Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

Development And Evaluation Of A Hybrid Adi/Swh Model Pre-Laboratory Curriculum, Tabitha Alitz, Dawn Del Carlo

Summer Undergraduate Research Program (SURP) Symposium

Previous Research:
• Students value each part of the pre-lab differently, struggle to connect all of the components, and therefore fail to see the big picture
• Students find the pre-lab moderately helpful in understanding both the concepts and mechanics of the lab, but find it less helpful at the end of the semester compared to beginning
• The cognitive load demands of the SWH pre-lab hinders students’ ability to participate in authentic scientific inquiry

The Manhattan Project And The Globalization Of Nuclear Weapons, Cole Schreiber, Paul Shand

Summer Undergraduate Research Program (SURP) Symposium

Investigating Fourier Coefficient Relationships Of Cepheid Variable Stars, Forrest Cronin, Siobahn Morgan

Summer Undergraduate Research Program (SURP) Symposium

Cepheid stars are valuable due to their usefulness in determining distances within our galaxy, and to other galaxies. Cepheid stars’ light variation can be parameterized using a Fourier series with coefficients Ai and ��i . Fourier coefficients have been shown to have trends linked to physical characteristics of Cepheids and RR Lyrae stars, such as luminosity, radius, pulsation modes and metallicity. Using data from the OGLE III and IV surveys, we determined relationships between Fourier coefficients in different photometric system and observed the influence of metallicity on the Cepheids in the Small Magellanic Cloud and the Large Magellanic Cloud. The …

Novel Data Analysis Methods In Multi-Channel And Multi-State Binding Experiments, Joseph Tibbs, Elizabeth Boehm, Wayne Bowie, Todd Washington, Maria Spies, Ali Tabei

Research in the Capitol

Single-Molecule studies use advanced microscopy techniques to view biomolecules, such as proteins and DNA, individually. On a slide, fluorescently-labeled molecules are immobilized and imaged using lasers, and the patterns of fluorescence can give important information about the interactions of multiple molecules. To extract this information, advanced, customizable data analysis tools must be created. The first goal is to create a method to robustly normalize (correct for brightness) single-channel fluorescence data. The second goal is to extend pattern recognition of binding order to multi-state and multi-channel binding patterns. The KERA 3.0 suite links creative pattern-recognition and normalization techniques with the abilities …

Lightweight Formal Methods For Improving Software Security, Andrew Berns, James Curbow, Joshua Hilliard, Sheriff Jorkeh, Miho Sanders

Research in the Capitol

This research examines how software specifications could be used to build more-secure software. For this project, we analyzed known vulnerabilities for open source projects to identify the corrective actions required to patch the vulnerability. For each vulnerability, we then augmented the program with formal assertions in an attempt to allow a static analysis tool to find the vulnerability. Using the information gathered from these assertions, we hope to determine which assertions are most effective at finding vulnerabilities with today's tools and evaluate new assertions that could be added to the static analysis tool to help uncover more vulnerabilities. My work …

Influence Of Sonication Parameters On The Morphology Of Nanocellulose Aerogels, Dexter Cox, Tim Kidd

Research in the Capitol

Nanocellulose is a renewable and biocompatible material that has a tensile strength similar to aluminum, is stiffer than Kevlar, and has a strength to weight ratio eight times that of stainless steel. There has been a range of studies on nanocellulose materials for potential use as a low-calorie food substitute, biomedical wound dressings, and as a structural component for buildings. Throughout this research experiment, nanocellulose aerogels of different mass compositions were created through a mechanical process using an ultrasonic processor with a titanium probe attachment. The purpose of this study was to develop a method that reduces the amount titanium …

First Principles Study Of Surface States And Tetragonal Distortion In Half Metals, Sam Prophet, Rishabh Dalal, Parashu Kharel, Pavel Lukashev

Research in the Capitol

Magnetic materials have been an increasingly popular area of research over the past decade. Half-metallic materials, in particular, are of specific interest due to their high degree of spin-polarization. One application of these materials that is of interest is spintronics. Electronics utilize the electric charge of electrons, while spintronics utilizes the spin of these electrons instead. Half-metals are very promising for this application, as they generally hold their magnetic properties up to high temperatures, and are relatively cheap compared to other metals. The following research has two goals for two different half metals. Firstly, identify the so called ‘surface properties’ …