2014 STAR SCHOLARS SUMMER SHOWCASE Wednesday, August 27, 2014 Edmund D. Bossone Research Center 10:00am – 5:00pm
Suzanne Rocheleau, Ph.D.
Associate Dean, Pennoni Honors College Director, Office of Undergraduate Research
Jaya Mohan, M.A. Associate Director, Office of Undergraduate Research
Sharmin Islam Undergraduate Research Office Program Assistant (Co-Op)
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Table of Contents Schedule of Events p. 6 A Message from the Director & Dean p. 7 2013 Outstanding Mentor of the Year: Dr. Glen Muschio p. 8 STAR Scholar Abstracts (by Faculty Mentor’s department) Antoinette Westphal College of Media Arts & Design Architecture & Interiors Digital Media Fashion Design Graphic Design Performing Arts Product Design
p. 11 p. 11 p. 12 p. 14 p. 17 p. 20 p. 21
College of Arts & Sciences
p. 22
Biodiversity, Earth, & Environmental Science Biology Chemistry Culture & Communication History & Politics Mathematics Modern Languages Physics Psychology
p. 22 p. 29 p. 37 p. 40 p. 43 p. 44 p. 45 p. 46 p. 53
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Table of Contents
STAR Scholar Abstracts (cont.) (by Faculty Mentor’s department)
College of Computing & Informatics
p. 56
College of Engineering
p. 65
Chemical & Biological Engineering Civil, Architectural, & Environmental Engineering Electrical & Computer Engineering Materials Science & Engineering Mechanical Engineering & Mechanics
Drexel University College of Medicine
p. 65 p. 68 p. 74 p. 97 p. 111
p. 116
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology Dermatology Microbiology & Immunology Pharmacology & Physiology Drexel University School of Law
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p. 116 p. 118 p. 121 p. 122 p. 128
Table of Contents
STAR Scholar Abstracts (cont.) (by Faculty Mentor’s department)
English Language Center
p. 129
LeBow College of Business
p. 130
Finance General Business Management
p. 130 p. 134 p. 135
Leibniz Institute for New Materials
p. 136
School of Biomedical Engineering, Science, & Health Systems
p. 143
Biomedical Engineering Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia Drexel Implant Research Center
p. 143 p. 159 p. 160
School of Education
p. 161
University of Oulu
p. 163
Indexes: By Student College, by Poster Session & Student College, by Student Major p. 167
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Schedule of Events 10:00am – 12:00pm Poster Session A Bossone Research Center First Floor Lobby 12:00pm – 1:30pm Luncheon for STAR Scholars & Mentors Bossone Research Center Third Floor Atrium 1:30pm – 3:30pm Poster Session B Bossone Research Center First Floor Lobby 4:00pm – 5:00pm Recognition Ceremony Bossone Research Center Mitchell Auditorium
The STAR Scholars Program is administered by the Office of Undergraduate Research, a unit of the Pennoni Honors College.
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A Mes sage fro m the Directo r & Dean Welcome to the 2014 STAR Scholars Summer Showcase. Over the past twelve years of the STAR Scholars Program, we have witnessed the impact that Drexel’s focus on undergraduate research has had, not only on our students and their faculty mentors, but on our broader Drexel community, the City of Philadelphia, and our wider world. Since the Program’s inception, more than 1,000 Drexel students have participated in the STAR Scholars Program, and the research, scholarly, and creative partnerships of our STARS and their faculty mentors continue to produce exceptional results. STAR Scholars are retained at a high level within the University, go on to graduate school in higher numbers than their peers, secure premier co-ops and prestigious fellowships, and graduate to outstanding careers. We are confident that our 2013-14 class of STAR Scholars will shine as brightly. This year, 141 STAR Scholars and 14 iSTAR Scholars, including our first two international students from Saarland University in Germany, have completed faculty-mentored projects, working in 11 colleges and schools. Under the direction of their outstanding mentors, our rising sophomore researchers have, for example, been applying 3D printing to personalized pediatric medical devices, developing water soluble thread for knitting spider silk, exploring telecommunications through visible light, and applying the STEAM movement to the development of toys for girls. For the first time, four students travelled to Oulu, Finland to pursue projects in wireless communication and environmental science. Each summer, as we meet with our STAR Scholars, we see them grow in competence, confidence, and maturity as they begin to reimagine their lives as a result of this extraordinary experience. It is our hope that, as you see the result of their work, you are inspired, as well. Dr. Suzanne Rocheleau, Director
Dave Jones, Dean
Office of Undergraduate Research
Pennoni Honors College
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Outstanding STAR Mentor of the Year The critical piece of the STAR Scholars Program that makes it such a valuable experience for the students is, without a doubt, their Mentors. The STAR Mentors give so much to their students’ summer experiences and do so with no compensation. In Summer 2011, the Office of Undergraduate Research created a process to recognize the STAR Mentors and to particularly celebrate the Outstanding Mentor of the Year. STAR Scholars are given the opportunity to nominate their faculty mentors or graduate student mentors for the “Outstanding Mentor of the Year” award, which provides the winner with a $1,000 award to further his or her research with undergraduate students. Each nominated Mentor receives a letter signed by Provost Greenberg that outlines the common characteristics held by all nominated Mentors, and each letter includes excerpts from the students’ nomination letters to provide an individualized account of just how these Mentors have contributed to those specific students’ experiences. Based on these nominations, outstanding Mentors: •
Are passionate experts in their field who freely share their expertise with students
•
Care deeply about their students and treat them with respect
•
Generously foster students’ intellectual and professional development
•
Actively engage students in learning and celebrate their success
•
Go above and beyond in supporting their students
All of our Mentors go beyond the call in their work with STAR Scholars, and we are genuinely grateful for the time and effort they commit to furthering the education of undergraduate students.
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2013 Outstanding STAR Mentor of the Year
Dr. Glen Muschio Dr. Glen Muschio is an Associate Professor in the Antoinette Westphal College of Media Arts & Design who has inspired students to take the next step in their education through interdisciplinary studies and research. Dr. Muschio served as the only non-engineering STAR Mentor in the Program’s first cohort in Summer 2003; since then, he has mentored a total of 17 STAR Scholars during each summer but one. Under Dr. Muschio’s tutelage, students have created virtual representations of historical sites and artifacts throughout Philadelphia and beyond; they have also had the opportunity to present their research at various conferences and professional meetings, including a professional conference in Vienna, Austria. One of his first STAR Scholars, Jim Malazita, is currently a Ph.D. candidate in the Department of Culture & Communication and served as a STAR Mentor himself in Summer 2013. Dr. Muschio, Mr. Malazita, and Mr. Mark Petrovich (another Digital Media graduate student and STAR alumnus) collaborated with the Office of Undergraduate Research staff to publish an article in CUR Quarterly on the STAR Scholars Program and Digital Cultural Heritage. Dr. Muschio also shows his support for undergraduate research through his service on the Office of Undergraduate Research Advisory Committee.
“It was [Dr. Muschio’s] sheer joy in the work that we were doing that inspired me to care so much about my STAR project. Anyone can spend a summer doing research, but with Glen Muschio, it became more than just research – it became an adventure.” - Zachary Stockmal (Interactive Digital Media, ’16) We thank Dr. Muschio for his service and his ceaseless support of undergraduate research! 9
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Antoinette Westphal College of Media Arts & Design Archiving the Process of Making Architecture An archive is commonly defined as a collection of historic items providing information about a place or group of people. Depending on its contents, purpose and audience, archives can vary dramatically in scale, permanence, physicality and organizational strategy. My STAR Scholar research was tasked with developing an archiving system that documents the final work of Foundation Design Studios, ARCH 101/ARCH 102/ARCH 103, and begins to reveal the process of making (and thinking) architecture from the unique perspective of each individual design student. Visiting local urban archives (i.e. museums, collections, and libraries), conducting interviews with archivists and curators, studying on-line digital archives and investigating classic methods of
Karlene Raines AWCOMAD Architecture
Mr. Jason Austin Faculty Mentor Architecture & Interior Design
Ms. Jaclynn Niemiec Faculty Mentor Architecture & Interior Design
organizing information developed the foundation of the initial research platform. Utilizing this initial research, my energies focused more specifically on testing and experimenting with techniques for file organization, photographic documentation, and graphic communication of student work that will develop a template for a physical archive, an architecture pamphlet. The pamphlet will serve as a living document that archives the design thoughts, conversations, questions, and physical evidence of the 2013-2014 freshman architecture class.
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Poster Session B
Antoinette Westphal College of Media Arts & Design Exploring Game Development with Starbright Starbright is a game set in the distant future where advanced civilizations have begun to heavily mine the
Sally Im
galaxy’s resources causing the galaxy to lose it’s light and
AWCOMAD Animation & Visual Effects
broken star fragments cast off by the civilizations and
energy. The player will play as a star that will slowly gather return it to the galaxy. Crashing into larger stars will weaken the player and diminish your velocity, while stars
Dr. Frank J. Lee
smaller than you will speed up your momentum and
Faculty Mentor Digital Media & Computer Science
run into even more obstacles, such as the civilization’s
increase your mass. Throughout the game the player will mining robots that will also be gathering the star fragments that the player is trying to collect. The final design of the game will combine both simplistic geometric shapes and a touch of Mesoamerican architecture. Mayan temple’s unique and ageless designs aided in creating an otherworldly civilization that suited the game. The choice in aesthetic helped create a visually, pleasing experience that will not detract from the overall gameplay. Over the summer, I worked in collaboration with Computer Science students to develop concept art that we agreed would work well with the story of the game. I also attended and participated in weekly sessions that allowed me to learn about the 3-D game engine Unity and exposed me to the game development pipeline.
Poster Session B
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Antoinette Westphal College of Media Arts & Design Digital Reconstruction of the James Oronoco Dexter House The James Oronoco Dexter house is an 18th century dwelling occupied by a freed slave which contained the meetings that led to the formation of the African American Episcopal Church. The house was demolished in the early 19th century, the remains of its foundation were discovered in an archaeological excavation conducted as
Matthew Mlodzienski AWCOMAD Animation & Visual Effects
part of the construction of the National Constitution Center in Independence National Park. Due to the historical significance of the house, work has been done to digitally recreate the house in 3D. Previous STAR scholars modelled the exterior and first floor of the house. During STAR 2013-2014, work was done on the second floor and
Dr. Glen Muschio Faculty Mentor Digital Media
garret (attic). Text from a period insurance record of the house was used to determine several details, such as the open garret and second floor that is divided into two rooms. The recreation involved research into typical building styles of the period, as well as consultation with the archaeologists who excavated the site. There are few records that describe the house, and thus it is impossible to know the exact layout and appearance of the house. By working digitally, it is possible to quickly modify and expand ideas, allowing for faster exploration of the possible configurations of the house. Digital work also allows multiple representations of the house to be shown, allowing viewers to interpret the imprecise nature of the reconstruction. The final version of the house will be made into an interactive game for education about race, religion, slavery, and other topics related to the house’s history.
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Poster Session B
Antoinette Westphal College of Media Arts & Design Super Capacitor Geometries and Applications In the past few decades, researchers have been working to develop “smart textiles”, or “garment devices”. Such textiles and garments possess electronic properties and have a wide range of potential applications, from a jacket that charges your phone to an lightweight army uniform. In the Shima Seiki Haute Technology Lab, researchers have found that knit super capacitors can provide a stable,
Kristina Kuiken AWCOMAD Fashion Design
efficient method of integrated textile energy storage. This research project aims to identify the best super capacitor geometries for specific applications that require custom energy densities, resistance and/ or safety. 2D and 3D knit fabric geometries were designed and fabricated with
Genevieve Dion Faculty Mentor Fashion Design
Kristy Jost Graduate Student Mentor
Poster Session A
stainless steel yarn. The resistance was first estimated and modeled for the 2D and 3D structures prior to knitting. Then, based on the stitches and materials used, the resistance was measured for each knit device. Research into the market and field was conducted to determine potential applications for each type of textile super capacitor. This work provides a broader perspective for both technical and non-technical audiences, and serves to find new applications for textile energy storage devices.
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Antoinette Westphal College of Media Arts & Design Water Soluble Thread for Knitting Spider Silk Spider silk has been admired throughout history for its outstanding mechanical properties such as its high strength and elasticity. Unfortunately, traditional
Anna Sajeski
methods of harvesting spider silk have proved difficult
AWCOMAD Fashion Design
and have prevented commercial production of the material. Due to recent innovations in transgenic production of spider silk, researchers now have the ability to explore its potential in a number of applications. In collaboration with the BioSynthetics Lab at Utah State University, the Shima Seiki Haute Technology Lab has been investigating synthetic spider silk’s potential for smart textile research and development. When attempting to knit spider silk on the Shima Seiki industrial knitting machines there were issues with the spider silk wearing under the stress of the machines. To mitigate this problem, the spider silk was twisted with water soluble thread, a filament that
Genevieve Dion Faculty Mentor Fashion Design
Kristy Jost Graduate Student Mentor
Chelsea Knittel Undergraduate Student Mentor
dissolves when exposed to water of a certain temperature, to reinforce and bulk up the spider silk during the knitting process. Although water soluble thread has already been used for similar purposes, an examination of the effectiveness of using this technique was conducted.
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Poster Session A
Antoinette Westphal College of Media Arts & Design Translating Antenna Design to Knit Wearable technology is a growing field with many potential applications. However, to date most commercially available products simply use existing technology stitched or otherwise attached to garments. Using 3D knitting technology, the Shima Seiki Haute Technology Lab is integrating these technologies directly into fabric to produce wearable devices. One of the challenges with knitting devices is controlling stitch
Lela Thompson
length in order to create consistent and precise results
AWCOMAD Fashion Design
types of yarn will also change the shape of a knitted
necessary for knitting a piece of technology. Different fabric. These variations became important while working on knitting antennas for the Fabric Bellyband.
Genevieve Dion Faculty Mentor Fashion Design
Kristy Jost Graduate Student Mentor
The knit antenna changes frequency as it stretches and changes size, which allows the Bellyband to measure contractions of pregnant women. In order to knit a properly sized antenna the lab is developing a system to predict the dimensions of knitted samples made from various yarns. To do so, measurements were taken from actual samples and inputted into the Shima Seiki knit simulation program. This system will help engineers and fashion designers communicate and accurately translate an antenna design into a knit design based on the materials and knit structure.
Poster Session A
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Antoinette Westphal College of Media Arts & Design Designing for the International Network of Women Engineers and Scientists The Society of Women Engineers (SWE) sponsored the First International Conference of Women Engineers and Scientists (ICWES) in 1964 to discuss the future of females in STEM studies. Their platform is as relevant today as it was in 1964. The ICWES conference has been held every three years since then. In 1999, at the UNESCO World Science Fair, it was
Kaumudi Bishnoi AWCOMAD Graphic Design
decided there was a need for an international network of women engineers and scientists to provide support and opportunities for women in the STEM fields. This led to the creation of INWES, the International Network of Women in Engineering and Science. In October, SWE and INWES will be coming together for WE14 + ICWES16. My role in this internship was to create a visual system, for INWES during this conference. The board members of INWES wanted brochures, banners, and posters. The first part of my job was spent gathering information about INWES and familiarizing
Mr. Mark Willie Faculty Mentor Graphic Design
Dr. Jennifer Atchison Faculty Mentor Leibniz INM
myself with the software I would be working with, Adobe InDesign. The latter portion was spent working on creating a cohesive visual system that accurately represented what INWES stood for and the work it had done. I decided to create a display of hanging banners with INWES’ timeline on them, so viewers could walk through the history of INWES as they walked through the hallway. In addition, I created banners and wall hangings with important quotes from INWES’ founding members that conveyed the group’s identity and invited new members to join the group.
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Poster Session B
Antoinette Westphal College of Media Arts & Design 1930’s Vogue and Harper’s Bazaar Research During the STAR Program, I researched the Gift of Carole Stein Hochman Class of ‘66, a collection of Vogue and Harpers Bazaar that belongs to the Department of Design at Drexel University. My task was to use the collection as the primary
Emily Charniga AWCOMAD Graphic Design
source of research and record significant changes in graphic design history. The end goal was to have concise descriptions of events and people that revolutionized the future of the magazines and graphic design in the 1930’s, specifically during the Art Deco movement. Thoroughly researching the collection was the first step in
Mr. Mark Willie Faculty Mentor Graphic Design
creating a basic timeline entry. The purpose of our research was to form several example entries for a much larger design timeline project the Department of Design is creating in conjunction with this collection. To start this process, I documented the interesting examples of unique layout designs, graphic motifs, photographers, and stylistic changes. I chose four figures and events that I felt best represented our findings in the collection for the 1930’s. These included photographer Edward Steichen, the First Color Photo Cover of Vogue in July 1932, art director Mehemed F. Agha, and illustrator Georges Lepape. Once I decided my four topics, I began my secondary research from several library resources. With this information, I revisited my primary magazine research to narrow down the important points that pertained to my chosen secondary research projects. Through this research, I gained an improved understanding of graphic design from a historical and commercial perspective. I also learned the historical context around which design innovations of the 1930’s were created.
Poster Session B
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Antoinette Westphal College of Media Arts & Design 1930’s Design Timeline This summer, my co-worker and I created a graphic design timeline of the 1930’s using Harper’s Bazaar and Vogue magazine as our primary research. I focused on four topics and created a timeline of events for each, and wrote a description of why each one is important to both magazines and to the history of graphic design. For my primary research, I looked through Harper’s Bazaar and Vogue magazines from the 1930s to identify topics and themes. Then I turned to secondary resources at Hagerty Library to focus my research and learn more about my topics. I chose to focus on Harper’s Bazaar art director Alexey Brodovitch, poster designer and
Sarah Lyons AWCOMAD Graphic Design
artist A.M. Cassandre, Vogue fashion photographer Horst P. Horst, and American advertising in the ‘30s. By reading about the time period and context in my secondary sources and using the magazines as primary evidence, I was able to create timelines for each of my focus areas and write about how they
Mr. Mark Willie Faculty Mentor Graphic Design
are each important. The 1930’s were groundbreaking years that turned America as a whole toward modernism and saw many innovations in the graphic design field. Researching key figures and events as seen in Harper’s Bazaar and Vogue led to a greater understanding of design at the time and shed light on the changes of the decade. I learned much from writing my small portion of the Department of Design’s continuing design timeline project. My focus on four subjects in the 1930’s laid the groundwork for what will become a much larger and more complex design timeline, spanning many decades and topics. This design timeline will help future student designers learn American history through the lens of the profession.
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Poster Session B
Antoinette Westphal College of Media Arts & Design Outreach to Ignite Conversation through “Dog Sees God” For scholarship theatre students, the fall quarter class centers around the season selection for the following year. Among many titles this past fall, one never removed from the table was the poignant play “Dog Sees God”, which is a spin off of the lives of the Peanuts characters as teenagers. This play was a possibility in
Georgie Manera LEBOW Business Administration
this process of season selection for several years before we recognized its significance. The class realized that this particular piece resonates so strongly because it boldly confronts the situations that college students encounter each day and struggle to handle. This play provides us with a unique opportunity to utilize the
Mr. Bill Fennelly
material as a facilitator to begin these crucial
Faculty Mentor Performing Arts
related groups in the area. It involves the research of
conversations with student organizations and other these organizations as well as the outreach to each group to find those most related to and affected by the topics presented in the play. The goal is to launch a variety of talkback sessions after performances as well as to incorporate other interactive approaches to learn about these topics and discuss them in a way that is meaningful to the students on campus. The issues that comprise this play include bullying, suicide, drug use, rebellion, eating disorders and sexual identity and we are working to establish partnerships with local groups to find constructive ways to approach this material.
Poster Session A
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Antoinette Westphal College of Media Arts & Design Applying the STEAM Movement to Girls’ Toys The STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts & Design, Math) movement encourages children to experience the above listed categories through educational playtime activities at school and home. It has been observed that females tend to be excluded in STEAM activities and engineering-forward toys. Our objective is to observe how children, specifically girls, aged 5-12, use their free time; including the playtime activities they engage in, wish to engage in, and enjoy engaging in. By utilizing Design Research, which plays a primary role in the design process, we were able to isolate areas of play that we
Veronica Monteiro AWCOMAD Product Design
wanted to explore more thoroughly. The Design Research portion of our studies included background research on early childhood development, the corresponding gender differences that occur during the early stages of development, as well as learning about and creating our own methods to conduct observational and interactive research.
Mr. Michael Glaser Faculty Mentor Product Design
Under Professor Michael Glaser, Program Director of Product Design, gender differences in childhood play have been observed through a series of activities, interviews and play time assessments. Children with differentiating familial attributes have been selected to cover a wide range of normal interactions at playtime. Findings were analyzed to gain understanding of the child’s playtime needs and desires. The overarching goal of this research is to ultimately uncover how to incorporate the STEAM movement into girls’ toys. Our findings have both confirmed and refuted several areas of our preliminary Design Research, including the social norms and stereotypes that females can be assigned throughout their childhood in regards to play preferences.
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Poster Session A
College of Arts & Scien ces Hatchling and Juvenile Diamondback Terrapin (Malaclemys terrapin) Prey Availability in Two Marshes in the Barnegat Bay Ecosystem The diamondback terrapin (Malaclemys terrapin) is endemic to estuarine environments in North America. Hatchling and juvenile terrapins typically utilize the high salt marsh for cover and foraging. We conducted a prey availability study at Sedge Island and High Bar Harbor (HBH) to compare differences in physiognomy and food resources between the two salt marsh 2
Emily Ostrow COAS Environmental Science
locations. We used a 0.25 m quadrat to sample 30 sites at each salt marsh where we recorded the time, date, location (GPS coordinates), marsh type (low/mixed/high), edaphic conditions (flooded/saturated/moist), and tidal cycle. Within each quadrat, we identified plant species, estimated vegetation cover, inventoried invertebrates, and noted the presence or absence of
Dr. Walter Bien Faculty Mentor Biodiversity, Earth, & Environmental Science (BEES)
crab burrows. As Melampus bidentatus is a primary food source for young terrapins, we measured the length and width (mm) of all M. bidentatus found in each quadrat and calculated density. We collected 10 adult M. bidentatus from the high and low marsh at each location and measured their mass (g). There was a positive relationship between M. bidentatus length/mass and 2
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marsh type for both locations (Sedge, r = 0.92; HBH, r = 0.88) with a higher density of smaller-sized snails occurring in the high marsh. The mean length of snails was 9.61 mm (Âą 1.21) for the low marsh and 7.73 mm (Âą 0.99) for the high marsh. These data suggest that the foraging pressure of young terrapins may influence the distribution of M. bidentatus in the marsh. However, more research is needed to determine how differences in marsh type influence juvenile terrapin foraging behavior.
Poster Session A
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College of Arts & Scien ces Comparison of Two Marshes with Different Disturbance Histories in the Barnegat Bay Ecosystem Little is known about the impact of development on the early life stages of life of diamondback terrapins (Malaclemys terrapin). By assessing two salt marshes with different levels of anthropogenic disturbance, we can gain insight into potential impacts on young terrapins. For my research project, I compared two salt marshes in proximity to known terrapin nesting sites where hatchlings were released in 2013: Sedge Island and High Bar Harbour (HBH). Sedge is a small (approx. 6.1 hectares), sparsely
Megan Elizabeth Smith COAS Environmental Science
developed island in Barnegat Bay. HBH is larger (appro. 14.1 hectares), more developed and surrounded by a residential area. At each salt marsh, we randomly selected 30 sample sites, where we noted the date, time and GPS location, and collected data on tidal phase, vegetation type and cover, and soil condition (dry/moist/saturated/flooded). Within each quadrat, we identified plant species, estimated vegetation cover,
Dr. Walter Bien Faculty Mentor Biodiversity, Earth, & Environmental Science (BEES)
inventoried invertebrates, and noted the presence or absence of crab burrows. After calculating the Simpson’s Diversity Index (D) for each quadrat, we found there was not a significant different between Sedge and HBH. The mean diversity index at HBH was 0.64, and the mean diversity index at Sedge was 0.56. Prey items such as the coffee bean snail were found in greater density on HBH. However, HBH had less high marsh availability and a greater density of phragmites in quadrats located along marsh edges. Although further study is needed, juvenile terrapins appear to be able to find suitable habitat even in anthropogenically disturbed areas.
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Poster Session A
College of Arts & Scien ces Niche Modeling for Management of Invasive Crayfish Worldwide, invasive species are a primary threat to biodiversity and local economies. Nearly half of all endangered and threatened species are in competition with invasive species. In particular, Orconectes virilis has been introduced throughout the country via bait bucket introductions. By displacing indigenous crayfish fauna, O. virilis reduces fish population densities, quality of aquatic habitats, and increases risks of local extirpation of other native fauna.
Vincent O’Leary COAS Environmental Science
Approaches to management are either reactive in nature or cost prohibitive. The most effective method of control remains education to prevent further territory expansion from occurring. To be effective, these efforts to restrict population movement must be coordinated across state boundaries and strictly enforced. In order to better
Dr. Daniel Duran Faculty Mentor Biodiversity, Earth, & Environmental Science (BEES)
coordinate these programs and target limited resources effectively, our research focuses on using ecological niche models to identify vulnerable locations to introduction of O. virilis. Using the free program MAXENT and publicly available data, the ecological niche of O. virilis was found. We plan to refine this model to accurately reflect hydrologic features that would naturally restrict movement. This has not been included in past models for other species. Aquatic species are difficult to track in situ, while management programs have limited budgets and personnel. By incorporating public data into this new model, an accurate and testable prediction of O. virilis potential territory expansion is created. Local management programs can then use this model to target the most vulnerable areas.
Poster Session B
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College of Arts & Scien ces Sediment Transport Along Barrier Islands In The Delaware Bay Estuarine barrier islands in the Delaware Bay provide critical habitat for a plethora of organisms, including nesting piping plovers and breeding horseshoe crabs. They also act as natural buffers for fragile salt-marsh ecosystems, diminishing physical energy from waves and
Nicholas Barber COAS Geoscience
currents. However, little is known about their specific response to local sea level rise, which threatens to overtake these islands. Sea level rise will reduce available habitat and expose delicate salt marshes to heavy wave action. Our aim is to better understand the geological processes driving erosion and migration along these unique landforms. Our study site consists of several
Dr. Kenneth Lacovara Faculty Mentor Biodiversity, Earth, & Environmental Science (BEES)
barrier islands in the Delaware Bay off the coast of southern New Jersey. We took surface sediment samples at regular intervals along the islands in order to analyze cross-shore and longshore sediment transport. These sediment samples were analyzed using a Cam-Sizer速
Ms. Anna Jaworski Graduate Student Mentor
particle analysis tool to generate cumulative distribution curves of grain sizes. The curves were analyzed according to standard granulometric parameters to understand sediment transport. This information will be integrated with further geological and historical analyses of the Delaware Bay to form a geomorphic response model. The model will provide a planning tool for future generations of researchers and coastal engineers.
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Poster Session B
College of Arts & Scien ces Pollination and pollen transfer efficiency of two Secamone species: South African milkweeds with ancestral floral traits (Secamonoideae, Apocynaceae) Pollen transfer is essential to the reproduction of flowering
Adrienne Remo COAS Environmental Science
plants. Pollen transfer efficiency (PTE), the percentage of removed pollen grains deposited on conspecific stigmas, varies from <1% to >80%. Natural selection is hypothesized to act on plant traits that affect PTE. Pollen aggregation, the massing of pollen grains into larger dispersal units, may increase PTE according to previous literature. Species of Apocynaceae
Dr. Tatyana Livshultz Faculty Mentor Biodiversity, Earth, & Environmental Science (BEES)
(milkweed family) have diverse forms of pollen aggregation (monads, tetrads, pollinia), which make them ideal for study of the relationship between pollen aggregation and PTE. However, PTE is currently known only for species of Asclepiadoideae (2,365 spp.), 26.25 Âą 3.6%, N= 36 species. Asclepiadoideae have the most evolutionarily derived and highly aggregated pollen morphology among Apocynaceae, producing 10 pollen packages (pollinia) per flower. Species of Secamonoideae (170 spp.), the sister lineage of Asclepiadoideae, have more ancestral and less aggregated pollen, producing 20 pollinia per flower. Pollination of Secamone filiformis and Secamone parvifolia was studied in South Africa in 2012 and 2013. PTE was measured from 400 open-pollinated flowers of S. filiformis and 300 of S. parvifolia. PTE of S. filiformis was 4.6% (0.36% deposition, 7.9% removal, 11th percentile among Asclepiadoideae species) and PTE of S. parvifolia was 0.94% (0.03% deposition, 3.53% removal, 5th percentile). This first ever quantification of PTE in Secamonoideae is consistent with the hypothesis that evolutionary reduction from 20 to 10 pollinia per flower yielded more efficient pollen transfer, but more data on other species of
Poster Session A
Secamonoideae are needed.
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College of Arts & Scien ces Bird Species Attending Army Ant Raids As army ants raid the ground of the Costa Rican cloud forest, bird of many species attend to eat fleeing insects. I assisted Professor Sean Oâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;Donnell in studying how the composition of these bird flocks change across elevations and life zones in the forests surrounding Monteverde. In proximity to the continental divide, this area offers a wide variety of forest, differing in temperature and elevation. Army ants send out raids from their bivouacs as a way to forage food for the colony. These raids are usually linear across the forest floor and last most of the day. In order to encounter a raid, we hike until our path intersects with an ant raid column. When army ants are found, the front of the raid is located, and every species of bird present at the raid over a
Alyssa Klein PHC CustomDesigned Major
period of one hour is recorded using a conservative estimate. GPS points are also recorded to pinpoint position and elevation. Without any previous experience, I was able to (with help) identify over 70 species of birds. For this trip specifically, we collected data in life zones that were underrepresented in former excursions. Due to the infrequency of ant raids at higher elevations, it is difficult to
Dr. Sean Oâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;Donnell Faculty Mentor Biodiversity, Earth, & Environmental Science (BEES)
come across viable data points in the correct life zones. These specific zones were studied extensively in an effort to collect more data. The data has yet to be analyzed, but Dr. Oâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;Donnell believes the new data points accumulated from this trip could sway any conclusions that might have been drawn from previous observations. These analyses will bring a better understanding to which birds interact with the army ants and use them a resource for survival.
Poster Session A 27
College of Arts & Scien ces Diatoms Used to Evaluate Fracking Wastewaters Diatoms, microscopic algae, can be used to evaluate the ecological health of a stream. This practice was pioneered in
Allison Starr COAS Environmental Studies
the United States by the late Doctor Ruth Patrick of the Academy of Natural Sciences. My goal was to conduct a similar study on four waterways in western Pennsylvania that have been exposed to fracking wastewater effluent. This is the first time the effect of fracking on river diatoms has been
Dr. Marina Potapova Faculty Mentor Biodiversity, Earth, & Environmental Science (BEES)
examined. Partner scientists from the Dartmouth College, NH collected the samples above, at, and below the effluent. They also recorded the conductivity, temperature, and pH of the water. I processed the samples and prepared permanent diatom slides. I created a visual dictionary of the diatoms in these waters. I then identified and counted a hundred diatom valves from each slide. Doctor Potapova then reviewed the slides and conducted statistical analysis of the data. My results show that although the effect of the effluent was evident at each of the four sites, it was weaker than the effect of other environmental factors that influence community composition. Diatom community composition changed due to the effluentâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s toxicity, but communities showed signs of recovery downstream from the wastewater treatment facilities. The experiment is part of a larger project to evaluate the impact of the wastewater effluent on the study sites. The results of this experiment, and the project as a whole, will add to the body of evidence concerning the impact of fracking on the environment.
Poster Session B
28
College of Arts & Scien ces Exploring Strain-dependence of Axonal Translation in Adult Mice Fragile X granules (FXGs) are exclusively ribonucleoprotein particles implicated in local RNA translation in a subset of neural circuits. Previous studies from Dr. Akins and colleagues has shown that FXG expression in most of the mouse brain, including hippocampal area CA3, rapidly decreases after its peak in 15 day old animals (P15). More recent unpublished work has revealed that this developmental pattern is not observed in the rat or human hippocampus. These findings suggest that expression of FXGs in adult hippocampus might correlate with robust behavioral plasticity, the ability of an individual to modify their behavior over time. The initial
Duy Le COAS Biological Sciences
developmental studies in mice focused on one particular strain: C57/B16. Here, we extended the analysis of FXGs expression in the adolescent and adult hippocampus, to additional mouse strains that exhibit a broad range of behavioral plasticity and genetic composition. These strains included FVB, 129, DBA2, CFW, CD1, and BALB/C mice. Through immunofluorescence microscopy, FXGs were observed to be abundant in P60 to P90 CFW mice in comparison to mice from other strains at the same age. One provocative correlate is that CFW mice exhibit severe rod degeneration starting early leading to a complete loss of low-
Dr. Michael Akins Faculty Mentor Biology
Molly Mitchell Graduate Student Mentor
light vision by P20. As mice are nocturnal, this means that these animals are functionally blind during their normal active period. Taken together, these data suggest a correlation between visual experience and axonal protein synthesis. Future experiments will explore this potential link between visual experience and FXGs expression in hippocampus.
29
Poster Session A
College of Arts & Scien ces Biome Market Research Biome is a startup company with the Close School of Entrepreneurship at Drexel University. It is creating modular smart biowalls, or soilless plant walls. They bring nature to a home or office and clean indoor air. These walls hang like a picture frame and connect to a smartphone. My goal was to narrow down market segments and define what each target market needs.
Allison Murphy
First, I listed several potential markets, and found about
LEBOW Entrepreneurshi p & Marketing
each market and sent them to the selected companies. I
20 companies to interview. I created questionnaires for then transcribed and analyzed responses looking for key words. Then I contacted more involved individuals and conducted interviews over the phone and in
Dr. Shivanthi Anandan
person. This produced higher quality results, and
Faculty Mentor Biology
survey to address our consumer market. This includes
provided more contacts for Biome. Finally, I created a individuals who would consider purchasing a wall for their home or office. I asked about what features are
Collin Cavote
most important to consumers, where they shop for
Undergraduate Student Mentor
home goods, and what price is fair. I also asked for age range, industry, and income to segment the consumer market. These results are still being received. This information can affect the companyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s future decisions. Product design, price, and advertising can adjust based on my results. Knowing what consumersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; problems allows us to offer solutions to fix them.
Poster Session B 30
College of Arts & Scien ces
Effect of Enriched Environment on Tip60 HAT Activity in Drosophila Stimuli from the environment has critical information that shapes specific neurons to create synaptic connections. As this information is received, the brain converts these signals intracellularly and epigenically programs gene expression that promote sustained cognitive neuroadaption. Disruption
Sahira Iqbal COAS Biological Sciences
could result in cognitive impairment. Enriched environment (EE) conditions have profound beneficial effects to rescue cognitive abilities. EE benefits are the result of epigenetic gene control mechanisms that comprise of histone acetylation; the select HATs involved are currently unknown. Our lab focuses on the epigenetic rold of the histone acetyltransferace (HAT) Tip60 in learning and memory. We have shown that Tip60 HAT action plays a neuroprotective role one cognition linked neuronal circuits under Alzheimerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s
Dr. Felice Elefant Faculty Mentor Biology
Songjun Xu Graduate Student Mentor
disease linked neurodegeneration. We study if EE positively impacts Tip60 hat action in its neuroprotective role. In this study, we use the Drosophila CNS mushroom body (MB) as a well-characterized cognition model. To track this, I am using BrdU staining. s cells divide, BrdU is incorporated in DNA during S phase. By using immunostaining methods, we can identify cells that are actively dividing which allows us to track cell proliferation in the brain. I am also investigating what role Tip60 plays in this process. Taken together, this work provides better understanding of how the environment regulates brain development and function, and potentially provides insight into AD therapeutics.
31
Poster Session A
College of Arts & Scien ces Tip60 Mediated Regulation of Cognition Linked Gene Targets in Drosophila Neurodegenerative diseases, such as Alzheimer’s Diseases (AD), are commonly associated with gene misregulation related to cognitive function. Epigenetic machinery is essential for proper cognitive function. Various epigenetic modifiers, such as histone acetyltransferases (HATs), can cause genetic alterations in the human genome. Histone acetyltransferases are capable of acetylating lysine amino acids located on histone proteins and subsequently transferring an acetyl group from acetyl CoA to
Anisha Sunkerneni COAS Biological Sciences
create ε-N-acetyllysine. This leads to transcriptional activation of genes. Tip60 is one such HAT that has been linked to various neurodegenerative conditions, including Alzheimer’s Disease (AD). Tip60 has been implicated in AD via its interaction with ADlinked amyloid precursor protein intracellular domain (AICD). Previous research from our lab has demonstrated the critical role of Tip60 in various neuronal functions such as synaptic plasticity,
Dr. Felice Elefant
axonal transport, locomotion, memory and learning. Additionally, our lab has shown that excessive Tip60 partially
Faculty Mentor Biology
rescues the defects seen in some of these neuronal functions.
Priyalakshmi Panikker
remains unclear. This project investigates the changes in
Graduate Student Mentor
However, the mechanism by which Tip60 beneficially regulates these neuronal processes under neurodegenerative condtions expression of cognition linked Tip60 gene targets under neurodegenerative conditions. Here, we use qPCR to test the changes in expression of genes that are related to cognitive function in order to see how varying levels of Tip60 affect their expression. Findings from this research provide the first step in understanding the mechanism by which Tip60 plays a beneficial role under neurodegenerative conditions.
Poster Session A
32
College of Arts & Scien ces Does Proteolytic Processing Affect Insulin-Like Peptide Secretion? Insulin-like growth factors (IGFs) have many important functions in all multicellular organisms, such as regulating growth, development, reproduction, and metabolism. As a secreted protein, an IGF must be folded in the Rough Endoplasmic Reticulum and processed proteolytically, or have a portion cleaved off, in the Golgi. If IGF is improperly
Brendan Bowens COAS Biological Sciences
folded, it is not secreted from the cell; however, it is not known whether an unprocessed IGF can be secreted in an intact animal, and, if so, whether it is functional. To answer this question, I tested whether down-regulation of known processing proteins affects IGF secretion in the nematode
Dr. Tali Gidalevitz Faculty Mentor Biology
C. elegans. Specifically, I used a strain of C. elegans expressing a fluorescently tagged IGF-like protein, DAF-28. RNA interference was used to knockdown two processing proteins and secretion of DAF-28 was scored using a coelomocyte assay. Preliminary results show that secretion of DAF-28 was not affected when processing proteins were knocked-down, suggesting that unprocessed IGF can be secreted in C. elegans. To verify these results, the experiment will be repeated, and lack of processing will be tested using a Western Blot. Future studies will also test whether the function of the secreted DAF-28 is affected when its proteolytic processing is inhibited. Interestingly, a chronic knockdown of either the DAF-28 processing protein or a processing protein that does not recognize DAF-28 resulted in decreased DAF28 secretion. By chronically inhibiting protein processing in the Golgi, it is possible that there is a systemic decrease in secretion.
33
Poster Session B
College of Arts & Scien ces Evolutionary Conservation of Insulin-like Growth Factor Folding Requirements All proteins, including insulin-like growth factors (IGFs), must be folded properly in order function, while misfolding of proteins can cause dysfunction and disease. IGFs play a major role in normal development, cell growth and metabolism, so they are of interest in diseases such as cancer and growth deficiencies. The proper folding and thus secretion of human IGF-I and II in vivo strictly depends on a molecular chaperone GRP94. Our lab has recently found that a C.elegans IGF-like
Lakshana Senthilkumar COAS Biological Sciences
protein DAF-28 also depends on GRP94 for its secretion, suggesting evolutionary conservation of this chaperone-client relationship. Determining if IGF folding requirements are conserved between C.elegans and humans will allow us to use the C.elegans as a tool to quickly screen for chaperone targets that can be further studied in mammals. In order to do this, I
Dr. Tali Gidalevitz Faculty Mentor Biology
tested whether C.elegans could fold the human IGF protein. First, I created a construct that fused a human pro-IGF-II to a red fluorescent protein mCherry, and established a transgenic line. I then used fluorescence microscopy to view the worms and score for the expression and secretion of red IGF-II. I
Lauren Klabonski
found that human IGF-II was expressed in the neurons of
Graduate Student Mentor
animals. This observation suggests that the folding process of
C.elegans and secreted into the pseudocoelom of the IGFs is conserved between C.elegans and humans. In future studies, I will test whether the human IGF-II is functional in C.elegans, and screen for other molecular chaperones involved in IGF folding. This will provide us with candidates to test in mammalian cells. By altering activity or levels of specific chaperones, we can ultimately alter the bioavailability of IGFs
Poster Session B
and treat IGF-related disorders at their source.
34
College of Arts & Scien ces Discovering Daughterless' Role in Glial Cells In humans, TCF4 gene mutations are associated with Schizophrenia and Pitt-Hopkins Syndrome (PTHS). Current theories link neuronal dysfunction and faulty circuitry as the culprits for these diseases. However, in the nervous system, glia outnumber neurons, support neuronal development, and function through neuron-glia interactions. Daughterless, the homolog of TCF4, is a well-studied, ubiquitous gene in Drosophila melanogaster. This transcription factor has a Basic Helix Loop Helix domain and is involved in early neurogenesis by regulating gene expression. Daughterless functions to restrict synaptogenesis in motor neurons and is
Allison Law SCHOOL OF ED. Teacher Education
expressed in differentiated neurons and glia. Although Daughterless’ role in neurons is well studied and documented, there is still little known about the role of Daughterless in Glial cells. By using a GAL4/UAS System, Daughterless protein expression can be reduced in specified glial cells. In this experiment, different Gal4 drivers were
Dr. Daniel Marenda Faculty Mentor Biology
used to reduce Daughterless expression in specific glial populations. I measured the resulting motor reflex behavior through climbing assays. Pan-glia Gal4 drivers, particularly drivers specific for longitudinal and midline glia, display a decrease in the flies’ climbing ability, indicative of a more
Mitchell D’Rosario Graduate Student Mentor
vital role of Daughterless in those glial cells. If Daughterless affects not only neurons but also glial cells, alterations in glial cells could be as devastating as those in neurons. Understanding the role of Daughterless in Drosophila melanogaster in glial cells provides insight to the disease etiology and finding novel treatment for the symptoms associated with TCF4 mutations.
Poster Session A 35
College of Arts & Scien ces The Effect of Pyruvate Concentrations on Hypoxia Inducible Factor 1 in Tumor Cells Hypoxia inducible factor 1, more commonly known as HIF1, is a transcription factor that plays an essential role in the cellular responses to hypoxia. Under hypoxic conditions, HIF-1 is accumulated and activated, and then regulates the expression of many downstream target genes to protect cells and promote their survival and growth. Particularly, in tumor cells, HIF-1 can upregulate lactate
Sefy Paulose COAS Biological Sciences
Dr. Nianli Sang Faculty Mentor Biology
dehydrogenases (LDHs) and pyruvate dehydrogenase kinase (PDK) to convert the cellular metabolism from mitochondria respiration to glycolysis and lactate fermentation. It is pretty clear that HIF-1 regulates the pyruvate metabolism, whether and how pyruvate levels effect the HIF-1 level and function are not extensively studied. Here we are interested in the relationship between pyruvate concentrations and HIF-1 activity, and if possible, the mechanism behind the relationship. With cell culture techniques and Western blotting, we try to determine the level change of HIF-1 under different concentrations of pyruvate in various cell lines. The project will greatly promote the understanding of cellular metabolism regulation in tumor cells, and help identify theraputic targets for cancers.
Poster Session B
36
College of Arts & Scien ces Reducing Solvent Consumption in HighPerformance Liquid Chromatography During Column Re-Equilibration after Gradient Elution When gradient elution is utilized in high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), the composition of the mobile phase changes as the separation is run. Column re-equilibration is a necessary process used between consecutive runs to replace the final mobile
Pasquale W. Carione COAS Chemistry
phase in the column with the initial mobile phase. Repetitive analyses by gradient HPLC will not be reproducible unless column re-equilibration is performed. In the interest of green chemistry, reducing the total amount of solvent consumed during column re-equilibration is highly desirable. This work investigates whether diffusion within the pores is a rate limiting step in the re-equilibration process, which involves the replacement of mobile
Dr. Joe P. Foley Faculty Mentor Chemistry
Donna M. Blackney Graduate Student Mentor
phase by convection in the interstitial region and by diffusion within the pores. If diffusion within the pores is a rate limiting step, then reducing the flow rate when the initial mobile phase is first re-introduced into the column will allow re-equilibration to simultaneously occur (i) between the particles and (ii) within the pores, resulting in less solvent consumption than at higher flow rates when (i) and (ii) would occur in stepwise fashion.
37
Poster Session B
College of Arts & Scien ces Degrading Antibiotics with Non-thermal Atmospheric Pressure Plasma According to the World Health Organization, antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is growing worldwide, leading to an increase in common infections, drug consummation, prolonged and terminal disease. This is occurring because antibiotics are entering the environment unabated. Current methods being employed to eliminate antibiotics from solution are ineffective and cannot be applied on a large scale, such
Isaac Adams COE Chemical Engineering
as at wastewater treatment plants. Our research focuses on determining the effectiveness of using non-thermal atmospheric pressure plasma as a novel and alternative advanced oxidation process (AOP) for antibiotic removal in solution. For this study, we treated ampicillin with
Dr. Haifeng (Frank) Ji Faculty Mentor Chemistry
floating electrode dielectric barrier discharge (FE-DBD) plasma for varying treatment times. Primarily using mass spectrometry (MS) and nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) analysis, we determined that the primary products
Josh Smith
formed are ampicillin sulfoxide (AMP S-Oxide), which,
Graduate Student Mentor
after the β-lactam rings opens, reforms into ampicillin diketopiperazine sulfoxide (AMP DKP S-Oxide). This confirms that after about 5 minutes of air-plasma treatment time, ampicillin is effectively destroyed in solution and other degradation products are formed. Using plasma as an alternative method and applying it on a large scale is expected to dramatically decrease the concentration of antibiotics in the environment.
Poster Session A
38
College of Arts & Scien ces Proton Conductivity Measurements of Self-assembled Nanowires Throughout history, efforts in converting chemical energy to useful electric energy have been made. Signs of progress were observed in modern fuel cell technologies that facilitate the production of clean energy. However, many obstacles that abound in this field are due to inadequate or high material costs. Recently, much effort has been put forth in researching metal
Jonathan Rostrán COE Chemical Engineering
organic frameworks (MOFs) and their ability to transport protons. These materials are relatively cheap in price and are easily produced. Proton conductivity is an important characteristic for 1D MOFs because of their promising application in fuel cells. The materials used in this experiment were Zinc Nitrate Hexahydrate {Zn(NO3)2•6H2O}and 1,3,5-Tris(4-
Dr. Haifeng (Frank) Ji Faculty Mentor Chemistry
carboxyphenyl)benzene {H3BTB}. Zinc Nitrate and H3BTB were dissolved in an ethyl alcohol solution. The MOFs were fabricated in normal labs conditions by self-assembly and thermal evaporation. The ZnH3BTB wires were grown overnight, and a drop was obtained with a pipet and placed on a standard 1-cm2 plastic surface. After complete evaporation, the wires observed under a microscope appeared as an evenly distributed network of nanowires. Two electrodes were placed on the dried nanowires to run a voltage across the nanowire network and record it's current. The sample was run in 100% humidity and in nitrogen gas environment to identify it’s conductivity. The wires did not display any conductivity in a nitrogen gas environment, but showed a conductive behavior in humid conditions. The conductivity measurements for ZnH3BTB were obtained from I-V Curve graphs.
39
Poster Session A
College of Arts & Scien ces
Documenting the Life Experiences of Members of the Philadelphia LGBT Community The goal of this research project is to chronicle the lives of elderly members of the LGBT community living within Philadelphia. The research is being conducted with
Rachel Filippone
residents of the John C. Anderson Apartments on South
COAS Anthropology
that was specially built for members of the LGBT
Street, which is the first housing complex in Philadelphia community. By interviewing these residents and recording their life histories, we hope to broaden our understanding
Dr. Anthony Glascock
of what it means to have grown up as a member of the
Faculty Mentor Culture & Communication
specifically for those who came of age during the time of
LGBT community in Philadelphia in previous decades, the Stonewall Riots, a series of New York City riots in 1969 which is largely considered one of the most important events in the fight for gay and lesbian rights in the United States. Upon documenting these experiences, participants receive transcribed copies of their life histories. This project allows elderly members of the LGBT community to share their stories with family, friends, and the larger community, in order that these experiences are not lost or forgotten.
Poster Session A
40
College of Arts & Scien ces "I Made It": Analyzing fame references of popular music from 2000-2012 Music throughout the decades has changed to adapt and portray the cultural context in which it finds itself. Similarly, fame, a theme common in popular culture outlets such as music, evolves and changes as well. This paper is a part of a larger research project that aims to discover how the themes of fame have been expressed in music from as
Catherine White COAS Communication & History
early as the 1950s to as recently as 2012. Using a total of 18 chosen elements of fame, the research attempted to pinpoint how the references of fame in popular music have changed either in delivery, content, or both. This paper focused solely on the years 2000-2012 while also taking notice of the transition from the previous decade.
Dr. Ernest Hakanen Faculty Mentor Culture & Communication
These 12 years of popular music are distinct for a number of reasons, some of which may include the following: the historical context in which they are in, and the emergence and maturation of genres such as hip-hop and rap. This work used various methods to explore the topic, such as coding the Billboard Top 100 Charts for references of fame that fit the 18 frames, using SPSS to analyze data sets, creating surveys to explore the controversial question of genre, and historical analysis to understand fully the context in which these songs were created and popularized. In addition, lyrical analysis of the songs of the 1990s and the 2000s was done to see how popularized genres evolved over time.
41
Poster Session B
College of Arts & Scien ces The Languages of Brussels In a city with a people as diverse as in Brussels, it is difficult to assign the country a specific language. While the population
Devaanjana Goel
primarily is fluent in French with large numbers of
COAS International Area Studies
incline not only in the number of English speakers, but also in
Dutch/Flemish speakers, the city has seen a noteworthy the number of bilingual or even multi lingual people. My research was mainly focused on tracking this trend of language as well as studying various factors attributed to this.
Dr. Rachel Reynolds Faculty Mentor Culture & Communication
I studied this both quantitatively and qualitatively by relying on past research to establish the trend and track the growth and or decline of various languages as well as by providing questionnaires to establish reasons, whether political, socioeconomical, or cultural. It can be noted that the rise in the number of bilingual families in Brussels means that the portion of people from Brussels from monolingual Dutch families is dropping. Through this, while English is clearly still at the third place in terms of volume, a rising number of people claim to be able to speak it, although this increase in mainly detrimental to the numbers of French, not Dutch speakers. With regard to factors, in the economic world, English is quickly gaining a polarity of sorts, however in terms of everyday communications, English is less common, being used only among those bilingual in French. Additionally, due to the absence of bilingual sources of information, people still get their news only in Dutch or French. Overall we see that in spite of the rising integration of languages, there still exist various barriers which lead to misunderstanding and mutual contempt between different language speakers.
Poster Session A
42
College of Arts & Scien ces Changing Funding Mechanisms of the United Nations The operations of international organizations (IOs) are largely dependent on the financial rules and practices that sustain them. The evolution of funding mechanisms within IOs, like the United Nations, has had a profound effect on their governance. The UN was once primarily dependent on
Nidhi George COAS Political Science
mandatory contributions. Member states were required to pay a percentage of the regular budget based on their economic status. Mandatory funding reinforced the multilateral message set forth by the UNâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s voting rules. Each state was given one vote, ensuring all countries would have
Dr. Erin Graham Faculty Mentor History & Politics
influence over decision-making. The acceptance of (and subsequent dependence on) voluntary contributions represented a move away from multilateralism. While voluntary contributions increased the size of the budget, their presence undermined collective decision-making by detaching funding decisions from those made by governing bodies. As a result, wealthier states have greater influence in UN operations because they ultimately finance the activities. Poorer states, which are often more affected by the operations, lose influence due to their inability to make significant voluntary contributions. My research demonstrates the chronological trends associated with this claim. I tracked the financial rule changes across 23 UN Programs and 15 UN Specialized Agencies. In doing so I have reconstructed the histories of all of these institutions and illustrated how they have evolved to include new funding mechanisms. This data reveals the extent that the United Nations has diverged from its original design and become increasingly shaped by wealthier states.
43
Poster Session A
College of Arts & Scien ces
Constructing Jacobi Matrices from Mixed Data Jacobi matrices (real symmetric tridiagonal matrices) have a
Yilin Yang COAS Mathematics
wide range of applications in physics and engineering, and are closely and non-trivially linked with many other mathematical objects, such as orthogonal polynomial, one dimensional Schrรถdinger operators, the Hamburger moments problem and Sturm-Liouville problem. In the past
Dr. Lei Cao
couple of decades, constructing Jacobi matrices from
Faculty Mentor Mathematics
different types of data was studied intensively. In our project, we attempt to construct Jacobi matrices from a more general data type of than considered before. By using the special structure of Jacobi matrix and its eigenpairs, we successfully find a method to recover Jacobi matrices from two eigenpairs by solving a nonhomogeneous linear system and show that the two eigenvalues can be replaced by any two elements of the Jacobi matrices. Meanwhile, we give the conditions of uniqueness and existence of the solution. Furthermore, we prove that different sets of parameters used to recover Jacobi matrices by other authors are equivalent by exploring the direct connections between these different types of mixed data without necessarily recovering the matrices. Also a MATLAB code was developed to compute the Jacobi matrices based on our method.
Poster Session B
44
College of Arts & Scien ces A Categorical Evaluation of Intercultural Competence at Drexel University One of the strategic goals of Drexel University is to enhance students’ intercultural competence. In order to accurately assess progress toward this goal, the university requires a new method of determining the student body's level of intercultural proficiency. The purpose of this research project was to develop tools for the assessment of students’ levels of intercultural communication. The project started with the conduction of a literature review in order to identify what it means to be “interculturally competent” and to look at preexisting models of assessment. After completion of the literature review, Dr. Schlichting-Artur and I created our own survey in which the Bennett Model of Cultural Competency and the Toomey Staircase Model of Intercultural Communication Competence were used as our foundations.
Caitlyn Walczyk COAS International Area Studies
The survey relies on students’ self-assessment; they evaluate themselves on the three areas of content introduced by Bennett, and they place themselves within one of the four stages introduced by Toomey. Currently, the project is still in progress. In the future, we plan to collect our data by administering the survey to students participating in study abroad programs and in globally-oriented coursework. We will then use the data to determine if the Drexel programs
Dr. Simone SchlichtingArtur Faculty Mentor Modern Languages
help students improve their levels of intercultural competence. Whether or not statistically significant results are found, our data can be presented to show what improvements need to be made in Drexel programs focused on intercultural competence. Dr. Schlichting-Artur and I hope to further present our work in other conferences in order to assess intercultural communication on a larger scale.
45
Poster Session B
College of Arts & Scien ces
Finding Sterile Neutrinos from Nuclear Reactors A neutrino is a subatomic particle with no electrical
Jared Haughton COAS Physics
charge that only interacts with other particles through the weak force and gravitational force. Neutrinos are produced in nuclear reactions, such as those in nuclear reactors and the sun. Furthermore, neutrinos come in three distinct “flavors” – electron, muon, and tau
Dr. Michelle Dolinski Faculty Mentor Physics
neutrinos. Neutrinos have been found to oscillate between their different flavor states. Due to differences in the expected number of neutrinos from nuclear reactions and the actual observed count, there is speculation that there is at least one more flavor of neutrino that has not been observed yet. This “sterile” neutrino would not interact via the weak force, and thus would be functionally invisible. This project, PROSPECT, is focused around searching for these sterile neutrinos, using a nuclear reactor as a source. I have calibrated a prototype of a segmented plastic scintillator, which will use light to distinguish between neutrino interactions and other types of interactions in the prototype. The final detector may use this technology to provide evidence of some undetectable “sterile” neutrino.
Poster Session A
46
College of Arts & Scien ces Simple Games for Complicated Physics The use of video games and other interactive media to enhance teaching is a studied and proven method. However, few realizations of pedagogical games succeed in both entertaining and using the medium effectively to teach in ways a traditional lecture could not. Using the now ubiquitous smartphone and tablet as platforms, we have developed a game to demonstrate some of the effects of
Andrew Pellegrino COAS Physics
Einstein’s theory of special relativity, specifically time dilation and length contraction. The game is based on the classic “twin paradox” thought experiment commonly discussed in introductory physics courses containing special relativity. The twin paradox describes a situation where two twins are
Dr. David M. Goldberg Faculty Mentor Physics
separated: one travels away from Earth in a spaceship near the speed of light and the other remains on Earth. If the traveling twin makes a round trip, it will be observed that the traveling twin has aged more than the stationary one, indicating the relative progression of time for each twin. We believe that the game will give the user a more real sense of the effects of relativity, which are simple to describe mathematically but difficult to intuit in reality. By creating a world in which these effects are more tangible, we hope to allow players, regardless of prior physics knowledge, to feel more comfortable with the concept of special relativity, just as people are naturally comfortable with gravity and the Newtonian world.
47
Poster Session B
College of Arts & Scien ces Extracting Flexion Using AIM One of Einstien's predictions in 1915 was that light from distant galaxies can be bent by objects with strong gravitational fields, such as galaxy clusters. This effect is called gravitational lensing
Joseph Tomlinson
which causes images of distant galaxies to be distorted. The
COAS Physics
observed lensing to calculate the mass distribution of the lens
purpose of most gravitational lensing studies is to use the object(s). Lensing has two primary effects on images, first order effects that cause changes in ellipticity and second order effects
Dr. David M. Goldberg
that change the banananess, although this effect is harder to detect. In some cases, second order gravitational lensing effects
Faculty Mentor Physics
can become apparent; these second order effects are known as
Justin Bird
the mass of the lensing cluster, with the ability to resolve more
Graduate Student Mentor
flexion. The measurement of flexion is used to more accurately map detailed sub-structures than first order lensing. This finer level of detailed allows for additional information to be extracted from previously analyzed data sets. Flexion data is gained through the use of a program created by graduate student Justin Bird based on the Analytic Image Model (Cain et al., 2011), which attempts to recreate the image from estimated parameters. When combined with previously measured data, this provides accurate measures for flexion parameters which can then be correlated with other data, such as the color of the lensed galaxies. This research specifically attempts to determine the correlation between flexion and color in the COSMOS Photometry Catalog January 2006. I primarily worked with optimizing the program, greatly increasing the speed of analysis, and testing it for any issues but I also analyzed the raw data from the COSMOS
Poster Session B
Catalog, extracting flexion and color.
48
College of Arts & Scien ces Stellar Evolution Since the dawn of humanity, people have looked at the stars for faith, for answers, and in recent years, for an understanding of how the universe works. This project examines the latter, as we perform multiple simulations of the early evolution of young star clusters. Astronomers recognize that all stars form in clusters, and know that over time, the resulting group will dissolve, expelling its stars into the galaxy; the life cycle of such a process is contingent upon the initial conditions of the fractal clusters. The first question is how much time is necessary for a given assemblage of stars to settle down, reaching an effective equilibrium. The
Mark Giovinazzi COAS Physics
second physical effect we study is the degree of mass segregation in the final star cluster. As the system evolves, we observe that heavier stars sink towards the center of the cluster. In both investigations, we modify the following parameters and analyze the effects they have on the resulting
Dr. Stephen McMillan Faculty Mentor Physics
time scale for stabilization of the cluster: the number of stars, the fractal dimension of our cluster, the scaling of the initial velocities, and the initial mass distribution of our stars. Each simulation is performed for numerous random realizations of the system and all calculations are continued until the cluster reaches dynamical equilibrium. We find that while neither the number of stars in the system nor the fractal dimension have significant effects on the time to reach equilibrium, the decrease in initial velocities causes the cluster to reach equilibrium faster.
49
Poster Session A
College of Arts & Scien ces
Quasar Investigations We investigate the differences between two radio surveys
John T. Oâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;Brien COAS Physics
performed by the Very Large Array (VLA) in order to identify biases due to selection effects. We look at how these biases affect trends in the radio-loudness and radio-loud fraction of quasars with respect to redshift and optical luminosity. We compare a new, high-resolution, 1.4 GHz radio survey of the
Dr. Gordon T. Richards Faculty Mentor Physics
Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) Southern Equatorial Stripe known as Stripe 82 to the older Faint Images of the Radio Sky at Twenty-Centimeters (FIRST). The Stripe 82 survey has more than twice the resolution of the FIRST survey which allows us to probe deeper into the properties of these objects. We compare these two catalogs by looking for sources detected by both surveys and comparing distributions of their properties to those of the full catalogs. By looking at the flux distributions, we find that Stripe 82 goes deeper than FIRST. We see that the median peak flux in Stripe 82 is much lower than in FIRST which suggests that Stripe 82 is resolving FIRST detections into multiple sources, as we would expect. By matching sources in Stripe 82 to sources in FIRST, we find that 21% of sources in FIRST were not recovered in Stripe 82. By looking at trends in the ratio between integrated and peak flux density, we find that the missing sources tend to be extended sources. Lastly, we look at trends in the radio-loud fraction of sources from Stripe 82 by matching them to sources from the SDSS Data Release 7 (DR7). This allows us to then compare our results to previous research done by matching the FIRST survey to DR7.
Poster Session A
50
College of Arts & Scien ces Discreet RF Spectrum Energy Harvesting Using SSRs The Split Ring Resonator (SRR) has recently become the focus of great excitement in the scientific community. SRRs are a class of metamaterials, proposed by Vesalgo 1968, which are not naturally occurring and exhibit useful
Dalton Versak COE Mechanical Engineering
properties when interacting with electromagnetic radiation. The SRR has more recently become the stereotypical metamaterial building block. A typical SRR consists of two small concentric rings with opposing slits made of a non-magnetic metal.
Dr. Eric Scheidly Faculty Mentor Physics
Typically SRRs are small and are on the order of centimeters in terms of outer dimensions. SRRs exhibit resonance analogous to LC circuits when specific frequencies of electromagnetic radiation are incident upon the slits. It has recently been demonstrated that it is possible to harvest useful voltages from such resonators. We propose a unit cell arrangement of SRRs that will resonate with three distinct frequencies in the radio band. The selected frequencies correspond to peak frequencies of ambient radio signals, which we propose will increase harvested output.
Poster Session B 51
College of Arts & Scien ces Dwarf Galaxies as Satellites The large-scale structure of the universe is comprised of large
Brean Prefontaine COAS Physics
voids that contain few galaxies and dense wall regions of galaxies that surround the voids. By studying the properties of galaxies in both voids and walls, we can learn how galaxy formation is influenced by environment. We focus on the properties of dwarf (low mass) galaxies, which are more
Dr. Michael Vogeley Faculty Mentor Physics
sensitive to environmental effects than massive galaxies. We are interested in how different environments can affect certain properties of dwarf galaxies such as the metallicity and morphology. Being a void or wall galaxy can tell us about the large-scale environment around a dwarf galaxy. However, the
Kelly Douglass
small-scale environment of a dwarf galaxy can be explored
Graduate Student Mentor
(gravitationally bound) to a larger galaxy. I used the spatial
through whether or not the dwarf galaxy is a satellite distribution of brighter galaxies in the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) to classify each dwarf galaxy as being a satellite galaxy with a single host, within a group of galaxies, or isolated. To look for a possible host around the dwarf galaxy, the dwarf galaxy had to be within the calculated virial radius of at least one of the nearby galaxies. Then the projected distance between the two galaxies had to be less than 1 Mpc/h and the velocity difference had to be less than 200 km/s. All of the qualifying larger galaxies were treated as possible hosts for the dwarf galaxies. We found that roughly 82% of all void dwarf galaxies are isolated, 14% have a single host, and 4% have multiple possible hosts and most likely lie within a dense region. In contrast, only 70% of wall dwarf galaxies are isolated, 20% have a single host, and 10% have multiple
Poster Session A
possible hosts and most likely lie within a dense region.
52
College of Arts & Scien ces The Mind Your Health Project: Evaluating Mechanisms of Action in Acceptance-based Behavior Weight Loss Treatment Acceptance-based behavioral treatment (ABT) is a novel treatment approach that seeks to enhance experiential acceptance to facilitate behavioral commitment to oneâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s longterm values. The current study conducted a post-hoc analysis to examine the efficacy of ABT compared to standard behavioral treatment (SBT) in producing weight loss. Secondary aims
Rachel Bomysoad COAS Psychology
included determining whether increases in experiential acceptance and distress tolerance were higher in the ABT condition, and whether these increases predicted weight loss. Participants (n = 90; ages 18-79; 14.4% male) were randomized to receive 1 year of ABT or SBT. Outcome measures included a behavioral measure of distress tolerance, and selfreport measures of acceptance and distress tolerance. Independent samples t-tests were conducted to compare change scores over the course of the study between ABT and SBT. Changes in acceptance and distress tolerance did not yield significant results for ABT and SBT conditions. However, an
Dr. Adrienne Juarascio Faculty Mentor Psychology
Dr. Evan Forman Faculty Mentor Psychology
independent samples t-test conducted to compare the change in weight loss in ABT and SBT conditions showed a significant difference in weight loss for ABT (M = -32.38; SD = 22.66) and SBT conditions (M = -21.44; SD = 3.46); t(65), p = 0.04). Correlation analyses revealed that weight loss was positively correlated with acceptance change scores, r = -0.29, p = 0.02. Participants in ABT showed significantly greater weight loss. However, the results suggest that the mechanisms of action for ABT may be different than initially suspected. Though there is support for ABT as a successful treatment for long-term weight loss, future research is needed to understand why this treatment produces better weight loss outcomes.
53
Poster Session A
College of Arts & Scien ces Communicating and Understanding Weight Suppression in the Context of Eating Disorders Eating Disorders have become a major topic of discussion. Media and news outlets refer to them frequently, partly in the hope that greater awareness about eating disorders might counteract their ever rising prevalence. For example, Seventeen magazine started a Body Peace Treaty with celebrity endorsements from individuals such as Brittany Snow who are in recovery from an eating disorder. With the increased discussion and prevalence it has become more
Sarah Robinson PHC CustomDesigned Major: Human Intrinsics
important than ever to effectively communicate to the general public what an eating disorder is and what factors contribute to them, and spread the vast research being done on disordered eating. The work done by Lowe Labs at Drexel University is different from other research targeted to understanding eating disorders. Historically eating disorder research has been focused on the psychological aspect, while
Dr. Michael R. Lowe Faculty Mentor Psychology
this lab focuses on the biological aspect. Specifically this lab studies weight suppression, which is the difference between an individualâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s highest weight ever and current weight, and thus the focus of this project was targeted to explaining research surrounding weight suppression. Eight Weight Suppression articles were selected to be reviewed and summarized as a representation of the literature available on the topic to then create a flyer which will then be distributed or posted for the general publicâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s understanding of the topic. The flyer includes a short synopsis of each article in easily understood terms to create a comprehensible set of information to allow for greater understanding of weight
Poster Session B
suppression.
54
College of Arts & Scien ces Does Reading a Shallow Orthography Influence Readersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Expectation of Consistent Spelling-Sound Mappings in a Deep Orthography? First language (L1) reading strategies influence second language (L2) reading strategies, but the degree to which L2 influences L1 is unclear. The current study examined interactions between a language with shallow alphabetic orthography (Spanish) and a language with a deep alphabetic orthography (English) in the context of sensitivity to spelling-sound regularity/consistency: responding faster and more accurately to regular/consistent
Elif Celikors COAS Psychology
words than irregular/inconsistent ones. English monolinguals (N=19), Spanish-English bilinguals (N=24), and English-Spanish bilinguals (N=8) named English words that varied in spellingsound regularity/consistency such that they had either regular/consistent (e.g., GATE) or irregular/inconsistent (e.g., GEAR/PEAR) mappings. We compared the reaction time and naming accuracy among groups and effects of L2 proficiency in the bilingual groups. English monolingual participants named regular/consistent words more accurately and faster than they named irregular/inconsistent words. Both
Dr. Daniel Mirman Faculty Mentor Psychology
Dr. Roxana Botezatu Post-Doctoral Fellow
bilingual groups exhibited the effect of regularity/consistency on reaction times, but the effect on accuracy was only significant in Spanish-English bilingual group. The regularity/consistency effect was larger in Spanish-English bilinguals with lower English proficiency self-ratings than higher English proficiency selfratings. In sum, high proficiency in a language with a shallow orthography may increase readersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; expectation of regular/consistent spelling-sound mappings in a language with a deep orthography. This finding suggests that L2 reading strategies impact reading in the L1, just as L1 strategies impact reading in the L2, and has implications for reading skill teaching and testing in bilinguals.
55
Poster Session A
College of Comput in g & Informa tics Metadata Representation of People and Organizations When properly designed, database systems are capable of
Charles Maguire CCI Information Systems
efficiently storing, retrieving, and processing a wide variety of file formats and sizes. When working with large quantities of information, descriptive metadata is used to identify and contextualize individual files, as well as aiding in the determination of ontology structures. Using the Dublin Core element set as a means of standardization, metadata identifying content creators, native applications, and proprietary rights for
Dr. Norman Balchunas
individual files is created though Extensible Markup Language
Faculty Mentor Applied Informatics Group
roles of people and organizations within individual files, which
Aaron Mansheim Research Engineer
(XML) tags. These tags are necessary for contextualizing the may include content creators, contributors, and publishers. By extracting the metadata elements that pertain to people and organizations, the collected information can be analyzed to gain a greater understanding of how these identifying elements are needed and used. Furthermore, existing elements were refined to more accurately represent the individual roles of entities. Within the domain of research information, properly reflecting these roles through metadata is essential for maintaining information transparency and reusability. The existence of proprietary information, such as patented engineering models, necessitates the use of metadata to identify file owners and permissions. Ultimately, the representation of people and organizations using metadata was determined to have significant implications within the domains of research, proprietary software, and information security.
Poster Session A
56
College of Comput in g & Informa tics Generating Micro-Architectures for 3D Printing 3D Printing or Additive Manufacturing (AM) is the foremost method used for the creation of three-dimensional models of almost any shape, in the contemporary engineering world. This poster underlines the use of topology optimization to derive unique architectures for shapes we can 3D print. A basic version of this problem encompasses a known macro structure which we convert into a mesh and run through a finite element analysis (FEA) program. The FEA system is employed to derive the internal architecture of the model and tessellation is used as a way to create the structure. Individual edges are extracted from the said model and converted into 3D truss elements. Computer aided design (CAD) modeling is then used to union these elements and create a 3D printable
Meghna Malhotra CCI Software Engineering
shape that will support pre-determined loads, stresses and strains. The ultimate result of this research would be a picture of a 3D printable model that can be expanded to display the intricate structure of its internal architecture. This abstraction if manifested can be used to derive custom micro architecture to solve various problems, using 3D printing. For example, instead of using a heavy, solid iron beam in the crumple zone
Dr. William Regli Faculty Mentor Applied Informatics Group
of a car, our method can be used to derive a custom model, such as a hollow structure, that is equally efficient but also makes for a more lightweight and cost efficient design. This undermines the physical and engineering basis of the economies of scale in reference to the load bearing capabilities of lightweight materials. The successful implementation of this project will radically restructure all industries from architecture and aerospace to fashion, geographic information systems and food.
57
Poster Session A
College of Comput in g & Informa tics
Analyzing Modern Data Structures There is no information without data. With data growing every second we now have huge potential for predictions correlations and learning using the web. However, we can’t seem to use these resources to its full potential due to problems like scalability. The data provided to us is abundant, not only in volume but also in depth. The traditional Relational Database Management System(RDBMS) is reaching the limit. Building
Karishma Changlani CCI Computer Science
infrastructures is not enough. We need an application approach. Doug Cutting from Yahoo has recently made an open source framework called Hadoop. Hence, we decided to analyze this framework understand it’s uses in processing Big Data. In order to achieve this goal we took the Drexel Math forum questions and their respective categories as a data set. This data was big
Dr. Jeffrey Popyack Faculty Mentor College of Computing & Informatics
enough for analysis and yet small for storage. We made an application using Hadoop on the Goodwin College’s server that would use this data to take any new incoming question and predict its category. We found that Hadoop is indeed an efficient system to store huge data that standard RDBMS can’t scale. Additionally, already defined data can easily be processed using the Map Reduce architecture. We also analyzed JSON data using the new Twitter Web API. However, this doesn’t mean we are any close to solving the issue. It seems that Hadoop is incapable of storing constantly changing data efficiently and isn’t meant for real time usage. You can’t break down individual components of this architecture and use a Mapper or Reducer independently. Hence, a data structure that is a hybrid of Hadoop and RDBMS is required. Integrating the two will help storage and analytics.
Poster Session B
How far can this integration go is yet to be seen.
58
College of Comput in g & Informa tics Effectiveness of Hadoop MapReduce in Forum Post Analysis Hadoop MapReduce is an open source set of Java packages published by Apache for large scale data processing using parallel processors on a distributed network cluster. MapReduce works by distributing data over the network using Hadoop’s unique filesystem, and then processing slices of the data on each node in the network. The processed data is then
Max Mattes CCI Computer Science
combined in one or more “reducer” nodes and finally is collected into an output format. This algorithm works by heavily relying on the power of parallel processing and frequent patterns in data. The goal of this project was to study the use of Hadoop MapReduce in analyzing Big Data, specifically in the context of programmatically determining the categories of forum posts in
Dr. Jeffrey Popyack Faculty Mentor College of Computing & Informatics
Drexel’s Math Forum. Applying this algorithm to user-generated forum posts is ineffective, but proves several conclusions about the benefits and detriments of the MapReduce algorithm. MapReduce can be compared to a Relational Database Management System (RDBMS) in that both are capable of performing batch queries on large patterned datasets. MapReduce is more effective than a traditional RDBMS in handling massive quantities of data and unstructured data, like forum posts. However, the structure of MapReduce limits it to only writing output once per program run, which makes it unsuited to individual analyses of posts. It was concluded that MapReduce was well suited to determining how to categorize forum posts by doing a batch analysis on all of the posts that were already sorted, but another program or tool should be used for the case-by-case predictions.
59
Poster Session A
College of Comput in g & Informa tics Optimized Web Search for All People expect to find accurate information quickly, an expectation Internet companies all over the world are striving to
Lisa Wen CCI Information Systems
meet. Websites are becoming prevalent resources in gathering st
information in the 21 century. However, websites are often not optimized to accommodate all search behavior types, which differs from person to person. Search behavior is divided into many different categories, and people often implement more
Dr. Michelle Rogers Faculty Mentor College of Computing & Informatics
than one search method when doing research. For example, the “berry-picking” method can be combined with the “least amount of work” method, which means the information seeker will look for bits and pieces of information across several sources and do no more work than is necessary to find the answers. This is why popular search engines that have been weaved into our everyday lives, such as Google, do not help everyone find the information they need in a timely and accurate manner. If we hope to address this problem with websites geared towards healthcare, we need to rethink how we design for optimized search. In the case of medical websites, their focus is often towards doctors, making it difficult for others to browse efficiently. The website for this project, the “215gophilly” website, was created as an initiative to help search for resources to aid weight management and stop obesity, particularly for children. It was designed for doctors, what they believed the patients needed, and how they searched for information. In order to accommodate the search behaviors of patients, we performed heuristic evaluations, task analyses, and restructured the internal database. This is to optimize the website so not only doctors, but patients as well, are able to easily search for information.
Poster Session A
60
College of Comput in g & Informa tics Effect of reference data on cognitive response in fNIRS Functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) is a portable and non-invasive device which uses near-infrared light to measure cortical concentration changes in oxygenated (HbO) and deoxygenated hemoglobin (HbR) held to be correlated with cognitive activity. This research focuses on the impact of reference data on cognitive task data for different subjects .Reference data is data obtained from a time period before a cognitive activity where no cognitive task is done. It is used to generate heamodynamic response data for different cognitive tasks a subject performs. Thus it plays an instrumental role in determining the cognitive state of a subject. Previous research is incomplete in providing us with the differences and effects of reference data on cognitive response and does not preclude a
Paritosh Gupta CCI Computer Science
possibility of this causing bad datasets. In order to investigate this phenomenon reference data from multiple subjects was obtained for each cognitive task and standard statistical analysis was performed on it. The dataset used was obtained from a study done in driving simulator to measure the cognitive state of drivers. Initial analysis of a small subset shows a possible difference in the magnitude of good datasets and bad datasets.
Dr. Erin Solovey Faculty Mentor College of Computing & Informatics
Further statistical analysis is being done to the complete dataset in order to obtain more concrete results. This should provide an indication towards the detrimental effects of reference data and how to correct them. Use of this study lies in using it to bolster classification algorithms by correcting for different baseline for each subject. Further research also includes using these results to find a universal reference data set for a particular cognitive response for all subjects.
61
Poster Session A
College of Comput in g & Informa tics The Ethics of Algorithms Every computer program is made up of a data structure
Colleen Blaho
and an algorithm in its simplest form. Algorithms are the
CCI Computer Science
programmers and users. The Ethics of Algorithms project
actions a program takes, which are extensions of the (NSF: 1338205) seeks to take a qualitative case study approach to examining the ethical questions inherent in
Dr. Kristene Unsworth
modern programs. The actions of a program cannot be
Faculty Mentor College of Computing & Informatics
of a program can have physical impact in business,
dismissed as above ethical discussion, because the results healthcare, and governmental activities. The case study will be used in development of an educational aid for ethics classes. A card game similar to Cards Against Humanity is being prototyped. Black cards will have ethical questions related to algorithms printed on them, and students will use the white cards in their hand to propose actions, both serious and outlandish. The white cards will allow students to use humor and sarcasm to explore ethical situations in the classroom. Future research can be centered on media attitudes and skew towards serious ethical issues, and on the real-world applications of specific algorithms.
Poster Session A
62
College of Comput in g & Informa tics Pushing the envelope of automated reasoning: GECODE support for EZCSP Answer set programming (ASP) and constraint programming (CP) are two fields that can be roughly viewed as solving logical and numerical problems, respectively. These two fields have developed separately for several years, but, due to their similarities in structure and to help solve problems containing both logical and numerical elements (such as industrial-scale job
Amndeep Mann CCI Computer Science
scheduling), a few tools have been created to integrate ASP and CP. EZCSP, one such language and toolset designed and implemented by Dr. Marcello Balduccini, does this by translating an EZCSP program into an ASP program compatible with off-the-shelf ASP solvers, such as clasp and gringo. The output of those solvers is then
Dr. Marcello Balduccini Faculty Mentor College of Computing & Informatics
translated into a CP program, and given to a CP solver, such as SICStus Prolog. Up to this point, EZCSP supported only CP solvers embedded in Prolog systems. In this project, I have extended EZCSP to support CP solvers that are provided as C++ libraries, and do not have an input language. Adding this support is important, because several state-of-the-art CP solvers are of this kind. To limit the scope of the project, I have focused on support for GECODE, which is a widely used state-of-theart CP solver. This feature required considerable work since it meant studying the architectures and APIs of EZCSP and of GECODE, and redesigning entirely the ASPto-CP translation algorithms in EZCSP.
63
Poster Session B
College of Comput in g & Informa tics A Software Framework for Monitoring and Performing Analytics on Real-Time Medical Device Data Wearable tech is a great boon to users. It eliminates the need to tether them to a desk or wall with wires, and use their hands to use. A passive, wearable device for medical use enables non-intrusive monitoring and improved mobility for patients. By working on wearable technology to Rachel Goeken CCI Computer Science
monitor contractions of a pregnant woman, hospitals will be able to continuously monitor the baby and woman. The current state-of-the-art product is a wall-tethered tocodynamometer (toco) fetal monitor that plugs into the wall and is attached by a cable to the woman. The toco is
Dr. William Mongan Faculty Mentor College of Computing & Informatics
Poster Session A
placed on the womanâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s skin and is attached with a Velcro like band. A version of this technology that eliminated the wires and combined comfort with aesthetics that are greatly improve the user experience, and the usability of the product.
64
College of Engineering Waste Grease Biodiesel and GC-MS Waste greases have the potential to be an alternative fuel source with several benefits over current biodiesel produced from vegetable oils. Vegetable oils have high feedstock costs and are valuable food commodities while low value waste greases such as grease trap waste and sewage scum waste are underutilized and have little to no cost. Lipids extracted from these waste greases are called brown grease and can be converted to biodiesel fuel using bubble column reactor
Paul A. Gonzalez COE Mechanical Engineering
technology developed at Drexel. A challenge to analyzing the feasibility of producing biodiesel from waste grease lipids as well as the environmental impacts of producing biodiesel from waste grease lipids is the highly variable composition of waste greases. This research focused on the characterization of grease lipids and biodiesel via Gas Chromatography and Mass Spectrometry (GS-MS). Gas Chromatography separates the molecules in a sample based on their mobility through a heated column; generally molecules with a lower molecular weight and higher volatility will travel through the column faster. Mass Spectrometry ionizes the molecules that exit the heated column and measures the composition of molecular fragments based on their mass to charge ratio; the distribution of fragments can be compared to an MS library to determine the molecular structure of the molecules exiting the column. In this project samples from the grease-to-biodiesel process were
Dr. Richard Cairncross Faculty Mentor Chemical & Biological Engineering
Dr. Kevin Owens Faculty Mentor Chemical & Biological Engineering
Megan Hums Graduate Student Mentor
analyzed using GC-MS and compared to samples of known composition in order to observe impurities and compare the conversion of fatty acid species into biodiesel.
65
Poster Session A
College of Engineering Effect of Different Acid Catalysts on Performance of a Bubble Column Reactor for Esterification of Waste Greases into Biodiesel Biodiesel is an alternative source of energy for vehicles that is produced from plant and animal fats and oils. The traditional biodiesel process involves the transesterification of vegetable oils into produce Fatty Acid Methyl Esters (FAME), otherwise known as biodiesel. This research project focused on the production of FAME from low-value degradable waste oils obtained from restaurants and waste management companies. These waste oils have a higher percentage of free fatty acids (FFA) as compared to
Tapiwa Kingsley Ndlovu
performed to avoid soap formation and achieve high yields
COE Chemical Engineering
waste grease lipids with various acid catalysts to determine
vegetable oils; therefore, acid-catalyzed esterification was of FAME. Esterification reactions were performed on oleic acid and differences in conversion rates and sulfur content of the
Dr. Richard Cairncross Faculty Mentor Chemical & Biological Engineering
biodiesel produced. According to ASTM standards, sulfur content for biodiesel must be less than 15ppm sulfur in order to be sold in the commercial market. Reactions were conducted in a Bubble Column Reactor (BCR) developed at Drexel that uses methanol in vapor form as bubbles to drive the esterification reaction. Conversion of free fatty acids to FAME during the reaction was determined by titration of
Megan Hums Graduate Student Mentor
samples taken at time intervals during the reaction. After a series of BCR reactions with different catalysts, the use of sulfuric acid resulted in higher conversion rates from free fatty acids to FAME, than when hydrochloric acid and phosphoric acid were used. Ongoing research is being done to determine whether the type of catalyst has a
Poster Session A
significant effect on the sulfur content of FAME.
66
College of Engineering Exploration of Emulsions In many industrial environments, emulsions are incorporated into a companyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s final product. Emulsions are defined as a mixture of immiscible liquids, such as salad dressing or mayonnaise, which can help create a longer lasting, stable product. However, oxidation, which is caused by free radicals, is a key problem that decreases and destroys the shelf life of products. In order to combat the free radicals in the emulsions, emulsifiers and their antioxidant compounds are utilized. Emulsifiers also help stabilize the emulsion so that the immiscible liquids will not separate. In this lab, the emulsifiers Biolipon 95 and Tween 20 were explored to test their antioxidant properties in preventing free radicals from accumulating on the emulsion. The emulsions were mixed with AAPH (2,2â&#x20AC;&#x2122;azobis(2-amidino-propane) dihydrochloride), which generates free radicals. Since the AAPH was dissolved with a florescent dye in the emulsion, the dye stopped fluorescing when it reacted with the free radicals. A fluorescence meter monitored how the intensity of fluorescing light decays. Tween 20 showed an exponential decay in the loss of free radicals, while the Biolipon 95 showed a relatively steady loss in free radicals. These
Richard Lu COE Chemical Engineering
Dr. Nily Dan Faculty Mentor Chemical & Biological Engineering
Dr. Rohan Tikekar Faculty Mentor Culinary Arts & Food Science
results were also compared with a control sample of solely water and oil. The added emulsifiers undoubtedly showed that the amount of free radicals in the emulsion decreased. Overall, the research successfully showed how the antioxidant properties of emulsifiers impacted the movement of free radicals in emulsions.
67
Poster Session A
College of Engineering Structural Analysis of the Tacony-Palmyra Bridge Bridges have played a vital role in the development of human civilization throughout the centuries, starting with the wooden bridges of Mesopotamia to the flourishing stone arches and aqueducts in Ancient Rome and suspension bridges of the Incan civilization. Innovations in bridge design brought materials such as steel to span greater lengths and support larger loads. In this research study, the Tacony-Palmyra Bridge designed by Ralph Modjeski was analyzed to understand how the components of its the different structural forms support, transmit, and carry loads to provide functionality. With a span
Maissoun Ksara
of 708 meters, the bridge includes a moving bascule which
COE Civil Engineering
rapidly aging infrastructure and tightening budgets, it is
rises to a height equal to an eleven-story building. In an age of paramount to understand the behavior of existing loaded bridges rather than design new ones.
Dr. A. Emin Aktan Faculty Mentor Civil, Architectural, & Environmental Engineering
Ben Cohen Graduate Student Mentor
A plastic model of the bridge was assembled and modified; its structural forms, a truss and an arch, were investigated. AutoCAD drawings of the truss and arch spans were created and imported into Visual Analysis, a structural analysis software, to study the behavior of internal axial forces within the bridge under a uniform or point load. Load sensors were utilized to experimentally measure forces at different points in the structure to see how load paths change when the applied force was moved. Theoretical hand calculations were compared to software calculations and experimental results; the maximum discrepancy between theoretical and experimental results was 7% for the truss and 11% for the arch. Finally, foundation boxes for the model bridge were constructed from plexiglass and foam to represent the boundary conditions for the actual bridge.
Poster Session B
68
College of Engineering Americans with Disabilities Act Ramp City Project In order to provide a safe environment for the elderly and people with disabilities, I have been working on the ADA Ramp City Project to investigate the many ramps in the City of Philadelphia. According to disabilities population statistics, 18.9% of Philadelphia’s population suffers from disabilities, which is about 244,080 people. The purpose of this research is to utilize measurement tools to describe the essential parts of a ramp, understand the infrastructure problems, and recognize if these ramps comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act. Providing the best access to local life for disabled people is the ultimate goal of the ADA.
Michael Ling COE Architectural Engineering
To accomplish this goal, the local and state governments work together to develop a safe environment for disabled individuals. To start the process of this investigation, I inspect the intersections that City has provided me within a phone application. This application allows me to input points at these intersections and edit each field by putting numerical values. Each of these data fields are described by each and every crucial part of the ramp such as ramp’s length and width, left and right flare slope, and the landing’s longitudinal and cross slope, etc. There are about 37 ramp elements to measure and in order to do so, we answer basic questions and utilize measurement tools. The City provides us measurement tape to describe lengths and widths and a
Dr. A. Emin Aktan Faculty Mentor Civil, Architectural, & Environmental Engineering
Ben Cohen Graduate Student Mentor
smart level to describe the slope percentages. With the measurements, comments, and photos, I can then decide whether these ramps conform with the ADA or not. If not, I can further understand the infrastructure problems in the ramp’s stability and propose a potential solution.
69
Poster Session B
College of Engineering Minimizing Circadian Rhythm Disruption in Hospital Buildings The average human living environment in industrialized nations differs greatly from the environment in which the
Charles Clift COE Civil Engineering
Dr. Eugenia Ellis Faculty Mentor Civil, Architectural, & Environmental Engineering
species evolved. One of the most obvious differences between our world and that of our ancestors is the abundance of artificial light. Although it is a convenient way to expand productivity, artificial light disrupts human circadian rhythms. Groups like the elderly and patients with dementia often have trouble maintaining their circadian rhythms, leaving them more vulnerable to the disruptive effects of artificial lighting during hospital stays. This study works to find new ways to leverage existing technologies in order to make hospital living spaces
&
more comfortable to those using it. This was done
Architecture
the intent to maximize natural light and to make the
through the design of a hospital lobby and lounge with necessary artificial light less disruptive to those living in the hospital. Unfortunately, outside of the LED technology, there is very little that can be done except for expanding the roomâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s light-harvesting capabilities and engineering the room to maximize the efficiency of the pre-existing lighting system.
Poster Session A
70
College of Engineering Automated Manufacturing of Cementitious Vessels The National Concrete Canoe Competition (NCCC) is an engineering based competition hosted by the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE). Using the rules and regulations created by the NCCC Committee, universities attempt to design, manage, and build the most professionally made canoe. The canoes are judged by its aesthetics, design, craftsmanship, strength, and its ability to maneuver on water through a set of races. Drexel University is among the few schools to have taken the initiative to change from traditional hand-placed concrete canoe practices to using a shotcrete application with HVLP sprayers. Looking towards the future, the Drexel University Concrete Canoe Team plans to take shotcrete further and
Frederick Wachter COE Mechanical Engineering
automate the spraying process to streamline the design in an attempt to reach maximum optimization of the canoe design. This automated process will use a Kinectâ&#x201E;˘ sensor and two 7 degree of freedom (DOF) robotic arms that will work in tandem to manufacture a strong, lightweight canoe with uniform thickness, and minimizing human interaction. The machine design and subsystem layout was created, and a working prototype was built in order to test
Dr. Joseph Martin Faculty Mentor Civil, Architectural, & Environmental Engineering
the mathematical model and to mimic the manufacturing process using a 3-degree of freedom robotic arm. This project requires knowledge from many disciplines within engineering and science in order to create an efficient and reliable manufacturing process that will meet the standards and regulations set by ASCE.
71
Poster Session A
College of Engineering Observing the Effectiveness of Various Green Infrastructure on Reducing Urban Runoff Excessive storm water runoff is an increasingly urgent issue in urban areas. Runoff from storms intermixes with raw sewage, and this contaminated water is released into rivers and water supply. Additionally, urbanization has negatively impacted terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems in and around cities. Implementing green infrastructure into urban settings to restore the landâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s natural rainwater absorption, evapotranspiration, and attraction of wildlife is one solution to
Madison Kierod
decrease the negative effects urbanization on cities and
COE Mechanical Engineering
Laboratory has implemented green spaces, permeable
ecosystems. The Sustainable Water Resource Engineering pavement, green roofs, bioswales, and constructed wetlands equipped with various climate and soil sensors in Philadelphia and New York City and monitored their effectiveness of
Dr. Franco Montalto Faculty Mentor Civil, Architectural, & Environmental Engineering
absorbing and redirecting runoff naturally. Additional research has been done to determine which plants are best suited for rainfall deflection and evapotranspiration on green infrastructure sites. As a result of the apparent success of green infrastructure sitesâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; ability to absorb runoff in a safe and environmentally sustainable manner, New York City plans to construct 9000 bioswales to improve the issue of excessive runoff. Given the large amount of incoming data from the various green infrastructure sites, I consolidated and organized existing data and resources, as well as collected raw data from sites after rainstorms and hydraulic testing. In organizing and collecting this data, I was able to compare and analyze the performances of different green sites during a given rain event. This information could help identify the optimal green infrastructure configuration to be used in a number of varying applications.
Poster Session B
72
College of Engineering Investigation of the Effects of Earthquakes on Dams and the Impact of Damping in Instrumented Dams In this project, we analyze the impact of earthquakes on dams and the significance of structural characteristics, including the significance of damping, in their stability and response. This study is very vital in gaining a better understanding of the mathematical concepts involved in the different modeling techniques used in earthquakes prone areas. The dam selected for this particular study is the Pacoima arch dam. This dam is instrumented with special seismic sensors that are used in acquisition of important data from the actual dam. These sets of data are crucial for early damage detection, control and research purposes.
Frank-nelson Muhande Musemate COE Civil Engineering
In this preliminary modeling, the dam was treated as a SDOF (Single Degree of Freedom) oscillator subjected to free and forced vibrations in order to simulate the response of the dam to real life excitations and determine its possible failure modes. The calculated dam displacements (using MATLAB) were then compared to the values obtained from NONLIN (a program for computing the nonlinear
Dr. Aspasia Zerva Faculty Mentor Civil, Architectural, & Environmental Engineering
dynamic response of simple structural systems) in order to fully confirm the structural response. In addition the Visual Analysis computer code was utilized to simulate dam failure through crack propagation.
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Poster Session A
College of Engineering
Music Responsive Visual Displays The live concert experience is continuously being enhanced with the development of technology. Displays, particularly
Katherina Lim CCI Computer Science
types that allow for light shows, that change in tandem with the music can enhance the immersive experience. The building blocks to create such an experience consist of intelligently controlled light sources that synchronize with the music. As such, the goal of this project is to create a system
Dr. Pramod Abichandi Faculty Mentor Electrical & Computer Engineering
that consists of an RGB LED strip connected to an Arduino board that communicates wirelessly with a program that controls the light changes. Online research indicated that LEDs were the most practical and effective type of display for this particular projected end product. The LED strip used was ideal due to its large range of possible color and physical flexibility for complex applications. The microcontroller requires little power and communicates wirelessly using XBee technology. Visual programming language PureData, capable of musical analysis, was used to handle beat tracking. A Python script was used as a medium between PureData and the Arduino board in order to control the LEDs in conjunction with the beat of the music being played. In conclusion, this integration between different software frameworks and hardware makes possible a heightened musical immersion as well as allows for more advanced future applications.
Poster Session B
74
College of Engineering Impedance Matched Rectenna in a SmartTextile Wireless Power Harvesting System Wearable technology, particularly Body Area Networks (BAN), are some of the recent technological advancements in the world today. Drexelâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Wireless Systems Lab in collaboration with Shima Seiki Haute Technology Lab has conducted research on a smart-textile wireless power harvesting system that could potentially power body-worn electronics such as biomedical sensors and BAN devices. It contains a rectifying antenna (rectenna) which captures electromagnetic radiation from the surrounding wireless networks, and converts it into DC power. A major problem that this system faces is the conversion efficiency of the system. Major power loss is due to impedance mismatch
Ryan Pepito COE Electrical Engineering
between the antenna and the rectifying diode. Research was conducted to solve this issue by opting for a more efficient antenna design of the system. A rectangular slot antenna was chosen as it could be more easily tuned for impedance matching. The antenna design was tuned and simulated through the software package, HFSS, at the target frequency of 2.45GHz. Through simulation, the dimensions of the antenna were tuned such that good return loss was achieved over the frequencies of interest. The antenna was then milled on an FR4 substrate and tested for its functionality. Future work would involve testing the performance of the antenna connected with the entire system and seeing whether the efficiency was improved. Testing of the system would then move to textile, the ideal substrate for the system. Ultimately, this wearable system would rid the need for conventional power sources such as batteries as it is more eco-friendly, integrated, and noninvasive.
75
Dr. Kapil Dandekar Faculty Mentor Electrical & Computer Engineering
Damiano Patron Graduate Student Mentor
Michael Williams Graduate Student Mentor
Poster Session B
College of Engineering The Feasibility of 3D Printing Planar Antennas Utilizing Complementary Splint Ring Resonators (CSRRs) Planar antennas such as patch antennas play an important role in telecommunications. To reduce size whilst
Kai Rochlus Saarland University Materials Science & Engineering
maintaining the resonant frequency CSRRs are used. Simultaneously, the radiated power increases. Until now, these antennas are produced in a bipartite process. CSRRs get etched in the ground plane, and micro strips on the top. This project approaches a new way of manufacturing planar antennas utilizing CSRRs in a single production stage. The potential and resolution
Dr. Kapil Dandekar Faculty Mentor Electrical & Computer Engineering
Michael Williams Graduate Student Mentor
Doug Pfeil Graduate Student Mentor
limits of 3D printing of planar antennas are determined by varying parameters such as ring radius, gap size or distance between the inner and outer ring. Thus, the boundaries of 3D printing are revealed. According to these limits, a patch antenna is created and tuned to resonate at 2.45 GHz with HFSS. It can be demonstrated that it is possible to print antennas using CSRRs with a 3D printer, in one manufacturing step. However, the tolerances of 3D printing are smaller than current etching techniques. With the aid of 3D printing it is also possible to create new types of antennas with split-ring resonators (SRRs) embedded within the substrate. Currently, it is tough to print metals, so further research can be done in this field. There are many parameters that can be controlled, such as the temperature gradient in the extruder. These parameters need to be studied in order
Poster Session B
to create more accurate metallic structures.
76
College of Engineering Matlab Network Visualization for Directional Routing Ad-Hoc Networks In traditional wireless networks, omnidirectional antennas are used for transmission and reception. While this increases the likelihood of a successful link, it also increases the likelihood that one transmission will interfere with another and reduce the utility of the network. In order to increase the performance of the network, reconfigurable antennas that are capable of beam steering are being utilized in directional routing schemes. Compared with traditional routing schemes, directional routing allows nodes to transmit energy only towards the direction of the intended receiver. Therefore, with a more concentrated energy distribution, directional antennas greatly enhance network
Dian Yuan COE Computer Engineering
capacity and achieve a higher signal to noise ratio while reducing the interference on other nodes. When visualizing these systems, traditional network visualization tools do not take into account antenna configuration. To solve this issue, routing tables and antenna configuration information for the network was gathered from the Netlink Protocol Library Suite (libnl) in Linux, and is then fed into MATLAB for processing. MATLAB was used to create a tool to both visualize the network connectivity graph while including some notion of the antenna configuration. The tool shows
Dr. Kapil R. Dandekar Faculty Mentor Electrical & Computer Engineering
Doug Pfeil Graduate Student Mentor
the shortest paths for signal transmissions by calculating the lowest cost routing over each antenna configuration.
77
Poster Session B
College of Engineering Curriculum Driven Classroom Design Most of the time when curriculum is being developed, it is restricted to the space where it will be taught. Classrooms are almost always designed before the curriculum being
Kerry Milligan COE Architectural Engineering
taught there is developed, which leads to the design of common, generalized learning environments. This can lead to inconveniences in the classrooms, which cause deficiencies in learning. The goal is to be able to design a classroom and lab to fit the needs of specific curriculum. This
Dr. Adam Fontecchio Faculty Mentor Electrical & Computer Engineering
projectâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s aim is to use student experience with a pilot section of curriculum to better design the classroom space where it will be taught. Drexel is in a unique situation in which this is possible. A new learning environment is being designed around a particular curriculum to enhance the learning experience. I was part of the design process for both the development of the learning module and the planning of the new classroom. Working on both developments concurrently exposes the connections between the two, and the benefits found by designing each while keeping the other in mind. This should result in a much more efficient and beneficial classroom by having the design of the classroom being driven by the curriculum that will eventually be taught there. I was presented with a baseline layout for the new classroom and was given the opportunity to redesign the space. Changes were made to the layout to better suit the needs of the curriculum, while still keeping in mind the classroom requirements and limitations. I created 3D models of the space to get a better idea of how the space would look and function. These models helped me to design a space that will be practical, effective, and engaging for students learning
Poster Session A
there.
78
College of Engineering
Electroluminescent Fibers As electronics have integrated into every facet of daily life, the demand for cheaper, sturdier, more flexible, and more universal digital displays has grown as well. The purpose of this project is to provide a better alternative to traditional displays through the use of electroluminescent fibers. The
Steven Pisani COE Electrical Engineering
applications of these fibers range from replacing traditional LED displays to integrating displays directly into other fabrics, such as clothing. In order to fabricate these fibers, our group created a mixture, composed of poly-2methoxy-5-(2â&#x20AC;&#x2122;-ethylhexyloxy)-p-phenylene vinylene (MEHPPV), an electroluminescent material, dispersed into polystyrene, and dip-coated nylon fibers into the mixture to create a thin film of the mixture on the fiber. A secondary fiber coated with Poly(3,4ethylenedioxythiophene)Polystyrene sulfonate (PEDOT:PSS), acting as an anode, is then wound around
Dr. Adam Fontecchio Faculty Mentor Electrical & Computer Engineering
Alyssa Bellingham Graduate Student Mentor
the MEH-PPV fiber to create a single layer PLED at the points of contact between the two fibers. After fabrication, these fibers can be bound into yarn and then woven together, much like common clothing material. These woven electroluminescent fabric devices would function as single color displays. Future directions for the expansion of this project include expanding the emitted spectrum of the fiber setup to allow for multicolor displays, expanding the voltage range the fiber can handle, and reducing the overall cost of device fabrication.
79
Poster Session A
College of Engineering Light-emitting yarns made from electrospun core-shell fibers In the age of smartphones and tablets, displays are a great part of our daily lives. Be that as it may, their lack of flexibility restricts the range of applications to the limited selection that we see today. A woven fabric display made from a light-emitting, electrospun yarn could expand the application spectrum particularly into the field of wearable technologies. Such displays improve flexibility as well as accommodate industry needs, including light-
Laura-Alena Sch채fer Saarland University Materials Science & Engineering
weight, size and cost requirements. These yarns consist of multiple, electrospun core-shell fibers with a conductive inner core and an electroluminescent outer shell. In contrast to traditional fiber production methods, the electrospinning process uses an electrical field to produce a fiber by drawing a polymer solution from a needle tip to a grounded
Dr. Adam Fontecchio
collector. The resulting fibers can be bundled together to create a yarn that can be handled by industrial
Faculty Mentor Electrical & Computer Engineering
machines.
Alyssa Bellingham
For my experimental study, I manipulate the process
Graduate Student Mentor
and pump rate) to control fiber thickness or continuity.
Our research includes a search for a combination of materials that shows the desired electroluminescence or conductivity while reducing the risk for future wearers. variables (e.g. applied voltage, solution concentration, As a part of an ongoing research project, my work will provide a firm foundation for future use of electrospun
Poster Session A
fibers in woven fabrics.
80
College of Engineering Aerosol Optical Tweezers Optical tweezing is a technique that passes laser light through a microscope objective to trap microscopic particles ranging in size from 1 Âľm to 100 Âľm. Biophysicists are particularly interested in optical tweezing as it allows for the measurement of piconewton forces between cells, organelles, proteins, and nucleotides. Optical tweezing can also be used to determine
Nathan Wall COE Mechanical Engineering
the chemical composition of particles by analyzing their Brownian motion, a technique called Raman spectroscopy. Our optical tweezing system has been built to utilize a digital micromirror device to trap several microspheres at once and move them. A quadrant photodiode is used to measure the position of trapped particles, determine forces acting on particles, and for Raman spectroscopy. A large aluminum enclosure has been designed to keep possibly harmful laser light away from researchers and to keep ambient light out of the sensors. Several parts were designed in Creo 2.0 and fabricated using a 3D printer. Building the optical tweezing system posed several challenges chief among which being the
Dr. Adam Fontecchio Faculty Mentor Electrical & Computer Engineering
Mr. Brandon Terranova Graduate Student Mentor
determination of appropriate parts to use. The alignment of optical components is another challenge faced when building this system. A simple method of alignment was developed to reduce the time it takes to align components. Our optical tweezing system has demonstrated stable trapping of colloidal polystyrene microspheres 3.12 Âľm in diameter suspended in deionized water. Future work will be focused on trapping particles in the gas phase and performing Raman spectroscopy.
81
Poster Session A
College of Engineering Keyboard Sensor Evaluation Mechanism Keyboard sensing plays a major role in the Magnetic Resonator Piano (MRP); the system that expands the capabilities of a grand piano by sending digitally synthesized audio through electromagnets that directly actuate the piano strings. The audio synthesis is controlled by the keyboard sensor which produce high resolution key position measurements, enabling fine and precise control over the instrument beyond the capabilities of a standard
Amos Akinola
MIDI controller. Apart from the possibilities of dynamic
COE Mechanical Engineering
subtleties of piano performance to a greater detail than
styles of play, the keyboard sensor is also used to study the other keyboard instruments. Currently, the keyboard sensors on the MRP relies upon manual calibration of key
Dr. Youngmoo E. Kim
ranges, which introduces a possible source of inconsistency
Faculty Mentor Electrical & Computer Engineering
reproduction of physically identical key presses across
Jeff Gregorio Graduate Student Mentor
in the data. To evaluate inconsistency, a mechanical testing system was developed whereby, the system enables the several calibrations of the sensor to examine the degree of inconsistency in the data. The system, built from machined aluminum and 3-D printed parts, enables the tester to use a set of weights to press the piano notes. In the event that manual calibration introduces too much data inconsistency, the mechanical system can also double as a calibration system itself. The mechanism will help define the sensitivity limit of the keyboard sensor to help inform the development of piano performance features.
Poster Session B
82
College of Engineering
Steganography in Social Media Steganography is the process of concealing information within other information. This method of pseudo-encryption is primarily used to transfer information secretively and securely. Computational steganography allows for a single file to represent multiple data elements. The purpose of our research was to adapt this practice for social media. Our devised algorithm is used to modify encapsulating data to incorporate embedded data. In this manner, the surface content is changed slightly in order to also represent information hidden beneath. This method allows for information to be shared more efficiently and in a more aesthetic manner. We utilized these concepts as the foundation of our app. Our team has been successful in creating an iPhone app allowing users to encode plain text data into a picture and share it with friends. The picture’s
Brendan Barnes COE Software Engineering
& Eric Simon CCI Computer Science
receiver can then open the image and decode its hidden message using the decode function. While our research has been focused on developing this product, there are my promising applications for such a tool. One could conceal citation information, form a more efficient file format, or create innovative multimedia art using this technology. The opportunities we’ve allowed for with our work is primed for exploration. We’ve shown here that it’s possible to format data, on a mobile device, such that distinct elements cannot be separated from one another. Our future research will involve expanding upon this fundamental concept and
Dr. Youngmoo E. Kim Faculty Mentor Electrical & Computer Engineering
Julie Borgeot Graduate Student Mentor
discovering its various applications.
83
Poster Session B
College of Engineering
Making Mechanical Music I harnessed the power of the Arduino microcontroller to create a Rube-Goldberg-inspired “mechanical music machine”, comprised of K’Nex, Servo motors, and assorted musical instruments. An Arduino is a minicomputer, capable of connecting LED lights, motors, and other reactive sensors in an easy and inexpensive way. These tiny circuit boards allow for a lot of flexibility
Demi Ferker
when it comes to building interactive projects and
COE Electrical Engineering
larger assemblies, especially when combining multiple boards in sequence. A central device becomes the “Master”, and conducts the other “Slave” devices in turn to activate motors, and produce a variety of sounds.
Dr. Youngmoo E. Kim
Simple and effective, the Arduinos provided me with
Faculty Mentor Electrical & Computer Engineering
simpler device created during the Summer Music
Alyssa Batula Graduate Student Mentor
the freedom to explore the creative applications of a simple circuit board. This project was expanded from a Technology program held by the Music Entertainment Technology Lab. Over one week, high school students are introduced to the technological aspects of digital music and discover the connections between engineering, science, and music recording. The METLab provided me with similar means to bridge my interests in technology, programming, and music performance.
Poster Session B
84
College of Engineering Promoting Sustainable Living Lifestyles with Mobile App Development The purpose of my study is to create a mobile application that will promote recycling. Due to the ubiquity of mobile phones, mobile applications may be an effective platform to leverage the accessibility and benefits of recycling. According to the Pew Research Center, 50% of American adult smartphone users use their phone to download applications. Therefore,
Monyee Liang AWCOMAD Interactive Digital Media
smartphone applications have a lot of potential in promoting sustainable living lifestyles. To address the issue of waste among consumers, I built an iOS mobile application designed to hold a database of specific products that we encounter in our daily lives. My application utilizes a search function as its main feature. Users can search for a specific name and product brand by typing it into a search bar. A list of matching items will appear beneath the bar. By selecting an item, more information on how to recycle the product will appear in another view. If the item is not in the database, the user has the option to add an item to the list. In addition, if the user has an over-sized or noncurbside recyclable item, they can refer to the map view for
Dr. Youngmoo E. Kim Faculty Mentor Electrical & Computer Engineering
Julie Borgeot Graduate Student Mentor
sanitation convenience centers nearby. This project is a work in progress. I plan to transfer the long list of recyclables into a web-server, such as Amazon Web Server. This will allow the search database of recyclables to be accessed by any user that has the mobile application. Users can share and store data online. The connection to a web server will also allow users to ask and answer questions about recycling. I will also include an activities feature that will be linked to the database that. The activities feature will provide suggestions for the user to do a specific activity in a more sustainable way.
85
Poster Session B
College of Engineering Web Development and Education Mobile and web application development are everevolving fields that are weaving their way into every corner of our lives. The ability to adapt current services into suitable mobile or web platforms is becoming an increasingly complex and equally desired skill. The
Eric Simon
cultivation and proliferation of these skills was our
CCI Computer Science
purpose this summer. We worked in the App Lab at
& Brendan Barnes
apps in the Xcode environment. Together, we created
COE Software Engineering
Drexelâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s ExCITe Center, initially learning to code for iOS several applications and helped to modify wellestablished ones. Our position expanded to include many forms of education and design. We developed several web editor tools for video game sprites, javascript, and html with the goal of teaching others modern
Dr. Youngmoo E. Kim Faculty Mentor Electrical & Computer Engineering
Julie Borgeot Graduate Student Mentor
programming tools. As part of our role as educators, we provided open consultation hours to advise those interested in learning or utilizing mobile app development. Furthermore we helped to run a workshop where novice programmers learned to code their first app using iOS development tools. Our hope is that, as these programming skills continue to spread, all will be able to take a more active role in the interconnectivity of our world provided by modern web technology.
Poster Session B
86
College of Engineering Real-time Chord Transcription The process of music transcription can be seen as a reversal of a more well understood process where musicians perform music on instruments by reading prepared notation. Instead of creating the music we hear from reading notation and performing on instruments, we take the music we hear and attempt to arrive back at some sort of representation that accurately represents the given music. The problem is that transcribing musical information through automated computer analysis has been a very difficult problem for engineers. Many modern
Nabeel Ansari PHC CustomDesigned Major
methods attempt this with a reasonable accuracy, however, there are no systems designed for real-time, accessible use. My research focuses on bringing a solution to the web browser, where a user can load a simple web app and have it analyze audio through the microphone or an input music file. Minimizing calculations is important in creating an application that does its processing quickly. Considering this, I designed a basic computer algorithm to analyze not exact musical information from the audio, but rather underlying macroscopic patterns called chords. Chords are groupings of musical notes that provide a
Dr. Youngmoo E. Kim Faculty Mentor Electrical & Computer Engineering
Jeff Scott Graduate Student Mentor
framework for musicians to understand general trends in music. Given improvements from further research to achieve better accuracy, the algorithm can be reused to create a variety of browser applications, such as real-time improvisation guidance, reactive computer performance, and assisted music transcription.
87
Poster Session B
College of Engineering Interactive Torso-tracking Enabling Robotic Operation (ITERO) Since the dawn of man, creating useful tools has been both a passion and necessity. After thousands of years, technology has advanced to the point where machines can be made to look and operate like us. Humanoid robotics is an ever-expanding field of research and development that is accelerating at an immense rate. One of the biggest problems faced in this field is creating
Matthew Wiese COE Mechanical Engineering
natural and organic movements in a quick and concise manner. Currently, to make these robots move, certain knowledge is needed, such as how far exactly each joint motor should rotate. This method is not only tediously time consuming and frustrating, but requires a computer scientist to operate physical movements. Motion capture
Dr. Youngmoo E. Kim Faculty Mentor Electrical & Computer Engineering
is a promising method of transforming natural human movements into useful three-dimensional data. Unfortunately, this method is both costly and time consuming, requiring full body motion capture suits and recording sessions in a pristine environment. My research allows for full upper body control of a HUBO humanoid robot in near real time by simply standing in front of a
Ryan Young
Kinect V2 motion sensor and performing physical
Undergraduate Student Mentor
allows for more natural movements, simplifies interaction,
gestures. This innovative human-robot puppeting method and greatly advances motion capture techniques for advanced robotics.
Poster Session B
88
College of Engineering Lytro Camera Light Source for Ophthalmoscopy Ophthalmoscopy is an exam performed by eye doctors to examine a patientâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s fundus, the interior portion of the eye behind the lens, as well as other eye features. The goal of this research, which was performed in collaboration with Wills Eye Hospital, was to create a light source for the Lytro camera to enable an unskilled person to perform ophthalmoscopy exams outside of a medical setting and without pupil dilation. The Lytro camera is a light-field, or plenoptic, camera which captures and stores information about each light ray that enters the camera. Light-field cameras enable the user to refocus an image after it is captured and to circumvent a partially occluded field of view. By using a Lytro camera for an ophthalmoscopy exam, an unfocused image of a retina could be sent to a doctor for remote diagnosis.
Avital Breverman COE Electrical Engineering
The use of the Lytro camera (which does not have an integrated through-the-lens light source) to illuminate and captures images of eye structures requires a light source that does not cause eye damage. To create a light source LED circuits were designed, using EAGLE CAD software, milled and implemented using a human eye model and lens on a bench setup. Through-hole and surface-mount LEDs of different wavelengths and colors and with varying emission angles were considered. When tested on rabbits, through-hole LEDs with wavelengths in the green, white and infrared light ranges and
Dr. Timothy Kurzweg Faculty Mentor Electrical & Computer Engineering
Weston Aenbacher Graduate Student Mentor
with narrow emission angles provided the greatest amount of illumination with the least amount of glare.
89
Poster Session B
College of Engineering
Studying the Effects of Intermittent Energy Resources on the Load Side Renewable energy sources have become extremely popular in the twenty-first century, and the use of them in the electricity market has grown exponentially in recent times. Frequently used renewable sources such as solar and wind are prone to fluctuations in generation and loads due to their intermittent nature. If there were large intermittent energy penetration to the grid system, these fluctuations would result in substantial effects on the
Liangjian Gao
reliability and sustainability of power supply. Hence, new
COE Electrical Engineering
strategies need to operate and manage them in order to maintain and enhance the power-supply safety and quality. The presented work investigates the effects of intermittent energy source, varying generation voltage,
Dr. Chika Nwankpa
on different types of loads. The goal is to understand
Faculty Mentor Electrical & Computer Engineering
An auto-transformer (variable transformer) will be used
Mohammed Muthalib
how voltage fluctuation affects different types of loads. to simulate the characteristics of renewable energy, and a programmable AC/DC load will be used for various load types.
Graduate Student Mentor
Poster Session B
90
College of Engineering Robotics Based on Snake Biology Most robots are specialized for a single, specific task. Our group has been working on a robot designed after snake biology that is capable of accomplishing many different tasks. A snake-like design allows for an incredible amount of maneuverability that cannot be found in many other robots. The objective of the most recent working model, Snake V4, is to increase speed and versatility from previous models to better help in search and rescue missions, space exploration, military situations, surveillance tasks, and possibly underwater operations. These tasks are better completed by snake-like robots
Deborah Hudson COE Mechanical Engineering
because they cannot always be completed by people or other robots if the situation is dangerous, inaccessible, or versatile. With these tasks in mind, Snake V4 was designed to be able to quickly maneuver in any direction. In order to determine how successful this model would be if produced, the kinematics were tested by machining and assembling a prototype of a section, which was then
Dr. Richard Primerano Faculty Mentor Electrical & Computer Engineering
simulated in two and three dimensions. The design was slightly adjusted after the prototype was complete to minimize possible manufacturing errors that were made evident in the process. The simulations predict the movement flexibility of the Snake V4, which shows the excellent maneuverability and versatility of this new model.
91
Poster Session A
College of Engineering
Snake-Like Robots Robots that imitate snakes can be useful for many different
Michael Sangillo COE Mechanical Engineering
applications. Other types of robots may be better for specific tasks, but snake-like robots sport unmatched versatility due to their unique shape. Snake-like robots can be used for surveillance, search and rescue, underwater exploration, plumbing, and even space exploration. The Data Fusion Laboratory has developed several snake-like robots, each
Dr. Richard Primerano
with different abilities. One robot that is currently in development, Snake V4, will be able to move by propelling
Faculty Mentor itself through its own skin. This allows the robot to move Electrical & through tight spaces without bending its body. The Snake V4 Computer also tests a new way of linking segments; instead of joints, it Engineering
bends plastic connectors. This goal of this project was to
continue the development and testing of the Snake V4 robot. The robotâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s ability to follow a given curve was simulated using MATLAB in both 2 and 3 dimensions. One section of the robotâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s mechanical body was also manufactured, assembled, and tested. It was found that the robot would be able to achieve a maximum angle of 36 degrees between two segments. The original mechanical design was also modified to allow for greater tolerances in the parts and therefore, easier manufacturing.
Poster Session A
92
College of Engineering Advanced Applications of Single Board Computers A new category of embedded computers is emerging on the market. These computers are known as single board computers. Previously, there was a large divide between desktop computers and microcontrollers. The purpose of these single board computers is to provide the processing power of a computer while providing the direct hardware access and general purpose input and output pins of microcontrollers.
Nathan Lynn Schomer COE Computer Engineering
Some examples of these single board computers include the Rasberry Pi and Beaglebone Black. This project focused on the use of the Beaglebone Black. Because of how new the Beaglebone Black is to the market, there is a limited amount of information regarding more advanced uses of this single board computer. This project focused on more advanced, less developed applications for the BeagleBone Black such as
Dr. Richard Primerano Faculty Mentor Electrical & Computer Engineering
robotics, LinuxCNC, non-stable operating systems, CAN bus communication, I2C bus communication, robot operating system, and real-time processing. The project was composed of two parts. The first was a ball-balancing robot. This ballbalancing utilized CAN and I2C bus communication for control of brushless motors and reading data from a 9DOF inertia measurement unit. The objective of the projectâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s second part was to automate a desktop lathe. The opensource LinuxCNC program was installed on a BeagleBone Black running the Debian operating system. It was found that single board computers such as the BeagleBone Black have potential applications beyond many of the basic tasks they are currently used for.
93
Poster Session A
College of Engineering Prehensile Soft-Robotic Arm The last several years have seen an increasing scientific interest in the use of soft and deformable structures in the robotic systems. Unlike their rigid exoskeleton counterparts, soft robots are composed primarily of materials such as silicone or rubber and flexible actuators such as air muscles or electroactive polymers (polymers that change in size when stimulated by electric fields).
Agastya Sinha COE Mechanical Engineering
These deformable structures are pivotal in the systems that deal with uncertain and dynamic task-environments such as grasping and manipulation of unknown objects and locomotion in unpredictable terrains. For this project, a soft prehensile robotic arm prototype was researched
Dr. Richard Primerano Faculty Mentor Electrical & Computer Engineering
and designed. This flexible arm was powered by pneumatic actuators. Individual silicone tubes were inserted in a braided mesh similar leading to a structure similar to a common air muscle. The distinguishing factor between this structure and an air muscle was a steel ribbon running inside the braid lengthwise on one side of each tube causing it to bend towards that side when air pressure was applied. Two end plugs were designed on the CAD software Creo Parametric, to plug the ends of each tube. Hose clamps were used to hold the plugs firmly in place. Three such tubes were linked together through an intertwining wire system such that the tubes would stick together and work in an antagonistic manner, causing bending in different directions. By varying the air pressure in the three tubes, it was possible to cause the
Poster Session A
arm to bend in all directions.
94
College of Engineering Detection of Hardware Trojans Hardware Trojans are a threat to military systems, financial infrastructure, transportation security, and consumer electronics due to the Trojansâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; ability to disable systems or leak confidential information. Hardware Trojans are generally triggered by activity within an integrated circuit, which includes the occurrence of rare combinational values, timing requirements, or a specific temperature of operation. Real-time detection is needed to identify and neutralize the threat caused by a hardware Trojan. Detection of hardware Trojans was investigated through a side-channel analysis of voltage noise on the power distribution network. Each circuit block in an integrated
Alexander Nhan COE Computer Engineering
circuit requires power to operate, and produces a unique noise pattern due to current pulled from the power network. First, a single layer power distribution network was modeled in Cadence Virtuoso. Next, device activity was modeled through the use of current mirrors, which emulate current drawn by the circuit blocks. Noise patterns, generated through MATLAB simulation, were inputted into the current mirrors to model device noise on the power distribution network. Finally, the noise patterns were analyzed through transient simulation in Cadence
Dr. Ioannis Savidis Faculty Mentor Electrical & Computer Engineering
Divya Pathak Graduate Student Mentor
Virtuoso. With this process, a signature of the voltage noise is created for each known circuit block. The cumulative noise signature is then used as a baseline to compare against when detecting a foreign, unknown voltage signature.
95
Poster Session B
College of Engineering
Efficiency of Adiabatic Logic for Low Power Electronics Demands for low power operation in microelectronics
Habeeb Olawin COE Computer Engineering
have motivated VLSI designers to explore new approaches to the design of VLSI circuits. Adiabatic logic design is a new design style, alternative to the current Silicon Valley standard of CMOS (complementary metal oxide semiconductor) design style, which promises to reduce the power dissipation substantially. In this work,
Dr. Baris Taskin
the power dissipation efficiency of a fully adiabatic logic circuit was compared with its CMOS counterpart. The
Faculty Mentor Electrical & Computer Engineering
performance of these two were studied in terms of the
Sneha Nanjappa
verification methodology. In simulations, the power
Graduate Student Mentor
0.00354m watts and 0.02130m watts respectively for the
power dissipated using an industrial standard tool; Cadence. The logic function of a buffer was selected for this comparison and SPICE simulation were used as the dissipated in the Adiabatic logic and CMOS were buffer function. This demonstrates that the adiabatic logic design style is promising as it provides a 16% power savings compared to the standard CMOS based implementation.
Poster Session B
96
College of Engineering Quantification of Delaminated Mxene Degradation Two-dimensional materials have captured the attention of the scientific community for their unique thermal, mechanical, and electrical properties. A family of 2D materials called MXenes â&#x20AC;&#x201C; discovered at Drexel in 2011 shares characteristics of graphene, including its hexagonal structure and electrical conductivity. MXenes offer more chemical possibilities than graphene in their variety of structures, bonding, and functional groups. They are made from etching the A element out of a MAX phase, where M is a transition metal, A is from group IIIA or IVA, and X is carbon or nitrogen. This study focuses on titanium carbide (Ti3C2) that is produced from titanium aluminum carbide
Valerie Niemann COE Chemical Engineering
(Ti3AlC2) using lithium fluoride and hydrochloric acid. The reaction creates an exfoliated multilayer which is sonicated to disperse flakes of Ti3C2 into solution. The delaminated Ti3C2 suspension can then be dropcast or spincoated onto substrates to form transparent, conductive films. For high quality films, the MXene suspension must have a high concentration of flakes that are not oxidized either by dissolved oxygen or photochemical degradation. With the use of Fourier Transform Spectroscopy, MXene degradation was studied and quantified as a function of time. The resulting information provides insight on the
Dr. Michel W. Barsoum Faculty Mentor Materials Science & Engineering
Michael Ghidiu Graduate Student Mentor
conditions and kinetics behind MXene degradation, which will be instrumental for control of synthesis and optimization of transparent, conductive films.
97
Poster Session A
College of Engineering
The Discovery of the First Chromium Containing MXene, (Cr2/3Ti1/3)3C2 First discovered at Drexel University in 2011, MXenes
Cooper A. Voigt COE Materials Science & Engineering
are a growing family of 2-dimensional (2D) materials with great promise in many applications. MXenes have been shown to have some excellent capabilities in anodes for Li ion batteries and cathodes of asymmetric supercapacitors. These materials follow the formula Mn+1Xn, where “M” is an early transition metal, “X” is carbon or nitrogen with “n” typically varying from 1-3.
Dr. Michel W. Barsoum
The structure of these materials is reminiscent of 2D
Faculty Mentor Materials Science & Engineering
they are relatively new, the MXene family of materials is
Dr. Babak Anasori
containing MXene ever to be fabricated via selectively
Post-Doctoral Fellow
graphene sheets, hence the name “MX-ene”. Because still growing and there are compositions that have yet to be discovered. To date, Ti, V, Nb, Ta-based MXenes exist. This project presents the first chromium etching Al from (Cr2/3Ti1/3)3AlC2, a solid solution MAX Phase. The resulted (Cr2/3Ti1/3)3C2 MXene was analyzed using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and x-ray diffraction (XRD) techniques.
Poster Session B
98
College of Engineering Multivalent Ion Electrolytes for Electrochemical Energy Storage Electrochemical capacitors (ECs) are energy storage devices with higher power density compared to batteries and higher energy density compared to electrolytic or electrostatic capacitors. Electrochemical double layer capacitors (EDLCs) are a specific type of ECs that store charge on a double layer formed at the electrode and electrolyte interface. While the majority of the research efforts to improve the performance of EDLCs are focused on the improvement of electrode materials properties,
Brian Blake COE Chemical Engineering
improving electrolytes is an effective way to achieve higher specific capacitance and energy density with existing electrode materials. In theory, EDLCs featuring electrolytes that consist of multivalent ions could store more charge compared to devices that use electrolytes based on monovalent ions. This is simply due to Faradayâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s law where the charge stored by ions is directly related to their valence number. Although using multivalent ion electrolytes for batteries has gained a lot of research attention in past few years, there is still a lack of systematic study of multivalent ion electrochemistry for
Dr. Yury Gogotsi Faculty Mentor Materials Science & Engineering
Katherine Van Aken Graduate Student Mentor
electrochemical capacitor applications. This study has explored the effects of multivalent ion containing electrolytes on performance of EDLCs. We focused on initial assessment of cations with various valence numbers. This work was aimed at providing a guideline for future research in this field.
99
Poster Session A
College of Engineering
Modeling Resistive and Capacitive Behavior of Knitted Supercapacitors Garment devices (i.e., smart textiles, e-textiles) bring diverse functionality to traditional clothing with far reaching applications in military, healthcare, sports and other industries. These devices currently use traditional
Danish Dhamani COE Mechanical Engineering
solid batteries that are placed in pockets, or stitched onto the smart garment. Commercially available devices do not yet integrate energy storage into the textile structure. An alternative method proposed by our group is to develop a textile based energy system
Dr. Yury Gogotsi
that is fully integrated in the smart garment. The benefits of such a system would result in a flexible and
Faculty Mentor Materials Science & Engineering
non-toxic energy source in a more compatible system.
Genevieve Dion
work describes conductivity measurements and
However, little is known about how the fabric structure affects the operation of these devices. Therefore, this electrochemical characterization used to build a
Faculty Mentor Fashion Design
predictive model for designing knitted
Kristy Jost
electrode separation were all characterized, and their
Graduate Student Mentor
Poster Session A
supercapacitors. Fabric strain, device geometry, and effects on performance are explained here.
100
College of Engineering The Adsorption and Release of Drugs with Nanodiamond Due to its high biocompatibility, low toxicity, and rich surface chemistry, nanodiamond (ND) â&#x20AC;&#x201C; diamond nanoparticles made by detonation â&#x20AC;&#x201C; can be used for drug delivery applications. A drug can be adsorbed onto the ND surface and then released at a controlled rate, which can be essential for drugs that would otherwise be harmful to healthy cells in the body if released at an uncontrolled rate. The study conducted here was designed to evaluate the amount of drug adsorbed to the ND and study how its
James Haeckel COE Chemical Engineering
release can be controlled by pH. Two unique types of nanodiamond were used in this study: one from the United States (ND) and one from China (ZH). Tetracycline (TC), a broad spectrum antibiotic, and Doxorubicin (DOX), a chemotherapy drug, were studied with ND and ZH respectively. Chemical modifications were also done to the nanodiamonds to study different surface chemistries. Different surface chemistries included carboxylic terminated (NDCOOH) and amine terminated (ND-NH2). Each nanodiamond was prepared with different dialutions of the drug and allowed to reach equilibrium over 24 hours. For
Dr. Yury Gogotsi Faculty Mentor Materials Science & Engineering
Dr. James Giammarco Post-Doctoral Fellow
the release study, after 24 hours, after supernate was removed from each sample, an equal volume of fresh solvent (a specific pH buffer) was added. It was found that as received ND had the highest monolayer capacity of TC, and the pH 4.09 buffer solution resulted in the greatest cumulative release of TC from BD, BDCOOH, and ND-NH2.
101
Poster Session A
College of Engineering High volumetric capacitance of Ti3C2 Mxene film with more intercalation active sites Supercapacitors have been attracting attention worldwide for their high power density and energy density comparable to batteries. With the increasing demand for portable and wearable electronics, high volumetric performance of supercapacitors is becoming pivotal in many research projects. MXenes are a new class of two-dimensional materials discovered by researchers from Drexel Nanotechnology Institute in 2010. Titanium carbide (Ti3C2) MXene is featured with a rare combination of hydrophilic surfaces and metallic
Teresa Moore conductivity. Furthermore, Ti3C2, etched from hydrochloric COE Materials Science & Engineering
acid, has demonstrated its potential as a promising electrode material for Li-ion batteries and supercapacitors, with volumetric capacitance exceeding all carbon materials. Cation intercalation on active sites between Ti3C2 layers are reported to contribute to the capacitance. Therefore, we exploited the capacitive performance of the Ti3C2 MXene with
Dr. Yury Gogotsi
potentially much more intercalation-active sites. The Ti3C2 was
Faculty Mentor Materials Science & Engineering
offers a milder reaction environment and more active sites
Ms. Evelyn Ren Graduate Student Mentor
etched with Lithium fluoride/hydrochloric acid solution, which after being exposed to metal cations during etching. The Ti3C2 electrode obtained offered impressive volumetric capacitance in sulfuric acid that was two times the capacitance of conventional Ti3C2. In addition, this material showed stable capacitance after cycling for 10,000 times. By combining Ti3C2 with a polymer (polyvinyl alcohol) while wrapping H2SO4 in PVA as a gel electrolyte, the produced film will be stronger and more stable. The composite films also retained capacitance slightly smaller than pure Ti3C2 films, and in this case these composite films are promising electrode materials for flexible capacitor devices.
Poster Session A
102
College of Engineering Free-standing MXene/Metal Oxide Composite Papers as Flexible Anodes for Li-ion Batteries Two-dimensional (2D) materials have attracted great attention as electrode materials for energy storage devices due to their large areas of electrochemically-active surfaces. Recently, MXenes, a new family of 2D materials, have proven to be promising candidates for electrodes in Li-ion batteries and supercapacitors. However, the performance of delaminated MXene papers is seriously limited due to the compact stacking of MXene flakes that prevent the accessibility of electrolytes and ions. Flexible and free-standing sandwich-like MXene/metal oxide composite papers were fabricated through alternating filtration method. The MXenes provide superior conductivity and
Michelle Torelli COE Materials Science & Engineering
flexibility for the entire electrode as well as good Li-ion storage capability. The metal oxides, such as Co3O4 and NiCo2O4, serve as spacers between MXene flakes and provide ultra-high capacitance. The synthetic effect of the two materials renders the MXene/metal oxide papers much improved performance as anode materials for Li-ion batteries. The MXene/Co3O4 composites achieved a first-cycle capacitance of 1100 mAh/g. High reversible and stable capacitance around 650 mAh/g was retained for more than 200 cycles at 1C, which is about 3 times of the commercial graphite electrodes and 30 times higher than pure MXene paper electrodes. To further improve the performance of MXene/metal oxide composites and promote their scaleable production, layer-by-layer assembly of MXenes and metal oxides through spray coating was utilized. The
Dr. Yury Gogotsi Faculty Mentor Materials Science & Engineering
Dr. Mengqiang Zhao Post-Doctoral Fellow
performance tests of the spray-coated MXene/metal oxide composites are ongoing. This work provides a simple, scaleable and effective strategy for the fabrication of advanced materials for energy storage, flexible devices, and catalysis.
103
Poster Session A
College of Engineering Photoconductivity Measurement of Iron-based Complex Oxide Films With the increased awareness of the financial and environmental consequences of the continued use of conventional energy sources like coal and petroleum, people are turning to alternative sources of energy. Among the alternative sources of energy which are currently being explored, solar energy has shown great promise and recent technological advances have made it more accessible. There is currently much research on thin film solar cells
Lenora Dieyi COE Materials Science & Engineering
because of their advantages over regular silicon wafer cells, such as portability and low production costs, as they require less volume of material. Presently, researchers are investigating new earth abundant, non-toxic materials for thin film solar cells. One potential material class for these applications is transition metal oxides.
Dr. Steven May Faculty Mentor Materials Science & Engineering
Mark Scafetta Graduate Student Mentor
This research involved designing, troubleshooting and conducting experiments to test the photo-conductivity of La1xSrxFeO3 thin films, with particular emphasis on how Strontium concentration influenced the photo-conductivity. Photoconductivity is the increase in the electrical conductivity due to the presence of light, an important material characteristic for any solar-based application. The photo-conductivity measurements were carried out by wiring the films to a current source and a nanovoltmeter. The instruments were then connected to a computer and measurements were taken using a program which measures the resistance as a function of time. Initial results showed that the resistance of the films decreased when the samples were exposed to light and increased when the light source was removed. The photo-conductivity measurements are important because they show how much light increases the conductivity of the different films.
Poster Session A
104
College of Engineering Optimization of a novel method for perovskite fluorination Perovskites, typically composed of two metals and oxygen, are a broad class of materials of much interest to scientists due to the wide range of interesting properties they exhibit. Due to their unique crystal structure and ability to incorporate the majority of stable elements, perovskites have a diverse range of applications that leads to their use in microelectronics, catalytic converters, and fuel cells. Additionally, it has been shown that minor changes to the structure or composition of a perovskite often have effects on the materialâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s properties. This study pertains to the perovskite SrFeO3 (Strontium Ferrite or SFO). In order to modify the perovskiteâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s properties, it was grown oxygen-deficient as SrFeO3-x to allow for the incorporation of fluorine. While prior attempts at fluorination
Sam Kulesa COE Materials Science & Engineering
had been successful, a new experimental set-up was devised to avoid the need to use spin-coating and thus minimize the steps needed for the process. The new method, which used a quartz tube to pass an inert gas over a crucible filled with fluorinecontaining PVDF polymer and SFO samples, was tested at different temperatures ranging between 250 C and 350 C in hopes of optimizing the fluorination. Each sample, created under different conditions, was studied with different techniques to investigate the fluorine content and properties of fluorinated SFO (SFO-F). Atomic force microscopy was used to study the surface morphology and roughness of the samples while x-ray diffraction was used
Dr. Steven May Faculty Mentor Materials Science & Engineering
Dr. Eun Ju Moon Post-Doctoral Researcher
to identify changes in atomic structure. Additionally, x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy was used to confirm the incorporation of fluorine in the samples. Results provided from these techniques indicate that the new fluorination method was successful.
105
Poster Session A
College of Engineering Control of Solar Performance in epitaxial LSFO Thin Films We reported the dependence of solar cell performance on O(oxygen) concentration and
Lige (Caroline) Zhang COAS Physics
Dr. Steven May Faculty Mentor Materials Science & Engineering
Mark Scafetta Graduate Student Mentor Engineering
Poster Session A
Sr(Strontium) concentration in La1-xSrxFeO3 (LSFO) perovskite thin films. Strained epitaxial films were deposited on SrTiO3 and SrTiO3:Nb substrates using oxide molecular beam epitaxy(MBE). Transparent conducting upper layers were deposited on LSFO films with ITO. O concentration were controlled by heating and re-annealing in mixed O2 and O3. Absorption properties were measured with ellipsometry. Mobility and temperature dependent ideality factor were measured with Physics Properties Measurement System(PPMS). We found systematically changes in solar performance, as well as electronic and optical properties including mobility, absorption coefficient and ideality factor with different x values and O concentration.
106
College of Engineering Chemical pre-intercalation for high performance batteries Despite the world-wide commercial success of Li-ion batteries and other leading electric batteries, scientists have been searching for an improved, safe electric storage system with a longer lifetime. Among various alternative methods, chemical pre-intercalation is a relatively simple, low cost, and efficient synthesis technique that can be used for the preparation of novel energy storage materials. A few examples of thus synthesized materials exhibited a highly reversible redox reaction, fast diffusion, ionic/electronic mobility, electrochemical stability, and outstanding capacitance retention. In this project, ions are inserted, or
Seung Ri Cho COE Materials Science & Engineering
pre-intercalated, during the beginning of materials synthesis, thus creating the ions path and placement. The goal of this work is to utilize the chemical pre-intercalation approach to introduce charge carrying ions into electrode materials for the development of batteries with enhanced electrochemical performance. Four alkali/alkali-earth metal ions (Li+, Na+, Mg2+ and K+) were pre-intercalated into gels of V2O5 or MnO2. V2O5 with
Dr. Ekaterina Pomerantseva Faculty Mentor Materials Science & Engineering
lithium charge-carrying ions was used as a model system. Synthesis parameters (stirring conditions, Li/V molar ratio, and time of aging) as well as post-synthesis conditions (hydrothermal treatment and annealing) were varied, and electrochemical performance of the corresponding materials was investigated. We found that the sample synthesized using hydrothermal process and annealing delivered the capacity of 357 mAh/g, which is substantially higher than that of the material prepared without any post-synthesis treatment 188 mAh/g. In the future, the electrochemical compatibility of the charge carrying ions, Na+ and Mg2+, with these oxides will be tested.
107
Poster Session B
College of Engineering Synthesis and characterization of manganese oxide nanowires with tunnel crystal structures for electrochemical energy storage
Patrick West COE Materials Science & Engineering
Dr. Ekaterina Pomerantseva Faculty Mentor Materials Science & Engineering
Poster Session B
As of 2014, lithium-ion batteries are the most successful commercially used solution for energy storage due to their high energy density. But the limited supply of lithium has promoted interest in beyond lithium energy storage, for example, sodium-ion and magnesium-ion batteries. Manganese oxides with tunnel crystal structures are a family of materials ideal for use as electrodes in these batteries because of their high theoretical capacity, natural abundance, and environmental friendliness. These materials can be acid leached to modify their properties such as composition, surface area and electronic conductivity, all of which are important for electrochemical ion intercalation. The goal of this work is the synthesis, acid leaching, and characterization of manganese oxides with tunnel crystal structures for the development of batteries with advanced electrochemical performance. Three types of manganese oxides (Îą-MnO2 nanowires, Na0.44MnO2 nanowires and todorokite nanopowder) were synthesized using a hydrothermal method. Potassium, sodium, and manganese stabilizing ions reside in the structural tunnels, respectively. Îą-MnO2 nanowires were acid leached by interaction with nitric acid. Acid-leached and original Îą-MnO2 nanowires were electrochemically tested in lithium-ion cells, serving as a model system for intercalation. The acid-leached nanowires delivered a capacity of 155 mAh/g which is substantially higher than the original nanowires' capacity (90 mAh/g). This can be explained by the partial removal of stabilizing potassium ions. Our results act as a proof of concept for the use of other oxides in beyond lithium batteries, such as Na0.44MnO2 for sodium-ion batteries and todorokite for magnesium-ion batteries.
108
College of Engineering
Simulating Self-Ion Irradiation of Copper Nanoparticles Many functional properties of nanoparticles such as electronic, optical, mechanical and magnetic properties as well as chemical reactivity are largely dependent upon the size, shape, and structure that can be altered by radiation. Traditionally, irradiation of materials has been considered harmful, as the desired properties of nanoparticles are altered. However, irradiation can be beneficial when leveraged as an engineering tool to achieve certain desired traits in nanoparticles. This research project aims to provide a better understanding of nanoparticlesâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; responses to radiation environments using large-scale atomistic simulations. In particular, we studied the behavior of copper nanoparticles of several sizes during self-ion irradiation of various energies using Molecular Dynamics (MD)
Gabriel Plummer COE Materials Science & Engineering
simulations. To better understand how radiation influences the physical attributes of the nanoparticles, we calculate the atomic loss, or sputtering, of particles as a function of diameter, internal structure, and radiation energy. The results of our simulations showed that sputtering increased as a function of radiation energy and decreased as a function of diameter. These results provide insight into
Dr. Garritt Tucker Faculty Mentor Materials Science & Engineering
which radiation environments can be used to beneficially alter the physical attributes of copper nanoparticles. In order to gain further understanding of nanoparticlesâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; responses to irradiation, these results should be complemented by high-resolution experiments.
109
Poster Session A
College of Engineering The Effects of Sintering on MCC Compacts Microwave sintering has emerged as a common technique used in in the manufacturing of ceramics and certain metals, though only recently applied to
Robert Theisen COE Materials Science & Engineering
pharmaceutical tablets. The objective of this project was to document the changes that occur in microcrystalline cellulose (MCC) (common excipient/binder) when subjected to microwave sintering and to determine if it is a viable method to increase compact strength. To do this, compacts were made at relative densities (RD) of 60-95%
Dr. Antonios Zavaliangos Faculty Mentor Materials Science & Engineering
Sean Garner Graduate Student Mentor
via compaction of MCC powder and subjected to a wide variety of tests concerning the effects of microwave power, time of exposure, and other factors concerning the energy received. It was determined that sintering had an effect on the MCC compacts. In an attempt to isolate the effects of moisture loss and structure changes in the compacts, an environmental chamber was used to seal off the compacts from the normally moist atmosphere. It was determined that sintering causes about an 8-12% increase in diametrical strength (depends on exposure and possibly RD) and a reduction in the mass, height, and RD of the final compact. This is likely due to the loss of moisture from the compact. Further research is still ongoing into the specific effects of sintering on compact structure.
Poster Session A
110
College of Engineering Modeling of the Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor Gradient for Study of Collective Migration Collective endothelial cell migration is crucial for angiogenesis, re-endothelialization after stenting, and tissue engineered construct vascularization. In each of these cases, cells migrate on or through tissues or scaffolds of varying stiffness. However, the impact of substrate stiffness on migratory signaling due to pro-angiogenic growth factors, such as vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), has not yet been examined. Endothelial cells sense the stiffness of their microenvironment via transmembrane integrin receptors, which are more activated on stiffer substrates. Integrins and growth factor receptors experience significant crosstalk. For example, endothelial cells must be adhered to a substrate via integrins for a growth factor response to occur. Our overall hypothesis is that substrate stiffness enhances endothelial cell
Soumya S. Iyer SCHOOL OF BIOMED. Biomedical Engineering
VEGF response during collective migration. This study focused on modeling and testing a microfluidic device to produce a sustained VEGF gradient during collective migration studies on mechanically-tunable, collagen-coated polyacrylamide (PA) hydrogels. Using COMSOL modeling software, a timedependent mass transfer model was developed to predict VEGF gradient strength over time. Our model predicted that the gradient strength peaks at 5 hours at 24mM/mm and gradually decreases to 17 mM/mm over the next 19 hours. Experimentally, the VEGF was incorporated into both sodium alginate and heparin-alginate (H/A) hydrogels to observe sustained release over 24 hours. These results will enable us to
Dr. Alisa Morss Clyne Faculty Mentor Mechanical Engineering & Mechanics
Adam C. Canver Graduate Student Mentor
study how substrate stiffness enhances endothelial response to a VEGF gradient during collective migration.
111
Poster Session A
College of Engineering Construction and Calibration of Flow Boiling Apparatus Phase change heat transfer through surface engineering is acquiring attention due to its ability to dissipate large
Greg Paulukinas COE Mechanical Engineering
amounts of heat due to its utilization of latent heat of vaporization. However, this technology is limited to the temperatures that it can operate at by the critical heat flux (CHF). CHF is dependent on the liquid-vapor contact line motion, surface roughness, mass-flux, vapor quality, and pressure drop in a heated microchannel surface. All of
Dr. Matthew McCarthy Faculty Mentor Mechanical Engineering & Mechanics
Md Mahamadur Rahman Graduate Student Mentor
these factors make it difficult to design and operate a flow boiling system. This work focuses on the optimization of a two phase closed loop experimental apparatus to study flow boiling. The system consist of a reservoir, gear pump, and numerous valves to control flow rate though the test section. Furthermore, the flow loop and all its components must function properly when held under vacuum which is necessary to remove dissolved gasses in the coolant fluid and lower the working temperatures. In order to collect data four temperature probes, a mass-flow meter and a pressure transducer have all been installed to the system. High speed imaging is also utilized to visualize the different flow regimes within the test section. The apparatus has been constructed, calibrated and debugged, resulting in the ability to precisely control mass-flow rate, and thermal loading to the microchannel heat sinks that make up the test section.
Poster Session A
112
College of Engineering
Template-assisted Synthesis of Silver Nanotubes via Capillary-driven Self-assembly Due to their high surface area-to-volume ratio, nanotubes have potential applications in supercapacitor electrodes, microelectronics and microsensors. In this study, we developed a method using anodic aluminum oxide membranes as template for self-assembly of spherical nanoparticles into silver nanotubes on a solid substrate. After sintering, the template encapsulating the
Sullivan Brophy COE Mechanical Engineering
silver nanoforest is dissolved, and a series of cleaning procedures are conducted to remove residues. Different substrate materials are used to fabricate the nanotube forest for comparing the silver-substrate adhesion. Moreover, the effect of drying conditions on the silver nanotube morphologies is studied. Nanotube forest dried from solvent evaporation is found to bend and assembled into bundles due to elasticcapillary effect from the liquid surface tension. In contrast, nanotubes
Dr. Ying Sun Faculty Mentor Mechanical Engineering & Mechanics
Xin Yang Graduate Student Mentor
which underwent immersing in liquid tert-butanol, freezing, and sublimation in vacuum are all aligned in the same direction on the substrate.
113
Poster Session A
College of Engineering Mass Production of PCM Particles for Power Plant Cooling Project Steam-electric power plant cooled by wet cooling tower costs a large amount of water withdraw and environmental damage. This project aims to develop the power plant condenser system via replacing cooling water with phase-change material (PCM). The PCM particles absorb the heat from the steam pipes and become liquid. The melted PCM is then sprayed
Zhouhai Liu
into PCM droplets that are cooled and solidified in air
COE Mechanical Engineering
collected in a bath embedded with steam pipes to
to form PCM particles. The PCM particles are complete the cycle. In this project, Eicosane is used as PCM which contains high latent heat capacity. The
Dr. Ying Sun Faculty Mentor Mechanical Engineering & Mechanics
main purpose of my study is to develop methods to effectively produce uniform solid PCM particles in large quantity. Micro-emulsion and molding methods are explored with some success.
Han Hu Graduate Student Mentor
Poster Session A
114
College of Engineering Atomistic Simulations of Orientation Dependent Hardness in Aluminum Indentation is a popular method for probing the mechanical properties of a material in a nondestructive manner and can provide qualitative and quantitative information regarding material stiffness and strength. Hardness measurements can also
Arulselvi Selvaraja COE Mechanical Engineering
demonstrate anisotropy using Knoop indenters and is used to establish the slip planes in materials without direct observation. To see if this idea holds during nanoindentation where dislocation nucleation is prominent, we investigate hardness anisotropy using atomistic simulations. Our simulations are carried out in Aluminum, a popular structural metal where the slip planes are well established, using a cylindrical
Dr. Christopher Weinberger Faculty Mentor Mechanical Engineering & Mechanics
indenter. The results show no definitive hardness anisotropy, which may be attributed to the dominance of dislocation nucleation in the simulations. Additional studies are warranted to better understand the results.
115
Poster Session B
Drexel Un iversity College of Medicine Investigating How the DNA Damage Response Impacts the Chromatin State of Herpes Simplex Virus Type 1 Herpes Simplex Virus Type 1 (HSV-1) is a highly contagious neurotropic virus that infects the mouth and lips, resulting in painful lesions and sores. Roughly 57.7% of the US population is seropositive for HSV-1, and the virus is easily transmittable via direct contact from infected oral secretions. Upon initial infection, the host cell will silence HSV-1 by packaging the viral DNA into an inaccessible heterochromatin state. HSV-1 normally counteracts these measures, but when the cellular
Rebecca Yao COAS Biological Sciences
histone demethylase, JMJD2, is inhibited with the compound ML324, the virus is incapable of alleviating the heterochromatin, and viral gene expression is inhibited. We hypothesize that activation of the cellâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s DNA damage response (DDR) can reverse the heterochromatin structure on the viral genome due to ML324. We use an oral epithelial cell line to study HSV-1
Dr. Jane AzizkhanClifford
infection. By collecting protein lysates at different times post
Faculty Mentor Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
with a small molecule inhibitor of ATM, KU-55933, inhibits an
infection and running western blots, we have detected activation of ATM and several of its targets. Treatment of cells early event during infection that is necessary for HSV-1 DNA replication. We have also verified that ML324 inhibits expression of the immediate early class of viral genes as well as ATM activation. We are in the process of optimizing experimental conditions for inducing ATM activation with the DNA damage reagent, neocarzinostatin. Once we establish a working concentration, we will determine if activation of ATM by neocarzinostatin can reactivate expression of viral IE genes when cells are treated with ML324. If our hypothesis is correct, this finding will provide valuable information about how cellular
Poster Session B
factors regulate the HSV-1 genome.
116
Drexel Un iversity College of Medicine Role of acetaldehyde dehydrogenase Atd1 in preservation of genomic integrity Approximately 5.9% of all deaths (3.3 million people) were associated with alcohol consumption in 2012. This was probably in part due to the carcinogenic effects of acetaldehyde, the primary metabolite of ethanol. Acetaldehyde can cause DNA damage and interrupt DNA repair pathways, which leads to genomic instability, a hallmark of cancer. Various genes, including aldehyde dehydrogenase 2 (ALDH2), have been identified in humans as being important for the breakdown of acetaldehyde into acetic acid. Some East Asian populations (approximately 36%) have a defective form of ALDH2 that causes individuals who consume alcohol to accumulate acetaldehyde quickly and
Vinesh Anandarajan COAS Biological Sciences
suffer a much higher risk of cancers, especially those of the upper aerodigestive tract. By using the fission yeast Schizosaccharomyces pombe as a model organism, we can see the effect of acetaldehyde on cell growth, as well as the potential functions of DNA repair genes that could be involved in preventing acetaldehydedependent DNA damage. We have identified genes
Dr. Eishi Noguchi Faculty Mentor Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
important for aldehyde breakdown in S. pombe. Deletion of those genes, such as atd1 (acetaldehyde dehydrogenase) caused cellular sensitivity to acetaldehyde. Using serial dilution assays, we then examined genetic interactions between DNA repair pathways and aldehyde detoxification. We found that several DNA repair genes including rad3, fml1, and chl1 were important for the growth of atd1-deleted cells. These results led us to hypothesize that atd1-deleted cells have increased DNA damage. We will test this hypothesis by visualizing the Rad52 DNA repair protein fused to yellow fluorescent protein. We expect to see a significant increase of DNA damage in nuclei of atd1 mutants.
117
Poster Session B
Drexel Un iversity College of Medicine Skin Cancer in Transplant Patients Immunosuppressive drugs, taken by organ transplant recipients to prevent the body from rejecting the foreign
Abigail Colasacco SCHOOL OF BIOMED. Biomedical Engineering
tissue, increase the risk of skin cancer. In this three year retrospective study, we examined the frequency of appearance of cancerous skin lesions, including melanoma, basal cell carcinoma, squamous cell carcinoma, and squamous cell carcinoma in-situ. The objective of the study is to determine the risk of each specific cancerous lesion and degree of malignancy in
Dr. Carrie Ann Cusack Faculty Mentor Dermatology
the other non-cancerous diagnoses. The Fitzpatrick skin types, ages, and gender of the 300 participants are varied. The study involves compiling the diagnoses and number and types of skin cancers from each patient. The diagnoses are categorized into one of five groups of increasing severity. The result of this study will be the risk of each specific cancerous skin lesion in various Fitzpatrick skin types. The study will also determine if the immunosuppressants correlate with severe diagnoses. The data will aid physicians in prevention and detection of skin cancer in transplant and immunosuppressed patients of all skin types.
Poster Session A
118
Drexel Un iversity College of Medicine Assessment of predictive margins of biopsies of nonmelanoma skin cancer: a retrospective analysis Basal cell carcinoma (BCC), squamous cell carcinoma (SCC), and squamous cell carcinoma in-situ (SCC-IS) are collectively known as nonmelanoma skin cancer (NMSC). Together these cancers represent the most commonly diagnosed skin malignancies in the western world with an estimated 900,000 to 1,200,000 new cases each year. Representing 95% of all cutaneous neoplasms, NMSC is a growing worldwide epidemic having an especially large demand and increased expenses in dermatological health care services. Its incidence rate is
Rheanna Vimawala COAS Biological Sciences
predicted to double by 2030. In this single-site retrospective chart analysis, we investigate 258 NMSCs treated by biopsy and subsequent surgical excision over a span of 8 years at the Drexel Dermatology Clinic. The objective is to correlate negative biopsy margins and the presence or
Dr. Carrie Ann Cusack Faculty Mentor Dermatology
absence of residual tumor post-excision through histological examination of biopsy and excision specimens. The findings of this study will tell us the necessity for excisional treatment following diagnostic biopsy, which, with the evidence of further and larger studies, could lead to lower treatment costs and improved cosmetic outcome for low-risk patients with specific types of NMSC.
119
Poster Session A
Drexel Un iversity College of Medicine Nonmelanoma skin cancer in darker skinned individuals: a retrospective analysis Nonmelanoma skin cancer (NMSC) is the most common malignancy in the United States and occurs much less frequently in dark-skinned populations compared to Caucasians. NMSC and melanoma combined represent 2030% of all neoplasms in Caucasians, while only 2-4% of all neoplasms in Asians, and 1-2% of all neoplasms in blacks
Rheanna Vimawala COAS Biological Sciences
and Asian Indians. Despite its predominance among Caucasians, skin cancer in dark-skinned individuals is associated with greater morbidity and mortality. This discrepancy between incidence and morbidity and mortality among different races has led to an increased demand to evaluate the differences in epidemiology,
Dr. Carrie Ann clinical presentation, and prognosis of skin cancers in darkskinned populations. Cusack Faculty Mentor Dermatology
In this single-site retrospective chart analysis, we investigate 93 NMSCs and the associations between NMSC and sex, age, date of birth, tumor location, tumor subtype, and presence or absence of specific risk factors (smoking, diabetes, hypertension, hyperlipidemia, immunosuppression, photosensitization) in 67 dark skinned participants at the Drexel Dermatology Clinic. With the results obtained by this study we will aim to update the epidemiology, establish a specific set of risk factors, and ultimately raise public awareness for earlier diagnosis and treatment of NMSC in dark-skinned individuals.
Poster Session A
120
Drexel Un iversity College of Medicine
Identifying the genetic basis of human serum resistance in Haemophilus influenzae using transposon mutagenesis and genome sequencing Haemophilus influenzae is a genetically diverse Gram-negative bacterium that lives in the human nasopharynx. It can be either commensal or pathogenic to humans, depending on its own genetic diversity and the host environment. H. influenzae can cause serious diseases in children such as meningitis, epiglottistis, and severe sepsis, but most H. influenzae strains are highly sensitive to the human serum. It has been shown that
Ngan Nguyen COAS Biological Sciences
normal human serum (NHS) uses both antibodies and the complement system as part of the bactericidal activity against H. influenzae. However, resistant strains use mechanisms such as forming physical barriers and preventing amplification and lysis of soluble complement regulators to circumvent complement-mediated attacks by NHS. In this project, our goal is to identify the genetic basis of
Dr. Joshua Mell Faculty Mentor Microbiology & Immunology
serum resistance in a H. influenzae strain (R2040) that was isolated by Dr. Arnold L. Smith in Seattle, WA from the cerebrospinal fluid of a 28-month-old child with meningitis. In this experiment, serum resistance assays and ribostamycin antibiotic tests were used to validate the phenotype of R2040 and its serum sensitive derivative, a transposon mutagenized strain, R3897. After sequencing the genomes of R2040 and R3897, a comparison will be made between these two strains to find where the transposon was inserted in R3897. This will identify the resistant gene in R2040. The purpose of this research is to gain more knowledge about the genetic basis of how H. influenzae evades the immune system to cause infectious diseases in humans.
121
Poster Session B
Drexel Un iversity College of Medicine The Effect of MicroRNA hsa-miR-939 on Proinflammatory Proteins in Complex Regional Pain Syndrome Complex Regional Pain Syndrome (CRPS) is a chronic, debilitating pain condition and neurogenic inflammation is known to contribute to persistent pain. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are small noncoding RNAs that negatively regulate gene expression by binding to the 3’untranslated region (3’UTR) of target mRNAs. Our previous study identified 18 miRNAs and inflammatory markers including vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and monocyte chemotactic protein-1 (MCP1) to be significantly altered in blood from CRPS patients. We
Rushi Umang Thanawala COAS Biological Sciences
hypothesize that downregulation of hsa-miR-939 contributes to the upregulation of several proinflammatory genes in CRPS. Our goal was to investigate in vitro, how a decrease in miR-939 modulates proinflammatory proteins. Human-derived monocytic THP-1 cells and human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) were transfected with miR-939, and treated with MCP-1or endotoxin LPS. To investigate the temporal regulation
Dr. Seena Ajit Faculty Mentor Pharmacology & Physiology
of genes by miR-939, western blot and enzyme-linked immunoabsorbant assay were performed at different time points. We investigated expression changes in proinflammatory proteins including iNOS, TNFAIP1, NFkB, VEGFA, TNFα, and IL-6, the mRNAs of which are predicted to harbor miR-939 binding sites in their 3’UTR. Our results show
Dr. Marguerite McDonald
that miR-939 does have a role in inhibiting inflammatory
Post-Doctoral Fellow
with MCP-1, iNOS and TNFAIP1 were restored, showing that
miR-939 downregulated iNOS,TNFAIP1and IL-6, supporting proteins. Moreover, when the transfected cells were treated the chemotactic response of MCP-1 overcame the effect of miR-939. Out studies indicate that miR-939 can simultaneously modulate multiple proinflammatory genes, amplifying the signal transduction cascade leading to chronic inflammation
Poster Session A
and pain.
122
Drexel Un iversity College of Medicine
The Effect on Proteins Downstream of CXCR2 After Blocking with SB225002 in Fibroblast Cells Pancreatic cancer is a malignancy with one of the lowest survival rates. Not only is detection of pancreatic cancer poor, but also treatment efficacy is limited due to the architecture of the pancreatic tumor itself. Specifically, pancreatic tumors have a substantially higher amount of stroma (comprised of activated fibroblasts, macrophages, extracellular matrix, etc.) surrounding the epithelial tumor cells, reducing access to the tumor and making treatment less effective.
Priya Krishnaprasad COAS Biological Sciences
Our lab is concerned with studying the crosstalk between tumor cells and surrounding fibroblasts that lead to various cancer phenotypes. This paracrine signaling, resulting in deregulation of many factors including, kinases, phosphatases, hormones, growth factors and others, is capable of changing angiogenesis, survival, migration, death, and other cell processes. Previous work in our lab showed that paracrine secretions, including CXC chemokines, from pancreatic epithelial cells affect stromal components. We are interested in understanding how CXC chemokines change the intracellular signaling of the stromal cells. Here we use IMR-90, WI-38, and BJ fibroblasts, and by blocking their CXC chemokine receptors
Dr. Paul M. Campbell Faculty Mentor Pharmacology & Physiology
Matthew Stout Research Assistant
(CXCR2) with the antagonist SB225002 (SB), we investigated changes in expression and activation of downstream proteins in the CXC signaling pathway. Our experiments showed that protein expression and phosphorylation (activation) either increased or decreased in a dose-dependent response to SB. In the future we plan to disrupt CXC chemokine signaling between the pancreatic tumor epithelial cells and the surrounding fibroblasts to reduce advanced metastatic progression.
123
Poster Session B
Drexel Un iversity College of Medicine Consequences of the Inhibition of the CXCR2 Receptor Within Human Fibroblasts on Downstream Effector Pathways With an overall survival rate of only 6%, pancreatic cancer is one of the deadliest forms of cancer, with this lethality
Yash Varma
attributed to its unique morphology. While other forms of
COAS Biological Sciences
cancer are trademarked by an overabundance of blood vessels to the tumor cells, pancreatic cancer is unique in that minimal quantities of functioning blood vessels form due to a barrier of fibroblasts, immune cells, and
Dr. Paul M. Campbell
extracellular matrix that surrounds the tumor, collectively
Faculty Mentor Pharmacology & Physiology
through conventional means such as radiation and
known as the stroma. This anatomy makes it difficult to treat chemotherapy. Paracrine signaling within the stroma causes activation and deactivation of cellular signaling pathways. The goal of this research is to understand the effect of inhibiting CXCR2, a receptor that facilitates this crosstalk, on activation of proteins downstream of CXCR2, specifically S6 Kinase, S6 and their phosphorylated forms, in fibroblast cells. To understand this signaling, western blot tests were conducted using three different fibroblast lines, BJ, IMR-90, and WI-38, treated with an inhibitor of CXCR2, SB225002. Our data indicate that SB treatment leads to changes in proteins downstream of CXCR2 in both predictable and unexpected ways. We conclude that in our system, cells may be capable of compensating for receptor inhibition by upregulating survival through alternate signaling pathways.
Poster Session B
124
Drexel Un iversity College of Medicine Novel Small Molecule Sigma1 Inhibitors Induce Endoplasmic Reticulum Stress in an Atypical Teratoid/Rhabdoid Tumor Cell Line Atypical teratoid/rhabdoid tumor (AT/RT) is a rare pediatric tumor of the central nervous system that is associated with poor survival rates and for which there are few effective treatment options. Interestingly, rhabdoid tumor cells are particularly sensitive to endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress, suggesting that disruption of ER homeostasis may provide an effective therapeutic approach to suppressing AT/RT. Our laboratory is interested in understanding the role of Sigma1, a novel integral membrane chaperone or scaffold protein, in cancer cell ER protein homeostasis. We have shown that treatment with certain Sigma1 selective compounds can be used to modulate ER protein homeostasis. Based on this
Prasanti Ravipati COAS Chemistry
discovery, we used a pharmacophore approach to identify ER stress inducing chemical structures, and we subsequently designed and synthesized a small set of novel, tunable hybrid Sigma1 compounds. We hypothesized that these novel compounds could be used to disrupt ER protein homeostasis in AT/RT cells and to inhibit AT/RT tumor growth. To test this
Dr. Felix Kim Faculty Mentor Pharmacology & Physiology
hypothesis, we evaluated the ER stress response to these compounds in a Sigma1-expressing model AT/RT cell line, CHLA-02-AT/RT. First, we confirmed robust Sigma1 protein expression in the ER of these cells. We then discovered that some of our Sigma1 compounds suppressed AT/RT colony formation or growth, and these compounds induced ER stress in a dose-responsive manner. Our results identify Sigma1 as a potential therapeutic target in AT/RT, and they suggest that small molecule Sigma1 modulators could be effective therapeutic agents to treat AT/RT.
125
Poster Session B
Drexel Un iversity College of Medicine Mechanisms of HIV-associated Neurocognitive Disorders: Effect of HIV Envelope Protein gp120 on Dendritic Arbor The human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) affects not only the immune system, but also the central nervous system (CNS). Invasion of the CNS by HIV can cause HIV-associated neurocognitive disorders (HAND) and damage is usually observed through non-apoptotic pathways. One prominent pathway is synaptodendritic injury, which compromises the ability of neurons to communicate with each other. However,
Chih-Yang Matt Lin COAS Biological Sciences
the mechanisms involved in neuronal damage are still unclear. Previous studies from our lab have demonstrated that the HIV envelope protein, gp120, increases neuronal expression of the iron storage protein ferritin heavy chain (FHC). FHC also plays a critical role in the maintenance of dendritic spines and disrupts the CXCL12/CXCR4 axis, a signaling pathway involved in pro-
Dr. Olimpia Meucci
survival signaling, neurogenesis, and homeostatic pathways in the CNS. In this study, we specifically focus on the effects of the
HIV envelope protein, gp120, on the dendritic arbor of Faculty Mentor Pharmacology & pyramidal neurons in different areas of the rat cerebral cortex. Physiology We have utilized gp120-treated rats and compared their
Lindsay Festa Graduate Student Mentor
dendritic spine density, length, and type with those of BSAtreated animals using the Neurolucida tracing software in conjunction with a compound microscope. The animals have also undergone behavioral tests to determine cognitive deficits caused by the viral protein. The goal is to be able to correlate the observed dendritic changes with the ability to learn new tasks. Ultimately the data gathered in this study, in combination with our previous studies concerning the cellular and molecular factors involved in regulation and maintenance of the dendritic arbor, support development of novel therapeutic approaches
Poster Session B
targeting FHC-dependent pathways.
126
Drexel Un iversity College of Medicine The Role of Myosin Light Chain and Cytoskeletal Actin Filaments in Vascular Smooth Muscle In the absence of stimuli, vascular smooth muscle (VSM) of arteries and arterioles exhibits myogenic tone. This VSM contractile tone plays a pivotal role in maintaining normal arterial blood pressure. The primary regulator of vascular tone is the calcium dependent phosphorylation of the myosin light chain (MLC). Additionally, cytoskeletal actin filament polymerization increases the magnitude of vascular tone. The
Leslie Raybould COAS Biological Sciences
purpose of this study was to develop an electrophoretic assay to quantify MLC phosphorylation, and gain insight into how it regulates vascular tone. Using this assay, we tested the hypothesis that MLC phosphorylation and cytoskeletal actin filament growth are increased following calcium influx through L-type voltage gated channels. Medial strips of swine carotid artery, mounted for isometric force development were subjected to the L-type calcium channel agonist Bay K8644 in the presence and absence of latrunculin B, which inhibits actin filament polymerization. Using a non-denaturing electrophoretic assay, urea/glycerol-polyacrylamide gel
Dr. Robert Moreland Faculty Mentor Pharmacology & Physiology
Hillevi Ets Graduate Student Mentor
(Urea-PAGE) that we developed, we were able to quantitatively measure MLC phosphorylation in mol phosphate/mol MLC. As hypothesized, the opening of L-type calcium channels with Bay K8644 increased levels of MLC phosphorylation and vascular tone. Inhibiting actin filament polymerization with latrunculin B significantly reduced vascular tone resulting from Bay K8644. Surprisingly, in the presence of only latrunculin B, MLC phosphorylation increased, an observation for which we have no explanation. Our findings indicate that calcium influx through L-type calcium channels increases MLC phosphorylation and cytoskeletal actin filament-dependent mechanisms, and thus vascular tone.
127
Poster Session A
Drexel Un iversity School of Law An Opening to the Community Lawyering Clinic I am working with the community lawyering clinic at the Dornsife Cener. The Dornsife Center is dedicated to community engagement with, in the neighborhoods of Powelton Village and Mantua in West Philadelphia and offering enriching resources to its residents. The community lawyering clinic offers referrals and direct representation in
Priyanka Shah matters involving family, criminal, property and other legal LEBOW Business Administration
areas affecting the community, community legal education, and interdisciplinary solutions to community-wide legal issues. I have been helping Professor Lopez to lay the groundwork for the clinic’s launch at the end of August. I have
Ms. Rachel Lopez
been creating the clinic’s procedure for intake with
Faculty Mentor School of Law
and social service providers. I attended meetings with social
community members and finalizing a referral guide of legal service providers that are interested in creating partnerships with the clinic in an effort to further develop the clinic’s referral network. All of my work culminated at the Dornsife Center’s open house on July 17, 2014 when law students interviewed community members about their legal issues and connected them with pro bono lawyers. In addition, this summer, I have researched the history of Mantua and Powelton Village for a report that the clinic will release regarding its work. Throughout this project, I have been exposed to the many roles that an attorney can play and also gotten a glimpse at what being a law student will be like. This has solidified my interest in attending law school.
Poster Session B
128
English La nguage Cen ter
Building the Bridge: ESL Students at Drexel University The English Language Center at Drexel University created the Intercultural Community Bridge Program to further aid ESL students enrolled in the in the International Gateway Program. Gateway is a conditional admittance program for international students who have the academic scores to attend Drexel, but do not have the English proficiency skills necessary for admittance. Community Bridge offers these international students a stable support network, helping them adapt to life as a college student in Philadelphia while improving their
Madeline Demas PHC CustomDesigned Major: Digital Storytelling
English skills at the same time. My goal was to prove that the Community Bridge did just that, and that the international students who participated in the program left feeling more confident in their English skills as well as more comfortable with living at an American university located in a major city. To do this, I personally interviewed a majority of the students in the program, asking them about their experience in the
Dr. Bethany Fallon Faculty Mentor English Language Center
program. Also, I looked at various surveys and journals the students completed throughout the year, noting any major themes that suggested how they felt about what they were doing in the program. I learned that, minus a few exceptions, a majority of the students had a great time in the program and expressed that they had improved their English skills as well as learned a lot about American culture. The success of this research proves that a program like this is beneficial to international college students who are learning English and can be used to make a case to adopt this type of program at other institutions.
129
Poster Session A
LeBow C ollege of Business Mergers in the Banking Industry Pre- and Post-Financial Crisis Losses during the financial crisis have been estimated to be as
Michael Amrine
much as 15 trillion USD. During the crisis, many companies
LEBOW Finance & Business Analytics
industry, some banks suffered severe cash outflows and were
suffered from losses and inadequate cash flows. In the banking even forced by the federal government to merge in order to survive. Ideally strong governance methods should have mitigated these types of losses. Therefore, we examine the qualifications of board members in banking mergers pre and
Dr. David Becher Faculty Mentor Finance
Jared Wilson Graduate Student Mentor
post financial crisis to determine if the boards provide adequate oversight. In the years leading up to the financial crisis, board members that were chosen had less experience, but were 33% more likely to have a board position at other companies. In the years following the financial crisis, however, we find that board members are chosen due to their experience, rather than for their network. We demonstrate that in post-financial crisis mergers, board members have 35% more audit committee experience, 39% more CEO experience, 15% more compensation committee experience, 14% more financial expert experience (CFA or CPA), 35% more related industry experience, and are 11% more likely to be the CEO of a company involved in the merger. These results are noteworthy because they show that on average board members are not only more qualified post-financial crisis, but board members are now chosen based on their qualifications instead of their connections. Given the bad reputation of banks during the financial crisis, these findings demonstrate promising development in responsible corporate governance within the banking industry.
Poster Session A
130
LeBow C ollege of Business Direct Turnover As owners of public firms, shareholders are supposed to have a significant say in the oversight of a firm. In particular, their ownership gives them the right to elect a board and maintain control of how the company is run. Little, however, is known about why or how directors turnover. To better understand this, we examine 1,354 directors who turn over between 2005 and 2012 as well as 5,183 directors who do not. In general, directors who turnover are older, have a longer tenure, are less likely to be a CEO and are less busy, suggesting these
Alyssa Boyle LEBOW Marketing & Business Analytics
directors are simply retiring. However, nearly one-fifth of all directors do not leave at the annual meeting. It is not clear why the directors do not follow the typical turnover process. Are they of poorer quality and being forced out? Are CEOs attempting to stack the board and avoid shareholder approval? We find that directors who do not wait until the annual meeting to turnover are quite different from those who turnover in general. On average, directors who leave early are younger, have a shorter tenure, are more likely to be CEOs of other companies, and their CEO tenure is longer than their director tenure. These findings suggest that
Dr. David Becher Faculty Mentor Finance
Jared Wilson Graduate Student Mentor
directors who are less experienced or are unprepared to be an outside director due to their current job leave before they become long-term members. Overall, our results suggest that firms value experienced directors, such as those who are members of committees and/or hold numerous board seats at other firms. We also show that firms take into consideration current titles, such as CEO. These findings suggest that firms appraise both appearance and quality in the director labor market.
131
Poster Session A
LeBow C ollege of Business Examining the Effects of Regulatory Shock on Corporate Governance Structure Corporate governance is becoming ever-increasingly important given past governance scandals and the implementation of regulatory requirements. The Sarbanes-Oxley (SOX) Act, for example, was passed to improve the quality of oversight provided by boards of directors. The objective of this study is to examine how regulatory shocks, such as the passage of SOX,
Philip Holder LEBOW Business Administration
impact a firmâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s corporate governance structure. The most effective way to examine the impact of these shocks is to focus on director selection. Typically, director turnover is a result of individual action, such as retirement. During a merger, however firms have a greater ability to decide which directors to retain as, on average, over 40% of directors are not selected to remain on
Dr. David Becher Faculty Mentor Finance
Jared Wilson Graduate Student Mentor
the combined board. Mergers and acquisitions, therefore, are indicative not of natural director progression but represent a fundamental board change. By examining the traits of nearly 12,000 directors selected both before and after SOX, we examine changes in director qualities in mergers and acquisitions. Overall, we find that the value of certain director characteristics shift dramatically following the implementation of regulation. For example, characteristics indicative of a qualified candidate greatly improve after SOX; directors with higher education increasing 23%, financial expertise increasing 100%, and related experience increasing 116% while traits such as inside involvement within the firm decreasing 14%. Postderegulation, firms appear to retain directors for their monitoring ability as opposed to their connection to the CEO. These findings indicate that government regulation is effective in creating a more accountable corporate governance structure.
Poster Session A
132
LeBow C ollege of Business Alpha Architect: Empowering Investors The gap that exists between aspiring investors and their ability to manage their own financial future is a lack of knowledge. The power to invest and strategically manage one’s money is a skill that is coveted by many. Alpha Architect seeks to bridge this gap by empowering investors through education. Part of the mission is to enhance the readability of the academic literature and to deliver materials that help investors learn the basics of finance. Following the curriculum of "Introduction to Finance," a course offered at Drexel University, the series explores rudimentary concepts such as the time value of
Victoria Tran LEBOW Economics & Finance
money to more complex models dealing with financial markets. Each lesson is a compilation of outside sources, lecture notes, and examples to further readers’ understanding. Acknowledging that there are different learning styles, Alpha Architect took the liberty of
Dr. Wesley Gray Faculty Mentor Finance
compiling related web materials to supplement the learning process. The series aspires to develop readers’ ability to access and utilize academic insights to make educated decisions regarding investments. The significance education empowers investors to gain control of their hard-earned wealth.
133
Poster Session B
LeBow C ollege of Business
Use of Performance Metrics in Associations Since the rise of big data, associations have received much attention in how they measure and analyze their large data sets. This usage has allowed associations to construct performance metrics to evaluate their performance and progress against their strategic plans. Using survey data from nearly 200 associations and 27 semi-structured interview responses, we examined how associations utilize performance metrics as both a decision
Amy Lee LEBOW General Business
making and a management tool. Our comprehensive literature review and content analysis, allowed us to compare and identify common metrics that are collected within various nonprofits and in associations. Some of the common metrics monitored include output indicators, efficiency measures, customer satisfaction,
Mr. Todd Von effectiveness measures, and industry standards and benchmarks. With ninety three percent of our participants providing positive Deak Faculty Mentor General Business
outcomes in incorporating metrics into their decision making process, we determined a positive relationship between the reliance of performance measures and effective strategic decision making. At the same time, we noticed a lack of automation and a high prevalence of associations collecting
metrics that are â&#x20AC;&#x153;easyâ&#x20AC;? to measure, which restricts associations to sufficiently leverage data into dashboards and into their management strategies. Furthermore, we examined the culture of metrics based decision making in associations and determined leadership to be a key driver in changing or expanding the culture of data based decision making. By understanding how associations are employing performance metrics, our findings will raise a new perceptive regarding the best practices of performance metrics.
Poster Session B
134
LeBow C ollege of Business Protecting the Smartphone - A Motivational Model Smartphone ownership is on the rise. In 2013, 56% of the US population owned smartphones and is expected to grow to 90% by 2018. Accompany this growth is the exposure to risks such as cybercrimes. For instance, the Center for Strategic and International Studies estimate that the value of the personal information stolen in the US would reach $160 billion by 2014. This study attempts to understand the factors that motivate users to protect their smartphones through the Protection Motivation Theory (PMT). Rogers (1975) argues that intention to take protective action is determined by a threat appraisal process (perceived risk and perceived vulnerability) and a coping appraisal process (response efficacy, self-efficacy, and response cost). However, as individualists consider that risks are
Irina-Marcela Nedelcu LEBOW Business & Engineering
exaggerated and do not recognize the effects of risks, we propose that individualism would moderate the relationship between the appraisal processes and the intention to selfprotect. This cross sectional study used a survey to collect data from 252 smartphone owners from the US. The demographics
Dr. Murugan Anandarajan Faculty Mentor Management
indicated that 59% of the respondents were males and that 12% were employed in the IT sector. The results from the regression analysis indicated that response cost, response efficacy and perceived risk had a strong effect on intention. Interestingly, the relationship between all five appraisal variables and intention to take protective action was moderated by individualism. This implies that the more individualistic people are the less self-protective behaviors they utilize. The results of this study will help security organizations design effective intervention methods for users to act as better guardians of their smartphones.
135
Poster Session B
Leibniz Institute for New Materials A Comparative Study on the Effect of Probe vs. Sample Hardness on Adhesion This investigation determined if adhesion between two surfaces was dependent on the relative hardness or softness and the geometry of the probe. Specifically, the adhesion was measured when the probe was harder than the sample surface and when the probe was softer than the sample. A custom built molecular adhesion device (MAD) was used to determine the adhesion between PDMS and glass surfaces
Amanda Bellafatto COE Materials Science & Engineering
by alternating PDMS and glass probes and the two surfaces. These probes were of two different geometries: spherical and flat; as well as two different sizes: 3mm diameter and 6mm diameter. The experiment showed that noticeable differences could be seen between measurements of the same materials even with identical geometry. Overall, there was a higher difference between spherical probe tests than
Dr. Jennifer S. flat probe tests, leading to the conclusion that the difference Atchison was the result of an increase in frictional force proportional to
Faculty Mentor INM
the increase in surface area. Further testing with graphite
Dr. Elmar Kroner
to friction. This additional experiment would be identical to
Faculty Mentor INM
surfaces before adhesion testing. The graphite powder
powder could support the theory that this difference is due the first with the addition of graphite powder to both would reduce the friction between the surfaces to nearly zero, allowing for the measurement of adhesion alone.
Poster Session B
136
Leibniz Institute for New Materia ls Carbon Nanotube Synthesis by Pulsed Laser Deposition of Petroleum Coke Carbon is an extremely diverse element. It is found in everything from diamonds to the food we eat. A really interesting allotrope of carbon is carbon nanotubes (CNTs). A single wall CNT (SWCNT), conceptually, is a sheet of Graphene rolled into a seamless cylinder. Concentric overlapping tubes are called multiwall CNTs (MWCNTs). To date there are three main ways to synthesize Carbon Nanotubes: Arc Discharge, Chemical Vapor Deposition (CVD), and Pulsed Laser Deposition (PLD).
Adam Blickley COE Materials Science & Engineering
PLD synthesizes nanotubes by ablating a graphite target to create a reflected plume of gaseous and liquid carbon in which nanotubes form, travel up an argon stream and deposit on a substrate. Conventionally, nickel and cobalt are mixed in with the graphite to obtain SWCNTs. Although graphite is readily available, its synthesis produces fine particulate suspension and soil contamination. Alternative carbon sources for CNT production exist. Eucalyptus oil has been used in CVD reactors. Turpentine oil produced SWCNTs by spray pyrolysis. Petroleum coke (PC) and asphalt were successfully used to controllably make single to triple-walled CNTs by arc discharge. An alternative carbon source for PLD has yet to be developed from waste or of vegetable origin. PC was tested as an alternative carbon source for PLD. The
Dr. Flavio Soldera Faculty Mentor INM
Dr. Jennifer S. Atchison Faculty Mentor INM
Nicholas Souza Graduate Student Mentor
targets and substrates were characterized using Raman spectroscopy, scanning electron microscope, focused ion beam and electron dispersive X-ray diffraction. While MWCNTs were found at higher PC concentrations, no SWCNTs were observed. In the samples with lower concentrations of PC no CNTs were observed.
137
Poster Session B
Leibniz Institute for New Materials Characterization of Graphene Grown by Chemical Vapor Deposition In recent years, graphene has emerged as a carbon structure of large interest due to its two-dimensional-like structure
Eric Burgeson COE Chemical Engineering
which enables many chemical interactions would do not occur in the most similar carbon allotrope, graphite. Chemical vapor deposition (CVD) was used to synthesize graphene samples on a copper substrate. Conditions such as pressure, temperature, exposure time, and flow rates of
Dr. Daniel Weingarth Faculty Mentor INM
hydrogen, methane, and argon gases were adjusted to optimize graphene growth. Created samples were analyzed for indications of the presence of graphene through Raman spectroscopy. Electrochemical cells were constructed from high quality samples using the sample as the electrode,
Dr. Jennifer S. lithium as a reference, and lithium hexafluorophosphate Atchison (LiPF6) as an electrolyte. Cyclic voltammetry was performed Faculty Mentor INM
on the cells to evaluate grapheneâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s potential usages in lithium ion batteries. Results of testing on various samples found optimal graphene growth to occur at 5 Torr of pressure with constant hydrogen flow of 15 sccm and methane flow of 55 sccm for 30 minutes. The electrochemical analysis indicated values similar to those found in literature, further indicating the existence of graphene. Additional examination of samples by Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) showed the existence of single-layered graphene with islands of multi-layered graphene.
Poster Session B
138
Leibniz Institute for New Materia ls Fabrication and Characterization of Thin-Film PDMS Membranes Polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS Sylgard速 184, Dow Corning Corporation) is a silicon elastomer that has garnered attention due to its simple handling, and very reproducible mechanical properties. In recent years, PDMS has been a suggested material for thin membranes, e.g. for separators in microfluidic applications. This research details the microfabrication and function of PDMS thin-film membrane. The PDMS pre-polymer base and curing agent was mixed in a 10:1 ratio. After degassing, the PDMS was applied to silanized glass substrates and processed by spin-coating at spin durations between 1 and 5 minutes, and spin speeds
Gabriel Eliezer M. Dela Paz COE Mechanical Engineering
between 100 rpm and 5000 rpm. Low sample thicknesses of approximately 6 micrometers were achieved, as measured on a white-light interferometer. In a second sample set, PDMS was diluted with the solvent cyclohexane with PDMSto-solvent ratios between 10:90 and 50:50. These were also processed by spin-coating, at a 5-minute spin duration and spin speeds between 4000 rpm and 5000 rpm. Measurements from the white-light interferometer indicated that thicknesses as low as approximately 3 micrometers
Dr. Elmar Kroner Faculty Mentor INM
Dr. Jennifer S. Atchison Faculty Mentor INM
were achieved through this process. As a next step, a thin PDMS membrane was onto a patterned substrate to achieve patterned PDMS membranes.
139
Poster Session B
Leibniz Institute for New Materials Preparation and characterization of LaSrMnO4 nanowires Materials with colossal magnetoresistance (CMR) are unique for their ability to change their electrical resistance when
Andrew Kostrubanic COE Mechanical Engineering
placed under a magnetic field. Lanthanum strontium permanganate (LSP) nanowires are similar in structure to the high-temperature superconductor, lanthanum strontium cuprate, and have known CMR properties. A study of the LSP molecular structure could lead to a deeper understanding of the connection between superconductors and CMR
Dr. Michael Koblischka Faculty Mentor INM
materials. LSP precursors were prepared with a La-Sr ratio of 2:1 from acetic solvents and poly-vinyl alcohol (PVA). The precursors were spun into fibers using an electrospinning machine which draws the liquid into a fine strand with an
Dr. Jennifer S. electric field. The resulting fiber mats were thermal treated Atchison Faculty Mentor INM
Xian Lin Zeng Graduate Student Mentor
at 215, 283, 358, and 400 degrees Celsius to purify the material from organic and acetic impurities.
The final LSP material was analyzed under a scanning electron microscope to study its exterior properties. The nanofibers were found to have an average diameter of 328.4 nm. The lattice structure was studied under a transmission electron microscope; it was found to be cubic with a distance d of 0.347 nm. The final material's molecular consistency was confirmed under EDX spectroscopy.
Poster Session B
140
Leibniz Institute for New Materia ls Optimization of Biocompatible Textiles for Tissue Engineering Applications Meso-fiber scaffolds for cell cultivation were prepared by using three polymers: poly l-lactic acid (PLA), poly (l-lactic acid-co-ɛcaprolactone) (PLA-CL), and porcine gelatin in different combinations of solvents (chloroform, deionized water, dimethylformamide (DMF), acetone, and ethanol) by electrospinning. These biocompatible materials were spun under low relative humidity (20-30%), high voltage (15-21KV), and 200-250 mm distance to target and 1 ml/h pump rate to obtain fibers suitable for cultivation. Surface tension, morphology, fiber thickness, and scaffold thickness were considered in order to account for proper cell interactions with the scaffold. The effects of solution concentrations (5%, 8%,
Timothy Reppert COE Mechanical Engineering
10%, and 12%) of PLA in different solvent mixtures on fiber formation, morphology, and fiber diameter were investigated to optimize the fiber morphology and size. The hydrophilicity of the polymer fibers was also investigated using the sessile drop technique. SEM micrographs showed production of fibers with different solvents and concentrations with diameters in the
Dr. Jennifer S. Atchison Faculty Mentor INM
range of c.a 1.0 - 5.0 micrometers. Reducing the surface tension of the 10 wt% PLA in chloroform by adding 10% by volume ethanol to the solution produced 25% smaller fibers with a much improved standard deviation. The addition of gelatin, via coating or emulsion spinning, reduced the contact angle in the sessile drop measurement from an average of 130° to 100°and 70° respectively, indicating the gelatin was making the fibers more hydrophilic. In the future, tissue can be cultured using these mesofibrous-scaffolds.
141
Poster Session B
Leibniz Institute for New Materials Preparation of SiO2 Particle Arrays for Biological Evaluation Silica particles (SPs) have been observed to have properties useful for molecular imaging and drug delivery. Research pertaining to these potential applications is advancing steadily, but there are questions concerning the health effects of such particles on human cells. The purpose of this research is to study how human cell cultures behave when grown on silica particle monolayer
Joshua Andrew Trusty COE Chemical Engineering
films. For this to be accomplished, multiple forms of SP assemblies must be engineered. The focus of this summer research initiative has been to synthesize, characterize, and assemble the SPs onto a substrate. Monodisperse silica particles were created using a modified version of the Stรถber Process. Then, they were characterized using a light diffraction analyzer and a Zetasizer, respectively, to
Dr. Annette Kraegeloh
determine their size and zeta potential. Finally, convective-
Faculty Mentor INM
monolayer of silica particles on a functionalized glass
Dr. Jennifer S. Atchison
assisted particle assembly was used to adsorb a substrate. Silica particles of different sizes were used to create a variety of assemblies for testing.
Faculty Mentor INM
Poster Session B
142
School of Biomedical Engin eering, Science, & Hea lth Systems Shape Analysis of Pediatric Throacic Vertebra Using Generalized Procrustes Analysis In humans, the morphology of the spine changes rapidly between birth and skeletal maturity; however the normative changes in thoracic vertebral morphology are not well understood. Hence there is a need to study the age-related structural variations in the normative thoracic spine in pediatric subjects. This study quantifies vertebral shape change as a function of age for the thoracic spines of subjects between the ages 1 and 18 years. Retrospective chest CT scans of 55 skeletally normal females and 45 skeletally normal males obtained from the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia were reconstructed using MIMICS v16 software (Materialise, Belgium). Surface models of each thoracic vertebra (T1-T12)
Evan Bisirri SCHOOL OF BIOMED. Biomedical Engineering
were refined in 3-matic v8 (Materialise, Belgium) and exported as stl files to MATLAB r2011b (The MathWorks, Inc., Natick,
Dr. Sriram Balasubramanian positioned using an iterative closest point algorithm, and 31 Faculty Mentor ‘landmark’ points were identified on all vertebrae using custom School of Biomed. MATLAB script. Using these landmark point sets, generalized MA). Point clouds representing each vertabra were consistently
procrustes analyses were performed at each thoracic level separately for males and females to generate age-dependent average point clouds. The data suggests a correlation between
James Peters
Graduate Student Mentor
the 3D position of landmark points and subject age. The vertebral body for both genders expands axially while the pedicles move medially and enlarge and the spinous process extends posteriorly and inferiorly with age. Average shape models such as these may be used to predict morphometric changes in pediatric subjects, which could aid in deformity prediction and surgical intervention. Future studies could focus on a larger data set with longitudinal subject measurements.
143
Poster Session A
School of Biomedical Engin eering, Science, & Hea lth Systems Relationship between muscle activity and kinematic and kinetics parameters in pediatric and adult volunteers during low speed frontal impacts The age-based kinematics, kinetics and muscle response (EMG) of restrained human volunteers exposed to subinjurious frontal impacts were previously quantified. The subjectsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; age ranges from 6-22 years, with four age groups. (6-8, 9-11, 12-14, 18+; total n=20) The subjects were restrained by a typical lap shoulder belt and participated in a frontal crash simulation, the forces of which were scaled down (50%) from bumper car impacts. The kinematic, kinetic and
Mike Salzarulo SCHOOL OF BIOMED. Biomedical Engineering
EMG data were normalized and extracted from those experiments. The objective was to assess the relationships between the magnitude and timing of the kinematic and kinetic variables (n=34; e.g. Time at Max Head excursion, Magnitude at Max Head Excursionâ&#x20AC;Ś) with EMG variables (n=4; EMG Onset time, Time of Peak EMG Amplitude,
Dr. Sriram Balasubramanian Faculty Mentor School of Biomed.
Emily Mathews Graduate Student Mentor
Ramping time (defined as EMG Onset to Peak EMG), and EMG values at Time of Max Head excursion). It was hypothesized that greater excursion of the extremities would lead to higher EMG values in the related muscle groups, also there will be no correlation between the time the Max excursions were reached and the EMG values of the related muscle groups. The findings indicate (@ C4 excursion vs. CP EMG Onset time) there is a positive correlation between Mas excursion and EMG Onset time. However the correlation varies depending upon the kinematic variable. (e.g. there is no correlation between Max Head excursion and EMG Onset time for any of the muscle groups). Such data can be used to understand how muscle activity controls the kinematics and kinetics of a restrained occupant in a motor vehicle crash environment and could further aid in the design of computational models with active musculature.
Poster Session A
144
School of Biomedical Engin eering, Science, & Hea lth Systems Adenosine triphosphate (ATP) stimulated Nitric Oxide (NO) production: STIM1 dependence and cell line variability Nitric Oxide (NO), important for vascular homeostasis, is produced in response to calcium influx stimulated by exposure to ATP. The objective of this research was to compare the levels of expression of key proteins (p-eNOS s1179, eNOS, Cav-1 and Stim1) in the ATP-induced NO production pathways in two cell types: Mouse Lung Endothelial cells (MLEC) and Bovine Aortic Endothelial cells (BAEC) all in the basal state. In addition, the cellsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; response to ATP stimulation in wild type and stim1 knockout cells were compared (Stim1, is Calcium (Ca2+) sensor proteins). eNOS phosphorylation at serine 1179 increases eNOS enzymatic activity and thus nitric oxide production. Caveolin-1 (Cav-1), the main protein component of caveolae, influences various
Sherika Gordon SCHOOL OF BIOMED. Biomedical Engineering
aspects of the cardiovascular functions, and the regulation of NO synthesis. In the experiments performed, two 60mm plates of each cell types were cultured for 3-5 days until confluent and lysed at time zero minutes (t=0) and at time three minutes (t=3) after addition of 100ÂľM ATP with Ca2+ . Western blot analysis revealed that the levels of p-eNOS after stimulation with ATP (t=3) were greater than the corresponding t=0 (no ATP added) and was used to compare levels of eNOS in wild-type and stim knockout cells. Additionally, we expected to see comparable amounts of eNOS for both BAEC and MLEC cell types. Overall, the implication of this research study was to show that experiments done in different cell types are somewhat comparable since BAECs and MLECs provide an excellent model system to study cardiovascular function, angiogenesis,
Dr. Kenneth Barbee Faculty Mentor School of Biomed.
Tenderano Muzorewa Graduate Student Mentor
Aparna Bhattacharyya Graduate Student Mentor
and NO production. Also, to show that STIM1 knockout affects the ATP-induced NO production pathways.
145
Poster Session B
School of Biomedical Engin eering, Science, & Hea lth Systems Development of New Research Based Weight Support Device Half a million people worldwide will suffer a spinal cord injury each year, yet the full understanding of what is happening within the individuals nervous system is still not
Jason Chickness SCHOOL OF BIOMED. Biomedical Engineering
concise. For spinal cord rehabilitation studies to become more effective in humans, the techniques and fundamentals of what is happening within the Central Nervous System (CNS) must first be understood within animal research studies. To further the understanding and help those who suffer spinal cord injuries, the techniques which animals are tested most be bettered so that more
Dr. Karen Moxon Faculty Mentor School of Biomed.
information can be learned about what is happening within the CNS after a spinal injury has occurred. The current method of studying spinal cord injuries through electromyogram implantation, in both humans and animals, uses a weight support device that limits
Mikchael Meyers
movement and is located strictly above the test subject
Graduate Student Mentor
and build prototypes to be used in upcoming animal
and is fixed in place. The aim of this project was to design research trials that allow for full movement of the body as well as weight support that is applied from the base of the animal and can be rotated with the animal to eliminate forces that were being applied by the current design. Through the testing of multiple prototypes all of the criteria were met for a significantly better weight support device. Research with the new design will begin in the near future, with hopes that a better understanding of the CNS post-injury will be gained.
Poster Session B
146
School of Biomedical Engin eering, Science, & Hea lth Systems The Effect of Hand Dominance on Bicipital Groove Size in Major League Baseball Pitchers Major League Baseball pitchers have a high likelihood of shoulder injuries, such as bicep tendonitis and other bicep tendon injuries. The biceps tendon is unique as it passes through a bony groove, which has been shown to become stenotic in rotator cuff tear patients. However, the area of the bicipital groove has never been quantified using ultrasound (US) before in baseball pitchers. Therefore, the objective of our study was to examine the effect of dominance on bicipital groove dimensions in baseball pitchers. We hypothesized that the bicipital groove dimensions would be smaller in the dominant shoulder compared to the non-dominant shoulder. 34 pitchers on the Philadelphia Phillies baseball team were scanned (15 axial images) in 5mm increments with a Sonosite Titan ultrasound scanner (15 MHz). The bicipital groove was segmented using custom software written in MATLAB, and the width, depth, and area were quantified. These
Austin R. Hoffman SCHOOL OF BIOMED. Biomedical Engineering
measurements were then compared between shoulders using a paired t-test. Compared to the non-dominant shoulder, the groove in the dominant shoulder had a trend toward an increased depth (3.29+/-0.79mm vs 3.12+/0.74mm, p=0.067), width (23.6+/-2.9mm vs 23.3+/-2.4mm,
Dr. Joseph J. Sarver Faculty Mentor School of Biomed.
p=0.315), and area (86.3+/-18.8mm2 vs 81.6+/-20.9mm2, p=0.082), which contradicts our original hypothesis. While these results suggest that bicipital groove dimensions increases with dominance, the accuracy of the reconstruction has yet to be determined. Future work will compare probe location and orientation with image distortion to determine the variability of the data derived from the ultrasound scans.
147
Poster Session B
School of Biomedical Engin eering, Science, & Hea lth Systems Developing a Device to Test Shoulder Stiffness in Post-Operative Patients Shoulder stiffness is a common problem affecting patients recovering from surgery, and the progression of rehabilitation is determined, in part, by a decrease in shoulder stiffness.
Kieran Oâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;Donnell SCHOOL OF BIOMED. Biomedical Engineering
Unfortunately, the medical industry currently lacks an effective way to measure shoulder stiffness in such patients. Our group has previously developed a device capable of measuring changes in shoulder stiffness in animals, and has created a human version of this device for clinical testing. The human version became damaged and outdated, so the goals of the current project were to repair and replace components of the
Dr. Joseph J. Sarver Faculty Mentor School of Biomed.
device, adapt the LabVIEW v8.6 software, calibrate the device, and then test it on a limited basis to determine its ability to detect minor changes in shoulder stiffness. Specifically, the MicroStrain 3DM orientation sensor of the device was repaired and soldered to a power jack and serial connector for PC compatibility. The torque cell of the device was replaced with a Futek TFF350, so the code responsible for initiating communication with the torque cell and subsequently acquiring data was restructured. The device was calibrated by using weights at a known distance, then modifying the offset and full scale values of the torque. Data analysis software was written that allows a plot and trend line for clinical data to be quickly generated. While the device is still preliminary, early results suggest the device can detect small changes in shoulder stiffness following exercise. With IRB approval, the device will enter clinical trials at Penn Presbyterian hospital.
Poster Session A
148
School of Biomedical Engin eering, Science, & Hea lth Systems Characterization of Macrophage Profile in Stent Implanted Rat Arteries Macrophages are mature monocytes present in almost all tissue. They are considered as key regulators of the inflammatory healing process due to their unique functions and phenotypes. Differentiated macrophages exist as one of two different phenotypes: M1, which are termed “classically activated,” or M2, known as “alternatively activated.” M1 macrophages arise due to a phagocytic immune response such as removing cellular debris. M2 macrophages arise due to an alternate immune response involving regulation and healing damaged tissue. Macrophages are essential in the wound healing process because they are one of the first signaled cells to arrive at the site of injury. The three stages of wound healing (Hemostasis, Inflammation, Proliferation & Repair) exhibit an influx of macrophages first in the inflammation stage and also in
Elena Nasto SCHOOL OF BIOMED. Biomedical Engineering
the repair stage. Because M1 macrophages are proinflammatory and that M2 are pro-healing, it can be hypothesized that M1 macrophages exist in the inflammation stage and M2 macrophages exist at the repair stage. Thus, a change from M1 to M2 over time is indicative of a normal healing process. This hypothesis was tested in this experiment on rat arteries with an implanted biomaterial to promote healing over time to verify that macrophages are changing as the healing process progresses. Results showed that the ratio between M1 over M2 macrophages decreased over time (n=3),
Dr. Kara L. Spiller Faculty Mentor School of Biomed.
Sina Nassiri Graduate Student Mentor
suggesting that either M1 macrophages died or differentiated into M2 macrophages to increase the M2 population. However, it was seen that the control had a higher M1/M2 ratio than the experimental, but with high variation between samples. Future studies include increasing the number of experimental replicates to validate this data.
149
Poster Session B
School of Biomedical Engin eering, Science, & Hea lth Systems Design and Experimental Testing of a New Medical Device for Patients with Only One Heart Ventricle Thousands of children are born each year with complex congenital heart defects. A subset of these patients has only one functional ventricle, require corrective cardiac surgeries, and endure long-term clinical treatment. These single ventricle patients experience a steady decline in cardiovascular function to premature congestive heart failure, and limited therapeutic options exist for them. To address this unmet need, the BioCirc Research Laboratory in the Drexel School of Biomedical Engineering is developing an
Michelle Riddle intravascular axial flow blood pump for placement directly SCHOOL OF BIOMED. Biomedical Engineering
into blood vessel. This blood pump will augment pressure and blood flow from the systemic venous circulation through the lungs into the left atrium. It will act as an artificial right ventricle in patients lacking such a chamber. The target design is to generate a pressure rises of 2-25 mmHg for flow rates of 1-4 L/min at rotational speeds of 1000-9000 RPM. In
Dr. Amy Throckmorton
support of this effort, my STAR project involved the design
Faculty Mentor School of Biomed.
designs. The pump geometries were created using
optimization and experimental testing of four different pump SolidWorks, providing a basis for prototyping. After the pumps were manufactured by 3D printing, the devices were hydraulically tested using a blood analog fluid. All prototypes delivered the requisite pressure and flow levels necessary to mechanically assist a single ventricle patient. A comparison of the prototypes revealed that Geometry 4 outperformed the other pumps by producing the highest pressure generation. This project assisted in the development of a new therapeutic device that will provide mechanical assistance to single ventricle patients, thereby addressing a significant human health problem.
Poster Session A
150
School of Biomedical Engin eering, Science, & Hea lth Systems Encyclopedia of ASD Pathways as Deduced Using Bioinformatics Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder categorized by social, behavioral and communicative impairments. Its prevalence has been increasing and it now affects 1 in every 68 children. The exact cause of ASD has not yet been determined, but great efforts have been made in determining compounds and genes associated with ASD. My research expands on
Shelby Keating SCHOOL OF BIOMED. Biomedical Engineering
what is currently known about autism and provides a large base for future research. First, using NCBI Gene I found the 373 genes that are known to be associated with autism in Homo sapiens. From qualitative observation, I noticed key traits in those with autism and developed a list of genes
Dr. Aydin Tozeren Faculty Mentor School of Biomed.
associated with each trait. I then conducted intensive research to find a list of compounds that are known to increase risk of autism and developed a list of genes connected to each compound. Using KEGG, I compiled these two gene lists and mapped their pathways. With these findings, I then made comparisons between my gene lists and their pathways and the genes and pathways from NCBI Gene. My research provides entire new lists of genes that should be studied further to determine their possible correlation with ASD. The pathways created also highlight specific areas and processes within the body that should be studied more closely for their connection to autism. My future research will include searching for compounds that affect the newly found pathways of autism. These compounds can then be investigated to determine their association with ASD. This also opens up possible new drug repositioning events for ASD.
151
Poster Session A
School of Biomedical Engin eering, Science, & Hea lth Systems Delivery System to Hypoxic Tumor Sites One of the many problems facing cancer treatment is being able to administer medication to the tumor site safely. Many cancer treatments are toxic to the rest of the body and can cause damage. In other cases, the medication does not reach the tumor. One solution to these problems is the use of ultrasound contrast agents (UCAs). UCAs are micron-sized bubbles generally used to reflect sound waves, but they may also be filled with medication for transport throughout the body. Once the
David Brown SCHOOL OF BIOMED. Biomedical Engineering
loaded UCAs have traveled to the optimal destination, they are hit with a sound wave of a specific frequency causing them to break and release the drug. The two contrast agents under study in our lab, ST68 and SE61, consist of surfactant stabilized gas and are differentiated by shell components. There are currently studies on
Dr. Margaret Wheatley
SE61â&#x20AC;&#x2122;s ability to serve as a delivery system to hypoxic
Faculty Mentor School of Biomed.
whether SE61 or ST68 is better for this delivery. To do
Reva Street Graduate Student Mentor
regions, but not ST68. It is my project to determine this, the contrast agents were prepared and characterized. A transducer which sends and reads these sound waves was used to examine the UCAâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s echogenicity and its stability. These were measured in order to define how well they can reflect ultrasound and how long they can withstand the waves. The SE61 was found to have both a higher echogenicity and greater stability than the ST68 proving that it is the better contrast agent for gas delivery and should be researched
Poster Session B
further.
152
School of Biomedical Engin eering, Science, & Hea lth Systems Size Modification of SE61 Ultrasound Contrast Agents SE61 is an ultrasound contrast agent (UCA) that consists of a single layer shell comprised of Span 60 and watersoluble Vitamin E that encapsulates a perfluorocarbon gas core. SE61 microbubbles enhance ultrasound due to an impedance difference between the gas core of the microbubble and the tissue surrounding it. When an ultrasound wave hits the core of the microbubble it is reflected back due to this impedance difference. In addition to their imaging applications, these microbubbles
Nicholas Daroshefski SCHOOL OF BIOMED. Biomedical Engineering
can also function as a platform for controlled release and drug delivery. This is due to the fact that they break down under ultrasound. This project focused on increasing the volume of these microbubbles in order to enhance their echogenic properties as well as their potential for drug delivery. To increase the diameter of the SE61 microbubbles, modifications were made to the sonication step of the manufacturing process. Variations were made in the diameter of the container in which sonication took
Dr. Margaret Wheatley Faculty Mentor School of Biomed.
Reva Street Graduate Student Mentor
place with the hope of altering the effective power delivered to the solution. No apparent difference in average microbubble diameter was noticed between the different effective powers, though it was observed that the microbubbles produced at the lowest effective power showed less deviation about the average diameter.
153
Poster Session B
School of Biomedical Engin eering, Science, & Hea lth Systems The Use of Polymerase Chain Reactions within Micro-droplets to Amplify Single-Molecule DNA Although the importance of DNA in the medical field has become increasingly clear, there is still much to learn about
Matthew Buonanno SCHOOL OF BIOMED. Biomedical Engineering
our genetic makeup. The characteristics of every living organism are determined entirely by chromosomes, each of which contains various structures of DNA. While current methods to amplify and analyse this DNA exist, they feature the disadvantage of being unable to focus on an individual molecule of DNA, resulting in an averaging across the results. To counter this, we integrated the use of micro-droplets with
Dr. Ming Xiao
that of polymerase chain reactions (PCR). The PCR is capable
of amplifying the DNA, while use of the micro-droplets allows Faculty Mentor the PCR to occur for a single molecule, yielding more accurate School of Biomed. and efficient results. A DNA molecule template, enzymes
Jennifer McCaffrey
responsible for DNA replication, and a buffer mix of agarose
and water were combined and then run through a microGraduate Student channel device. This device fed the PCR mix through a channel Mentor which intersected with two channels of mineral oil. The oil pierced the mix to form uniform droplets, each with a radius of 25 microns and containing its own components for the PCR of a DNA molecule. These micro-droplets were collected and thermally cycled, allowing each of the individual DNA molecule templates to replicate itself numerous times through a chain reaction to create amplification within their respective micro-droplets. The droplets were then ruptured to collect the PCR product. This method can be applied to a variety of specific PCR mixes and DNA templates, and can be used to aid genome mapping and sequencing to allow us new insight concerning our genetic material.
Poster Session A
154
School of Biomedical Engin eering, Science, & Hea lth Systems Effectiveness of Using an Anti-Adhesive Layer to Combat Biofilms in Layer-by-Layer Drug Delivery Systems One problem that affects implants in the body is the development of biofilms. Biofilms are a thin film of bacteria which are adhered to each other and are difficult to treat. Layer-by-layer drug delivery systems are drug releasing coatings that can be used on implants to prevent biofilm formation. Layer-by-layer drug delivery systems that have been studied previously have been comprised of a base layer and a drug delivery layer. This project aims to prove the usefulness of an anti-adhesive layer on top of the drug delivery layer when a certain number of drug delivery layers are used. The anti-adhesive layer would help to prevent bacteria from sticking to the implant. The goal is to reduce the number of drug delivery layers needed when combined with anti-adhesive layers to reach the same effect as a higher
Maureen Burnside SCHOOL OF BIOMED. Biomedical Engineering
number of drug releasing layers without anti-adhesive layers would have on biofilm prevention. The drug delivery systems are developed in well plates using solutions. To create layers, one solution at a time is added to the wells and allowed to sit to form a thin layer at the bottom, and then removed from the well. Solutions are added to the wells in a certain order, and this order is repeated to create a base layer, drug releasing layer, and anti-adhesive layer using different solutions respectively. Bacteria are then
Dr. Yinghui Zhong Faculty Mentor School of Biomed.
Sai Patkar Graduate Student Mentor
added to the wells, and their population is measured over time through imaging and staining. This reveals the effectiveness of a set of layers. This research is useful to preventing implant complications and reducing the cost of creating layer-by-layer drug delivery systems.
155
Poster Session B
School of Biomedical Engin eering, Science, & Hea lth Systems Hydrogels as a multipurpose, neuroregenerative drug delivery system Spinal cord injuries affect some 2.5 million people worldwide. The main complications stem not from the initial damage itself,
Kelly Fox SCHOOL OF BIOMED. Biomedical Engineering
but from the consequences of the body’s natural response – inflammation in the spinal cord exacerbates the already limited ability of nerve cells to regenerate. This leads to secondary and chronic injuries (including, but not limited to, neurogenic shock, apoptosis, and demyelination of nerve cells) that emerge and continue to occur for weeks to years after the
Dr. Yinghui Zhong
primary trauma was inflicted. While spinal cord injuries themselves cannot be prevented from occurring, it is the hope
of Dr. Zhong’s lab that a biocompatible drug delivery system Faculty Mentor can be developed that will reduce or perhaps even eliminate School of Biomed. these secondary injury mechanisms, while also repairing the
Zhiling Zhang
initial damage.
Graduate Student Mentor
nanoparticles and then injected at the site of injury. As the gel
Hydrogels can be loaded with drug-containing breaks down, the nanoparticles will be delivered locally and over a long period of time, which optimizes the efficacy of the drugs. Previous research has shown that minocycline, an antibiotic with anti-inflammatory properties, can be encapsulated within a hydrogel and will be released at a consistent and measurable rate. The current focus is on adding neuroregenerative components to these hydrogels, such as proteins and polysaccharides, that can be released alongside minocycline to create a multipurpose drug. To determine the optimal composition of nanoparticles, I have been varying the concentrations of each component and comparing the entrapment efficiencies and release profiles of the resultant
Poster Session A
hydrogels.
156
School of Biomedical Engin eering, Science, & Hea lth Systems Nanoparticles to Treat Atherosclerosis Atherosclerosis is a specific disorder that is caused when there is a build up of LDL in the blood and the LDL enters the epithelium of the arteries. Buildup of LDL in the epithelium attracts macrophages to the site that uptake the LDL but then become foam cells. Foam cells are harmful because they can accumulate in the arteries and cause plaques to form, which can then lead to blood clotting and blockage of the arteries.
Tushaar Godbole SCHOOL OF BIOMED. Biomedical Engineering
The goal of this study was to create nanoparticles of ideal size for targeted drug delivery of atherosclerosis. The bionanotechnology lab already had come up with nanoparticles that were able to bind to LDL and flush them out of foam cells, but the size of these particles was too large. Particles that are too large cannot flow freely through the bloodstream freely and will be captured by macrophages throughout the blood stream. To reduce the size of these particles, I experimented with different formulations of creating the particles. I changed
Dr. Yinghui Zhong Faculty Mentor School of Biomed.
Dr. Jia Nong Post-Doctoral Fellow
many variables, such as concentration, the way the particles were made, and the amount of ion in the particles. Afterward, the size and loading of the drugs in these particles was measured. After developing particles with ideal size and drug loading, foam cells were treated with the particles. Lastly, the cells were stained and imaged to see whether the cholesterol within the treated cells decreased compared to the control cells. In my research, I was able to find a formulation that significantly reduced the particle size to an ideal size, but it did not translate to flushing out the cholesterol as well as the previous study.
157
Poster Session B
School of Biomedical Engin eering, Science, & Hea lth Systems Analyzing the Effects of Combinations of Curcumin, Minocycline, and Doxorubicin on Glioma and Neuron Cells A glioma is a tumor that forms in the brain and spinal cord tissue of glial cells. Malignant gliomas lead to brain cancer, which is the second leading cancer related cause of death in children. Because of the precarious location of gliomas, surgery is not always a viable option to treat brain cancer. In Dr. Zhongâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s lab, alternative methods to treat and kill glioma cells using curcumin, minocycline, and doxorubicin along with varying combinations of these chemicals are being researched. The aim of this research
Ashni Nadgauda
is to keep the neurons alive, while killing the harmful glioma cells. Curcumin is a chemical that is found in
COAS turmeric, a common spice; curcumin gives turmeric its Biological Sciences
bright yellow color. Minocycline is a tetracycline antibiotic that is used to treat many bacterial infections. Doxorubicin
Dr. Yinghui Zhong
is a anthracycline antibiotic and is a common
Faculty Mentor School of Biomed.
glioma cells are treated with different concentrations of
chemotherapy drug. Separate cell plates of neurons and curcumin, minocycline, and doxorubicin, placed in an incubator to allow the cells to be in a controlled environment, and then imaged to see how the cells reacted to the treatment. By applying different concentrations of these drugs to controlled cell plates of neurons and glioma cells, and comparing the relative growth and death of these cells, the most successful treatment towards glioma can be discovered.
Poster Session B
158
School of Biomedical Engin eering, Science, & Hea lth Systems 3D Printing Personalized Pediatric Medical Devices The application of videolaryngoscopy, or the integration of optics with direct laryngoscopy, to pediatrics proves to be a challenge, as all available pediatric video laryngoscopes (or VLs) are simply miniaturized versions of adult VLs. The intubation of pediatric patients, specifically those in syndromic populations with airway abnormalities, is difficult, as the lack of a VL with the proper fit means that anesthesiologists often need to make
Nile Delso SCHOOL OF BIOMED. Biomedical Engineering
multiple attempts to insert the breathing tube into the patient. Failed intubation is associated with arrhythmias, bronchospasm, airway trauma, and hypoxia. The emergence of 3D printing as a source of rapid prototyping presents the opportunity to design VL blades specific to a wide range of patient conditions. Rather than designing single blades to complement a wide range of patient sizes, VL blades can be virtually designed and
Dr. Matthew Maltese Faculty Mentor Childrenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Hospital of Philadelphia
subsequently custom printed for the appropriate size and shape of the patientâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s airway. A patient-specific tool as such will result in an increased rate of success in the intubation. The process of printing these VLs could be translated to the printing of an infinite number of personalized medical devices and would occur as such: a 3D model of the airway of a patient is generated from a CT scan. This model is measured and used to design a VL specific to the fit of the patient. This process can be done for any range of conditions. From here, finite element testing allows for computer testing of the blade before clinical use. This process would dramatically ease the challenge of intubating patients with difficult airways. Ultimately, this process hopes to prove that 3D printing is a viable option for the future of personalized medical device manufacturing.
159
Poster Session A
School of Biomedical Engin eering, Science, & Hea lth Systems Retrieval Analysis of Short-Term Antioxidant Stabilized Highly Crosslinked UHMWPE Used in Hip and Knee Arthroplasty Every year, more than one million people undergo total knee and hip arthroplasty in the United States to alleviate pain and improve function. However, the wear of the polyethylene component can limit the longevity of these procedures. Free radicals, which are formed during irradiation used to either sterilize or initiate crosslinking in polyethylene, can lead to oxidation and polymer degradation. To counter this, manufacturers introduced antioxidants as a method to quench the free radicals. In vitro testing has shown improved oxidative stability and mechanical durability with the addition of
Komal Mehta
antioxidants. The purpose of this study was to assess the
SCHOOL OF BIOMED. Biomedical Engineering
revision reasons, oxidation, and mechanical properties of retrieved short-term antioxidant stabilized highly crosslinked polyethylene (HXLPE) acetabular liners and tibial inserts. Oxidation levels were measured using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (ASTM F2102) at different locations.
Dr. Steve Kurtz Faculty Mentor Drexel Implant Research Center
Daniel McDonald Graduate Student Mentor
Mechanical behavior was measured using the small punch test (ASTM F2183). The vitamin-E infused implants had low oxidation levels (Mean OI<0.2, in all locations), along with no significant difference of oxidation indices between liner materials (p>0.05). However oxidation levels did increase minimally over implantation time, suggesting a small oxidation growth in vivo. In conclusion, antioxidant stabilized HXLPE had low oxidation indices (<0.2), which compares favorably to prior formulations (Mean OI >3). Future work focused on analysis of acetabular liners and tibial inserts with longer implantation times will increase the understanding of the oxidation, mechanical properties and failure of antioxidant HXLPE, which will ultimately lead to longer lasting joint
Poster Session A
replacements.
160
School of Education
Elucidating the Process of Game Design for Learning to Inspire Future Designers The purpose of this STAR project is to use the medium of film to identify the design process employed by researchers and game designers in the creation of an educational video game. The game, “Keys to the Collection” (KttC), is designed for children ages seven to twelve. It was developed by the Games and Learning in Interactive Digital Environments (GLIDE) Lab at Drexel University for the Barnes Foundation, a renowned art institution located in Philadelphia. The purpose of the game is to teach children the basic principles of art, utilizing the GLIDE Lab’s Play, Curricular Activity, Reflection, Discussion (PCaRD) model. Research in the GLIDE Lab aims to design experiences that shape the learning process, motivation to learn, and
Cali Chesterman AWCOMAD Animation & Visual Effects
identity change in learners using immersive digital technologies such as games. The project involved the acquisition of film production skills, which include storyboarding, using physical video and audio equipment (Canon T3i, shotgun mic), and editing and postproduction using Adobe Software: Premiere, After Effects, and Photoshop. Interviews were conducted with the game-based learning researchers and developers of KttC to explore the following: (1) the technologies used, (2) processes that shape design experiences, and (3) to highlight the people working behind-the-scenes. A six-part video series was produced and will be published on GLIDE Lab’s website. The intent of these videos is to inspire a new generation of animators, artists, educators, game designers, and programmers to produce a
Dr. Aroutis Foster Faculty Mentor Learning Technologies Program
Kristian Reid Film Production Mentor
Kevin Gross Film Production Mentor
similar educational game and learning experience for children.
161
Poster Session A
School of Education Development and Testing of a Reading Comprehension App In the field of education, and special education particularly, there is a great need for progress monitoring, recording the
Grace Thomson
development of a child in academic areas over time. At the
SCHOOL OF ED. Elementary & Special Education
teachers can use to track their studentâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s progress. However, at
elementary school level there are a number of tools that the middle school and high school level, there is an unfortunate lack of such materials. Therefore, our team of researchers set out to create an interactive app that can be used to monitor studentsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; progress in reading comprehension
Dr. Lori Severino Faculty Mentor School of Ed.
for grades six through twelve. The app consists of short passages with ten reading comprehension questions following each passage. To select passages at the appropriate grade level, we use the Lexile scale, a standardized scale that determines the difficulty of a specific book or passage. For each grade, thirty passages are selected so that children can be monitored every week of the school year. For both informational text and narrative text, heuristics, or specific rubrics, are applied to question creation. These heuristics dictate what kind of questions to ask and which type of multiple choice answers to provide to create a true test of reading comprehension. This summer, the app will be tested on children attending STEM camp at Drexel. They will get a chance to use the app and wear an fNIR headband that monitors their brain activity when answering questions. The children will also be given a standardized Test of Reading Comprehension whose results will be compared with their results on the app, providing a measure of reliability to the app. The research team hopes to test the app in middle school classrooms this coming school year and receive feedback from
Poster Session B
both students and teachers.
162
University Of Oulu Bioremediation of Sulfur in Mining Waters: A Review Acid mine drainage (AMD) is a serious water pollution problem throughout the world due to poor maintenance of closed and abandoned mines. When sulfide in newly exposed rock comes into contact with water and oxygen, an oxidation reaction takes place producing sulfates, low pH water, and dissolved metals in the water. This process is further accelerated by sulfur oxidizing bacteria. High levels of sulfate, low pH and high concentrations of dissolved Ashleigh Jugan metals in the water destroys the diversity of the aquatic COAS environment, as well as making it unsuitable for Environmental consumption. With increased interest in maximizing Science retention of resources (metals) from mining and heightened awareness of the pollution caused by AMD, there has been more and more interest in finding the most efficient and Dr. Ritva cost-effective method of remediating AMD waters. The most Isomaki successful treatment method discovered so far has been an Environmental active biological system that employs sulfate-reducing Engineering: Oulu bacteria (SRB) to reduce the sulfate, precipitate the metals as usable sulfides, and neutralize the pH, though it still has many limitations such as temperature and pH of the water. In this two-component system, there is a chemical reactor and a bioreactor where the SRB are located. The company Paques has installed systems such as the Sulfateqâ&#x201E;˘ to treat AMD and recover metals in several mines. However, as each SRB phyla requires different optimal conditions to operate at the maximum efficiency and each AMD water body is different, more research is needed to better understand how to improve the technology. As of now the technology is not very flexible in the conditions it can treat, so more studies are needed better understand how to optimize metal precipitation and water purification.
163
Poster Session B
University Of Oulu Characterizing a Visible Light Communication System Wireless data traffic is growing exponentially. A 1000-fold increase in teletraffic is expected in the next decade alone. The ubiquitous and highly successful radio frequency (RF) wireless communications infrastructure is approaching a spectral crisis, therefore, alternative solutions are being considered in congruence with RF communication systems. Utilizing the unlicensed and inherently broadband (Terahertz of bandwidth) visible light spectrum has been considered and research is
Burim Derveni being conducted in this novel field. Visible Light COE Electrical Engineering
Communication (VLC), which originated in Japan, transmits data via intensity modulating light emitting diodes (LEDs) faster than the persistence of the human eye. The use of LEDs simultaneously as illumination as well as communication
Dr. Marcos Katz Faculty Mentor Center for Wireless Communications: Oulu
Pekka Kamsula
devices, provides a lack of electromagnetic interference, high sound to noise ration (SNR), security and duplex communication system, making VLC an even more attractive option. Our project at the University of Oulu, Center for Wireless Communications in Finland, consisted in characterizing and further improving a current existing VLC system. Measurements were taken to distinguish the relationship of bitrate with regards to distance between LED and photodiode and the illuminace at the photodiode.
Furthermore, based on literature, the LED type was changed Graduate Student from a white phosphorus LED to a RGB LED. This change in Mentor hardware provided a 200% increase in the data transmission rate. Though our project was successful, further improvement can be made in applying modulation and multiplexing techniques, researching in improving the hardware and trying to change the propagation channel from a line of sight (LOS) to
Poster Session B
a multiplex diffusing one.
164
University Of Oulu Exploring Telecommunications through Visible Light Radio frequency telecommunications has shown an exponential growth in traffic over the past decade, and is expected to continue this trend. The radio frequency spectrum however, could soon run short on frequencies to transfer over without a substantial amount of interference. In order to cater to this dilemma, a new method of telecommunications is being explored, called Visual Light Communications, or VLC. VLC is the utilization of light waves emitted from an LED as a channel for modulated data to travel over, much like RF, but faster and extremely localized. VLC takes advantage of the propagation of light as well as modulation of data to a certain frequency to maintain a stream of information over the light waves. The
Jeffrey Proko COE Electrical Engineering
purpose of utilizing this new technology, is not only its potential to help keep radio frequencies open, but also to massively increase data transfer rates as well as localize the communication to a Line of Sight (LOS) connection. For our experiments in the labs at the University of Oulu, the first VLC lab in Finland was set up with the goal to be able to improve the bit error rate of streaming an HD video over a light source, at increasing distances. After modulation using GNUradio on open source ware and hardware manipulation, we succeeded in completing this at numerous distances over different frequencies and bit rates. To further our research we then
Dr. Marcos Katz Center for Wireless Communications: Oulu
Pekka Kamsula Graduate Student Mentor
began modulating RGB LEDs to send parallel streams over the same optical system as well as setting the groundwork for a hybrid RF and VLC system for multiple connection paths. We hope to bring this research back to Drexel, and continue our research in this up and coming field.
165
Poster Session B
University Of Oulu Catalytic Oxidation of Volatile Organic Compounds Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) are carbon-based compounds emitted by industries into the atmosphere and have been known to cause human health issues such as headaches, seizures, fatigue, along with environmental issues, such as smog, acid rain, and poor air quality. The purpose of this study is to study and develop better abatement methods for VOC compounds, specifically
Jonathan Fink COAS Environmental Science
dichloromethane (DCM) and tetrahydrofuran (THF). These experiments also examined Pt /Al2O3 as a potential catalyst for both DCM and THF oxidation. By measuring the temperatures and speeds in which DCM and THF are oxidized, one can determine the most effective catalysts for
Dr. Satu Pitkaaho Faculty Mentor Environmental Engineering: Oulu
their abatement. Catalytic oxidation tests included: two different volumes of each compound, combining THF and DCM, addition of water to THF, and combining THF, DCM and water. The experiments were carried out over a period of 6 days, with repetitions of 3 of the tests to ensure the repeatability. Results demonstrate that THF facilitates oxidation when added to DCM, as well as an enhanced HCl yield, and that water hinders the rate of THF oxidation.
Poster Session B
166
Index By Student College College of Engineering
Antoinette Westphal
(conâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t.)
College of Media Arts &
107-110, 112-115,
Design
136-142, 155, 164, 165
11-19, 21, 85, 161
LeBow College of
College of Arts &
Business
Sciences
20, 30, 128, 130-135
22-26, 28, 29, 31-34, 36, 37, 40-50, 52, 53, 55, 106,
Pennoni Honors College
116, 117, 119-121,
54, 87, 122, 129
123-127, 158, 163, 166
School of Biomedical
College of Computing &
Engineering, Science, &
Informatics
Health Systems
56-64, 74, 83, 86
111, 118, 143-154, 156, 157, 159, 160
College of Engineering 38, 39, 51, 65-73, 75-82,
School of Education
84, 88, 89, 90-105, â&#x20AC;Ś
35, 162
167
Index By Poster Session & Student College
AM College of Engineering
Antoinette Westphal
(conâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t)
College of Media Arts &
97-105, 109, 110, 112-114
Design 14-16, 21, 161
LeBow College of Business
College of Arts &
20, 130-132
Sciences 22, 23, 26, 29, 31, 32, 40,
Pennoni Honors College
42, 43, 48-50, 52, 53, 55,
122, 129
106, 119, 120, 127
School of Biomedical
College of Computing &
Engineering, Science, &
Informatics 56, 57, 60, 61, 62, 64
Health Systems
College of Engineering
150, 151, 154, 159, 160
111, 118, 143, 144, 148,
38, 39, 65-67, 70, 71, 73,
School of Education
78-81, 92-94, â&#x20AC;Ś
35
168
Index By Poster Session & Student College
PM College of Engineering
Antoinette Westphal
(conâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t)
College of Media Arts &
108, 115, 136-142, 155,
Design 11-13, 17-19, 85
164, 165
College of Arts &
LeBow College of Business
Sciences
30, 128, 133-135
24, 25, 28, 33, 34, 36, 37, 41, 44, 45, 47, 48, 116,
Pennoni Honors College
117, 121, 123-126, 158, 163, 166
54, 87
College of Computing &
School of Biomedical Engineering, Science, &
Informatics 58, 59, 63, 74, 83, 86
Health Systems
College of Engineering
153, 156, 157
145, 146, 147, 149, 152,
51, 68, 69, 72, 75-77, 82,
School of Education
84, 88-90, 95, 96, 107,â&#x20AC;Ś
162 169
Index By Student Major B (conâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t) Business Administration 128 Business Analytics 20, 131
A Accounting 132 Animation & Visual Effects 12, 13, 161 Anthropology 40 Architectural Engineering 69, 78 Architecture 11
C Chemical Engineering 38, 39, 66, 67, 97, 99, 101, 103, 104, 138, 142, 155 Chemistry 37, 125 Civil Engineering 68, 70, 73 Communication 41 Computer Engineering 77, 93, 95, 96 Computer Science 58, 59, 61-64, 74, 86 Custom-Designed Major 27, 54, 87, 129
B Biological Sciences 33, 34, 36, 116, 117, 119124, 126, 127, 158 Biomedical Engineering 111, 118, 143-154, 156, 157, 159, 160 Business & Engineering 134
170
Index By Student Major E Economics 133 Electrical Engineering 75, 79, 84, 89, 90, 164, 165 Elementary and Special Education 162 Entrepreneurship 30 Environmental Science 22-24, 26, 163, 166 Environmental Studies 28
G General Business 135 Geoscience 25 Graphic Design 18, 19 H History 41 I Information Systems 56, 60 Interactive Digital Media 85 International Area Studies 42, 45
F Fashion Design 14-16 Finance 130, 132, 133
171
Index By Student Major
P Physics 46-50, 52 Political Science 43 Product Design 17, 21 Psychology 53, 55
M Marketing 20, 30, 131 Materials Science & Engineering 76, 80, 98, 102, 105, 107110, 136, 137 Mathematics 44 Mechanical Engineering 51, 65, 71, 72, 81, 82, 88, 91, 92, 94, 100, 112-115, 139-141
S Secondary Education â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Biology 35 Software Engineering 57, 83
172
Special Thanks
We would like to extend our sincere gratitude to all Faculty Mentors, Graduate Students, and others at Drexel University who have helped teach, guide, and mentor these STAR Scholars. The STAR Scholars Program helps shape these studentsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; academic and professional futures for years to come, and it would not be possible without your participation. We applaud and thank you.
TH E STA R SC HO LAR S PRO GRAM IS ADM INIST ER ED BY TH E O FFI CE O F U NDE RGRA DU AT E RESE ARC H , A U NIT O F T H E PENNO NI HO NO RS C O LLEGE .