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Presenters & Abstracts: 2016
Soils and Climate Change
- Tess McDermott SwansonEnvironmental ScienceUndergraduate Student
College of Natural Resources & Sciences
The pedosphere is an often overlooked resource already affected by and contributing to climate change. For example, soil stores a certain amount of carbon, and biological processes in soil emit the powerful greenhouse gas nitrous oxide (N2O). The amount of nutrients, microorganisms, and moisture that soils hold are all affected by atmospheric CO2 levels and surface temperatures. Soils are an extremely important part of the earth’s biosphere, and they can be managed more effectively to mitigate their effects to the climate and the changing climate’s effects on them. I will explore these impacts and relate them to primary productivity, food security, human health, and land desertification.
Student Perceptions of Diversity in University Curriculum: Informing Course Design
- Irene GonzalezPsychologyUndergraduate Student
- Mariah MartinezPsychologyUndergraduate Student
- Zachary OtteyPsychologyUndergraduate Student
- Carrie AignerPsychologyFaculty
College of Professional Studies
When aspects of culture and diversity are integrated into courses, students can benefit in many ways including enhanced critical thinking and greater social agency, or one’s belief in the importance of working to correct social injustice. Despite these benefits, few instructors report that they integrate diversity-related content into their course curriculum, with many citing lack of knowledge for how to do this as a primary barrier. The purpose of this study is to assess student perceptions of diversity in the curriculum using both quantitative and qualitative methodology, with the broader goal of informing future curriculum design.
Studying the Connection Between X-Ray and UV Absorption in AGN Outflows
- Zane ComdenPhysics/AstronomyUndergraduate Student
- Cm AprilPhysics/AstronomyUndergraduate Student
- Michael GibbonsPhysics/AstronomyUndergraduate Student
- Paola Rodriguez-HidalgoPhysics/AstronomyFaculty
College of Natural Resources & Sciences
Active Galactic Nuclei are still somewhat of an enigma; young, bright galaxies with a large range of redshifts. Our current research is focused on gas outflows from the active galactic nucleus (AGN). These outflows are identified by broad absorption lines in the spectra of AGN. Current multi-epoch observations of many active galactic nuclei (AGN) have resulted in broad absorption lines that appear and disappear over time. Current observations show that these outflows have speeds up to 0.2c. Our team’s ultimate goal is to understand the mechanism that drives quasar outflows and characterize the broad spectral absorption lines, as well as why the outflows are variable
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
College of Natural Resources & Sciences
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.
The Effect of Posture on Running Economy, Kinematics, and Muscle Activation
- Nina Margaretha CarsonKinesiology and Recreation AdministrationGraduate Student
College of Professional Studies
This study investigated the effect of postural alterations (degree of forward lean and strategy) on running economy (energy consumed), kinematics (joint motion), and muscle activation during running. We found that running with a large lean resulted in a decrease in running economy and increased hip flexion such that the body increases its reliance on the less efficient gluteus maximus muscle. Furthermore, leaning forward increased gluteus maximus activation during stance phase, particularly when accepting body weight in landing. These findings suggests that running with an upright posture or more moderate forward lean, may be more energetically optimal.
The Feminist Pedestal: Ronda Rousey and the Representation of Female Athletes
- Karissa ValineDepartment of CommunicationUndergraduate Student
- Michael S. BrunerDepartment of CommunicationFaculty
College of Arts, Humanities & Social Sciences
This article will explore the feminist self-identification of female athletes in addition to critiquing the harms and benefits of placing female athletes on a “feminist pedestal.” Ronda Rousey, a well-known athlete in mixed martial arts, will serve as a case study in the analysis.
The Functional Role of Identification in Self- and Group-Identity Uncertainty
- Desiree RyanPsychologyGraduate Student
- Alexandria JauriquePsychologyGraduate Student
- Samantha WoodsPsychologyUndergraduate Student
- Lily SyfersPsychologyUndergraduate Student
- Amber GaffneyPsychologyFaculty
College of Professional Studies
We looked at the relationship between self-conceptual uncertainty and group identity-uncertainty. Study 1 provides evidence that group identity-uncertainty produces self-uncertainty, even when people have the opportunity to identify with relevant groups. Study 2 shows that group-identity uncertainty motivates disidentification from a group relevant to their uncertainty. These findings highlight the complexity of the self-concept, suggesting that group-identity uncertainty produces self-uncertainty as well as disidentificaiton with sub-groups related to the uncertain identity.
The Homeless Students of Color of Humboldt State University
- Alicia Araceli Flores CarrilloAnthropology, FilmUndergraduate Student
College of Arts, Humanities & Social Sciences
In the Fall semester of 2015, Humboldt State University experienced an increase in enrollment unlike any in its history; HSU recruited a total 1,429 incoming freshmen, which joined the already-enrolled student body of 7,370. Of that population, 31% was Hispanic-identified, and 31.3% of that population was from Los Angeles alone. Competitive housing on and off campus left many students in housing insecurity; some endured homelessness for a majority of the semester. This ethnographic research spans the Fall 2015 semester as an attempt to analyze the multi-faceted issue of student homelessness. The increase in enrollment provides an opportunity for analysis in our very racialized present.
The Importance of Soil Analysis Concerning Ancient Civilizations
- Timothy OrtegaAnthropologyUndergraduate Student
College of Arts, Humanities & Social Sciences
Human activities leave an impact on everything, including deep in the soil. This soil then can be tested thousands of years later to help determine what activities occurred at the site for a culture that may have been lost, is barely known about, or left no evidence other than their footprint in the dirt. I will relate my experience as an intern in the Archaeology Lab on campus to this project, which also concerns soil analysis from someone else's project.
The JNK/c-Jun Pathway Regulates Potency and OCT4 Expression in Murine Embryonic Stem Cells
- Lauren DahlBiological SciencesUndergraduate Student
College of Natural Resources & Sciences
This study examines a role for the JNK/c-Jun pathway in stem cell potency, differentiation, and Oct4 expression. Oct 4 is a transcription factor known to regulate genes involved in embryonic stem cell (ESC) self-renewal, pluripotency, and differentiation. cJun is a protein that regulates genes responsible for cell proliferation, differentiation and apoptosis. Its transcriptional activity is regulated in part by its activator, JUN amino-terminal kinase (JNK). In this study we modulated JNK/cJun signaling in murine embryonic stem cells through both chemical modulation of the JNK pathway and transient transfection of vectors expressing GFP cJUN, GFP L40/42A, GFP cJun R54A or GFP alone.