Friday April 21, 2023
12:00-1:00pm, Digital Auditorium
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AN INQUIRY INTO THE VALIDITY OF THE TUBE-TEST AS A MEASURE OF DOMINANCE IN MICE
By Timothy Philbeck Faculty Mentor: Parrish Waters Abstract Mice are social animals, and interactions among individuals can provide valuable information related to behavioral and physiological processes. To better understand social relationships in mice, the Tube-Test was developed to easily measure behavioral dominance in cohorts of mice; although this method is not universally accepted as a…
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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…
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Analysis of Glyphosate Through Various Spectroscopic Methods
By Madison Minvielle Faculty Mentor: Dr. Sarah Smith Abstract Herbicides are an important component in the growth and care of sod and agricultural fields. Glyphosate is the main ingredient in many herbicides. However, it is toxic to wildlife, specifically aquatic species, when the herbicide is present in run-off that leads to ponds. In order to…
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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…
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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…
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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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Causes for European Football League Transfer Fees
By Emily Wootten Faculty Mentor: Kashef Majid Abstract This study examines whether working in an international environment can help an individual signal their quality (and increase their value to recruiters). We used the context of professional soccer in Europe to explore whether participation on a national team has a positive impact on a player’s valuation…
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Characterizing developmental gene expression in Arabidopsis Thaliana
By Mark Murray Faculty Mentor: Dr. April Wynn Abstract Through this semester I have been analyzing expression of multiple genes in Arabidopsis Thaliana. Using several methods I have grown several plants I have isolated their DNA from RNA and measured their gene expression.
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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…
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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…
