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Erin Austad worked
in the Horticulture Department at the University of Minnesota St. Paul campus
under the guidance of Dr. Cindy Tong. Erin studied the effect of blue light
on potato tuberization. First, she studied three varieties of the Norland
potato and their response to blue light. Her intent was to find a mutant
plant that would have a unique response to blue light. She found two plants
that responded differently by producing tubers. They will be reproduced
and studied to see whether or not they experienced true somatic mutations.
Next, Erin studied the effect of blue light versus darkness on Norland and
Desiree potatoes to determine the optimal growth time under each condition.
The Norland plants all responded the same way to each of the light treatments,
leading Erin to believe that the amount of blue light is not substantial
to the response of the plant. She also found that Desiree plants that had
been exposed to blue light for four to six weeks produced the most tubers.
Finally, Erin grafted the tops of Norland and Desiree plants to the bottoms
of Desiree and Norland plants in order to identify which part of the plant
controls the signal that triggers tuber growth. Erin's paper
and PowerPoint can be accessed here. |
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Sara Brinda Sara Brinda (Class
of 2004) worked with Dr. Karen Oberhauser in the Department of Ecology,
Evolution, and Behavior at the University of Minnesota. She studied the
effects of the mosquito-control pesticide permethrin on monarch butterfly
larvae. Sara placed butterfly larvae on common milkweed plants that had
been sprayed at various times with permethrin. She then tracked the growth
and mortality rates of each treatment group. Sara found extremely high mortality
rates among larvae that fed on milkweed plants that had been sprayed with
permethrin, even 20 days after the pesticide was applied. Of the larvae
that survived the permethrin treatment, all were slower in their development
than larvae that fed on unsprayed (control) milkweed. However, because survival
levels were so low, it was impossible to assess significant sublethal developmental
effects on the surviving larvae. Despite trying even lower concentrations
of permethrin than those used for mosquito control applications, she has
been unable to find low enough concentration of permethrin that allowed
a large enough sample size of survivors to conduct a statistical study.
Sara was named as an alternate to the INTEL
International Science and Engineering Fair. Sara's paper
and PowerPoint can be accessed here. |
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Isaac Brown worked under the
guidance of Dr. Allan Goldman in the Physic Department at the University
of Minnesota. Isaac developed a procedure for cutting and smoothing cross
sections of superconducting thin-films so they could be studied using a
scanning tunneling microscope (STM). The first method he tried was to polish
samples with diamond dust disks, but this did not produce adequate results,
because water contaminated the ceramic superconductor. Next, he tried using
a microtome method where he embedded the samples in epoxy and then cut slices
off using a glass knife, but this did not work, because the substrates were
too thick, causing the knife to chip. So, Isaac thinned the substrates using
a polisher in order to facilitate cutting, successfully producing a cross
section that he could examined with an atomic force microscope (AFM). By
examining the cross sections, he discovered that tantalum-doped substrates
increase conductivity into the kilo-ohm resistance semiconductor range,
and annealed substrates had resistances low as 401 ohms. Isaac’s advisor,
Dr. Goldman, said that Isaac’s success obtaining an image of a film
in cross section was a remarkable achievement, which to his knowledge has
not been done by anyone before. Isaac's paper
and PowerPoint can be accessed here. |
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Laura Heeter collaborated
on a project with Krissy Naranjo-Rivera at the Physics and Advanced Technology
Directorate of Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory under the guidance
of Dr. Peter Beiersdorfer and his team members. Laura and Krissy worked
with an electron beam ion trap (EBIT). Their project was to determine the
correlation between electron beam current density and spectral-line ratios
for boron-like argon. To do this, they introduced argon atoms into the EBIT
at various beam current densities and obtained spectral lines using a grating
spectrometer and a charged coupling device (CCD) camera. Their results will
be used by astrophysicists to measure the densities of stars. Laura and
Krissy have gained valuable skills from computer analysis of spectral data.
Working at a national laboratory as high school students was truly an enriching
experience for both of them. Laura and Krissy were named co-authors of a
publication titled "Experimental Evaluation of Density Sensitive Ar
XIV and Fe XXII Line Ratios" that they authored with the Lawrence Livermore
National Laboratories on their work. Laura
and Krissy won the top prize at the Twin Cities Regional Science and Engineering
Fair, which was an all-expense paid trip to the INTEL International Science
and Engineering Fair. Laura and Krissy's paper and PowerPoint can
be accessed here. |
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Patrick Kelly-Goss worked with
Dr. Rita Majerle in the chemistry Department of the Hamline University.
In his project, Patrick determined why alkyl substituents (R-groups) would
not bond to the most receptive location in the molecule n-benzyl-n-2-hydroxypropyl-amine
but would invariably bond to what appeared to be a less-likely location.
Patrick investigated whether the actual R-group bonding was a result of
chromium-mediated oxidation which occurs during the synthesis of the ketone,
resulting in bonding of to chromium to the most receptive site thus blocking
the location where the R-group should bond. He worked on a chromium-mediated
oxidation, replicating the desired reaction using several oxidation procedures
to find the source of a widely-reported reaction that does not actually
occur.Patrick was named as a coauthor on a paper titled “Nitric Oxide
Synthase in Brains from the Tg2576 Mouse Model of Alzheimer’s Disease”
that has been submitted to the journal Neuroscience Letters. The
publication was by the Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathology and
Department of Biochemistry, Molecular Biology, and Biophysics at the University
of Minnesota. Patrick's paper and PowerPoint can be accessed here. |
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Mark Ledford worked under
the guidance of Mark Hove at the Fish and Wildlife Department of the University
of Minnesota. His study dealt with finding host fish for the Snuff Box mussel,
which is on the verge of being federally listed as endangered. Mark infested
twelve different species of fish with Snuff Box glochedia and then examined
the siphonate to check for glochedia and juvenile mussels. He determined
that the Log Perch fish specie was the only host fish species for the Snuffbox
mussel. His work will be reported to an environmentalist in Missouri who
will use his data in an attempt to save the Snuff Box mussel from extinction.
Throughout the summer, Mark also helped graduate students from Macalester
College with their projects that dealt with mussels population in the St.
Croix River. Mark was fortunate to receive be awarded a grant from the Hutton
Junior Fisheries Biology Program for his project. He is the first Breck
student to be a recipient for this award. Mark was named a co-author on
a paper titled "Snuffbox Host Suitability Trials" that was published
in Ellipsaria. Mark's paper
and PowerPoint can be accessed here. |
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Meggie Marzec worked with
Mark Hove at the Fish and Wildlife Department the University of Minnesota.
The purpose of her project was to find the ideal host fish for the Round
Pigtoe mussel. This mussel is considered to be threatened in many areas
and not much is known about it. It is essential that the host fish for the
mussel be found so that in the future mussels can be more successfully raised
in labs. Meggie started by collecting female mussels from the St. Croix
River that were gravid, meaning they had glochidia packets that were ready
to be released. She brought females back to the lab where they released
their glochidia. Meggie was able to use them to infest fish, some of which
she caught in the St. Croix River. Then she siphoned the fish tanks regularly,
counting the glochidia and juveniles that had fallen off. At the conclusion
of her study, she successfully found six host fish: the Common Shiner, the
Spotfin Shiner, the Golden Shiner, the Hornyhead Chub, the Creek Chub, and
the Green Sunfish. Meggie was named a co-author on a paper titled "Snuffbox
Host Suitability Trials" that was published in Ellipsaria.
Meggie's paper and PowerPoint
can be accessed here. |
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Patrick McCarthy worked with
Dr. Ian Armitage in the Department of Biochemistry, Molecular Biology, and
Biophysics at the University of Minnesota. Pat studied the levels of nitric
oxide (NO) and the NO-forming enzyme nitric oxide synthase (NOS) in mice
tissue that expressed Alzheimer's disease. Due to the relatively recent
finding of NO and NOS in the human body and the complex nature of Alzheimer's
disease, little research had been done to study the relationship between
the two. Pat ran dot blots, Western blots, and ELISA tests that showed the
concentrations of NOS in the Alzheimer’s brains were actually less
than in the control brains. He also ran enzymatic assays, finding that NOS
activity in the Alzheimer's tissue was significantly increased. Pat feels
privileged to work on cutting-edge research that has huge biological and
societal importance. He was named a coauthor on a paper titled “Nitric
Oxide in Brains from the Tg2576 Mouse Model of Alzheimer’s Disease”
that has been submitted to the journal Neuroscience Letters. His
work was also accepted for publication in Molecular and Cellular Biochemistry.
The title of his paper is "Metallothionein-3 and Neuronal Nitric Oxide
Synthase Levels in Brains from the Tg2576 Mouse Model of Alzheimer's Disease.”
The authorship is listed in the following order: Bruce L. Martin, Abigail
M. Tokheim, Patrick T. McCarthy, Brendan S. Doms, Andrew A. Davis, and Ian
M. Armitage.Patrick's paper and PowerPoint
can be accessed here. |
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William Mitchell continued
research that he began during the summer of 2002. Bill created a model
for testing the electrochemical properties of various thiophene derivatives
using ferrocene end-caps to prevent polymerization which would inhibit
testing. The ferrocene is attached via Suzuki coupling, where a palladium
catalyst aids in attaching it to the thiophene. In the early summer of
2002, Bill used a procedure written previously for the coupling, which
gave small yields with much contamination. He has spent a considerable
amount of time trying to improve the synthesis and has eliminate the contamination.
Drawing on the procedures he tested last two years, students at Hamiline
University will continue research on the electrochemical properties of
these molecules. Bill enjoyed his co-teaching responsibilities, which
included mentoring the first-year students during the summer and watching
the evolution of of their projects while he furthered his own research.
Bill was selected to present his work at the Minnesota Academy of Sciences
Junior Science and Humanities Symposium. He was also named as a Semifinalist
in the INTEL Science Talent Search. He
also won the top prize at the Twin Cities Regional Science and Engineering
Fair, which was an all-expense paid trip to the INTEL International Science
and Engineering Fair. He won second prize on the Academy of Science paper
competition. Bill's paper and
PowerPoint can be accessed here.
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Krissy Naranjo-Rivera collaborated
on a project with Laura Heeter at the Physics and Advanced Technology Directorate
of Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory under the guidance of Dr. Peter
Beiersdorfer and his team members. Laura and Krissy worked with an electron
beam ion trap (EBIT). Their project was to determine the correlation between
electron beam current density and spectral-line ratios for boron-like argon.
To do this, they introduced argon atoms into the EBIT at various beam current
densities and obtained spectral lines using a grating spectrometer and a
charged coupling device (CCD) camera. Their results will be used by astrophysicists
to measure the densities of stars. Laura and Krissy have gained valuable
skills from computer analysis of spectral data. Working at a national laboratory
as high school students was truly an enriching experience for both of them.
Krissy and Laura were named co-authors of a publication titled "Experimental
Evaluation of Density Sensitive Ar XIV and Fe XXII Line Ratios" that
they authored with the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratories on their
work. Krissy and Laura won the top prize
at the Twin Cities Regional Science and Engineering Fair, which was an all-expense
paid trip to the INTEL International Science and Engineering Fair. Krissy
and Laura's paper and PowerPoint can be accessed here. |
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Lizzy Shaw worked at the International
Diabetes Center (IDC) of the Park Nicollet clinic in St. Louis Park. When
she volunteered there during the summer of 2002, she noticed that children
who were asked about their diabetes seemed to become more introverted. This
led to her research this summer where she tested whether symptoms of depression
vary with the length of time a child or adolescent has had diabetes. Using
two validated questionnaires, she looked at the percent of children and
adolescents in her study who scored within a range that would indicate they
should have further evaluation for depression to determine if they differed
significantly from the general population. Lizzy also looked at whether
females with diabetes showed more symptoms of depression than males with
diabetes. She found that none of the children and adolescents who participate
in her study needed further evaluation for depression, and she discovered
that there was no significant difference in scores between the male and
female participants. Because none of the participants in her study showed
significant symptoms of depression, Lizzy was not able to assess if symptoms
of depression increase over time in children or adolescents who have has
diabetes. However, she found the study to be of great benefit to her personally,
and she was able to suggest ideas for future studies on children and adolescents
with diabetes. Lizzy won second prize in the Academy of Science paper competition
and was named as a finalist in the Young Epidemiology Scholars competition.
Lizzy's paper and PowerPoint
can be accessed here. |
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Adam Yock worked in the Biology
Department at the University of St. Thomas under the guidance of Dr. Amy
Verhoeven. Adam studied the adaptation of photosynthesis to varying light
conditions by measuring the relative amounts of protein associated with
light-harvesting complexes and reaction centers in sun- and shade-acclimated
specimens of peas and the moss species Gymnostomum aeruginosum. Adam correlated
this information with the relative amounts of chlorophyll a and chlorophyll
b in the same specimens. He confirmed that sun-acclimated pea plants displayed
a relatively high chlorophyll ratio and exhibited relatively more reaction
centers and fewer light-harvesting complexes, while shade-acclimated peas
displayed a relatively low chlorophyll ratio with relatively fewer reaction-centers
and more light-harvesting complexes. Adam found that the chlorophyll ratios
of sun- and shade-acclimated specimens of Gymnostomum aeruginosum, a lower
plant, did not vary significantly, although the sun-acclimated moss contained
nearly four times more chlorophyll than the shade-acclimated moss. The relative
amounts of proteins associated with light-harvesting complexes and reaction
centers in the moss also did not vary significantly with altered light exposure.
Adam was named as a Semifinalist in the INTEL Science Talent Search. Adam
won the top prize at the Twin Cities Regional
Science and Engineering Fair, which was an all-expense paid trip to the
INTEL International Science and Engineering Fair. Adams'
paper and PowerPoint can be accessed here. |
