Category: College of Arts & Sciences
-
Beyond Romanization: An Indigenous Study of Cultural Change in Classical Britain
By Brooke D. Prevedel Faculty Mentor: Liane Houghtalin Abstract The Roman Empire is among the best-known empires in the world, renowned for unifying vastly different peoples and lands. The process of these unifications was, at times, something resembling peaceful, but other times, much more violent. Regardless of the method of acquisition, peoples brought into the…
-
Like a Shadow or Even a Dream: Memory and Haptic Motifs on Classical Attic Funerary Stelai
By Vonne Daszkilewicz Faculty Mentor: Liane Houghtalin Abstract During the third quarter of the fifth century BCE, Athens witnessed the revival of funerary stele reliefs. Sculpted motifs representing touch and interaction, often situated within familial scenes, characterized the grave monuments and contributed strongly to their tactility. Haptic stele motifs promoted the construction of memory by…
-
Using Geological and Archaeological Dating Techniques to Make Historical Conclusions about Santorini: Unlocking Hidden Potential for Aegean Chronologies
By Melody Zeher Faculty Mentor: Liane Houghtalin Abstract The Santorini eruption and tsunami have been argued by historians to be the primary cause of Minoan Palatial decline. To prove this, there has been extensive work done on constructing Aegean chronologies as well as on dating the eruption. Because of the widespread ash fallout, there is…
-
Applications of Harmonic Oscillator for Diatomic Molecules
By Zahia Clemmons, Kat Zelaya-Cordova Faculty Mentor: Leanna Giancarlo Abstract In classical mechanics, atoms are treated as point masses connected by spring-like bondsthat obey Hooke’s law, which states that the restorative force of a system is proportional to the displacement as a mass oscillates about its equilibrium distance.1,2 The quantum mechanical harmonic oscillator is derived…
-
Comparison of heavy metal concentrations in muscle and liver tissue between migratory Canada geese and permanent resident Canada geese
By John (Jack) Bulger Faculty Mentor: Dr. Dolby Abstract Anthropogenic combustion of fossil fuels and other human activities related to development and industrialization have contributed significantly to the release of heavy metals into the environment and atmosphere. Metals typically have negative impacts on both human and environmental health when released in excess, which is a…
-
Designing 3D printed columns for separations
By Dorothy Haas Faculty Mentor: Sarah Smith Abstract The column of a High-Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC) instrument is the main piece of its separation power. The different elution times of constituents of a sample are based on the components of the column. 3D printing an HPLC column allows for direct manipulation of the column components.…
-
Assessing the diagenetic susceptibility of the large skeletal architecture coral species Hydnophora microconos – implications for tropical paleoclimate reconstructions
By Melody Zeher and Catharine DeGolyer-Howell Faculty Mentor: Pamela Grothe Abstract The central tropical Pacific is a major driver for global climate variability yet our understanding of the impacts from human-induced climate change are limited due to sparse instrumental datasets. Quantifying the magnitude and timing of the human-induced warming in the tropical Pacific is essential…
-
Evaluating coral Sr/Ca using ICP-AES as a cost-effective geochemical analysis for paleotemperature reconstructions
By Jacob Cantor and Jessica Oberlies Faculty Mentor: Pamela Grothe Abstract Geochemical records from modern and fossil corals are excellent proxies of environmental conditions. Coral strontium/calcium ratios (Sr/Ca) are reliable recorders of sea surface temperature, and, when paired with coral oxygen isotopes (δ18O), we can also determine sea surface salinity. Corals incorporate both Sr and…
-
Computational Determination of Electron-Electron Repulsion and Binding Energy within the Atom
By Docia Atanda, Dorothy Haas Faculty Mentor: Leanna Giancarlo Abstract The atomic binding energy is the energy needed to pull away the innermost electrons in an atom away from the nucleus. The atomic binding energy is a value that takes into account the nuclear charge, electrons, and electrostatic interactions between the two. Using ChemCompute and…
-
An Investigation of Intermolecular Forces via Computational Chemistry
By Madison Minvielle, Maria Schneider Faculty Mentor: Leanna Giancarlo Abstract Dipole moments can be investigated through several different methods including determining the polarity and electronegativity of a molecule and analyzing electrostatic maps. Computational chemistry is a useful tool that can calculate the value of a dipole moment without the need for a laboratory experiment. Semi-empirical…
