Stephan Girard, “A Bioinformatics Analysis of Plant Aspartic Protease Nepenthesin I” Mentor: Madhusudan Dey, Biological Science The carnivorous pitcher plant Nepenthes alata produces digestive enzymes including proteases which degrade proteins in captured insect prey. Nepenthesin I (NEP1) is an aspartic…… Read More
Anna Kaminski, “A Climatology of Atmospheric Rivers Over the Northeast United States” Mentor: Clark Evans, Mathematical Sciences Atmospheric Rivers (ARs) are characterized by long, narrow corridors of enhanced integrated water vapor (IWV) and integrated vapor transport (IVT) located in the…… Read More
Jonathan Doria, “A Mathematical Model of the Disruption of the Glucose Homeostasis in Cancer Patients” Mentor: Peter Hinow, Mathematical Sciences In recent years much research has been done on how cancer can disrupt glucose homeostasis in people. Proliferating cancer cells…… Read More
Emma Oldehoeft, “Among-Female Assessment Variation and Male-Male Spacing in Eastern Gray Treefrogs (Hyla versicolor)” Mentor: Gerlinde Höebel, Biological Sciences Female preferences have been widely researched as a source of sexual selection on male mating signals. The complexity of mate choice…… Read More
Giorgio Sarro, “An Investigation of Post-Transition Extremes for Extratropically Transitioning Tropical Cyclones” Mentor: Clark Evans, Mathematical Sciences Extratropical transition (ET) is the process by which a tropical cyclone (i.e., hurricane) transforms into a non-tropical, or extratropical, cyclone after it encounters…… Read More
Trent Lechleitner, “Analysis of Levels of Student Processing to Investigate Students’ Science Literacy” Mentors: Kristen Murphy & Allison Tmoczyk, Chemistry & Biochemistry The American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) has outlined four themes that define science literacy; these…… Read More
Travis Fichtenbauer, “Analyzing Nulling Pulsars Using Gaussian Mixture Models” Mentors: Joseph Swiggum & David Kaplan, Physics Pulsars are rapidly rotating neutron stars that emit radiation from their magnetic poles. A small portion of the pulsar population is known to occasionally…… Read More
Adriana Abud, “Analyzing Obsessive Compulsive Disorder with the Three Impulsivity Factors” Mentors: Han Joo Lee & Abel S. Mathew, Psychology The current study is based on analyses conducted from a previous study looking at the correlation between response inhibition (RI)…… Read More
Connor Lynch, “Analyzing Parent-Child Feeding Through Child Behavior and Feeding Relationship Disturbance” Mentor: W. Hobart Davies, Psychology Feeding relationship disturbance can stem from the parent’s and child’s attitude toward mealtime as well as the environment surrounding the mealtime. In the…… Read More
Bailey Flannery, “Animal Transformations: Medieval Commentary on Consent and Sexual Violence” Mentor: Jacqueline Stuhmiller, Honors College In tales across the Celtic tradition, men transform into animals after mastering women through sexual violence. The fourth branch of the Mabinogi, a collection…… Read More
Jose De La O Arechiga, “Antioxidant Rich Diets Are Associated with Increased Verbal Fluency in Young Adults” Mentors: Krista Lisdahl & Ashley Stinson, Psychology Research shows that high antioxidant (e.g., vitamin E and beta-carotene) diets are associated with superior performance…… Read More
Jacob Exline, “Assessment of Auditory and Vestibular Function in Cabin1 Knockout Larval Zebrafish” Mentor: Ava Udvadia, Biological Sciences The auditory and vestibular systems mediate hearing and balance, respectively, and are critical for an organism’s survival. Cabin1, a gene encoding a…… Read More
Ryan Majinski, “Asymmetric Synthesis of the Anticancer Agent (+)-Elacomine” Mentor: M Mahmun Hossain, Chemistry & Biochemistry (+)-Elacomine is a natural anticancer agent found in certain shrubs of the Elaeagnus genus. It has been found to be toxic to melanoma cells…… Read More
Carli Kugel, “Attention Training for Athletes: A Feasibility Assessment” Mentors: Han Joo Lee & Maryam Ayazi, Psychology Many athletes face negative consequences due to performance anxiety. One possible consequence may be how performance anxiety could affect attention negatively. Relevant literature…… Read More
Rob Steger, “Cardiovascular Reactivity in Runners” Mentors: Raymond Fleming & Hanna Johnson, Psychology Regular cardiovascular exercise, such as running, is physiologically and psychologically protective against stress. Once accustomed to these positive effects, runners who are deprived of exercise exhibit increased…… Read More
Erin Vandenbosch, “Chemotherapy-Related Cognitive Decline is Detectable via the Attention Network Test” Mentor: Adam Greenberg, Psychology Chemobrain, the cognitive decline associated with chemotherapy, is a common ailment in cancer patients; however, there is currently no accurate method for chemobrain diagnosis……. Read More
Diana Illencik, “Citizenship as a Basket of Rights in the Era of Globalization” Mentor: Aneesh Aneesh, Sociology Citizenship has long been referred to in the context of a nation-state membership. Various alternative approaches challenged the view on citizenship and introduced…… Read More
Brandon Selbig, “Climatology of Peak Wind Gusts Around Lake Michigan” Mentor: Jonathan Kahl, Mathematical Sciences Wind gusts are a major factor in different areas across not only the United States but different parts of the globe as they have different…… Read More
Hannah Edens, “Comparing Gold Nanoparticle and Magnetite Nanoparticle Penetration into Platelet Rich Plasma Clots” Mentors: Julie Oliver & Cammy Truong, Biological Sciences We are investigating alternative treatments for patients with ischemic stroke that are unable to receive tissue plasminogen activator…… Read More
Isabel Crespo, “Comparing Measures to Capture Attention Difficulties in Young Children with Neurofibromatosis 1” Mentor: Bonita Klein-Tasman, Psychology Neurofibromatosis type 1 (NF1) is an autosomal dominant disorder that presents with medical symptoms and increased risks of difficulties in various areas…… Read More
Nathan Kohls, “Deep Learning Applications in Wastewater Treatment” Mentor: Rudi Strickler, Biological Sciences Wastewater treatment currently requires careful testing at multiple points in the treatment process. These tests are often slow and expensive, requiring trained personnel and lab time. Here…… Read More
Lantrell Stewart, “Detection of Tissue Factor Expression on Transfected Cells” Mentor: Julie Oliver, Biological Sciences We detected human tissue factor (TF) expression by direct and indirect methods on transfected clones of the 300.19 mouse pre-B cell line. TF is a trans-membrane…… Read More
Taylor Wilcox, “Development of New Treatments for Neuropathic Pain Based on Imidazodiazepines” Mentor: Alexander Arnold, Chemistry & Biochemistry Currently, 7% of the US population has been diagnosed with neuropathic pain (NP). NP is mediated by inflammation of the associated peripheral…… Read More
Claire Piehowski, “Differences in Approaches to Feeding Children as a Function of Parent Marital Status” Mentors: W. Hobart Davies & Paulina Lim, Psychology The existing literature has limited background on comparing marital status and how this influences Pediatric Feeding Problems…… Read More
Tamia Williams, “Does Deletion of chpC Cause a Loss of Swimming Phenotype or is There a Hidden Secondary Mutation?” Mentor: Sonia Bardy, Biological Sciences Pseudomonas aeruginosa is an opportunistic pathogen that is able to live in a wide range of…… Read More
Abigail Moore, “Does Size-Assortative Mating Improve Fertilization Success in Grey Treefrogs?” Mentor: Gerlinde Höebel, Biological Sciences Success of external fertilization is often optimized by the closeness of egg and sperm release. In frogs, males and females perform amplexus, mating embrace,…… Read More
Olivia Dye, “Effects of a Novel, Non-Toxic Histone Deacetylase Inhibitor on Memory Formation in Mice” Mentors: Karyn Frick & Sarah Beamish, Psychology As researchers make strides to understand how the brain and memory function, memory formation continues to have many…… Read More
Tessa Miskimen, “Effects of Physical Salience and Learned Aversive Value on the Deployment of Attention” Mentors: Deborah Hannula & Fred Helmstetter, Psychology Recent work from our lab indicates that attention capture can be observed for learned fearful stimuli. However, aversive…… Read More
Sanjna Girdhar, “Engineering of a Polyprotein Construct to Test its Binding Activity” Mentors: Ionel Popa & Annie Eis, Physics Protein A, a surface protein, found in the cell wall of bacteria Staphylococcus aureus is encoded by the spa gene. Its…… Read More
Kristen Leer, “Eve and the Serpent: A Re-telling in The Shape of Water” Mentor: Jacqueline Stuhmiller, Honors College Despite the book of Genesis being introduced to Western society thousands of years ago, it remains a monumental cultural influence within our…… Read More
Ashley Trapp, “Explicit and Implicit Aspects of Dietary Behavior” Mentor: David Osmon, Psychology We investigated the relationship of explicit and implicit thoughts in dietary behavior such as eating behavior, food choice, and dietary intake using questionnaires about dietary behavior as…… Read More
Danielle Zube, “Exploring Behavioral Response to Behavioral Play Therapy in Children with Williams Syndrome” Mentors: Bonita Klein-Tasman & Brianna Young, Psychology Williams syndrome (WS) is a rare genetic disorder caused by a microdeletion of genes on chromosome 7q11.23. Previous research…… Read More
Ryan Nelsen, “Factor Xa Generation Reveals Tissue Factor Fusion Protein Does Not Affect Procoagulant Activity” Mentor: Julie Oliver & Brittany Vanderhoof, Biological Sciences The expression of tissue factor (TF) outside of the vasculature regulates initiation of blood coagulation by recruiting…… Read More
Valerie Perkins & Aimee Roekle, “Factors Affecting Perception of English Vowels by Native Chinese Learners” Mentor: Jae Yung Song, Linguistics Previous studies have indicated that native speakers of Chinese have difficulty perceiving differences in English vowels, but there is little…… Read More
Alisa Preiksaitis, “Feasibility of Superconducting Active Radiation Shielding During Extended Space Travel” Mentor: Prasenjit Guptasarma, Physics Radiation exposure remains one of the most challenging problems facing long-term, deep-space, human exploration missions. The hazards associated with long-term exposure to Galactic Cosmic…… Read More
Mikayla Walker, “Flora and Fauna of the Pleistocene Oak Creek Formation Peat Deposits” Mentor: Scott Schaefer, Geosciences Late Pleistocene Oak Creek Formation deposits dated to 45,000 to 35,000 years old are exposed at Sheridan Park in Cudahy, Wisconsin. Sediments from…… Read More
Noah Graff, “Generative Adversarial Networks: Ultrasound Image Translation” Mentors: Istvan Lauko & Adam Honts, Mathematical Sciences Low cost and highly portable ultrasound devices under development are designed to be equipped with low frequency ultrasound transducers that provide relatively low imaging…… Read More
Sparrow Roch, “Geodetic Precession and Pulse Profile Changes Over Time of Pulsar B1913+16” Mentors: Joseph Swiggum & David Kaplan, Physics Pulsars are dense and quickly rotating neutron stars that emit radiation from their magnetic poles. A pulsar’s magnetic axis is…… Read More
Stephan Girard, “Going with the Flow: Silicate Influxes from Soil and Grasses to the Milwaukee River” Mentor: Erica Young, Biological Sciences Silicate is a common mineral compound of silicon and oxygen and is an important nutrient for some algae in…… Read More
Alondra Quechol, Elizabeth Papandria, Grace Mussell, Abigail Ambrose, Cassie Kinney & Zachary Small, “Hostile Terrain 94” Mentor: Jasmine Alinder, History This research project is committed to acknowledge and raise awareness about the violent impact of immigration policies at the U.S……. Read More
Bronwen Risse-Connolly, Margarita Garcia Rojas & Paul Newcomb, “Implementing Oral History into a Milwaukee Public High School Curriculum” Mentor: Rachel Buff, History This workshop was a series of four classes working closely with upperclassmen at Audubon Technology and Communication High…… Read More
Janet Lagunez-Garcia, “Individual Factors Associated with Anxiety-Induced Stereotype-Specific Deficits in Cognitive Control” Mentors: Christine Larson & Richard Ward, Psychology Implicit racial bias encompasses the attitudes one has about specific groups that occur outside of their own conscious awareness. Current theories…… Read More
Taylor Beecher, “Intimate Partner Violence and Adverse Childhood Experiences in Sexual Minority Dating Relationships” Mentor: Ryan Shorey, Psychology Intimate partner violence (IPV), including physical, psychological, and sexual aggression, is equal to or greater in sexual minority (e.g., lesbian, gay, bisexual…… Read More
Sara Saleh, “Investigating the Use of Study Resources by Introduction Level Chemistry Students” Mentor: Anja Blecking, Chemistry & Biochemistry Chemistry is the basis of many natural sciences. Understanding the fundamentals of chemistry is critical for proper training and career development…… Read More
Gabriel Heller de Messer & Chantel Jenrette, “Kelp Gametophyte Culturing and Genetic Analysis Techniques for Conservation and Breeding” Mentors: Filipe Alberto, Gabriel Montecinos & Rachael Wade, Biological Sciences Bull Kelp (Nereocystis luetkeana) is experiencing decreases in population size and local…… Read More
Ryan Thiede, “Learning-Induced Changes in Astrocytic Immediate Early Gene Expression in the Dorsal Hippocampus” Mentor: Karyn Frick, Psychology Dementia is an ever-growing mental health problem that affects millions of people every year. Identifying ways in which to prevent and reduce…… Read More
Aime Skrober “Life Stressors Predict PTSD Symptoms Following a Traumatic Injury” Mentors: Christine Larson, Elisabeth Webb & Jayson Schalk, Psychology Previous research has shown that life stressors may contribute to the risk of developing Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) after a…… Read More
Sara Seidita, “Lifetime Changes in Mate Choosiness in Enchenopa binotata Treehoppers (Hemiptera: Membracidae)” Mentors: Rafael Rodríguez Sevilla & Bretta Speck, Biological Sciences Mate choice decisions are influenced by choosiness, the effort individuals are prepared to invest in securing their preferred…… Read More
Haley Kempf, “Literature Review on the Ultrasructural Variation in Trilobite Exoskeletons” Mentor: Victoria McCoy, Geosciences Trilobites were extremely diverse and abundant arthropods, now extinct, with over 20,000 recognized species ranging in size from one mm to 72 cm. Unlike most…… Read More
Diego Dominguez-Ramirez, “Making of Tissue-Mimicking Gelatin for Aiding in Thermoacoustic Emission Analysis from Particle Beam” Mentor: Sarah Patch, Physics Particle therapy is used in special facilities around the world to treat cancer. This method employs accelerated charged particles to deliver…… Read More
Klaudia Rixmann & Jordan Solis, “Mapping German and Polish Borderlands” Mentor: Karolina May-Chu, Foreign Languages & Literature Ideas surrounding borders and their figurative meanings have gained increasing attention in the academic and literary world; however, support for these ideas in…… Read More
Eli Frank, “Mapping Radical Milwaukee” Mentor: Rachel Buff, History For nearly half a century, Milwaukee was governed by a trifecta of socialist mayors and was home to one of the most robust and accomplished socialist movements in the country. The…… Read More
Miki Kurihara, “Markov-Chain Monte Carlo Fitting of X-ray Light Curves of Active Galactic Nuclei” Mentors: Sarah Vigeland & Tingting Liu, Physics Some galaxies in the Universe have a very bright region called Active Galactic Nuclei (AGN) at the center. While…… Read More
Trevor Pedersen, “Mathematical Model of Liposome-Mediated Drug Delivery to Brain Capillary Networks” Mentor: Peter Hinow, Mathematical Sciences The process of delivering drugs to the brain is complicated by the presence of the blood-brain barrier. Recent research in pharmaceutical science has…… Read More
Kristen Leer, “Maximus: The Hybrid Archetype Hero of the 21st Century” The ideal hero has been subjected to change based on the ever-evolving values of American culture. Within the sword-and-sandal film epics of the 1950-60s heroism was molded into a…… Read More
Benjamin Delebreau, “Mechanical Stabilization of Proteins Due to Ligand Binding Using Magnetic Tweezers” Mentors: Ionel Popa & Narayan Dahal, Physics The mechanical unfolding of proteins is commonly measured using single molecule force spectroscopy techniques. Here, we use magnetic tweezers and…… Read More
Omar Suárez Sacramento, “Mexico – U.S. Migration Dynamics” Mentor: Kevin Thom, Economics In a climate of growing policy and social implications surrounding immigration, accurate measurements of migration are an important part of informed decision making. This research project investigates an…… Read More
Valerie Rubalcava, “Microstructural Analysis of Metabasites from the Southern Iberian Shear Zone” Mentor: Dyanna Czeck, Geosciences Fault zones at depth are not widely investigated in situ because the area of interest is too deep and expensive to probe. At depth,…… Read More
Dulce Hernandez-Blanchard, “Microstructural Observations Across the Southern Iberian Shear Zone” Mentor: Dyanna Czeck, Geosciences The interactions of tectonic plates cause deformation in rocks that result in a shear zone. A shear zone is a tabular zone of rocks that has…… Read More
Abigail Lynch, “Milwaukee’s Housing Choice Voucher Landscape: Advocacy, Policy and New Developments” Mentor: James Harris, Urban Studies This presentation reports on preliminary research findings from a qualitative housing study that uses archival and ethnographic methods to investigate and analyze a…… Read More
Tiffany Polzin, “Molecular Mechanisms of Estradiol/TrkB Interactions in the Dorsal Hippocampus of Female Mice” Mentors: Karyn Frick & Kellie Gross, Psychology Our laboratory has previously demonstrated that 17β-estradiol (E2) enhances memory consolidation in both object placement (OP) and object recognition…… Read More
Ciera Oglesby, “Morphological Analyses of Regular-Spiking and Late-Spiking Neurons in Hippocampus” Mentor: James Moyer, Psychology The hippocampus is a brain structure that plays an important role in information processing and long-term memory formation. It can be further divided into two…… Read More
Sara Saleh, “Motility is Important for Competitive Nodulation of Mimosa pudica by Paraburkholderia phymatum” Mentors: Gyaneshwar Prasad & Shashini Welmillage, Biological Sciences Nitrogen (N) is the most limiting nutrient for plants and plant growth requires supplementation with N-fertilizer that results…… Read More
Eric Wendt, Brittany Larson & Yael Greenberg, “Motivation is Deficient in the Spontaneously Hypertensive Rat (SHR)” Mentor: Rodney Swain, Psychology Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is one of the most commonly diagnosed childhood neurobehavioral disorders. ADHD is characterized by three…… Read More
Madeline Rech, “Nail Biting and Nail Picking: A Comparison of Related Behaviors” Mentors: Han Joo Lee & Abel S. Mathew, Psychology Body focused repetitive behaviors (BFRBs) are urge-driven behaviors, which include skin picking, hairpulling, cheek biting, nail biting (NB) and…… Read More
Sophia Salas, “Neural Underpinnings of Attention in Children with Neurofibromatosis Type 1” Mentor: Bonita Klein-Tasman, Psychology Electroencephalogram, or EEG, is a safe, noninvasive form of measuring the physiological differences associated with cognition. EEG directly measures neural activity through the summed…… Read More
Emily Crain-Castle, “New Form of Colonialism on the Rise” Mentor: Paru Shah, Political Science Research shows that most international volunteer programs are detrimental to the host countries development. The imagery of international volunteer work promotes a simplistic, and paternalistic, set…… Read More
Tiffany Antonopoulos, “No Place Like Home: Do Black Widow Spiders Use Path Integration to Navigate Their Webs?” Mentors: Rafael Rodriguez & Clinton Sergi, Biological Sciences Animals store memories about the layout of their environment and use this stored information to…… Read More
Margaret Marshall, “O Cricket, Where Art Thou: Do Black Widow Spiders Remember the Site of Prey Capture in a Complex Web.” Mentors: Rafael Rodríguez Sevilla & Clinton Sergi, Biological Sciences Different animals form memories about varied aspects of their environment……. Read More
Courtney Cazzola, “Optimizing the Penetration of Nanoparticles into Platelet-Rich Plasma and Whole Blood Clots” Mentor: Julie Oliver, Biological Sciences Ischemic stroke patients have a limited number of treatment options available. The only FDA approved drug comes with a significant risk…… Read More
Paige Cooper-Rolefson, “Phonological and Morphological Information Influences Perceptions of Rhymes” Mentor: Anne Pycha, Linguistics We hypothesize that morphological complexity renders words more abstract in the minds of listeners. We tested this hypothesis by focusing on rhyming, which is a natural…… Read More
Chinh Nguyen, “Pre-Amplifier Characterization and K-Wave Simulations” Mentor: Sarah Patch, Physics In cancer treatment, most patients will go through a “CatScan” before undergoing proton therapy. In the days between the “CatScan” and proton therapy, patients’ organs may move several centimeters……. Read More
Andrea Bishop, “Privacy Co-Management on Social Media in Latinx Youth” Mentors: Celeste Campos-Castillo & Katherine Craig, Sociology The goal of this project is to conduct an exploration of privacy from the perspective of adolescent co-managers, with a focus on managing…… Read More
Bob Aloisi, “Radio Bright Supernovae Observed by Australian SKA Pathfinder” Mentor: David Kaplan, Physics Transient radio flux density from supernovae are caused by synchrotron radiation related to supernova shock waves interacting with circumstellar material. These observations can constrain physical supernova…… Read More
Vladislav Melnikov, “Rational Transitive Mate Choice in Enchenopa binotata Treehoppers (Hemipera: Membracidae)” Mentor: Rafael Rodríguez Sevilla, Biological Sciences Mate choice is a crucial decision for females. Mate choice decisions are based on mate preference functions, which are curves that describe…… Read More
Jocelyn Jarvis, “Relationship Between Socioeconomic Status, School Affiliation and Stress in Adolescents” Mentors: Krista Lisdahl & Ryan Sullivan, Psychology Prior research on stress in adolescents have revealed that lower SES and ethnic minority status are both related to increased stress……. Read More
Stephanie Leader, “Representations of Fish on Ancient Cypriot Vases” Mentor: Derek Counts, Art History In the summer of 2019, I had the privilege to study abroad and excavate on the island of Cyprus in the eastern Mediterranean as part of…… Read More
Autumn Routson, “Secondary Mineralogy of the Olkelduhals Hydrothermal System: Applications to Past Mars Environments” Mentors: Lindsay McHenry & Jordan Ludyan, Geosciences Opaline and amorphous silica, sulfate-rich soils, and Fe-oxides in association with volcanic materials observed by the MER Spirit rover…… Read More
Lydia Chechowitz, “Self-Selected Leisure Promotes Ambulatory Blood Pressure Dipping: A Within-Person Field Experiment” Mentor: Marcellus Merritt, Psychology An early indicator of future cardiovascular risk is a lack of nighttime blood pressure (BP) dipping from daytime to nighttime. Identifying what behaviors…… Read More
Cheyanne Koran, “SEM Photographic Survey of Late Devonian Lime Creek Formation Microfossils from Fossil Prairie Park” Mentor: Scott Schaefer, Geosciences The prolific fossil beds at Fossil Prairie Park in Rockford, Iowa are frequented by amateur fossil collectors and academic researchers…… Read More
Grace Feucht, “Sex Differences in Hippocampal Immediate-Early Gene Expression Following Context Fear Conditioning” Mentor: James Moyer, Psychology Women are twice as likely to suffer from posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) than males (Richards & Van Neil, 2017). PTSD can be modeled…… Read More
Aleia Olson, “Sex Differences in Immediate Early Genes in Retrosplenial Cortex Following Context Fear Learning” Mentors: James Moyer, Hanna Yousuf & Chad Smies, Psychology Many people experience traumatic events that lead to long-lasting fear memories that are key components of…… Read More
Marina Slawinski & Daniel Collison, “Shape Programming of Protein Hydrogels Using Metal Cations” Mentors: Ionel Popa & Luai Khoury, Physics The ability to program a temporary shape in biomaterials that can revert to their original shape in response to a…… Read More
Alex Moxon, “Simulating Self-Assembly of Tornado Storm Chasers Using Agent-Based Modeling” Mentor: Paul Roebber, Mathematical Sciences Given the risk to public health and safety and the limited ability to forecast their occurrence, tornadoes are of great research interest to atmospheric…… Read More
Audrey Schlais, “Sizing Up the Memory of Western Black Widow Spiders, Latrodectus hesperus (Araneae: Theridiidae)” Mentors: Rafael Rodríguez Sevilla & Clinton Sergi, Biological Sciences The memory capabilities of animals vary according to their ecology and the limitations imposed by the…… Read More
Emily Ruder & Jacob Rankin, “Small-Scale Sustainable Charcoal Production in Kenya” Mentor: Mai Phillips, Conservation and Environmental Science Woodfuel accounts for 80% of energy consumption in Kenya and accounts for most of the deforestation after agriculture. The Dryland Natural Resource…… Read More
Nour Abuomar, “Social Experience and Reproductive Isolation in a Vibrational Insect” Mentors: Rafael Rodriguez, Camille Desjonqueres & Jak Maliszewski, Biological Sciences Enchenopa binotata treehoppers are host plant-feeding insects that communicate through plant-borne vibrational signals. Typically, each species has a distinctive…… Read More
Marie Enderle, “Social Functioning Difficulties in Young Children with Neurofibromatosis Type 1” Mentor: Bonita Klein-Tasman, Psychology Neurofibromatosis type 1 (NF1) is an autosomal dominant genetic disorder affecting 1 in 3,500 people and is characterized by cognitive, academic and executive difficulties, as well…… Read More
Madeline Sandvik, “Solvent Effects on the Extraction of Azo Dyes by Hydrophobic Deep-Melting Eutectics from Waste Water” Mentors: Mark Dietz & Nathan Kaul, Chemistry & Biochemistry The discharge of toxic dyestuffs from textile and leather processing into waterways represents a…… Read More
Travis Fichtenbauer, Sparrow Roch, Claire Bolda, Natalie Meyers & Herbert De Leon, “STARS@UWM: The Search for Pulsars” Mentors: David Kaplan, Sarah Vigeland & Joseph Swiggum, Physics Pulsars are a type of evolved star that are extremely dense and rotate with…… Read More
Alexis Alexander, “Strategic Use of Social Media by Commercial Brands” Mentor: Taisik Hwang, Journalism, Advertising, & Media Studies This research project attempts to discover how leading commercial brands utilize social media to effectively reach and build relationships with their audiences……. Read More
Zachary Uttke, “Structure-Function Relationships in the MppP Family” Mentor: Nicholas Silvaggi, Chemistry & Biochemistry The rare nonproteinogenic amino acid L-enduracididine (L-End) is a building block of some naturally occurring antibiotics like mannopeptimycin. Antibiotic-resistant pathogens are an imminent threat to public…… Read More
Dylan Hoffman, “Synthesis of Glucuronic Acid Conjugate of MIDD0301” Mentor: Alexander Arnold, Chemistry & Biochemistry The testing of phase I and phase II metabolite of new drug candidates is warranted by the FDA for approval of first in man studies……. Read More
Andrew Beszhak, “Synthesis of Hydroxyarginine and Precursor Guanidinylating Agent” Mentor: Alan Schwabacher, Chemistry & Biochemistry Keto-hydroxyarginine is a precursor to Endurcididine, an oxidized arginine found in potent antibiotics. A The Mpp family of enzymes transforms these arginines into enduricididines. Enduricididine…… Read More
Meredith Frank, “Targeting Chemosensory Array Formation for Safe Biofilm Dispersal of Pseudomonas aeruginosa” Mentor: Sonia Bardy, Biological Sciences Afflicting more than 700,000 people worldwide, Cystic Fibrosis (CF) is a disorder characterized by the buildup of mucus within the airways of…… Read More
Ryan Conrad, “The Effect of Rumination on PTSD in Veterans Exposed to War Zones” Mentors: Han Joo Lee & Abel S. Mathew, Psychology Research has shown a relationship between posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and depression (Orsillo et al., 1996). A…… Read More
Tien Kolodziej, “The Effects of Anxiety Disorders on Response Speed” Mentors: Han Joo Lee & Salahadin Lotfi, Psychology It has been shown that the brain slows down in many reaction time tasks when people commit an error compared to when…… Read More
Carly Rowe, Megan Kocher & Westly Roth, “The Exploration of Cosmic Rays and the Expertise of Scintillators” Using a scintillator in order to accurately determine the number of high energy particles per time related to the altitude of the atmosphere……. Read More
Lauren Clausing, “The History of Star Wars Fans and Racial Perceptions” Mentor: Gregory Carter, History Dr. Greg Carter’s next book brings together two phenomena prominent in the past four decades: the science fiction movie franchise, Star Wars, and the increased…… Read More
Tori Tran, “The Impact of Discursive Representations of Immigration in a Post Truth Era with a Focus on DACA” Mentor: Sandra Pucci, Linguistics The 2016 election of Donald Trump ushered in a level of anti-immigrant rhetoric not seen in recent…… Read More
Nathaniel Wagner, “The Impact of Interspecies Interaction on Adult Male Treehoppers Signaling Behavior” Mentor: Rafael Rodríguez Sevilla, Biological Sciences We focused on Enchenopa binotata, a species of treehopper that communicates through vibrational signals on a plant medium. While most species…… Read More
Arik Scapellato, “The Native Copper of Aztalan” Mentor: John Richards, Anthropology The archeological site of Aztalan has been an interest of archeologists since the mid-nineteenth century. The site was occupied by Late Woodland and Mississippian Indians from the tenth-century through…… Read More
Amira Rupnick, “The Problem of Domestic Abuse and Femicide in Brazil” Mentor: Natasha Borges Sugiyama, Political Science Domestic violence and homicide against women in Brazil is a longstanding problem which has risen to national attention in recent decades. Through my…… Read More
Ashna Pandya, “The Relationship Between Attention Control and Hyperarousal Symptoms in PTSD” Mentors: Han Joo Lee & Abel S. Mathew, Psychology Research has shown deficits in working memory in association to post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). However, few studies have evaluated…… Read More
Megan Biesmann, “The Relationship Between Severe Storms and Weather Regimes Over the US” Mentor: Paul Roebber, Mathematical Sciences Weather regimes are wind flow patterns that cover a large region, approximately the size of the continental United States, and they change…… Read More
Sana Shakir, “The Resolution of Visuospatial Attention is Variable Between Individuals” Mentor: Adam Greenberg, Psychology Attention is the process by which relevant sensory information is highlighted for further processing. Spatially selective attention in the visual domain has a limited resolution…… Read More
Sarah Bodhy, “The Role of Response Inhibition Deficits in Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder” Mentor: Han Joo Lee, Psychology Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is a psychiatric disorder characterized by recurrent obsessions or compulsions that cause marked distress and interfere with daily functioning. Therefore, the…… Read More
Carnita Lincoln, “The Role of the Nucleus Reuniens in Memory Consolidation and Visualization of its Projections” Mentor: Karyn Frick, Psychology Concurrent activity in both the dorsal hippocampus (DH) and medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) is necessary for the consolidation of spatial…… Read More
Nicole Wicker, “The Starvation Sensing Protein RspB Alters pel Expression in High C-di-GMP Condition in D. dadantii” Mentors: Ching-Hong Yang & Biswarup Banerjee, Biological Sciences Dickeya dadantii is a phytopathogenic bacterium with a wide host range. PelD, an endopectatelyase enzyme…… Read More
Dylan Childs, “Water-Rock Interactions in Sediments Below Modern Evaporites” Mentor: Lindsay McHenry, Geosciences The use of remote sensing spectrometers allows us to determine the composition and mineralogy of surface sediment from a distance without the need to physically collect samples……. Read More
Anna Mikulo, “What is “What? Where? When?”? A Russian Gameshow’s History, Participants, and Global Reach” Mentor: Christine Evans, History “Chto? Gde? Kogda?” is an intellectual TV game which originated in Soviet Union and it remains on Russian-language media today. The…… Read More
Hannah Adams, “What is the Stroop Interference Effect?” Mentor: David Osmon, Psychology The construct validity of the DKEFS-Stroop CW trial has not been examined using reaction time and Miyake executive function timed measures. The present study did so using simple,…… Read More
Nathaniel Tennies, “Where Will it Grow? Bull Kelp Distribution Modeling in the Salish Sea” Mentor: Filipe Alberto, Biological Sciences The bull kelp, Nereocystis luetkeana, is a foundational species for aquatic ecosystems in the Salish Sea on the border of Washington…… Read More
Max Rock, “Working Alongside Nature’s Chief Engineer” Mentor: Changshan Wu, Geography The Milwaukee Riverkeeper, the Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewage District (MMSD), and the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee (UWM) are investigating a watershed-scale restoration. The project focuses on the North American Beaver, Castor…… Read More
Sofia Mattson, Joseph Kornkven & Amberly Krause, “Working Memory Filtering Efficiency of Threatening Words” Mentor: Christine Larson, Psychology In the current study, we examined if working memory was also impacted by threatening words, specifically investigating working memory filtering efficiency of…… Read More