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Lanre Adekola
(class of 2009) worked in Department of Civil Engineering
at the University of Minnesota St. Anthony Falls Laboratory under
the supervision of Dr. John Gulliver. Lanre studied the effects of
soil compaction on absorption rates of rainwater into soil, investigating
ways in which low absorption rates lead to polluted runoff. Urban
runoff is a significant pollution source due to the impervious nature
of urban developments. Lanre participated in urban runoff study at
the Minnetonka Regional Park to assess urban runoff management practices.
He also undertook a synthetic runoff test where he designed and then
constructed a device to measure water infiltration into in compacted
soil versus soil that had been tilled and composed. Lanre concluded
that an effective method for improving water absorption rates and
reducing runoff is tilling and composting of soil. Lanre's paper,
PowerPoint, and
poster can
be accessed here. |
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Michael Crump (class of 2009)
worked in the Chemical Engineering and Materials Science Department at
the University of Minnesota under the supervision
of Dr. Russell Holmes. Michael’s goal was to improve the efficiency
of thin-layer organic photovoltaic (PV) cells by increasing voltage without
decreasing current. He fabricated PV cells in a vacuum chamber by subliming
various thicknesses of an organic layer of naphthyl-phenyl-diamine (NPD)
onto copper phthalocyanine and fullurene-C60. After experimenting with
NPD, Michael sublimed various thicknesses of platinum octaethylporphyrin
(PtOEP). His results showed a loss in current with a small increase in
voltage for both cells, indicating that neither NPD nor PtOEP are effective
thin-layer organics for improving efficiency of PV cells with the cell
structure that he used. However, his results suggest that a higher efficiency
can be achieved by restructuring the organic layers so that they are
blended together rather than applied separately. His work is a first
step in fabricating higher-efficiency solar cells to reduce use of fossil
fuels as a source of electricity and consequently to slow global warming.
Michael's paper, PowerPoint, and
poster can
be accessed here. |
|
Sierra Danforth (class of 2009)
and Sahar Hakim-Hashemi (class of 2009) collaborated on a project under
the guidance
of Dr. George Heimpel in the Department of Entomology at the University
of Minnesota. The goal of their project was to determine if a parasitic
wasp, Lyiphlebus sp. nr. testaceipes, could be safely used to biologically
control invasive soybean aphids that have infested 70% of Midwestern
soybean crops. Working in a quarantine area, Sierra and Sahar infested
soybean plants with soybean aphids and then introduced Lysiphlebus wasps
to test the effectiveness of the wasps in eradicating the invasive aphids.
They also introduced the Lysiphlebus wasps to non-targeted aphids to
determine attack rates. Their results showed that the Lysiphlebus wasp
is an effective biological-control agent for invasive soybean aphids
while not harming non-targeted aphids, indicating that the Lyiphlebus
wasp can be safely released to protect soybean crops. Sierra's
paper, PowerPoint, and
poster can
be accessed here. |
|
Michael Fuad (class of
2009) worked at the Center for Bio-refining at the University of Minnesota
under the direction of Dr. Roger Ruan. Michael engineered an improved method
to harvest algae for production of biodiesel. His method was based on wastewater
treatment techniques, where chemicals are used to destabilize microparticles
in suspensions, causing them to flocculate. Michael added combinations
of hydrochloric acid, aluminum sulfate, and high-cationicity polyacrylamides
to successfully coagulate and flocculate algae from suspension. His method
will be applied to industrial processes to more effectively and economically
produce biodiesel from algae. Michael's paper,
PowerPoint, and
poster can
be accessed here. |
| |
Sahar Hakim-Hashemi (class
of 2009) and Sierra Danforth(class of 2009) collaborated on a project under
the guidance of Dr. George Heimpel
in the Department of Entomology at the University
of Minnesota. The goal of their project was to determine if a parasitic
wasp, Lyiphlebus sp. nr. testaceipes, could be safely used to biologically
control invasive soybean aphids that have infested 70% of Midwestern
soybean crops. Working in a quarantine area, Sierra and Sahar infested
soybean plants with soybean aphids and then introduced Lysiphlebus wasps
to test the effectiveness of the wasps in eradicating the invasive aphids.
They also introduced the Lysiphlebus wasps to non-targeted aphids to
determine attack rates. Their results showed that the Lysiphlebus wasp
is an effective biological-control agent for invasive soybean aphids
while not harming non-targeted aphids, indicating that the Lyiphlebus
wasp can be safely released to protect soybean crops. Sahar's
paper, PowerPoint, and poster can be accessed here. |
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Xin Li (class of 2009) continued
research into a second year, working in the Department Plant Biology at
the University of Minnesota under the supervision of Dr. Sue Gibson. Xin
characterized sugar-response in Arabidopsis seedlings with the goal of
engineering soybean plants to produce higher yields ethanol, soy protein,
and soydiesel. She planted Arabidopsis mutant seeds, which had defective
genes at known locations in plant genomes, in 6% sugar media and then measured
root growth and anthocyanin levels of the mutant seedlings compared to
control Arabidopsis seedlings. She identified one mutant gene, gte4, that
was hypersensitive to sucrose. She used anthocyanin and sis assays to verify
that the high anthocyanin levels and short root growth were caused by the
mutant gene. She was then able to characterize the mutant gene using PCR
and abscisic acid assays. Xin's
paper, PowerPoint, and
poster can
be accessed here. |
| |
Daniel Mokhtari (class
of 2010) continued research into a second year, conducting research in
the Department of Chemistry at Hamline University under the supervision
of Dr. John Matachek. Daniel designed and then began the synthesis of
a ferrocene-thiophene organomettalic compound that can be used as a “sniffing” molecule
to identify hazardous organic compounds and heavy metals. His research
involved developing practical applications for this molecule as a water-quality
test for heavy metal cations, a quick test for various pathogens, or
a new method to deliver radioactive metal cations to specific locations
for cancer treatment. Daniel experimented with coupling methods to synthesize
the compound, including Grignard reactions, Stille coupling, and coupling
using glucal-epoxides. He was successful in constructing the ferrocene-thiophene
portion of the molecule using epoxide coupling, which is the first step
in synthesizing the organometallic sniffing compound. Daniel's
paper, PowerPoint, and
poster can
be accessed here. |
| |
Emily Nimmer (class of 2009)
continued research into a second year, working
at the University of Minnesota Department of Fisheries, Wildlife, and Conservation
Biology under the supervision of Dr. Karen Oberhauser. She investigated
potential effects of climate change on monarch butterflies, specifically
looking how higher nighttime temperatures (30 °C) paired with high
daytime temperatures (38 °C) affect monarch development. She found
that high nighttime temperatures did not have a significant effect on larval
survival, larval development, or adult butterfly health. By understanding
how rising temperatures will affect the monarch butterfly population, Emily’s
study contributed important information on the impact of climate change
and its effect on insect populations around the world. Emily's
paper, PowerPoint, and
poster can
be accessed here. |
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Travis Spangler (class of 2009)
worked at the Masonic Cancer Research Center at the University of Minnesota
under the supervision of Dr. Daniel Vallera. The purpose of Travis’ study
was to determine if a new cancer drug called DTEGFATF, a bispecific cytotoxin,
is more effective in killing glioblastoma brain-tumor cells than current
chemotherapy drugs that use monospecific counterparts of the bispecific
cytotoxin. Travis ran multiple assays using each cytotoxin on brain tumor
cell lines. He determined that the bispecific cytotoxin is significantly
more effective in killing brain tumor cells than using the two cytotoxins
separately. Travis'
paper, PowerPoint, and
poster can
be accessed here. |
| |
Madelaine Taft-Ferguson
(class of 2009) continued research into a second year, working at the
Diabetes Institute of Immunology and Transplantation in the laboratory
of Dr. Pratima Bansal-Pakala at the University of Minnesota. The
goal of Madelaine’s research was to determine if transplants
using islet donor cells from pigs are as effective in treating diabetes
as current treatments that involve transplanting islet cells form
human donors. Madelaine ran intracellular cytokine staining assays
that she analyzed using flow cytometry to measure cytokine levels,
which are indicators of immune reaction. She found that human cells
produced more of the cytokines IFN-gamma, perforin, and granzyme
B when stimulated with human donor cells but produced more IL-17
and TRAIL when stimulated with pig donor cells. Madelaine’s
research is a first step in making islet transplants far more accessible
to diabetes patients through use of donor cells from pigs rather
than from human donors. Madelaine's
paper, PowerPoint, and
poster can
be accessed here. |
| |
Stephen Trusheim (class
of 2009) continued research into a second year, working at Access Genetics
under the supervision of Dr. Ron McGlennen. The goal
of his project was to design a novel method for hospitals to use when testing
for Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA). He engineered computer
software that predicts MRSA-colonized patients upon hospital admission,
allowing hospitals to identify > 90% of MRSA cases by testing 50% of
admitted patients — a strategy he termed “predictive MRSA surveillance.” Stephen
validated the impact of his new strategy by engineering accurate hospital
cost analyses; results show that predictive MRSA surveillance can save
25% of hospital MRSA-testing costs without decreasing quality of patient
care. Stephen’s software allows more hospitals to afford MRSA surveillance,
a technique proven to reduce the incidence of this deadly endemic disease.
Stephen's paper, PowerPoint, and
poster can
be accessed here. |
