2011-2012 GURA Recipients
Kaitlin Bryson
Major: Fine Arts
Mentors: Brett Vanhoesen, Tamara Scronce
Project Title: Performative Space: A Community Garden
Rachel Clayson
Major: Wildlife Ecology and Conservation
Mentor: Matthew Forister
Project Title: Interactions between ants and specific mite parasites in the Tahoe Basin
Jillian DeFreitas
Major: Psychology
Mentor: Patrick Ghezzi
Project Title: Risk, Gambling and Probability Discounting
John Eickhoff
Major: Chemistry – Professional
Mentor: Christopher Jeffery
Project Title: Applications of an aza-[4+3] cycloaddition reaction to the synthesis of biologically
active molecules
Kirsha Frederickson
Majors: Biology / French
Mentor: Lee Dyer
Project Title: Caterpillar-Parasitoid Interaction Diversity Along an Altitudinal Gradient
Within the Sierra Nevada
MacCallister Higgins
Majors: Mechanical Engineering / Computer Science and Engineering
Mentors: Emil Geiger
Project Title: Maskless Photolithography Using an Epifluorescence Microscope for Microfluidic Applications
Victoria Hoch
Majors: Psychology / Sociology
Mentor: W. Larry Williams
Project Title: Use of Initial and Follow-up Error Correction Procedures in Discrete Trial Teaching
Jovanny Jayme
Major: Chemistry – Professional
Mentor: Mario A. Alpuche
Project Title: Electrochemical Fluorescence of Dye Sensitized Solar Cells (DSSCs)
Zachary Karmiol
Major: Materials Science and Engineering
Mentor: Hongfei Lin
Project Title: Catalytic Conversion of Algal Oil into Green Diesel
Kolozs Korda
Majors: Mechanical & Materials Science and Engineering
Mentor: Jeffery LaCombe, Eric Wang
Project Title: Dynamic Rope Safety Systems
Jillian Morris
Major: Biology
Mentor: Guy Hoelzer
Project Title: Epigenetic Modification in Novel Host Acceptance of the Seed Beetle Callosobruchus maculatus
Kimberly Runyon
Majors: Ecohydrology and Environmental Science
Mentor: James Carr
Project Title: Mitigation of Anthropogenic Contamination of Hydrologic Systems Collaborating Students: Andrew Tucker, Armand Rodrigues
William Savran
Major: Geophysics
Mentor: John Louie
Project Title: Implementing GPU computing for intensive seismic processing and modeling
Andrew Smith
Major: Mechanical Engineering
Mentor: Eric Wang
Project Title: Dropsonde Atmospheric Profiling System
Kristina Wiggins
Major: Anthropology
Mentor: Geoffrey Smith
Project Title: XRF Sourcing of Obsidian Artifacts from Paiute Creek Shelter, Northwest Nevada
Project Descriptions
The historian RoseLee Goldberg has noted, “performance art has always been a way of appealing directly to a large public.” My work is committed to the public aspect of performance art. I want to explore the relationship, connections, and potential transformative dynamic between humans and nature – specifically through the arena of community gardening. I plan to conduct research on the history of performance art with particular emphasis on community gardening practices in New York City. This research will directly inform the final thesis for my Bachelor of Fine Arts degree, which will culminate in a garden project in Reno.
As ecosystem engineers, ants impact their habitats by aerating soil, increasing water infiltration and creating unique environments for other organisms to thrive. A long-term dataset documenting management effects on plants, small mammals, birds and ants exists for the Tahoe Basin in the Sierra Nevada of California. I am interested in the interaction between ants and mite parasites of ants, which are potentially common but have not been quantified in this system.
Risk taking may be defined as the tendency to minimize the value of a smaller, highly probable reward for the opportunity to receive a relatively larger, less probable reward; this is known as probability discounting. Participants will complete a probability discounting questionnaire to assess risk taking. Next, participants will play a simulated game of dice with varying probabilities of winning, and then complete the questionnaire again. The aim is to determine how responses on the questionnaire change in relation to wins and losses in the dice game, and to shed light on the conditions under which people make risky decisions.
Summarized below is my proposal to explore the application of a newly discovered reaction for the chemical synthesis of bannisternoside A, a potential therapeutic pharmaceutical for the treatment for Parkinson’s disease. This work will be conducted under the supervision of Dr. Christopher Jeffrey in the Spring, Summer, and Fall 2011. Our results will be disseminated via a poster presentation at the National Organic Symposium in June of 2011 and have already been submitted for a peer-reviewed publication.
It is a major goal of ecological studies to quantify diversity of trophic interactions and to understand how these interactions are related to major global issues of climate change, biodiversity loss, and ecosystem services. As a follow-up to a similar study conducted by the PI (K. Fredrickson) and other students, we will continue to test the hypothesis that altitudinal gradients in interaction diversity are consistent across large latitudinal gradients. Standardized methods of plot sampling will be used to estimate the caterpillar-parasitoid abundances and diversity in the Sierra Nevada, along altitudinal gradients. A total of 100 plots were deployed in summer 2010, and another 100 plots will be deployed this summer. The plant genus, Alnus, is the focal plant in the study; all caterpillars reared will be collected off of this plant.
The field of microfluidics has been applied to many diverse fields such as bacteria culturing and particle generating, yet an inexpensive on demand system for the prototyping of these devices does not exist. Using an epi-fluorescent microscope as a light source and a computer controlled motorized stage, we plan to create a rapid prototyping system that utilizes negative photoresist film and PDMS (polydimethylsiloxane, a type of silicone) for the production of custom microfluidic devices that can be reproduced in any standard lab.
Within interventions for skill acquisition there are two goals; producing increases in correct responding and decreasing incorrect responses. Typical methods include error correction procedures (ECP) that result in multiple repetitions of the incorrect response before assistance is provided. While research has focused on positive reinforcement as a tool for increasing correct responses; much less research has been conducted on responding to errors. It is essential to continue efforts in determining how to respond errors as a facilitator skill acquisition. In this study two ECP’s will be evaluated: an initial (IEC) and a Follow-up error correction (FEC) for their efficacy.
Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells (DSSC's) are used as an alternative to silicon solar cells. DSSC's are relatively recent and electroanalytical methods are a powerful tool to investigate and ultimately improve these solar cells. This proposal involves the use of fluorescence microscopy combined with electroanalytical techniques to investigate the size dependence of aggregates of the nanoparticles sensitized with DSSC's. Electron microscopy methods will be used to calibrate florescence microscopy for rapid analysis of aggregates to enable their electroanalytical study. Our aim is to improve the understanding of DSSC's by developing methods for analyzing particle/semiconductor interphases.
This project is to design heterogeneous catalysts which will convert algal oil, lipids extracted from algae, to green diesel, a drop-in replacement of its petroleum counterpart. The proposed hydrothermal process uses sub-critical water as a co-solvent in the presence of a heterogeneous catalyst. This process is more environmentally friendly than the current method of converting lipids to biodiesel through transesterification. The catalysts will be multifunctional, making use of hydrocracking and decarboxylation to refine the algal oil.
Ropes are used for safety in many dangerous professions and recreational activities. How much we actually know about the properties of these ropes is surprisingly vague. A previous GURA project completed by Gabe Herz focused on finding a way to measure the stiffness of a safety rope during actual use in the field. Out of that project came a device that is capable of collecting data on rope stretch during field use (the ability to measure the stretch during actual use, as opposed to laboratory conditions was deemed critical). I propose to use Gabe’s device to collect data, characterize the behavior of a safety rope, and determine what effects the environment, and other safety equipment have on the rope, such as repeated loading, dirt, and frictional wear.
This study will examine the presence and potential role of epigenetic variation for rapid adaptation in the seed beetle Callosobruchus maculatus. In a previous study, Messina et al. (2009) demonstrated rapid adaptation of this species to a novel host that may partially be driven by epigenetic mechanisms. We hypothesize epigenetic variation will increase host acceptance and offspring performance. We predict beetles exposed to the novel host early in life will demonstrate increased acceptance and increased offspring survival and performance relative to the naïve females. Epigenetic changes will be measured over multiple generations.
Non-natural pollutants from anthropogenic sources are a problem for hydrologic systems. Runoff water from roads contains dissolved solids, which may be simple salts, excess nutrients, or hydrocarbons. Efforts to reduce human impacts in the Lake Tahoe Basin are ongoing; however, pollutants continue to enter the hydrologic system and directly cause environmental degradation. A goal of our research group is to mitigate the impacts from road runoff on water quality of the Lake Tahoe Basin in a cost effective manner. Research will be conducted using sediment columns and pre-determined mixtures of water and known contaminants. We will collect samples of the water-contaminant solution once it has passed through a sediment column environment, and analyze the samples to ascertain what affect the sediment filter has on the solution.
Complex mathematical models require a great amount of computing power in order to complete in a timely fashion. Recent advances in the computing industry allow these computations to be carried out on a graphic processing unit (GPU), which fit in an everyday desktop computer. Implementing intensive geoscience calculations on the GPU will allow for more complex models and will decrease the time of calculations.
A Dropsonde is a reliable method for establishing wind speed in air columns by dropping sensors from aircraft (planes, balloons, etc.). Using a GPS, microcontroller, and radio, a dropsonde can make in-flight measurements and send real-time data to the ground or other aircraft. This project focuses on the development of a dropsonde specifically for use with an autonomous parachute descent system being developed by a doctoral student in Mechanical Engineering (funded by Nevada Space Grant). In addition, the proposed research will provide me with a hands on approach to engineering solutions.
The sourcing of lithic artifacts using X-Ray Fluorescence (XRF) Spectrometry is a common practice in archaeological research in the Great Basin. Through XRF analysis the specific geologic sources of volcanic stone used to make tools can be identified. By discovering the distances this toolstone was transported, researchers can make inferences about the mobility patterns and exchange networks of prehistoric hunter-gatherers (Eerkens et al. 2008). Analysis of a variety of artifact types including formal tools (e.g., projectile points) as well as the small and large flakes generated during their manufacture and refinement processes can shed additional light on these patterns and help to generate a more complete picture of obsidian procurement (Eerkens et al. 2007, 2008; Smith 2009). This proposal seeks support for the XRF analysis of lithic artifacts from Paiute Creek Shelter in northwest Nevada.