Digital Commons Network^™

Calculating Potential Energy Curves Of Molecular Hydrogen And Its Ion Using Psi4 For Blinc Fusion Applications*, Angelina Castillo, Oscar Coral, Canaan Hercules, Blake Laing, Vola Andrianarijaona

Campus Research Month

Southern Adventist University’s Beamline for Ionic and Neutral Collisions (BLINC) is investigating the interactions between hydrogen molecules and fusion particles. To perform in-house theoretical calculations, the BLINC Theory and Analysis Group is testing Psi4 as a viable computational method for BLINC fusion research. Successful calculations of the potential energy curves and dissociation energies of H₂ and H₂⁺ have been completed and compared to known values. Preliminary results align with known values, demonstrating Psi4’s potential for BLINC research. Future work will focus on the vibrational energies, wavefunctions, and transition probabilities of H₂ and H₂⁺.

Construction Of Alkali Oven For Charge Transfer Collisions In Beamline Applications*, Benjamin D. Chun, Oscar T. Coral, Gabriella Kim, Naomi Munyaka, Vola Andrianarijaona

Campus Research Month

This work presents the desig and development of an alkali metal oven used for charge-transfer collision experiments within the Beamline for Ionic and Neutral Collisions (BLINC) at Southern Adventist University. This oven is engineered to produce a stable and controllable alkali vapor source (K/Cs), enabling interactions between the H2+ ions and neutral alkali atoms for the study of rovibrational energy transfer.

The alkali metal oven was designed to be modular to switch out different capillary designs for diverse vapor release into the beamline. This system was designed using SolidWorks and fabricated through CNC machining, with particular emphasis on thermal wiring …

Energy Scaling And Frequency Ratios Of Particles And Constants, Alison Christina Menzmer, Donald Chakeres, Vola Andrianarijaona

Campus Research Month

We are exploring quantum aspects of various physical quantities (including Bohr radius, Rydberg constant, Planck time, and Hubble constant) and mass energies of elementary particles (including electron, neutron, and quarks). We express all physical units in an energy equivalence in Hertz, normalized to 1 Hz. Furthermore, the logarithms of these normalized energies are scaled by the logarithm of a chosen particle, which allows the generation of an Arrhenius plot exhibiting numerical structures. Our results presented in this poster show that the proton is a good candidate for an Arrhenius plot with partial fractions (1 + 1/n) and (1 - 1/n).

Tensegrity Across Biological Scales, V. M. Andrianarijaona

Campus Research Month

Over the past two decades, biology has undergone a profound conceptual shift. Living systems are no longer viewed strictly as biochemical networks; they are now understood as mechanically integrated, energy-dissipating, nonequilibrium systems governed by physical laws. Tensegrity—structural stability derived from a balance of pre-stressed tension and compression—provides the essential linking framework between molecular architecture and organismal function. This approach moves beyond "chemistry-only" models to explain how biological integrity and "mechanotransduction" (the conversion of physical force into biochemical signals) emerge from hierarchical, force-regulated networks.

Developing A Workforce To Build A Star On Earth, Vola Andrianarijaona, Angelina Castillo, Sean Walters

Campus Research Month

This study is meant to help understand why fusion has remained "30 years away" for decades and why that may finally be changing.We see nuclear fusion not merely as a physics phenomenon, but as a complex engineering challenge requiring coordination across different disciplines, including physics, materials science, electrical and mechanical engineering, systems engineering, robotics, and computer science, etc. Indeed, nuclear fusion is not just about "making atoms fuse"—it's about controlling, powering, measuring, and stabilizing one of the most extreme environments humans have ever built. Advances in superconducting magnets, new materials are bringing fusion closer to reality than ever before, and …

Describing The Wave Function Collapse Process With A State-Dependent Hamiltonian, Le Hu, Andrew N. Jordan

Mathematics, Physics, and Computer Science Faculty Articles and Research

Quantum mechanics admits two distinct evolutions: deterministic unitary dynamics governed by the Schrödinger equation and the probabilistic collapse of the wave function. We show that the continuous collapse of a quantum state under measurement can, on a trajectory-by-trajectory basis, be equivalently described as unitary evolution generated by a time- and state-dependent Hermitian Hamiltonian with stochastic parameters. While the ensemble dynamics remains non-unitary, each individual trajectory thus admits a unitary representation. We derive explicit forms of such Hamiltonians for projective measurements on arbitrary n-level systems and for continuous position measurements of a harmonic oscillator, and we propose experimental schemes to …

Una To Put Names On 2 Buildings, Jennifer Edwards

Documents

the naming of the Academic Commons Building and the new Science and Technology Building at UNA

The Science And Technology Building University Of North Alabama, Barbie Hampel-University Advancement

Documents

Brochure and floor plans for the New Science and Technology Building at UNA

University Of North Alabama Science And Technology Building Grand Opening And Ribbon Cutting, University Of North Alabama

Documents

Invitation to the Grand Opening and Ribbon Cutting for the new Science and Technology Building at UNA

Dna Barcoding Of Eight Freshwater Fish Species (Order Siluriformes) From The River Ravi, Pakistan, Hafiz Muhammad Ashraf, Hafiz Abdullah Shakir, Muhammad Irfan, Shaukat Ali, Chaman Ara, Noor Khan, Muhammad Khan, Abdul Qadir, Muhammad Zafar Saleem

Karbala International Journal of Modern Science

Pakistan's freshwater bodies host significant fish species, but molecular identification is still in its infancy, necessitating the use of morphological and molecular DNA barcoding techniques. The study confirmed the species of the order Siluriformes found in the River Ravi, Pakistan, using DNA extracted from muscle tissue, sequenced for the COI gene, and obtained accession and Barcode Index Numbers from GenBank and BOLD databases. In the BLAST search, identities ranged from 99.23–100% and 99.52–100% in the GenBank and BOLD databases, respectively. The study revealed that the Kimura 2-Parameter genetic distance increased from lower to higher taxonomic levels: within species (0.00%) < within genus (15.17%) < within family (19.77%). The study estimated average nucleotide differences (104.964) and nucleotide diversity (0.16099) but found Tajima's neutrality test to be statistically insignificant. The neighbor-joining tree displayed closely linked species under a node, whereas divergent species were grouped under distinct nodes. The COI gene-based DNA barcoding aids in Pakistan's fish resource inventory, monitoring, and management, providing valuable input for traditional methods.

Eco-Assisted Ultrasonic Synthesis, Characterization, And Electrical Conductivity Study Of Polyaniline/ Silica@Fe3o4 Q1 Nanocomposites, Ali Salim Shaway, Kholoud Dham Khamkheem, Jawad Kadhim Abaies, Athra G. Sager

Karbala International Journal of Modern Science

وفي هذه الدراسة الصوتية، أصبحت السيليكا المُنتجة بأكسيد الحديد (Fe₃O₄) ومركبات نانوية قائمة على البولي أنيلين مُطعّم بنسبة 5-15% من السيليكا المُعزز للحديد (Fe₃O₄). وأكملت نهائيا ماء أنيلين والمركبات العلمية المتنوعة الارتباط باستخدام تقنيات FT-IR وUV-Vis وXRD وSEM وTEM. وأحدثت نتائج XRD أن حجم جسيمات البولينج أنيلين الناي (PANI) يبلغ 55.5. مكثف هذا الحجم إلى 45.2 عند تطعيم بولي أنيلين بنسبة 15% وزناً من السيليكا المُغلفة بأكسيد الحديد (Fe₃O₄) مُحضّرة بطريقة جيدة بشكل جيد، مما يميل إلى التمدد بشكل ثابت في تشكيل المركب المتباين المنظم. ضاقت النطاق البصري من 3.2 إلى 2.5 إلكترون فولت مع زيادة نسبة المطعّم، مما يشير …

Harnessing Wavefront Shaping Control For Sensing Applications, Pablo Jara

Miners Solving for Tomorrow Research Conference

Diffuse optical tomography (DOT) and functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) enable deep, non-invasive sensing in biological tissue but are fundamentally limited by the photon budget - most injected light is lost to scattering before reaching the detector. Wavefront shaping (WFS) can enhance signal strength inside scattering media via interference, but the conventional diffusion-based sensitivity model breaks down under coherent illumination. We develop a microscopic theory of optical sensitivity that captures interference effects neglected by diffusion theory. We prove analytically that the microscopic and diffusive descriptions coincide under random illumination and identify WFS strategies that enhance sensitivity beyond this limit. The maximum …

Dispersive Shock And Rogue Waves In Two-Dimensional Quantum Droplets, Farhana Bristy

Miners Solving for Tomorrow Research Conference

Quantum droplets, are liquid type configurations stabilized by the balance between attractive mean-field interactions and repulsive quantum fluctuations. They provide highly flexible platforms for the quantum simulation of hydrodynamic phenomena using ultracold gases. Here, we explore the nonlinear quantum dynamics of two-dimensional quantum droplets under Riemann initial conditions. The steepness of the latter facilitates the emergence of radially symmetric dispersive shock waves (DSWs) when quantum fluctuations dominate. In particular, the ensuing DSWs travel from the potential edges toward the center where they collide and through their interference high amplitude spatially localized rogue wave structures emerge. In contrast, tuning the interactions …

Anti-Inflammatory And Insulin-Modulating Effects Of Tithonia-Curcuma-Moringa (Tcm) Formulation In Type 2 Diabetes: An Experimental Study In Mice, Rif’Atul Hawani Burhan, Nabila Shafa Yumna Salsabila, Devita Zulfa Pratama, La Tazkia Aulia Wibowo, Yulian Ervin Maulana, Moh Dliyauddin, Noviana Dwi Lestari, Agung Pramana Warih Marhendra, Aris Soewondo, Hideo Tsuboi, Muhaimin Rifa’I

Karbala International Journal of Modern Science

Type 2 diabetes is a chronic metabolic disorder characterized by hyperglycemia and chronic inflammation. This study investigated the anti-inflammatory and insulin-modulating effects of Tithonia-Curcuma-Moringa (TCM) formulation in type 2 diabetes model. Male BALB/c mice were divided into six groups: normal control, type 2 diabetes control, metformin treatment, and three TCM formulation treatment groups with three different dose combinations. Type 2 diabetes was induced using a high-fat diet combined with streptozotocin injection, supported by sucrose administration. After 21 days of treatment, the spleen and pancreas were isolated for flow cytometry analysis. The results showed that the expression levels of …

Literature Review Of Local Culture-Based Mathematics E-Module With Islamic Values In Probability, Maya Puspita Sari, Surya Sari Faradiba

Jurnal Pendidikan Sains

This study is grounded in the need to address the limitations of probability learning that is often procedural, decontextualized, and disconnected from students’ cultural and religious values. It aims to develop a comprehensive understanding of how local cultural contexts and Islamic values can be systematically integrated into mathematics e-modules, particularly for probability learning, and to formulate structured design principles and quality indicators for their development. This paper adopts a Systematic Literature Review (SLR) approach by analyzing empirical studies published between 2020 and 2025, using a structured selection process involving identification, screening, eligibility, and inclusion stages. A total of 11 high-quality …

The Effect Of Virtual Laboratories On Students Interest And Learning Outcomes In Spermatophyta At Sma Negeri 1 Sojol, Ismawati Ismawati, Sutrisnawati Sutrisnawati, Manap Trianto, Masrianih Masrianih, Abd Rauf, Musdalifah Nurdin

Jurnal Pendidikan Sains

Limited access to physical laboratory facilities and the abstract nature of Spermatophyta material reduce students’ learning interest and outcomes, necessitating the use of innovative digital learning media such as virtual laboratories. This study aims to analyze the effect of Virtual Laboratory (V-Lab) implementation on students’ learning interest and cognitive learning outcomes in Spermatophyta material at the senior high school level. A quantitative quasi-experimental design with a posttest-only control group was employed involving 66 eleventh-grade students divided into experimental and control classes; data were collected using a learning interest questionnaire and a multiple-choice test, and analyzed using independent samples t-test after …

Augmented Reality In Physics Learning: Trends, Development Patterns, And Instructional Practices From Systematic Literature, Muhammad Musyaddad, Achmad Samsudin, Duden Saepuzaman, Ahmad Aminudin, Nisaul Afifah

Jurnal Pendidikan Sains

This study examines recent developments in the use of augmented reality (AR) in physics education within the evolving landscape of educational technology. The aim is to provide a comprehensive mapping of research trends, pedagogical approaches, and methodological characteristics of AR-based physics learning. Following PRISMA guidelines, a systematic search across four major databases identified 62 eligible studies published over the past five years. The findings reveal a consistent pattern in which AR is primarily used to support conceptual understanding of abstract physics topics, particularly electricity, mechanics, and magnetism, through inquiry-based and laboratory-oriented learning approaches. These implementations are commonly developed using systematic …

Reading Literacy Research Trends In Science Learning (2015–2025), Siwi Handayani, Siswanto Siswanto, Rina Rahayu

Jurnal Pendidikan Sains

This study aims to analyze research trends in reading literacy within science learning from 2015 to 2025 through a Systematic Literature Review (SLR) following the PRISMA (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses) framework. The initial screening of 150 articles from the WoS Core Collection and SINTA databases yielded 29 articles that met the inclusion criteria. The analysis focused on publication dynamics, contributing countries, participant characteristics, research variables, and the science subjects investigated. The findings indicate that research on reading literacy in science learning remains limited and shows fluctuating development. Most publications originate from national journals indexed by SINTA, …

Florence State Prepares For Jet Age Needs With New, Expanded Facilities, Tommy Hill

Documents

News article from The Birmingham News about the expanded facilities at Florence State College

Scientist Floyd Retires At Florence State, Jack Bridges

Documents

Dr. Homer H. Floyd's retirement from Florence State College

Direct Energy Cascade Of 2d Quantum Turbulence In Supersolids, Lukas Farthing

Miners Solving for Tomorrow Research Conference

The non-equilibrium turbulent response of periodically driven three-dimensional ultracold dipolar gases is induced by an external time-dependent ring potential. To model this system and monitor its non-equilibrium quantum dynamics, we invoke an extended Gross-Pitaevskii framework containing the first-order quantum correction to the mean-field energy functional. The shape of the external perturbing potential is chosen to trigger angular roton excitations, driving the supersolid configuration out of equilibrium and attaining a turbulent state. Following the generation of shallow vortical defects in the bulk, a direct cascade front manifests, transporting energy from larger to smaller length scales. This leads to a non-equilibrium quasi-steady …

Vortex Generation In Dipolar Supersolids, Jacob Harl

Miners Solving for Tomorrow Research Conference

Ultracold atomic gases offer highly tunable platforms for exploring complex quantum many-body phenomena. In addition, dipolar quantum gases of magnetic atoms featuring long-range anisotropic interactions are exquisite systems for realizing exotic phases-of-matter in an experimentally controlled way. A prototypical example is the supersolid state which simultaneously exhibits frictionless flow of superfuids and crystalline density modulation of solids. In this realm, we investigate the dynamical generation of vortex topological defects by imprinting a suitable phase jump in quasi-two-dimensional dipolar supersolids. This protocol enables the nucleation of a dark soliton which consecutively becomes unstable via the eponymous snake instability due to its …

Elucidating Complex H Behavior In Amorphous Oxide Semiconductors By Machine Learning, Lucas Ethington

Miners Solving for Tomorrow Research Conference

In this project, the disordered oxide structures will be mapped by a machine-learning algorithm (e.g., HDBSCAN) to identify characteristic behaviors of the proton across different material densities and defect types. This should help identify the under-coordinated, highly distorted, weakly-bonded, and dynamically unstable atoms to predict the most probable H locations. This fast and accurate prediction of energetically favorable H distribution will enable a reliable and fast screening of a large number of AOSs with variable cation and/or anion compositions. The approach will help find AOSs with suppressed numbers of M-OH defects (that form deep electron traps, limiting the number of …

The Structure Of Amorphous Alox And Its Role In H Distribution And Dynamics, Lana Herkenhoff

Miners Solving for Tomorrow Research Conference

Hydrogen is known to be the culprit of electron decoherence in Josephson junctions, greatly affecting the performance of superconducting quantum circuits. For Al/AlOx interfaces, the challenge is two-fold: 1) similar Al-Al and Al-H bond strength promotes bond switching and, hence, facilitates vigorous H motion; whereas 2) oxygen has only a slight preference to form Al-O rather than H-O bond, implying that (meta)stable Al--O-H are likely to occur, especially in a disordered oxide. In this project, ab initio molecular dynamics (MD) simulations are employed to generate the atomistic models of Al2O3-x with oxygen vacancy defects and to quantify the H diffusion, …

Dynamical Transition From A Two-Dimensional Soliton To A Rogue Wave In Quantum Droplets, Punit Sesha Sai Turlapati

Miners Solving for Tomorrow Research Conference

We investigate the nonequilibrium dynamics of two-dimensional quantum droplets: ultracold self-bound many-body states stabilized by the interplay of mean-field attractive interactions and repulsive quantum fluctuations. Flat-top ground state droplets are subject to an external potential, an attractive well and a repulsive barrier. Under the influence of the attractive well, we observe signatures of a Townes soliton formation, which for increasing strength of the well transitions into a two-dimensional rogue wave structure, a time-periodic highly localized configuration with amplitude three times larger than the background. The barrier instead favors a dynamical splitting of the droplet. We have developed a parallelized simulation …

Non-Redundant Rovibrational Hamiltonians By Molien Generating Functions And Gröbner-Basis Reduction, Leandro Ajo

University Libraries Undergraduate Research Award

High-resolution molecular spectroscopy requires an effective Hamiltonian whose operator content is both complete, containing every term allowed by molecular symmetry and nonredundant, free of any algebraically dependent operators that would cause ill-conditioned parameter fits. Traditional derivations based on Van Vleck contact transformations satisfy neither criterion automatically. This paper develops a rigorous, algorithmic pipeline that guarantees both properties simultaneously. Starting from the permutation– inversion (PI) group GPI of a molecule (Longuet-Higgins, 1963), we apply Molien’s theorem (Molien, 1897) to the symplectic normal-coordinate representation to obtain the vibrational generating function Φvib(t); integrate over the Haar measure of SO(3) (Weyl, 1946) to obtain …

Dynamics Of Localized Wave Packets In Quantum Mechanics, Ayla Zook, Keigo L. Fujita, Rufus Boyack Phd

Wetterhahn Science Symposium Posters

Quantum wave packets are localized, time-dependent solutions of the Schrödinger equation that mimic classical particle motion. In his 1926 paper, Schrödinger famously showed that displacing the ground state of the harmonic oscillator produces a wave packet whose probability density maintains its shape and saturates the Heisenberg uncertainty bound. Motivated by this result, we construct and analyze wave-packet solutions for the Airy potential, the simple harmonic oscillator (SHO), and the pseudoharmonic oscillator (PHO). Our general approach is to find expansion coefficients and take a superposition of the energy eigenstates of the time-independent Schrödinger equation. We examine spatially displaced eigenstates alongside alternative …

Gravity Compensation, Carter Glover, Siyuan Zhou

Senior Project

This project focused on the design, analysis, and testing of an air-bearing gravity compensation testbed intended to simulate reduced-friction motion for space-related applications. Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) simulations were conducted to evaluate airflow characteristics, pressure distribution, and bearing performance under various operating conditions. The design was refined to improve load support, stability, and airflow efficiency while maintaining manufacturability. Experimental testing and simulation results were compared to assess system performance and validate design assumptions. The completed testbed demonstrates the feasibility of using air bearings to create a low-friction environment suitable for motion testing and gravity compensation studies.

Optical Force/Torque Sensor, Kyle Sweeney, Ian Unruh

Senior Project

This project presents the design, development, and testing of a low-cost optical force/torque sensor for Skyforge, an autonomous robotic system intended for in-space construction. The sensor utilizes eight optical transmissive sensors and a compliant PEEK spring mechanism to measure forces and torques across six degrees of freedom. By detecting spring deflections through changes in light intensity, the system provides real-time force and torque feedback while remaining significantly less expensive than commercially available alternatives. The prototype was designed to measure forces up to ±5 N and torques up to ±50 N·mm with a target minimum detectable force of 0.5 N. Calibration …

Skyforge End Effector, Sarah Alexander, Coleman Bubar

Senior Project

Large space structures are necessary for space advancement. However, construction is difficult with the current methods; SkyForge is a robot intended for orbital assembly. The robot will walk on and build the structure by utilizing the end effectors to grasp and position parts.