms

Estima, Sonia ProQuest Dissertations & Theses University of Illi 2020 해외박사(DDOD)

This study investigates the inclusion and expansion of multimodal research in academic and dissertation writing, exploring how to overcome the challenges and obstacles encountered in the creation of multimodal doctoral dissertations in the field of education. The work starts by looking at multimodality in education in general – trying to understand what is multimodality and its application in the classroom. Next, I look more specifically at the literature related to the use of multimodality in academia and dissertation writing. The literature review reveals a lot of studies on the inclusion of multimodality in K-12 education, and a growing interest in the incorporation of multimodality in college composition classes. However, a gap exists with regards to multimodal scholarship and dissertation writing in particular. The number of successfully defended multimodal dissertations in the field of education is still quite limited and the obstacles preventing the production of multimodal academic work, will be discussed in the findings section of this study.The theoretical foundations of multimodality are explored, with the inclusion of key scholars and concepts that guide the field and drawing from Vygotsky's Sociocultural Theory of Cognitive Development and Freire's Critical Pedagogy. To gain a deeper understanding of the challenges and difficulties in producing a multimodal dissertation, a case study was conducted with four multimodal dissertations successfully defended in the last ten years in the humanities. Analysis of the interviews and additional university data were used to uncover the challenges and obstacles encountered by the study participants and help provide recommendations for future students who wish to produce a multimodal doctoral dissertation.This Dissertation can also be viewed at the website: https://www.soniaestima.com, where the reader can watch the embedded videos side-by-side with the text, without leaving the page.

Student Veterans' Career Services in Higher Education

Rhodes, Delmar ProQuest Dissertations & Theses University of Illi 2017 해외박사(DDOD)

This qualitative study investigated student veterans' awareness of, access to, and use of U.S. military veteran-centered career development resources, services, and programs that are necessary to enhance their transitional career development and preparedness while in higher education at a large public university. It is important to examine the available veteran-specific career services on campus as the student veteran encounters various career development challenges (e.g., employment resume creation) while transitioning from military service via a higher education institution toward civilian employment. This study addresses how student veterans (and university officials) identify and realize how such campus student veteran-centered resources, services, and programs help them to meet their career goals. My central research question is: How do student veterans in higher education become aware of and use available veteran career services or career preparation resources in helping them to meet their career goals? Relevant methodologies and designs, including concepts and constructs that have been studied or raised as influential elements on this topic in the current literature, are reviewed. Data has been collected from two focus group interviews involving six postsecondary student veterans, as well as demographic surveys and observational protocols, and two individual interviews with university officials involved in implementing veteran-specific career services on campus. In accordance with this study's findings, an inductive analysis using a coding scheme was used on the collected data to produce resulting themes that informed this study's units-of-analysis. This study assumed that participating student veterans identified some type of career development or preparedness barriers upon their university enrollment, and potentially planned to seek out the appropriate veteran career services on campus or related transitional employment services and supports. Additionally, this study assumed that participating university officials charged with the programing and delivery of veteran career services in higher education will have identified appropriate veteran-specific career services to provide to their student veterans. Finally, I discuss these assumptions in connecting the data I have collected and analyzed to inform my central research question by providing implications, recommendations, and a conclusion section, which speaks to implications for policy and recommendations for practice, as well as suggestions for future research. Awareness of veteran career services was found to be inadequate in terms of incoming student veterans not being identified by the university as student veterans for the purposes of outreach. Regarding accessing veteran career services, the majority of student veterans indicated they would use these services, had ideas of what types of services they needed, and preferred prior military service individuals to act as veteran career services providers. While university officials found it difficult to recruit student veterans and get adequate participation, those who took advantage of services reported satisfactory experiences. Finally, this institution did not have a university-wide system in place to track data for assessment purposes. Corresponding implications include identifying generic versions (dependent upon type of higher education institution) of fundamental and customized veteran career services to be accessed and used with outreach occurring prior to separation from military service; a need for formal processes of institutional identification and sharing of student veterans' contact information in order to provide outreach, to facilitate coordination among university veteran career services, and to obtain necessary evaluative feedback for services rendered; and having student veterans work with military veterans who serve as veteran career services providers when possible. Coupling the findings and implications together, the study offers a pathway Student Veteran Career Services Model to inform future research.

How University-based Poverty Research Centers Aim to Inform Antipoverty Policy and Practice

Mustafaa, Rafiqah Bashirah ProQuest Dissertations & Theses University of Illi 2017 해외박사(DDOD)

This dissertation describes the activities of two university-based poverty research centers in the United States---the Center for Research on Poverty in Society (CRPS), and the Regional Poverty Research Center (RPRC). Using a multiple case study approach, at each center, the study included document analysis; interviews with 5 individuals including the center director; and observations of relevant center activities. The primary question the study answered is: "how do university-based poverty research centers in the United States aim to inform antipoverty policy and practice"? While prior research has examined the relationship between social research and social policy, and though poverty research centers greatly shape our understanding of poverty causes, consequences, and solutions, my searches have not yielded a body of literature that examines such centers as important producers of policy-relevant research. This dissertation presents important findings on six aspects of the two centers' policy-relevant activities: 1) guiding rationale, 2) research characteristics, 3) research dissemination, 4) activities to train and support scholars, 5) activities to facilitate research-policy-practice partnerships, and 6) contextual factors shaping the centers' work. The study found that each center took a different approach to inform antipoverty policy and practice---CRPS is primarily concerned with developing an infrastructure for measuring poverty and inequality and RPRC is primarily concerned with bringing together people who have an interest in addressing social issues related to poverty and inequality. A range of contextual factors seemed to shape each center's work including institutional setting, sources of funding, societal conversations about poverty, and the background of individuals who play a role in shaping the center's work. This dissertation contributes to literature on the research-policy relationship by describing the work of two producers of poverty research. It also contributes to literature on university-based research centers by exploring centers in the social sciences. Finally, the study provides an up-to-date profile of poverty research conducted and supported by two important poverty research producers in the U.S..

Periodic Reverse Flow in Microchannel Evaporators

Li, Huize ProQuest Dissertations & Theses University of Illi 2017 해외박사(DDOD)

Periodic flow reversal which is associated with boiling instabilities is a very commonly seen phenomenon in small scale heat removal applications, for instance, microchannel heat sinks for cooling of electronics. Due to the industry's strict requirement for thermal stability, previous research on flow instabilities in microchannels has been largely focused on heat sinks for electronic cooling. There is a lack of understanding of the effect of flow reversal in microchannel heat exchangers, which are used in air conditioning and refrigeration applications. This thesis first presents the visualization of flow reversal in a microchannel as part of a realistic automotive evaporator. The flow regimes inside of the microchannel are recorded under both two phase feeding and liquid only feeding modes. In the two-phase feeding mode, churn, bubbly/slug, and annular flows occur alternatively, but the period of each flow regime is not constant. Flow reversal is only witnessed occasionally in the bubbly/slug flow regime. In the liquid feeding mode, only liquid and bubbly/slug flows are observed. Reverse flow occurs periodically. The duration of flow reversal is much shorter in the two-phase feeding mode than in the liquid feeding mode. Most likely it is due to higher upstream resistance caused by two-phase refrigerant feeding. After confirming the existence of flow reversal in microchannel heat exchangers which are used in air conditioning applications, this thesis presents a newly developed mechanistic model of bubble dynamics in a single microchannel, which demonstrates how flow reversal is generated. The comparison between high-speed visualization of in-channel flow regimes and simulation results shows that this model is capable of capturing the transient flow regime and slug velocity inside of a single microchannel and predicting flow reversal. The model quantitatively demonstrates the mechanism of flow reversal. Within one periodic cycle, the evolution of flow regime, pressure distribution along channel length and mass flux at tube inlet are well correlated with each other. The local pressure peak caused by the build-up of downstream flow resistance can cause a positive pressure gradient, which induces flow reversal. In the third part of the thesis, the effects of channel geometries on flow reversal are presented. Multiple evaporators with different geometries are tested using R134a as the refrigerant. In each evaporator, the reversed vapor flow is vented out of the inlet header and the flow rate is measured. It has been found experimentally that under the same heat flux, superheat and channel length, the microchannel evaporator with smaller diameter generates more reversed vapor flow at a higher frequency. A simulation generated by the aforementioned mechanistic model under the same condition demonstrates that smaller diameter creates more rapid growth of vapor slugs and allocates more flow resistance to the downstream section. As a result, the incoming flow is quickly decelerated and the positive pressure gradient ends up covering larger upstream areas, all of which leads to more vapor flow reversal at a higher frequency. Experiments also show that the microchannel evaporator with longer tubes produces less reversed vapor flow at a lower frequency, but flow reversal is less sensitive to channel length than to channel diameter. In the fourth part of the thesis, the effects of refrigerant thermophysical properties on flow reversal are presented. Four refrigerants (R134a, R1234yf, R245fa and R32) are tested in the same system. Heat flux and superheat are maintained the same. It has been found experimentally that R245fa which has similar heat of vaporization with R134a but much larger specific volume difference between vapor and liquid phase generates more reversed vapor flow volumetrically than R134a. A simulation generated by the aforementioned mechanistic model under the same conditions demonstrates that a larger specific volume difference generates more drastic growth of vapor slugs and concentrates more flow resistance to the downstream. As a result, more vapor flow reversal is generated at a higher frequency. In the last part of this thesis, the effects of boiling instabilities on heat transfer performance of a microchannel heat exchanger are investigated. In the same facility as introduced in the first part of the thesis, two heat exchangers with identical heat transfer areas are employed. One of them is equipped with an artificial inlet restriction. The two heat exchangers are operated under identical conditions. The heat exchanger without artificial flow resistance is subject to more severe boiling instability and consequently generates four times more reverse vapor flow than the other one. The comparison of capacities under identical operating conditions reveals that more reverse flow helps to improve cooling capacity by up to 13.3%. (Abstract shortened by ProQuest.).

Escape to the Interior: Characterization of the Cytosolic Delivery of C-Terminal Cargo Subdomains by the N-Terminus of Pasteurella multocida Toxin and Subsequent Toxin-Mediated Downregulation of Gαq-PLCβ1 Signaling Through Depletion of Gαq from the Plasma Membrane

Clemons, Nathan Cortelius ProQuest Dissertations & Theses University of Illi 2018 해외박사(DDOD)

The bacterium Pasteurella multocida is a gram-negative, non-spore- forming, capsulated coccobacillus that lives an aerobic to facultative anaerobic lifestyle. P. multocida is a zoonotic pathogen that causes a myriad of diseases, including atrophic rhinitis, pasteurellosis, and dermonecrosis in a wide gamut of different host types. A major virulence factor produced by serotype D and some serotype A strains of P. multocida is P. multocida toxin (PMT), a 146-kDa modular protein deamidase that enters host cells via receptor-mediated endocytosis and manipulates intracellular signaling by constitutively activating the a-subunit of heterotrimeric G-proteins. This dissertation will focus primarily on two major unanswered questions regarding PMT and its action on host cells. First major question: During translocation of PMT from late endosomes into the cytosol of host cells, does the N-terminus of PMT (PMT-N) deliver its C-terminal cargo as an intact moiety, or as separate functional subdomains? Second major question: During cellular intoxication, by what molecular mechanism does PMT uncouple and subsequently downregulate G-protein-coupled receptor- heterotrimeric Gαq-protein phospholipase C-β1 (GPCR-Gαq-PLCβ1) signaling? These two questions are the basis for the generated hypotheses tested, experimental approaches taken, and sub-questions developed in this thesis. Here, I present data that contribute to answering these two major questions regarding delivery of C-terminal cargo by PMT-N into the host cytosol and its subsequent downregulation of Gαq-protein signaling in intoxicated cells.To address the first question, we hypothesized that PMT-N delivers the C- terminal cargo into the cytosol of host cells as an intact polypeptide comprised of amino acid residues 569-1285. Previous studies have shown that PMT-N facilitates host cell entry and cytosolic delivery of the C-terminal catalytic cargo from late endocytic vesicles. The putative cargo of PMT is a 78-kDa polypeptide of three discrete modular subdomains C1-C2-C3, for which there is a crystal structure available. Subdomain C1 harbors the membrane localization domain (MLD); C2 has an unknown function; and C3 contains the enzymatic deamidase activity that converts an active-site glutamine residue into glutamic acid in specific Gα-proteins. What is not clearly understood is whether the three C- terminal cargo subdomains are delivered intact or undergo proteolytic cleavage between each discrete subdomain once translocated into the cytosol from late endosomes. In this dissertation, I present evidence that demonstrates that PMT- N mediates the cytosolic delivery of its C-terminal cargo as a single-chain polypeptide, corresponding to C1-C2-C3 with the MLD. Additionally, the delivered cargo showed no indication of being cleaved between subdomains. I present evidence that shows that PMT-N can deliver C1-C2 alone, as well as C1-C2 and a truncated C3, which is in line with our previous work that PMT-N can deliver non-native cargo into the cytosol of host cells. This further supports the notion that receptor-binding and translocation modules are encompassed within PMT-N. Furthermore, I show that C1-C2 may facilitate the cytosolic delivery of the catalytic C3 subdomain in coordination with PMT-N. In addition, I present data that refines the minimum C3 domain required for intracellular signaling activity as containing residues 1105-1278.To address the second question, we hypothesized that PMT uncouples and downregulates GPCR-Gαq-PLCβ1 signaling by inducing, subsequent to activation, the redistribution and removal of Gαq subunits from the host plasma membrane. Previous studies have demonstrated that once inside the host cytosol, the initial activation of Gαq-PLCβ1 signaling by PMT is subsequently followed by an uncoupling between of the GPCR and the a subunit of the Gαq protein, causing a significant decrease in downstream calcium and mitogenic signaling. What is not fully understood is the mechanism by which this uncoupling occurs. Preliminary studies in our laboratory indicated that Gαq/11, but neither Gαs nor Gβ were redistributed in the plasma membrane. Due to their high homology, it had not been discerned whether both Gαq and Gα11 or if only one of them is being redistributed and depleted from plasma membranes. In this thesis, I present data that PMT decreases over-expressed Gαq proteins in host plasma membranes and in detergent resistant membrane (DRM) fractions. I show that this membrane depletion of Gαq protein, but not Gα11, was dependent on PMT catalytic activity. The results from this study also indicate that in PMT-treated cells, Gαq is redistributed within the host cell plasma membrane, as evidenced in subcellular fractionation experiments where by Gαq moved from DRM fractions into more soluble membrane and cytosolic fractions. Conversely, PMT did not appear to change the levels of Gα11 levels, although Gα11 has been shown to be a deamidation substrate for PMT. This strongly suggests that membrane depletion of Gα protein may be specific to certain Gα-proteins.The findings from these two studies reinforce that PMT-N serves as the cytosolic delivery vehicle for C-terminal cargo and demonstrate that its native cargo subdomains are delivered intact as C1-C2-C3 including the MLD. The findings in this study offer insights into the determinants that define the delivered cargo subdomains and the intrinsic nature of the cargo subdomains required for delivery, which furthers our understanding of the cytosolic cargo delivery process and may be applicable to other related A-B type toxins. Additionally, these findings show that PMT treatment induces the depletion of Gαq protein from the plasma membrane as a mechanism of downregulating GPCR-Gαq-PLCβ1 signaling, which may be a phenomenon that applies to other heterotrimeric Gα- protein targets of PMT and other protein toxins that target Gα-proteins; thereby offering insights to the intoxication effects of PMT and related toxins in various cells types.Taken together both sets of findings have broader implications on how we understand the structural packaging and functioning of A-B type protein toxins; both in terms of their endosome-to-cytosol translocation and use as vehicles to deliver exogenous cytosolic cargos into host cells. These findings also offer insights on the inherent dual functions of toxins to affect signaling and alter cell fate to promote infection by their cognate organisms. Exogenous cargo delivery by different A-B type toxins opens doors for their potential use as pharmacological tools to deliver powerful novel therapeutics into unhealthy cells as a way of treating or curing human illnesses. Understanding and defining the signaling dynamics and intracellular activity modulation of the activity cargos of these A-B toxins gives way for their potential use as the novel toxin-based cytosolic therapeutics, especially in cases where specific abnormal cell types may require targeted killing or inhibition of proliferation. In any case, such work as presented in this thesis may provide the information necessary to help fellow research scientists and physicians obtain the molecular tools needed to have a positive impact on human health.

Genetic Studies in the Genus Melilotus

Hartwig, Edgar Emerson ProQuest Dissertations & Theses University of Illi 1941 해외박사(DDOD)

Although sweet clover is one of the most widely grown legumes in the corn belt states for soil improvement and pasture purposes, yet the elimination of certain undesirable features would enhance its value as a forage crop. Many strains now grown are early maturing and do not properly fit into a well balanced pasture program. Late maturity, disease resistance, increased palatability, and ability to produce a seed crop are characteristics essential toward making sweet clover a forage crop well adapted to the more humid section of the corn belt. (Shortened by ProQuest.).

The Absorption of Proteins by Clay Minerals and the Properties of the Resulting Complexes

Ensminger, Leonard Elroy ProQuest Dissertations & Theses University of Illi 1941 해외박사(DDOD)

Soil organic matter has long been considered a very important constituent of soils. Since the nature and abundance of organic ratter greatly influence the chemical, physical, and biological properties of soils, the relationship existing between the organic and inorganic fraction of soils deserves further study. The fact that organic substances have a tendency to react with inorganic clays is not new, but the exact mechanism of the reaction and the properties of the resulting complexes have not been fully studied. Much of the beneficial effect of organic matter is probably due to its tendency to combine with the inorganic fraction of the soil. Several investigators have observed that humic substances were more strongly absorbed by clay in an acid medium which may be explained on the basis of the amphoteric nature of the humic substances. (Shortened by ProQuest.).

Building a Diverse Health Professions Workforce?: Changes in Enrollment and Completion Among Underserved Populations in Grant Supported Health Professions Pathways

Fox, Heather L ProQuest Dissertations & Theses University of Illi 2016 해외박사(DDOD)

This study examined one case of a federal human capital investment in health professions education for evidence of a changes in educational equity for underserved student subgroups. Specifically, this study compared enrollment and educational outcomes of students in health professions programs of study in a consortium of community colleges before and after they received a $19.6 million Trade Adjustment Assistance Community College and Career Training (TAACCCT) grant. This was done by comparing characteristics of a sample of students were enrolled at H2P colleges prior to receiving TAACCCT funding with a sample of students who were enrolled at H2P colleges in TAACCCT-funded programs of study. The first sample, referred to as the comparison sample, consisted of 8,673 students who enrolled in health professions programs of study in 2008 or 2009 at H2P colleges. The second sample, referred to as the participant sample consisted of 4,693 students who enrolled in TAACCCT-funded programs of study in 2012. Both samples were drawn from eight of the nine H2P colleges. The ninth college was excluded from the study because a comparison sample was not available. The study compares the demographics of students in the two samples, as well as their retention and awarded credentials over a three year period (2008--2010, 2009--2011 and 2012--2014). Underserved populations in health professions programs of study included in this study were: a) Latino students, b) Black students, c) low-income students who were eligible for Pell grants, d) male students, e) students who were 25 years of age or older, and f) students who completed developmental education coursework. This study addresses the following research question: Were there changes in educational equity for underserved subgroups of students who participated in TAACCCT-funded health professions programs of study at H2P colleges? a. What changes were there in the proportion of underserved students who enrolled in health professions programs of study prior to and after receiving TAACCCT funding? b. What changes were there in the educational outcomes of underserved subgroups of students enrolled in health professions programs of study prior to and after receiving TAACCCT funding?. This study utilized two sources of secondary data. The first data source utilized in this study were data gathered by the OCCRL for their third party evaluation of H2P. The OCCRL data included a database of student record data on student demographics, course history, and credentials awarded by the college. Most of the data required for this study were part of this student record database. OCCRL collected data on the health professions programs of study at each H2P college, including those not impacted by TAACCCT funding. This data was used in assigning program length. The second data source utilized in this study are disaggregated enrollment data reported by H2P colleges in their IPEDS 12-Month Enrollment reports. IPEDS data was used in the analysis of enrollment at H2P colleges using Bensimon et al.'s (2003) Equity Index and chi-square analysis, for the following subgroups: a) Latino students, b) Black students, and c) male students. There were three stages of data analysis used in this study. The first stage was an examination of the enrollment of the two samples in comparison to the populations served at each H2P college. Bensimon et al's (2003) Equity Index was used to calculate the proportion of Latino, Black, and male students in each sample as compared to the college-wide enrollment at the college and consortium level. The second stage of analysis used both Equity Indexes and goodness-of-fit chi-square analysis to compare the composition of the two samples. In this stage Equity Indexes were used to compare the proportion of the Latino, Black, and male students in the two samples. Chi-square analysis were used to compare the composition of each of the students in each of the subgroups featured in this study including: a) Latino students, b) Black students, c) students who were eligible for Pell grants, d) male students, e) students who were 25 years of age or older, and f) students who completed developmental education coursework. The final stage of analysis used logistic regression to analyze the likelihood of students in each underserved subgroup being retained or completing their program of study. The outcomes examined for each subgroup in the study were: a) retained without a credential, b) awarded one or more certificates, c) awarded one or more associate's degrees, and d) awarded one or more credentials. A logistic regression analysis was run for each sample, for each outcomes, that analysis the relative likelihood of each subgroup reaching the outcome. This analysis was done at the consortium level using a fixed-effect technique to account for the variance among colleges. (Abstract shortened by ProQuest.).