College of Science and Engineering Projects and Theses
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Item Microsoft Kinect based real-time segmentation and recognition for human activity learning(2017-12-05) Kadiwal, Sanobar; Lu, Jiang; Koc, Hakduran; Sha, KeweiLower body pain and injury have become common in this technical world, especially in elderly people. It is quite difficult to recover from these injuries leading to problems in performing daily routine activities like walking, running, sitting etc. Although there are many activity recognition models present today, there has been relatively little multiple activities recognition study of lower limbs. Most of the previous researchers focused on single activity recognition using various machine learning algorithms. Researchers have evolved with the learning of gait using different methods and techniques for upper and lower body using the sensors and different camera systems. This research has two main sections, one is for segmenting the motion and another is recognizing those movements. In this research, multiple activities were performed by the patients in a random manner without stopping and these activities were recognized in different groups stating the performed activity if the part of the multiple activities is walking or running or leg raising activity. The first goal of this dissertation is to plot the human gaits as a skeleton using MATLAB with a camera sensor second goal is to segment those derived gaits using the on-line aligned cluster analysis and dynamic time alignment kernel method and the last goal is to recognize the segmented gaits using the support vector machine algorithm. This is done by tracking and learning the person’s lower limb data points and finding the exact action performed by a dynamic time alignment Kernel method for segmentation and comparison of different algorithms like Support Vector Machine, K-Nearest neighbors for recognition. The experimental results collected in this research show that the Support Vector Machine performs higher recognition accuracy.Item Human motion modeling and evaluation using wearable sensor devices(2017-12-05) Kelagote, Nitish Nagendrappa; Lu, Jiang; Sha, Kewei; Unwala, IshaqWearable sensors devices are getting integrated into our daily life. Giving precise and accurate data on individual's exercises and practices are one of the most important tasks in extensive computing. These sensor devices provide a range of applications for development like entertainment, medical, security and tactical scenarios. Even though current research provides a variety of techniques for recognizing gesture movement, there are still key aspects that need to be addressed for recognizing human activities. In this research, we propose a technique that has not only provide a gesture movement recognition but also calculate the accuracy percentage with which the patient or subject is going to do the gesture movement with respect to the accurate model. In this process, we first receive the raw sensor data that are subjected to the preprocessing and feature extraction techniques prior sending these data to calculate the accuracy percentage. The final data that are obtained by passing through activity detection algorithm and accuracy calculation technique is then transferred to the cloud, where physiotherapist or specialist will analyze these data and provide the required feedback to the patient or subject.Item Identification of culturable bacteria isolated from sponges affected in the 2016 massive die-off at the Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary (FGBNMS)(2017-12-06) Pandya, Dhatri Amitkumar; Santiago-Vázquez, Lory; Ariza, Martha; LaMontagne, MichaelThis project was conducted to identify culturable bacteria isolated from sponges affected in the 2016 massive die-off at the Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary (FGBNMS). The FGBNMS was considered a healthy reef system until sport divers reported on July 25th 2016 green, hazy water with huge patches of white mats on corals, sponges, other vertebrates and dead animals littering the bottom of East Flower Garden Bank. To help elucidate the root cause of this event, affected and unaffected sponge samples of Agelas clathrodes and Xestospongia muta sponges from East bank were examined for their associated microbial communities using culture-dependent methods. MALDI – TOF – MS and 16S rDNA sequencing were used to identify representative isolates. MALDI – TOF – MS and 16S rDNA sequencing analysis showed the presence of Bacillus firmus, Pseudovibrio spp., Halanaerobium spp., Microbulbifer variabilis, and Microbulbifer spp. in unaffected samples. Bacillus firmus could help sponges by nitrogen fixation and producing secondary metabolites that protects sponges from predators and Halanaerobium sehlinense is fermentative bacteria. The role of Halanaerobium sehlinense in sponges is not yet clear. Affected samples showed the presence of Vibrio spp. and Halanaerobium sehlinense. Vibrio spp. which occurs naturally in sea water as opportunistic pathogenic bacteria exhibits stronger proteolytic (caseinase), phospholipase and hemolytic activities. These potential pathogens may have contributed into massive die-off at East bank of FGBNMS.Item Deep Convolutional Neural Network for Facial Expression(2017-12-07) Nwosu, Lucy; Lu, Jiang; Unwala, Ishaq; Yang, XiaokunThis research designs a Facial Expression Recognition (FER) system based on the deep convolutional neural network using facial parts. An FER is one of the most important nonverbal channels through which Human Machine Interaction (HMI) systems can recognize humans’ internal emotions and intent. It is a type of biometric authentication that focuses on uniquely recognizing human facial appearance based on one or more physical or behavioral traits and inside emotions portrayed on one’s face. Facial expression recognition has attracted considerable attention because of its use in numerous fields such as behavioral science, education, entertainment, medicine, and securitysurveillance. Although humans recognizefacial expressions virtuallywithout effort, reliable expression recognition by machine is still a challenge. Recently, several works on FER successfully uses Convolutional Neural Networks (CNNs) for feature extraction and classification. A CNN is a type of deep neural network that works on data representations such that the input is decomposed into features and each deeper layer has a more complex representation which builds upon the previous layer. The final feature representations are then used for classification. The proposed method uses a two-channel convolutional neural network in which Facial Parts (FPs) are used as input to the first convolutional layer. The extracted eyes are used as input to the first channel while the mouth is the input into the second channel. Information from both channels converges in a fully connected layer which is used to learn global information from these local features and is then used for classification. Experiments are carried out on the Japanese Female Facial Expression (JAFFE) and the Extended Cohn-Kanada (CK+) datasets to determine the recognition accuracy for the proposed FER system. The results achieved shows that the system provides improved classification accuracy when compared to other methods.Item The Effect of Electromagnetic Fields on the Interaction Between Antibiotics and Bacteria(2017-12-18) Albalawi, Abdullah Suwilem; Masood, Samina S; Rashid, Mohammad Bazlur; Mishra, SarojThe effect of electromagnetic fields on the interaction between the antibiotics erythromycin and bacterial species Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) and Escherichia coli (E. coli) are determined by its influence on the growth rate of bacterium. Previous studies have shown the electromagnetic field effects were on effectivity of erythromycin on E. coli. Erythromycin has been studied in detail previously. Experimental samples of E. coli and S. aureus were prepared in varying environments of magnetic field. Measurements of optical density were done to determine the growth rates and behavior of bacteria after its exposure to the magnetic field. Experiment data sets were used to visualize the response of bacteria to antibiotics in different concentrations. It has been shown clearly that the perturbative effect of the magnetic field reduce the growth rate significantly for lower concentrations of antibiotics. For higher concentration of 200 microgram/milliliter the low magnetic field effect is totally suppressed.Item Assessment of shorebirds and wading birds in Galveston Bay using conventional and UAV techniques(2018-05-02) Vallery, Anna Claire; Guillen, George; Mokrech, Marc; Howard, CynthiaNearly 75% of all U.S. bird species utilize Galveston Bay as either a permanent or seasonal habitat (Galveston Bay Foundation, 1996). Critical coastal bird habitat, including Galveston Bay, is at risk from continued loss due to various factors, including anthropogenic influences (Atkinson, 2003). One of the first steps in conserving and protecting this habitat is to understand the relationship among coastal bird population sizes, density and various intertidal habitats by establishing effective monitoring programs. Collecting data on intertidal and non-tidal habitat use by waterbirds using traditional survey methods can be difficult, though. New emerging technology in the form of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV) may, however, facilitate large-scale aerial surveys of these areas with less risk, expense, effort, and disturbance (McEvoy et al., 2016). Waterbodies such as Bastrop Bayou and Bastrop Bay provide the ideal setting to test UAV technology for population surveys and habitat selection by wading birds. Conventional boat surveys were conducted in Bastrop Bay bi-monthly from August 2016 to July 2017. These surveys collected base-line information on species abundance and composition for the Bastrop Bay system. Water level was observed to affect which species were observed. Substrate was found to direct patterns of species diversity and abundance more than seasonality for shorebird and wading birds in Bastrop Bay. Two UAVs were used to survey areas around Bastrop Bay as well. The fixed-wing UAV was found to cause more disturbance than the quadcopter UAV. The footage collected with the quadcopter was provided images of more birds than were observed during the concurrent field surveys. Of these birds, 11 of 15 species were able to be identified using the footage. The fixed-wing footage, however, only provided enough detail to identify three species. Though the results collected using the UAVs during this study are promising, further research needs to be conducted to continue to outline standard operating procedures for using UAV technology for surveying shorebirds and wading birds in intertidal habitats.Item Mutation testing using time-shift operator(2018-05-02) Parimi, Hari Krishna; Unwala, Ishaq; Harman, Thomas; Koc, HakduranFunctional verification plays a critical role in ensuring that a digital integrated circuit (IC) meets the design specification. Dynamic verification uses a large number of test vectors. To analyze and improve the quality of these test vectors, the technique of mutation testing is used. In mutation testing the design is mutated with a known fault. To verify the quality of the test vectors the mutated design is retested with test vectors. Current mutation operators include arithmetic, logical, or relational operators. These operators mutate functional portion of the design. However, a significant number of design faults are related to signal timing. To mutate the design for signal timing, this research introduces a new operator, time-shift operator. Time-shift operator allows mutation of the signal timing, which allows an improvement in the quality of test vectors. In this research, it is shown that time-shift operator can be used in combination and sequential designs. This research also shows that the time-shift operator can be utilized in both behavioral and gate-level designs. The results of 9 different designs are presented covering all the cases of combination, sequential, behavioral and get-level designs.Item Biology of the perforate dome snail, Ventridens Demissus (Gastropoda: Zonitidae) from Seabrook, Texas(2018-05-07) Medellin, Adrian; Minton, Russell; Howard, Cynthia; Harris, PhillipThe perforate dome snail (Ventridens demissus) is a terrestrial gastropod in the Zonitidae family. In this study I observed morphological variance, shell strength, reproductive behavior, egg size, hatchling growth, microbial gut content and species distribution of V. demissus. Shell height, width, and distance from aperture to callus were measured using a digital caliper. Whorl count was measured visually under a dissecting microscope. Shell strength was observed by placing shells between two metal plates and applying force in 0.1N increments until shell failure. Reproductive behavior was observed visually. Egg width was measured using digital calipers. Hatchling growth was measured by shell width using digital calipers every week. DNA extraction and NGS were used to examine microbial gut content. GEOLocate and DIVA-GIS software were used to create a point distribution map from museum records. Shell measurements were 5.66 mm ± 0.69 mm height, 8.19 mm ±0.71 mm width, 5.0 ± 0.5 whorls, and 1.94 mm ± 1.27 mm aperture to callus. Shell width was significantly positively correlated with shell height (R2 = 0.73, p<0.05) and whorl count (R2 = 0.18, p<0.05). Shell width was not significantly correlated with lamellar callus distance (p=0.53). Mean shell crushing strength was 4.6 N ± 2.5 N. Shell strength was not significantly correlated with shell width (p=0.32). I observed face-to-face simultaneous mating behavior in one couple. Average egg width (n=321) was 1.53 mm ± 0.12 mm. Hatchling growth rate was y =0.0632x + 1.4183. Mycoplasma, Peanibacillus, Simkaniaceae, and Enterobacteria were the four most abundant microbes in gut content. Species distribution is assumed to be from the southeastern to northeastern U.S. with a concentration in the Appalachian region. Information gathered from this study will fill data gaps in land snail literature and can be used to better understand evolution and systematics of land snail communities.Item Detecting the onset of an epileptic seizure using a novel time-series approach(2018-05-08) Shrivastava, Suhani; Boetticher, Gary; Feagin, Terry; Puzdrowski, Richard L., Jr.Electroencephalography (EEG) is one of the most popular non-invasive techniques for acquiring electrical signals from the brain. Data mining EEG signals finds numerous applications in the field of neuroscience for obtaining crucial information about the neural activities. EEG data is very complex in that it is non-stationary and multidimensional. Therefore, the task is how to convert voluminous raw EEG data into a succinct representation. This research provides a methodology for representing EEG data in a concise and comprehensible format using a minimum number of data points without the loss of useful information. Among many applications of studying EEG data, detecting epileptic seizures concerns neurologists the most. Epilepsy is a serious disorder characterized by the occurrence of epileptic seizures. These seizures occur as a result of abnormal neuronal activities of the brain. Today, more than 65 million people in the world suffer from epileptic seizures which can be life-threatening. It is not just the physical effects of seizure that impacts patients adversely but also the social isolation that the patient and their families face. If EEG signals are analyzed properly, seizures can be predicted at their onset. This thesis proposes a seizure prediction method which uses a novel time-series approach to provide a useful method for the diagnosis of epileptic seizures. The key to the method identifies transitions from non-epileptic (pre-ictal) to epileptic (ictal) segments of the EEG signal using offset statistical moving averages. This research examines EEG data of multiple epileptic patients from CHB MIT database. The method analyzes EEG signals for common transitional patterns using multiple inter-patient and intra-patient seizure files. The experiments provide substantial results and predict seizures early in some situations and with a minimal latency in a few other situations.Item Detecting the onset of an epileptic seizure using a novel time-series approach(2018-05-08) Shrivastava, Suhani; Boetticher, Gary D.; Feagin, Terry; Puzdrowski, Richard L.Electroencephalography (EEG) is one of the most popular non-invasive techniques for acquiring electrical signals from the brain. Data mining EEG signals finds numerous applications in the field of neuroscience for obtaining crucial information about the neural activities. EEG data is very complex in that it is non-stationary and multidimensional. Therefore, the task is how to convert voluminous raw EEG data into a succinct representation. This research provides a methodology for representing EEG data in a concise and comprehensible format using a minimum number of data points without the loss of useful information. Among many applications of studying EEG data, detecting epileptic seizures concerns neurologists the most. Epilepsy is a serious disorder characterized by the occurrence of epileptic seizures. These seizures occur as a result of abnormal neuronal activities of the brain. Today, more than 65 million people in the world suffer from epileptic seizures which can be life-threatening. It is not just the physical effects of seizure that impacts patients adversely but also the social isolation that the patient and their families face. If EEG signals are analyzed properly, seizures can be predicted at their onset. This thesis proposes a seizure prediction method which uses a novel time-series approach to provide a useful method for the diagnosis of epileptic seizures. The key to the method identifies transitions from non-epileptic(pre-ictal) to epileptic(ictal) segments of the EEG signal using offset statistical moving averages. This research examines EEG data of multiple epileptic patients from CHB MIT database. The method analyzes EEG signals for common transitional patterns using multiple inter-patient and intra-patient seizure files. The experiments provide substantial results and predict seizures early in some situations and with a minimal latency in a few other situations.Item Temperature dependent weak magnetic effect on bacterial growth(2018-05-09) Cardona, Edwin Sergio; Masood, Samina S; Withey, Paul; Mayes, Van EIn this era of technology, exposure to weak magnetic fields is almost unavoidable and is always ignored. Short term exposure with weak fields may not influence anything. But long term effect of strong fields cannot be ignored. Cells are fundamental building blocks of life and are studied as biological systems traditionally. Cellular structure analysis, their growth rate and their molecular level studies are based mainly on experimentation and observations using biological techniques. Biophysics uses fundamental concepts of Physics to study the dynamics of biological systems in detail. Bacteria is the simplest form of single-celled life and is closely related to human life as bacteria is incubated in the human body and is strongly related to human life and health. Bacterial growth rate and the change in its behavior due to the exposure of bacteria with weak magnetic fields is directly related to human health and safety as well as it is the first step towards the impact of weak fields on molecular dynamics of cellular behavior and growth. In this thesis we study the effect of small changes in temperature on bacterial growth in the presence of low magnetic field. Temperature effect on the growth rate of bacteria is known very well. However, in the presence of weak magnetic field the sensitivity of temperature is affected. We study the relative change of bacterial growth and its behavior with small change in temperature in the presence of different types of weak magnetic field. Two weak effects add up to give a different effect and is worth studying and interesting.Item Functional Characterization of Pol-dUT Fusion Enzymes from Pyrococcus Furiosus(2018-05-10) Dash, Asim Kanti; Rashid, Bazlur; Wang, Daniel; Ariza, MarthaAlthough polymerase chain reaction is a powerful technique, often polymerizing errors can jeopardize the whole experiment especially when to study a cloned gene product. Long PCR with conventional Taq DNA polymerases is one such example, where conversion of dCTP to dUTP can increase the error frequency and dUTP incorporation as well. However, using proofreading polymerases for long PCR, the polymerization rate slows down significantly due to incorporation of dUTP during synthesis followed proofreading. To alleviate this problem, now a day we use dUTPase enzyme in the PCR. To have similar effect, our laboratory has designed two fusion enzyme constructs of both a proofreading polymerase and a dUTPase from Pyrococcus furiosus. We are reporting here that both these fusion constructs could remove dUTP from PCR reactions and able to amplify. This project particularly entails successful cloning, expression and purification of a dUTPase enzyme followed by its functional characterization in parallel with the above mentioned fusion enzymes.Item Industrial Strength Dependency Parsing System(2018-05-10) He, Han; Wu, Lei; Yang, Xiaokun; Shih, Liwen; Lu, JiangDependency parsing is a useful task to help computer understand human language. By parsing the dependency grammar of a sentence automatically, dependency parser produces dependency-based syntactic representations which enhance performance of many language applications, such as machine translation, question answering and information extraction. Recently dependency parsing has attracted considerable interest from researchers and developers in the Natural Language Processing field, and many state-of-art works have achieved high accuracies. But not all of them are applicable for industry applications in terms of runtime speed and memory efficiency. We implemented and evaluated various dependency parsing algorithms, finding out the most practical algorithm in consideration of tradeoff between accuracy and runtime speed. The final achievement is a practically usable dependency parser, which can parse raw sentences to grammar trees. Our parser has been released as open source software and live demonstrated on http://iparser.hankcs.com/.Item Locating Disaster Relief Facility Centers in Houston City(2018-05-10) Kandikonda, Dinesh; Jeong, Ki-Young; Bozkurt, Ipek; Shan, XiaojunWe study the problem of locating disaster relief facility centers (DRFCs) in the city of Houston which is prone to flood risk hurricanes. We propose a multi-objective optimization programming (MOOP) model for selecting the location of DRFCs. Our multi-objective model attempts to minimize the total logistics cost and at the same time it aims to choose a potential site with lowest flood risk impact. Strategic design phase (SDP) includes the location of the DRFCs while operational level phase (OLP) deals with the robustness. Robustness is analyzed in terms of perturbed MOOP objective through diverse damage scenarios to DRFCs. The impact of factors such as open number of DRFCs, maximum coverage of a DRFC and α on the MOOP objective at different capacity levels are studied. For the MOOP model, two different objective models, total logistics cost (TLC) and flood risk impact (FRI) model are combined using the compromising programming model to obtain a compromise solution. These models are implemented on the real data of Houston. The result obtained from this framework depends on the decision- maker as it is his choice to decide upon the level of flood risk impact he is willing to take. To my best knowledge, this is a first time approach to locate DRFCs in the city of Houston. This research will provide significant insights to practitioners in designing and implementing mathematical models related to flood affected areas.Item Towards a Mechanism of Action of a Weak Magnetic Field on Bacterial Growth(2018-05-14) Do, Kevin Gia; Masood, Samina S; Krivoshein, Arcadius; Chu, Wei-KanThe effects of weak magnetic fields (WMFs) on bacteria have attracted considerable attention in magnetobiology. Recent studies have shown that exposure to WMFs alter bacterial behavior at cellular and molecular scales. Classical models of magnetobiological effects face difficulties due to a paradox in which the inherent thermal noise in biological systems is orders of magnitude larger than the WMF interaction. The plausibility of quantum theoretical models to describe these interactions is discussed. In this study, the effects of static and oscillatory magnetic fields on bacteria are investigated in vitro. E. coli cultures were suspended in tryptic soy broth and grown in their respective magnetic field configurations for three consecutive generations. The optical density (absorbance) of field-exposed and control cultures was measured as a function of time. Emphasis is placed on understanding the WMF effects on subsequent generations of bacteria and their adaptability to such conditions. Biological effects of the oscillating magnetic fields were sustained in the second generations of E. coli while the effects were absent in the third generation. Our results suggest that bacteria may have a means of adapting to perturbations of a WMF on the cellular environment, depending on the field characteristics.Item Process of Cost Optimization from Manufacturing Point of View, Based on Configurator and its Approaches(2018-05-15) Szala, Marcin; Jeong, Ki-Young; Bozkrut, Ipek; Shan, XiaojunIn this paper, the author proposes the use of the configurator and its advantages for both sides. End-user, and manufacturer. Based on company's strategy, approaches in configuring may vary. Several models based on constraints will be examined to present the usefulness and possible savings in many aspects. The final cost of the product for delivery is calculated and compared with every other approach. Results derived from this study may encourage entrepreneurs to start practice this way of running the business to optimize cost, reduce risk and meet the real-world requirements. This thesis plan is to resolve the call related to the supply chain and its vulnerability to deal with uncertainty and also existing models which are not fulfilling customers’ requirements.Item Design Process Optimization with Evolutionary Algorithms(2018-05-15) Kaminski, Bartosz; Jeong, Ki-Young; Bozkurt, Ipek; Shan, XiaojunIn this thesis, a multi-objective evolutionary algorithm is proposed to improve car wheel design. Designing such a high-end product often includes various goals. In order to achieve an optimal solution, there has to be made a compromise between crucial factors like strength, cost, and mass. Tremendous amounts of possible solutions make it extremely challenging for an engineer. Therefore, the multi-objective genetic algorithm with bi-directional evolutionary structural optimization method is used to improve the design process of a car wheel with detailed design requirements. The car wheel will be evaluated in sophisticated CAD software – SolidWorks. Finite element method with static analysis will be conducted until an optimal solution has been discovered.Item Designing to learn tangible programming(2018-05-16) Nagabandi, Veneela; Datta, Soma; Findler, michael; Hasan, khondkerThe thesis describes a ubiquitous technique for learning tangible coding in R programming language for middle and late elementary school students. It emphasizes the use of inexpensive and durable wooden blocks with no embedded power supplies. These blocks are shaped like the pieces of wooden cubes which contain basic syntax, functions, packages. Students integrate these wooden blocks to create a computer programming syntax in offline settings such as on desks or floor in the classroom. An image of the tangible code is captured using phone and uploaded to 'R' programming language through command line. The representation is eventually converted to R language for interpreters to execute. Alternatively, they can also learn programming through drag and drop interface. This tangible programming technique simulates interests among young programmers. It can help middle and high school students to develop analytical skills, logical thinking, and affection for coding. The hypothesis of this pedagogy is "Programming can be for all ages and be learnt by themselves with minimal given tools". Moreover, this learning approach at an early age helps remembering code syntax and offers more retention rate than traditional classroom intangible programming.Item Fundamentals of axis-symmetric boundary reconstruction for ideal tokamak plasmas: using toroidal harmonics to match poloidal flux measurements in the surrounding vacuum(2018-07-30) Nesbitt, Neal David; Yang, Yipeng; Garrison, David; Mayes, Van Eric; Mustafaev, ZokhrabWith the development of tokamaks in the 1950s to control and sustain fusion reactions, a large amount of theory regarding associated plasmas has accumulated. Much of this theory is out of reach for the uninitiated, and applicable plasma physics texts either approach the field in too broad a path for specific reference, or they leave out many of the derivations needed for the foundational mechanics. Here the fundamental math behind ideal tokamak plasmas is laid out to reconstruct the equilibrium boundary. This process illustrates the assumptions needed to idealize the mechanics, and thus gives wide avenues for alteration. Separation of variables is used in toroidal coordinates, and care is given to cover all the details. Optimizing the results to fit measurements from the surrounding vacuum can then produce a robust fixed boundary condition to be used in wider contexts.Item Efficient routs to oxazolines and oxazolies through activation of amides(2018-08-07) Alhashim, Salma Hashim; Dubrovskiy, Anton V; Krivoshein, Arcadius V; Wang, Daniel ZerongOxazolines are nitrogen-containing heterocyclic compounds that are of a special interest due to their applications as active components in a broad range of pharmaceutical products. A challenging task remains in developing reliable and efficient methods that would allow expedient approach to these heterocycles from inexpensive and environmentally friendly substrates and reagents. During preliminary studies, it was unexpectedly found that oxazoline can be produced by reacting N,N dichlorobenzamide with styrene. The central goals of this thesis project were: - to optimize the conditions for the formation of N,N dichlorobenzamide by chlorinating benzamide, and - to optimize coupling of N,N-dichlorobenzamide with a representative alkene, styrene, leading to the formation of oxazoline. There are no prior literature reports of using chloro amides for the synthesis of these heterocycles. Trichloroisocyanuric acid (TCCA) belongs to the family of N-chloroamides, which are commonly used as bleaching agents and bactericides. In this study, TCCA was used as a chlorinating agent for the amide starting material, following a recent literature report. While a mixture of N,N dichlorobenzamide and N-monochlorobenzamide was produced initially in the reaction of benzamide with TCCA, screening of the reaction conditions (varying solvents, temperature, isolation procedure) revealed the set that results in clean formation of the dichloroamide. Following chlorination, reaction conditions for the coupling of N,N dichlorobenzamide with styrene were optimized. The results of the preliminary investigation confirmed that the oxazoline ring is indeed formed (a transformation not yet described in the literature), albeit with a concurrent formation of an acyclic side product, later assigned as N-(2-chloro-2-phenylethyl)benzamide. The two products are close in polarity and not easily separable using column chromatography. After considerable effort, two unique sets of conditions (base-mediated and MnO2-mediated) were discovered that convert N-(2-chloro-2-phenylethyl)-benzamide into the target oxazoline. A one-pot procedure for oxazoline formation starting from benzamide that does not require the purification of reaction intermediates was subsequently developed and rendered to yield 73% of the desired product, 2,5-diphenyl-2-oxazoline. In addition, applying this procedure to p-methylstyrene and p-toluamide resulted in formation of two homologous oxazoline products, which were both isolated in a 75% yield (2-(4-methylphenyl)-5-phenyloxazoline and 5-(4-methylphenyl)-2-phenyloxazoline. Finally, several oxidizing conditions were developed that allow to convert the formed oxazoline into oxazole, using DDQ and/or MnO2, with up to 65% efficiency. In summary, preparing oxazolines and oxazoles using the newly developed transition metal-free methods is very promising for future pharmaceutical applications.