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Use of Graph Theory to Determine Effect of Taxonomic Diversity Loss on Trophic Function

Earth and Environmental Sciences (inferred)

Does loss of taxa affect trophic function? Taxonomic diversity and trophic function for aquatic insects were estimated across streams exhibiting a habitat degradation gradient. Data were obt…

Use of Phosphorus Solubilizing Bacteria with Application in Agriculture

Microbiology Third Award

Maize (Zea mays) is one of the most cultivated cereal in the world, but its growth has been accompanied by intense phosphorus fertilization, generating diverse enviromental problems; this is…

Use of Waste Carbon Dioxide as a Renewable Reagent to Catalytically Synthesize Commercially Useful Cyclic Carbonates

Earth and Environmental Sciences Third Award

Petroleum is heavily depended upon for energy production, the production of plastic, and the manufacturing of multiple important chemicals. Though petroleum is said to have broad areas of ap…

Using 3D Modeling to Save our Reefs: Accuracy of Reef Assessment Techniques Using Structure from Motion

Earth and Environmental Sciences

The rapidly declining health and changing distribution of coral reefs is impacting local ecologies and economies worldwide. Implementing effective conservation methods requires more accurate…

Using 3D Printing for the Fabrication of Gas Dynamic Virtual Nozzles

Engineering Mechanics

The Gas Dynamic Virtual Nozzle (GDVN) is a liquid droplet injector critical for the successful imaging of particles during Serial Femtosecond Crystallography (SFX). The nozzle uses helium ga…

Using 3D-Printing Technology to Improve the Cost-Efficiency of the EyeWriter

Applied Mechanics & Structures

Objectives/Goals The goal of this project was to increase the cost-efficiency of The EyeWriter by utilizing 3D-printing technology. Quick Background Info: The EyeWriter is an eye-tracking de…

Using Ab Initio Methods to Model the Structures of Disease-Causing ACVR1 Mutants

Mutations in the human ACVR1 receptor protein have been proven to cause the degenerative disease Fibrodysplasia Ossificans Progressiva (FOP). To date, in vivo methods of small-molecule drug…

Using a More Sustainable Data Collection Method to Determine the Effects of the Pacific Decadal Oscillation on Particula

Environmental Science

Objectives/Goals Our purpose this year is two-fold: investigating the role of the PDO (Pacific Decadal Oscillation) on atmospheric inversions and developing a lower cost, more sustainable me…

Using a Novel Methodology to Constrain the Supermassive Black Hole-Galaxy Coevolution and Analyze the Selection Bias

Physics and Astronomy Second Award

This project studied the effects of supermassive black holes (SMBHs) on their host galaxies in relation to their inherent properties. It also shed light on the Shankar et al. (2016) controve…

Using a Novel Methodology to Constrain the Supermassive Black Hole-Galaxy Coevolution and Analyze the Selection Bias

Physics & Astronomy

Objectives/Goals The primary objective of this project is to see if the convolution methodology truly reveals the supermassive black hole (SMBH)-galaxy coevolution. In doing so, we also dire…

Using Artificial Neural Networks to Predict Minimum Inhibitory Concentration of Candidate Antibiotics against E. coli and X. alfalfae

Computational Biology and Bioinformatics

Artificial neural networks, models of which were experimentally calibrated by the author, train homeostatic variable sets to examine the relationship between variations in incubation conditi…

Using a Virtual Environment to Indirectly Measure Racial Bias

Behavioral and Social Sciences

This project aims to develop a reliable method to indirectly measure racial bias through use of a virtual environment. Administered with a computer, the virtual environment guides participan…

Using Bayesian Networks and Entropy Coding for High Fidelity Video Compression

Systems Software

High Fidelity video increasingly plays an important role in medicine, science, education and many other domains. However, such video streams are extremely large and traditional, lossy compre…

Using Caffeine and Taurine to Improve Memory Retention in Dugesia Dorotcephala

Alzheimers disease, the most common form of dementia, affects a significant portion of the elderly population in the US and globally. Additionally, five percent of adults over 50 years of ag…

Using Commercial Oxygen MicroSensors to Measure Oxygen Consumption in Cell Cultures

Cellular and Molecular Biology

There is a need for a clinical alternative for the "gold standard" autograft. An autograft involves harvesting tissue from alternate locations in the body and substituting tissue in lacking…

Using Dropsonde Descending Speed to Determine Vertical Air Velocity in a Hurricane

Earth and Environmental Sciences Second Award

The objective of this project is to derive the vertical air currents in hurricanes using a physics-based model to describe the dropsonde fall speed in still air. By assuming that the dropson…

Using Dropsonde Descending Speed to Determine Vertical Air Velocity in a Hurricane

Applied Mechanics & Structures Fourth Award

Objectives/Goals The objective of this project is to derive the vertical air currents in hurricanes using a physics-based model to describe the dropsonde fall speed in still air. Methods/Mat…

Using Fluorescence as a Death Assay for Angiostrongylus cantonensis Nematode

Animal Sciences

Rat lungworm disease (angiostrongyliasis), caused by human infection of Angiostrongylus cantonensis, is a dilemma that plagues inhabitants of tropical climates globally. The lifecycle of rat…

Using Genome Sequencing to Develop a Probiotic within the Turkey Gastrointestinal Tract

Cellular and Molecular Biology

Genome sequencing, the future of bacterial medicine. My name is Josh Proehl and I used genome sequencing to find a natural probiotic to replace the use of low dose growth antibiotics in turk…

Using Inertial Navigation Systems (INS) and the Kalman Filter in order to Create a Reliable Navigation Aid for the Blind

Embedded Systems

The current navigation aid of choice for the blind is the white cane, which, although lightweight and easy to acquire, has a limited range and requires extensive training to use. While Elect…

Using Inverse Kinematics and Virtual Reality to Control a Robotic Arm

Robotics and Intelligent Machines

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, in 2014, 4,821 workers had fatal injuries while performing their jobs. While some companies have started using robots to replace workers in dange…

Using Linguistic Cues for the Automatic Recognition of Personality

Behavioral & Social Sciences Honorable_mention Award

Objectives/Goals The objectives of this experiment are to explore the effect of ethnicity and gender on personality, find the approximate personality ratio between traits in society, and tes…

Using Machine Learning to Predict Postprandial Blood Glucose in Type 1 Diabetics

Computational Biology and Bioinformatics Fourth Award

People with Type 1 Diabetes must compute an insulin dose for every meal. Dosing errors can cause both acute and chronic complications. The current dosing method (i.e., "carb counting") consi…

Using Machine Learning to Predict Postprandial Blood Glucose in Type 1 Diabetics

Computational Systems & Analysis

Objectives/Goals People with Type 1 Diabetes (T1D) must compute an insulin bolus dose for every meal to cover the carbohydrates and return the blood glucose (BG) level to euglycemia (normal…

Using Machine Learning to Predict the Flu

Computational Systems & Analysis

Objectives/Goals Use machine learning to prevent illness and prevent epidemics by predicting strains of H1N1 and H3N2 influenza viruses. Methods/Materials Accessed online databases to get la…

Using Microbial Metabolites to Develop an Alternative to Combat Klebsiella pneumoniae carbapenemase (KPC)

Microbiology

Bacterial resistance refers to the ability of bacteria to multiply even in the presence of antibiotics, making infections caused by these microorganisms difficult to combat. Albeit a natural…

Using Physics in Withdrawing and Purifying Air without Human Intervention

Environmental Engineering

Pollution is a very widespread problem in our world and one of its main sources are car emissions. Using physical principles and renewable energy, we created a new device that highly improve…

Using PQQ Mitochondrial Biogenesis as a Therapeutic Approach towards the Treatment for Neurodegenerative Disease (ALS)

Zoology

Objectives/Goals Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) is a neurodegenerative disease caused by the reactive oxygen species released by neurons mitochondria when they are damaged by a high Ca2…

Using Reinforcement Learning to Guide Game Rule Design

Robotics and Intelligent Machines

To make sure that a game is interesting, easy to play and balanced, game developers need to test it thoroughly and adjust its rules. This is challenging for individual developers due to the…

Using Response Surface Methods to Optimize a Repellant for the Invasive Sri Lankan Weevil, Myllocerus undecimpustulatus undatus Marshall (Coleoptera: Curculionidae: Entiminae)

Animal Sciences Third Award

The Sri Lankan weevil, or Myllocerus undecimpustulatus undatus Marshall, is a destructive and invasive pest with a host range of >150 different plant species. In the adult and larval stages,…