Sixteenth Annual KALMAN - Welcome to Bucknell University ... · carolyn DeFalco, stephanie purnell nicolas Diaz mike DiDomenico michael Dosik emma Downey katie Dwyer sara Faiad katie

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KALMAN R E S E A R C H S Y M P O S I U M

Sixteenth Annual

Bucknell university

kalman research symposium

Kalman Research SymposiumApril 1, 2017

*nicole adamsDiego aldana*scott Baltacalli Baranouskicharles Basralian, katherine edwards, matthew elander, lauren Gross, sophie kong, Zachery kozick, Gabrielle petruso, Jasmine spinelli*stephanie Beckkathy Bell, christine murphy, Xueyang Zhang, madison hackleyphoebe Belsermichael Birosakcaroline Bixbysarah Bresette rileigh caseboltryan chakysara christianJessica cohen, amanda Dauber, kim Gaiser, Gabby Gottschall, Jackie haranzo, tasnia Jamil, hallie king, lynn korsun, Grace leung, taylor myers, Grace nicolia, emma shimony, ella storey, libby Williams, megan Wolffpaige collins, lisa Francomacarocarolyn DeFalco, stephanie purnell

nicolas Diazmike DiDomenicomichael Dosikemma Downey katie Dwyersara Faiadkatie Faulknerkatie Faulkner, matt taddeothomas Ficcadentierin FreyJack Geduldig, hannah litwa, Gianna tricolaerin Goldberg, mackenzie haney, Jesse lopez, nicole nisivoccia, chad reese, Frank satriale, agustina Whamonderin Grundyhang haJames hammaddison haxo, kaitlin mowery Daniel hayes*Joshua hellerickGabriella hitelemma hundermarknadia Jagnandan, ryan Wilkiepamela Johnson, rebecca osborne, katherine solleykatelyn kempfkatelyn kempf, emily vislosky Deepali koneru, alexa DiGregorio, clay o’Brien

mae laceykim lapszynskicorinne leard, allie schrockGrace leungyifan linicolas lin, eyuel seyoumhannah litwa, kailey tindle, vincent Fasanello, Jack Geduldig, Gianna tricolanathan luftmanmeredith lutzeric marshallJessica medranotaylor millimanGreg millerJames moranBrian morettitodd nentwignicole nisivoccia, lauren o’connorJohn o’Brienlauren o’connorsarah ochmaximilian ororbiamelissa painterho yeon parkkatie pendelberryBrooke petersonstephanie purnellheather rensch

chelsea rosenbergnicole rupnik, eyuel seyoumarley schenkerDavid schummerJordan sechlerchristopher serfasssam sheridankaixiang shikimberly shustchanda singoyi kait smeraldoDalton stewartmatthew taddeo, phillip martin, matthew mielehemanta timsinatrung trankirsten valentiniemily visloskyraakel vuojolainenrachael Wachter, James kim, mike roccoyunfei (phoebe) Wang, erik Giesen loocameron Williamstongyu yangJakob yankauskasyunyingying XuDavid Zhou

*abroad spring semester 2017

1:45p.m. – 3:15p.m. Oral Presentations in Academic West

ACWS 114Jake Dixon/prof. takahashiJeanne-Jo Gregory/prof. takahashimack Jones/prof. takahashialex mcpherson, spencer li/prof. takahashiJahi omari, nicole Fry/prof. takahashi

ACWS 112Joshua Barna/prof. hermanryan cadigan/prof. iyersam Jacobson/prof. hermanmario perez-Dewey/prof. ulutan

ACWS 108taylor Bernstein/prof. malonevictoria Dikeman/prof. siewersmax Fathauer/prof. steiner*Dante Fresse/prof. clinghamspencer schell/prof. campbell

ACWS 116rebecca reeve/prof. mann, carrie JohnstonDanielle retcho/prof. halpernalexander romango/prof. schneiderariel senackerib/prof. mann

Program Schedule

1:30p.m. – 3:30p.m. Poster Session in Academic West

IntroductionWelcome to the sixteenth annual Kalman Research Symposium.

An important central element of the Bucknell experience is to offer our students in all disciplines the opportunity to engage in substantive out-of-the-classroom research projects with faculty. As stated in the mission statement for Bucknell’s Program for Undergraduate Research, these opportunities allow students and faculty ... to participate in collaborative learning processes designed to dissolve the distinction between teaching and research, and to create a community of learners in which scholarship serves as the basis for teaching and learning.

As is evident in glancing through the abstracts of the projects presented herein, this symposium offers a good view of the breadth and variety of undergraduate research taking place at Bucknell. You are encouraged to attend both the oral presentations as well as the poster session to interact with the scholars and to learn more about their work.

This symposium is named in honor of Ernest Kalman, who graduated from Bucknell in 1956. In addition to his service as a University trustee, Ernie’s generosity to his alma mater has taken many forms, one of which was a significant gift in support of undergraduate research.

The Kalman Research Symposium features projects sponsored or supported by the following:

■ Bucknell University Animal Behavior Program Summer Research Fellowship

■ Bucknell Arts Council

■ Bucknell University Department of Biology

■ Bucknell University Department of Biomedical Engineering

■ Botanical Society of America Undergraduate Research Grant

■ Bucknell Ciffolillo Healthcare Inventors Program

■ Bucknell–Geisinger Research Initiative

■ David Burpee Endowment

■ Douglas K. Candland Undergraduate Research Fund

■ Bucknell University Department of Chemical Engineering

■ Bucknell University Department of Chemistry

■ Costa-Healthcare Fund

■ Culliton Family Fund

■ Bucknell University Dean’s Fellowship

■ Bucknell College of Engineering continued

BUCKNELL UNIVERSIT Y

2017KALMAN RESEARCH

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■ The Sherrilyn and Ken Fisher Center for Environmental Infectious Diseases

■ Genomics Education Partnership (GEP)

■ Graduate Summer Research Fellowship

■ The Tom Greaves Fund for Research and Curricular Development

■ Howard Hughes Medical Institute

■ John H. Hustler Undergraduate Research Fund

■ Kalman Fund for Biomedical Education/Fellows Fund

■ Kalman Fund for Undergraduate Research in the Sciences

■ Bucknell School of Management

■ Wayne E. Manning Internship Fund

■ Materials Research Facilities Network Faculty Fellowship from Penn State University

■ The Katherine Mabis McKenna Environmental Internship Program

■ Mellon Digital Summer Research Grant

■ Microsoft Corporation

■ National Institutes of Health Grant (NIH)

■ National Science Foundation Grant (NSF)

■ National Science Foundation’s TUES Program

■ Bucknell University Presidential Fellowship

■ Bucknell Program for Undergraduate Research

■ Bucknell University Department of Psychology

■ James L.D. and Rebecca Roser Research Fellowship

The Kalman Research Symposium features projects sponsored or supported by the following: (continued)

■ Helen E. Royer Undergraduate Research Fund

■ Russo Family Fund for Undergraduate Research

■ SIT Independent Study Grant

■ Bucknell University Statistics Summer Research Grant

■ Susquehanna River Heartland Coalition for Environmental Studies

■ Robert P. Vidinghoff Memorial Summer Internship (Biology Department)

■ Joann E. Walthour Undergraduate Research Fund

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*Nicole Adams ’18Faculty Mentor: Professor Janice Mann, Art & Art HistoryFunding Source: Bucknell Program for Undergraduate ResearchReturn her Voice: Case Study of Edith Fetherston and the Packwood House Museum

Diego Aldana ’18Faculty Mentor: Professor Indranil Brahma, Mechanical Engineering Funding Source: Bucknell Program for Undergraduate ResearchMeasurement of Injection Fuel Length and Angle via High-Speed Imaging of a Small Single Cylinder Diesel Engine

*Scott Balta ’18Faculty Mentor: Professor Richard Fleming, PhilosophyFunding Source: James L.D. and Rebecca Roser Research FellowshipSuffering and Rebellion in The Myth of Sisyphus

Calli Baranouski ’18Faculty Mentor: Professor Michael Krout, Chemistry Funding Source: Kalman Fund for Undergraduate Research in the Sciences; Bucknell University Department of ChemistryAnalogue Synthesis and Biotin Couplings of the Bile Acid Lithocholic Acid

Joshua Barna ’17Faculty Mentor: Professor Ellen Herman, GeologyFunding Source: Kalman Fund for Undergraduate Research in the SciencesMg/Ca and PCO2 Storm Hysteresis as an Indicator of Flowpaths and Recharge Sources at Two Karst Springs in Central Pennsylvania

Charles Basralian ’19, Katherine Edwards ’19, Matthew Elander ’19, Lauren Gross ’19, Sophie Kong ’19, Zachery Kozick ’18, Gabrielle Petruso ’19, Jasmine Spinelli ’19Faculty Mentors: Professor Marie Pizzorno, Biology; Professor Emily Stowe, BiologyFunding Source: Howard Hughes Medical Institute; Bucknell University Department of BiologyAnnotation and Analysis of the Genome of Arthrobacter Phage Zorro

*Stephanie Beck ’18Faculty Mentor: Professor Mitchell Parks, Classic & Ancient Mediterranean Studies Funding Source: Bucknell Program for Undergraduate ResearchActing Like an Athenian: Evaluative Language in Greek Tragedy

Kathy Bell ’17, Christine Murphy ’17, Xueyang Zhang ’17, Madison Hackley ’19Faculty Mentor: Professor Elizabeth Marin, BiologyFunding Source: Bucknell University Department of Biology; Kalman Fund for Biomedical Education/Fellows FundThe Role of Antp in Anteroposterior Patterning of the Drosophila melanogaster Ventral Nervous System

Kathy Bell ’17, Christine Murphy ’17, Xueyang Zhang ’17, Madison Hackley ’19Faculty Mentor: Professor Elizabeth Marin, BiologyFunding Source: Bucknell University Department of BiologyThe Regulation of Apoptosis in the Drosophila melanogaster Ventral Nervous System

Phoebe Belser ’18Faculty Mentors: Professor Dabrina Dutcher, Chemical Engineering; Professor Timothy Raymond, Chemical Engineering; Professor James Baish, Biomedical EngineeringFunding Source: Bucknell University Department of Biomedical Engineering; Bucknell University Department of Chemical EngineeringHeat and Mass Trends in Rebuildable Drip Atomizer Electronic Cigarettes

Taylor Bernstein ’19Faculty Mentor: Professor Ryan Malone, Music Funding Source: Bucknell Program for Undergraduate Research; Bucknell Arts CouncilThe Sounds of Conflict and Reconciliation: Moravian Choral Music of the Civil War

Michael Birosak ’18Faculty Mentor: Professor Andrew Sloboda, Mechanical Engineering Funding Source: Bucknell Program for Undergraduate ResearchDetermining Optimal Variables for Bifurcation Detection for a Cantilever Beam

Caroline Bixby ’18Faculty Mentor: Professor Richard Henne-Ochoa, Education Funding Source: Helen E. Royer Undergraduate Research FundLanguage-and-culture Talk in the Media

Ryan Cadigan ’17Faculty Mentor: Professor Deepak Iyer, Physics & Astronomy Funding Source: Kalman Fund for Undergraduate Research in the SciencesFar from Equilibrium Behavior of Quantum Systems

Rileigh Casebolt ’18Faculty Mentors: Professor Dabrina Dutcher, Chemical Engineering; Professor Timothy Raymond, Chemical Engineering Funding Source: Bucknell University Department of Chemical EngineeringDirect Measurement of Secondary Organic Aerosol Surface Tension as a Function of Humidity

Ryan Chaky ’17Faculty Mentor: Professor David Kelley, Electrical & Computer Engineering Funding Source: Costa-Healthcare FundReduction of Cross-Polarized Back Lobe Radiation in Circularly Polarized Loop Yagi Arrays

Sara Christian ’18Faculty Mentor: Professor Jennie Stevenson, PsychologyFunding Source: Bucknell Program for Undergraduate Research; Bucknell University Department of PsychologySex Differences in the Effects of Oxytocin on Alcohol Drinking and Locomotor Behavior in Prairie Voles

Jessica Cohen ’17, Amanda Dauber ’17, Kim Gaiser ’18, Gabby Gottschall ’17, Jackie Haranzo ’18, Tasnia Jamil ’17, Hallie King ’17, Lynn Korsun ’18, Grace Leung ’18, Taylor Myers ’18, Grace Nicolia ’17, Emma Shimony ’17, Ella Storey ’17, Libby Williams ’17, Megan Wolff ’18Faculty Mentor: Professor William Flack, PsychologyFunding Source: Bucknell University Department of PsychologyBucknell Sexual Assault Research Team Survey 2016-2017

Paige Collins ’18, Lisa Francomacaro ’18Faculty Mentor: Professor Le Paliulis, BiologyFunding Source: Genomics Education Partnership (GEP); Bucknell University Department of BiologyAnnotation and Analysis of Contig16 of Chromosome 3L of Drosophila elegans

Carolyn DeFalco ’17, Stephanie Purnell ’17Faculty Mentor: Professor Le Paliulis, BiologyFunding Source: Bucknell University Department of BiologyAnnotation and Discovery of Transcription Start Sites of Contig4 on the 3L Chromosome of Drosophila ficusphila

Nicolas Diaz ’17Faculty Mentors: Professor Chris Martine, Biology; Jason Cantley, BiologyFunding Source: David Burpee Endowment; Wayne E. Manning Internship FundMorphometrics and Species Distribution Modeling Elucidates Cryptic Biodiversity in the Coprosma Foliosa Complex (Rubiaceae) of the Hawaiian Islands

Mike DiDomenico ’18Faculty Mentor: Professor Evan Peck, Computer ScienceFunding Source: James L.D. and Rebecca Roser Research FellowshipReducing Moments of Bias with Wearable Sensors

Victoria Dikeman ’17Faculty Mentor: Professor Alf Siewers, EnglishFunding Source: Joann E. Walthour Undergraduate Research FundThe Landscape of Exile: An Ecocritical Approach to the Exeter Book Elegies

Jake Dixon ’18Faculty Mentor: Professor Mizuki Takahashi, BiologyFunding Source: Bucknell University Department of BiologyExamining Nest Cleaning Behavior in the Japanese Giant Salamander (Andrias japonicus)

Michael Dosik ’17Faculty Mentor: Professor Tristan Stayton, BiologyFunding Source: Bucknell University Department of BiologyDifferences in Shell Strength and Drag between Similarly Flat Aquatic and Terrestrial Turtles

Katie Dwyer ’17Faculty Mentor: Professor Carl Kirby, GeologyFunding Source: The Katherine Mabis McKenna Environmental Internship ProgramDetermining the Effectiveness of SCARLIFT Site 15 Abandoned Mine Drainage Treatment System Near Ranshaw, PA

Sara Faiad, Graduate StudentFaculty Mentor: Professor Peter Judge, Animal BehaviorFunding Source: Graduate Summer Research FellowshipCapuchin monkeys (Cebus apella) voluntarily share food more often with strong affiliative partners than weak affiliative partners

Max Fathauer ’18Faculty Mentor: Professor Gary Steiner, PhilosophyFunding Source: Bucknell University Department of PhilosophyReason and Unreason- the Implications of Doubt and Madness

Katie Faulkner ’17Faculty Mentors: Professor Matthew McTammany, Biology; Professor Abby Flynt, MathematicsFunding Source: Bucknell University Department of Biology; Susquehanna River Heartland Coalition for Environmental StudiesEstimation of daily net ecosystem production rates in the Susquehanna River using inverse modeling with dissolved oxygen data

Katie Faulkner ’17, Matt Taddeo ’17Faculty Mentor: Professor Le Paliulis, BiologyFunding Source: Bucknell University Department of BiologyAnnotation of Contig1 of the dot chromosome of Drosophila eugracilis and transcription start site discovery in Contig47 of Drosophila biarmipes

Thomas Ficcadenti ’18Faculty Mentor: Professor Christopher Dancy, Computer ScienceFunding Source: Helen E. Royer Undergraduate Research FundAffective Computing: Modeling Frustration

*Dante Fresse ’18Faculty Mentor: Professor Gregory Clingham, EnglishFunding Source: Helen E. Royer Undergraduate Research FundInquiries into the Natures of Human Passion and Confessional Practice in the Works of Dante and Dostoevsky

Erin Frey ’17Faculty Mentor: Professor Katherine Faull, Comparative HumanitiesFunding Source: James L.D. and Rebecca Roser Research FellowshipSlavic Communities of Pennsylvania’s Coal Region: Invisibility and Assimilation

Jack Geduldig ’17, Hannah Litwa ’18, Gianna Tricola ’18Faculty Mentors: Professor Mark Haussmann, Biology; Professor Ryan Paitz, Illinois State UniversityFunding Source: NIH GrantIndividual Variation in Acute Stress Responses Affects Oxidative Stress Levels in Japanese Quail (Coturnix japonica)

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Daniel Hayes ’18Faculty Mentor: Professor Chris Martine, BiologyFunding Source: David Burpee Endowment; Wayne E. Manning Internship Fund; Botanical Society of America Undergraduate Research GrantA Successful Solanum spp. (Solanaceae) Greenhouse Growth Model Using Integrated Pest Management

*Joshua Hellerick ’18Faculty Mentor: Professor Ben Vollmayr-Lee, Physics & AstronomyFunding Source: Kalman Fund for Undergraduate Research in the Sciences Trapping Reaction with Reacting Traps

Gabriella Hitel ’18Faculty Mentor: Professor Richard Henne-Ochoa, EducationFunding Source: Bucknell Program for Undergraduate Research Demographic and Temporal Scales of Language Revitalization Among the Oglala Lakota

Emma Hundermark ’17Faculty Mentor: Professor Emily Stowe, BiologyFunding Source: Robert P. Vidinghoff Memorial Summer Internship (Biology Department) Characterizing Two Novel Cyanobacterial Strains From Local Water Sources

Sam Jacobson ’17Faculty Mentor: Professor Ellen Herman, GeologyFunding Source: The Katherine Mabis McKenna Environmental Internship Program A Novel Approach to Turbulent Multiphase Flow Imaging: Flow in 3D Printed Karstic Conduits

Nadia Jagnandan ’17, Ryan Wilkie ’17Faculty Mentor: Professor Le Paliulis, BiologyFunding Source: Bucknell University Department of BiologyAnnotation of the Drosophilia eugracilis dot chromosome contig26

Pamela Johnson ’17, Rebecca Osborne ’17, Katherine Solley ’17Faculty Mentors: Professor Daniel Cavanagh, Biomedical Engineering; Professor Eric Kennedy, Biomedical EngineeringFunding Source: Bucknell–Geisinger Research Initiative; Bucknell Ciffolillo Healthcare Inventors Program; Bucknell College of Engineering; Bucknell School of ManagementAdvancing Capstone Projects Beyond the First Generation: An Emergency Rapid Injection Device

Mack Jones ’17Faculty Mentor: Professor Mizuki Takahashi, BiologyFunding Source: Bucknell University Department of BiologyAssessment of declining Eastern Hellbender populations in central Pennsylvania through a noble conservation tool, environmental DNA analyses

Katelyn Kempf ’18Faculty Mentor: Professor Lori Smolleck, EducationFunding Source: Bucknell Program for Undergraduate ResearchThe Influence of Technology on the Engagement and Comprehension of Young Children in Relation to Literacy and Mathematics

Katelyn Kempf ’18, Emily Vislosky ’18Faculty Mentors: Professor Katharyn Nottis, Education; Professor Ned Ladd, Physics & AstronomyFunding Source: National Science Foundation’s TUES Program; Microsoft CorporationUndergraduate Non-Majors’ Understanding of Parallax in an Introductory Astronomy Course

Deepali Koneru ’18, Alexa DiGregorio ’18, Clay O’Brien ’18Faculty Mentor: Professor Le Paliulis, BiologyFunding Source: Bucknell University Department of BiologyAnnotation and Transcription Start Site Analysis in contig21 on the Dot Chromosome of Drosophila eugracilis

Mae Lacey ’18Faculty Mentors: Professor Chris Martine, Biology; Jason Cantley, BiologyFunding Source: David Burpee Endowment, Wayne E. Manning Internship Fund, Botanical Society of America Undergraduate Research GrantNovel Taxon in a New National Park Helps to Disentangle Species Boundaries Among Spiny Australian Bush Tomatoes

Kim Lapszynski ’17Faculty Mentor: Professor Carl Kirby, GeologyFunding Source: The Katherine Mabis McKenna Environmental Internship ProgramInorganic geochemical characterization of Rock Run stream and Pleasant Stream regarding potential Marcellus Shale development, Lycoming County, PA

Corinne Leard ’18; Allie Schrock ’18Faculty Mentor: Professor Regina Gazes, PsychologyFunding Source: Douglas K. Candland Undergraduate Research FundEffects of rank, sex, age, and kinship on social relationships in captive tufted capuchin monkeys

Grace Leung ’18Faculty Mentor: Professor Judith Grisel, PsychologyFunding Source: Douglas K. Candland Undergraduate Research FundStudying the Ability of Testosterone to Buffer Stress Induced Alcohol Consumption

Yifan Li ’17Faculty Mentor: Professor Ryan Snyder, Chemical EngineeringFunding Source: Bucknell Program for Undergraduate ResearchStudies and Models in the Study of PEM Fuel Cells

Nicolas Lin ’18; Eyuel Seyoum ’18Faculty Mentor: Professor Le Paliulis, BiologyFunding Source: Bucknell University Department of BiologyAnnotation and Analysis of Contig27 on dot chromosome of Drosophila eugracilis

Hannah Litwa ’18, Kailey Tindle ’15, Vincent Fasanello ’14, Jack Geduldig ’17, Gianna Tricola ’18Faculty Mentors: Professor Mark Haussmann, Biology; Professor Ryan Paitz, Illinois State UniversityFunding Source: NIH Grant; Bucknell University Department of BiologyAn Acute Rise in Glucocorticoids Reduces Antioxidant Levels and Contributes to Oxidative Stress in Japanese Quail (Coturnix japonica)

Nathan Luftman ’17Faculty Mentors: Professor Chris Martine, Biology; Jason Cantley, BiologyFunding Source: David Burpee Endowment, Wayne E. Manning Internship Fund, Botanical Society of America Undergraduate Research GrantSaltwater Tolerance Thresholds in the Halophytic Species Chenopodium Oahuense (Amaranthaceae) Including A New Segregate Taxon from the Island of Moloka‘i in the Hawaiian Islands

Meredith Lutz ’17Faculty Mentor: Professor Peter Judge, Animal BehaviorFunding Source: Bucknell University Animal Behavior Program Summer Research Fellowship; Bucknell University Statistics Summer Research Grant; SIT Independent Study Grant; Bucknell University Presidential FellowshipSeasonal and locational differences in play behavior in diademed sifaka (Propithecus diadema)

Eric Marshall ’18Faculty Mentor: Professor Chris Dancy, Computer ScienceFunding Source: Helen E. Royer Undergraduate Research FundA System for Communication Between Wearable Devices and Cognitive Architectures

Alex McPherson ’17, Spencer Li ’17Faculty Mentor: Professor Mizuki Takahashi, BiologyFunding Source: Bucknell University Department of BiologyEvaluation of chytrid fungus detection techniques using PCR assays

Jessica Medrano ’17Faculty Mentor: Professor Rebecca Switzer, ChemistryFunding Source: Kalman Fund for Undergraduate Research in the SciencesInhibition of DNA Methyltransferase 1 by Anthraquinone Compounds

Taylor Milliman ’18Faculty Mentor: Professor Ryan Snyder, Chemical EngineeringFunding Source: Culliton Family FundRelating Conductivity and Tortuosity through modeling of Infiltrated Solid Oxide Fuel Cells

James Moran, Graduate StudentFaculty Mentor: Professor Joel Wade, PsychologyFunding Source: Graduate Summer Research FellowshipTo Poach or not to Poach?: How a Couple’s Attractiveness and Relationship Duration Impacts Short-term Poaching Behaviors

Erin Goldberg ’19, Mackenzie Haney ’19, Jesse Lopez ’19, Nicole Nisivoccia ’19, Chad Reese ’18, Frank Satriale ’19, Agustina Whamond ’19Faculty Mentors: Professor Marie Pizzorno, Biology; Professor Emily Stowe, BiologyFunding Source: Howard Hughes Medical Institute; Bucknell University Department of BiologyIsolation, Annotation and Analysis of the Genome of Arthrobacter phage Chipper1996

Jeanne-Jo Gregory ’17Faculty Mentor: Professor Mizuki Takahashi, BiologyFunding Source: Bucknell University Department of BiologyThe Evolution and Phylogeny of Egg Morphology in the Salamander Genus Ambystomatidae

Erin Grundy ’18Faculty Mentor: Professor Rebecca Switzer, ChemistryFunding Source: Kalman Fund for Undergraduate Research in the SciencesProbing Important Regulatory Protein-Protein Interactions using Isothermal Titration Calorimetry

Hang Ha ’18Faculty Mentor: Professor Richard Kozick, Electrical & Computer EngineeringFunding Source: Bucknell University Department of Electrical & Computer EngineeringOn using Chinese Remainder Theorem for Range-based Localization

James Hamm ’18Faculty Mentor: Professor Michelle Johnson, Sociology & AnthropologyFunding Source: The Tom Greaves Fund for Research and Curricular DevelopmentAnthracite Tales: A Modern Understanding of “Coal Cracker” Culture in Mount Carmel, Pennsylvania

Rachel Harmatz ’17Faculty Mentor: Professor Elizabeth Durden, Sociology & AnthropologyFunding Source: Bucknell Program for Undergraduate ResearchThe Effects of Childhood Developmental Disorders, Autism Spectrum Disorder and Intellectual Disability, on Maternal Physical Health

Addison Haxo ’17, Kaitlin Mowery ’17Faculty Mentors: Professor Eric Kennedy, Biomedical Engineering; Professor Dan Cavanagh, Biomedical EngineeringFunding Source: Bucknell–Geisinger Research Initiative; Bucknell Ciffolillo Healthcare Inventors Program; Bucknell College of Engineering; Bucknell School of ManagementThe Advantage of Hospital-University Partnerships for Introducing New Devices into the Healthcare System

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Brian Moretti ’18Faculty Mentors: Professor Jeffery Trop, Geology; Professor Craig Kochel, Geology; Professor Rob Jacob, GeologyFunding Source: Kalman Fund for Undergraduate Research in the SciencesThe Effects of Catchment Morphology on the Transfer of Ice and Sediment from Icecaps to Icy Debris Fans and Valley Glaciers in Deglaciating Alpine Environments

Todd Nentwig, Graduate StudentFaculty Mentor: Professor Judy Grisel, PsychologyFunding Source: Bucknell University Department of PsychologySingle-exposure conditioned place preference to alcohol in Sprague-Dawley rats: Evidence for a generalizable model of initial sensitivity to alcohol

Nicole Nisivoccia ’19, Lauren O’Connor ’19Faculty Mentor: Professor Tristan Stayton, BiologyFunding Source: NSF GrantHow does Functional Performance Affect Turtle Shell Diversity?

John O’Brien ’18Faculty Mentor: Professor Charles Kim, Mechanical EngineeringFunding Source: James L.D. and Rebecca Roser Research FellowshipFinding Non-Zero Curvature in Lamina Emergent Mechanisms

Lauren O’Connor ’19Faculty Mentor: Professor Tristan Stayton, BiologyFunding Source: NSF GrantComparison of Disparity in Aquatic and Terrestrial Turtles with Regards to both the Carapace and Plastron

Sarah Och ’17Faculty Mentor: Professor Andrea Halpern, PsychologyFunding Source: Bucknell University Department of PsychologyAge-related differences for decoding emotion and subsequent memory

Jahi Omari ’17, Nicole Fry ’18Faculty Mentor: Professor Mizuki Takahashi, BiologyFunding Source: Bucknell University Department of BiologyEffects of predatory wood frog tadpoles (Lithobates sylvaticusa) on foraging behavior of larval spotted salamanders (Ambystoma maculatum)

Maximilian Ororbia ’17Faculty Mentor: Professor Stephen Buonopane, Civil & Environmental EngineeringFunding Source: Bucknell University Department of Civil & Environmental EngineeringAnalysis of Statically Indeterminate Trusses for Progressive Collapse using Graphic Statics

Melissa Painter, Graduate StudentFaculty Mentor: Professor Peter Judge, Animal BehaviorFunding Source: Graduate Summer Research FellowshipCaptive hamadryas baboons (Papio hamadryas hamadryas) exhibit ritualized post-conflict displacement behavior

Ho Yeon Park ’18Faculty Mentor: Professor Stephen Rea, Sociology & AnthropologyFunding Source: The Tom Greaves Fund for Research and Curricular DevelopmentHow Do Korean High School Students’ “Punishment Games (벌칙게임)” Reflect the Korean Sociocultural Norms?

Katie Pendelberry ’19Faculty Mentor: Professor Kevin Gilmore, Civil & Environmental EngineeringFunding Source: The Katherine Mabis McKenna Environmental Internship ProgramPractical Imaging Techniques for Monitoring Granulation of Activated Sludge

Mario Perez-Dewey ’17Faculty Mentor: Professor Durul Ulutan, Mechanical EngineeringFunding Source: James L.D. and Rebecca Roser Research FellowshipDevelopment of Laser Polishing as an Auxiliary Post-Process to improve Surface Quality in Fused Deposition Modeling Parts

Brooke Peterson ’17Faculty Mentor: Professor Jennie Stevenson, PsychologyFunding Source: Douglas K. Candland Undergraduate Research Fund; Bucknell University Department of PsychologyReduced efficacy of ghrelin receptor antagonist JMV 2959 following long term ethanol consumption in prairie voles

Stephanie Purnell ’17Faculty Mentor: Professor Andrea Halpern, PsychologyFunding Source: Bucknell University Department of PsychologyStructural Priming of Novel Tunes

Rebecca Reeve ’17Faculty Mentors: Professor Janice Mann, Art & Art History; Carrie Johnston, Digital Pedagogy and ScholarshipFunding Source: Mellon Digital Summer Research GrantGender Bias in the Archives: Packwood House Museum

Heather Rensch, Graduate StudentFaculty Mentor: Professor Michael Krout, ChemistryFunding Source: Graduate Summer Research Fellowship; Bucknell University Department of ChemistryMetal-Catalyzed Cross-Coupling Reactions of Functionalized Organozinc Reagents for the Synthesis of β,β-Disubstituted Enones

Danielle Retcho ’17Faculty Mentor: Professor Andrea Halpern, PsychologyFunding Source: Bucknell University Department of PsychologyDisability Studies and the Contemporary Museum: A Visitor’s Experience at the Samek

Alexander Romango ’17Faculty Mentor: Professor Geoff Schneider, EconomicsFunding Source: Bucknell University Department of EconomicsCan Paying Division One College Athletes Lead to Higher Levels of Engagement in the Classman thus Promoting Long Term Future Success?

Kimberly Shust ’18Faculty Mentor: Professor Thomas DiStefano, Civil & Environmental EngineeringFunding Source: The Katherine Mabis McKenna Environmental Internship ProgramAssessment of Anaerobic Digestion

Kait Smeraldo ’17Faculty Mentors: Professor Katharyn Nottis, Education; Professor Margot Vigeant, Chemical Engineering; Professor Erin Jablonski, Chemical Engineering; Professor Charles Kim, Mechanical Engineering; Professor Michael Prince, Chemical Engineering; Professor Nate Siegel, Mechanical EngineeringFunding Source: Bucknell Program for Undergraduate ResearchGender Differences in Curiosity and Motivation in Elective Courses Intended to Foster an Entrepreneurial Mindset

Dalton Stewart ’19Faculty Mentor: Professor Deborah Sills, Civil & Environmental EngineeringFunding Source: The Sherrilyn and Ken Fisher Center for Environmental Infectious Diseases; Bucknell Program for Undergraduate ResearchHigh density poultry operations: Health risk or opportunity?

Matthew Taddeo ’17, Phillip L. Martin ’16, Matthew Miele M’16Faculty Mentors: Professor David Rovnyak, Chemistry; Xin Chu, Geisinger; Craig Wood, Geisinger; Tooraj Mirshahi, Geisinger; Christopher Still, GeisingerFunding Source: Kalman Fund for Undergraduate Research in the Sciences; John H. Hustler Undergraduate Research Fund; Bucknell–Geisinger Research InitiativeProgress on NMR Metabolomics of Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease (NA-FLD)

Hemanta Timsina ’18Faculty Mentors: Professor Timothy Raymond, Chemical Engineering; Professor Dabrina Dutcher, Chemical EngineeringFunding Source: Bucknell University Department of Chemical Engineering The morphology of Succinic and Glutaric Acid

Trung Tran ’18Faculty Mentor: Professor Andrew Sloboda, Mechanical EngineeringFunding Source: Helen E. Royer Undergraduate Research FundNovel Metrics for Detecting Parameter Variations in Nonlinear Systems

Kirsten Valentini ’17Faculty Mentor: Professor Carl Kirby, GeologyFunding Source: The Katherine Mabis McKenna Environmental Internship ProgramA Geochemical Analysis of Streams in Union County, PA

Emily Vislosky ’18Faculty Mentor: Professor Lori Smolleck, EducationFunding Source: Kalman Fund for Undergraduate Research in the SciencesSelf-Efficacy and Motivation: Associations to Academic Achievement

Chelsea Rosenberg ’17Faculty Mentors: Professor David Freestone, Psychology; Professor Reggie Gazes, PsychologyFunding Source: Douglas K. Candland Undergraduate Research FundDominance and Risk Taking

Nicole Rupnik ’19, Eyuel Seyoum ’18Faculty Mentor: Professor Morgan Benowitz-Fredericks, BiologyFunding Source: Bucknell University Department of BiologyBehavioral effects of orally-administered corticosterone on black-legged kittiwake (Rissa tridactyla) chicks

Spencer Schell ’17Faculty Mentor: Professor Claire Campbell, HistoryFunding Source: Bucknell Program for Undergraduate ResearchDisastrous Perspectives: Conceptions of the Environment and Engineering in Progressive Era New Orleans

Arley Schenker, Graduate StudentFaculty Mentor: Professor Andrea Halpern, PsychologyFunding Source: Bucknell University Department of PsychologyStability of Auditory Imagery Components with Healthy Aging

David Schummer ’18Faculty Mentor: Professor Wendelin Wright, Mechanical Engineering and Chemical EngineeringFunding Source: Bucknell University Dean’s Fellowship; Materials Research Facilities Network Faculty Fellowship from Penn State UniversityFabrication of Metallic Glass Micropillars Using the Focused Ion Beam

Jordan Sechler ’19Faculty Mentor: Professor Evan Peck, Computer ScienceFunding Source: PPL Undergraduate Research FundsA Tool to Unify Interactive Visualizations on the Web

Ariel Senackerib ’17Faculty Mentor: Professor Janice Mann, Art & Art HistoryFunding Source: Bucknell Program for Undergraduate ResearchDreaming of Asia: The Artwork of Edith Fetherston

Christopher Serfass ’17Faculty Mentor: Professor Brandon Vogel, Chemical EngineeringFunding Source: Bucknell Program for Undergraduate ResearchA Microfluidic Method for the Simultaneous Quantification of Hydrogel Degradation and Small Molecule Release

Sam Sheridan ’18Faculty Mentor: Professor Kevin Myers, PsychologyFunding Source: Douglas K. Candland Undergraduate Research FundEffect of Glucose-Associated Flavors on Cephalic Phase Insulin Reflex Learning in Rats

Kaixiang Shi ’18Faculty Mentor: Professor Charles Kim, Mechanical EngineeringFunding Source: James L.D. and Rebecca Roser Research FellowshipDesign and Testing of a Granular Jammed Positioner

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Raakel Vuojolainen ’18Faculty Mentor: Vanessa Troiani, Geisinger Autism and Developmental Medicine Institute (ADMI)Funding Source: Gary A. and Sandra K. Sojka Fund for Research, Teaching and Scholarship in Developmental Disabilities, Neuroscience and Human HealthSulcogyral patterns as a mechanism to explain risk and protection against psychiatric and neurodevelopmental disorders

Rachael Wachter ’17, James Kim ’19, Mike Rocco ’17Faculty Mentor: Professor Elizabeth Marin, BiologyFunding Source: Bucknell UniversityEcRB/USP mediated activation of ecdysone target genes controls gamma neuron pruning in the Drosophila mushroom body

Yunfei (Phoebe) Wang ’18, Erik Giesen Loo ’16Faculty Mentor: Professor Ronald Ziemian, Civil & Environmental EngineeringFunding Source: Bucknell University Department of Civil & Environmental EngineeringComputational Studies to Assess the Performance of Open-Web Steel Joists with Lateral Bracing Offset from Chord Shear Centers

Cameron Williams ’18Faculty Mentor: Professor Tristan Stayton, BiologyFunding Source: Kalman Fund for Biomedical Education/Fellows Fund; NSF GrantMechanical Importance of the Pelvic Girdle in Pleurodire Turtle Shells; A Comparison of Pleurodire and Cryptodire Shells

Yunyingying Xu ’18Faculty Mentor: Professor Darakhshan Mir, Computer ScienceFunding Source: James L.D. and Rebecca Roser Research FellowshipAn Empirical Attack on Variants of Data Aggregation

Tongyu Yang ’18Faculty Mentor: Professor Brian King, Computer ScienceFunding Source: James L.D. and Rebecca Roser Research FellowshipUsing DeepLearning to Analyze Images that Have High Interest from Children with Autism

Jakob Yankauskas ’17Faculty Mentor: Professor Emily Stowe, BiologyFunding Source: The Katherine Mabis McKenna Environmental Internship ProgramA Microbiome Analysis of the West Branch of the Susquehanna River at Lewisburg, PA

David Zhou ’18Faculty Mentor: Professor Constance Ziemian, Mechanical EngineeringFunding Source: James L.D. and Rebecca Roser Research FellowshipEffect of cyclical loading on additive manufactured ABS specimens

*Abroad Spring Semester 2017

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Sarah Bresette ’17

Faculty Mentor: Professor Elizabeth Durden, Sociology & AnthropologyFunding Source: Bucknell Program for Undergraduate Research

The Effect of Family Structure and Income on Asthma Prevalence and Emergency Department Visits: National Health Interview Survey 2011-2015This research examines the differences in asthma prevalence and Emergency Department visits among one-parent headed homes, two-parent headed homes, and income levels. Family structure and socioeconomic factors are found to be apparent contributors in unequal asthma diagnoses and conditions across the United States.

Using data from the National Health Interview Survey from 2011 to 2015, this study assess the relationship between the main independent variables, family structure and income, the main dependent variables, the prevalence of asthma and Emergency Department visits due to asthma, and control variables of sex, age, race, region, and highest education in family.

Children living in single-parent households, children from lower socioeconomic status families, older children, and children from the south, boys, and black children all tend to have higher prevalence and incidence of asthma. As a result of socioeconomic status barriers and lack of resources, lower income children tend to have more emergency department visits due to asthma. One-parent homes, females, younger children, black children, and children residing in the northeast tend to have higher occasions of Emergency Department visits due to asthma.

Family structure as well as income are important variables to assess when researching asthma prevalence as well as Emergency Department visits. Because single-parent homes and those with low income levels tend to have less resources, Emergency Department and emergency health care may be the only choice. A lack of resources also contributes to a lack of prevention, education, and medication for asthma in children of one-parent homes and low family incomes.

Emma Downey ’18

Faculty Mentor: Professor Mehmet Dosemeci, HistoryFunding Source: Douglas K. Candland Undergraduate Research Fund

The Historical Power of “youth” in the Radical Sixties: How the category of ‘teenage’ contributed to the genesis of student movements in the United States and EuropeThis project historically traces the emergence of a new sociological category which stratifies the conception of youth, and prolongs the time between childhood and adulthood: teenager. This new social category engendered a unique consciousness and identity

among students during the radical sixties. By separating the ‘teenage’ youth from children and responsibility-bound adults, a new space was opened up for political and social exploration, activism, and experimentation. Entry into the real world was prolonged, yet, youths possessed more freedom and autonomy than their child counterparts. Thus, the category of youth was a unifying identity, which a culture could be built and constructed around. During the sixties, the culture of students was unified under overarching mass manifestations of counter-culture music, art, drug use, sexual exploration, and political activism. I seek to argue the influence of counter culture on the potency, and historical understandings of interconnectedness and the high amount of radical sixties student movements was due to the historically unprecedented intellectual and social freedom the category of “teenager” gave students.

Greg Miller ’18

Faculty Mentor: Professor Abby Flynt, MathematicsFunding Source: Presidential Fellowship

Improved Win Probability Modeling for NFL Coach and Player EvaluationWin probability added (WPA) is a common approach to evaluate the effect that individual plays/players have on the outcome of National Football League games. However, popular existing models used for WPA can be improved upon, both in calculation and in use. Many of these models are limited in scope by their assumptions, in that they negate the use of key situational data ranging from the 2nd & 4th quarters to instances of large score disparities. In observing other sport literature, (e.g. McCurdy, 2014 - hockey) where controlling for score situation and using data from all parts of the game has proven advantageous, we have used all data from all situations to build our model. Using our revamped WPA metrics, we provide an empirical evaluation of NFL coach decision making, independent of actual outcomes of plays they call. Similarly, we provide an easily interpretable measure of NFL player value, grounded in common currency of wins. With this statistical advancement, we hope to offer insight as to how NFL organizations can use this information to evaluate coaches and players alike.

Chanda Singoyi ’18

Faculty Mentor: Professor Richard Crago, Civil & Environmental EngineeringFunding Source: The Katherine Mabis McKenna Environmental Internship Program

Developing Precision Conservation for Stream and Watershed ManagementPollution of rivers and lakes can have detrimental effects not only on aquatic species, but on mankind as well. A disruption of aquatic species, as well as the quality of water greatly affects mankind who solely relies on clean water for his survival. In order to keep our waters clean and safe from pollution, there is need to track and prevent pollutants from entering the water in the first place. The research Professor Crago and I conducted allows us to track pollutants from nonpoint pollutant sources;

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the method is called Precision Conservation. This method was developed by the Chesapeake Conservancy and has not yet been extensively used. Professor Crago and I were assessing the reliability and accuracy of Chesapeake Conservancy’s methodology and finding ways in which we could improve it. The Chesapeake Conservancy methodology involves the use of Normalized Difference Flow Index (NDFI) layers which are developed from different land cover datasets and provide different degrees of pollution for various concentrated flow paths. During the research, we were able to work closely with Professor Kochel (Bucknell Geology Department) who has done numerous research on sediment transportation and was able to provide us data on sediment transportation.

In addition to assessing the NDFI methodology, Professor Crago and I devised a methodology that we believe could more accurately predict sediment transportation. Our method takes into account the Topographic Wetness Index (TWI) of an area, as well as the Pollution Contributing Factor. We then compared the two methods to determine which method was a better predictor. Professor Crago’s method had a higher correlation of the sediment transportation data compared to the Chesapeake NDFI method.

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*Nicole Adams ’18

Faculty Mentor: Professor Janice Mann, Art & Art HistoryFunding Source: Bucknell Program for Undergraduate Research

Return her Voice: Case Study of Edith Fetherston and the Packwood House MuseumThe Packwood House Museum, located in Lewisburg, Pennsylvania, was founded by Edith Fetherston in 1972. She lived as an artist, horticulturist, student, educator, and collector, but within the limitations of a patriarchal art world that restricted her activities to genteel female pastimes. She added to the arts in Lewisburg before her death, but it was only after that she made a greater contribution by founding the museum and donating to the Smithsonian. Fetherston’s Packwood House is a part of a larger paradigm: wealthy women curating homes to create something both educational and pleasurable for the public, while ensuring their names are connected to enlightenment, intellect, and a sense of a cosmopolitan lifestyle. My research proposes a new approach to researching the history of local house museums. My research will result in an online exhibition for the Packwood House Museum that honors the enduring vision of female collectors in small towns by placing the objects collected by Fetherston within their cultural, historical, artistic, and feminist contexts. My online tour will present evidence about each of these themes through selected objects in the Packwood House collection and relevant quotes from Edith Fetherston’s writings. I hope my work will explain the preconditions for traditionally feminized hobbies. In my work I discuss gardening as an example of how these components can be elaborated upon to bring new information to these institutions. Creating more complex narratives for house museums is the answer to increasing relevance as it will engage visitors in a fresh way and reveal new information.

Diego Aldana ’18

Faculty Mentor: Professor Indranil Brahma, Mechanical Engineering Funding Source: Bucknell Program for Undergraduate Research

Measurement of Injection Fuel Length and Angle via High-Speed Imaging of a Small Single Cylinder Diesel EngineThe purpose of this research is to accurately measure the injection angle and plume length of the fuel injector as it enters the combustion chamber of a small diesel engine. The fuel injector is mechanically operated via the small diesel engine connected to a 1,500 RPM motor geared to obtain a maximum of 3,000 RPM. Three 300 W lightbulbs were rigged around a polycarbonate combustion chamber replica in order to capture high-speed imaging of the injection process. Water mixed with dye was used as a substitute for the fuel in order to reduce danger while compressing the polycarbonate chamber to 300 PSI. The

data obtained from highspeed imaging will be analyzed using MATLAB in order to generate a 3D model of the fuel injection process. Since the Air-Fuel ratio has no effect on the number of particulates and hydrocarbons further research on the plume length and angle need to be conducted. It is possible that the fuel hitting the wall of the combustion chamber leads to the creation of nanoparticles and other hydrocarbons. Further research and data analysis will allow for the determination of the relationship between harmful diesel combustion particles and fuel injection properties.

*Scott Balta ’18

Faculty Mentor: Professor Richard Fleming, PhilosophyFunding Source: James L.D. and Rebecca Roser Research Fellowship

Suffering and Rebellion in The Myth of SisyphusThe purpose of the research was to investigate Albert Camus’s The Myth of Sisyphus and determine whether, in characterizing Sisyphus as “happy,” Camus reaches beyond the limits of rebellion. After a detailed study of the work itself, we turned to a chapter of The Brothers Karamazov, “Rebellion,” where the character Ivan discusses suffering and revolt. Ivan’s conception of rebellion is born from the suffering of innocents; it has no room for happiness. Indeed, in the context of Ivan’s rebellion, happiness is decadent, or perhaps even sinful. For Ivan all happiness must occur over the graves of fallen children. This consideration leads us to argue that, in trying to achieve happiness, Camus does, to some extent, betray the suffering that formed the basis for his revolt.

Calli Baranouski ’18

Faculty Mentor: Professor Michael Krout, Chemistry Funding Source: Kalman Fund for Undergraduate Research in the Sciences; Bucknell University Department of Chemistry

Analogue Synthesis and Biotin Couplings of the Bile Acid Lithocholic AcidBile acids are known to play an important role in cell signaling processes and can be recognized as ligands by chemical receptors. Recently, the Huh Lab of the University of Massachusetts Medical School has discovered that 3-oxolithocholic acid, a natural analogue of lithocholic acid (LCA), can be minimally chemically altered to repress TH17 cells and enhance the effects of Treg cells, synergistically turning on an immune response. Proper regulation of these immune cells is critical for the treatment of many autoimmune diseases, such as asthma and Crohn’s disease. However, the molecular pathway by which these cell regulations proceed has been unclear. In an attempt to explore biological phenomenon on a molecular level, we have employed chemical synthesis, organic purification methods, and

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molecular analysis to design and develop a variety of ester and amide analogues of 3-oxo LCA. Additionally, to further track the paths of the molecules within the cellular environment, biotin conjugates of these and other synthesized LCA analogues have been developed. These synthetic tools will facilitate the understanding of their biological role as well as the cells in which they primarily interact.

Joshua Barna ’17

Faculty Mentor: Professor Ellen Herman, GeologyFunding Source: Kalman Fund for Undergraduate Research in the Sciences

Mg/Ca and PCO2 Storm Hysteresis as an Indicator of Flowpaths and Recharge Sources at Two Karst Springs in Central PennsylvaniaStudying how the chemistry of karst spring water changes during periods of increased discharge can provide insights into how karstic systems store and transmit water. This study focuses on Mg/Ca and PCO2 hysteresis during storm events at two karst springs in central Pennsylvania in order to identify recharge sources and flow paths. Measuring variation in these parameters during storm events permits differentiation between soil water, epikarst water, point recharge storm event water, and matrix water. Comparing arrival times of these source waters can be used to infer recharge and flow patterns within karst systems.

Water chemistry variations during storm events were observed at both karst springs during the summers of 2015 and 2016. Both springs experienced storm-induced hysteresis during relatively wet antecedent conditions and minimal to no storm-induced hysteresis during relatively dry antecedent conditions. This suggests that antecedent precipitation conditions strongly impact recharge and flow through fluviokarst systems, especially with regard to storm events. Specifically, during wet antecedent conditions, piston flow can cause matrix water to arrive at the spring before storm event water. In contrast, during dry antecedent conditions, storm event water does not arrive at the springs and no soil water signature is observed. Future work on this project hopes to use direct PCO2 measurements to gain higher frequency storm hysteresis data. Understanding how water flows through karst systems is crucial for water supply and contamination protection.

Charles Basralian ’19, Katherine Edwards ’19, Matthew Elander ’19, Lauren Gross ’19, Sophie Kong ’19, Zachery Kozick ’18, Gabrielle Petruso ’19, Jasmine Spinelli ’19

Faculty Mentors: Professor Marie Pizzorno, Biology; Professor Emily Stowe, BiologyFunding Source: Howard Hughes Medical Institute; Bucknell University Department of Biology

Annotation and Analysis of the Genome of Arthrobacter Phage ZorroOne of the most prevalent life forms on the planet are bacteriophage, which are a diverse group of viruses that infect bacteria and use the host enzymes and ribosomes to express their genes and replicate their genomes. Phage are specialized to infect specific species of bacteria. There are an estimated 1031 phage particles on the planet, and most of them have not been discovered. To provide further insight on phage diversity, soil samples were collected from around Bucknell University’s campus, and phage that infected Arthrobacter sp. (ATCC 21022) were isolated. Every phage isolated was lost except Chipper1996. Therefore, the genome of phage Zorro, which was isolated from a local soil sample in 2015 by Zach Kozick, was sequenced at the University of Pittsburgh. Using various computer programs, such as DNA Master and Phamerator, we identified 61 potential open reading frames, 6 of which are expressed in the reverse orientation, in Zorro’s genome. Using NCBI BLASTp and HHPred, we predicted the specific protein functions of several of these potential proteins. A programmed ribosomal frameshift was found between genes 16 and 17, which code for the tail assembly proteins, allowing for the expression of a fusion protein. There is only a 7 base pair difference between Zorro and another AK phage, Dino, and they both have a 61.1% GC content. These findings are useful as phage can be developed for use in phage therapy and analyzing their genomes helps us understand and the evolution of phage and their bacterial hosts.

*Stephanie Beck ’18

Faculty Mentor: Professor Mitchell Parks, Classic & Ancient Mediterranean Studies Funding Source: Bucknell Program for Undergraduate Research

Acting Like an Athenian: Evaluative Language in Greek TragedyMy project focuses on praise and blame in Euripides’ tragedies and how these can illustrate normative behavior in Greek society. I have been using David Kovacs’ translations of Euripides’ 18 tragedies. I collected phrases from these translations that contain praise and blame, inserted them into an Excel spreadsheet, and analyzed the patterns that I discovered. In total, I have found 848 instances of praise and blame.

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There are 251 instances of face-to-face praise and blame, which accounts for 29.5 percent of my data. Specifically, there were 103 instances of praise and there were 148 instances of blame. These results show that blame was more commonly said face-to-face than praise, which shows the presence of blame in the society.

Men and women were praised for different qualities. Men were praised for their bravery in war and how they ruled their land. There are 33 instances out of the 18 plays where the idea of glory is mentioned for military achievements. Just as men were praised for bravery, they were simultaneously blamed for being cowardly. The concept of cowardice in reference to men is mentioned 20 times.

Meanwhile, women were blamed for being clever. For instance, Medea is a woman with a “clever mind” (Medea 529). Her cleverness led to the destruction of Jason and their own children. Medea is thus a prime example of clever women’s potentials, leading the Greeks to fear clever women.

My findings illustrate that praise and blame were key elements in ancient Greek society, but were differentiated based on gender.

Kathy Bell ’17, Christine Murphy ’17, Xueyang Zhang ’17, Madison Hackley ’19

Faculty Mentor: Professor Elizabeth Marin, BiologyFunding Source: Bucknell University Department of Biology; Kalman Fund for Biomedical Education/Fellows Fund

The Role of Antp in Anteroposterior Patterning of the Drosophila melanogaster Ventral Nervous SystemIn adult insects, the presence of different appendages along the anteroposterior body axis (e.g., wings and legs) implies variability in neuron type and number. In the Drosophila postembryonic ventral nervous system (VNS), repeated divisions of twenty-four pairs of identifiable neuroblasts (neural stem cells) generate distinct, bilaterally symmetric lineages of neurons. Each division results in two sibling cell types, resulting in two hemilineages with distinct morphologies. Many of these hemilineages display segment-specific survival and axon morphology, suggesting a role for the Hox genes, which determine anteroposterior body patterning.

Previously, we showed that the Hox protein Ubx is expressed in specific hemilineages within the VNS. Loss and gain of function experiments demonstrated that Ubx is both necessary and sufficient to confer segment-appropriate survival and morphology in these neurons. However, Hox proteins can antagonize each other’s expression and activity, and it was previously unclear whether Ubx acted directly in these functions, or whether its effects were mediated by neighboring Hox gene Antp.

In our current study, we find that Antp is expressed most strongly in segments anterior to, and overlapping with, the Ubx domain. Removing Antp in thoracic lineages frequently results in abnormal morphology and/or survival, supporting a role for

Antp in controlling axonal projection patterning and apoptosis. Expressing Antp in lineages outside its normal domain causes homeotic transformations, producing morphologies and survival patterns like those of their anterior counterparts. Finally, Antp, Ubx double mutant experiments demonstrate that some phenotypes observed in Ubx- mutants are dependent on Antp function, but not others.

Kathy Bell ’17, Christine Murphy ’17, Xueyang Zhang ’17, Madison Hackley ’19

Faculty Mentor: Professor Elizabeth Marin, BiologyFunding Source: Bucknell University Department of Biology

The Regulation of Apoptosis in the Drosophila melanogaster Ventral Nervous SystemThe diverse bodies and behaviors exhibited by different animals require evolutionary adaptations to a basic nervous system plan. A highly conserved array of neuroblasts (neural stem cells) generate distinct ventral nervous systems (spinal cords) in different groups of insects. In the fruit fly, the repeated divisions of twenty-four pairs of neuroblasts during larval life generate distinct, bilaterally symmetric lineages of adult-specific neurons. Each neuroblast division produces two distinct sibling cell types that can be distinguished by axon morphology and which accumulate over time. In most cases, however, one of these sibling types always dies instead of being incorporated into the adult nervous system, presumably because it is not necessary for normal behaviors.

We have investigated two different mechanisms previously shown to contribute to programmed cell death, also known as apoptosis, during development. The steroid hormone ecdysone triggers apoptosis in many embryonic-born neurons during metamorphosis. However, when ecdysone signaling was blocked using a mutant receptor, we saw no increase in the survival of our larval-born, adult-specific neurons. We also examined the role of the “proapoptotic” genes, which are known to trigger the caspase-mediated enzymatic cascade that ends in nuclear destruction and cell death. We find that H99 mutant neurons, which lack the proapoptotic genes grim, rpr, and hid, survive into adulthood as “undead” neurons instead of being eliminated during larval life. Taken together, these findings suggest that the regulation of post-embryonic neuron apoptosis is dependent on intrinsic genetic programs rather than extrinsic hormonal signaling.

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Phoebe Belser ’18

Faculty Mentors: Professor Dabrina Dutcher, Chemical Engineering; Professor Timothy Raymond, Chemical Engineering; Professor James Baish, Biomedical EngineeringFunding Source: Bucknell University Department of Biomedical Engineering; Bucknell University Department of Chemical Engineering

Heat and Mass Trends in Rebuildable Drip Atomizer Electronic CigarettesElectronic cigarettes and vaporizers have become one of the fastest growing industries in the United States. Even though these technologies are widely used, their risks are not well understood. With so much still unknown about these devices, research is still needed such that appropriate and reasonable regulations can be put forth. In the ever progressing market of electronic cigarettes, the evolution of the e-cigarette is trending toward rebuildable drip atomizers (RDA) in which the user wraps a heating coil, to the complexity and design of their own choosing. These devices also offer some level of power (and thus temperature) control. In this experiment, the wicking and evaporation trends in a dual coil RDA were investigated. The goal of this project is to better understand the hazards associated with these devices, which was done by investigating the wicking and evaporation in these devices. Before the wicking and evaporation trends can be studied, an understanding of the temperature variation throughout the coil and wick must be established. The evaporation trends were investigated with respect to composition of the e-liquid, the applied voltage from controller, and saturation of the wick. Likewise, the wicking rates were researched in relation to density of wick and composition of e-liquid. The wicking trends were then investigated further with respect to the evaporation rates.

Taylor Bernstein ’19

Faculty Mentor: Professor Ryan Malone, Music Funding Source: Bucknell Program for Undergraduate Research; Bucknell Arts Council

The Sounds of Conflict and Reconciliation: Moravian Choral Music of the Civil WarWhen the Moravian Church established cultural and religious centers in Bethlehem, PA (1741) and Salem, NC (1766), few could have foreseen the turmoil and devastation that would follow nearly one hundred years later. With significant populations in both the Union and the Confederacy, the divisive effects of the American Civil War (ca. 1861-1868) tested the denomination. Congregations were challenged both practically and ideologically as the loss of men to the army impacted the ability of churches to maintain choir directors and organists, posts typically held by male musicians. Bethlehem and Salem experienced the war very differently and thus responded very

differently. Salem became more involved in secular affairs while Bethlehem continued to tradition of separation more fully.

Viewed through the lens of the often neglected music written for and performed at Moravian church liturgies and secular performances during and after the war, I examined how the war caused divisions between the communities. Moreover, my work explores the psychological impacts of tragedy as manifest in hymns and texts of anthems sung at services, and the programming decisions of music directors and ministers during this period. Taken together, this evidence provides a window through which we can better understand how the two centers of the Moravian Church in America in both Bethlehem and Salem grew different and ultimately developed unique cultures and traditions.

Michael Birosak ’18

Faculty Mentor: Professor Andrew Sloboda, Mechanical Engineering Funding Source: Bucknell Program for Undergraduate Research

Determining Optimal Variables for Bifurcation Detection for a Cantilever BeamLinear dynamic systems exhibit predictable behavior that can relatively easily be described. Nonlinear dynamic systems have behavior that is difficult to predict, and may seemingly be random or chaotic. However, the chaotic data they produced is not truly random, just very sensitive to changes in initial conditions. Meaning, very small changes in input, can results in very large changes in output. This makes reliably physically repeating an experiment with a chaotic system challenging. But, theoretically, the outcome of a given set of inputs is still deterministic and can be predicted. A common example of chaotic behavior is system bifurcation, when because of some change in control parameters, the systems transitions from one distinctive stable steady state to another.

This study looks at the bifurcation behavior of a thin cantilevered aluminum beam. As a cantilevered beam is externally excited, it begins to vibrate. As that excitation frequency is increased, the vibrational behavior of the beam passes through differently shaped modes. The passage from mode to mode is a mechanical bifurcation. The resonant frequencies of each mode can be predicted with theoretical equations, but those may prove inaccurate for physical apparatuses. Attached measurement devices, environmental noise, and imperfections in the physical beam will all alter the actual frequencies that will cause bifurcations.

The goal of the project is measure different observable parameters of the beam to determine which of these is most sensitive to the bifurcation. Ideally, this determines which of the parameters most accurately prediction bifurcations.

If the data finds certain variables are more accurate, other studies using a similar system will have some idea of which measurements would provide the most useful information, or

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are most cost-effective to measure. If the data finds that most variables are fairly equally sensitive or predictive and provide equivalently accurate results, than other studies will know that parameters that more inexpensive or easily observable measurements will still provide useful feedback.

A cantilever beam apparatus was machined by the Product Development Laboratory for testing, and was excited by a small table-top vibration generator. An array of piezoelectric patches were used to measure beam velocity at points along the wide face of the beam. Their data was directly fed to the analysis program MATLAB by a DAQ module. The bifurcation prediction method developed by D’Souzza et al was adapted for use with our apparatus and procedure.

The initial data from the piezoelectric patches was used to refine the procedure, analysis code, and physical apparatus set-up. From there, it is planned to test with not only with the piezoelectric patches, but potentially with strain gauges and a non-contact measurement laser. The initial stages of the project concluded in August of 2016, and have yet to resume.

Caroline Bixby ’18

Faculty Mentor: Professor Richard Henne-Ochoa, Education Funding Source: Helen E. Royer Undergraduate Research Fund

Language-and-culture Talk In the MediaThe Lakota community is currently losing their language at a rapid rate. They are not alone in this, as many Indigenous communities worldwide are losing their ancestral languages. However, these communities are striving to revitalize their languages and cultures through considerable local efforts. My poster presentation centers on my research on language endangerment and the revitalization efforts in the Lakota community of the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in South Dakota. This research involves understanding how the Lakota people experience loss and revitalization, and how it is conveyed within their own community, as well as to outside communities. My analysis of language-and-culture talk is focused on the dispersal of their message and efforts of revitalization through the media. I examine various media sources such as a documentary, radio shows, and written word. I use scale to analyze how Lakota people advance their efforts through time and space to a wider audience, using the concept of scale. The implications of such scaling for what and how Lakota people revitalize their language are crucial. The success of revitalization efforts are largely based upon the understanding of their sociolinguistic landscape, which is understood through the concept of scale, and how they push this to disperse their message geographically and generationally.

Ryan Cadigan ’17

Faculty Mentor: Professor Deepak Iyer, Physics & Astronomy Funding Source: Kalman Fund for Undergraduate Research in the Sciences

Far from Equilibrium Behavior of Quantum SystemsA variety of recent studies have shed light on the far from equilibrium behavior of quantum systems. Research suggests that this field of study may produce unfamiliar dynamical realizations of quantum states. It has been shown that in some cases a time evolving quantum state is equivalent to the ground state of an “effective” Hamiltonian where the time enters as a parameter. Here, we study the dynamical behavior of both noninteracting and interacting fermions in a one-dimensional lattice under various conditions. As the system equilibrates, we look at the distribution of particles as well as correlations between particles in the system. We then compare the actual time evolving state of the system to the ground state of the effective Hamiltonian to study how long this description is valid, and when and where it breaks down using the trace distance between the full density matrices of the two systems. We generally expect that the description is valid in a given region as long as the boundary effects do not propagate into the region.

Rileigh Casebolt ’18

Faculty Mentors: Professor Dabrina Dutcher, Chemical Engineering; Professor Timothy Raymond, Chemical Engineering Funding Source: Bucknell University Department of Chemical Engineering

Direct Measurement of Secondary Organic Aerosol Surface Tension as a Function of HumidityAerosols are small solid or liquid particles suspended in a gas. Atmospheric aerosols are known to influence the global climate [Boucher et al., 2013] in direct and indirect ways. Indirect climate effects occur when these aerosols form cloud seeds [Seinfeld and Pandis, 2006]. Over time, these cloud seeds, also called cloud condensation nuclei (CCN), aggregate and grow to form clouds which have significant implications for our atmosphere and weather patterns.

Global climate models must accurately model clouds and cloud formation. In order to do this, they require the surface tension of cloud condensation nuclei. It is difficult to collect enough of the aerosol to use common surface tension instruments. This research focuses on directly measuring atmospherically relevant aerosol surface tension using the atomic force microscope (AFM). This technique allows surface tension measurements on nano to pico liter volumes of collected aerosol.

This method uses specifically designed AFM tips to measure forces involved with submersing and withdrawing the tip in the

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collected sample. Initial testing on liquids with known standard surface tension values verified the validity of the method. Further testing proved that oxidized α-pinene particles formed from the ozonolysis of pure α-pinene in dry conditions have a surface tension of that similar to the pure liquid. Oxidized α-pinene particles formed in more humid conditions have a significantly higher surface tension than that of the pure α-pinene liquid [Hritz et al, 2016]. This is important because cloud formation happens at a relative humidity greater than 100 percent, so the actual surface tension values at these high humidities are of particular interest. Further experiments are being conducted in an attempt to clearly uncover the relationship between surface tension of atmospherically relevant aerosols and the humidity at which they were formed.

Ryan Chaky ’17

Faculty Mentor: Professor David Kelley, Electrical & Computer Engineering Funding Source: Costa-Healthcare Fund

Reduction of Cross-Polarized Back Lobe Radiation in Circularly Polarized Loop Yagi ArraysAntennas are used in communication systems in order to both receive and transmit electrical signals which can then be interpreted as voice, data, or images. A yagi-uda antenna is a specific antenna designed to concentrate signals in one main direction of interest. Normally, this type of antenna generates a linearly polarized wave, in which the components of the electric and magnetic field are always pointing in the same direction. However, in order to use an antenna for satellite communication, it must be circularly polarized, meaning the components of the electric and magnetic fields are rotating. It has recently been shown that a variant of the yagi-uda design, a loop yagi array, can be made to generate circular polarization, by loading the antenna with electronic components placed carefully at selected locations around the antenna. A major disadvantage of the original design, however, is that a large cross-polarized back lobe is produced, significantly degrading the antenna’s performance. The original design was modified using a semi-autonomous process of trial and error to determine the circumferences and spacings of new elements added to the antenna. As a result, the back lobe can be significantly reduced. The new design has significant advantages over other satellite antennas as it is less complicated to connect to the communication system, and it is more portable than current antennas used for satellite communications. Thus, this design could make setting up a satellite link much easier for those desiring to deliver healthcare using telemedicine.

Sara Christian ’18

Faculty Mentor: Professor Jennie Stevenson, PsychologyFunding Source: Bucknell Program for Undergraduate Research; Bucknell University Department of Psychology

Sex Differences in the Effects of Oxytocin on Alcohol Drinking and Locomotor Behavior in Prairie VolesRecently oxytocin has been shown to have diverse and generally protective effects in multiple aspects of drug abuse, including alcohol abuse. Here we tested the effects of oxytocin on alcohol drinking and locomotor behavior in prairie voles, an animal model that shares many social characteristics with humans, and in which the social effects of oxytocin are well-understood. The purpose of the study was to determine if oxytocin reduces drinking, if alters general locomotor behavior, and if it affects the locomotor response to alcohol administration. We also wanted to determine if there were sex differences in the response to oxytocin. We tested the effects of oxytocin administration (1, 3, and 10 mg/kg) on alcohol drinking in male and female prairie voles that drank alcohol in the home cage every other day for 24 days. We found that oxytocin reduced drinking at all doses, but was more effective in males than females. To test the effects of oxytocin and alcohol on locomotor activity, animals were treated with either saline (control), oxytocin alone (1, 3, and 10 mg/kg), ethanol alone (2 g/kg), or oxytocin (1, 3, and 10 mg/kg) followed by ethanol (2 g/kg), then placed into an open field locomotor chamber. Their behavior was videorecored for 15 minutes, and the videos were analyzed for the distance traveled in 15 min using automated behavioral analysis software. In males, ethanol increased locomotor behavior, and that increase was blocked by oxytocin. In females, ethanol did not affect locomotor activity, and oxytocin reduced locomotor activity. Taken together, these data demonstrate that oxytocin can reduce alcohol drinking and alcohol-induced increases in locomotor behavior; however females are less sensitive to the effects of oxytocin on drinking, while they are more sensitive to the locomotor reducing effects of oxytocin.

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Jessica Cohen ’17, Amanda Dauber ’17, Kim Gaiser ’18, Gabby Gottschall ’17, Jackie Haranzo ’18, Tasnia Jamil ’17, Hallie King ’17, Lynn Korsun ’18, Grace Leung ’18, Taylor Myers ’18, Grace Nicolia ’17, Emma Shimony ’17, Ella Storey ’17, Libby Williams ’17, Megan Wolff ’18

Faculty Mentor: Professor William Flack, PsychologyFunding Source: Bucknell University Department of Psychology

Bucknell Sexual Assault Research Team Survey 2016-2017Background: Sexual assault is endemic on college campuses, whether at Bucknell, in the U.S., or around the world. The rate of sexual victimization among college women in the U.S. is approximately one-in-five, and among college men approximately one-in-sixteen (National Sexual Violence Resource Center, 2015). Previous research at Bucknell has consistently demonstrated rates among women higher than the national ones. Method: A self-selected sample of 402 women and 204 men from across all four class years responded to a web-based survey about sexual victimization, hooking up, alcohol and other drug consumption, and demographic characteristics. The survey was conducted in January-February 2017, and the reference period was limited to time spent at Bucknell. Results: The overall prevalence rate of sexual victimization among women was 32.9 percent, more than three times that among men at 9.6 percent. The victimization rate among sorority members was significantly greater than among independent women (42.5 percent vs. 22.9 percent). Hooking-up frequency was a significant predictor of victimization for both women and men, as was drug consumption (not including alcohol) but only among women. Implications: Although we hope that educational interventions will eventually lead to reductions in victimization rates, we posit that institutional/systemic changes will also be required. Among the latter, we posit that equalizing geographies of the social intimacy culture and gendered power within the Greek system will be vital steps in eliminating sexual violence among Bucknell students.

Paige Collins ’18, Lisa Francomacaro ’18

Faculty Mentor: Professor Le Paliulis, BiologyFunding Source: Genomics Education Partnership (GEP); Bucknell University Department of Biology

Annotation and Analysis of Contig16 of Chromosome 3L of Drosophila elegansThe Genomics Education Partnership (GEP) sponsors comparative genomic study within the Drosophila species. Our objective was to annotate the previously uncharacterized contig16 of chromosome 3L of the Drosophila elegans genome based on comparison to orthologous genes in the well-studied Drosophila melanogaster genome. We relied heavily on the

resources and analytical tools provided by FlyBase, the GEP UCSC Genome Browser, Gene Record Finder, NCBI BLAST, and Small Exon Finder to complete the manual genome annotation. Our initial analysis identified six putative orthologs: CG33766-PA, CG33737-PA, CG33768-PA, CG33769-PA, CG33770-PB, and CG33771-PC. Of note, each of these six putative genes belongs to the DUF1091 superfamily. Upstream of the six putative orthologs, our analysis revealed the presence of a pseudogene which exhibited high sequence similarity to the DUF1091 superfamily but did not have a corresponding ortholog in Drosophila melanogaster. Additional sequence examination identified an upstream putative transposable element which had significant sequence similarity to known transposable elements. Two other truncated and nonfunctional transposable elements were also identified. The identification of a putative functional transposable element offers insight into the origins of the six paralogs and one pseudogene all belonging to the same superfamily. Finally, our analysis identified two putative noncoding RNA sequences with significant similarity to known noncoding RNA sequences. In sum, comparative annotation of contig16 of chromosome 3L revealed the presence of six putative orthologs, one pseudogene, one putative functional transposable element, two putative truncated transposable elements, and two putative noncoding RNA sequences. Future work will identify transcription start sites for each putative gene.

Carolyn DeFalco ’17, Stephanie Purnell ’17

Faculty Mentor: Professor Le Paliulis, BiologyFunding Source: Bucknell University Department of Biology

Annotation and Discovery of Transcription Start Sites of Contig4 on the 3L Chromosome of Drosophila ficusphila The Genomics Education Partnership (GEP) provides comparative genomics resources for the purpose of studying gene expression. The present study examined and provided an annotation for the control region contig4 on the L arm of chromosome 3 of Drosophila ficusphila, a segment roughly 57,000 base pairs in length. This project relied on the genomic information about D. ficusphila and D. melanogaster provided by in silico gene prediction tools, the GEP UCSC Genome Browser, Gene Record Finder, Gene Model Checker, Flybase and NCBI BLAST (Basic Local Alignment Search Tool). This particular genomic region, contig4, contains two genes: CG11131 with two isoforms (A and B) and CG12768 with four isoforms (A, B, C and D). Upon comparison to D. melanogaster orthologs, CG11131 showed 64.7% identity conservation and CG12768 showed 85.3% conservation. This high degree of conservation suggests that both genes are in fact orthologous to the reference species D. Malanogaster. This study also provides transcription start sites (TSS) for the genes present within this region. This analysis of the gene structure and TSS locations in the D. ficusphila will be combined with other annotations within the Genomics Education Partnership to continue to illuminate the nature of gene regulation and expression across drosophila species.

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Nicolas Diaz ’17

Faculty Mentors: Professor Chris Martine, Biology; Jason Cantley, BiologyFunding Source: David Burpee Endowment; Wayne E. Manning Internship Fund

Morphometrics and Species Distribution Modeling Elucidates Cryptic Biodiversity in the Coprosma Foliosa Complex (Rubiaceae) of the Hawaiian IslandsThe biodiversity of the Coprosma foliosa Complex includes many morphologically similar plant taxa in similar seeming habitats across the main Hawaiian Islands. Here, we investigate two novel taxa that are in need of segregation from Coprosma foliosa from the islands of Moloka‘i and Kaua‘i. Coprosma ‘sp. Moloka‘i’ occurs in mesic to wet forests of Moloka‘i and is the tallest taxon of the complex. It is a single stemmed tree reaching heights of over 7.5 m, often with two differently sized seeds per fruit and a persistent fruit calyx of 3.4-7.1 mm. Coprosma ‘sp. Kaua‘i’ occurs in mesic forests of Kaua‘i and is a many stemmed scrambling liana, with leaves that are moderately pilose. The pedicels of C. ‘sp. Kaua‘i’ are the longest of any taxon of the complex ranging from 13-30 mm. SDM analyses suggest the two novel taxa are distinct in their suitable niche with minimal overlap, from each other and from other taxa of the complex. Conservation status of the two taxa is likely to be Vulnerable for C. ‘sp. Moloka‘i’ and Endangered for C. ‘sp. Kaua‘i’.

Mike DiDomenico ’18

Faculty Mentor: Professor Evan Peck, Computer ScienceFunding Source: James L.D. and Rebecca Roser Research Fellowship

Reducing Moments of Bias with Wearable SensorsWhen under stress, people are more likely to be influenced by their unconscious biases, whether they know it or not. In addition to bias susceptibility, stressed people experience changes in physiology. Using wearable sensors, which are rising in popularity, we can detect changes in physiology. We have designed a system that uses machine learning algorithms to predict when a person is under an intense mental workload. Using this system, along with correlations between physical response and mental stressors, we attempt to predict when a person will be most susceptible to unconscious biases. According to past studies, being mindful of oneself can help reduce biased thought. Specifically, our experiment involves using an Empatica E4 sensor to record a participant’s heart rate, galvanic skin response, and skin temperature, while he or she undergoes an n-back test as training data for machine learning software. Afterwards, we attempt to predict moments of participant bias during an Implicit Association Test and a digit memorization task to simulate cognitive workload.

Victoria Dikeman ’17

Faculty Mentor: Professor Alf Siewers, EnglishFunding Source: Joann E. Walthour Undergraduate Research Fund

The Landscape of Exile: An Ecocritical Approach to the Exeter Book ElegiesThis project offers a critical reading of several elegiac poems found in The Exeter Book, one of the few extant volumes of Anglo-Saxon vernacular verse. Utilizing an ecocritical approach, this paper brings to the forefront the landscape and natural elements of the poetry in an effort to understand the role of environment in Anglo-Saxon elegiac literature. Written in the late tenth century, the elegies found in the Exeter Book provide insight into vernacular poetry as it is shaped during the historical moment of the creation of England out of Wessex, a kingdom conceived through common language and religion. A revival of monastic life led to an increased interest in Augustinian thought, the transience of earthly life, and the importance of study in the life of a monk, all influential elements in the development of Anglo-Saxon elegy as it exists in the Exeter Book. This project explores the role of nature as an isolating force underscoring the transience of life in these elegiac poems of the Exeter Book.

Jake Dixon ’18

Faculty Mentor: Professor Mizuki Takahashi, BiologyFunding Source: Bucknell University Department of Biology

Examining Nest Cleaning Behavior in the Japanese Giant Salamander (Andrias japonicus)Building or modification of nesting sites prior to the breeding season is a type of parental care commonly observed among birds, mammals, reptiles, and fish but has not been reported in salamanders. In Japanese giant salamanders, a fully aquatic species endemic to Japan, it is known that large males, called den-masters, aggressively guard nest sites and care for the eggs laid. In addition, observations on sand piles outside the nests along river banks suggest that paternal investment prior to spawning events may exist in the form of nest cleaning, which has not been confirmed nor quantitatively described. Through collaboration with Asa Zoo in Japan, this study aims to examine the possibility of nest cleaning behavior by male Japanese giant salamanders through video analysis of a den-master in captivity. We hypothesized that 1) males exhibit pre-spawning paternal care through the removal of sand and other debris from the nest, and 2) cleaning behavior intensifies as the breeding season approaches. We tested these hypotheses by reviewing a large number of video clips recorded at Asa Zoo in 2012, 2013, and 2015 and analyzing the den-master’s behaviors before and after oviposition. Our data supported the hypotheses; the male repeatedly showed nest cleaning behavior prior to spawning. Nest cleaning behavior may function as a means to remove predators as well as reduce water mold infection among embryos. Our study also has implications regarding the conservation breeding of the declining giant salamander populations.

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Michael Dosik ’17

Faculty Mentor: Professor Tristan Stayton, BiologyFunding Source: Bucknell University Department of Biology

Differences in Shell Strength and Drag between Similarly Flat Aquatic and Terrestrial TurtlesAquatic and terrestrial turtles tend to differ in the shapes of their shells. Aquatic turtles typically have a flatter shell shape than terrestrial turtles but some relatively flat terrestrial turtles also exist. Using finite element models of seven relatively flat terrestrial turtles and their similarly flat aquatic species counterparts, we aimed to answer this general question: do terrestrial and aquatic turtles that are similarly flat differ in key performance measures such as mechanical strength, and if so, what morphological features account for this difference? We hypothesized that aquatic species would possess lower mechanical strength than similarly flat terrestrial species. Selective pressure for efficient swimming may have led to the evolution of large limb apertures in aquatic species, which may lead to an overall weaker shell shape. We used finite element analysis to assess the mechanical strength of each turtle species’ shell. We then conducted a series of Student’s t-test to evaluate the significance of the relationship between the mechanical strength of relatively flat aquatic and the mechanical strength of relatively flat terrestrial turtles. We found significant differences between average and maximum stresses of aquatic and terrestrial turtles on several different load cases, but in each case it was the terrestrial turtle species that experienced the higher stress, meaning that they had the weaker shell shapes. Future studies should focus on other performance measures such as hydrodynamic efficiency because it seems that flat turtle shell shapes may provide advantages in areas other than mechanical strength.

Katie Dwyer ’17

Faculty Mentor: Professor Carl Kirby, GeologyFunding Source: The Katherine Mabis McKenna Environmental Internship Program

Determining the Effectiveness of SCARLIFT Site 15 Abandoned Mine Drainage Treatment System Near Ranshaw, PAThe purpose of this study is to determine the effectiveness of a passive abandoned mine drainage (AMD) treatment system at the Corbin Mine Drift, or SCARLIFT Site 15. The four-pond system treats 250 gpm, was installed in 2006, and removes iron and raises pH. Three vertical flow wetland (VFW) ponds have a limestone layer overlain by compost. Water exits each VFW via two standpipes and an overflow. The final effluent combines two standpipes and an overflow channel leading into Shamokin Creek.

Field parameters, flowrates, and water samples were collected. Metal and hot acidity concentrations were analyzed and loadings were calculated for each. The metals of primary concern for this

study were Fe, Mn, and Al. Past data from the SCRA and the NCCD were analyzed to understand how the treatment system has been functioning over time. These data showed that since treatment startup, the influent pH has remained the same (4 to 4.5), and iron concentration has decreased from ~30 to ~20 mg/L. The effluent pH has decreased from 7 to 4.5. Iron concentration has remained at ~10 mg/L. Downstream of the system in Shamokin Creek, pH has remained at 6 to 6.5; iron concentration has fluctuated between 12 and 14 mg/L. This study found an influent iron loading of 29,693 g/day; pH of 4.5. Effluent iron loading was 12,544 g/day; pH was 5.3.

Results show that the treatment system is still treating AMD discharge by increasing pH and decreasing iron concentrations and loadings, but not as efficiently since system installment.

Sara Faiad, Graduate Student

Faculty Mentor: Professor Peter Judge, Animal BehaviorFunding Source: Graduate Summer Research Fellowship

Capuchin monkeys (Cebus apella) voluntarily share food more often with strong affiliative partners than weak affiliative partnersProsociality refers to the behavior of one animal that benefits another. The influence of the strength or weakness of the affiliative relationship between partners on prosociality remains poorly understood. We tested brown capuchin monkeys’ tendency to behave prosocially during a food-sharing task in which each individual was paired with a socially strong partner and a socially weak partner. Social index scores, which are based upon the duration of affiliative behavior between individuals, were used to determine socially strong and socially weak dyads. During testing, one subject was secluded in a compartment containing food, and a partner was confined to an adjacent compartment. Subjects could choose to open an interconnecting door by removing a lock, which could only be accessed by the subject. If the subject opened the door, the partner could enter the subject’s compartment and access the food. Of four adult females, two females opened the door more often than expected for a socially strong partner and refrained from opening the door more often than expected for a socially weak partner, Subject 1’s chi-square (1, 24) = 8.0, p = .005; Subject 2’s chi-square (1, 24) = 20.3, p < .001. Results provide evidence that stronger affiliative relationships are associated with increases in prosocial behavior. Social index scores are a quantitative measurement of relationship strength and may provide more accurate assessment of the influence of social dynamics on prosociality than qualitative measures such as kinship.

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Max Fathauer ’18

Faculty Mentor: Professor Gary Steiner, PhilosophyFunding Source: Bucknell University Department of Philosophy

Reason and Unreason- the Implications of Doubt and MadnessIn this paper, I explore an infamous instance of Cartesian doubt as seen in the first meditation of Descartes’ Meditations on First Philosophy: that of the madman. Madness doubt, or the questioning of whether or not one is oneself a madman, is readily dismissed by Descartes. But just how easily can this question be dismissed? Many great thinkers, from Hegel to Derrida to Foucault have since commented on this question of the madman, and Descartes’ general analysis of madness doubt. As certain thinkers will articulate, this question of madness is directly related to how we live our lives through the way in which we reason. As intellectuals, we are often prone to thinking of the way we reason as unworthy of questioning. Yet for enlightenment thinkers like Descartes, reason itself can be the foundation off of which we can build science. However, more contemporary thinkers critique this vision of reason. For Foucault, Descartes makes the mistake of subservicing reason to unreason in failing to sufficiently address the question of the madman. In this paper, I answer how we make sense of these competing, but not altogether contradictory ideas and more. In doing so, I elaborate on what there is to be learned from this conversation and why critiques of reason are relevant to our everyday lives.

Katie Faulkner ’17

Faculty Mentors: Professor Matthew McTammany, Biology; Professor Abby Flynt, MathematicsFunding Source: Bucknell University Department of Biology; Susquehanna River Heartland Coalition for Environmental Studies

Estimation of daily net ecosystem production rates in the Susquehanna River using inverse modeling with dissolved oxygen dataEcosystem metabolism for rivers can be estimated from the rate of change of dissolved oxygen in the water. Previously metabolism rates were calculated directly from the point-by-point change in dissolved oxygen concentration. New methods, termed “inverse modeling,” have been developed that fit diel dissolved oxygen concentration measurements to theoretical dissolved oxygen curves by finding the metabolic and reaeration rates that best fit the data. Inverse modeling methods were used to analyze dissolved oxygen data from two sites in the Susquehanna River near Milton and Danville, PA from 2009 to 2016. These methods use known models relating dissolved oxygen and net ecosystem production, and statistical methods to estimate the gross

primary productivity (GPP), ecosystem respiration (ER) and the reaeration coefficient (K600) of the Susquehanna River for each day in the dataset. The method required data for dissolved oxygen concentration, temperature of the water, barometric pressure, depth and photosynthetically active radiation. These models use data measured on 15-minute time intervals compiled from sondes placed in the water treatment plants of Milton and Danville, outside data sources such as USGS and estimations based on empirical formulas. Once the metabolism parameters were estimated, the values for GPP and ER were then analyzed for annual trends and other patterns over the 7 year time span. GPP and ER were also analyzed for seasonal and meteorological effects. GPP and ER have both been found to have annual and seasonal trends that remain consistent over time. Analysis continues and future work will include refining these methods and applying them to data that continues to be collected.

Katie Faulkner ’17, Matt Taddeo ’17


Annotation of Contig1 of the dot chromosome of Drosophila eugracilis and transcription start site discovery in Contig47 of Drosophila biarmipesIn this project, we annotated the fourth chromosome of Drosophila eugracilis, commonly referred to as the dot chromosome in Drosophila. This chromosome is largely composed of heterchromatin, yet shows abundant gene expression comparable to euchromatic regions. Using tools such as NCBI BLAST, Gene Record Finder, and UCSC Genome Browser we located and annotated the gene JYalpha-PB in Contig1. We determined the splice sites for each coding exon that had a corresponding element in the D. melanogaster genome assembly. Furthermore, this project also aimed to find a transcription start site (TSS) for Contig47 on the dot chromosome of Drosophila biarmipes. We annotated the TSS for fd102C. For this process, we located and classified the TSS of the corresponding gene in D. melanogaster using Celniker data from the UCSC Genome Browser. Core promoter data from Drospophila melanogaster was then used to characterize the core promoter and TSS in the target species. Future work will be to continue this annotation and TSS discovery in dot chromosomes across all sequenced species of Drosophila. This work will yield a great deal of information regarding the regulation of gene expression in the heterochromatic regions of the dot chromosome.

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Thomas Ficcadenti ’18

Faculty Mentor: Professor Christopher Dancy, Computer ScienceFunding Source: Helen E. Royer Undergraduate Research Fund

Affective Computing: Modeling FrustrationBeginning last summer, Professor Dancy and I dived into the field of affective computing, specifically working on a cognitive model for frustration using the ACT-R architecture as a foundation. ACT-R is a cognitive model, developed at Carnegie Melon and accepted by a great number of psychologists, that attempts to create a computerized model of the human brain. The model’s accuracy is tested by first conducting experiments with human trials, having an experimental ACT-R model perform the same activities, and then comparing the results to see how accurate the model was at simulating human cognition. My mothodology for developing one such ACT-R model for frustration involves smart-phones. After studying a great deal about the literature on frustration over the semester, I went about developing an Android Application designed to incite frustration in its users over this and last semester. Once the application is ready, I plan on developing an ACT-R model that will interact with the program. This model will attempt to simulate human frustration. The simulated results, such as ACT-R’s simulated physiological indicators, will be compared to results obtained from an experiment involving human experiments interacting with the app. The error between the two sets of data will determine my model’s accuracy.

*Dante Fresse ’18

Faculty Mentor: Professor Gregory Clingham, EnglishFunding Source: Helen E. Royer Undergraduate Research Fund

Inquiries into the Natures of Human Passion and Confessional Practice in the Works of Dante and DostoevskyMy research aims to develop a more intimate understanding of the implicit philosophical, theological, and psychological concepts propounded by Fyodor Dostoyevsky and Dante Alighieri in their two seminal works, The Divine Comedy and Crime and Punishment. This project focuses on the writers’ ability to link the corporeal acts of confession and human intimacy with the metaphysical concepts of spiritual transcendence and divine agape. Through the protagonists’ final confessions to the beatific figures of Sonya and Beatrice, Raskolnikov and Dante’s wayfarer express an emotional vulnerability that opens them up to genuine human connection, moral refinement, and, a truer understanding of social ethics.

These literary works were analysed in conjunction with a variety of sociological, philosophical, and linguistic texts: Emile Benveniste’s Indo-European Language and Society, Arnold VanGennep’s Rites of Passage, Denis de Rougemont’s The

Myth of Love, Michel Foucault’s About the Beginning of the Hermeneutics of the Self, Peter Brooks’ Troubling Confessions, along with several others. Each of these texts offer astute insights into the dynamic relationships between language, emotion, and social thought, as well as provide detailed, anthropological accounts of the symbolic significance of ritual practice and religious ceremony. These ideas have influenced my reading of confessional practice in Dante and Dostoyevsky’s works. By analysing The Divine Comedy and Crime and Punishment in conjunction with this scholarship, I have sought to illustrate the ways in which the profound personal and emotional development of Alighieri’s and Dostoevsky’s central characters reflects a relationship between language, social and spiritual ritual, and human intimacy.

Erin Frey ’17

Faculty Mentor: Professor Katherine Faull, Comparative HumanitiesFunding Source: James L.D. and Rebecca Roser Research Fellowship

Slavic Communities of Pennsylvania’s Coal Region: Invisibility and AssimilationDuring the second wave of Slavic migration to the United States at the turn of the twentieth century, the Slavic peoples were viewed by American nativists as simultaneously white and not-quite-white. Slavs occupied a middle-ground where they were legally eligible to settle permanently or become citizens of the United States, but they were considered alien to American traditions and values. Slavic immigrants’ mission to become, in both their own self-image and in public perception, naturalized Americans largely occurred to the detriment of black Americans. In the attempt to ‘white-wash’ themselves, Slavs developed white riots “against blacks perceived as encroaching on ‘their’ residential space,” which received coverage in Coal Region ethnic newspapers and helped to inform Slavic stereotypes of black people that were made visible through their cultural institutions, such as blackface minstrel shows performed in Byzantine Catholic churches (Zecker 2011). Slavs came to identify first as ‘Slavic-Americans,’ then as ‘Americans’ (understood as ‘white-Americans’) based on their interactions with other American racial and ethnic groups, whether that interaction was physical, metaphoric, or fictive. This awareness of ethnicity within the process of assimilation “refers both to aspects of gain and loss in interaction, and to aspects of meaning in the creation of identity” (Erikson 2002). In this project I will analyze these ‘aspects of gain and loss’ through a lens of visibility and invisibility; reflecting on how the intersectional Slavic-American identity changes over time.

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Jack Geduldig ’17, Hannah Litwa ’18, Gianna Tricola ’18

Faculty Mentors: Professor Mark Haussmann, Biology; Professor Ryan Paitz, Illinois State UniversityFunding Source: NIH Grant

Individual Variation in Acute Stress Responses Affects Oxidative Stress Levels in Japanese Quail (Coturnix japonica)Vertebrates respond to stress by activating a suite of integrated physiological response mechanisms, of which a key component is the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis. When activated, this stress response results in the release of glucocorticoids (GCs), causing an increase from baseline levels to stress-induced levels. As homeostasis is restored, GCs decrease toward baseline, and this is referred to as recovering levels. There is considerable individual variation in these three components of a stress response, and because GCs have extensive and variable effects on physiology, this individual variation can correlate with fitness. One potential consequence of a stress response is that exposure to GCs can increase oxidative stress levels. We used Japanese quail (Coturnix japonica) to explore how variation in an individual’s stress response affects oxidative stress. Specifically, we determined how baseline, stress-induced, and recovering levels of GCs associate with baseline measures of oxidative stress (total antioxidant capacity, TAC; reactive oxygen metabolites, ROMs). We found that baseline and recovering GC levels both positively correlated to ROMs, while stress-induced GC levels did not associate with ROMs. No measure of GCs correlated with TAC levels. Because baseline GC levels reflect predictable energetic demands, our results suggest that individuals that expend more energy daily also have higher oxidative stress levels. In addition, those individuals that have a protracted GC recovery after an acute stress response are also prone to higher levels of oxidative stress, possibly due to prolonged exposure to high levels of GCs during an acute stress response.

Erin Goldberg ’19, Mackenzie Haney ’19, Jesse Lopez ’19, Nicole Nisivoccia ’19, Chad Reese ’18, Frank Satriale ’19, Agustina Whamond ’19

Faculty Mentors: Professor Marie Pizzorno, Biology; Professor Emily Stowe, BiologyFunding Source: Howard Hughes Medical Institute; Bucknell University Department of Biology

Isolation, Annotation and Analysis of the Genome of Arthrobacter phage Chipper1996Bacteriophages, colloquially known as phages, are viruses that infect bacterial hosts. Phage are a diverse group of viruses categorized into clusters by genome similarities. The Bucknell Phage Hunters program has taken on the process of isolating

and analyzing phage genomes to contribute knowledge about the characteristics of phage worldwide. In Fall 2015 a soil sample was collected from Bucknell’s campus and incubated with a culture of Arthrobacter and then samples were tested for the presence of phage using a plaque assay. Chipper1996 was isolated and the genome sequenced and annotated. Chipper1996 has a large genome of 70,090 bases with a G+C% content of 61.6%, and has been classified into the AR cluster. The virion has an icosahedral head, a contractile tail, and is classified in the Myoviridae family. Using several computer programs including DNA master, Phamerator, and HHpred, possible start/stop codons were identified and genes were annotated, possible protein functions were examined and the evolutionary relationship of the genome to other known phage. Most of the genes are coded for on one strand in the forward orientation with 5 genes on the opposite strand in the reverse direction. The major proteins coded for in the Chipper1996 genome are structural proteins, including a number of tail proteins, endonucleases, and a tape-measure protein. Further analysis will help elucidate other genome attributes and identify potential functions for each protein. This work will continue to elucidate this diverse group of viruses.

Our goal was to isolate phage from soil samples, purify the phage DNA, which was then sequenced at the University of Pittsburg, and analyze the genome the sequence. The genome sequence was then compared to other phage genomes.

Jeanne-Jo Gregory ’17


The Evolution and Phylogeny of Egg Morphology in the Salamander Genus AmbystomatidaeVery little research has been performed on the phylogeny of Ambystomatid salamanders, or mole salamanders, particularly concerning their egg morphology. While eggs of certain species, such as the spotted salamander (Ambystoma maculatum) have been researched in great detail, not much is known about the eggs of other species, and how their morphology might have evolved. Salamanders in this genus exhibit a range of oviposition (egg-laying) methods, from aquatic masses to single eggs laid terrestrially. This article seeks to define the phylogenetic evolution of egg morphology in Ambystomatidae by comparing egg types across species. Using phylogenetic data already published and the phylogeny program Mesquite, I will construct a phylogeny tree of Ambystomatid eggs and look for patterns that might offer clues as to where variation in egg morphology might have occurred ancestrally, as well as how these different oviposition methods might have evolved. This paper will offer great insights into salamander evolution and diversity.

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Erin Grundy ’18

Faculty Mentor: Professor Rebecca Switzer, ChemistryFunding Source: Kalman Fund for Undergraduate Research in the Sciences

Probing Important Regulatory Protein-Protein Interactions using Isothermal Titration CalorimetryThe epigenetic modifier DNA methyltransferase 1 (DNMT1) is primarily responsible for maintenance methylation of DNA in the mammalian genome. Methylation represses gene activity, indicating DNMT1’s important role in gene regulation. It has been shown that one of the domains of DNMT1, the RFTS domain, is an endogenous inhibitor of the enzyme. The RFTS domain binds to the catalytic pocket of the enzyme, preventing DNA binding. Recent evidence has shown that another protein, ubiquitin like containing PHD and RING Finger domains (Uhrf1), interacts with DNMT1 in a regulatory capacity. More specifically, DNMT1 activity is stimulated by direct interaction between the SRA domain of Uhrf1 and the RFTS domain of DNMT1. We are interested in studying this important regulatory binding interaction between the two protein domains. To do this, we expressed N-terminally histidine-tagged versions of the RFTS domain of DNMT1 (amino acids 351-600) and the SRA domain of Uhrf1 (amino acids 414-617) in competent BL21R2 E. coli cells. The recombinant protein domains were purified from cell lysate using Ni-NTA affinity chromatography. Protein domains were further purified using a Superdex 75 size exclusion column. Fractions were analyzed via SDS-PAGE. Both protein domains were successfully purified in milligram quantities. We are currently using Isothermal Titration Calorimetry (ITC) to obtain quantitative data about the interaction between the RFTS and SRA domains. Once we obtain data about the interaction between the wild-type domains, we can begin to examine the effect of mutations found in the RFTS domain on this important regulatory interaction.

Hang Ha ’18

Faculty Mentor: Professor Richard Kozick, Electrical & Computer EngineeringFunding Source: Bucknell University Department of Electrical & Computer Engineering

On using Chinese Remainder Theorem for Range-based Localization Localization is a key technology in wireless sensor network and multi-robot system. For range-based localization, we can use Chinese Remainder Theorem (CRT) to acquire the distance between nodes from phase measurements. However, previous research on the topic mention only application on UHF band. Therefore, the research focus on analyzing, generalizing and improving the CRT method on multiple frequency range options. A more robust algorithm with systematically determined variable to avoid errors in estimation is determined. The best solution is decided by simulations on both case - with and without time

synchronization between nodes. With the new algorithm, the localization method become less sensitive to signal noise and become easier to implement for various frequency band.

James Hamm ’18

Faculty Mentor: Professor Michelle Johnson, Sociology & AnthropologyFunding Source: The Tom Greaves Fund for Research and Curricular Development

Anthracite Tales: A Modern Understanding of “Coal Cracker” Culture in Mount Carmel, PennsylvaniaThis research project aims to explore what it means to be a “coal cracker,” and how that meaning has this changed given the recent social and economic changes within the Mount Carmel community. The term “coal cracker” usually refers to an individual hailing from the anthracite coal region of Northeastern Pennsylvania, however, this distinction carries more than a geographical label. I hope to uncover the intricate geographic, historical, and cultural meaning of this term within the context of the Borough of Mount Carmel. Specifically, I will attempt to understand how issues such as dilapidated housing and a rise in immigration to the borough has affected both community and cultural identity of the townspeople. Additionally, I hope to explore the psychosocial issues that may result from uncertainty regarding the possible activities that may be occurring within these vacant homes. The issue of decrepit housing is largely unexplored and may be connected to other community concerns such as illicit drug use and homelessness. In order to establish a historical and ecological understanding of Mount Carmel, I plan to conduct participant-observation. Besides conducting participant-observation, I will also be conducting key informant (semi-structured) and ethnographic life history interviews.

Rachel Harmatz ’17

Faculty Mentor: Professor Elizabeth Durden, Sociology & AnthropologyFunding Source: Bucknell Program for Undergraduate Research

The Effects of Childhood Developmental Disorders, Autism Spectrum Disorder and Intellectual Disability, on Maternal Physical HealthThis study examines the relationship between childhood Developmental Disorders (DD), such as Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and Intellectual Disability (ID), and maternal physical health. The source of data used to explore this main relationship is the 2011-2015 National Health Interview Survey (NHIS). A series of cross tabulations and binary logistic regressions were employed to analyze the data.

These results show that mothers of children without DDs are more likely to report better physical health than mothers of children with ASD or ID. However, it is more likely for mothers

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of children with ASD to report poorer physical health than mothers of children with ID. These outcomes align with prior research; however, there are some contradictions between this study and previous findings. Due to some complications with the recoding of my dependent variable, I will fully complete this study during the fall semester. Therefore, I am not certain that these results are statistically significant.

Over the course of eight weeks, I gained a better understanding of the statistical program SAS and learned how to write statistical code. In particular, I learned how to identify specific variables within the dataset, download these variables, merge different survey years that pertain to this research, and recode and construct new variables. With the help of Professor Durden, I will continue to work on this study in order to find significant (or insignificant) results and draw more accurate conclusions.

Addison Haxo ’17, Kaitlin Mowery ’17

Faculty Mentors: Professor Eric Kennedy, Biomedical Engineering; Professor Dan Cavanagh, Biomedical EngineeringFunding Source: Bucknell–Geisinger Research Initiative; Bucknell Ciffolillo Healthcare Inventors Program; Bucknell College of Engineering; Bucknell School of Management

The Advantage of Hospital-University Partnerships for Introducing New Devices into the Healthcare System Collaborative opportunities between academic and healthcare organizations, particularly through biomedical technology development, have witnessed dramatic steps in both the various formats for collaborations as well as the formalization of these opportunities. While the major goal of the healthcare system is to provide patients with the highest quality patient care available, these curricularly-developed technologic innovations rarely are advanced enough to transition realized improvements to patient care. The Bucknell University and Geisinger Health System Medical Device Development Program (BU-GHS MDDP) is focused on the principle of providing additional technical support for promising legacy projects by furthering development and moving the technology one step closer to patient care. In addition, the program can serve as an alternative pathway to evaluate new-to-market technology and determine the efficacy of a device in meeting physician and patient needs. A team of four students of interdisciplinary backgrounds collaborated with the Anesthesiology Department at Geisinger to successfully deploy a new neuromuscular block monitoring device. In collaboration with the hospital’s equivalent of a Value Analysis Team, the university group created a new pathway and evaluation technique to enhance the process of introducing the latest devices into the OR. For the first time in this program, a new technology was provided directly to physicians to improve

patient care, including training and assessment to determine optimal use. This adoption model strengthened the hospital-university relationship through the integration of a university team into a technology evaluation, adoption, and follow-up process that had never been explored before.

Daniel Hayes ’18

Faculty Mentor: Professor Chris Martine, BiologyFunding Source: David Burpee Endowment; Wayne E. Manning Internship Fund; Botanical Society of America Undergraduate Research Grant

A Successful Solanum spp. (Solanaceae) Greenhouse Growth Model Using Integrated Pest ManagementResearch greenhouse collections of Solanum are notoriously prone to pest infestations that often require the use of pesticides for sustained growth and pest management. The use of Integrated Pest Management (IPM) systems as an alternative to pesticide use is not well-documented for Solanum. With the aim to grow Solanum for studies in reproductive biology and systematics without the use of heavy pesticides, an IPM system was implemented in 2013. Most of our study species are native to subarid tropical habitats of northern Australia, but species from the Neotropics and temperate North America are also included in the collection. The number and density of individuals has varied depending on current research projects, but the greenhouse has supported nearly 400 individuals at its peak. Most study plants are maintained for more than twelve months and experience continuous growth. With the focus on control, not eradication, practices aimed to reduce pest establishment, reproduction, and dispersal have been successfully implemented. Biological control through the use of natural enemies—predators and parasites—of common pests, alongside cultural, mechanical, and physical controls have been carefully studied and adjusted for effectiveness and longevity. Observation of the beneficial insect and target pest population levels and seasonality has aided in establishing an economically and labor friendly IPM system. Common pests are still present, and likely always will be in low numbers, but a vigilant and adaptive IPM plan focused on maintaining a sustainable predator-prey balance should continue to support our research agenda with few limitations.

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*Joshua Hellerick ’18

Faculty Mentor: Professor Ben Vollmayr-Lee, Physics & AstronomyFunding Source: Kalman Fund for Undergraduate Research in the Sciences

Trapping Reaction with Reacting TrapsWe consider particles (A) diffusing in the presence of traps (B), which themselves are diffusing and reacting. The trapping reaction has the form A + B → B, meaning B traps catalyze A into an inert species. Upon meeting, the B traps may annihilate (B + B → Ø) or coalesce (B + B → B). We introduce a simulation technique that provides the full probability distribution of A particles for a given realization of the B traps. Previous theoretical work predicted that the density of A particles decays as tθ; we measure this exponent and compare our results with these predictions. We also calculate the AA, AB, and BB correlation functions. We find that the correlation range grows with the diffusion length t-½ and that the AB and BB correlation functions each collapse to a single curve when scaled by the diffusion length. However, after scaling the AA correlation, we discover that the magnitude grows with time as tϕ, which represents an anomalous dimension. We measure this new exponent and demonstrate that the AA correlation function collapses to a single curve after rescaling the magnitude by tϕ and the width by the diffusion length t-½.

Gabriella Hitel ’18

Faculty Mentor: Professor Richard Henne-Ochoa, EducationFunding Source: Bucknell Program for Undergraduate Research

Demographic and Temporal Scales of Language Revitalization Among the Oglala LakotaMany Indigenous communities worldwide are attempting to revitalize their endangered ancestral languages. These revitalization efforts include considerable local attention to the degree of language endangerment and to producing new generations of fluent speakers. This poster presents research I am conducting on language endangerment and revitalization among the Lakota of Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in South Dakota. My work involves understanding how Lakota people themselves are experiencing the loss and revitalization of their language, Lakota. I am analyzing recorded speech of Lakota people talking about their language and culture. My analysis of this “language-culture talk” is focused on how, through discourse about their language and culture, Lakota people construct dimensions of demographic and temporal scale that are foundational to their understanding of their sociolinguistic situation and how they

plan for revitalization. For example, the degree of language loss is characterized in Lakota peoples’ language-culture talk by making reference to generations or age groups (also discursively constructed) and discursively establishing which generations are “native speakers,” “fluent speakers,” “non-speakers,” and other terms that scale, or put into a demographic and temporal framework, language endangerment and revitalization. The implications of such scaling for what and how Lakota people do to revitalize the Lakota language are crucial. For what they do to revitalize Lakota and how they do it rests especially critically on how they understand their sociolinguistic landscape, which is being constructed through discourse that does not always represent the complexity of that landscape, complexity that defies simple approaches to revitalization.

Emma Hundermark ’17

Faculty Mentor: Professor Emily Stowe, BiologyFunding Source: Robert P. Vidinghoff Memorial Summer Internship (Biology Department)

Characterizing Two Novel Cyanobacterial Strains From Local Water SourcesTwo novel, chromatically acclimating, freshwater cyanobacteria, strain RC610, and another strain strain SR411 were collected and isolated from local water sources, Roaring Creek in Pennsylvania in 2010 and the Susquehanna River in 2011; these strain have not been previously characterized. Theses strains were isolated from separate environmental samples and cultured in the lab. Through a combination of observed physical characteristics (such as cell shape, filament length and color changes) and genetic similarities (based on whole genome shotgun sequencing) to known species, we classified and named the strains for the genus and the location where each strain was collected. We cataloged the genomes in the NCBI database and this information is available for public use. We are currently conducting a similar analysis for SR411. We are analyzing and annotating the genomes using the online RAST server. RC610 and consists of 5,478,524 base pairs and contains 5546 putative coding sequences (potential genes). Of these 5546 potential coding sequences, 3 have been identified as potential sensor kinases, which detect changes in ambient light wavelength to allow the organism to alter pigment composition of its light-harvesting antenna to optimize photosynthesis in its aquatic environment. Experimental findings (measuring the ratio of pigments in cells) are used to classify the chromatic acclimation abilities of the strains. This ability is not common to all cyanobacterial strains. These findings provide a strong foundation for future work on this species as well as expanding our knowledge of the aquatic microbes that inhabit our water sources.

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Sam Jacobson ’17

Faculty Mentor: Professor Ellen Herman, GeologyFunding Source: The Katherine Mabis McKenna Environmental Internship Program

A Novel Approach to Turbulent Multiphase Flow Imaging: Flow in 3D Printed Karstic ConduitsFlow and contaminant transport in karstic aquifers differ drastically from porous media, but little work has been done to quantify the transport of non-aqueous phase liquids (NAPLs) in karst. We printed a series of karstic conduits out of acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS) plastic to facilitate imaging of turbulent flow in conduits carrying water and NAPLs to allow us to characterize flow. 3D printing of fractures has been performed in the past to evaluate multiphase transport at the core scale, but examination of flow in larger conduits using this technique is lacking in the literature.

Our printed conduit apertures are elliptical to mimic common phreatic tube shape and have minimum 1cm cross-sectional area to promote turbulent flow. Fused filament fabrication, the 3D printing process used, produces permeable prints. Different techniques were established to restrict flow to the conduit include treatment with acetone vapor and epoxy. Flow of water and NAPL under different gradients was imaged with a modified X-Ray Computed Tomography (CT) scanner. X-ray CT stitches together still images to allow for temporal analysis of flow. As a novel technique in karst modeling, this approach requires further validation. To that end, this experimental setup is reproducible and can be modified to accurately reflect more complex cave geometry, conduit roughness, and in-conduit sediment piles.

Nadia Jagnandan ’17, Ryan Wilkie ’17


Annotation of the Drosophilia eugracilis dot chromosome contig26 Comparative genomics is a field in the biological sciences in which researchers investigate evolutionary and phylogenetic processes through computer-based analysis. We used the GEP UCSC Genome Browser Mirror, FlyBase, NCBI BLAST, and Gene Record Finder to annotate a previously unannotated region of the Drosophila eugracilis genome, contig26 of the dot chromosome (chromosome 4) using Drosophila melanogaster as a reference species. We discovered an ortholog to the Gyf gene on the D.eugracilis dot chromosome contig 26. In addition, ab initio gene predictors also indicated a coding region from a gene other than Gyf on contig26. After comparing this region to D. melanogaster, we determined that this coding region is

exon 1 of the Sox102F gene. The rest of the Sox102F gene is not located on contig26. These results will be combined with annotations submitted from around the country in a nationwide effort to understand structure of genes on the dot chromosomes of Drosophila.

Pamela Johnson ’17, Rebecca Osborne ’17, Katherine Solley ’17

Faculty Mentors: Professor Daniel Cavanagh, Biomedical Engineering; Professor Eric Kennedy, Biomedical EngineeringFunding Source: Bucknell–Geisinger Research Initiative; Bucknell Ciffolillo Healthcare Inventors Program; Bucknell College of Engineering; Bucknell School of Management

Advancing Capstone Projects Beyond the First Generation: An Emergency Rapid Injection DeviceThe Bucknell University–Geisinger Health System Medical Device Development Program (BU–GHS MDDP) is a program that allows a team to further develop senior design prototypes, such as a syringe, into further generation prototypes with a business plan for targeted markets.

A multidisciplinary team of students in BU–GHS MDDP was assembled, specifically based on technical skill sets needed to advance a previously patented but stagnant design project for an emergency rapid injection device, i.e. a syringe. Initially, the team researched standards, regulatory pathways, conflicting patents, and syringe markets to gain insight into how to proceed with the device.

Collaboration between the marketing and engineering students created a more holistic view of designing a medical device that the senior design program is missing. Initial feedback from professionals in the field showed that there was a need for a new device and preferred the patented designs to the current method, demonstrating an interest and opportunity in the market for the device. A next generation functional prototype was created as a sequential step in the process and duplicated so that multiple medical staff could test it and give feedback on desired ergonomic and functional characteristics as well as mechanical testing. Communication with clinicians was beneficial to ensure that the developed prototype matched clinician’s needs.

The BU–GHS MDDP has created a process through which innovation was furthered through iterative development of prototypes and relationships in industry. Consequently, the novel syringe was advanced with significant technical improvements that brought it closer to manufacturing and market.

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Mack Jones ’17


Assessment of declining Eastern Hellbender populations in central Pennsylvania through a noble conservation tool, environmental DNA analysesAnalyses of genetic materials left in aquatic habitats (environmental DNA or eDNA) is becoming a widely used tool as a non-invasive method for detection of aquatic organisms. Analyses of eDNA using quantitative PCR (qPCR) have recently been proven to be a powerful conservation tool over traditional physical surveys because such eDNA analyses offer greater detectability of target species and also provide information regarding population densities and seasonal activities of the animal. We used a newly developed eDNA protocol to assess population status of Eastern Hellbender (Cryptobranchus alleganiensis, alleganiensis), a secretive giant salamander of special concern in PA, that is in decline due to various factors such as pollution, illegal harvesting and habitat destruction. An initial assessment in 2014 identified two new populations in tributaries of the Susquehanna River. In order to further characterize these populations, we conducted a follow-up study in 2016 by implementing finer sampling regimens along the two tributaries where the 2014 identified the new populations, as well as the main branch of Susquehanna River. Each site was sampled once a month over the course of a four-month period from July to October. Our data confirmed the presence of hellbenders in both tributaries. Temporal signature of increased eDNA during breeding season also suggest the possibility of reproductive events in one of the tributaries. Furthermore, we confirmed the presence of Hellbender in the main branch of the Susquehanna River. Our study continues the investigation of eDNA as a viable tool for conservation management of cryptic, aquatic species populations.

Katelyn Kempf ’18

Faculty Mentor: Professor Lori Smolleck, EducationFunding Source: Bucknell Program for Undergraduate Research

The Influence of Technology on the Engagement and Comprehension of Young Children in Relation to Literacy and MathematicsUsing a case study approach, this study evaluated the use of iPad applications regarding math and reading on student understanding to uncover if implementing technology into early childhood classrooms is beneficial for comprehension, engagement, and motivation. The researchers taught math and literacy lessons to two groups of students using two specific teaching styles: 1) technology infused discussion based teaching/learning, and 2) exclusively discussion-based teaching/learning

without the implementation of technology. The researchers used a pre- and post-test format to evaluate comprehension, engagement, and understanding of classroom material with and without the influence of technology. Data analysis revealed that technology infused teaching reported significantly more positive results for comprehension, engagement, and motivation as compared to discussion-based teaching/learning without the implementation of technology. Additionally, the researchers gathered parental feedback regarding the lessons. This feedback was overwhelmingly positive and in many cases resulted in the parents requesting additional suggestions for technology applications to utilize at home to further student learning. Additionally, the majority of parental feedback expressed a desire for more math and literacy ‘camps’ to be offered in the future for their children. Overall, there was a positive correlation between student enjoyment, motivation, and achievement due to participation in technology infused lessons, from both parents and students.

Katelyn Kempf ’18, Emily Vislosky ’18

Faculty Mentors: Professor Katharyn Nottis, Education; Professor Ned Ladd, Physics & AstronomyFunding Source: National Science Foundation’s TUES Program; Microsoft Corporation

Undergraduate Non-Majors’ Understanding of Parallax in an Introductory Astronomy CourseParallax, the apparent change in the direction to an object when viewed from two different vantage points, is a fundamental concept in introductory astronomy that can be difficult for students to understand. While parallax is a concept that students unknowingly employ on a daily basis, they are often unable to generalize this geometric concept to the scale of space, due to preconceived notions about the size and scale of the solar system as well as the distance and orientation of the stars to each other. New technologies have the potential to help students better understand and apply the parallax concept in the astronomical environment. In the current study, a new lab on Parallax Measurements using the WorldWide Telescope (WWT) was incorporated in an astronomy lab with undergraduate non-majors at a private university to see whether their understanding of parallax would improve. To determine the impact of the new Parallax Measurements Lab, six questions from the S3 Concept Inventory, targeting relevant concepts, were treated as a sub-test and used as both a Parallax pre- and post-test. Descriptive statistics revealed that some aspects of parallax seemed easier for students to understand than others. Qualitative responses from open-ended questions, also collected, provided some insight into responses on the concept inventory questions as well as helped to identify related areas of difficulty that were not explicitly revealed through the S3CI. An analysis of the change in individual responses and explanations revealed that some misconceptions about parallax are very tenacious.

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Deepali Koneru ’18, Alexa DiGregorio ’18, Clay O’Brien ’18


Annotation and Transcription Start Site Analysis in contig21 on the Dot Chromosome of Drosophila eugracilisThe dot chromosome is chromosome four in Drosophila melanogaster and contains a uniquely large heterochromatic region, but also expresses genes in euchromatic regions. The Genomics Education Partnership, sponsored by Washington University in St. Louis, is a collaborative project that provides opportunities for undergraduate students to participate in genomics research at different undergraduate universities throughout the country. This project utilized tools from the GEP UCSC Genome Browser, Gene Record Finder, NCBI BLAST, Small Exons Finder, and the Gene Model Checker. Within the GEP UCSC Genome Browser, Flybase information for D.melanogaster and RNA-Seq coverage was used to help annotate contig21. This study examined contig21, a 43 kb genomic DNA sequence on the dot chromosome of Drosophila eugracilis, and focused on annotating genes in the region and finding transcription start sites of those genes. The genomic region contained the genes fuss, consisting of 3 isoforms, and toy, consisting of 2 isoforms. Potential transcription start sites for these genes were also annotated by analyzing blastn alignment, core promoters in Drosophila melanogaster, RNA-Seq coverage, and and TopHat splice junctions. This project’s annotation, as well as many others, will be combined by the Genomics Education Partnership to give insight on the gene expression for all Drosophila genomes.

Mae Lacey ’18

Faculty Mentors: Professor Chris Martine, Biology; Jason Cantley, BiologyFunding Source: David Burpee Endowment, Wayne E. Manning Internship Fund, Botanical Society of America Undergraduate Research Grant

Novel Taxon in a New National Park Helps to Disentangle Species Boundaries Among Spiny Australian Bush TomatoesCurrent studies on the spiny solanums (Solanum subg. Leptostemonum) of northern Australia have generated numerous hypotheses related to species delimitation. Particularly unclear species boundaries have been identified among the closely related Solanum watneyi Martine & Frawley, S. eburneum Symon, S. diversiflorum Mueller, and a putatively new taxon recently collected in Limmen National Park (S. sp. ‘Limmen’). These taxa occur in the upper part of the Northern Territory and are members of the Australian “bush tomato clade.” Solanum sp. ‘Limmen’ appears to share many characteristics with S. watneyi,

S. eburneum, and S. diversiflorum, yet differs conspicuously in vegetative morphology. It is also geographically disjunct from the three taxa, with populations so far recorded only in Limmen National Park in the northeastern portion of the Northern Territory on clayey roadsides. Field collections in May 2014 and 2016 resulted in procurement of specimens for rigorous morphological comparisons of these four taxa to further investigate fruiting, floral, and vegetative characteristics. Plants grown from field-collected seeds were utilized in both morphological and molecular analyses in conjunction with field observations to determine the unique characters of S. sp. ‘Limmen’. Elucidating the species boundaries among these taxa has contributed to a body of information germane to conservation efforts. The description of this taxon as a new species represents one of the first new taxa recognized as endemic to Limmen National Park, which was only established in 2012, and highlights the importance of supporting additional biodiversity surveys in the region.

Kim Lapszynski ’17


Inorganic geochemical characterization of Rock Run stream and Pleasant Stream regarding potential Marcellus Shale development, Lycoming County, PAAn inorganic geochemical characterization of Rock Run and Pleasant Stream located in Lycoming, PA was conducted. The purpose is to compare data collected to other background data from other sources and note whether there were any potential parameters that are related to Marcellus Shale development. A total of fifteen samples sites in Rock Run and Pleasant Stream were selected. Field parameters including temperature, DO, specific conductance, and pH were measured. Alkalinity and metal concentrations were measured in the lab from water grab samples. Sample sites within these two watersheds are compared to each other, as well as overall comparisons. Averages for temperature (15.7+/-1.9°C (1σ)), dissolved oxygen (9.4+/-0.4mg/L (1σ)), and specific conductance (0.206+/- 0.023mS/cm (1σ)) were in expected ranges, considering measurements were taken in June and July. pH ranges for impaired streams were 3.6 to 6.3, while non-impaired were 5.8 to 6.9. Streams classified as acid-deposition impaired by PA DEP show a noticeable difference in average alkalinity (1.7+/-2.1 mg/L as CaCO3 (1σ)) compared to non-impaired streams (12.9+/-4.6 mg/L as CaCO3 (1σ)). Calcium and sodium are indicators of flow-back/production waters for gas shale development and showed no anomalies. Other elements that are associated with gas shale production are strontium (<0.07 mg/L) and barium (<0.09 mg/L); concentrations were quite low and no anomalies were apparent. Overall, this study has shown no indicators in this “snapshot” of data for the months of June and July, to indicate any traces of shale gas development impacts on Rock Run and Pleasant Stream watersheds.

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Corinne Leard ’18; Allie Schrock ’18

Faculty Mentor: Professor Regina Gazes, PsychologyFunding Source: Douglas K. Candland Undergraduate Research Fund

Effects of rank, sex, age, and kinship on social relationships in captive tufted capuchin monkeysPrimates live in complex social groups in which the number, stability, and strength of social relationships can increase reproductive success. Factors impacting the strength and organization of these relationships vary across species and within species across studies. For example, some studies of capuchin monkeys suggest rank but not kinship plays an important role in affiliative interactions, while other studies suggest the opposite pattern. Data from more groups is therefore needed to clarify the role of these and other factors in capuchin social dynamics. The present study used social network analyses to determine how factors such as rank, age, kinship, and sex impact the strength and organization of social relationships in a captive group of 18 (3 adult males, 8 adult females) tufted capuchins (Cebus apella). Affiliative and aggressive interactions were recorded over 234 focal observation hours. Analyses revealed effects of age and rank, but not kinship, on affiliative interactions. These results are consistent with previous work suggesting that in capuchin groups with high levels of relatedness, rank may be a better predictor of affiliation than kinship.

Grace Leung ’18

Faculty Mentor: Professor Judith Grisel, PsychologyFunding Source: Douglas K. Candland Undergraduate Research Fund

Studying the Ability of Testosterone to Buffer Stress Induced Alcohol ConsumptionThe goal of this experiment was to investigate how testosterone mediates the effects of stress that lead to alcohol consumption in mice. This experimental study was aimed at explaining some sex differences found on alcohol consumption in response to stress. Previous research from Dr. Grisel’s laboratory has shown that female, but not male, mice increase drinking when they are stressed (by having a home cage activity wheel blocked). I hypothesize that testosterone helps buffer the effects of stress in males, which might explain why females are more prone to increasing alcohol consumption when stressed (by the blocked activity wheel). However, after running months of experiments we discovered that the overall castration increases drinking a little, but it doesn’t change stress susceptibility.

Yifan Li ’17

Faculty Mentor: Professor Ryan Snyder, Chemical EngineeringFunding Source: Bucknell Program for Undergraduate Research

Studies and Models in the Study of PEM Fuel CellsProton exchange membrane (PEM) fuel cells use a proton-conducting polymer membrane as the center electrolyte to separate the anode and the cathode. PEM fuel cell unites can be divided into different parts by functions. Bipolar plates (BP) are outer covers, with the inner part is membrane electrode assembly (MEA), the main region of reaction. MEA is divided into 3 parts, which are gas diffusion layer (GDL), catalyst layer (CL) and photon exchange membrane (PEM). Different studies about the PEM fuel cells have been done based on different parts. For the bipolar plates, different materials and different coating are studied in the electro or surface condition, stabilities or the electrochemical behaviors. There are also some new material studies on the gas diffusion layer. There are also more studies on the experimental and numerical models of change in conductivity and water transport by compression method. For the catalyst layer, materials are also a study focus in the synthesis method. Also, since Nafion is used to improves the activity of the catalyst layer, studies of the optimum Nafion content are also applied. The material studies of the proton exchange membrane are based on different temperature conditions. To summary up, different materials are tested and analyzed in the PEM fuel cell studies and there are some more particular models like the compression models in the gas diffusion layer. The way we study and model the PEM fuel cell in the future will be very similar as we did in the solid oxide fuel cell. A computer program based model will be used to support our conclusion of the conductivity of the electrodes. To be specific, we have built up a computational model to calculate the shortest path length for a particle in a SOFC anode. A similar model can be set up in the study of the PEM fuel cell.

Nicolas Lin ’18; Eyuel Seyoum ’18


Annotation and Analysis of Contig27 on dot chromosome of Drosophila eugracilisThe fourth chromosome in Drosophila, commonly called the dot chromosome, stands out from the rest of the chromosomes due to its unique composition of euchromatic and heterochromatic regions and the high density of repeat sequences within the euchromatic regions. This study focuses on the annotation and analysis of one of the control regions, contig27, which is a 49,000 base pair sequence in the dot chromosome of Drosophila eugracilis. This project relied on UCSC Genome Browser, Gene Record Finder, NCBI Basic Local Alignment Tool, Gene Model Checker and Flybase for information on both D. eugracilis and

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D. melanogaster, which was the reference species. The genomic region covered two genes, Sox102F and fd102c, without any missing segments. The first gene, Sox102F, has four isoforms with two unique isoforms based on coding sequence, Sox102F-PA and Sox102F-PB. The second gene, fd102c, has only one isoform. The transcription start sites for both genes were annotated. This annotation, along with annotations conducted by other members of the Genomics Education Partnership, will allow further understanding of how gene expression is regulated in the Drosophila dot chromosome.

Hannah Litwa ’18, Kailey Tindle ’15, Vincent Fasanello ’14, Jack Geduldig ’17, Gianna Tricola ’18

Faculty Mentors: Professor Mark Haussmann, Biology; Professor Ryan Paitz, Illinois State UniversityFunding Source: NIH Grant; Bucknell University Department of Biology

An Acute Rise in Glucocorticoids Reduces Antioxidant Levels and Contributes to Oxidative Stress in Japanese Quail (Coturnix japonica)An acute rise in glucocorticoids reduces antioxidant levels and contributes to oxidative stress in Japanese quail (Coturnix japonica) Oxidative stress, a central mechanism in the aging process, occurs when the production of damaging reactive oxygen species exceeds the ability of antioxidant defense to neutralize these unstable molecules. While it is known that chronic glucocorticoid exposure can increase oxidative stress levels (Glucocorticoid-induced Oxidative Stress), less is understood about how an acute rise in glucocorticoids affects oxidative stress. Recent work from our laboratory has reported that an increase in oxidative stress follows an acute stress response, but whether this is specifically due to increased glucocorticoids remains unclear. We fed Japanese quail (Coturnix japonica) mealworms injected with either corticosterone (CORT quail), the main avian glucocorticoid, or sesame oil (control quail) to determine if corticosterone was responsible for the rise in oxidative stress during an acute stress response. Forty-five min post-ingestion we collected blood samples to measure total antioxidant capacity (TAC) and reactive oxygen metabolites (ROMs). We found that CORT quail had higher plasma corticosterone concentrations 10min post-ingestion compared to control quail. However, while plasma corticosterone levels returned to baseline by 45min in both CORT and control quail, TAC levels were reduced at this time in the CORT compared to the control quail. Plasma ROMs levels did not differ between treatment groups. Lower TAC levels following corticosterone ingestion suggests that acute increases in corticosterone contribute to oxidative stress during an acute stress response.

Nathan Luftman ’17

Faculty Mentors: Professor Chris Martine, Biology; Jason Cantley, BiologyFunding Source: David Burpee Endowment, Wayne E. Manning Internship Fund, Botanical Society of America Undergraduate Research Grant

Saltwater Tolerance Thresholds in the Halophytic Species Chenopodium Oahuense (Amaranthaceae) Including A New Segregate Taxon From the Island of Moloka‘i in the Hawaiian IslandsThe Hawaiian Islands have been long identified as a hotbed of biodiversity, with widespread endemism across all islands. Chenopodium oahuense (Amaranthaceae), while endemic to Hawai‘i, has been recorded on all but one island of the archipelago. Populations of the taxon occur on sandy beaches, seacliffs, and in high elevation subalpine habitats that are isolated from sea spray. However, baseline information on seed ecology is not well known for this halophytic species. Therefore, to test if a differential response to salinity has developed between populations inland and on the coast, seeds of three populations (subalpine, beach, and seacliffs) were exposed to artificial seawater to assess possible increased germination rates in the presence of salt, which occurs for many other Chenopodium species. In a second experiment, germination and growth measurements were assessed when exposed to different concentrations of artificial seawater to simulate the effects of sea salt spray. The results and conservation implications from these experiments are discussed including the recognition of an undescribed taxon that has been only recently recognized from the seacliffs of Moloka‘i. Using live and herbarium material to assess morphological differences coupled with results from the sea water treatment experiments, we detail the distinctive characteristics of this new taxon for the first time. Primarily, the taxon is most noticeably different in its overall sprawling habit and semi-succulent leaves that may have evolved in response to environmental factors that occur in its habitats, which are the world’s tallest seacliffs.

Meredith Lutz ’17

Faculty Mentor: Professor Peter Judge, Animal BehaviorFunding Source: Bucknell University Animal Behavior Program Summer Research Fellowship; Bucknell University Statistics Summer Research Grant; SIT Independent Study Grant; Bucknell University Presidential Fellowship

Seasonal and locational differences in play behavior in diademed sifaka (Propithecus diadema)Although play is through by some as behavior that appears purposeless, several hypotheses have suggested a variety of potential evolutionary functions for play. Most recently, the training for the unexpected hypothesis proposed that play

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provides opportunities for individuals to learn how to cope with unexpected circumstances. If this hypothesis is accurate, then animals should choose to play in a way that minimizes unnecessary risks, since unexpected circumstances already represent a potential risk. Given the ecological variation in habitat, I expected to see modification of locational risks in the play behavior of wild diademed sifaka (Propithecus diadema). Such examples of risk modification include the height of behavior in the trees and clustering of behaviors within a home range. Playing on the ground was associated with 162% higher odds of high-intensity wrestling (p < .001), and play behavior was significantly more clustered than other behavior within the home range. Both aspects suggest that sifakas modified their behavior due to locational risks. Furthermore, all observed social play occurred in the dry season, which may suggest differing energetic strategies that influence play behavior based on seasonal variables. In total, these results suggest modification of play based on environmental risks by diademed sifaka, which adds to our larger understanding of the evolutionary forces that shape play behavior.

Eric Marshall ’18

Faculty Mentor: Professor Chris Dancy, Computer ScienceFunding Source: Helen E. Royer Undergraduate Research Fund

A System for Communication Between Wearable Devices and Cognitive ArchitecturesThis research proposes a system for communication between the data gathering devices (smart watch and cell phone) and an external server that addresses the design issues identified by. The purpose of the system is to act as a bridge for data between a smart watch and a personalized cognitive model that can be used to predict a user’s emotional state. The proposed architecture is composed of a wearable device equipped with sensors to gather physiological data, a cellular-capable device that is capable of receiving data from the wearable, and a server that is accessible through the internet.

The implemented system collects physiological data readings from a Microsoft Band 2 smart watch, using the Bluetooth wireless connection standard to communicate with an application running on an Android device. The system uses Bluetooth to communicate between the wearable and mobile device because it allows for low-power, local communication between the two devices. The collected data is then periodically sent to a remote server using HTTP requests – a transfer protocol that allows for the data to be sent across the internet using the Android device’s Wi-Fi/cellular data connection. Using such requests ensures that the user is not restricted to a given location or activity while data is being collected, which means the collection of data is as unobtrusive as possible, gathering data that is more accurate to the user’s natural physiological state.

Alex McPherson ’17, Spencer Li ’17


Evaluation of chytrid fungus detection techniques using PCR assaysThe fungus Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (Bd) is the causative agent for the disease chytridiomycosis and has been linked to mass mortality and the consequent endangerment of amphibian populations throughout the world. Currently, there are two conventional PCR assay techniques for determining the presence of chytrid fungal DNA in amphibian samples. Here, we compare the efficiency and accuracy of a single pair, non-nested primer set, developed in 2004, to a two-pair, nested primer set, developed in 2009, which are used to amplify the internal transcribed region (ITS) of the Bd genome. Based on the reproducibility of PCR amplicons, we will determine the superior method for chytrid fungal DNA amplification. We are also testing whether environmental DNA of Bd causes false positives. Since skin swabbing is the most common, and least invasive form of sampling amphibians, we hypothesize that if there is eDNA present in the body of water, swabs may provide positive results due to the presence of fungal eDNA, rather than fungal infection of sample cells. We tested this hypothesis by comparing frequencies of Bd positives between animals that were swabbed directly and animals that were rinsed with sterile water prior to swabbing. We collected and analyzed swab samples from 134 eastern newts, Notophthalmus viridescens, from three different freshwater field sites in central Pennsylvania. Our results will provide valuable insights into the improvement of the currently available protocols for determining the prevalence of Bd.

Jessica Medrano ’17

Faculty Mentor: Professor Rebecca Switzer, ChemistryFunding Source: Kalman Fund for Undergraduate Research in the Sciences

Inhibition of DNA Methyltransferase 1 by Anthraquinone CompoundsOne major method of gene regulation is DNA methylation. Methylation results in gene silencing. DNA methyltransferases (DMNTs) are enzymes that catalyze the transfer of methyl groups to cytosine bases in DNA. Humans have three active forms of DMNTs: DMNT3a, DMNT3b, and DMNT1. DMNT1, specifically, plays a significant role in maintenance methylation, meaning it is responsible for copying methylation patterns in daughter DNA strands during replication. Irregularities in methylation patterns have been linked to cancer initiation and progression. With the link between methylation pattern changes and DNMT1 activity well established, DNMT1 has become a potential cancer drug target and there has been an effort to design or discover small molecules that can inhibit DNA methylation in cells. Laccaic acid A (LCA), a highly substituted anthraquinone natural product, is a potent DNA-competitive

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inhibitor of DNMT1. While LCA is a known inhibitor, it is a very difficult compound to synthesize due to the many chemical groups surrounding the core anthraquinone structure. Our lab has investigated several simplified anthraquinone compounds in attempts to learn which structural characteristics of LCA allow for potent inhibition of DNMT1. Using a fluorescence-based DNA methylation assay and electrophoretic mobility shift assays, we have identified an anthraquinone compound with a single substituent that acts as a direct DNMT1 inhibitor. This simplified anthraquinone is competitive with DNA, retaining the same mode of inhibition as LCA. With a Ki of ~13 µM, our newly identified compound is ~40-fold less potent than LCA, but has a significantly less complex structure.

Taylor Milliman ’18

Faculty Mentor: Professor Ryan Snyder, Chemical EngineeringFunding Source: Culliton Family Fund

Relating Conductivity and Tortuosity through modeling of Infiltrated Solid Oxide Fuel CellsAs the world’s energy needs continue to increase and the supply of fossil fuels continues to decrease, the demand for a clean energy source is greater than ever. One promising source of clean energy is hydrogen fuel cells. In this research we focus specifically on Solid Oxide Fuel Cells (SOFCs). SOFCs work by directly producing electricity from oxidizing a fuel. Some of the unique benefits of SOFCs include high efficiencies, low emissions, and fuel flexibility. These benefits come at the cost of high operating temperatures and cells sensitive to their surroundings. In order for the fuel cell to produce an electrical current, the electrodes must have sufficient porosity (empty space) for fuel to transport through the cell, oxygen ion conductivity to allow the oxidizing agent to react with the fuel, and electron conductivity to transport electrons created when a reaction occurs. Additionally, reactions can only take place at three phase boundary (TPB) sites, which are defined as the intersections of electrically conducting particles, oxygen ion conducting particles, and empty space. In this work, we focus on infiltrated SOFCs, which involves in extra step in the creation process of adding a material with high electron conductivity after the backbone of the cell has already been created. Infiltrated electrodes allow for greater flexibility in the design of SOFCs and have been shown to increase performance and allow for lower operating temperatures. The creation process for infiltrated SOFCs is time consuming, expensive, and involves many design parameters many of which are poorly understood. By using a model to recreate this design process, this research hopes to shape future experiments that can be run in a laboratory setting.

The model works by taking in a variety of design parameters and closely follows the anode fabrication process in order to randomly generate a cell. The fabrication process begins with the slurry formation and film creation, followed by the combustion of pore forming particles, ceramic sintering and infiltration. A variety of calculations are then performed on this cell such as effective conductivity and TPB density. This work focuses specifically on the path tortuosity of each phase within a cell and uses this information to better understand and predict the performance of each phase as well as overall cell performance. Although tortuosity has been linked with performance in past research, due to the difficulty of measuring tortuosity, studies are extremely limited and the results have varied. Highlighted results include that (1) as ceramic:infiltrate radius ratio increases in a two phase system, the ceramic tortuosity increases while pore tortuosity is unaffected, (2) as infiltrate loading (%) increases, the ceramic tortuosity is unaffected, the pore tortuosity increases, and infiltrate tortuosity decreases.

James Moran, Graduate Student

Faculty Mentor: Professor Joel Wade, PsychologyFunding Source: Graduate Summer Research Fellowship

To Poach or not to Poach?: How a Couple’s Attractiveness and Relationship Duration Impacts Short-term Poaching BehaviorsMate poaching is the behavior intended to attract someone who is already in a romantic relationship (Schmitt & Buss, 2001). Research suggests that when a couple has a discrepancy in attractiveness, the male tends to be more protective of his mate (Oltmanns et al., 2016). Additional research suggests that when a woman is in a romantic relationship with a man who is less attractive than she is, men are more likely to report that they would try to infiltrate that couple (Moran et al., N.d.). Therefore, relationships where there is a discrepancy in the couple’s mate value or attractiveness may be more susceptible to poachers. This project investigated the effects of the discrepancy in attractiveness between the couple and the length of their relationship on poaching.

This study consisted of 222 heterosexual men. Participants saw a photo where the male was more attractive than the female, both were equal in attractiveness, or the female was more attractive. Accompanying the photos were three different descriptions regarding the couple’s relationship duration (2 months, 4 years, or 8 years). Items were then rated regarding the couple’s relationship and the participant’s likelihood of poaching. Results revealed a significant effect for the photo of the couple F( 36, 292) = 2.29, p = .0001, η2 = .22, on ratings: male attractiveness and on how successful the participants would be infiltrating the relationship. There was no significant effect for the couple’s relationship duration. The results suggest that discrepancy in attractiveness does affect mate poaching attempts.

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Brian Moretti ’18

Faculty Mentors: Professor Jeffery Trop, Geology; Professor Craig Kochel, Geology; Professor Rob Jacob, GeologyFunding Source: Kalman Fund for Undergraduate Research in the Sciences

The Effects of Catchment Morphology on the Transfer of Ice and Sediment from Icecaps to Icy Debris Fans and Valley Glaciers in Deglaciating Alpine EnvironmentsThe Decoupling of icecaps from valley glaciers exposes bedrock catchments that convey ice and lithic debris from the icecap to the icy debris fans. This project characterizes the influence of catchment morphology on the nature and pace of ice/sediment delivery to icy debris fans in the Wrangell Mountains of Alaska (McCarthy Creek Glacier) and the Southern Alps of New Zealand (Douglas and La Perouse). Repeat Terrestrial Laser Scanning surveys between 2013 and 2015 characterize the morphology of the catchments, fans, and glaciers, enabling quantification of changes in surface area and volume. Integration of these data with time-lapse imagery documents the show pace and volume of avalanches, slushflows, icy debris flows, and rockfalls. And drone imagery of the interior of the catchments detailed storage area and complexity.

At the McCarthy Creek Glacier, small icy debris fans occur below catchments with significant morphologic complexity (large space for temporary ice/sediment storage) and little icecap surface area contributing to the catchment. A smaller, less morphologically complex catchment (little space for temporary ice-sediment storage) and more icecap exposure leads to a larger Fan. For example, an ~350-m-long catchment with abundant storage space and ~40,000 m2 of icecap supply face has a fan volume of ~3,125,000 m3, whereas an ~280-m-long catchment with less storage space and ~95,000 m2 of icecap supply face has a fan volume of ~24,660,000 m3. Between 2013 and 2015, smaller fans decreased in volume by up to 1,200,000m3, whereas the large fan increased in volume by 700,000 m3. These changes reflect the smaller volume of ice/sediment supplied from larger catchments to the smaller fans compared with the larger volume of ice/sediment deposited from smaller catchment on the larger fan, documented by time-lapse imagery of depositional events.

All valley glaciers studied are deflating while associated icy debris fans exhibit a range of dynamic behavior linked to variations in icecap supply and catchment morphology.

Todd Nentwig, Graduate Student

Faculty Mentor: Professor Judy Grisel, PsychologyFunding Source: Bucknell University Department of Psychology

Single-exposure conditioned place preference to alcohol in Sprague-Dawley rats: Evidence for a generalizable model of initial sensitivity to alcoholDespite urgent need and ample effort, the neural and behavioral predisposition for alcohol use disorders remains poorly understood. Numerous studies suggest the initial sensitivity to alcohol’s reinforcing properties is an important endophenotype in understanding the trajectory toward excessive drinking (Ray et al., 2016). Previous findings in our lab demonstrate robust, reliable conditioned place preference to a single moderate dose of alcohol in mice (Grisel et al., 2014). Here, we provide similar evidence for single exposure conditioned place preference (SE-CPP) to alcohol in adult male Sprague-Dawley rats. The SE-CPP is a 3-day procedure conducted over the span of 5 days, including conditioning on days 1 and 3, and testing on day 5. We used an unbiased, three-compartment Plexiglas apparatus comprised of two distinct floor tile patterns in the conditioning compartments and a stimulus-neutral, white floor in the center compartment. On each conditioning day, rats were relegated to either conditioning compartment for 30 minutes, immediately following an intraperitoneal (i.p.) injection of 1.0g/kg of ethanol (EtOH) or equivolume saline (counterbalanced across floor type). On the test day, rats received an i.p. injection of saline and then were placed in the center of the apparatus, allowing free movement throughout the apparatus. Rats preferred the EtOH-paired floor to the saline-paired floor, and time on the EtOH- paired floor was significantly above chance. These results extend our previous findings in mice and generalize our model of single-exposure conditioned place preference as an assay for initial sensitivity to the rewarding properties of alcohol.

Nicole Nisivoccia ’19, Lauren O’Connor ’19

Faculty Mentor: Professor Tristan Stayton, BiologyFunding Source: NSF Grant

How does Functional Performance Affect Turtle Shell Diversity?It is unclear whether the number of functions which a given structure performs has an effect on the morphological diversification of that structure. One hypothesis is that the fewer the functions a structure has, the more morphologically diverse it can be. Another hypothesis is that structures of organisms with more functions can be more diverse because a greater number of functions could produce a greater number of ways to prioritize different aspects of performance. We investigated these ideas using turtle shells. Morphometric data for was collected on both the carapace and plastron of 255 species’ shell. The shape of the shell was quantified using standard geometric morphometric techniques. Functional performance was quantified using finite

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element models and measurements of shell frontal area. We addressed this study’s hypotheses in two ways. First, we tested for differences in diversification between aquatic turtles and their terrestrial relatives. Second, we mapped out Pareto fronts for mechanical performance (measured in two different ways) and hydrodynamic performance. The majority of species fell outside of the Pareto front, which means that most turtle lineages have evolved out of regions of shape space where simultaneous improvements in both shell functions are possible. These patterns suggest that functional performance does indeed constrain the diversification of shell shape in turtles.

John O’Brien ’18

Faculty Mentor: Professor Charles Kim, Mechanical EngineeringFunding Source: James L.D. and Rebecca Roser Research Fellowship

Finding Non-Zero Curvature in Lamina Emergent MechanismsThis research attempted to find a method to achieve non-zero Gaussian curvature from a planar surface using lamina emergent mechanisms. Gaussian curvature is the product of the two principal curves, a measure of how much the surface bends, at a point. The Gaussian curvature cannot change unless the surface is stretched, shrunk, or torn.

Lamina Emergent Mechanisms (LEMs) are mechanisms fabricated from a planar material that have out of plane motions. A planar surface has zero Gaussian curvature. In order for LEMs to have non-zero curvature they must be designed to have cuts that allow for bending in multiple directions simultaneously.

In order to create a surface with non-zero Gaussian curvature a combination of multiple lamina emergent joints was used. The modes of deformation of these joints were characterized to be primarily torsion, with secondary bending moments. A full scale brace was made to determine the stiffness and compliance of the patterned materials. The results found from this research can be helpful in constructing parts of a brace to be used in scoliosis treatment. These surfaces can be created from planar materials and still conform well to the curved surfaces of the body.

Lauren O’Connor ’19

Faculty Mentor: Professor Tristan Stayton, BiologyFunding Source: NSF Grant

Comparison of Disparity in Aquatic and Terrestrial Turtles with Regards to both the Carapace and PlastronThe question of whether the need for a structure to perform more functions promotes or inhibits diversification within a group of species is currently under debate. The need for a structure to perform more functions could enhance diversity because

more functions allows for a greater range of shapes that could optimize performance. On the other hand, the need to perform more functions could inhibit diversity by limiting the range of phenotypes which can optimize performance due to tradeoffs between functions. Turtle shells are great structures to test this hypothesis because they are rigid, easily measured, and perform multiple functions. Turtle shell shape was quantified using three-dimensional landmarks from various turtle specimens. Sums of ranges, sums of variances, and lineage densities were compared between each terrestrial turtle clade and their aquatic sister clade. In most comparisons, the aquatic sister clade had a greater sums of ranges and sums of variances. Two aquatic clades had significantly greater lineage densities than their aquatic sister clades; only one terrestrial clade had a significantly greater lineage density than its aquatic sister clade. Altogether, these results suggest that although aquatic species have more diverse shell shapes, they are still evolving more convergently than their terrestrial sister clades.

Sarah Och ’17

Faculty Mentor: Professor Andrea Halpern, PsychologyFunding Source: Bucknell University Department of Psychology

Age-related differences for decoding emotion and subsequent memoryOlder and younger adults differ in the ways that they encode and store new information. One way that information is stored into memory is through elaboration, which involves expanding on a detail in new information, establishing a stronger memory of the information. Decoding, which is one form of elaboration, involves extracting meaning from a piece of information. We will study emotion decoding as one kind of elaboration. Music will be used due to its natural ability to convey emotion and people’s tendency to agree on the emotion being elicited. Regardless of age, adeptness of decoding emotion should lead to stronger memory through recognition of emotion in a tune. Older adults are less able to decode emotion compared to young adults, who have access to more cognitive resources. Older adults might preferentially use this decoding strategy due to their more limited cognitive resources. However, older adults sometimes process positive information more fluently compared to negative information. Therefore, I expect the relationship of decoding to memory particularly in the older adults to vary according to valence of the tune. Young adults should decode and remember positively and negatively valenced tunes equally well. (Data analyses): We will use correlation analysis to see if decoders are also better at distinguishing old from new tunes and if this relationship is stronger in the OAs compared to the YAs. Finally, we will see if the relationship between decode score and memory varies according to valence (positive or negative).

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Jahi Omari ’17, Nicole Fry ’18


Effects of predatory wood frog tadpoles (Lithobates sylvaticusa) on foraging behavior of larval spotted salamanders (Ambystoma maculatum)The interspecific interaction between spotted salamander and wood frog is a useful model system to examine fitness consequences of such interactions because both species breed in vernal ponds during the spring breeding season, wood frog tadpoles are a major predator of spotted salamander eggs, and tadpoles and larval salamanders potentially compete for zooplankton as food source. Previous studies tested phenotypic responses of spotted salamander larvae to the presence of wood frog tadpoles. However, no studies have tested how the presence of predatory tadpoles during both embryonic and larval stage of spotted salamander affects their growth and development. Our study conducted in 2015 showed that the presence of tadpoles reduced body size of salamander larvae. In 2016, we conducted another experiment to test the hypothesis that the decrease in body size was due to resource competition for zooplankton. Alternatively, the reduction in body size might have been caused by salamander’s reduced foraging behavior due to the presence of tadpoles. To evaluate these hypotheses, we conducted an outdoor mesocosm (artificial pond) experiment with a 2x2x2 factorial design; three main factors were 1) egg color (white/clear egg masses, two color morphs are common in spotted salamander), 2) embryonic history (presence/absence of tadpoles during embryonic stage), and 3) larval environment (presence/absence of tadpoles during larval stage). We recorded salamander movement and quantified the number of zooplankton in each mesocosm. Our results supported both hypotheses; the presence of tadpoles during larval development reduced salamander movement and also increased resource competition.

Maximilian Ororbia ’17

Faculty Mentor: Professor Stephen Buonopane, Civil & Environmental EngineeringFunding Source: Bucknell University Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering

Analysis of Statically Indeterminate Trusses for Progressive Collapse using Graphic StaticsBy understanding structural response, structures can be designed to have a desired reliability or robustness with respect to progressive collapse. Events such as the Hartford Civic Center collapse in Connecticut (January 1978) and the Minneapolis I-35W Bridge collapse (August 2007) illustrate that progressive collapse is a relevant topic for structural engineering research practice. With respect to a statically determinate truss structure, if a single primary member or a gusset plate connection of the

main truss fails the truss will progressively collapse over the entire span. To design against progressive collapse, a degree of static indeterminacy, redundancy, is introduced in the structural system. Graphic statics, a geometrical approach used to analyze the form and force interaction of a determinate structure, has not been applied to statically indeterminate structures. By applying graphic statics, a truss can be graphically analyzed through the formation of an accurate and to-scale form and force diagrams. An analysis using graphic statics results in a single diagram, force polygon, that clearly presents the total load path of a structure. In addition, the force polygon represents all the internal forces acting within the truss. Presently, no studies or methods exist that understand behavior or design of a statically indeterminate truss using graphic statics. Therefore, this research will serve to aid a structural engineer in understanding the total load path of indeterminate truss structures and will make the redistribution of forces in a redundant structure subject to damage or member removal more apparent.

Melissa Painter, Graduate Student

Faculty Mentor: Professor Peter Judge, Animal BehaviorFunding Source: Graduate Summer Research Fellowship

Captive hamadryas baboons (Papio hamadryas hamadryas) exhibit ritualized post-conflict displacement behaviorDisplacement behavior is characterized by irrelevance to the situation in which it takes place and, as it often occurs in stressful contexts, is used as a behavioral indicator of anxiety. While body care activity is the most commonly reported displacement behavior in primates, object manipulation is also observed following tense situations. This study explored the social contexts in which a manipulation displacement behavior occurred in a captive group of hamadryas baboons. Previous research established digging through gravel substrate as a displacement behavior occurring after aggression in this group. Some individuals perform similar digging motions when housed indoors on a non-manipulatable surface. Continuous behavior sampling of aggression/submission (threats, bites, screams and barks) and indoor digging (“swiping”) was conducted. Over 22.17 hours, 560 aggressive/submissive interactions and 111 swiping bouts were observed. Of the 14 baboons, eight were observed swiping. Across these individuals, swiping occurred significantly more often within two minutes of aggressive/submissive interactions than during two-minute intervals not preceded by agonistic behavior (paired samples permutation test, two-tailed, p<.01). Results suggest that the indoor swiping is a ritualized version of the outdoor digging displacement behavior and is an indicator of post-conflict anxiety in this group. Because this displacement behavior cannot be confused with a functional response, it can serve as a valuable tool to pinpoint anxiogenic social events.

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Ho Yeon Park ’18

Faculty Mentor: Professor Stephen Rea, Sociology & AnthropologyFunding Source: The Tom Greaves Fund for Research and Curricular Development

How Do Korean High School Students’ “Punishment Games (벌칙게임)” Reflect the Korean Sociocultural Norms? In South Korea’s education system, widely renowned for its intense competitive qualities, high school is a dreaded period in the lives of many Korean adolescents. Students are expected to stay at school for more than 12 hours every day while most also attend other extra cram schools all in the hopes of joining a handful of elite colleges in Seoul. However, apart from preparing for the college entrance exam, high school is also a time when students are made to align with Korean sociocultural norms and expectations, especially the importance of conformity and the danger of standing out. These values are reflected in various ways, from the school posters that differentiate collective “we” from individual “you,” to the misuse of the verb “wrong (틀리다)” to refer to something or someone that is “different (다르다).”

During my three-months of fieldwork at an urban high school in South Korea from June to August 2016, I observed how cultural values such as conformity, collectivity, and subordination were reinforced through informal games in which students participated during their short breaks, such as “rock, paper, scissors” and “ABC.” The object of these games was typically to single out the losers and to punish them. I argue that these punishment games (벌칙게임) reveal that several educational devices in Korean high schools have latent functions that transform high school students from passive learners of sociocultural norms to active performers of such.

Katie Pendelberry ’19

Faculty Mentor: Professor Kevin Gilmore, Civil & Environmental EngineeringFunding Source: The Katherine Mabis McKenna Environmental Internship Program

Practical Imaging Techniques for Monitoring Granulation of Activated SludgeIntegral to the effectiveness and efficiency of biological wastewater treatment is the settling ability of the microbes. Dense microbes flocculate together, increasing the settling rate as they flocculate into larger, heavier masses. Settling rate is important because a faster settling time of can reduce the time of a cycle and therefore either reduce reactor volumes necessary in future treatment plants, or increase the wastewater flow rate that the plant can treat. POAs, which uptake phosphorous, are large dense aggregates, so their presence is beneficial not only to increasing settling rates, but also to P removal. Visual analysis can monitor

changes in the size of the microbes, which is directly related to the settling rate. Improving upon an existing image analysis protocol for the program Fiji (formerly known as ImageJ) and developed some new approaches towards quantifying the size of the microbes through photographic techniques (apparatus and mounting, light placement, staining, and fixation through paraformaldehyde or dehydration) and image analysis techniques like adjusting contrast and color channel splitting. Most of the methods were ultimately unsuccessful, but yielded valuable information and the application digital clustering to the image holds promise. The goal of this work is to eventually have a phone app or computer program that any wastewater operator can use to analyze the microbes at his or her own treatment plant to be more informed about the types of microbes currently growing and make appropriate plant process changes, specifically to create high density POA granules.

Mario Perez-Dewey ’17

Faculty Mentor: Professor Durul Ulutan, Mechanical EngineeringFunding Source: James L.D. and Rebecca Roser Research Fellowship

Development of Laser Polishing as an Auxiliary Post-Process to improve Surface Quality in Fused Deposition Modeling PartsLaser polishing is a highly effective surface treatment process mainly used on metals and optical components, but it can also be used on plastic parts. It requires no manual labor, can be applied on parts of any size, and produces no hazardous or polluting substances on many plastic parts. Fused deposition modeling is an additive manufacturing process in which parts are built by extruding thin layers of hot material through a nozzle. It has the advantage of producing complicated part geometries, and the possibility to change a design with no additional cost. This study investigates the use of CO2 laser polishing as an auxiliary post-process on Polylactic Acid (PLA) parts produced with fused deposition modeling to improve the surface quality of final products. The main purpose of this study is to demonstrate that instead of reducing step size in 3D printing processes in order to reduce the roughness of the surface, it is possible to decrease the total time of the process by using bigger step sizes and quickly laser treating the surface afterwards. Laser speeds of 43-180 mm/s and laser powers of 0.75-3.75 W were tested on blocks of PLA with a parallelogram prism shape 3D-printed with 0.3 mm layer height. By varying laser speed and power, roughness reductions of up to 97 percent were achieved resulting in a uniform average surface roughness of 2.02 µm. This presents a fast, automatable, and inexpensive auxiliary post-process to fused deposition modeling.

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Brooke Peterson ’17

Faculty Mentor: Professor Jennie Stevenson, PsychologyFunding Source: Douglas K. Candland Undergraduate Research Fund; Bucknell University Department of Psychology

Reduced efficacy of ghrelin receptor antagonist JMV 2959 following long term ethanol consumption in prairie volesGhrelin, an orexigenic neuropeptide, and its receptor, growth hormone secretagogue 1A (GHS-R1A), have been implicated in alcohol reward and consumption. Here we tested the efficacy of a GHS-R1A antagonist, JMV 2959, to reduce alcohol consumption in a genetically diverse animal model of voluntary high alcohol consumption, the prairie vole. We also investigated the ability of JMV 2959 to reduce alcohol drinking after long term alcohol consumption as a way of assessing the treatment potential of GHS-R1A antagonists to reduce alcohol drinking after extended alcohol experience. First, prairie voles were given access to 15 percent ethanol vs water for four 2h two-bottle drinking sessions, which occurred every other day. JMV 2959 (9.0 or 12.0 mg/kg) or saline was administered 30 min prior to the fourth drinking session. JMV 2959 at the 9.0 mg/kg dose significantly reduced alcohol consumption and preference. In a second experiment, prairie voles were given four 2h two-bottle drinking sessions, and JMV 2959 (9.0 mg/kg) was administered before the fourth session, just as in the first experiment. However, after the fourth session, animals were returned to their pair-housed home cages where they had continuous access to 15 percent ethanol for 16 weeks. Animals were then switched back to an intermittent access schedule in which they were given 2-hr two-bottle sessions every other day for two weeks. JMV 2959 (9.0 mg/kg) was administered prior to the final drinking session. JMV 2959 reduced alcohol consumption and preference in the initial test, but had no effect on alcohol drinking after long-term alcohol consumption. These data support a role for GHS-R1A receptors in alcohol consumption and preference, but indicate that long term drinking may alter the role of those receptors. These data also suggest limitations for GHS-R1A antagonists to reduce alcohol consumption after extensive alcohol experience.

Stephanie Purnell ’17


Structural Priming of Novel TunesFrom a levels-of-processing standpoint, surface features encapsulate the first salient pieces of information gleaned from a novel stimulus. These surface qualities are implicitly processed, and therefore have the capacity to affect the way that successive stimuli are processed. Structural qualities are one such surface feature. The present study used a priming task to explore the processing of structural qualities in novel music, particularly

rhythm and mode. If musical structure is in fact implicitly processed, then participants would be able to understand the structure of a novel tune preceded by a tune with the same rhythm or mode comparatively faster than if a structurally unrelated tune precedes the second tune. To test this, nonmusician listeners attended to pairs of novel tunes, and were asked to identify a shortened note in the second melody. The Rhythm and Mode conditions consisted of two short melodies that differed in every structural feature (contour, mode, note order) except for rhythm and mode, respectively. The Baseline condition had two unrelated melodies. We predicted that pairs of tunes that were related only by the rhythmic or modal structural features would facilitate detecting a note deviation in the second tune than pairs of tunes that shared no structural qualities. Furthermore, based on previous literature suggesting that changes in mode sound more similar than changes in rhythm, it was expected that the Rhythm condition would provide the strongest priming effect. This study explores how those without formal musical training still possess the capacity to implicitly detect musical structure.

Rebecca Reeve ’17

Faculty Mentors: Professor Janice Mann, Art & Art History; Carrie Johnston, Digital Pedagogy and ScholarshipFunding Source: Mellon Digital Summer Research Grant

Gender Bias in the Archives: Packwood House MuseumThe Packwood House Museum was founded in 1976 in Lewisburg Pennsylvania by Edith and John Fetherston. It contains the objects collected by Edith Fetherston, the canvases she painted, the garden she designed and an archive of papers relating to her and her husband, John. The archive spans the history of both Edith’s and John’s careers, interests and family histories.

My project sought to begin the digitization process of the Packwood House Museum’s archival collection of postcards, letters, journals and ephemera. I hoped to create an organizational process that will allow future research students to continue digitization in other sections of the archives. I chose to focus specifically on Fetherston’s postcard collection, both those received and collected.

While most of the objects inside the museum were collected and curated by Edith Fetherston, attention given to her documents in the archive is considerably less than that of her husband, John. Unfortunately, past archivists have dedicated significantly more time to keeping an explicit record of John’s documents yet there is little to no information on Edith’s. This research begs the question of whether or not archiving is a historically gendered practice. If this is indeed the case, the archival process as a whole needs to be examined in its tendencies to favor male patrons over those of their female counterparts. In the future, I hope a finding aid will be created to do justice to the entirety of the archive at Packwood and that the newly created digital archi.

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Heather Rensch, Graduate Student

Faculty Mentor: Professor Michael Krout, ChemistryFunding Source: Graduate Summer Research Fellowship; Bucknell University Department of Chemistry

Metal-Catalyzed Cross-Coupling Reactions of Functionalized Organozinc Reagents for the Synthesis of β,β-Disubstituted Enonesβ,β-disubstituted α,β-unsaturated ketones (enones) are a class of organic compounds commonly used in various types of reactions to synthesize more complex molecules such as natural products and pharmaceuticals. A versatile method to prepare derivatives is desirable. Previous syntheses have employed highly reactive Grignard reagents which introduce chemoselectivity limitations. Our method utilizes mild functionalized organozinc reagents in cross-coupling reactions with vinylogous ester and vinylogous halide substrates. Reaction optimization has led to high yields of β,β-disubstituted enone products while minimizing the formation of a double addition product that arises from the necessary Lewis acid, TMSCl. Other functionalized organozinc reagents can be utilized to further expand the scope of these reactions by increasing the structural diversity of β,β-disubstituted enone products with varying electrophilic functional groups.

Danielle Retcho ’17


Disability Studies and the Contemporary Museum: A Visitor’s Experience at the SamekThis paper summarizes my honors thesis which includes a small-scale study focusing on the ways in which exposure to visual art at the Samek Art Museum can improve the wellbeing of people with dementia. This paper argues that the practices of contemporary museum education and the discipline of Disability Studies have largely been running parallel to each other since the rise of Disability Studies in the 1980s. Museum educators and their institutions have been conditioned to concern themselves with only the able minded and able bodied. However, Disability Study scholars force us to question this status quo through their writings about normalcy and its flaws. Therefore, I argue that if museums were able to alter what they consider to be normal they would be more inviting places to people with all forms of disability. My thesis encourages the Samek Art Museum to alter what they have considered to be normal. For this project I collaborated with the Museum to create 3 museum visiting sessions for local nursing home residents both with dementia and without. During these sessions, residents engaged in conversations about various artworks from the collection, led by a tour guide. The goal of these visits was to provide the residents with a museum experience outside of their everyday activities

and to improve their short term wellbeing. To determine whether or not the participants were affected by the art viewing experience, I administered questionnaires assessing wellbeing and attitudes toward art prior to the visit and then immediately following.

Alexander Romango ’17

Faculty Mentor: Professor Geoff Schneider, EconomicsFunding Source: Bucknell University Department of Economics

Can Paying Division One College Athletes Lead to Higher Levels of Engagement in the Classman thus Promoting Long Term Future Success?The goal of my research will be to analyze division one college athletics to determine whether college athletes should be paid. Unlike typical positions using NCAA revenues to argue for player pay, my research will analyze if players should be paid based on the educational aspect of college athletics and the policies the NCAA has in place. Currently, the NCAA’s position for not paying players is primarily based on the argument that college athletes are students before they are athletes. To further their position on players being “student athletes” and not college athletes, the NCAA requires minimum GPA’s that players must hold to be eligible for their sport, among a variety of additional caveats. Through my research, I will attempt to determine if, by paying college athletes, the athletes will be more driven to stay in school longer, work harder toward their degrees and in turn truly benefit from their education. Furthermore, the results of my research will be used to determine if by paying athletes, long term future success beyond sports and increased incomes for respective universities can be obtained.

Chelsea Rosenberg ’17

Faculty Mentors: Professor David Freestone, Psychology; Professor Reggie Gazes, PsychologyFunding Source: Douglas K. Candland Undergraduate Research Fund

Dominance and Risk TakingIndividuals often have to make decisions with uncertain outcomes, and the way in which an individual makes these decisions can be influenced by a variety of factors. Factors such as social rank and dominance can affect the behavior of animals, and may be related to variation in risk-taking behavior between individuals. The goal of the project was to correlate social rank with risk-taking behavior in four species of primates, including humans. We accomplished this by having subjects choose between two options to earn a reward, where the probabilities and magnitude of those rewards change every trial. Some trials were ambiguous; the probabilities of reward were unknown. The three species of non-human primates had difficulty learning this task, but humans readily performed the task. In a follow up

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study, we manipulated people’s perception of their own social dominance to see if there is a causal relationship between social dominance and risk-taking behavior. Our poster will showcase our participant’s data on this task, and describe the degree to which dominance influences risk-taking.

Nicole Rupnik ’19, Eyuel Seyoum ’18

Faculty Mentor: Professor Morgan Benowitz-Fredericks, BiologyFunding Source: Bucknell University Department of Biology

Behavioral effects of orally-administered corticosterone on black-legged kittiwake (Rissa tridactyla) chicksIn response to food shortage, black-legged kittiwake (BLKI) chicks increase circulating levels of the hormone corticosterone. This elevation increases aggression and begging behavior, which leads to increased food acquisition from parents and, sometimes, less competition through siblicide. We hypothesized that high corticosterone in BLKI chicks increases begging, even after elevated corticosterone levels return to baseline. We fed oil (control) or oil containing corticosterone to free-living BLKI chicks three times a day from day 10 to day 16 post-hatch (dose per day: 1 ug/g body mass). Circulating corticosterone spiked 15 minutes after administration but returned to baseline after 60 minutes. We took daily behavioral scan samples when chicks were 3-41 days old. We recorded 1 hour videos of each nest 1-3 hours after the second dose on day 15. I am analyzing data to determine if begging, feeding, and aggression behaviors differed between treatments. If our results show that behavior differs in corticosterone treated chicks, then we can support the hypothesis that in BLKI, temporarily increased corticosterone levels alter behavior even after corticosterone levels return to baseline. This suggests that corticosterone has an organizational effect on BLKI chick behavior. If behavior is not different in corticosterone treated chicks, short-term spikes in corticosterone may not have lasting effects on behavior in chicks.

Spencer Schell ’17

Faculty Mentor: Professor Claire Campbell, HistoryFunding Source: Bucknell Program for Undergraduate Research

Disastrous Perspectives: Conceptions of the Environment and Engineering in Progressive Era New OrleansIn a world of increasingly frequent and more devastating disasters, a central question arises: how is our perception and understanding of the environment and efforts to control it impacted by disasters? This project seeks to explore how the people of Progressive Era New Orleans understood and perceived their surrounding environment and the infrastructure built to control it during disasters. Specifically, different respective understandings of the

city’s environment and environmental engineering were found within each of the three particular disasters and disaster-types in Progressive Era New Orleans: the yellow fever outbreaks from 1885 to 1905 (disease), the Louisiana Hurricane of 1915 (hurricane), and the Great Mississippi Flood of 1927 (flood). In addition to looking at current scholarship on New Orleans and disasters history, newspapers and maps of the period were consulted as reflections of the public conscious. A cumulative investigation of the three disasters together further reveals 3 major trans-episodic themes: the role of the federal government in disaster response, impact of disaster-type on prioritizing type of loss, and finally the role of public memory in evaluating a disaster’s impact. Lastly, this project’s findings raise some important implications for modern-day New Orleans and for the environmental engineering in precariously positioned.

Arley Schenker, Graduate Student


Stability of Auditory Imagery Components with Healthy AgingOlder adults are believed to remember less and less over time; however, this depends greatly on the type of memory being investigated. Mental imagery, a complex task that can be conceptualized into components, has been seldom studied in older adults. Two of these components are generation, the ability to produce a mental image within the mind, and transformation, the ability to manipulate that image in working memory. Auditory imagery is a particularly fitting modality in which to study age-related changes, as it relies on memory over a period of time. We presented familiar tunes in pitch perception, image generation, and image transformation tasks to attempt to find any performance differences in older and younger adults. Our hypothesis was that younger adults would show high, moderate, and low, but above chance, performance in the perception, generation, and transformation tasks, respectively, and that the performance of older adults would differ only in the imagery tasks. Pilot work of younger adults has shown the hypothesized pattern. This work will clarify both the processes involved in different components of auditory imagery and any changes that take place in these processes across the lifespan.

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David Schummer ’18

Faculty Mentor: Professor Wendelin Wright, Mechanical Engineering and Chemical EngineeringFunding Source: Bucknell University Dean’s Fellowship; Materials Research Facilities Network Faculty Fellowship from Penn State University

Fabrication of Metallic Glass Micropillars Using the Focused Ion BeamA procedure for the fabrication of metallic glass micropillars was determined based on the method of Uchic et al. (Science 305, 986, 2004). The pillars were made from amorphous Zr45Hf12Nb5Cu15.4Ni12.6Al10 that was cast in an arc-melting furnace at Bucknell University. Micropillar machining was performed at the Materials Characterization Lab in the Materials Research Institute at Penn State University using a focused ion beam. A focused ion beam is an advanced materials instrument that directs a beam of ions towards a substrate to remove substrate material. In this way, structures with submicron features can be patterned. The pillars fabricated in this work range from 3.3 µm – 8.5 µm in diameter with aspect ratios of approximately 2:1. The ultimate goal is to deform the pillars in compression using a nanoindenter to study discrete plasticity events at the micron scale to further elucidate the nature of the deformation mechanism in this material.

Jordan Sechler ’19

Faculty Mentor: Professor Evan Peck, Computer ScienceFunding Source: PPL Undergraduate Research Funds

A Tool to Unify Interactive Visualizations on the WebFor any given topic on the internet, there are numerous datasets, each of which may be visually communicated using any number of representations. The internet has created communities which create large numbers of data visualizations, but these visualizations exist mostly in isolation from each other, and even those which share a topic are rarely aggregated together.

This begs the question, how can we leverage the web’s existing ecosystem of rich interactive visualizations to help people discover, compare, and investigate the complexities of the 21st century?

We present Sightline - a web application that seeks to unify the disparate visualization ecosystem on the web.

Sightline is a two part system. The first is a Google Chrome browser extension which runs in the background as a Sightline user browses the web, and activates itself when the user visits a page containing a data visualization. The extension then submits some relevant data about the site, alongside an image of the visualization to the second part of the system, the server.

The server receives the information from the Chrome extension, and uses the IBM Watson AlchemyLanguage API to gather even

more information about the site, such as keywords, concepts, and categories the site may fit. Users can then view this information, and all of the visualizations we have collected, on our website, sightlinevis.com

Sightline maintains a personal browsing history for each user, which allows them to visit Sightline and rediscover visualizations they didn’t save in a typical fashion, like bookmarking. Users can only see their personal browsing history.

Sightline provides a discovery service for users by using the aggregate data of all of our users to provide categories like “trending”, which allow users to discover visualizations that are popular among other users of the site.

We also provide an interface for searching the visualizations we have collected, so that, for example, a politically conscious user could search for visualizations related to elections.

Our goal is to encourage the development of tools and systems that leverage the diverse and rich information already existing on the internet.

Ariel Senackerib ’17

Faculty Mentor: Professor Janice Mann, Art & Art HistoryFunding Source: Bucknell Program for Undergraduate Research

Dreaming of Asia: The Artwork of Edith FetherstonThe Packwood House Museum, located in Lewisburg, Pennsylvania, displays objects collected by Edith and John Fetherston, and over one hundred canvases painted by Edith. Edith Fetherston was a well educated American woman collector, with an interest in foreign cultures. This interest resulted in extensive travels, and the use of “exotic” imagery in her paintings.

Fetherston’s paintings have never been studied previously. She worked primarily in the first half of the 1930’s and created most of her work during this time. My project examined her paintings within the context of her sketchbooks, photographs, and other preparatory materials, and in terms of her life as a wealthy female collector. While Fetherston had some artistic education during her period of painting, she never received extensive formal artistic training. This led her to establish her own style of colorful impressionistic settings and backgrounds, with highly detailed flowers, animals, and Asian vases and imagery floating on top of it.

The prevalence of Asian objects and influences in her designs show Fetherston’s interest in other cultures and intellectual pursuits. I will demonstrate that her body of work represents her interpretations of other cultures, in combination with her own philosophical and artistic ideas, by focusing on a few paintings that are the most characteristic of Fetherston’s works. Considering this is the first research to be done on these paintings, this will offer new insight on her work, and place her into a broader artistic context of American painters examining the exotic at this point in time.

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Christopher Serfass ’17

Faculty Mentor: Professor Brandon Vogel, Chemical EngineeringFunding Source: Bucknell Program for Undergraduate Research

A Microfluidic Method for the Simultaneous Quantification of Hydrogel Degradation and Small Molecule ReleaseA hydrogel is a cross-linked, hydrophilic, polymeric material that is typically 40-90 percent water by weight. Many hydrogels exhibit a high degree of biocompatibility in addition to being biodegradable which makes them ideal for usage in medicine. One of the potential medical uses of hydrogels is in controlled drug delivery. Unfortunately, simultaneously quantifying hydrogel degradation and small molecule release from said hydrogel is quite difficult and presently no method for doing so exists. We have developed a microfluidic device which can be used for carrying out this previously unobtainable measurement. The device is filled with hydrogel which is cured in a manner that leaves a microfluidic channel running through it. A solution at a controlled pH is then run through the device and the edges of the channel are made visible through the use of reflected light. The refractive indices of the hydrogel and water flowing through the channel are different enough for this to be possible. Degradation of the hydrogel manifests as a widening of the channel as the surface erodes and will be measured using MATLAB. In cases where the small molecule loaded into the gel has color or fluorescence, small molecule release can be seen as the development of a color gradient which will be analyzed using MATLAB while the effluent from the device will be analyzed for cases where the small molecules have no color. Results from tests run using these devices will be used to develop a mathematical relationship between hydrogel degradation and small molecule release.

Sam Sheridan ’18

Faculty Mentor: Professor Kevin Myers, PsychologyFunding Source: Douglas K. Candland Undergraduate Research Fund

Effect of Glucose-Associated Flavors on Cephalic Phase Insulin Reflex Learning in RatsIt is important to efficiently metabolize food. Among many other hormones, insulin release can be modulated depending on the carbohydrate content of a meal. Insulin allows for cells to take in glucose from the blood and use the glucose as energy for essential cellular functions. In particular, a cephalic insulin response is a preparatory release of insulin triggered by sight, smell, taste, or other methods to prepare for the consumption of carbohydrates. This adaptive release of insulin helps to reduce a spike in blood glucose levels and reduce the unhealthy effects of hyperglycemia. Past studies have shown an increased cephalic insulin response to higher carbohydrate foods, but this study aims

to see if there is a learned cephalic insulin response to flavors paired with high carbohydrate content. A pilot experiment was conducted to verify an insulin response to sugar. The experiment itself consisted of training rats with high-carbohydrate and low-carbohydrate paired flavors. Every rat experiences peach-mango and strawberry flavors, but one flavor is always paired with high-carbohydrate content (6.5% glucose) and the other is always paired with low-carbohydrate content (1% glucose, 0.125% saccharin). These training sessions revealed a learned preference for the high carbohydrate solutions. The rats were tested through either an olfactory exposure or an oral infusion of the flavor. This exposed flavor had been paired with high carbohydrate content in half of the rats and low carbohydrate content in the other half of the rats. The rats were randomly assigned to each group. Blood samples were taken five minutes prior to the testing and immediately after testing. ELISA assay analysis of the plasma samples is in progress. Flavors paired with high-carbohydrates should elicit an increased insulin response, suggesting a learned cephalic insulin release.

Kaixiang Shi ’18

Faculty Mentor: Professor Charles Kim, Mechanical EngineeringFunding Source: James L.D. and Rebecca Roser Research Fellowship

Design and Testing of a Granular Jammed PositionerThe goal of this research is to refine the design of a granular-jammed “positioner”, which shows great promise in biomedical applications, especially in operating rooms. Granular jamming is a physical phenomenon in which the granular materials transform from a fluid-like state to a solid-like state as their density is increased.

The main parts of the positioner are an elastic nonporous enclosure filled with granular materials, an insert, a base, and surgical device mechanism. It can achieve an infinitely many degrees of freedom, and locked in place by vacuuming the air out of the enclosure.

There are two main issues that we are trying to solve over the summer. The first one is that balloon does not tend to stay steady on the base in the unjammed state. The balloon shaking around in the unjammed state will make it hard to locate an initial position for the object. The second problem is the less than ideal shape of the insert. This is important because the shape and dimensions of the insert, which is directly in contact with the granules, will influence the stiffness and precision of the positioner.

The first issue is solved by designing a base with a more continuous shape. The design extends the current base along the outside curve till half of the balloon is surrounded. Instead of having a sharp angle at the inside edge of the base, a smoother curved surface that fits the shape of the balloon is used as the inside of the base. The balloon has increased support now because there are more points of contact between balloon and

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base to produce normal forces in all directions. This design increases the stiffness at unjammed state while maintaining approximately same range of motion.

For the second issue, we perform shifting, maneuverability, and stiffness tests to seven different shapes of inserts, including cylinder, cylinder fins, cylinder half spheres, cylinder helical, cylinder spiral, sphere, and sphere fins. With Vicon motion capture system, we are able to track the position of the device before and after the device, or before and after the load being applied. A Matlab code is written to process all of the position data and obtain the shifting of the device. The insert with a shape of cylinder fins performs the best among all the candidates.

An initial prototype of our device is designed and manufactured. With data and feedback from the tests, further development of the device is scheduled.

Kimberly Shust ’18

Faculty Mentor: Professor Thomas DiStefano, Civil & Environmental EngineeringFunding Source: The Katherine Mabis McKenna Environmental Internship Program

Assessment of Anaerobic DigestionThe project evaluated the feasibility of implementing anaerobic digestion for the management of food residue on Bucknell University’s campus. Currently, Bucknell’s food residue is transported to Lycoming County Landfill, where it is disposed as waste material. Compared to landfilling, anaerobic digestion on-campus would reduce transportation and landfill costs, decrease the carbon footprint, produce methane (a valuable source of energy), and contribute nutrient-rich organic matter for University landscaping. In order to assess this potential, evaluation of a pilot-scale digester at the Dickinson College Farm was completed. The study was conducted for 9 weeks, from the first week of June through the first week of August 2016. In addition to daily operational data recorded at the farm, samples of the digester’s feed slurry, digestate, recycle, and biogas were shipped to Bucknell triweekly for laboratory analysis. The analytical results indicated that the Dickinson digester achieved over 50 percent solids destruction, over 95 percent chemical oxygen demand removal, consistent gas production averaging 0.146 m3/kg food residue, and a high methane content of 65 percent. Using the results of laboratory analysis, it is projected that 670,000 lbs food residue could be biodegraded to over 44,000 m3 biogas annually. This renewable biogas energy could be converted to 200 MWh of electricity via a combined heat and power system, reducing the campus’s greenhouse gas emissions by over 83,000 kg CO2 equivalent pending full-scale implementation of on-campus anaerobic digestion. These results suggest anaerobic digestion on Bucknell University’s campus should be considered as a more sustainable means to managing food residue.

Kait Smeraldo ’17

Faculty Mentors: Professor Katharyn Nottis, Education; Professor Margot Vigeant, Chemical Engineering; Professor Erin Jablonski, Chemical Engineering; Professor Charles Kim, Mechanical Engineering; Professor Michael Prince, Chemical Engineering; Professor Nate Siegel, Mechanical EngineeringFunding Source: Bucknell Program for Undergraduate Research

Gender Differences in Curiosity and Motivation in Elective Courses Intended to Foster an Entrepreneurial MindsetIDEAS studio courses in engineering were developed to foster both curiosity and intrinsic motivation in order to instill the “entrepreneurial mindset,” particularly in engineering students (Kim, et al. 2016; Nottis, et al., 2016). To determine their success in this regard, this exploratory study measured and compared 24 males’ and 13 females’ curiosity and motivation when participating in an IDEAS course and another self-selected class (Course X). This study also sought to determine whether there were gender differences in motivation and curiosity, particularly in IDEAS courses. A new variable was also designed to assess propensity for risk-taking. Several existing evaluation questions were used to do this.

Participants, primarily engineering students, were surveyed at three points during the semester using the Situational Motivational Scale (SIMS; Guay et al., 2000), to which five questions were added to measure curiosity. Survey questions used a 5-point Likert scale, ranging from strongly disagree to strongly agree to assess intrinsic motivation, levels of extrinsic motivation, and curiosity. Students were asked to respond to one open-ended question regarding their overall motivation and curiosity.

Preliminary results indicated that while students consistently had higher scores for curiosity and intrinsic motivation in IDEAS courses than in Course X, curiosity and intrinsic motivation significantly decreased throughout the semester for IDEAS courses, but not for Course X. Curiosity and intrinsic motivation were significantly higher in IDEAS courses for females than males throughout the semester. Secondary analyses on the risk-taking variable indicated that females had a higher propensity for risk-taking in IDEAS courses.

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Dalton Stewart ’19

Faculty Mentor: Professor Deborah Sills, Civil & Environmental EngineeringFunding Source: The Sherrilyn and Ken Fisher Center for Environmental Infectious Diseases; Bucknell Program for Undergraduate Research

High density poultry operations: Health risk or opportunity?Agricultural runoff from Pennsylvania, a major source of eutrophication of the Chesapeake Bay may also have negative effects on human health. Concentrated animal operations (CAOs) and concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFOs) represent a major source of runoff. CAOs and CAFOs are required by law to submit nutrient management plans (NMPs) so that the government can monitor and control the application of manure on agricultural fields. NMPs record the amount of manure produced, transported, and field applied, as well as the location to which manure is applied. For this study we collected NMPs for all poultry CAOs and CAFOs within 38 Pennsylvania counties that make up the Geisinger region. This data is being used to measure the effect of proximity to poultry CAOs and CAFOs on the occurrence of gastrointestinal and other infectious diseases in humans. Our research shows that manure management regulations do not sufficiently track the “life cycle” of poultry manure , as approximately 49 percent of the NMPs include a broker agreement and 28 percent of manure produced is “lost” by way of brokers, who keep their own records. Because of this, only brokers (and not government regulators) know where the manure is taken. The data collected will also be used to conduct an energy systems analysis for the potential of valorizing manure. Poultry manure could be used as an energy source via biological and thermochemical processes to produce energy, nutrients, and clean water.

Matthew Taddeo ’17, Phillip L. Martin ’16, Matthew Miele M’16

Faculty Mentors: Professor David Rovnyak, Chemistry; Xin Chu, Geisinger; Craig Wood, Geisinger; Tooraj Mirshahi, Geisinger; Christopher Still, GeisingerFunding Source: Kalman Fund for Undergraduate Research in the Sciences; John H. Hustler Undergraduate Research Fund; Bucknell–Geisinger Research Initiative

Progress on NMR Metabolomics of Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease (NA-FLD)Within the human body, there are thousands of small molecules (less than 1500 g mol-1) known as metabolites, which participate in the biochemistry of homeostasis. Examples of metabolites can be found in classes such as amino acids, nucleotides, and vitamins, among many others. It is recognized that the composition of metabolites in individuals is sensitive to potential disease states. Recently, numerous metabolite biomarkers for type 2 diabetes (T2D) have been established. Since T2D shares

a number of risk factors with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), it is possible that there are also systematic changes in metabolite levels that correlate with the progression of NAFLD.

In this work, we report progress on the NMR metabolomics of human serum obtained from patients exhibiting differing stages of severity of NAFLD. To date, a preliminary set of 55 patient serum samples have been obtained, and we are currently a acquiring an additional set of 20-30 samples to supplement our work. To control for possible confounding variables in baseline metabolite concentrations, the subjects are all middle-aged females of a similar age and ethnicity. Each patient had a varying level of severity of NAFLD; some lacked the disease entirety, while others were spread out upon a spectrum of severity. In order to mitigate any biases in metabolite profiling, our lab is blind to the disease state of each patient.

Each sample was neutralized with acetonitrile, centrifuged, and dried using a centrifugal evaporator. The dried samples were then reconstituted in a 75 mM phosphate NMR buffer, and transferred to Shigemi NMR tubes for examination. Using the 600 MHz NMR instrument located at Bucknell University, we acquired a 1H NMR spectrum for each serum sample, which were subsequently processed for analysis.

For spectrum analysis, we will be using both supervised and unsupervised clustering software, known as MetaboAnalyst, to visualize any trends or abnormalities in metabolite concentrations. Furthermore, we are currently profiling the concentrations of up to 40 specific metabolites represented in each spectrum using the Chenomx version 8.0 NMR suite. We hope that the combination of these two methods will reveal one or more diagnostic metabolites that will motivate further study.

Hemanta Timsina ’18

Faculty Mentors: Professor Timothy Raymond, Chemical Engineering; Professor Dabrina Dutcher, Chemical EngineeringFunding Source: Bucknell University Department of Chemical Engineering

The morphology of Succinic and Glutaric AcidThe morphology of aerosols is important in order to understand the way in which they interact physically and chemically. In these sets of experiments, the morphology of Succinic and Glutaric acids was investigated. Aerosols created from these acids created atypical bimodal distribution of sizes under certain conditions. The experiments performed investigated the shape and size of the particles and attempted to explain why they formed the atypical distribution.

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Trung Tran ’18

Faculty Mentor: Professor Andrew Sloboda, Mechanical EngineeringFunding Source: Helen E. Royer Undergraduate Research Fund

Novel Metrics for Detecting Parameter Variations in Nonlinear SystemsTypically, engineers use knowledge of system parameters to make predictions about a system’s dynamic response. However, in many damage detection and sensing applications, this process is reversed: repeated observations of short-term dynamics are used to assess if system parameters are changing over the long term. This “inverse problem” of finding changes in parameters by examining dynamics is difficult for nonlinear systems and an area of active research.

Our investigation explored a possible method for quantifying parameter changes in nonlinear systems by using image analysis of Poincare sections. (Poincare sections are one important way of graphically representing system dynamics.) Using a simulated Duffing oscillator, Poincare sections for different parameter variations were created and analyzed. Every point on a given section was assigned an indexed bin and a histogram for each bin was constructed based on the surrounding density. Bins from different Poincare sections corresponding to Duffing oscillators having different parameters were then matched by assigning a cost based on the differences between their histograms. The Jonker-Volgenant Algorithm was used to find the matches with the lowest total cost. By comparing the locations of matched bins on their respective Poincare sections, an estimate of the parameter change was calculated. For changes in a single system parameter, this method of quantifying parameter changes works well; however, for changes in two of more parameters, significant error can occur. Ongoing work will consider alternative metrics for detecting multiple parameter changes, especially in the presence of noise.

Kirsten Valentini ’17


A Geochemical Analysis of Streams in Union County, PAThe purpose of this study was to measure rarely-analyzed trace elements in stream water in Union County, Pennsylvania. There are approximately ten different geologic formations and groups in Union County, and eleven different sample sites were selected based on their abilities to isolate one specific geology. Field parameters, including pH, temperature, dissolved oxygen, and specific conductance were measured at each of these locations, as well as water grab samples taken to analyze trace elements

and alkalinity. Published maps collected and displayed in ArcGIS were used to spatially analyze the relationships between geology, land use, and water quality data.

Temperature varied from site to site (14.4°C to 23.5°C) depending on tree cover. The pH values ranged from 5.0 to 8.5, while the alkalinity data varied from 3.8 to 196 mg/L as CaCO3. The pH and alkalinity discrepancies can be explained by the amount of carbonate rocks present in each geology; higher alkalinity values are due to a dissolution of carbonate rocks.

This study sought to explain normal background concentrations of trace elements and other water quality parameters as caused by surrounding geology. Selected results include streams which isolated the Hamilton Group returned comparatively higher level of sodium, sulfur, strontium, and uranium. Samples from Buffalo Creek showed high concentrations of strontium. White Deer Creek and Penn’s Creek had seemingly high aluminum concentrations, however, these concentrations proved to be near equilibrium with respect to aluminum hydroxide based on calculations from PHREEQc.

Emily Vislosky ’18

Faculty Mentor: Professor Lori Smolleck, EducationFunding Source: Kalman Fund for Undergraduate Research in the Sciences

Self-Efficacy and Motivation: Associations to Academic AchievementThe goal of this research was to study the self-efficacy and subsequent motivation of children ages three through five and the connections they may have to learning in the classroom. Through this research we examined the most effective motivational methods that can be used with children, according to Bandura’s “Sources of Self-Efficacy” (p. 79). Additionally, we measured the impact of these motivational methods on increasing the self-efficacy beliefs of young children. We used a pre- and post-test format to evaluate self-efficacy using an adaptation of the Validation of a New Self-Efficacy Scale (Chen & Eden, 2001). Specifically, we observed for two weeks at the early childhood education classroom and then subsequently taught science lessons/units to a total of 14 children. Of these 14 students, we were able to secure pre- and post-test data from 10 participants. The science lessons taught included light and shadows and the five senses. Overall, our results associated with implementing Bandura’s “Sources of Self-Efficacy” indicate that student self-efficacy is indeed malleable and when utilized, can increase students’ drive to exceed expectations within an academic setting. As a result of our data analysis, we were able to uncover several potential avenues that teachers may use to positively impact the self-efficacy of young children.

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Raakel Vuojolainen ’18

Faculty Mentor: Vanessa Troiani, Geisinger Autism and Developmental Medicine Institute (ADMI)Funding Source: Gary A. and Sandra K. Sojka Fund for Research, Teaching and Scholarship in Developmental Disabilities, Neuroscience and Human Health

Sulcogyral patterns as a mechanism to explain risk and protection against psychiatric and neurodevelopmental disordersWithin the orbitofrontal cortex (OFC), there is a high degree of individual complexity of folding that results in specific patterns within the sulci and gyri of the brain. The orientation of these patterns in the OFC can be categorized into three main types, differentiated by the continuity of the most medial and lateral sulci (typically described as the H-shaped sulcus). Common sulcal patterns (Type I) exhibit higher frequencies in the typical population, whereas atypical patterns (Type II and Type III) have been found more frequently in populations with schizophrenia. To our knowledge, no study has compared sulcal patterns across several psychiatric and/or neurodevelopmental diagnoses.

We assess whether atypical patterns are schizophrenia-specific or if they are also associated with other neurodevelopmental/psychiatric disorders, including schizophrenia (SZ), bipolar disorder (BP), and attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). We also sought to determine if quantifiable, structural differences exist between multiple diagnostic groups.

Due to higher frequencies of typical sulcogyral patterns observed in the typical population, it is suggested that the Type I pattern has a protective quality. Conversely, atypical patterns may be associated with higher risk for developmental disorders, considering previous knowledge of atypical patterns being associated with SZ. The wide-ranging developmental brain disorder (DBD) model, which recognizes overlap between neurodevelopmental and neuropsychiatric disorders rather than isolating them, might be helpful to understand why all diagnostic groups had similar frequencies of sulcal patterns. By observing multiple DBDs, we expected varying brain structures (sulcal patterns) to yield different symptomology, qualitative traits, and brain function, which are then categorized by a diagnosis. Although all diagnostic groups had similarities in pattern frequencies collapsed across both hemispheres, there was significance discovered in hemisphere-specific analyses. This may be due to the overlap of qualitative traits and brain function between SZ and BP groups compared to ADHD. Additional structural differences between diagnostic groups can be utilized (along with behavioral phenotyping) to further differentiate disorders that share common features, ultimately leading to a more personalized approach to medical diagnosis and treatment.

Rachael Wachter ’17, James Kim ’19, Mike Rocco ’17

Faculty Mentor: Professor Elizabeth Marin, BiologyFunding Source: Bucknell University

EcRB/USP mediated activation of ecdysone target genes controls gamma neuron pruning in the Drosophila mushroom bodyThe mushroom body of Drosophila melanogaster is a well-established model for hormone mediated neuronal reorganization during metamorphosis. Three main classes of intrinsic mushroom body neurons are generated sequentially during development. The axons of the firstborn, or gamma, class branch and project to both dorsal and medial lobes in the larval brain. During the first eighteen hours after puparium formation, dendrites and axons undergo pruning and modification. In later stages of metamorphosis, dendrites and unbranched axons re-extend to adult-specific targets.

Ecdysone has long been implicated in the developmental timing of this process. More specifically, point mutations in the ecdysone receptor or in its heterodimeric co-receptor, ultraspiracle, have been reported to disrupt gamma neuron pruning. Similar results have been reported with the expression of the dominant negative ecdysone receptor EcRB1-W650A.

Our lab has expressed various dominant negative and inverted repeat constructs in the mushroom body to further elucidate the role and mechanism of ecdysone reception during gamma neuron pruning. We find both EcRB1-W650A and another dominant negative receptor, EcRB1-F645A, prevents pruning, suggesting that de-repression and activation of target genes is necessary for the initiation of this process. Consistent with this model, knocking down ecdysone receptor or ultraspiracle with RNA interference results in pruning delay or failure to prune, not precocious pruning.

Yunfei (Phoebe) Wang ’18, Erik Giesen Loo ’16

Faculty Mentor: Professor Ronald Ziemian, Civil & Environmental EngineeringFunding Source: Bucknell University Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering

Computational Studies to Assess the Performance of Open-Web Steel Joists with Lateral Bracing Offset from Chord Shear CentersAn open-web steel joist is a truss-like member that consists of parallel top and bottom chords, with a triangular system of struts interlaced between them. In structural engineering, these light-weight members are used primarily as beams to support roof or floor loads. In order to prevent these very slender members from buckling, lateral bracing between the joists are employed and thereby become an integral part of any joist system.

Employing sophisticated structural engineering software, extensive computational analyses of two joist configurations

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were performed during the summer of 2016. After first preparing detailed models of the joists, they were then used to investigate the buckling behavior of the joists when the location of the lateral bracing points are moved vertically away from the shear center of the top and bottom chords. It was determined that vertical offsets in excess of only 10% of the joist’s depth will significantly reduce the buckling capacity of the joist. Similar behavior was observed for downward forces produced gravity loads and upward thrusts due to wind loads. All results were confirmed by using two different software packages. Based on the numerical data from this study, normalized plots of brace point offset versus joist buckling capacity were prepared for potential applications in designing steel joist systems. The authors are planning to present these results to the members of the steel joist profession at an upcoming conference.

Cameron Williams ’18

Faculty Mentor: Professor Tristan Stayton, BiologyFunding Source: Kalman Fund for Biomedical Education/Fellows Fund; NSF Grant

Mechanical Importance of the Pelvic Girdle in Pleurodire Turtle Shells; A Comparison of Pleurodire and Cryptodire ShellsThe two extant clades of turtles, pleurodires and cryptodires, have many distinguishing features, one being that pleurodires’ pelvic elements are sutured to the top and bottom of the shell while cryptodires’ pelvic elements are sutured to only the top of the shell. We hypothesize that the additional connection of the pelvic girdle provides additional structural strength, making pleurodire turtle shells generally stronger than cryptodire turtle shells. Using finite element analysis, we calculated the maximum and average stresses experienced by Pelomedusa subrufa’s (Pleurodira) shell with and without the pelvic girdle’s structural contributions, Glyptemys muhlenbergii’s (Cryptodira) shell, and the shells of all pleurodires and cryptodires living in the same geographic regions, under five loading cases. All shells were scaled to the same size. The Pelomedusa subrufa model without pelvic elements was found to have significantly higher maximum and average stresses than the model with pelvic elements. When all the pleurodire and cryptodire species living in the same geographic regions were compared, no significant differences were found between the maximum and average stresses of pleurodire and cryptodire species living in the same geographic regions. These data support the hypothesis that the pelvic elements of pleurodire turtles provide additional support to alleviate stress in the turtle shell and that the additional connection of the pelvic girdle does not generally make pleurodire turtle shells stronger than cryptodire turtle shells. Instead, there are functional trade-offs that increase and decrease the relative strengths of the shell depending upon which way the shell is attacked.

Yunyingying Xu ’18

Faculty Mentor: Professor Darakhshan Mir, Computer ScienceFunding Source: James L.D. and Rebecca Roser Research Fellowship

An Empirical Attack on Variants of Data AggregationMore data about our lives has been generated in the past five years than during all of human history. The ubiquity of data regarding individuals’ lives could potentially pose a threat to their privacy. Nonetheless, it could also enable efforts to benefit society at large when in the hands of researchers. As a result, the need arises for an investigation of techniques that will preserve individual’s’ privacy while enabling use of such data. One ad-hoc methodology with the assumption of protecting individual identities is data aggregation, which has been heavily used in the context of the US Census and genomic data. However, no formal arguments are behind this assumption and previous work in the context of genomic data has disproven its validity.

In contrast, the formal framework of ϵ-differential privacy aims to provide a rigorous proof to reason about the bounds on the risk of individual exposure when releasing (aggregate) information about a dataset using the privacy parameter ϵ. Even though ϵ provides a knob for adjusting the privacy vs. utility of the resulting aggregated data, there is little practical understanding the risk of exposure for a particular individual associated with varying ϵ, which is particular important to the policy makers and the general public.

Our study aims to quantify the empirical performance of this risk-utility knob associated with various values of ϵ. Like Dwork et al., we characterize the traceability of an individual from aggregate data. We do this by making different assumptions about a potential attacker, considering a continuum of aggregate data with varying levels of utility that correspond to different ϵ , and perform empirical attacks to trace individuals from the aggregation. Using simulated genomic data, and the fundamentals of Hypothesis testing, we translate the various values of ϵ to the empirical likelihood of tracing individuals. With this quantification, and the resulting visualization, we transform the abstract and seemingly arbitrary ϵ to a “language” that could be meaningful to legal experts and others when establishing privacy policy, and provide a more prescriptive association of ϵ to the risk of identifying an individual from an aggregated dataset.

43Kalman SympoSium

Tongyu Yang ’18

Faculty Mentor: Professor Brian King, Computer ScienceFunding Source: James L.D. and Rebecca Roser Research Fellowship

Using DeepLearning to Analyze Images that Have High Interest from Children with AutismAutism Spectrum Disorders are characterized by social difficulties that come from atypical attention that these individuals have toward stimuli and their features, particularly true with vision. Recently, researchers have worked to measure levels of visual salience with subjects who have autism. Visual salience is the distinct subjective perceptual quality which makes some items in the world stand out from their neighbors. In this study, we investigated the use of deep learning to learn distinctive characteristics in real-life objects that have a varying level of interest from children with autism.

Deep learning has been successfully used in classifying and identifying patterns and objects in images. Just as the visual systems of humans function with multiple layers, deep learning also works in a hierarchical fashion by using a cascade of many levels of artificial neurons. The neurons of lower levels combine specific details of the inputs to form increasingly general abstractions, ultimately combining them to form the output classification.

We use a deep learning framework to process and analyze images that have been classified to have high or low autism interest. To this end, we developed a model applied to the two groups of images, and compared the abstract features in the model after training. Our initial results show 94% accuracy on training data and 82% accuracy on test data. We generated visualizations of the intermediate levels of the neural net, demonstrating how certain neurons learn specific features in each image set. We are working on gathering a larger image dataset, and evaluating different model structures and improving visual representations of the deep learning model.

Jakob Yankauskas ’17

Faculty Mentor: Professor Emily Stowe, BiologyFunding Source: The Katherine Mabis McKenna Environmental Internship Program

A Microbiome Analysis of the West Branch of the Susquehanna River at Lewisburg, PAThe West Branch of the Susquehanna River is a highly impacted water source due to a history of agriculture, logging, and mining. As a result, there have been major implications on the community of microorganisms that inhabit the river. Microorganisms are extremely susceptible to their environment and we expect to see variable community compositions dependent on spatial-temporal factors along the river. Upstream of Bucknell Landing, Buffalo Creek, which is heavily influenced by agricultural runoff and

limestone deposition, deposits into the west bank of the river. On the east bank a water treatment plant also deposits. We sampled surface water and sediment from Bucknell Landing at three locations across the river over a 4-month period between June and September and isolated the environmental metagenomic data of microorganisms. We also measured general water quality parameters. We found that a temporal scale seems to have the greatest influence on the diversity of microorganisms across the surface water and river sediments of the West Branch of the Susquehanna River as compared to spatial samples. We see greater similarity in the phylum data across the river at particular sampling periods rather than similarities based on location spanning sampling periods. There is very little data on the community structure of microorganisms in both branches the Susquehanna River as it is generally overshadowed by work done in the downstream Chesapeake Bay. Our findings can instruct further investigations of the watershed including the spatial and temporal variability of microorganisms in the system feeding the important Chesapeake Bay watershed.

David Zhou ’18

Faculty Mentor: Professor Constance Ziemian, Mechanical EngineeringFunding Source: James L.D. and Rebecca Roser Research Fellowship

Effect of cyclical loading on additive manufactured ABS specimensAcrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS) specimens were created by fused deposition modeling (FDM), which is an additive manufacturing process (AM), and were tested to compare how the stiffness degradation of the specimens are affected by their fiber orientation. The specimens that are created by FDM are dogbone shaped and there are four fiber orientations that have been tested. Three of these orientations are unidirectional, and one is in cross-ply configuration. Tension, cyclical fatigue, and residual strength tests have been conducted on these dogbone specimens to analyze the tensile properties, such as the effective elastic modulus (E), from load and extension data. The results of the tests are then computed through Excel and programs developed using MATLAB. Through the analyses of the data, it is certain that there is a significant decrease in E and in ultimate tensile strength (UTS) throughout fatigue and residual strength testing. From current results and upcoming testing, the goal is to develop an empirical model which will be used to predict fatigue life based on stiffness degradation and fiber orientation.

*Abroad Spring Semester 2017

44 Kalman SympoSium

Lewisburg, Pennsylvania 17837

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Sixteenth Annual KALMAN - Welcome to Bucknell University ... · carolyn DeFalco, stephanie purnell nicolas Diaz mike DiDomenico michael Dosik emma Downey katie Dwyer sara Faiad katie