Shaevitz, Joshua WilliamSpeich, Kodai2025-08-072025-08-072025-04-28https://theses-dissertations.princeton.edu/handle/88435/dsp015712m999rLiquid crystals, which are materials with properties between that of a liquid and a crystal, are commonplace from phone screens to biological systems. Of special interest are active nematic liquid crystals, which are made up of particles that constantly inject energy into the system. This causes active turbulence, a type of chaotic dynamics in fluids driven by activity that is characterized by unpredictable flows, vortices, and the creation and annihilation of topological defects. Active nematics can be described by a small number of macroscopic parameters, including the elasticity and activity. However, these parameters are difficult to measure due to spatial fluctuations and sensitivity to initial conditions which results from turbulence. This thesis uses a neural network developed by Colen et al. (2021) to estimate elasticity and activity given only director field data of Myxococcus xanthus, a soil bacteria that behaves on a large scale as an active nematic liquid crystal.en-USPrinceton University Senior Theses