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Presenters & Abstracts: College of Natural Resources & Sciences
Switching to Electric Cars , and the Efficiency of Allocating Charging Stations
- Angelica HernandezMathUndergraduate Student
- Dillon SollidayMathUndergraduate Student
- Jackson StillmanMathUndergraduate Student
For environmental and economic reasons, there is a global interest in reducing the use of fossil fuels, including gasoline for cars. Whether motivated by the environment or by the economics, consumers are starting to switch to electric vehicles. Several countries are seeing early signs of the potential for rapid growth in the adoption of electric vehicles. In the US and other countries, the release of the more affordable all-electric Tesla Model 3 has resulted in record numbers of pre-orders and long wait lists. Our group set out to find an optimal allocation of electric charging stations in the U.S and South Korea by creating a math model of the number of stations per region.
Synthesis and Evaluation of a Lead Binding Peptoid
- Tara AlizadehChemistry departmentUndergraduate Student
- Parisa GhaffariChemistry departmentUndergraduate Student
- Dr. Jenny CappuccioChemistry DepartmentFaculty
- Dr. Frank CappuccioChemistry DepartmentFaculty
Lead is a particularly problematic environmental contaminant. The peptide sequence GGGTNTLSNNGGG has an affinity for binding lead particles. Utilizing solid phase reaction chemistry the peptoid analog was synthesized. The resin bound peptoid has been evaluated for lead binding affinity using Flame Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometry. Initial results show a 27:1 lead to peptoid binding with an average 14% lead decrease in the presence of 1.31× 10-5 per mole of the peptoid. Treatment of peptoid bound lead with hydrochloric acid resulted in release of lead indicating the recyclability of this peptoid modified resin.
Synthesis of Bis(diaryl)thienothiadiazole Compounds with Pyridyl and Pyrimidyl Groups For Use in Organic Photovoltaic Cells
- Gregory PitchChemistry/ Environmental ScienceUndergraduate Student
- Kiefer Bell-WilsonChemistryUndergraduate Student
- Micah OjedaChemistryUndergraduate Student
An organic photovoltaic (OPV) is a polymeric or small molecule device that accepts photons and generates a current. Donor-acceptor molecules are used to create a heterojunction where an electronic environment dissociates excitons, which are bound excited electron-hole pairs. Charge dissociation is facilitated at the heterojunction by the interaction of an exciton on the donor molecule with the electronic configuration of the acceptor molecule. Thiophene derivatives have proven to be promising candidates for high efficiency donor molecules. Rational design and attempted synthesis of bis(diaryl)-thienothiadiazole compounds with pyridyl and pyrimidyl groups are reported.
Teaming Strategies
- Gynell HigbyphysicsUndergraduate Student
- Nicole PerrychemistryUndergraduate Student
- Joshua MaldonadophysicsUndergraduate Student
Strong teamwork is important in many areas of society. Soccer, in particular, is one area where teamwork is critical to performing well and achieving a high score. The goal here was to analyze the data from the Huskies soccer team to determine what affected the team’s success, such as the number of passes, who was playing, and who was coaching. To analyze the given data, it was extracted into both Mathematica and Python. A Monte Carlo simulation, coded in Python, was applied to analyze wins, ties, and losses for each coach and stats for each player, from which we were able to make suggestions to better the teams gameplay as a whole.
Temperatures Impact on Insect Capture and Black Phoebe Foraging Activity
Alyssa Lomeli, Wildlife Undergraduate Student
College of Natural Resources & SciencesThis project is a study I conducted which will be portraying the data I have collected. The data and additional outside research was done to depict temperatures impact on Black phoebe foraging activity and insect capture within the city of Arcata.
Temporal changes in body conditions of wintering waterfowl in Humboldt Bay
Amir Malikyar, Wildlife Undergraduate Student
College of Natural Resources & SciencesOverwintering migratory birds may face increased competition for resources than in other seasons due to large influxes of birds arriving and inhabiting shared areas for similar amounts of time. These mechanisms may affect food availability, which in turn is implied to affect body energy reserves. We conducted a study to determine the temporal effects of body conditions of hunted waterfowl carcasses in Humboldt Bay, California, and test whether energy reserves as functions of body condition indices decrease over the winter season.
Testing Gravitational Interactions Below Fifty Microns
Alexandra Papesh, Physics & Astronomy Undergraduate Student
College of Natural Resources & SciencesAttempts to unify the Standard Model and General Relativity often include features that violate the Weak Equivalence Principle (WEP) and/or the gravitational Inverse-Square Law (ISL). To investigate this, researchers at Cal Poly Humboldt are conducting precision measurements of gravitational interactions below 50 microns. This project employs a torsion pendulum configured as a composition dipole with equal masses of titanium and aluminum. The twist angle and frequency of the pendulum is measured as an attractor mass in a parallel-plate configuration oscillates within submillimeter separations. *Supported by NSF grants PHY-1065697, PHY-1306783, PHY-1606988, PHY-1908502
Testing the Variable-Density Retention Silvicultural System as a Tool for Restoration of Conifer Dominance
- Alexander GormanForestry and Wildland ResourcesUndergraduate Student
- Pascal BerrillForestry and Wildland ResourcesFaculty
After harvesting the merchantable conifers decades ago, many secondary forests in northern California regenerated naturally and are now fully stocked with low value hardwoods intermingled with conifers. Partial harvesting to reduce hardwood densities and release conifers is expected to enhance tree vigor and reduce risk of stand-replacing wildfire. Planting a new cohort of merchantable conifers in the understory would enhance structural complexity and future value. A flexible new forest restoration treatment called variable-density retention (VDR) was designed to achieve these objectives.
The Drive Home: Travel Times from Humboldt County to the rest of California
- Brian MurphyESM: Geospatial ScienceUndergraduate Student
An isochrone map of California depicting the time required to travel from Humboldt State University to the rest of the state.
The Effect of Grazing on Frog Abundance
- Abigail SimonWildlifeUndergraduate Student
This study compares the abundance of frogs in landscapes that are grazed by livestock to lands that are non-grazed. This study found no influence of grazing activity on frog abundance. This information will be an important consideration for the conservation efforts of frog species as development of lands for urbanization and agriculture continue to increase as well as for conservation managers as they work to restore and maintain quality frog habitat by reverting agricultural lands back to native landscapes.