Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

Investigations On The Active Catalyst In Pd Catalyzed Organic Reactions, Riley Mcgraw

WWU Honors College Senior Projects

Cross coupling and C-H functionalization reactions are valuable tools in the synthesis of pharmaceuticals, natural products, fine chemicals, and electronics. Molecular precatalysts are frequently used in both reactions but because the reactions use conditions like those employed in intentional preparation of nanoparticles, the presence of nanoparticles is highly likely for both systems. In the case of the cross-coupling reaction, nanoparticles have been shown to have catalytic relevance, but C-H functionalization reactions are widely thought to occur by means of a homogenous catalyst. To better understand the state of the active catalyst, a method of homogeneity analysis by centrifuge is proposed. …

Using Mineral Magnetism To Characterize Compositions Of Fe-Ti Oxide Phases Of The Sulphur Creek Lava Flow (Kulshan), Elika Zilis

WWU Honors College Senior Projects

The aim of this study is to examine variations in the composition of Fe-Ti oxide minerals in the Sulphur Creek lava flow (SE margin of Kulshan), using magnetic techniques and electron microscopy. Geochemical and petrological data from these rocks dated ~9.8 ka may be a product of two distinct magma pulses (Garvey, 2002) with two distinct compositions: andesitic basalt and basalt. The composition of cubic oxides (magnetite and ulvöspinel) is influenced by the geochemistry of the crystallizing magma and can be used to provide information about the chemical evolution of these magmas, but also to help frame future paleomagnetic studies …

Evaluating Domain Specific Llm Performance Within Economics Using The Novel Econqa Dataset, Tate Van Patten

WWU Honors College Senior Projects

This paper describes a novel dataset, EconQA, constructed to assess the performance of large language models within multiple choice economics questions. I present results from 10 experiments, varying prompts and model choices. Results challenge previous findings that prompt choice makes a large impact on quality of response. Using the GPT 3.5 Turbo model, observed performance levels ranged from 70-77% for all prompt choices, with the no prompt baseline scoring 73%. When prompted to use Chain-of-Thought reasoning with examples, performance was highest at 76%. Contrary to previous research, performance on mathematical questions when prompted with Chain-of-Thought was high. This paper closes …

Synthesis And Characterization Of Hydroxy-Functionalized Copper Indium Disulfide Quantum Dots, Julia Schexnayder

WWU Honors College Senior Projects

Quantum dots offer tunable electronic and optical properties due to the quantum confinement effect, making them desirable for various applications. However, their native hydrophobic form requires surface chemistry modification for certain applications. This research explores the method of ligand exchange using 11-mercapto-1-undecanol for improving the stability of copper indium disulfide (CIS) quantum dot (QD) nanoparticles in polar environments. The effects of this ligand exchange on QD chemical composition, optical properties, hydroxy-reactivity, and hydrodynamic radius are characterized. Analysis of characterization results indicates successful surface modification through hydroxyfunctionalization, as confirmed by 1H-NMR and IR spectroscopy. The desired optical properties of the QDs …

Databases And Deliberation, Britany Orozco, Quentin Jensen

WWU Honors College Senior Projects

This paper describes the process taken to build a digital form-collection system in a business context. By starting with the motivation for the project, we can gather the requirements necessary to complete before we can consider the project complete. From there, we start discussing the client-server-database architecture principles that must be reviewed before we can design our database. Database design fundamentals are reviewed, such as what a schema or entity relationship diagram is, and those fundamentals are used to design the database. Next, we show how a development environment is chosen. With the environment set up, we then discuss how …

The Role Of Volatile Enrichment In The Radiogenic Heating And Thermal Evolution Of Rocky Exoplanets, Ula Jones, Asmaa Boujibar

WWU Honors College Senior Projects

Internal heating in terrestrial planets is a fundamental physical process controlling the internal structure of a planet, mantle convection, volcanic activity, and the generation of magnetic fields. Internal heating results from various processes including radioactive decay and accretional energy, as well as additional irradiation and tidal heating in planets with short orbital periods. The largest long-term heat source for terrestrial planets is radioactive heating, especially from the decay of uranium (U), thorium (Th), and potassium (K) isotopes. K is a moderately volatile element, while U and Th are refractory elements; during planetary accretion volatiles are depleted relative to refractory elements, …

From Filth It Rises Presentation, Griffin Hartz

WWU Honors College Senior Projects

This project contains the design, development, and partial implementation of a survival horror game made in Unity engine. The highlight of the game's design is the machine learning agents used to create the game's enemy AI, developed with Unity's MLagents system. In the game, the player controls a construction worker who traveled into a sewer to pursue a missing coworker. They eventually find their way into a crumbling undercity where their coworker was trapped, and soon become hunted by the mutant monster that killed their coworker. Their goal is to escape the ruins without being preyed upon by the mutant …

Solving The Genius Square: Using Math And Computers To Analyze A Polyomino Tiling Game, Noah Jensen

WWU Honors College Senior Projects

This paper investigates if the claim of the game Genius Square is true, that all 62,208 boards that its dice can roll are solvable. The gameboard is a 6 by 6 grid and the objective of the game is to tile a board that has 7 blockers, quasi-randomly placed by the dice, with 9 polyominoes consisting of 1, 2, 3, and 4 squares. In order to implement a model of linear systems created by John Burkardt and M.R. Garvie, code was developed using Python and Matlab. With this code, it was shown that all 62,208 boards are solvable. The number …

A Change-Point Analysis Of Air Pollution Levels In Silao, Mexico And Fresno, California, Rachael Goodwin

WWU Honors College Senior Projects

We analyzed PM10 levels in the city of Silao, Mexico, as well as PM2.5 and PM10 levels in Fresno, California to determine if there was a shift in air pollution levels in either location. A change point based analysis was used to determine if there was a shift in air pollution levels. In the city of Silao, there was a significant increase in PM10 levels, but there was no significant change in Fresno for either pollutant.

Lake Whatcom Monitoring Project 2021/2022 Report, Angela Strecker, Michael Hilles, Joan Pickens, Kathryn Queen, Emily Flarry, Robert Mitchell, Robin A. Matthews, Geoffrey B. Matthews

Lake Whatcom Annual Reports

This report describes the results from the 2021/2022 Lake Whatcom monitoring program conducted by the Institute for Watershed Studies at Western Washington University (www.wwu.edu/iws).

The major objectives in 2021/2022 were to continue long-term baseline water quality monitoring in Lake Whatcom and its major tributaries; collect storm runoff water quality data from representative streams in the watershed; and continue collection of hydrologic data from Austin and Smith Creeks.

Freshwater Algae In Northwest Washington, Volume Iii. Desmids, Part A, Robin A. Matthews

A Collection of Open Access Books and Monographs

No abstract provided.

Hood Canal Salmon Enhancement Sustainable Farm Education Intern, Sean Anderson

College of the Environment Internship Reports

Hood Canal Salmon Enhancement Group (HCSEG) is a nonprofit organization that seeks to ensure the healthy recovery of salmon in the Hood Canal watershed, and through restoration, education, and research they aim to achieve this goal. Based at the Salmon Center in Belfair, I interned on the farm there aptly named Farm at Water’s Edge. They’re a certified organic farm meaning they don’t use any herbicides, pesticides, or chemical fertilizer where runoff can be avoided to not affect the salmon, it’s a fantastic demonstration of sustainable farming practices.

Nw Straits Foundation Rain Garden Intern, Margeaux Bailey

College of the Environment Internship Reports

The goal of the project was to not only create a green space within the bus loop where children are dropped off and picked up but to build a storm water filtration system to improve storm water quality before it enters streams and it’s final destination, the Salish Sea.This rain garden also provides continuous learning opportunities for the students at Mt. Erie Elementary School to gain knowledge about stormwater management practices and the opportunity to be environmental stewards. The Mt. Erie rain garden contains a variety of 130 plants including native species and benefits the Salish Sea through filtering up …

Compost Manufacturing Alliance Data Eval And Testing Intern, Emma Anderson

College of the Environment Internship Reports

My role at CMA was multifaceted. One half of my work consisted of fieldwork, and the other half was working on recertifications and learning the operations of the company. Towards the end, my boss and I attempted to solve, or help solve, an issue about on-campus composting that was brought to my attention but had limited luck with contacting the composter and the managers of Aramark who source food ware materials.

Mt Baker Snow School Intern, Katrina Doerflinger

College of the Environment Internship Reports

This February and March I volunteered as an environmental educator with the program. I brought students up on the mountain to different outdoor lessons hosted by the Snow School’s partners. I also had the opportunity to teach my own workshop on snow crystal formation in the atmosphere. This program is part of a 3-year-long education initiative called Snow to Sea to teach middle school students about our local watershed. We are their first exposure to this initiative at the very top of the watershed: Mt. Baker. It's so rewarding to see students, many of which have never been to Mt. …

Skagit County Public Works Intern, Cynthia Elston

College of the Environment Internship Reports

During my internship with Skagit County, I had the opportunity to participate in various programs contributing to the organization's mission of protecting and enhancing the natural resources in the county. The following paragraphs provide an overview of my involvement and contributions in each program.

Wwu Research Assistant Intern, Itzel Perez

College of the Environment Internship Reports

My 2-credit research project focused on the degradation of polymers, such as Low-Density Polyethylene and Polycarbonate, within the human digestive system. Throughout my project I had been working with my advisor, Dr. Montaño, as well as my research partner, Ashlynn Lee, to develop an in-depth understanding of polymers. I first began doing research on polymers of interests and narrowed down to two specific plastics- Low-Density Polyethylene (LDPE) and PC (Polycarbonate).

Wwu Iws Internship, Owen Sinderman

College of the Environment Internship Reports

The IWS performs several roles, both within the university and with external government and non-government organizations. Among these are assistance with student projects, program development, sponsorship of watershed-related seminars, and provision of equipment and knowledge for water quality monitoring and research. One of the main projects of the IWS is the Lake Whatcom monitoring program, a large-scale watershed study that has been collecting data since 1988. During my time with the Institute, I assisted primarily in this project, specifically with the tributary stormwater and lake water quality aspects. I additionally got a chance to help with the start of a …

Whatcom Transit Authority Senior Project Report, Kendall Jouett

College of the Environment Internship Reports

The current scenario of greenhouse gas emissions is expected to increase with global warming throughout the end of the twenty-first century. Organizations in the United States are actively working towards mitigation strategies that are beneficial in contributing towards the progress of the Biden Administration’s goal to cut back greenhouse gas emissions from the levels recorded in 2005 down by half by 2030. In order to accomplish this goal, counties are developing sustainability plans specialized to the area’s lifestyle uses of energy. A major focal point nationally is the transportation sector’s environmental impacts, and many are looking toward the development of …

Nsea - Gis Intern, Maximillian Yost

College of the Environment Internship Reports

Most of my work included updating, editing, and creating GIS feature layers and maps used by the NSEA restoration crews, and creating maps and story maps that could be viewed and easily digested by the public. With my role, I got to work on projects with both the educational and the field side of NSEA.

Miles Berkey Bryophyte Research, Hattie Bakke

College of the Environment Internship Reports

assisted in mapping bryophyte flora in Mount Baker-Snoqualmie National Park, along LGM (last glacial maximum) spatial boundaries determined by GIS (see
Figure 1). The aim of this research has been to determine the likelihood of an ice age refugium in Barlow Pass, by comparing the proportion of disjunct species to the known ice age refugium, Brooks Peninsula (Figure 2), and the known non-refugial area Cascade Pass (Figure 3). Bryophytes are a group of non-vascular plants, divided into mosses, liverworts, and hornworts. They are amongst the oldest extant lineage of terrestrial plants.

Taylor Shellfish Farms + Sakari Farms, Rosalie Potvin

College of the Environment Internship Reports

I would work up to 6 days a week during the low tide to harvest, plant, and transplant clams and oysters. My time at Taylor Shellfish Farms introduced me to a sustainable form aquaculture as I split my time between Clam and Oyster Crews.

Washington Conservation Corps Intern, Suzanne Krasle

College of the Environment Internship Reports

WCC is an AmeriCorps program under the Department of Ecology for Washington State. Opportunities for service through WCC include working on a trail, spike, or restoration crew, or as an individual placement. I worked on a restoration crew. Restoration crews focus on native planting, invasive species removal and mitigation, and implementation of erosion control techniques. My crew consisted of six WCC crew members including me and our supervisor, and we worked alongside our sponsor the Skagit River System Coop (SRSC).

Washington Conservaton Corps Intern, Suzanne Krasle

College of the Environment Internship Reports

Restoration crews focus on native planting, invasive species removal and mitigation, and implementation of erosion control techniques. My crew consisted of six WCC crew members including me and our supervisor, and we worked alongside our sponsor the Skagit River System Coop (SRSC). Since January, we completed planting projects along with some brush-cutting of Himalayan blackberry. In addition to working on the restoration projects, my role within WCC was to document our crew’s daily work including site conditions and the number of trees planted.

Nsea Community Program Intern, Paige Aagaard

College of the Environment Internship Reports

was a Community Program Intern with the Nooksack Salmon Enhancement Association’s (NSEA) Future Leaders of Whatcom County (FLOW) program for spring 2023. NSEA is a local, community-based organization within Whatcom County. It is a 501 c(3) organization meaning that NSEA is a charitable, nonprofit for the benefit of the community (IRS, 2023). Main funding comes from various grants. NSEA’s major focus is on habitat restoration to help declining salmon populations:

Wwu Herring Stock Research Intern, Alexandra Haase

College of the Environment Internship Reports

This internships main goal was to follow up the work of former graduate student Heidi Stewart, and explore the predation activities of large predators in Herring spawning habitats. Last year, Dr. Sobocinski and Heidi placed metal nets in different Bays around the Salihs Sea. This was to isolate herring spawn, in order to see the impact of predators on herring spawn. During this time, I was brought onto their research team as a field assistant and video processer. Heidi trained me in her procedures and gave me my first taste of environmental field work.

Wwu Sustainability Engagement Institute Data Ambassador, Ashley Olson

College of the Environment Internship Reports

My internship almost entirely surrounded the project of working towards completion and submission of the WWU Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education (AASHE) Sustainability, Tracking, Assessment, and Rating System (STARS) report to receive a score assessing where our institution is both independently and comparatively in our progress towards an optimally sustainable campus. The role of my position as the data ambassador was to gather data from numerous departments and individuals throughout our campus network and craft technical writing within the majority of sections to further explain our campus operations and the data I compiled. The objective for …

Washington Conservation Corps Intern, Maczenzie Kelm

College of the Environment Internship Reports

My work with the Washington Conservation Corp (WCC) was with a restoration crew sponsored by the Skagit River Systems Co-op. The organization does work in the Skagit river basin to restore salmon habitat. The focus of this work is on riparian areas, in the summer season which I had worked we primarily maintained sites where plantings had been done previously. This was done through brush cutting survival rings around young plants, as well as removing invasive species such as Himalayan blackberry and morning glory either through herbicide use or brush cutting. Hours worked with WCC were ten hours four days …

Salish Scientists Summer Camp Internship, Jayden Lehner

College of the Environment Internship Reports

The non-profit is one of the fourteen Regional Fisheries Enhancement Groups (RFEGs) in Washington State. They work to foster a community that cares about bringing awareness to salmon and giving everyone opportunities to contribute to the success of salmon. Salmon are an essential part of the Pacific Northwest, for people and the environment. During the summer, they run a Salish Scientists Summer camp held at the Willow Creek Salmon and Watershed Education Center in Edmonds, Washington. The center is a hatchery that they raise salmon fry to release into Willow Creek. The wetland on site is incorporated into many of …

Institute For Watershed Studies Research Assistant, Julia Ralston

College of the Environment Internship Reports

Going into this internship I had a couple of learning objectives, and I feel I was able to complete all of them successfully. First, I was expecting to learn the specific techniques for lake sampling and how to collect those samples without compromising them. This was a goal that I feel was completed. I was taught a method of sampling that works well for small lakes, like the ones that we sampled from. For most lakes we used waders and waded into the lake. We brought with us a very long pole with a bottle at the end of it. …