Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

A Search For Correlations Between Gamma-Ray Burst Variability And Afterglow Onset, Sarah A. Yost

Physics Faculty Publications

We compared the time (or time limit) of onset for optical afterglow emission to the γ-ray variability V in 76 gamma-ray bursts with redshifts. In the subset (25 cases) with the rise evident in the data, we fit the shape of the onset peak as well and compared the rising and decaying indices to V. We did not find any evidence for any patterns between these properties and there is no statistical support for any correlations. This indicates a lack of connection between irregularities of the prompt γ-ray emission and the establishment of the afterglow phase. In the ordinary …

Sigma Gamma Epsilon In Recent Years, Paula F. Even

The Compass: Earth Science Journal of Sigma Gamma Epsilon

Patricia L. Daniel covered the first 50 years of Sigma Gamma Epsilon’s existence in The History of Sigma Gamma Epsilon, The First Twenty-Five Years, 1915-1940 and The History of Sigma Gamma Epsilon, The Second Twenty-Five Years, 1941-1965 (Daniel, 1966a, b). Richard L. Ford’s Major Milestones in the Development of Sigma Gamma Epsilon's Core Traditions (Ford, 2012) noted the significant highlights of the Society up until recent times. This article updates the recent noteworthy events of the organization to complete the 100 year history of Sigma Gamma Epsilon. New chapters, recent conventions, the development of two new chapter awards in addition …

Foreword To The Special Centennial Publication Of The Compass, James C. Walters

The Compass: Earth Science Journal of Sigma Gamma Epsilon

No abstract provided.

History Of Sigma Gamma Epsilon Honorary Society For Earth Scientists, The Second Twenty-Five Years, 1941-1965, Patricia L. Daniel

The Compass: Earth Science Journal of Sigma Gamma Epsilon

No abstract provided.

Major Milestones In The Development Of Sigma Gamma Epsilon's Core Traditions, Richard L. Ford

The Compass: Earth Science Journal of Sigma Gamma Epsilon

No abstract provided.

43rd Biennial Convention And Centennial Celebration The University Of Kansas: March 27-29, 2015, James C. Walters, Paula F. Even

The Compass: Earth Science Journal of Sigma Gamma Epsilon

Sigma Gamma Epsilon, the national honor society in the Earth Sciences, held its 43^rd Biennial Convention on the campus of the University of Kansas March 27-29, 2015 in conjunction with its centennial celebration. Alpha Chapter, Sigma Gamma Epsilon’s first chapter, hosted the events. During the convention, Dr. Anthony Walton of the Department of Geology at KU led a half-day field excursion on the Pennsylvanian Stratigraphy of Douglas County, Kansas: Glacioeustatically Modulated Cyclic Deposition on a Remarkably Smooth Shelf. This report provides a summary of the deliberations and actions of the participants at the convention and highlights of the field …

The History Of Sigma Gamma Epsilon The First Twenty-Five Years, 1915-1940, Patricia L. Daniel

The Compass: Earth Science Journal of Sigma Gamma Epsilon

Sigma Gamma Epsilon Honor Society for Earth Science students was founded during the spring of 1915 in the home of William H. Twenhofel, Associate Professor of Geology at The University of Kansas. ΣΓΕ was launched nationally in the fall of 1915 with the admittance of Beta Chapter of Pittsburgh University, and today there are more than 100 chapters nation- wide. Originally a "male only" fraternity for geologists, metallurgists, mining, petroleum, and ceramics engineers, for nearly three decades ΣΓΕ has been open to all Earth Science majors and is composed primarily of geology students.

In 80 years, ΣΓΕ has weathered two …

Pennsylvanian Stratigraphy Of Douglas County, Kansas: Glacioeustatically Modulated Cyclic Deposition On A Remarkably Smooth Shelf, Anthony W. Walton

The Compass: Earth Science Journal of Sigma Gamma Epsilon

The Middle and Late Pennsylvanian succession of Kansas consists of two types of cyclothems, lithologic successions that consist of several members that repeat in a particular order. Cyclothems are a few meters to a few tens of meters thick. One type of cyclothem, the Kansas cyclothem, or here the limestone-rich cyclothem, consists of interbeds of limestone and shale, where the amounts of limestone are approximately equal to the amount of shale or dominate the succession. This trip will study one such cyclothem in the Oread Limestone at Stop 3 and possibly another cyclothem at the optional Stop 4. Siliciclastic cyclothems …

First Occurrence Of Lithostrotion (Diphyphyllum) From The Mississippian Redwall Limestone In The Beaver Dam Mountains, Washington County, Utah, Devin M. Mclemore, Jennifer E. Hargrave

The Compass: Earth Science Journal of Sigma Gamma Epsilon

The Paleozoic stratigraphy of the Beaver Dam Mountains of southwestern Utah correlates well with the better known deposits of the Grand Canyon, Arizona. However, a detailed list of the fossil fauna from the Beaver Dam Mountains is lacking. Here we describe a rugose coral from the Mississippian Redwall Limestone from Washington Country, Utah. The rugose coral is highly recrystallized, but identified as Lithostrotion (Diphyphyllum) based on morphology and geographic extent. An analysis was conducted to determine conodont zonation, but proved inconclusive. This is the first documented case of Lithostrotion (Diphyphyllum) from the Beaver Dam Mountains.

Award To David Wuolu

The Compass: Earth Science Journal of Sigma Gamma Epsilon

No abstract provided.

Mid-Infrared Optical Frequency Combs Based On Difference Frequency Generation For Molecular Spectroscopy, Flavio C. Cruz, Daniel L. Maser, Todd Johnson, Gabriel Ycas, Andrew Klose, Fabrizio R. Giorgetta, Ian Coddington, Scott A. Diddams

Physics Faculty Publications

Mid-infrared femtosecond optical frequency combs were produced by difference frequency generation of the spectral components of a near-infrared comb in a 3-mm-long MgO:PPLN crystal. We observe strong pump depletion and 9.3 dB parametric gain in the 1.5 μm signal, which yields powers above 500 mW (3 μW/mode) in the idler with spectra covering 2.8 μm to 3.5 μm. Potential for broadband, high-resolution molecular spectroscopy is demonstrated by absorption spectra and interferograms obtained by heterodyning two combs.

Measuring Biological Cell Damage Due To Ionizing Radiation, Kathryn Jacobson

Honors Theses, 1963-2015

Radiation therapy is used to treat many different types of cancer. Ionizing radiation occurs at very high frequencies and can cause reparable or permanent damage to biological cells. Cancerous tumors are typically located behind layers of healthy tissue and when radiated, the healthy and cancerous cells are damaged. With new technology, radiation machines deliver radiation such that the tissue damage is uniform as a function of tissue depth by filtering out the low-energy photons. The purpose of this research was to determine the validity of using the change in dielectric constant to gauge tissue damage due to radiation. The change …

Identification, Synthesis And Biological Activity Of Galloyl Inhibitors Of Human Low Molecular Weight Protein Tyrosine Phosphatase, Samuel T. Klinker

Honors Theses, 1963-2015

Low Molecular Weight Protein Tyrosine Phosphatase (LMW-PTP) isoform 2 (IF2) has been found to be over expressed in many forms of aggressive cancer and has become a target for inhibition. Competitive inhibition of LMW-PTP IF2 by known inhibitor pyridoxal-5'-phosphate (PLP) shows a strong inhibition constant (Ki = 7.6 μM at pH 5.0); however, PLP is a cofactor for many other enzymes. In silico screening and in vitro testing identified NSC107022 (Ki = 10.8 ±1.0) from the National Cancer Institute's Diversity Set II as a lead compound for optimization as a LMW-PTP IF2 inhibitor. Utilizing NSC107022's galloyl group, compound libraries of …

Liberal Arts Colleges And Art Fairs: The Proximity Of Summer Arts Festivals To Liberal Arts Colleges, Hannah R. Haas

Celebrating Scholarship & Creativity Day (2011-2017)

Purpose: Client Professor James Poff paints and draws on the side of his teaching post in the Biology Department. After finishing his tenure teaching, he would like to spend the summer traveling to art festivals in Minnesota, Wisconsin, Iowa and Illinois. He believes that his art will be most widely accepted at art fairs that are within a 25 mile radius of a liberal arts college. He is interested in knowing what summer art festivals those are. Methods: From the websites of the Department of Tourism for Minnesota, Wisconsin, Iowa and Illinois I obtained the dates, names and addresses of …

Nevada's Areas Of Recreation, Meghan M. Carter

Celebrating Scholarship & Creativity Day (2011-2017)

These maps will offer alternative options for the tourist that desires to spend their vacation exploring Nevada’s beautiful wild landscapes. Nevada has many areas of land under conservation, State Parks, National Parks and Wildlife Ranges. I will be mapping out the primary roads through to these areas, as well as list out the Parks with campsites, ranging from the experienced camper with only a tent, to the family on vacation with a dog or R.V. This map should be a source of information for a camper looking to explore Nevada beyond the city limits.

Synthesis Of 1, 2 Amino Alcohols Through Arbuzov Method, Brianne Gibson

Celebrating Scholarship & Creativity Day (2011-2017)

This research involves the synthesis of one diethyl amino-dihydroxy butyl phosphonate which hold characteristics shown to serve as an anti-fungal and anti-microbial agent. The first step of this research involves epoxidation of the phosphonate-containing olefin made using the Arbuzov procedure with crotonaldehyde. The second step synthesizes an oxazolidone using benzyl isocyanate to open the epoxide and cyclize the compound. Hydrolysis of the oxazolidone is performed for the production of the 1, 2 amino-alcohols in the third stage. This step synthesizes the amino-phosphonates. The first and second steps have been completed. Upon successful retrieval of the oxazolidones, the alcohol can be …

Photometric Extraction Of The Pulse And Orbital Periods Of Asas182612: Eclipsing Binary With A Type Ii Cepheid Component, Joseph E. Hoppert

Celebrating Scholarship & Creativity Day (2011-2017)

In 2007, Antipin, Sokolovsky, and Ignatieva discovered the first eclipsing binary with a Type II Cepheid component in our Galaxy, ASAS182612. We present the analysis of ASAS182612’s pulse and orbital periods from 2007 to 2014 using B, V, R, and I filters. The pulsation and orbital periods were found to be 4.1622 ± .0003 days and 51.366 ± .025 days, respectively. The angular acceleration of the pulse period was determined to be 1.1E-6 ± 1E-7 rad/day².

Examining The Transitional Impact Of Icd-10 On Healthcare Fraud Detection, Tyler Olson

Honors Theses, 1963-2015

On October 1st, 2015, the tenth revision of the International Classification of Diseases (ICD-10) will be mandatorily implemented in the United States. Although this medical classification system will allow healthcare professionals to code with greater accuracy, specificity, and detail, these codes will have a significant impact on the flavor of healthcare insurance claims. While the overall benefit of ICD-10 throughout the healthcare industry is unquestionable, some experts believe healthcare fraud detection and prevention could experience an initial drop in performance due to the implementation of ICD-10. We aim to quantitatively test the validity of this concern regarding an adverse transitional …

Parallel Preconditioners For Finite Element Computations, Emily Furst

Honors Theses, 1963-2015

This thesis sought to explore numerical methods for solving partial differential equations and to determine the best method of updating the deal.II software to utilize new Trilinos software packages. The one dimensional heat equation with Dirichlet boundary conditions and nonzero initial conditions was solved analytically, using the Forward in Time, Central in Space scheme of the finite difference method, and the Crank-Nicolson scheme of the finite element method. The solutions from using the finite difference method and the finite element method were then compared to the analytic solution to determine accuracy. An example using the same Trilinos packages that are …

An Aerodynamic Simulation Of Disc Flight, Erynn J. Schroeder

Honors Theses, 1963-2015

In this project, two disc flight simulations were created in Mathematica. The first predicted the flight trajectory of a disc in two dimensions based on angle of attack and initial velocity input parameters. The second simulation predicted flight more accurately in three dimensions, taking the torque into account and showing the roll at the end of long flights. Equations for the simulations came from the forces known to act on flying objects as well as coefficient functions for lift, drag, and torque roll moment. Fundamental aerodynamic properties and flight patterns of Discraft Ultra-Star flying discs were measured with the use …

Supercontinuum Produced By Ultrashort Pulses From Ti:Sapphire Laser And Nonlinear Photonic Crystal Fiber, Nicholas E. Maher

Honors Theses, 1963-2015

Producing a supercontinuum broadens the spectrum of the laser beam to potentially include the complete visible spectrum as well as some infrared and ultraviolet, providing a more complete spectrum of selectable wavelengths. The supercontinuum is produced by nonlinear optical processes that occur when high intensity, ultrashort laser pulses are passed through a photonic crystal fiber. In this project, a mode-locked Ti:sapphire laser was manually constructed to observe the supercontinuum effect.

Investigations Into Uncharacterized Radical S-Adenosylmethionine Enzymes, Melissa Quintanilla

Honors Theses, 1963-2015

Radical S-adenosylmethionine (SAM) enzymes are a superfamily of enzymes that require the cofactor SAM for catalysis. These enzymes have diverse functions across all 3 domains of life, and are known to play roles in many biological pathways, including vitamin biosynthesis, synthesis of complex metal clusters, posttranslational RNA modification,DNA repair, and development of antibiotic resistance, among others. Radical SAM enzymes are characterized by the CX₃CX₂C motif, which is conserved throughout most members of the family. A number of genes have been identified which contain the CX₃CX₂C motif and other amino acid sequences …

Polyurethane Research For Applications In The Field Of Dentistry: Limiting Side Reactions In Monomer Development And Synthesizing N-Capped Polymenthide, Ellen M. (Ellie) Black

Honors Theses, 1963-2015

Modern dentistry has found uses for polyurethanes in both dental arch models and removable dental appliances. In an attempt to make polyurethanes from renewable resources, both naturally derived menthone and dihydrocarvone were oxidized in order to form menthide and dihydrocarvide, respectively. The resulting ester, if copolymerized could be modified to form a polyuria; however, dihydrocarvide synthesis was complicated by epoxidation. Different reaction environments with varying salts showed no positive effect on limiting epoxide products. A homopolymerization of menthide resulted in a polymenthide chain that was reacted in the presence of N,N'-Dicyclohexylcarbodiimide (DCC) in order to form an N-capped polymenthide chain. …

The Synthesis Of Dendrimer-Bound Catalysts And Their Use In Macmillan-Type Reactions, Autumn R. Flynn

Honors Theses, 1963-2015

Dendrimers—highly branched macromolecules—present an attractive option for use as a catalytic framework because of their large size and their availability for functionalization. In addition, the use of organocatalysts to form asymmetric products has become an increasingly studied field in the pharmaceutical industry and cancer research. Organocatalyst terminally functionalized dendrimers present the possibility of both catalytic utility and increased recovery in MacMillan-type asymmetric reactions. Terminal sites of generations 2.0, 3.0, and 4.0 PAMAM dendrimers have been functionalized with the MacMillan group's (2S, 5S)-5-benzyl-2-tert-butyl-3-methylimidazolidin-4-one catalyst. These functionalized PAMAM dendrimers were characterized by NMR and MALDITOF MS analysis. The organocatalyst functionalized dendrimers show …

Sigma Gamma Epsilon 2014 W.A. Tarr Awards, Paula Even

The Compass: Earth Science Journal of Sigma Gamma Epsilon

First established in March 1949, the W. A. Tarr Award was created to distinguish outstanding students in the Earth Sciences. A list of the individuals who received this award for the 2013-2014 academic year as well as the qualifying criteria for the award are provided.

Strain Accomodation In The Footwall Of The Rubys Inn Thrust Fault, Hillsdale Canyon, Southern Utah, Claire Cleveland, Rhiannon M. Garrard, Devin M. Mclemore, Jeff C.E. Yon, Genevieve Kidman, John S. Maclean

The Compass: Earth Science Journal of Sigma Gamma Epsilon

The Rubys Inn thrust fault in southern Utah has produced several styles of deformation in its footwall. This project describes four exceptionally well exposed examples of strain accommodation, including a mountain-scale, ductile footwall drag fold, cataclastic flexural slip between bedding surfaces of differing competencies, plastically deformed petrified wood within the zone of flexural slip, and cataclastic shear expressed as deformation bands. Such examples show how various lithologies can be deformed into a wide array of structures during a single deformation event. Furthermore, some of these structures result in changes in permeability, which are important for those interested in subsurface fluid …

Characterization Of The Major Ions Of Coal Creek Near Cedar City, Utah, Jared Bryce Weaver, Christopher Lamb, Kim Weaver, Jason Kaiser, J. Ty Redd

The Compass: Earth Science Journal of Sigma Gamma Epsilon

The major ions of Coal Creek near Cedar City, in southwest Utah, were measured to determine if there were any differences in ion concentrations in July of 2014 as compared with spring measurements of 2012 and 2013. Past analyses have shown higher ion concentrations in lower regions of Coal Creek despite the apparent lack of water input. This research is aimed to better characterize these abrupt increases in concentration and determine if these trends varied when samples were acquired in the summer vs. in the spring when sample acquisition has occurred in the past. Environmental water samples were collected at …

Sigma Gamma Epsilon Student Research Poster Session, Geological Society Of America Meeting 2014, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, Paula Even

The Compass: Earth Science Journal of Sigma Gamma Epsilon

The 2014 Sigma Gamma Epsilon Undergraduate Research (Poster Session) took place during the 2014 Geological Society of American annual meeting in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada on Tuesday, 21 October 2014. Fifty-two posters were presented at the SGE poster session. The National Council of Sigma Gamma Epsilon awarded the Austin A. Sartin Best Poster Award to Megan Flansburg a student at the College of William and Mary. Emily Lubicich, a student at the State University of New York - New Paltz, was awarded the National Council Best Poster Award.

Sigma Gamma Epsilon's W.A. Tarr Award: Honoring The Memory Of William Arthur Tarr (1881-1939), Grand Editor Of The Compass, Larry E. Davis, Robert L. Eves, Paula Even, James C. Walters

The Compass: Earth Science Journal of Sigma Gamma Epsilon

In 1947, delegates to the 14th National Convention of the Society of Sigma Gamma Epsilon established the W.A. Tarr Award in honor of William Arthur Tarr (1881-1939) and the awards were made by active Society chapters in the spring of 1948. William Arthur Tarr was the first editor of The Compass. W.A. Tarr was a professor of Mineralogy and Geology at the University of Missouri from 1911 to 1939, during which he was the faculty advisor to the Epsilon chapter of Sigma Gamma Epsilon.

Online Security, Cryptography, And Quantum Computing, Lynn Ziegler

Forum Lectures

Most secure online transactions are handled using RSA encryption for key exchange to prevent interception of private information like credit card numbers, bank accounts, etc. Unfortunately, development of quantum computers could break RSA (and other encryption systems). I will speak about the problem and potential solutions if quantum computers become available.