Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

Enantioselective Biotransformation Of Prochiral Ketone Via Daucus Carota, Ryan Smith, Charlie Knox, Elizabeth Davis

Undergraduate Research Conference

Biotransformations of prochiral ketones can be performed using plant cells. The benefits of using plant cells include low cost, environmentally sound procedures compared to conventional chemical processes, and the stereospecific nature of the reaction.1,2 Benzofuran-2-yl methyl ketone was reduced to (- )-benzofuran-2-yl-ethanol after incubation with carrots in water. The reaction was enantioselective in that it produced the S-isomer as indicated by optical activity. Currently, attempts to isolate the carrot enzyme and antimicrobial studies of the (-)-benzofuran-2-yl-ethanol product are underway.

Geographic Information Systems And Cloud Computing, James Hearn

Undergraduate Research Conference

No abstract provided.

A Multiplicative "Conic", Tiffany Lundy

Undergraduate Research Conference

Early in their mathematical career, students learn about how ellipses and hyperbolas are formed, their properties, and their applications. In particular, an ellipse is the set of all points in the plane whose combined distance from two fixed locations (foci) is constant. A hyperbola is formed in much the same way, except instead of combining (adding) the distance from the foci, the difference is used. This research begins by examining a new locus of points. The locus of points if formed by taking all points whose distance from two fixed locations when multiplied in constant. The difference discernible types of …

Solids Of Revolution Formed By Rotating Functions, Cory Robinson, Blake Moyer

Undergraduate Research Conference

During Calculus students learn how to find the volume of regions formed by rotating a function about a vertical or horizontal line. This technique is useful in finding the volume of regular/symmetric three dimensional regions, but fails for regions which do not possess these qualities. This project is a generalization of this idea in order to find the volume of a solid generated by revolving one function about another. This should lead to being able to find or approximate the volume of regions which are not symmetric/regular.

Petrology Of Proterozoic To Tertiary Rocks In The Southern Burro Mountains, Nm: Insights Into Mazatzal To Basin And Range Magmatism And Tectonics, Theda Strickler

Undergraduate Research Conference

Analysis of thin sections from the Wind Mountain quadrangle, Burro Mountains, NM, near the Tyrone copper mine, reveals a complex geologic history. Rock samples collected in the study area were cut using a rock saw and thin sections were prepared and analyzed to determine mineral content and fabric patterns. The oldest rocks in the study area are strongly metamorphosed and locally mylonitized Proterozoic quartzofeldspathic gneisses and amphibolites of Mazatzal affinity. Mineralogical indications of shearing correlate with shear zones observed during field mapping in the area. Another set of samples are of younger Proterozoic granites and metagranites that intruded the country …

Understanding Student Gpa, Justin Rodrigues, Malcolm Recinos, Carla Torres

Undergraduate Research Conference

As a student of Stephen F. Austin State University have you ever wondered about the efficacy of you weekly habits as it relates towards your cumulative college GPA? Have you ever been curious of students with a higher GPA (grade point average) spent their free time than those with a lower GPAs? We decided to test various weekly habits of the everyday college student to discover if their actions are in fact a determinant of college GPA.

Research In The Teaching Laboratory: Improving The Synthesis Of Lidocaine, Chris Taliaferro

Undergraduate Research Conference

The multi-step synthesis of Lidocaine is traditionally a low-yielding reaction mainly due to its second step, formation of a-chloro-2,6-dimethylacetanilide. Students often question the use of an acid (acetic acid) as the solvent for the reaction of a base (2,6-dimethylaniline, 1) with the acyl chloride (a-chloroacetyl chloride, 2), (Reaction Scheme) but they follow the procedure as directed.

Students, if treated as scientists in training, should be able to form a hypothesis before an experiment, design experiments to test the given hypothesis, and evaluate the results. A typical laboratory class was assigned to synthesize a-chloro-2,6-dimethylacetanilide using …

Apartment Rental Prices In Dallas, Mandi Lovett

Undergraduate Research Conference

There are many questions in a graduating students mind such as “Will I get that job?” and “Where will I live?” We wanted to predict apartment rental prices in Dallas to give students an idea of what their living expenses could be. We found that an apartment's distance from downtown Dallas and if the apartment has a pool are two factors that decrease the apartment's overall rental price.

Testing The Effectiveness Of Lecture Capture Technology Using Prior Gpa As A Performance Indicator, Michael D. Stroup, Michael M. Pickard, Korey E. Kahler

Faculty Publications

This empirical study examines whether making lecture capture technology available in a face-to-face lecture environment can improve students’ ability to learn the course material. We examine student performance in undergraduate principles courses in computer science and economics. However, rather than simply comparing average course grades between lecture capture and non-lecture capture classes, we use student grade point average (GPA) as a predictor of course grades earned in non-lecture capture classes and lecture capture classes taught by the same professors using the same course materials. Our results imply that making lecture capture technology available in face-to-face lectures does not appear to …

A Chronicle Of Changing American Attitudes Toward Wetlands, Matthew W. Mcbroom

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Identifying Well Pads In The Haynesville Shale Region, Louisiana And Texas, With Digital Imagery, Darinda Dans, Daniel Unger, Kenneth W. Farrish, I-Kuai Hung

Faculty Publications

The Haynesville Shale is an underlying rock formation in northwest Louisiana and northeast Texas that contains vast quantities of natural gas. With new technology has come the ability to extract more natural gas from one of the largest gas deposits in the United States. With increased production, increased change in the local ecosystem will occur. It is necessary to examine oil and gas exploration effects on the local ecosystem due to changes in land cover, such as habitat loss and increased soil erosion. Remotely sensed imagery were utilized to ascertain the use of various digital image processing techniques to determine …

The Golden Pathway To Thiolate-Stabilized Nanoparticles: Following The Formation Of Gold (I) Thiolate From Gold (Iii) Chloride, Brian M. Barngrover, Christine M. Aikens

Faculty Publications

Pathways for the formation of gold thiolate complexes from gold(III) chloride precursors AuCl₄^– and AuCl₃ are examined. This work demonstrates that two distinct reaction pathways are possible; which pathway is accessible in a given reaction may depend on factors such as the residue group R on the incoming thiol. Density functional theory calculations using the BP86 functional and a polarized triple-ζ basis set show that the pathway resulting in gold(III) reduction is favored for R = methyl. A two-to-one ratio of thiol or thiolate to gold can reduce Au(III) to Au(I), and a three-to-one ratio can lead …

Toward A Regional Radiocarbon Model For The East Texas Woodland Period, Robert Z. Selden Jr., Timothy K. Perttula

CRHR: Archaeology

The East Texas Radiocarbon Database contributes to an analysis of tempo and place for Woodland era (ca. 500 B.C. - A.D. 800) archaeological sites within the region. The temporal and spatial distributions of calibrated radiocarbon (¹⁴C) ages (n=127) with a standard deviation (ΔT) of 61 from archaeological sites with Woodland components (n=51) are useful in exploring the development and geographical continuity of the peoples in East Texas, and lead to a refinement of our current chronological understanding of the period. While the analysis of the dates produces less than significant findings due to sample size, they are used …

Modeling Regional Radicarbon Trends: A Case Study From The East Texas Woodland Period, Robert Z. Selden Jr.

CRHR: Archaeology

The East Texas Radiocarbon Database contributes to an analysis of tempo and place for Woodland era (~500 BC–AD 800) archaeological sites within the region. The temporal and spatial distributions of calibrated ¹⁴C ages (n = 127) with a standard deviation (ΔT) of 61 from archaeological sites with Woodland components (n = 51) are useful in exploring the development and geographical continuity of the peoples in east Texas, and lead to a refinement of our current chronological understanding of the period. While analysis of summed probability distributions (SPDs) produces less than significant findings due to sample size, they are used …

The East Texas Caddo: Modeling Tempo And Place, Robert Z. Selden Jr., Timothy K. Perttula

CRHR: Archaeology

Analysis of the Caddo sample (n=889 dates) from the East Texas radiocarbon database is used to establish the tempo and place of Caddo era (ca. A.D. 800-1680) archaeological sites, site clusters, and communities across the region. The temporal and spatial distribution of radiocarbon ages from settlements, mound centers, and cemeteries across the region have utility in exploring the development and geographical continuity of the Caddo peoples; establishing the specific times when areas were abandoned or population sizes diminished; and defining times and areas illustrating an intensification in mound center construction and large cemeteries became a focus of community social practices.

Carbon(Sp3)-Fluorine Bond-Forming Reductive Elimination From Palladium(Iv) Complexes., J. Brannon Gary

Faculty Publications

The development of transition-metal-catalyzed reactions for the formation of CF bonds has been an area of intense research over the past decade.[1–3] Traditionally, the CF coupling step of these sequences has proven challenging because of the high kinetic barrier for CF bond-forming reductive elimination from most transition-metal centers.[1] Our approach to address this challenge has involved the use of PdII catalysts in conjunction with F+-based oxidants. Since 2006, a variety of PdII-catalyzed reactions of F+ reagents have been developed to introduce fluorine at both C(sp2 ) and C(sp3 ) centers.[4–6] These transformations have been proposed to proceed through CF bond-forming …