Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

National Center For Nuclear Security, Veraun Chipman, Amanda Klingensmith, Cathy Snelson

NSTec UNLV Symposium

National Center for Nuclear Security (NCNS) Mission

•Chartered mission is to enhance the Nation’s verification and detection capabilities in support of nuclear arms control and nonproliferation through R&D activities at the NNSS
•Three focus areas
–Treaty Verification Technologies
–Nonproliferation Technologies
–Technical Nuclear Forensics

Neutron Diffraction Of Nabd4: Phase Transition, Rietveld Structure Refinements, And Equation Of State, Guillermo Esparza, Esparza, Patricia Kalita, Andrew Cornelius

Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program (UROP)

NaBH4 is a hydride with possible applications as a hydrogen storage material for future renewable energy technologies. It’s dehydrogenation properties are enhanced with the mixture of particular catalysts through ball-milling techniques during which local pressures may exceed several GPa’s. It is for this reason that understanding the behavior of pressure induced phase changes of its crystalline unit cell is an area of interest.

Cell Migration Dynamics After Alteration Of Cell-Cell Contacts In Fibrosarcoma And Glioblastoma Cell Lines, Hassan S. Rizvi, Ronald K. Gary

Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program (UROP)

Cell migration is a vital component of metastasis. In this study, our intent was to study cell migration by alteration of the Wnt/GSK-3 Pathway. Since BeSO4 is a known GSK-3 kinase inhibitor, we hypothesized that this agent would cause cell migration to decrease as a result of β-catenin stabilization. Two human cell lines, HT-1080 (fibrosarcoma) and A172 (glioblastoma), were used to observe migration levels in the presence and absence of BeSO4. Our results show that cell migration is diminished for cells that were pre-treated with BeSO4, in comparison to the untreated (control) cells.

Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program 2011, Nicholle Booker, University Of Nevada, Las Vegas

Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program (UROP)

Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program

On August 9, 2011 the UNLV College of Sciences will celebrate the accomplishments of undergraduate students participating in the Summer 2011 Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program (UROP) and the Research Experience For Undergraduates (REU) Program.

The public is invited to attend, beginning at 10:00 a.m.

Please join us to view student research posters. Student research topics include: biomedicine and human health, Nevada's fragile environment and ecosystems, climate change, stem cell research, microbiology, astrophysics, and many others.

Over 25 UNLV undergraduates and a cohort of 25 undergraduates selected from colleges and universities across the nation will mark the …

Structure Studies On Lanthanide Technetium Pyrochlores As Prospective Host Phases To Immobilize 99- Technetium And Fission Lanthanides From Effluents Of Reprocessed Used Nuclear Fuels, Thomas Hartmann, Ariana Alaniz

Festival of Communities: UG Symposium (Posters)

We performed a systematic investigation of the incorporation of 99Tc into pyrochlore oxide structures, Ln2Tc2O7, where Ln represents trivalent lanthanide Ln3+ cations, while 99Tc is atetravalent, Tc4+, metal cation. Pyrochlore compounds are high-melting temperature oxides and are recognized for their durability. Our goal in this preliminary study is to characterize and quantify the range of stability of the lanthanum technetium pyrochlore oxide phase. Hereby, powder X-ray diffraction (XRD) and Rietveld analysis were used to determine and characterize the crystalline phase content with high accuracy, and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) was used to characterize the microstructure and homogeneity of the synthesized …

Sustainable Alternative To Non-Biological Nitrogen Fixation To Nitrate For Fertilizers, Patrick Freeze, Glenn Miller

Festival of Communities: UG Symposium (Posters)

Currently, the industrial method of nitrogen fixation for use in fertilizers (Haber- Bosch process [N2 (g) + 3 H2 (g) <--> 2 NH3 (g)]) is our main source of non-biological conversion of atmospheric nitrogen to ammonia. The proposed research experiment utilizes the catalytic mechanism of titanium dioxide which, in the presence of heat or sunlight, undergoes fixation of atmospheric nitrogen. This method of nitrate production could serve as a sustainable source of nitrogen for fertilizers. Variables in the experiment included the manipulation of thermal pressure, heat, and base addition to counteract hydrochloric acid production, a selflimiting byproduct.

Energy Densification Via Hydrothermal Carbonization, Keri Noack

Festival of Communities: UG Symposium (Posters)

A process called hydrothermal carbonization (HTC), also known as wet torrefaction involves treatment of raw biomass in hot, pressurized water. HTC of woody biomass has been shown to significantly increase the energy density of the feedstock, producing a biochar, similar to coal, having up to 40% higher calorific energy content. Feedstocks investigated include Tahoe chips, Pinion/Juniper chips, Rice hulls, and Corn Stover pellets pre-treated at 215 °C, 255 °C, and 295 °C. Chemical analyses were conducted on the gaseous, aqueous, and solid HTC products. Energy contents of the solid biochar products were measured by calorimetry, and mass balances were determined.

Predicting Homo And Lumo Energy Gaps For Organic Semi-Conductor: A Theoretical Study, Padtaya Pukpayat

Festival of Communities: UG Symposium (Posters)

This poster presents a theoretical approach for characterizing the electronic properties of novel electron-deficient organic semiconductors containing variety of electron donor substituents. In treating these compounds, the following questions will be addressed: What effects to the bandgap will each substituent have? Will any of the substituents lower the band gap to the desired range for solar cell applications(<2.0eV)? Can we use the current, inexpensive and tractable computational methods as a predictive tool for guiding future experimental design of organic based solar cells, rather than depending solely on experimental procedures?

Luminescent Ionic Liquid Crystals Based On Stilbazolium Moieties, William Mccurdy, Pradip K. Bhowmik

Festival of Communities: UG Symposium (Posters)

Liquid crystals have become pivotally important to a variety of image displaying technologies. They have drawn much attention due to their ability to confer luminescent properties to a wide spectrum of image based devices. The purpose of this research is to describe a new methodology for an efficient synthesis of luminescent ionic liquid crystals including a discussion of their applications in the biological/medicinal sciences.

Characterization Of Ips Pini Ipsdienol Dehydrogenase (Idol Dh), Heidi Pak, Claus Tittiger, William Welch

Festival of Communities: UG Symposium (Posters)

Ipsdienol is an important pheromone component for pine engraver beetle, Ips pini. Ipsdienol is a ten carbon monoterpenoid secondary alcohol and ipsdienone is the corresponding ketone. We are characterizing the activity of recombinant IDOL DH produced in Sf9 (insect) cells. The enzyme has a high stereospecificity: (-) ipsdienol was found to be a substrate while (+)-ipsdienol was neither a substrate nor inhibitor. Closely related monoterpenoids, such as nerol, geraniol, and citral, were neither substrates nor inhibitors. Smaller compounds, such as 2-propanol, also failed to act as an inhibitor or substrate. This indicates the binding site of this enzyme is highly …

Nvrec Subtask 1.1: Pre-Treatment Of Lignocellulosic Biomass, Amber Broch, Kent Hoekman, Larry Felix, Rick Purcell, Curt Robbins, Wei Yan

Nevada Renewable Energy Consortium Meeting

The second annual Nevada Renewable Energy Consortium meeting took place at UNLV on August 20. The meeting focused on the current three NVREC program areas: Solar, Biomass and Geothermal. Presentations were made by participating entities and a poster session followed.

Nvrec Subtask 1.2: Thermal Treatment Of Biomass, Curtis Robbins, Eric Ceniceros, Kent Hoekman, Richard Jasoni

Nevada Renewable Energy Consortium Meeting

The second annual Nevada Renewable Energy Consortium meeting took place at UNLV on August 20. The meeting focused on the current three NVREC program areas: Solar, Biomass and Geothermal. Presentations were made by participating entities and a poster session followed.

Synthesis Of Novel Aromatic Quinols For Colon And Renal Cancers, Bradley J. Davey, Tae Soo Jo, Pradip K. Bhowmik

Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program (UROP)

Colon Cancer: The third most common cancer in USA. More than 1 million Americans currently living with colon cancer. 148,810 new cases expected in 2010. 50,000 deaths annually.

Renal Cancer: Approximately 58,000 people diagnosed in USA annually. Seventh most common cancer and tenth most common cause of cancer related death in men.

Aromatic quinols have demonstrated in vitro antitumor activity. Three heteroaromatic quinols show antitumor activity.

Synthesis Of Bis-Styrylbenzene Derivatives Via Wittig-Horner Reaction, Joseph K. Wray, Tae Soo Jo, Pradip K. Browmik

Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program (UROP)

Alzheimer’s Disease is now one of the most common diseases affecting the elderly population. Recently, bis-styrylbenzene derivatives have been shown to reduce the formation of Beta-amyloid plaques in the brain which are profoundly correlated with this disease. Finding new biologically active compounds which can reduce or prevent Alzheimer’s Disease has drawn much attention over the past few decades. Georg Wittig, Nobel Prize Winner in Chemistry, 1979.

Y-Aminobutyric Acid Inhibits Synergistic Interleukin-6 Release And Increases Intracellular Cytokine Content In C6 Astrocytoma Cells In Vitro, Daniella Sandoval, Becky M. Hess, Bryan L. Spangelo

Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program (UROP)

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is a neurodegenerative disorder that is characterized by memory loss and is the most common cause of dementia. It is has been hypothesized that pro-inflammatory cytokines induce the inflammation that is believed to be the cause of the neuronal death that is associated with AD. γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA) is a major inhibitory neurotransmitter in the Central Nervous System possessing membrane hyperpolarization or depolarization activities. A decline in GABA may enhance cytokine release in Alzheimer’s disease resulting in neuroinflammation. Therefore, we investigated the GABA-mediated suppression of the synergistic release of interleukin-6 (IL-6) induced by interleukin 1- (IL-1) and …

Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program 2010, University Of Nevada, Las Vegas

Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program (UROP)

The Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program (UROP) cultivates and supports research partnerships and invites undergraduates to work as the junior colleagues of faculty. The program offers the opportunity to work on cutting edge research—whether you join established research projects or pursue your own ideas. As participants, undergraduates engage in each phase of standard research activity: developing research plans, writing proposals, conducting research, analyzing data. and presenting research results in oral and written form. The projects take place over the summer, and research can be done in any academic department or interdisciplinary laboratory. Projects can last for an entire semester, and many …

Mitigating Co2 Production In Coal-To-Liquids Process, Robert Walty

UNLV Renewable Energy Symposium

The 3rd Annual Renewable Energy Symposium took place on the UNLV campus August 11 & 12. The event focused on renewable energy production in Nevada, the US Southwest, and renewable research projects nationwide. The event was a great success with over 200 individuals in attendance.

Hydrogen In Non-Crystalline Materials: From Solar Cells To Hydrogen Storage, Anatolii Shkrebtii

UNLV Renewable Energy Symposium

The 3rd Annual Renewable Energy Symposium took place on the UNLV campus August 11 & 12. The event focused on renewable energy production in Nevada, the US Southwest, and renewable research projects nationwide. The event was a great success with over 200 individuals in attendance.

Hydrogen R&D At Sandia National Labs, Lennie Klebanoff

UNLV Renewable Energy Symposium

The 3rd Annual Renewable Energy Symposium took place on the UNLV campus August 11 & 12. The event focused on renewable energy production in Nevada, the US Southwest, and renewable research projects nationwide. The event was a great success with over 200 individuals in attendance.

Current Projects At The Unlv Center For Energy Research, Robert F. Boehm

UNLV Renewable Energy Symposium

The 3rd Annual Renewable Energy Symposium took place on the UNLV campus August 11 & 12. The event focused on renewable energy production in Nevada, the US Southwest, and renewable research projects nationwide. The event was a great success with over 200 individuals in attendance.

Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program, University Of Nevada Las Vegas, College Of Sciences

Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program (UROP)

No abstract provided.

Monitoring Water Quality On Tributary Inflows To Lake Mead And On A Transect Of The Overton Arm, Jorge Arufe, Robert Burrows

Lake Mead Science Symposium

The USGS, in cooperation with the NPS and BOR (Bureau of Reclamation), is collecting water quality data to determine the temporal changes and spatial distributions of natural and anthropogenic compounds entering the Overton Arm of Lake Mead. These efforts and others already underway on the lake by BOR, USGS, and SNWA will aid in the development of a reservoir model of the lake. The effects of the flood flows on the water quality of the Overton Arm are largely unknown and necessary for model development and verification.

Water quality physical parameters are continuously monitored near the mouth of the Virgin …

Micro-Algae Could Play A Significant Role In Achieving Energy Independence, Thomas Nartker

UNLV Renewable Energy Symposium

The 2008 UNLV Renewable Energy Symposium was presented by the Office of Strategic Energy Programs and co-sponsored by the Division of Research and Graduate Studies on August 20, 2008 on the UNLV campus.

The event focused on renewable energy production in Nevada, the US Southwest, and renewable research projects nationwide. It was a great opportunity for anyone working on renewable projects to collaborate with others in this field and exchange information. Over 230 individuals attended the event this year.

New Functional Polymers For Alternative Energy Applications, Chulsung Bae

UNLV Renewable Energy Symposium

The 2008 UNLV Renewable Energy Symposium was presented by the Office of Strategic Energy Programs and co-sponsored by the Division of Research and Graduate Studies on August 20, 2008 on the UNLV campus.

The event focused on renewable energy production in Nevada, the US Southwest, and renewable research projects nationwide. It was a great opportunity for anyone working on renewable projects to collaborate with others in this field and exchange information. Over 230 individuals attended the event this year.

Hydrogen Fuel Cells And Storage Technology (Fcast) Project, Clemens Heske

UNLV Renewable Energy Symposium

The 2008 UNLV Renewable Energy Symposium was presented by the Office of Strategic Energy Programs and co-sponsored by the Division of Research and Graduate Studies on August 20, 2008 on the UNLV campus.

The event focused on renewable energy production in Nevada, the US Southwest, and renewable research projects nationwide. It was a great opportunity for anyone working on renewable projects to collaborate with others in this field and exchange information. Over 230 individuals attended the event this year.

Solar Thermochemical Hydrogen Production Project – Progress Toward Industrial Scale Water Splitting, Roger Rennels

UNLV Renewable Energy Symposium

The 2008 UNLV Renewable Energy Symposium was presented by the Office of Strategic Energy Programs and co-sponsored by the Division of Research and Graduate Studies on August 20, 2008 on the UNLV campus.

The event focused on renewable energy production in Nevada, the US Southwest, and renewable research projects nationwide. It was a great opportunity for anyone working on renewable projects to collaborate with others in this field and exchange information. Over 230 individuals attended the event this year.

Heat Capacity And High Pressure Exploration Of Ybb2, Brant Abeln, Andrew Cornelius

Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program (UROP)

The compound YbB2 has been reported to order anti-ferromagnetically at temperatures around 5.6 K. This transition was verified from heat capacity data taken in different magnetic fields by our Quantum Design PPMS system. X-ray diffraction measurements have been performed using this sample under different pressures at the APS facility in Argonne National Laboratory. A sudden change in resistivity measurements of the sample indicated a possible structural phase transition around 3 GPa. The data indicates the YbB2 compound is not responsible for the anomaly.

Influence Of Nabh4 Reduction On The Hydrogen Storage Properties Of Aniline/Pd Composite Materials, Whitney Shofner, David W. Hatchett

Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program (UROP)

The characterization and chemical synthesis of composites containing aniline and N-Phenylenediamine (NPPD), synthesized with palladium, will be analyzed according to recent studies [1] to confer hydrogen storage capabilities. The palladium metal will be introduced as either PdCl4 2- or PdCl2 2-. The experiments will be carried out under both acidic and non-acidic conditions forming a total of 8 different compounds. Each compound will be reduced with NaBH4 and analyzed using gas chromatography to measure hydrogen storage. Infrared spectroscopy and ultraviolet visible spectroscopy will also be used to gather data concerning each compound.

Fundamental Studies Of Hydrogen Storage And Catalysis, Balakrishnan Naduvalath

UNLV Renewable Energy Symposium

This inaugural event is dedicated to showcasing the renewable/sustainable energy projects of UNLV faculty, staff, students, and collaborators, as well as other external projects underway statewide and nationally. The development and utilization of new technologies to protect the environment, achieve energy independence, and strengthen the economy will be explored. Speakers and poster-session presenters will provide further insight to many ongoing projects and innovative research ideas.

Organized by UNLV’s Office of Strategic Energy Programs, the event offers participants the opportunity to learn about energy projects and will encourage networking and collaboration. This symposium is intended for researchers, educators, students, policy makers, …