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Adapting the OU Undergraduate Research Day to COVID-19

Photo courtesy of OU Honors College

The Center for Open Science was pleased to support Oklahoma University (OU) in recent efforts to migrate its Undergraduate Research Day event to an online format. Read how OU utilized OSF to host abstracts, presentations, and research materials from undergraduates while providing a discovery interface for students, faculty, and attendees.

The OU Honors College’s annual Undergraduate Research Day (URD) is designed to showcase undergraduate research from across the University of Oklahoma campus. This year’s event was threatened by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Originally scheduled for April 4th, the URD invites students to give short talks on their research, either competitively, or non-competitively. Due to campus closure, the event was rescheduled, then ultimately canceled. Interim Dean Doug Gaffin of the Honors College notes, “We were really upset that we had to cancel the in-person event and even more so because of the tremendous growth and interest we have seen in Undergraduate Research Day over the last few years.”

Knowing the importance of the URD, Dean Gaffin made the decision to move the event online. The challenge of reformatting the event motivated Gaffin to seek out ideas from trusted experts across campus. 

Tara Carlisle, Head of Digital Scholarship, and Claire Curry, Science Librarian, joined Gaffin and other experts from OU, including John Stewart at the Office of Digital Learning, on the project. Thirty days after beginning discussions, a website was launched to host the event. 

Curry, Stewart, and Carlisle consulted internal library experts like Jen Waller, Director of Open Initiatives & Scholarly Communication, university departments such as OU IT, and external partners including Open Science Framework (OSF), to design and shape the student, faculty, and audience experience. They also worked closely with student workers supervised by Magen Bednar and Patrick Wright of University Libraries, and Angela Person of Christopher C. Gibbs College of Architecture, to provide access while remaining attuned to faculty concerns about the permanent nature of a web repository.

Some aspects of the URD remained the same. Students were asked to submit slides, abstracts, and presentations, but the time limit was reduced from fifteen to ten minutes. Due to the online and more permanent nature of recordings, some professors opted to have their students withdraw, or only archive portions due to concerns over potential double publishing. The main difference was asking the students to record their presentations. URD was “held” asynchronously, with announcements made on the Honors College website and twitter, as well as emails when all presentations were online. 

Michaela Murphy, who tied for the grand prize in biology, microbiology, and biochemistry, said of the experience, “After putting all the work into my project […], I was excited that I would still be able to present my work.  I think this format even made watching other people’s presentations more accessible since during the actual event, we would often be presenting simultaneously. I am very proud of how my presentation turned out and am glad that I and others can access it at any time in the future.”

“The transition would not have been possible without the tremendous help and expertise of many people. It took incredible coordination, and I am so thankful that we have such talented, selfless people on campus,” Dean Gaffin said. 

“We were thrilled to work with the OU Honors College to support the URD, as well as their student and faculty research management and sharing across the OSF. Our institutional partners around the world continue to innovate with new ways to catalyze open science, and they inspire us to keep providing exciting infrastructure features to support them,” said COS Product Owner Eric Olson.

View the full list of OU URD 2020 award winners and presentations .

The open source OSF infrastructure streamlines project management, collaboration, and open sharing of research materials, data, and code for researchers throughout the entire research lifecycle. Learn how OSF and OSF Institutions integrate with existing research tools to support researcher workflows, increase efficiency, safeguard data management, and enable greater transparency and integrity in science.

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Meteorology major wins award at OU Undergraduate Research Day

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Oklahoma Research Day encourages undergraduate students from regional two- and four-year colleges and universities to collaborate with faculty mentors on research projects or creative and/or scholarly activities.  Students then present their results in poster and oral presentations to Research Day attendees.

Information about upcoming Oklahoma Research Day activities may be found on the EPSCoR Events page . 

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Pronouns: He/Him/His

Email: [email protected]

Office: Dale Hall Tower 814

Curriculum Vitae

Google Scholar

Professor, Department of Psychology

My research interests span personnel psychology and organizational behavior, including topics in personnel assessment, selection, training and development, leadership, and group dynamics. My primary research interest involves the study of human performance and complex skill learning with emphases on individual differences in ability and motivation, cognitive and social processes, self-regulation, skill decay, and skill adaptability. My interests in group dynamics are fairly broad, including team training, team adaptability, and group decision making. With respect to leadership, I am interested in the use of simulations (e.g., assessment centers and situational judgment tests) for assessing and developing leadership skills, and more generally I am also interested in the interplay between leadership and group dynamics.

Selected Publications

Graduate student advisees are underlined. Undergraduate student coauthors are underlined and italicized.

Jorgensen, A., Day, E. A., Huck, J. T., Westlin, J., Richels, K., & Nguyen, C. (in press). Emotion-performance relationships in the acquisition and adaptation of a complex skill: Are relationships dynamic and dependent on activation potential? Human Performance.

Fife, D. A., Day, E. A., Terry, R., & Mendoza, J. L. (2020). Estimating subgroup differences in staffing research when the selection mechanism is unknown: A response to Li’s Case IV Correction. Organizational Research Methods, 23, 367-384.

Richels, K., Day, E. A., Jorgensen, A.,Huck, J. T., & Westlin, J. (2020). Keeping calm and carrying on: Relating affect spin and pulse to complex skill acquisition and adaptive performance. Frontiers in Psychology, 11, 377.

Arthur, W. Jr., & Day, E. A. (2019). Skill decay: The science and practice of mitigating loss and enhancing retention. P. Ward, J. M., Schragen, J. Gore, & E. Roth (Eds.), The Oxford Handbook of Expertise: Research & Application . Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press.

Hardy, J., III, Day, E. A., & Arthur, W., Jr. (2019). Exploration-exploitation tradeoffs and information-knowledge gaps in self-regulated learning: Implications for training and development. Human Resource Management Review, 29, 196-217.

Hardy, J., III, Day, E. A., Steele, L. M. (2019). Interrelationships among self-regulatory processes: Toward a dynamic process-based model of self-regulated learning. Journal of Management, 45, 3146-3177.

Kramer, M. W., Day, E. A., Nguyen, C., Hoelscher, C. S., & Cooper, O. D. (2019). Leadership in an interorganizational collaboration: A qualitative study of a statewide interagency taskforce. Human Relations, 72, 397-419.

Hoelscher, C. S., Kramer, M. W., Nguyen, C., Cooper, O. D., & Day, E. A., (2017). Decision making and communication in a statewide interagency task force: An investigation of planned versus utilized processes. Management Communication Quarterly, 31, 39-68.

Yammarino, F. Y., Mumford, M. D., Connelly, M. S., Day, E. A., Gibson, C., McIntosh, T., & Mulhearn, T. (2015). Leadership models for team dynamics and cohesion: The Mars Mission. In E. Salas, W. B. Vessey, & A. X. Estrada (Eds.). Team cohesion: Advances in psychology theory, methods, and practice (pp. 213-245). Emerald Group Publishing.

Hardy, J., III, Day, E. A., Hughes, M. G., Wang, X., & Schuelke, M. J. (2014). Individual differences and exploration in learning a complex task: A between- and within-person examination . Organizational and Human Decision Processes, 125, 98-112.

Hardy, J., III, Imose, R., & Day, E. A. (2014). Relating trait and domain mental toughness to complex task learning . Personality and Individual Differences, 68, 59-64.

Mracek, D. L., Day, E. A., Arsenault, M., & Terry, R. (2014). A multilevel approach to relating subjective workload to performance after shifts in task demands. Human Factors, 56, 1401-1413.

Arthur, W. Jr., Day, E. A., Bennett, W. Jr., & Portrey, A. M. (Eds.). (2013). Individual and team skill decay: State of the science and implications for practice . New York: Taylor-Francis.

Day, E. A., Arthur, W. Jr., Villado, A. J., Boatman, P. R., Kowollik, V., Bhupatkar, A., & Bennett, W. Jr. (2013). Relating individual differences in ability, personality, and motivation to the retention and transfer of skill on a complex command-and-control simulation. In W. Arthur, Jr., E. A. Day, W. Bennett, Jr., & A. Portrey (Eds.), Individual and team skill decay: State of the science and implications for practice (pp. 282-301).  New York: Taylor-Francis.

Hughes, M. G., Day, E. A., Wang, X., Schuelke, M. J., Arsenault, M., Harkrider, L. N., & Cooper, O. D. (2013). Learner-controlled practice difficulty in the training of a complex task: Cognitive and motivational mechanisms. Journal of Applied Psychology, 98, 80-98.

Wang, X., Day, E. A., Kowollik, V., Schuelke, M. J., & Hughes, M. G. (2013). Factors influencing knowledge and skill decay after training: A meta-analysis. In W. Arthur, Jr., E. A. Day, W. Bennett, Jr., & A. Portrey (Eds.), Individual and team skill decay: State of the science and implications for practice (pp. 68-116).  New York: Taylor-Francis.

Arthur, W. Jr., & Day, E. A. (2010). Assessment centers. In S. Zedeck (Ed.), Handbook of industrial and organizational psychology: Volume II, Selecting Members (pp. 205-235). Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.

Schuelke, M. J., Day, E. A., McEntire, L. E., Espejo, J., Boatman, P. R., Kowollik, V., & Wang, X. (2009). Relating indices of knowledge structure coherence and accuracy to skill-based performance: Is there utility in using a combination of indices? Journal of Applied Psychology, 94, 1076-1085.

Day, E. A., Boatman, P. R., Kowollik, V., Espejo, J., McEntire, L. E., & Sherwin, R. E. (2007). Collaborative training with a more experienced partner: A strategy for remediating low pre-training self-efficacy in the acquisition of a complex skill. Human Factors, 49, 1132-1148.

Edwards, B. D., Day, E. A., Arthur, W. Jr., & Bell, S. T. (2006). Relationships between team ability composition, team mental models, and team performance. Journal of Applied Psychology, 91, 727-736.

Lievens, F., Chasteen, C. S., Day, E. A., & Christiansen, N. D. (2006). Large-scale investigation of the role of trait activation theory for understanding assessment center convergent and discriminant validity. Journal of Applied Psychology, 91, 247-258.

Day, E. A., Arthur, W. Jr., Edwards, B. D., Bell, S. T., Bennett, W. Jr., Tubre, T. C., & Mendoza, J. L. (2005). Ability-based pairing strategies in the team-based training of a complex skill: Does the cognitive ability of your training partner matter? Intelligence, 33, 39-65.

Arthur, W. Jr., Day, E. A., McNelly, T. L., & Stanush, P. L. (2003). A meta–analysis of the criterion–related validity of assessment center dimensions. Personnel Psychology, 56, 125-154.

Day, E. A., Radosevich, D. J., & Chasteen, C. S. (2003). Construct- and criterion-related validity of four commonly used goal orientation instruments. Contemporary Educational Psychology, 28, 434-464.

Day, E. A., Arthur, W. Jr., & Gettman, D. (2001). Knowledge structures and the acquisition of a complex skill. Journal of Applied Psychology, 86, 1022-1033.

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Undergraduate Research Award

The application for the 2023 — 2024 academic year is now closed..

University Libraries Undergraduate Research Award

• incorporate primary sources from the Libraries’ special collections;
• take the form of digital scholarship that integrates digital techniques and tools;
• result in the visualization of spatial or numeric data;
• reflect creative scholarship such as poetry, music, film, and other forms of individual expression grounded in research.

Up to three awards will be given in the amounts of $1,500, $1,000, and $750.

Eligibility, to be eligible, applicants must:.

• be currently enrolled as a University of Oklahoma undergraduate student at any class level and in any discipline;
• be returning to OU as an enrolled student the subsequent fall or spring semester;
• agree that the research project and application will be licensed under a Creative Commons agreement to promote sharing of the resources;
• agree to submit the research project and application to the OU Libraries’ digital repository for undergraduate research;
• submit a short biography to be included in OU Libraries subsequent publications.

Application Procedure

Application must include:.

• submission of the general application in OU's CASH system;
• an OU Libraries research essay;
• a final version of the research project, including a bibliography of sources consulted.

OU Libraries Research Essay Guidelines:

• This will be a separate, detailed document that describes the research process, including research strategies as well as how OU Libraries resources, collections, and services were used to complete the research project.
• You need to emphasize the importance of understanding and reflecting upon the process of developing a topic and research strategy in order to locate, evaluate and use the best information possible.
• The research process essay is your opportunity to provide the award committee with insight into how the libraries and its resources enriched and enhanced your work.
• Please note that due to the nature of this award, the essay portion of the application is weighted as much as the project itself, and therefore we encourage you to provide us with a thoughtful reflection of your OU Libraries research experience.

Evaluation Criteria

Evaluation will be based on the following:.

• in-depth and effective use of the OU Libraries collections and services;
• evidence of personal learning and an understanding of the research process;
• overall quality of the application materials, including content, completeness, and research and writing skills.

Additional Information

Winning papers will be deposited into OU Libraries' institutional repository, SHAREOK .

Undergraduate Research Award Stories:

• The 2017 winners' story  (page 13)

• Request Info

Undergraduate Research Day

Ocu honors program presents, undergraduate research day 2024, friday, march 8, all events are free and open to the public., urd schedule.

• Student work in Natural Sciences, Nursing, and Statistics will be on display.
• Dance Performance, 12:30 pm in the Honors Hall
• Costumes & the Theater will be presented in GSN 115 from 1 to 1:45 pm
• Musicological Studies will be presented in GSN 115 from 2 to 2:45 pm
• Social Science, Political Science, and History will be presented GSS 101 from 2 to 3:30 pm
• Women in Literature, Religion, & the Arts will be presented in GSN 115 from 3 to 4 pm

Posters (Honors Hall, 10 am to noon)

Kayla Nguyen, Connor Broeker, Bao Cao, Shady Khader, Falak Maarouf, Ashley Nguyen, Morgan Wells, and Austin Worley, “The Healing Power of Dandelions: Exploring Antibacterial Properties of Dandelion Seed Extract” *

Infections from antibiotic-resistant bacteria remain one of the leading global health threats today, as treatments against these strains remain largely ineffective. Whole dandelion, a historic anti-inflammatory agent, has been shown to exhibit significant antibacterial effects. However, evidence on the antibacterial effects of dandelion seeds, especially against antibiotic-resistant strains, remains insufficient. 

Utilizing column chromatography, Dandelion Seed Extract (DSE) was separated into several fractions to be used as the treatment against Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus, Acinetobacter baumannii , and Pseudomonas fluorescens cultures. Utilizing the microtiter plate dilution method, bacteria were treated with both whole and fractionated DSE and observed for anti-proliferative effects. 

Evidently, both whole and fractionated DSE exhibited significant antibacterial effects. Although individual fractions did show varying levels of effectiveness, whole DSE had the most potent antibacterial effects compared to the DSE fractions, possibly indicating synergistic effects. However, regulatory mechanisms and active constituents within the fractions remain unknown and require further investigation. 

*Poster and Grand Prize Winner

Tess Rosen, “Developing a Natural Dye-Based Recipe for Stage Blood”  

OCU’s production of Sweeney Todd required the development of a new stage blood recipe with all natural dyes that would not stain costumes and would keep for a two-week production period. I found that the closest natural color I could find for the blood that was readily available was beet powder. However, when I replaced the red dye with the beet powder, it became evident that further alteration would be necessary, as the color began to decay and the blood itself spoiled. With help from my mentor and the creator of the blood recipe I based mine on, Larry Heyman, I was able to discover that the issue lied in the type of acid I used to activate the chemical reaction that binds the pigment to the mixture and prevents it from staining. 

Austin Worley, Ashley Nguyen, Kayla Nguyen, Morgan Wells, Bao Cao, Savannah Whitten, Madison Dennis, Dr. Melville Vaughan, Dr. John Nail, and Dr. Christina Hendrickson, “Dandelion Seed Extract Inhibits HeLa Cell Proliferation by Modulation of the Wnt/β-catenin Signaling Pathway”  

Dandelion Seed Extract (DSE) demonstrates anti-cancer effects by disrupting crucial cellular processes in HeLa cells, resulting in growth inhibition and heightened programmed cell death.  

DSE treatment caused a statistically significant reduction in HeLa cell viability (p<0.001) and an increase in proliferation inhibition compared to Human Dermal Fibroblasts (HDF) cells. DSE treatment notably upregulated the mRNA expression level of AXIN1, a tumor suppressor, due to its role in down-regulating the Wnt signaling pathway. 

 Transcriptomics analysis revealed the downregulation of 30 genes, which were associated with Gene Ontology terms of Canonical Wnt Signaling Pathway (GO:0060070) with adjusted p-values of 8.717e-33. Additionally, pathway analysis by Enrichr highlighted the downregulation of the Wnt Signaling WP428 network with an adjusted p-value of 2.104e-29 and combined score of 17354.64 

Dance Performance (Honors Hall, 12:30 pm)

Lucia Dawkins, Kayla Geerts, Hanna Harris, Brooke Pallan, Caroline Aramendia, Piper Small, and Jaiden McComber: The Dance of Greek Goddesses  

Students will perform a dance inspired by the stories of Greek goddesses. Each character carefully reflects the character of each goddess. For instance, the choreography Kayla Geertz created to portray the Greek goddess Athena incorporated a variety of symbolic elements tied to Athena’s mythology. To begin Athena’s section of movement, Kayla had the background dancers move like soldiers from their first to second positions. This represented Athena’s strategic warfare abilities and the guidance she gave to the soldiers of Athens as well as Greek heroes such as Hercules and Perseus (Cartwright). When Athena walks forward, beginning her section of movement, she is shown pretending to hold a spear in her right hand and having an owl perched on her left arm. 

Presentation: Costumes & the Theater (GSN 115, 1 to 1:45 pm)

Avony Green, “Complimenting Strangers: Exploring the Confirmation Bias and Spotlight Effect Through Fashion” *

This correlational study was conducted to observe the relationship between how we dress and how we receive compliments. The main hypothesis was that the more a person dressed up, the more receptive they would be to compliments. There were 31 participants total, who ranged in gender, age, and formality of dress. Compliments were randomly given to participants in a super mall in a Midwestern state. Data was collected on several Likert scales specifically created for this study. The results were significant and confirmed the main hypothesis. The results can be applied to the real world by helping adults build the self-esteem and confidence of children through their fashion style. In conclusion, fashion is a form of self-expression that should not be shamed. When one’s outward appearance is appreciated, their inner self feels accepted. 

Keywords : compliments, fashion, mall, surprise, student 

*Winner of Costumes & the Theatre

Preston Hunt, “‘Queen Bees,’ Mean Girls , and Those In Between: How Degrees of Separation Through Adaptation Affect the Source Material  

In the never-ending stream of new film releases over the past several decades, one type of film seems to remain consistently popular: the Adaptation. Film adaptations take original IP (intellectual property) and reimagine its narrative through a filmic lens, oftentimes to revive the story for nostalgic audiences or update a story for new generations. While there are many types of adaptations, a recent trend of successful blockbusters has been found in the movie musical. However, what happens when degrees of separation increase, creating a movie musical that is adapted from a stage musical that is already adapting an original book? Through this research, I explore recent film adaptations of popular works, and I examine how they have changed in content and meaning as they have been adapted across media. I surmise what makes an adaptation popular, as well as whether recent film adaptations were successfully socially and critically. 

Madeline Pugh “Sustainably Crafting and Adapting Historical Costume”  

Dressing Hamlet 417 Years Apart : How History and Sustainability Make for Better Costumes 

 In this presentation I will give an overview of both William Shakespeare’s Hamlet and James Ijames 2017 adaptation, Fat Ham , taking a special look at how the adaptation of the characters and setting impacts the costume design. In general, personality, time period, and location create the building blocks for how a character might dress. In Fat Ham , I will be using the adapted setting as well as inspiration from the original Hamlet to build costumes with layers of depth. I will be arguing for the importance of both historical context and sustainable practices as an artistic tool in costume design. Historical Research and second-hand materials provide depth and character to costumes that might otherwise come across as flat and contrived. I will be showing my research and design process through a powerpoint, along with displaying a dress form with a completed example costume from my design for Fat Ham . 

Presentation: Musicological Studies (GSN 115, 2 to 2:45 pm)

Glory Curda, “How Queer: A Bad Word: AIDS Music as Rebellion and its Role in Deconstructing Societal Taboos”  

Music from the AIDS crisis was revolutionary in its unique status as a political tool and retaliation against society, government, and the rules these impose on humans and human expression. In this presentation, I will examine and address the bounds of socially acceptable mourning in the context of societal taboos. Consequently, using music produced during or as a reaction to the AIDS crisis as a prime example, I will explore the tools these musical artists pioneered to circumvent these socially acceptable standards and make their voices heard. I will then explore and define how these tools can be employed in music and the arts to continue the rebellion against the abstract, ever-changing, and consistently damaging taboos of today. 

Ana Evans, “ Hereditary : A Minimalist Approach to Horror Film Score”  

Colin Stetson’s unconventional but effective score for the 2018 horror film Hereditary rejects the traditional ideals of film scoring according to the Steiner model and instead uses a minimalist scoring style utilizing drones and sparse instrumentation to encourage audience investment through alternative means. Because silence initiates suspense more often than tense musical moments, Hereditary stands out among the horror film genre for utilizing music in a much subtler way and allowing the audience to sit in silent moments with no musical cues as to what will happen next. Stetson’s method of using minimalism is therefore more effective than the Steiner method and creates a more impactful form of storytelling. 

Sophia Dollenmayer, “Woody Guthrie: The Dust Bowl Troubadour” *

Unbeknown to many people, one of the greatest folk musical and cultural influences was an Oklahoman, who became known as Woody Guthrie. Born and raised in Oklahoma, Guthrie would go on to be the most influential folk songwriter performer and social activist in the first half of the twentieth century. Guthrie carefully music repackaged the pain and suffering of poverty-stricken southwestern communities into emotionally driven songs.  His music was later used as ammunition for leftist movements of the 1960s to impower their own community and continue protesting. Throughout his life, no matter where he traveled, his music was inseparable from his Oklahoman heritage and identity. 

*Winner of Musicological Studies

Presentation: Social Science, Political Science, and History (GSS 101, 2 to 3:30 pm)

Kyah Alexander, “The Hidden Women: Unveiling the Untold Roles of Women in Terrorism”  

This research dives into the overlooked presence and hidden reality of the role of women in terrorist organizations. This presentation will highlight various terrorist groups; it will focus on the exploitation of women in numerous countries, the motivation and logic behind extremist groups, the interplay between gender and terrorism, and how it can challenge ideologies and societal norms. 

Alan Bernhardt, “The Ustaše: Fascism in Croatia during the Second World War”  

The Ustaše were a Croatian fascist organization that collaborated with Nazi Germany during World War Two. They had little support until Nazi Germany invaded Yugoslavia and put them in charge of a Croatian puppet state. Croatia would become a semi-independent nation under the German Reich when the Axis invaded Yugoslavia; it controlled most of Croatia proper with Bosnia and Herzegovina, and small parts of Slovenia. With this new nation the Ustaše were put in charge to run the new puppet with German oversight.. The Croatians would send the army into villages and began killing people. The German advisors described the army’s actions as “slaughter” and “plunder.” One of the German witnesses said, “troops 'be ruthless in the use of firearms against those who try to flee.” So, the Croatian Ustaše was seen as more brutal and savage than the German Nazis. My presentation will address this not well known, but an extremely tragic page in history. 

Troy Green, “Famous Crimes and Trials of the Weimar Republic and Third Reich”  

My presentation will address several well-publicized trials, such as The Feme Murders, The Hitler Beer Hall Putsch Trial, and the Trial of the Reichstag Fire in interwar Germany. After the defeat of Germany in the First World War, Germany became a Republic where everybody had the same rights and the same obligations before law. Public trials which I will be analyzing in my presentation had a broad educational message for the Germans as they seek to establish new political concepts and new political realities of the rule of law. Yet, the trials also demonstrated the weaknesses of nascent parliamentary democracy in Germany. The Hitler Beer Hall Putch Trial became the stage for Hitler to propagate his hateful racist ideas and to become a political celebrity. 

Stephanie McQuain, “Propaganda: The True Weapon of the Nazi Regime”  

The rise of Adolf Hitler and the Nazi regime in Germany would not have succeeded if it wasn’t for one important weapon: propaganda. Propaganda is “biased information designed to shape public opinion and behavior” (“State of Deception: The Power of Nazi Propaganda What Is Propaganda?), and it was Hitler’s key strength in his ascension to power. The effectiveness of propaganda is rooted in the message being presented, the technique used to relay it, the means of communication, the environment it enters, and the audience receptivity to the message. Hitler was able to effectively master all these aspects to weaponize his propaganda, gain huge amounts of power, and justify countless atrocities. Hitler’s ability to blind the public with smoke-and-mirrors tactics and his skill with preying on the public’s hate, fears, and desires allowed him to gain immense power and establish a fascist state founded on nationalism, racism, and the glorification of violence. 

Emma Nickerson, “Artful Imaginaries: Planting Tomorrow’s Peace Today”  

In a world full of frequent hate and violence, little actions and pockets of peace shown within society are necessary for a sense of hope and humanity within communities. By deep-diving into the background and reasoning behind public images of peace in society allows readers to rhetorically analyze the purpose behind why images of peace and freedom are necessary within our world today. Dr. Sudarshan Kapoor made a perfect example of representing peace on the California State University, Fresno campus through his creation of the peace garden. The exposition of peace advocators such as Jane Addams, Mahatma Ghandi, and Cesar Chavez allows people within society to acknowledge their impacts on the world and act upon those actions of peace executed as inspiration. Looking back onto what these icons have done towards fighting for peace is expressed by looking into each person specifically, and what they have accomplished to earn a prized recognition within the California State University, Fresno Peace Garden. From an outsider point of view, illustrations and actions of peace shown within society can be seen as mundane and go unnoticed, which is exactly what peace and freedom fighters like Ghandi, Chavez, and Addams fought against, and continue to fight against through ideas like the peace garden. 

Emma Vance, “Unraveling the Relationship Between Homelessness and Crime Rates” *

This study investigates the connection between homelessness and crime rates in the United States from 2007 to 2021. The analysis covers 46 states and utilizes Census population data, Point-In-Time homelessness estimates, and crime data from FRED. National-level findings surprisingly suggest that higher homelessness rates correlate with lower crime rates, though with limited explanatory power. However, a state-level Fixed-Effect Model reveals a more complex relationship, showing that higher homelessness rates are associated with statistically significant increases in crime rates. 

These results conclude with a need to address homelessness as a factor influencing crime rates and the importance of comprehensive strategies to combat homelessness. Further research is suggested to be larger scale and to consider demographic factors and other variables among the homeless population. This could enhance our understanding and inform effective policies and interventions to tackle homelessness before it happens. 

*Winner of Social Science, Political Science, and History

Presentation: Women in Literature, Religion, & the Arts (GSN 115, 3 to 4 pm)

Isabella Felton, “The British Colonization of Antionette Cosway”  

The relationship between Edward Rochester and Antoinette Cosway/Bertha Mason, in Wide Sargasso Sea by Jean Rhys in comparison to Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte, can be examined as an allegory for colonization. One theory is used to examine the cultural and emotional power that Rochester has over Antoinette, where he “colonizes” Antoinette Cosway into Bertha Mason as a way to overcome his feelings of inferiority and dependence due to his cultural isolation, and how Antoinette is able to free herself from his tyranny. This is a critical essay over Victorian British and Postmodern literature, includes coming of age and postcolonial genres, criticizes with feminist methodology and psychoanalysis, and includes themes of colonization and romance.

Emma Goins, “The Quadrinity of God: The Role of Woman Wisdom in Theology”  

This paper works to discuss Woman Wisdom as a divine being and argues that the Biblical text supports a Quadrinity versus a trinity. This will include comparing the descriptions of Woman Wisdom to descriptions of Jesus and other ancient deities to best determine where she should fit, based solely in ancient text. The book of Proverbs clearly lays out a personified female deity, often known as Woman Wisdom. Not only is she described in the book of Proverbs, but it is also written that she was with God during the time of creation. While there are varying scholastic opinions about including her when discussing aspects of God and God's being, I argue that including her is not only biblically accurate, but also crucial for creating an expansive and dynamic religious experience for all people. The goal of this paper will be to determine where Woman Wisdom fits into Biblical theology and develop a Biblically and historically accurate understanding of Woman Wisdom. 

Natalie Turner, “Women’s Independence: The Lasting Relevance of A Doll’s House ”  

Henrik Ibsen’s 1879 tragedy A Doll’s House has stood the test of time for its intriguing and controversial social commentary. Studying Ibsen’s play centers around feminist studies and gender standards in late 19 th century Europe. The play’s ending was viewed as scandalous, and some productions used an alternate ending against Ibsen’s wishes, as studied by Norwegian professor Christian Janss in “When Nora Stayed: More Light on the German Ending.” The play is monumental because the female protagonist continues to represent women’s struggles with domesticity and independence in the modern era. Modern women can still relate to Nora through her struggle to be treated with the same respect as the male characters. Ibsen’s story lives on through the women continuing to be inspired by Nora’s choice to seek independence by abandoning gender roles. 

Skyler White, “Monotony in Musicals” *

This presentation looks at the choreographic process and history of three notable musical theatre director/choreographers: Michael Kidd, Michael Bennett, and Susan Stroman. The project looks at their individual success, how they were given opportunities. Towards the end the project looks at how the entertainment industry, specifically in New York, has a disparity between female and male directors and leaders in the industry and what that means for its future. The conclusion of the project touches on how this problem can be fixed, and what the lack of diversity means at a deeper level. 

*Winner of Women in Literature, Religion, & the Arts

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Facility for Rare Isotope Beams

At michigan state university, new frib precision measurement program advances understanding of proton halos, theoretical physicists and experimentalists work together to measure the mass of a rare isotope expected to form a rare proton halo, publishing the first results from frib’s precision measurement program. .

In May 2022, the Facility for Rare Isotope Beams (FRIB) at Michigan State University (MSU), launched its precision measurement program. Staff from FRIB’s  Low Energy Beam and Ion Trap (LEBIT) facility take high-energy, rare-isotope beams generated at FRIB and cool them to a lower energy state. Afterward, the researchers measure specific particles’ masses at high precision. 

The LEBIT team, led by  Ryan Ringle , adjunct professor of physics at FRIB and in the MSU Department of Physics and Astronomy and senior scientist at FRIB, and  Georg Bollen , University Distinguished Professor of Physics and FRIB Experimental Systems Division director, recently published a research paper that used the facility to take a step in verifying the mass of aluminum-22. Researchers think this exotic isotope demonstrates a rare but interesting property—specifically, that the nucleus is surrounded by a “halo” of protons that loosely orbit the nucleus. This halo structure reveals distinctive physical properties during its fleeting existence.

“This program requires a lot of extra beam preparation to perform experiments, and this is the first measurement in FRIB’s science program,” Ringle said. “This measurement could not have been done in a reasonable time at FRIB’s predecessor, the National Superconducting Cyclotron Laboratory, and it highlights our facility’s potential moving forward. Considering this was done with one-eightieth of FRIB’s power specification, this was like a warm-up before exercising.” 

The team published its results in  Physical Review Letters (“ Precision Mass Measurement of the Proton Dripline Halo Candidate 22 Al”).

Capturing elusive proton halos

While most atoms have electrons tightly orbiting the nucleus, protons and neutrons are part of the nucleus itself. However, when atoms encounter many of the same charged particles under certain conditions, they can create halos that orbit the nucleus beyond the pull of the strong nuclear force—the force that would normally keep these particles within the nucleus. While all halo structures are rare fleeting phenomena, neutrons are usually observed as halo particles. A nucleus’s positive charge usually repels protons’ positive charges, meaning that halos made of protons are even rarer. Measurements on nearby isotopes suggested that aluminum-22 might be an isotope that could form a proton halo, but researchers needed to verify this directly in other experiments. 

To achieve this, the team creates a high-energy isotope beam of aluminum-22 using a process called “projectile fragmentation” at FRIB. The researchers create a beam from a heavy, stable atomic nucleus of a given element—in this case, an isotope of argon—then accelerate the beam to half the speed of light. The beam then hits a target with these ultra-fast-moving particle projectiles. This violent collision creates rare, short-lived isotopes that the researchers can shepherd into an instrument to filter out the particle of interest. They then lower the temperature to slow them down into a uniform beam and measure particle mass accurately. 

While the team was able to accurately measure the mass of aluminum-22, it is only part of verifying the isotope’s proton halo structure. The LEBIT researchers’ colleagues in the  Beam Cooler and Laser Spectroscopy (BECOLA) facility at FRIB now plan to take the next step in verifying the proton halo by measuring the charge radius—the distribution of protons around the nucleus—as well as how much the nucleus may be deformed from its traditional, spherical shape. Taken together, these measurements can unequivocally confirm the existence of a proton halo structure around aluminum-22. 

Ringle pointed out that the collaboration between theoretical physicists and experimentalists at FRIB plays an essential role for research like determining the existence of a proton halo around a rare isotope such as aluminum-22. 

FRIB provides research opportunities to graduate students 

Ringle credited students on the team for playing a key role in advancing this research. One of LEBIT’s graduate students, Scott Campbell, took this project on as part of his dissertation. 

“He really took charge of running this experiment from start to finish,” Ringle said. “The students who work with us really benefit from the wealth of expertise we have at this facility. Nowhere else is a facility like this located in the middle of a university campus. It allows students to come in for an hour or two between their classes or before they go home for the day. They can work at the lab part-time and easily pair that with taking classes. But our facility gets benefit as well; we have increased access to talented, motivated students.” 

Campbell studied physics and computer science at Gonzaga University as an undergraduate. He was excited by the prospect of coming to MSU for graduate school in large part to FRIB being on campus and being a major resource for physics students. “I was very excited by the prospect of doing for nuclear physics research at MSU, especially with FRIB ramping up during my studies,” he said. “We have access to these great facilities and a great community, and we get to participate in groundbreaking advances in nuclear science.” 

Campbell also noted that FRIB not only offers world-class facilities, but also networking opportunities and mentors like Ringle. “We are surrounded by colleagues who are interested in your research and want to help you push science forward,” he said.

Eric Gedenk is a freelance science writer.

Michigan State University operates the Facility for Rare Isotope Beams (FRIB) as a user facility for the U.S. Department of Energy Office of Science (DOE-SC), supporting the mission of the DOE-SC Office of Nuclear Physics. Hosting what is designed to be the most powerful heavy-ion accelerator, FRIB enables scientists to make discoveries about the properties of rare isotopes in order to better understand the physics of nuclei, nuclear astrophysics, fundamental interactions, and applications for society, including in medicine, homeland security, and industry.

The U.S. Department of Energy Office of Science is the single largest supporter of basic research in the physical sciences in the United States and is working to address some of today’s most pressing challenges. For more information, visit energy.gov/science.

OU College of Engineering School of Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering

Undergraduate research day, ame students receive awards at undergraduate research day.

Colton Ross, Daniel Tsai, and Cortland Johns won awards for their presentations at the Undergraduate Research Day on April 6, 2019.

They each spoke about their current research in biomedical engineering. Colton Ross won an Honors College Award for Most Outstanding Project Grand Prize, Daniel Tsai won an Honors College Award for Distinction in Undergraduate Research, and Cortland Johns received an Honorable Mention.

Congratulations to these outstanding students!

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Physicists gain hands-on experience using cyclotron at UC Davis

Team included undergraduate and graduate students

Recently, a team of UC Riverside physicists led an experimental campaign at UC Davis, where they worked on a cyclotron, an apparatus that accelerates charged particles. The team, led by Barak Schmookler , an assistant project scientist in the lab of Miguel Arratia , an assistant professor of physics and astronomy , bombarded photosensors with proton beams from the cyclotron, causing degradation due to “radiation damage.”

“This exercise provides crucial reference data to study how sensors and electronics will tolerate radiation from the future Electron-Ion Collider ,” Arratia said. “The team from my lab, including undergraduate students, gained valuable hands-on experience. This type of testing is common in the aerospace industry, such as for satellites, where radiation damage is a significant issue.”

The Electron-Ion Collider, or EIC, at Brookhaven National Laboratory in New York will aim to study the properties of the proton and produce its first ever 3D image.

The UC Davis Cyclotron can accelerate protons to a kinetic energy of 64 million Electronvolts. It has a diameter of 76 inches (about 6 feet). In a cyclotron a charged particle is accelerated by an electric field and then bent by a magnetic field, which makes the particle travel in a spiral as its energy increases. Once a beam of these particles reaches maximum energy, the beam can be transferred by magnets to another location.

The UCR team performed various tests, sponsored by the EIC project and planned and coordinated by UCR, at the UC Davis Cyclotron. According to Arratia, more dedicated measurements will continue at UCR campus laboratories. The team is working to characterize the effect of radiation on the performance of silicon photomultipliers, or SiPMs. 

“These SiPM detectors will be used at the future EIC in the context of, for example, to read out the signal from calorimeter detectors,” Schmookler said.

Schmookler explained that calorimeters are used to absorb a high-energy particle and determine its energy. A portion of this absorbed energy is converted to light, he said, and some of that light is detected by SiPMs attached to the calorimeter. 

“The SiPM signal tells us the energy of the particle that hits the calorimeter,” he said.

The team is still running post-radiation tests on the SiPMs. It also plans to study the effect of heating the irradiated SIPMs to high temperatures.

Besides Schmookler, members of the team are undergraduate students Ryan Tsiao and Miguel Rodriguez, and graduate students Sean Preins and JiaJun Huang.

Header image shows, from L to R, Barak Schmookler, JiaJun Huang, Sean Preins, Ryan Tsiao, and Miguel Rodriguez. (UCR/Arratia lab)

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