Office of Undergraduate Research

Josh Baker

Superconductivity is the phenomenon of zero electrical resistance that is observed in some materials below a critical temperature Tc. This state of zero resistance, besides being an amazing realization of quantum mechanical effect, has numerous applications that are already used and many others that could be realized in the near futre. Recently, a new class of superconductors made of Li, Pd and B was reported [1]. I propose to fabricate and study the ambient and high-pressure propertis of the Li-Pd-AB system to better understgand and optimize the superconducting state.

Jake Banks

Thiamin (Vitamin B1) is a plant derived vitamin required in the diets of animals and humans. This compound is converted to thaimin pyrophosphate which is an essential co-factor required by a number of enzymes central to intermediary metabolism. Thiamin biosynthesis is tightly regulated in plants. Studies have shown that the expression of genes encoding some thiamin biosynthetic enzymes is regulated by endogenous thiamin levels. As such it appears that thiamin production is limited by the cell's capacity to utilize and/or sequester thiamin. I hypothesize that by creating an artificial sink for thiamin, it should be possible to override the tightly controlled feedback mechanism limiting thiamin production in plants. To test this hypothesis, I will introduce a sesame seed thiamin binding (STBP) gene behind the CaMV 35S promoter into Arabidopsis thaliana. Different tissues frm the STPB overexpressing transformants will then e analyzed for alt3ered thiamin content by reverse phase HPLC.

Bruce Burgess

This research will focus on ways to make solar power more efficient and to investigate a method to transmit power using fiber optics cables instead of electrical cables. This project will address the focusing of ambient light into a fiber optic cable; the focused light inside the optical fiber will be transmitted to a destination in which thelight will be converted to electrical power. The power transmitted through the optical system will be compared to the power transmitted through an electrical system to see which is more efficient. This may prove that power transmission using optical waveguides may be used to transmit power over long distance more efficiently since fiber loss is minimal compared to electrical power cables. A full and thorough investigation will be carried out at the Advanced Photonics Research Laboratory under supervison of Dr. Tayahi.

David Carr

The Surface Warfare Officers School (SWOS) is enhancing Virtual At Sea Training (VAST) capabilities of the Conning Officer's Virtual Environment (COVE) to support officer training in learning to defend against (swarming) attacks by small boats. Currently, a typical training scenario requires multiple personnel to play the part of each of the attacking boats and is thus expensive and difficult to coordinate. The Combining Learning and Human Modeling for Virtual at Sea Training project, which is part of NSF EPSCoR Ring True III, is currently exploring methods for developing cognitive information processing methods that will control swarms of boats in COVE. The development of intuitive tools that experts can use to enter domain-specific knowledge is a necessary and important part of this research. I propose to develop a Visual Programming Tool (VPT) that will allow domain experts to visually edit behavior networks that are used to control boats. Allowing the domain expert to directly edit behavior networks in the simulation will lead to quicker development of higher quality networks, and in turn, to a less costly and more accurate training simulation.

Samuel Coffman

Recent investigations along the middle course of the Susitna River have led to the partial recovery of two small but informative artifact assemblages from the vicinity of Trapper Creek in southcentral Alaska . This preliminary report on the variety and spatial distribution of lithic raw material from these sites poses unique questions regarding the role of high and low quality toolstone, resource learning, and raw material procurement strategies among prehistoric hunter-gatherers. Lithic refit studies have also revealed aspects of site structure, particularly with regard to the vertical provenience of artifacts.

Lyla Fadali

Kaposi's Sarcoma-associated herpesvirus (KSHV), also known as Human herpesvirus 8 (HHV8) has been implicated in several lymphoproliterative diseases. The viral protein K-Rta has been identified as the primary transactivator which facilitates the switch between the latent and lytic, or infectious, replication cycles of HHV8. Another viral protein, K-bZIP, has a regulatory role during viral reactivation from latency, however the mechanism of K-bZIP function remains unclear. K-bZIP has been shown to interact with K-Rta, and repress the transactivation activity of K-Rta. In addition, K-bZIP self-associates to form homodimers, which may be important for this protein's regulatory function. Previous research by this laboratory has identified several regions of the K-bZIP protein which are important for K-bZIP homodimerization. The major goal of this study will be to identify the protein domains of K-bZIP which are involved in K-bZIP association with K-Rta. Specifically, this study will focus on several characteristic regions of k-bZIP, namely the basic region, sites of phosphorylation, and leucine zipper domain. In addition, this study will investigate whether homodimerization is required for K-bZIP association with K-Rta, and/or K-bZIP repression of K-Rta activity. To address these questions, wild-type HA-tagged K-Rta will be co-immunoprecipitated with FLAG-tagged k-bZIP mutants containing mutations within the regions of interest. Wild-type and mutant proteins will be expressed in 293FT cells and co-immunoprecipitated using FLAG and HA antibody-conjugated beads, followed by Western blot analysis with both HA and FLAG antibodies.

Jamie Gualco

Proteins embedded in biological membranes play extremely important roles, and mutations in these proteins are often correlated with disease states. The study of membrane proteins is, however, very challenging because of the difficulty in solubilizing them. Many diverse methods have been published attempting to solve this problem. We will first test methods for obtaining clean plasma membranes and then will attempt a variety of procedures for extracting proteins from these membranes. We will evaluate the effectiveness of these methods by running 2-dimensional gel electrophoresis, and determine the quantity and quality of the proteins extracted.

Melissa Muna

From forensics to cancer research, detection of unlabeled nucleic acids has a broad range of biological applications. Our research group has developed a hairpin sensing probe for detecting unlabeled nucleic acids. By designing additional probes that have mismatch bases at various sites, probe effectiveness in detection of gene mutations in target sequences will be further investigated. In addition, techniques for immobilization of the probe to solid supports will also be examined

Thomas Schwedhelm

Previously made zirconium compounds show interesting reactivity and will be researched as a possible route to nitrogen fixation. Further study of the compounds and new compounds will also be carried out. The project I am proposing consists of investigating some properties of various zirconium compounds with regards to possible reactions with nitrogen as a pathway for nitrogen fixation. Previous work in Dr. Benjamin King’s group involved creating compounds consisting of zirconium bonded with varying numbers of biphenyl groups as ligands. The most interesting compound is nicknamed Tris and it contains three biphenyl groups. These compounds are water and air sensitive and have interesting reactivity. One reaction that was not investigated thoroughly is the reaction of these compounds with nitrogen, N2. There is empirical evidence that nitrogen does react, which demonstrates the interesting chemistry of these compounds as nitrogen is relatively unreactive. Products may include substances that can be harvested of their nitrogen in the process of nitrogen fixation. Nitrogen fixation is part of the nitrogen cycle which is an essential part of the life on this planet. All organisms produce nitrogenous waste which is converted to nitrogen gas in the atmosphere. Microorganisms then fix the nitrogen in the form of nitrates and nitrites which plants then use to synthesize amino acids1. Today much of the nitrogen fixation that takes place is not carried out by bacteria, but by industry in the form of the Haber-Bosch process. This is a costly energetic process that produces fertilizer2. Cheaper and more efficient nitrogen fixation processes have been studied and sought after and will greatly increase our energy usage. A greater amount of fertilizer will then be able to be made using less energy and money. Our greater population will then be sustained by a larger quantity of food available from the increase in fertilizer. This project would involve the study of the reaction, if any, between nitrogen gas and the zirconium compounds, specifically Tris. A positive result would lead to determining the identity of the product and learning about its properties. Subsequent reactions that would make the fixed nitrogen easily accessible would be researched and optimized to support the nitrogen fixing properties. A negative result would possibly involve the determination of a reaction under different conditions or the requirement of additional steps. The other zirconium compounds would also be tested for nitrogen fixation processes possibly using the same techniques. Other concurrent projects include additional experimentation with zirconium and attempts to create new compounds involving zirconium and biphenyl ligands or derivatives of the biphenyl ligand.

Rycel Uy

This proposal presents a synthetic approach to two new derivatives of pentacene that are soluble in common organic solvents for solar cell application. In creating these compounds, the following questions will be answered: (1) will the proposed synthetic routes successfully creat the products both efficiently and in good yield? (2) Will the final products self-assemble to maximize overlap by solution process?

Irena Yamboliev

Kaposi's Sarcoma-associated herpesvirus (KSHV), also known as Human herpesvirus 8 (HHV8) has been implicated in several lymphoproliterative diseases. The viral protein K-Rta has been identified as the primary transactivator which facilitates the switch between the latent and lytic, or infectious, replication cycles of HHV8. Another viral protein, K-bZIP, has a regulatory role during viral reactivation from latency, however the mechanism of K-bZIP function remains unclear. K-bZIP has been shown to interact with K-Rta, and repress the transactivation activity of K-Rta. In addition, K-bZIP self-associates to form homodimers, which may be important for this protein's regulatory function. Previous research by this laboratory has identified several regions of the K-bZIP protein which are important for K-bZIP homodimerization. The major goal of this study will be to identify the protein domains of K-bZIP which are involved in K-bZIP association with K-Rta. Specifically, this study will focus on several characteristic regions of k-bZIP, namely the basic region, sites of phosphorylation, and leucine zipper domain. In addition, this study will investigate whether homodimerization is required for K-bZIP association with K-Rta, and/or K-bZIP repression of K-Rta activity. To address these questions, wild-type HA-tagged K-Rta will be co-immunoprecipitated with FLAG-tagged k-bZIP mutants containing mutations within the regions of interest. Wild-type and mutant proteins will be expressed in 293FT cells and co-immunoprecipitated using FLAG and HA antibody-conjugated beads, followed by Western blot analysis with both HA and FLAG antibodi

University of Nevada, Reno
Maintained by: Karin Saxon