2009-2010 GURA Recipients
Eunice Barron
Department: Speech Language Pathology
Mentor: Lori Bass
Project Title: The Effects of Computer-aided Instruction Compared to Interventionist-led Instruction on the Vocabulary Learning of Pre K Children from Low SES Environments
Sabrina Carter
Department: Behavior Analysis
Mentor: Linda Hayes
Project Title: Perceptual Functions
Lina Castano
Department: Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
Mentor: John Cushman
Project Title: Proteommic Expression Study in Resurrection Plant, Selaginella lepidophnylla
Nate Clark
Department: Photography/Videography
Mentor: Peter Goin
Project Title: Bike Touring: An Alternative to the American Road Trip
Andrew Dobson
Department: Computer Science and Engineering
Mentor: Kostas Bekris
Project Title: Game-theoretic Motion Planning with Physically Realistic Dynamics
Ryan Erhart
Department: Sociology
Mentor: Markus Kemmelmeier
Project Title: An Archival Study of Skin Tone Biases in the Press: How Barack Obama is Portrayed by his Supporters and Opponents
Gabe Herz
Department: Mechanical Engineering
Mentor: Eric Wang, Jeffrey LaCombe
Project Title: Field Testing of Rope Safety Systems
Cameron Howard
Department: Chemical and Materials Engineering
Mentor: Manoranjan Misra
Project Title: Solar Light Driven Technology to Reduce CO2 Emission rom Coal Power Plants
Department: Schinthia Islam
Department: Chemical Engineering
Mentor: Charles Coronella
Project Title: Kinetics of Torrefied Biomass
Nichole Joslyn
Department: Chemistry
Mentor: Sean Casey
Project Title: Exploring Chemical Control of Organic/Inorganic Semiconductor Interfaces
Susannah Lee
Department: Chemical Engineering
Mentor: Ravi Subramanian
Project Title: Microfuel Cell
Zephyr McCormick
Department: Physics
Mentor: Aaron Covington
Project Title: Investigations of Parameters for Dynamic Raman Spectroscopy of PEGylated Lipids
Paige McLean
Department: Microbiology
Mentor: Greg Pari
Project Title: Ubiquitination of Human Cytomegalovirus (HCMV) UL84 Protein
Jennifer McMenomy
Department: English Literature
Mentor: Erin Sommerville
Project Title: Cultural Literaary Effects and Aspects of the Rwandan Genocide
Kirby Myers
Department: Chemical and Materials Engineering
Mentor: Ravi Subramanian
Project Title: Determination of Optimal Method for Platinum Deposition over Graphene for Formic Acid Electrooxidation
Lindsay Peterson
Department: Basque Studies
Mentor: Joseba Zulaika
Project Title: The Basques and the Sea
Lucy Pinto
Department: Psychology
Mentor: Michael Webster
Project Title: Language and Color Perception
Dylan Rahe
Department: Biology
Mentor: Patricia Berninsone
Project Title: C. elegans as a Model to Study the Nematode
Sean Ross
Department: Chemistry
Mentor: Robert Sheridan
Project Title: A Study of Carbenes: A Look at Carbonyl Oxides with Possible Atmospheric Modeling Applications
Breanna Schlingheyde
Department: Criminal Justince
Mentor: Monica Miller
Project Title: The Effects of Victim Impact Statements and Execution Impact Statements on Jurors' Perceptions and Verdicts
Michelle Sneck
Department: Biology
Mentor: Dr. Forister, Dr. Murphy
Project Title: A Population - Genetic Study of the Sand Mountain Blue Butterfly
Larrin Thomas
Department: Materials Science and Engineering
Mentor: Jeffrey LaCombe
Project Title: Metallic Cellular Structures
Nicholas Tschernia
Department: Animal Biotechnology
Mentor: Chris Porada
Project Title: Investigation of a Two-Vector Approact to Treat Hemophilia A
Ashley Westwood
Department: Art History
Mentor: Brett Van Hoesen
Project Title: Mouton
Alex Wirth
Department: Mechanical Engineering
Mentor: Kam Leang
Project Title: Design of an Autonomous Underwater Robot Powered by Ionic Polymer Metal Composite (IPMC) Actuators
Casandra Woodward
Department: Natural Resources and Environmental Science
Mentor: Mae Gustin
Project Title: Mercury in Tree Rings - Indicators of Local Pollution and Affects of Global Climate Change on the Mercury Cycle
Project Descriptions
Research has shown that child literacy development can be partly attributed to storybook
readings that are mediated by active discussions with an interventionist (Dickinson & Smith,
1994). Despite the proven success of this low-tech method, children's current exposure to
technology and various forms of media cannot be ignored. While several studies have been
conducted on the role of television in literacy development, little is known about another
prevalent medium: the videogame. This study will compare the effects of computer-aided
instruction to interventionist-led instruction on the vocabulary learning of pre-K children from
low socioeconomic environments, through a multiple baseline design across behaviors.
There have been very few studies examining the perceptual functions involved in verbal behavior. The objective of this study is to explore Tonneau & Gonzalez’s (2004) findings involving verbal training in perceptual tasks. To examine this notion further, two variations of training will be explored, building upon a graduate thesis which investigates perceptual functions in mathematical tasks.
Investigations based on understanding the mechanisms used by plants to survive demanding environmental conditions are vital to generate engineered crops that can become more productive. Desiccation tolerance is an adaptive response of plants that allows them to survive extreme drought conditions. This kind of survival mechanism is present in resurrection plants, and it should be understood by studying it using several scientific approaches like genomics, metabolomics and proteomics in order to engineer crop plants with improved drought tolerance. In my senior thesis, I will do a comparison of proteomic expression in a resurrection plant, Selaginella lepidophylla, in Dr. John Cushman’s laboratory who has an integrated researchextension project at the University of Nevada in a collaborative effort with the University of Missouri, Columbia/USDA-ARS.
This project will relate the experiences of biking down the Pacific Coast Route, while exploring the bike touring community through documentary photography. The bike community has grown dramatically here in Reno in the last two years as people search for more efficient and environmentally friendly means of travel. I want to examine this culture and community further through portraiture and interviews of cyclists during my trip from Seattle to San Francisco in late June. This project will culminate with an art exhibition and presentation of my findings in May of 2010.
This report proposes the study of algorithms for planning the motion of agents with complex motion constraints in competitive, game-theoretic setups. Such algorithms can be employed in robotic applications, realistic simulations and computer games. Game-theoretic motion planning becomes challenging when an agent has to obey non-trivial motion constraints. A feature of this work will be that physics-based simulation will be used to realistically model the agent's constraints. This work will combine results from the field of motion planning and the areas of game-theory and multi-agent systems.
Experimental research in Dr. Kemmelmeier's lab has shown that supporters of the most famous biracial individual, President Barack Obama, remember his skin tone as lighter than his opponents and vice versa. Given that darker skin tone is a marker of lower social status in the United States, the phenomenon is evidence of a subtle racial bias. The present project tries to understand if this skin-tone bias is due to the fact that opponents and supporters of Mr. Obama tend to attend to different media outlets, which tend to portray Mr. Obama's skin as darker or lighter, respectively.
Dynamic ropes are widely used as safety equipment to protect a person during a fall in areas ranging from search and rescue efforts to recreational rock climbing. Test data has been acquired on these ropes in lab environments, but little field data exists due to the lack of portable testing equipment. Additionally, there is very little published data on what happens at various locations along these ropes during a fall. I propose to design, and build self-contained load sensors to gather experimental data to further our understanding of these ropes under actual use.
Although the US depends mostly upon coal-fired power plants to fulfill its electricity needs1, such plants discharge large amounts of carbon dioxide (CO2). While some policymakers have suggested banning new coal-fired power plants to help curb the emission of global warming gases, the current power output from non-fossil fuel plants is insufficient to meet the nation’s electricity demands. Rather than banning the use of coal-derived power, efforts must be made to decrease the output of CO2 from coal-derived power. The proposed research aims to develop methods and materials to reduce the CO2 released by coal-fired power plants by converting CO2 into useful fuels.
The current condition of the environment has generated a need to renovate methods of energy
consumption. It is imperative to develop more efficient modes of extracting energy to avoid
depleting the world’s resources in an irreversible manner. This project will focus on torrefaction,
a method that attempts to increase the energy density of biomass. Torrefaction is a relatively new
process but is worth looking into more given the state of the current energy situation.
Lignocellulosic biomass will be torrefied, and the kinetics of these reactions will be modeled to
characterize the sample.
This research will involve preparing naphthylene and perylene core tetracarboxylic diimide organic semiconductors. These molecules will be covalently linked to single crystal silicon semiconductor surfaces using various linker groups that are synthetically placed on the cores. The organic layer will be probed with infrared radiation in order to ascertain the orientation of the molecules in the layer, and with electrochemistry to study electron transport through the inorganic/organic interface. Results will address the role of the linking group on the overall molecular orientation and interface electronics, areas important for the improvement of organic and inorganic/organic hybrid semiconductor materials.
This research project would investigate the possibility of reducing a fuel cell size by 60% while maintaining a useable output of energy mesured through Power Densitry and Current Voltage Curves. The fuel cell reduction would be from the standard fuel cell size approximately 65mmx65mmx12mm to a smaller 40mmx40mmx4.5mm and replacing the solid nafion membrane with a hardened liquid membrane. Both the fuel cells will be hydrogen powered.
Optimal parameters for the dynamic Raman spectroscopy study of phase transitions of lipids to liposomes will be investigated. The dynamic Raman spectroscopy study involves short (ns) bursts of laser light onto the sample, which can result in sample degradation. The intensity of the laser light on the sample will be varied to find parameters that allow for faster temporal studies than are currently available while minimizing sample degradation. These types of measurements will help to elucidate the fundamental mechanisms responsible for liposome formation, and may one day help to develop novel drug delivery techniques.
Despite intense study of Human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) protein UL84, an exact function for the UL84 protein in HCM growth has not been determined. Recently a proteomic analyis of UL84 from HCMV infected cells, identified the cellular protein ubiquitin E2 conjucgated enyzme as a binding partner and strongly suggesting that UL84 is ubiquitinated. This result presents the possibility that ubiquitination of UL84 may serve to regluate the activity of this protein in infected cells. They hypotheses for this proposal is that ibiquitination of UL84 is an essential modification and contributes to the replication regulatory activity of the protein.
This project will explore the literary effects and aspects of the Rwandan Genocide from three different perspectives: (1) Survivor testimony of the Rwandan Genocide (2) Western witnesses to the genocide and (3) the African continental view. THis project will seek to find a common theme among the differing viewpoints through the literature that has been produced as a result of the genocide. Various works including testimony, short story and novels will be examined.
The goal of this project is to develop and establish a method to deposit platinum over graphene
for formic acid fuel cell electrocatalyst. Decreasing the particle size and increasing distribution
of platinum over the support plays an important role in catalytic activity. In order to achieve
higher activity of platinum supported over graphene, the proposal seeks to find possible ways to
deposit platinum with uniform distribution and smaller particle size. Major obstacle in utilization
fuel cell technology is lack of electrode stability and activity, the project attempts to play a role
in solving this critical issue.
The Basque country is a small European territory that is the home of one of the oldest surviving cultures in the world. Due to its unique coastal location, the sea has presented the Basque country with a lot of opportunity and this paper will address how the Basques were able to enterprise with these regareds. This paper will examine how the sea in all aspects from seafaring and ship building, to fishing and industrialization, influenced the Basque Country.
Recent research has shown that language can influence our color perception. For example, the left hemisphere of the brain is specialized for language, and colors presented to the left hemisphere can be discriminated more quickly. In this project I will examine whether the effect of language is on the output – on how we respond to colors; or on the input – how we actually perceive them. Color processing in the left and right hemispheres will be compared with a series of tasks that tap into different stages of visual perception, thus allowing me to test the level at which language effects emerge.
The proposed research aims to investigate the surface coat of the genetically tractable nematode worm, Caenorhabditis elegans. Surface coats cover the cuticle of all nematodes and exhibit a dynamic behavior implicated in immune evasion by parasitic nematodes and interaction of nematodes with other organisms; yet very little is known about surface coat protein composition. This project aims to conduct a proteomic analysis of the surface coat in wild type C.elegans and to identify the proteins affected in a class of mutants with abnormal surface properties. This research will generate novel data regarding the composition of the dynamic nematode surface coat and aid in our understanding of how it is regulated in parasitic nematodes.
The objective of this project is to look at several internal and external effects related to fuel emissions. We will study the reactivity of carbenes possibly formed upon combustion of hydrocarbons. These systems will be studied using substituted carbenes in matrix conditions. We will study the reactivity of carbenes with oxygen to form carbonyl oxides, which are intermediate species of hydrocarbons with ozone (1) and carbenes themselves, which have been postulated to be formed in combustion engines (2).
The use of a Victim Impact Statement (VIS) and/or an Execution Impact
Statement (EIS) in capital trials can cause much controversy as they can affect how jurors
determine guilt and the severity of sentencing. This study will examine whether VISs and
EISs affect mock jurors’ perceptions of the defendant and victim by surveying randomly
assigned participants.
The Sand Mountain blue butterfly (Euphilotes pallescens arenamontana) is a subspecies
endemic to dunes located in Churchill County, Nevada, outside of the city of Fallon. This tiny
butterfly, a member of the family Lycaenidae, relies upon the presence of the Kearney
buckwheat (Eriogonum nummulare) as a source of food and a place to mate. Overseen by the
Bureau of Land Management, the dunes of the Sand Mountain Recreation Area are used by off road
vehicles that damage the Kearney buckwheat, reducing the distribution and size of the
butterfly population. However, on the basis of a study of the ecology of the blue butterfly and its
buckwheat hostplant, threats to the butterfly were not found by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife
Service in 2007 to be sufficient to warrant listing of the butterfly as an endangered species. No
information pertaining to the genetics of the butterfly is currently available. The purpose of this
study is to bridge that information gap by (a) examining the genetic distinctness of the Sand
Mountain blue relative to other subspecies of E. pallescens, and (b) laying the foundation for
future genetic studies by examining population structure within the Sand Mountain blue
specifically, and E. pallescens more generally. Establishing the genetic distinctness of a
threatened species is the key first step in addressing its conservation genetics.
The project being proposed involves casting of complex metallic structures (aluminum) which are light weight, yet can absorb a significant amount of energy during impact deformation. Such structures are of significant value in applications such as vehicle crash protection systems (ex: bumpers) that absorb impacts rather than transmitting the forces to the vehicle passengers. These structures are complex, and their manufacture is difficult. The design and fabrication of these structures is a currently-active area of materials research. This project will involve mastery of a complex casting technique as well as learning the methods for mechanical testing of the fabricated structures.
Genes are vital to every organism; they preserve all of the information that directs and controls the
myriad of intricate processes required for both the development and self-sustaining capacity of an organism.
To ensure proper functioning of all of the complex systems within the body, this genetic information must be
maintained with absolute accuracy. Attesting to this need for perfect fidelity, over 400 diseases are currently
known that are caused by mutations in only a single gene, the so-called “monogenic diseases.” Of course,
countless more complex diseases are also caused by alteration within multiple genes. Prior research has
proven the feasibility of performing gene therapy, that is, delivering normal healthy copies of genes to
alleviate symptoms and treat the organism. However, efficacy and safety must be improved to realize gene
therapy’s full potential. To help move toward the full potential of gene therapy, my project will utilize a highly
cell specific, two-vector delivery system to target a corrective copy of the FVIII gene to the cell type normally
responsible for synthesizing this clotting factor, and thereby correct hemophilia A in a unique sheep model
system our laboratory recently re-established. Treatment efficacy and safety will be confirmed using
advanced intracellular imaging..
I want to capture the essence of sheep through the medium of oil and watercolor
painting. I will be working on live drawings of the animals as well as paintings in the
studio. I want to visually represent the human-like qualities and emotion of the animals. I
will conduct the research on campus and take a trip to visit art museums to view the
work of contemporary artists. The majority of the creative work will be done at the UNR
painting studio.
The goal of this project is to develop an underwater robot propelled by (IPMC) smart materials.
The IPMC smart material is a type of artificial muscle that will function as actuators to control
the motion of the aquatic robot. The robot’s performance will be measured to determine the
effects of IPMC fabrication methods and operating conditions.
Global climate change can alter the biogeochemical cycles of contaminants. Mercury (Hg) is a contaminant of concern due to toxicity at low concentrations and widespread occurrence in the environment. At present, there has been very limited research concerning the impacts of global climate change on the Hg cycle. Measurement techniques that can link historic levels of Hg to climatic conditions are necessary to predict changes under future climatic scenarios. Tree rings have been used as a proxy for identifying past climatic conditions. We hypothesize that tree rings can also serve as an archive of atmospheric Hg concentrations. We will test this hypothesis by first investigating if tree rings identify changes in Hg concentrations due to anthropogenic activity at local scales. The specific objective of our proposed research is to compare the temporal evolution of Hg in tree rings at three locations in Nevada. We will sample one tree species common to all three sites. Tree sampled will be located near an active mining area, an area of legacy mining, and an area with no known local sources of Hg. This research is expected to not only link changes in historic climate and air Hg concentrations, but also to identify the direct impact of recent and past mining activity on local concentrations.