Category: College of Arts & Sciences
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Using ICP-AES to assess the presence of copper and zinc in bodies of water with differing proximity roadways
By Layla Cruz Martinez, Brooke Johnson, Elizabeth Tyler, and Owen White Faculty Mentor: Sarah Smith Abstract Roadways are known to be a source of heavy metals in the environment, thus, the purpose of this experiment is to quantify the amount of zinc and copper in a river near a roadway and a mountain spring that…
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Determinations of Nitrate and Nitrite in the Rappahannock and James with UV/Vis Spectroscopy
By Rebecca Bowers, Sophie Elliot, Ksenia Mangino, David Nichols Faculty Mentor: Sarah Smith Abstract Excess fertilizer runoff or waste containing ammonium nitrate can cause an uptick in algal blooms in waterways, which leads to rivers becoming oxygen starved and nutrient deficient. While the EPA limits quantify dangerous levels of nitrate (NO3-) and nitrite (NO2-) in…
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Novel Microfluidic Device Y-Junction for the Temporal Analysis of Apoptosis
By Addison Norden Faculty Mentor: Dr. Randall Reif Abstract Apoptosis is the tightly regulated process of programmed cell death that eliminates excess, damaged, or infected cells from the body. It plays a critical role in tissue homeostasis, and mutations affecting this process can result in tumor development, where the damaged cell is unable to trigger…
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The Effects of Sugar on Pyruvate Decarboxylase 3 (PDC3) Expression in Arabidopsis thaliana Seedlings Under Hypoxic Stress
By Aber Gadelrab Faculty Mentor: Dr. April Wynn Abstract Global climate disruptions in differing regions are strongly impacted by flooding events. As flooding becomes more frequent, increased moisture in soil can cause waterlogging and increase stress on plants. Waterlogging results in hypoxia, or a shortage of oxygen available to the roots. Pyruvate decarboxylase (PDC) genes…
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Calculating the Amount of Caffeine in different flavors of an energy drink, Celsius, using Fluorescence
By Willow Candage, Rowan Neall, Megan Rinald, and Talia Tanner Faculty Mentor: Sarah Smith Abstract Quantification of concentration of caffeine in wild berry flavor celsius energy drinks obtained from UMW campus and Giant will be determined to observe if the actual concentration of caffeine is within ±5 mg of the reported concentration of 0.0029M. Caffeine…
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Determination of Pyridoxine and Riboflavin Concentrations in Energy Drinks
By Adrian Coello, Charlea Kimbleton, and Emma Najdzionek Faculty Mentor: Sarah Smith Abstract Energy drink consumption has grown dramatically on college campuses in the past few years. While the main ingredient in these drinks is caffeine; they also contain high amounts of B vitamins pyridoxine and riboflavin. The effects of the caffeine in these drinks…
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Design of 3D Printed Packed Bed Columns for the Removal of Methylene Blue from Water in Flow
By Docia Atanda Faculty Mentor: Dr. Sarah Smith Abstract Packed bed columns used in flow chemistry commonly exhibit bed inhomogeneity, low reproducibility, and do not provide optimal mixing and contact between the stationary phase and mobile phase leading to low column efficiency. Additive manufacturing (3D printing) can be used to create columns with intricate internal…
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From the Land: an Experimental Approach to Ancient Ink Composition
By Luka Molloy Faculty Mentor: Dr. Christine Henry Abstract The archaeological study of tattooing is a fairly new area of research, becoming a serious academic pursuit over the past decade. The foci of projects have ranged in date, region, and purpose; most recently, many scholars have engaged in experimental archaeology to further our knowledge of…
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Quiet Minority: The Language of Minorities in Right-Wing and Conservative Movements
By Maria Esquivel Faculty Mentor: Dr. Janie Lee Abstract The literature surrounding right-wing ideology has focused largely on the political and sociological aspects of right-wing movements. While Kosse (2022) studied right-wing groups in the 4-chan message boards, the work was purely observational and has not allowed us to gain a discursive understanding of the right-wing…
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Gravity on a paper thin Earth
By Daniel Paluh Faculty Mentor: Desmond Villalba Abstract In science, we learn that the Earth is a sphere and the gravitational value for Earth is 9.81 m/s^-2. But where does the gravitational value come from? Furthermore, how does it differ as Earth’s shape changes? Over the past year, we have explored how the acceleration of…
