Abstract Booklet

Sponsored by: Vice Provost for Research Vice Provost for Undergraduate Education Center for Family, Work and Community Honors Program Humanities

Guest Speaker Alan Khazei

Alan Khazei has pioneered ways to empower citizens to make a difference. In 1987, as a young graduate from Harvard Law School, he co-founded a nonprofit organization called City Year with his friend, Michael Brown. City Year unites young adults ages 17-24 from all backgrounds for an intensive year of full-time community service mentoring, tutoring, and educating children. It served as the model and inspiration for President Clinton’s AmeriCorps program and now operates in 20 U.S. cities and Johannesburg and London.

In June 2003, when AmeriCorps faced a drastic funding cut, Alan joined with other service leaders to organize the “Save AmeriCorps” coalition, an effort that led to an increase of $100 million dollars. Inspired by the success of the Save AmeriCorps campaign, in 2007, Alan launched Be the Change, Inc., a nonprofit that creates national issue based campaigns by organizing coalitions of non-profits, social entrepreneurs, policymakers, private sector leaders, academics, and citizens. In 2009, ServiceNation, the first campaign to be launched from this platform, played a key role in the enactment of the strongly bi-partisan Edward M. Kennedy Serve America Act.

In the fall of 2009, Alan Khazei was a candidate in the Senate special election primary in Massachusetts. He was endorsed by the state’s leading newspaper—the Boston Globe, as well as the Worcester Telegram & Gazette, CapeCod Times, and the BlueMassGroup. He also received endorsements from public leaders such as General Wesley Clark, Mayor Bloomberg, and Senators Hart, Nunn, and Wofford. Jonathan Alter in a Newsweek column entitled “Khazei: Teddy’s Rightful Heir”, described Khazei as being the only candidate “carrying forward his reform ideas on the most important domestic issue of the 21st century”.

Alan has served on the boards of leading national non-profits and has received numerous awards, including the Reebok Human Rights Award, the Jefferson Award for Public Service, and the Schwab Foundation Social Entrepreneur Award. In 2006, US News and World Report named him one of America's “25 Best Leaders.” Alan is also the author of a new book, Big Citizenship: How pragmatic idealism can bring out the best in America. Alan lives in Brookline, Massachusetts with his wife, Vanessa Kirsch, and their two children.

‐‐ ‐ 1 ‐ College of Fine Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences

Art

The Senior Studio Project: Art major undergraduate students in the BFA program must complete a single semester 6-credit Senior Studio course. Each student focuses intensely for a semester on an original project that is analogous to a thesis. Below is a description of several of these projects this spring 2011:

ART1 Chan, Anna WATT.M.I LAMPS (Advisor: Karen Roehr)

Watt.M.I lamps represent real materials trapped under the false assumption of being trash. The technique of these lamps redefine what high end products could appear to be, but instead of using expensive materials, they will be constructed from recycled plastic and paper. The idea of using what society regards as disposable and cheap will be transformed to look sophisticated and organic.

ART2 Donahue, Caitlin MOOD ALBUMS (Advisor: Karen Roehr)

Designing album covers for music compilations that relate to emotional genres, such as melancholy, rage, loneliness, love and sex. I am currently working on a related advertising campaign for these albums. Designs are mixed media combining digital with watercolor.

ART3 Hodgkin, Brandon SELF-PORTRAIT (Advisor: Karen Roehr)

This work is about learning how to interact with myself. It's a conversation about the good, the bad and the ugly that I am finding within. I made the decision to work with various printmaking media because it gives me the ability to work in layers and just like a conversation things surface and others are pushed back. The whole experience then becomes a discussion with myself that I invite the viewer into.

ART4 Hyland, Charlotte SUNNY SIDE UP (Advisor: Karen Roehr)

This is a collection of thoughts, findings, photographs, and epiphanies of an egg donor. This book is a documentary take on my personal experience donating my eggs. Egg donation is such an unnatural process I use text and image pairings to convey the ridiculousness of this method of having children. This book contains conceptual images, my baby photos, ultrasound images, and photographs of me made before and after the egg retrieval surgery. Intended parents only know me as #064492, from my online donor profile. This document contains almost everything you could ever want to know about me, including my genetic, menstrual, and sexual history. My profile also includes pictures of me throughout

‐‐ ‐ 2 ‐ my life so you will have some idea of how your potential child would turn out with my genetic material. It is interesting how the IVF industry makes this process sound so wonderful and magical, but in my legal agreement, the wording is blunt and full of loopholes. For instance, it is illegal to sell body parts, but it is legal to donate them for free, and have the recipient pay for pain and suffering of the procedure. I also want to explore the idea of exposing such intimate details about myself to the public. Most donors keep this a secret from their families and friends, but I am sharing my experience with complete strangers and acquaintances (my own mother does not know that I am doing this). A book format allows for a more intimate interaction between the work and the viewer. Only so many people can read a book at once, so what I am sharing with the viewer remains between us.

ART5 Ramondi, Lauren STAY IN THE RACE (Advisor: Karen Roehr)

These are a series of 12 posters designed for “fictitious” running events for former competitive runners who want to stay in the race in a non-competitive way.

ART6 Santiago, Laurie THE COST OF FAME (Advisor: Karen Roehr)

We live in a celebrity obsessed culture, yet most of us are unaware of the impacts the “cost of fame” has on some of these “stars”. The illustrations depict the effects of Michael Jackson’s fame on his life, from loss of privacy to betrayal.

ART7 Shugue, Diane NON-TEXTILE, NON-TRADITIONAL WEDDING ATTIRE (Advisor: Karen Roehr)

The tradition of sewing is coupled with the contemporary non-textile material plastic to create garments that could be worn by members of an American wedding party. Typically, most wedding and bridesmaid dresses are worn for a single event, the wedding. The recycled plastics used in the construction of these garments, are mainly from discarded bags. The history of Lowell’s textile mills combines with plastics (UML’s top Plastics Engineering department) to create a contemporary look for an institution (marriage) that itself seems disposable.

Humanities Panels

Panel 1: All that Glisters is Lyrical Gold: Seventeenth-Century Tributes, Country Houses, and Ghostly Encounters Time and Location: 2-3:15, Merrimack East Moderator: Jeannie Judge

Heglin, Brad TRIBUTE POEMS OF THE SEVENTEENTH CENTURY (Advisor: Jeannie Judge)

‐‐ ‐ 3 ‐ Because the early Seventeenth century was so rich in poets, their contemporaries acknowledged them and their accomplishments in literature with tribute poems. In this presentation I will examine the usage and purpose of tribute poems written in the seventeenth century. I will define what they are and do, as well as account for their importance as pieces of poetry to praise or criticize a person admired by the writer. Starting with Robert Herrick, I will examine his tribute poem to Ben Jonson, "Upon Master Ben Jonson: Epigram." After a brief analysis of the poem, I will use it to show the affection often found in a traditional tribute poems about the writer's predecessor or contemporary. Thomas Carew wrote two poems that fit this category: the first being his lovely poem called "An Elegy upon the Death of Dr. Donne, Dean of Pauls." It will show the beauty and appreciation found in tribute poems of the period. Then, I will switch to his more critical poem on Jonson, "To Ben Jonson: Upon Occasion of His Ode of Defiance Annexed to his Play of The New Inn." This will be done to show that even critical poems can still include great praise. I will conclude with Ben Jonson's "To the Memory of My Beloved, The Author, Mr. William Shakespeare, and What He Hath Left Us." This wonderful poem shows again the conventions of a tribute poem and will also be a good example of Jonson's style as a Cavalier poet who uses classical references and heroic couplets.

Lusardi, Joseph A. DECONSTRUCTING DONNE (Advisor: Jeannie Judge)

The poetry of John Donne poses a threat to many binary oppositions that are central to the Anglo literary tradition. Collectively, the poet, his personae, and his readers participate in the experience of the text; none of the three is the locus of the text. The collaboration and intersection of these three discourses delivers forms of process; the result, therefore, is not a “resonant, “unified”, or straightforward phenomenon, but a purposeful dissonance. The poem is a threat to coherence and continuity, and twenty- first century readers ought to accept Donne’s work as such. The metaphysical style, featuring paradox, irony, and unparalleled energy on all levels, suits the postmodernist sensibility. Donne’s experimental lyrics and forms anticipate the aesthetics of postmodernity. The poetry read from the perspective of deconstructive theory demonstrates that the texts intend to challenge the dimensions of the English language- and the arena is poetry. Donne’s texts employ what the philosopher Catherine Malabou terms plasticity: “a break of the subject which is not death, which is another kind of possibility.” For example, the recurring motif of death represents voices as events, requiring the reader to rethink, reconsider, reformulate; to engage the self with dexterity in order for it to deconstruct, and thus recur. Alongside images which frequently are shaded through what amounts to negative theology, the form of the text itself speaks. The resulting conversation involving the author, the persona, and the reader produces dissonance rather than harmony; we ought to accept this aporia as an asset, not a defect.

Boudreau, Robert A BRITISH WAY OF LIVING: 17TH CENTURY COUNTRY HOUSE POETRY IN CONTEXT (Advisor: Jeannie Judge)

Of the various traditions found throughout poetry of the Seventeenth Century, perhaps the least explored is that of the Country House Poem. Revered poets like Aemilia Lanyer ("The Description of Cookham"), Ben Jonson ("To Penshurts," "To Sir Robert Wroth"), Robert Herrick ("A Country life: To His Brother Mr. Thomas Herrick," "A Panegyric to Sir Lewis Pemberton"), Thomas Carew ("To Saxham," "To My Friend G.N., From Wrest") and Andrew Marvell ("Upon Appleton House") all explored the idea of Country House poetry, but the genre itself remained rather limited, with only a small number of Country House poems being published. These poems were meant to entice the reader with the wonders of the houses that these esteemed members of society possessed, but they were also meant to praise the owner of the country home as an expression of gratitude. Country House poetry aimed to excite the ideas of living in the country as the most preferable place to live; quite often, the praise of these places was over the top

‐‐ ‐ 4 ‐ and exaggerated. But this was not the only aim of Country House poetry. One can clearly see an undertone of social commentary throughout these pieces as their authors aim to explore how these members of society live and what their lives are like. Country House poetry, therefore, cannot be taken at face value; the authors clearly present an intent to provide commentary on these living conditions, while they honor the noble families who sustain what the poets see as a British way of life.

McGilvray, Amanda SPEAKING TO DEATH AND SHEDDING THE SACRED RESTRAINTS (Advisor: Jeannie Judge)

This research will showcase John Donne’s ability as an artist to see Death from many perspectives, not simply from the view of a seventeenth-century Protestant priest. This is important because it separates the poet from his personae, allowing him freedom to navigate lyric possibilities without the fear of religious criticism. Using four of Donne’s poems, I will explore his attitude toward death and how it contrasts to the theology Donne accepts as a priest. The personae assume other roles besides those depicting a pious and saintly man. Nevertheless, Donne allows these visions of death to be accessible (and acceptable) to seventeenth-century English readers by incorporating the soul, the afterlife, and other religious beliefs about death. The metaphysical imagery of the soul, with its immortal nature and ability to attain afterlife, in contrast to the body, with its material decay, will be the focus of the two speakers in the poems I discuss—as I see three poems belonging to the same persona. The biographical information about John Donne’s obsession with his own death and his interest in violent images of death call his readers to study these facets of the topic. I will incorporate critical essays and journal articles to develop the argument that Donne represents both sides of death: the religious embrace of death as deliverance and transport to heaven: and the human fear of death as the end of everything. The poems I use are the following: “Holy Sonnet 10,” “The Funeral,” “The Relic,” and “The Apparition.”

Panel 2: Crime, Punishment, and Morality in Literature Time and Location: 2-3:15, Merrimack West Moderator: Keith Mitchell

Bass, Andy “THE ETHICAL AND MORAL CHOICES IN CORMAC MCCARTHY’S NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN” (Advisor: Keith Mitchell)

Some would contend that ethics and morals are synonymous concepts. However, in the examination of contemporary literature many postmodern authors challenge this conception. Cormac McCarthy is one such writer. In his novel, No Country for Old Men(2005), I contend that McCarthy makes a clear distinction between ethics and morals. For McCarthy, morals involve the larger society’s sanction of proper, codified behavior--the law--if you will, while ethics refers to individual decisions concerning behavior that is often at odds with societal mores. Employing French theorist Gilles Delueze’s philosophy of ethics and morality in his essay “Ethics without Morality” this essay will demonstrate how McCarthy’s exploration of the difference between ethics and morality in his, so called, experimental novel No Country for Old Men, reflects society’s postmodern condition. Part of what informs McCarthy’s novels in their philosophical interrogation of ethics and morality is the notion of literary Naturalism where human behavior is mapped through concepts such as Charles Darwin’s notion of “the survival of the fittest” and other naturalist aesthetic concepts such as “nature versus nurture,” heredity, and chance. The intent of this paper is to show that Cormac McCarthy’s fiction makes an important distinction between ethics and morality; that in our contemporary moment these concepts are indeed very different and that these distinctions have had, and continue to have, a profound effect on human relations.

‐‐ ‐ 5 ‐ Hill, Kimberly REVENGE OF THE ORIENTAL OTHER: CRIME AND PUNISHMENT IN RICHARD MARSH’S THE BEETLE (Advisor: Diana Archibald)

At the fin se siècle, Victorian England wrestled with many political and social issues that threatened to undermine their carefully constructed identity. The seat of world power and of international commerce for years, imperialistic England was wary of external threats and uprisings from nations seeking independence, political power, and material wealth. Internally, Victorians were defending and attacking long-lived institutions such as domesticity, class rank, and patriarchy. As with any society and historical period, the literature of Victorian England reflected the issues prevalent at the time as authors, through their works, added their voice to the national dialogue. Capturing the nation’s imagination, Richard Marsh’s The Beetle (1897) is one of those works. With sensational elements such as monsters, romance, murder, sexual perversity, and gender identity confusion, Marsh’s novel weighed in on the conversations taking place. Marsh’s novel incorporated many of the anxieties plaguing Victorian England at the fin de siècle. In the novel, the lone female protagonist, a prized upper-class English woman, is viciously brutalized by a foreign other. This paper examines and offers a different perspective on the purpose of Marjorie Lindon's suffering at the hands of the oriental other in The Beetle. Through research of articles analyzing Marsh’s works and similar works from the fin de siècle, it is clear that critics take the stance that Marjorie Lindon is punished for her socially unacceptable, “mannish” behavior. However, a different reading of the text suggests that Paul Lessingham, her fiancé, is the one actually being punished.

Baranauskas, Andrew "BADGES VS. MASKS: PORTRAYALS OF FORMAL AND INFORMAL CRIME CONTROL IN GRAPHIC NOVELS" (Advisor: Karin Miofsky)

The current thesis examines the depiction of the criminal justice system within graphic novels through a criminological perspective to determine how aspects of crime are portrayed. Specifically, the current study explores the role of legitimate law enforcement efforts within these studies – how law enforcement is portrayed and what the role is in relation to the actions of the hero. While much has been written on the literary aspects of comic books, even less has been written on criminological implications and the role in shaping public perceptions on crime and crime fighting. In this paper, these two entities are merged in order to create a cohesive discussion on the role of law enforcement within graphic novels. The heart of this project is a content analysis of current popular graphic novels. The aim of the analysis is to determine not only how law enforcement is portrayed, but to establish the extent of the crimes being committed and how law enforcement and the story’s hero contribute to reducing (or perhaps increasing) crime. This study contributes to the criminological literature directly through public perception. Graphic novels are a main source of entertainment for a number of individuals, particularly youth. In fact, popular culture in general, including movies and television shows, contribute too much of what society believes about the criminal justice system. By conducting this study, the hope is to determine how it is that crime and law enforcement are portrayed to these people.

Panel 3: Performing Gender and Sexuality in Literature Time and Location: 2-3:15, Merrrimack Center Moderator: Todd Avery

Smith, Kristina STAR POWER AND CULTURAL VALUES: ADAPTING LITTLE WOMEN FOR THE BIG SCREEN (Advisor: Melissa Pennell)

‐‐ ‐ 6 ‐ The research leading up to the paper will look at the relation between the narrative of the novel and the films. My thesis project consist of a paper which focuses on the 19th century novel Little Women by Louisa May Alcott and the three 20th century film adaptations of the novel, made in 1933, 1949, and 1994. During my presentation, I will discuss how each film reflects the cultural values and gender expectations of the time period in which it was made. The project will compare how major episodes are adapted into each film and the differences between how each film treats the same source material. The paper will also look at how the novel's characters are adapted to the screen and explore how the novel focuses on the lives of four sisters while each of the films seem place emphasis on just one, which could be linked to the fame and power of the star playing that role.

Lausier, Steve "IT'S PAN-EROTICISM, NOT PAN-SEXUALITY" (Advisor: Nancy Selleck)

William Shakespeare is widely known for his romantic plays and writings. The holiday play Twelfth Night is one such work, however it is commonly looked upon by fans as clear evidence of homoeroticism in his work. This paper intends to go against the theories of conventionally homoerotic and hetero-erotic in Twelfth Night to show that Shakespeare called upon many other widely known works of the time, such as the legend of Salmacis and Hermaphroditus and the great book Metamorphoses by Ovid, to create a story that is neither homoerotic nor hetero-erotic, but instead panerotic in its theme. Utilizing these sources I have drawn evidence to show that not only did Shakespeare utilize these themes, but that they were not entirely exclusive to Twelfth Night; and not only was the play taken as seriously at the time as his other work, its themes were also quite common and backed by classic literature. The legend of Salmacis and Hermaphroditus is probably the strongest of these sources, with strong connections between Duke Orsino and the nymph Salmacis, and likewise connections between the heroine Viola and the man Hermaphroditus. Other cited sources with connections to the play include Ovid’s story of Apollo and Hyacinthus, as well as Shakespeare’s own Troilus and Cressida. With these sources and the revelatory conclusions they bring about Shakespeare’s work and state of mind in regards to homosexuality, historical hypotheses that perhaps Elizabethan society may have been more open to homosexuality than we may believe can be made, and new questions are raised about Shakespeare himself and his own sexual openness, which can be explored in future research.

Grinnell IV, Raymond A. THE MOLE THAT ROARED, OR, E.M. FORSTER: OF MOLES AND MEN (Advisor: Todd Avery)

Critics and contemporaries alike have long accused the gay Bloomsbury modernist, E.M. Forster of timidity. Virginia Woolf said Forster was “timid as a mouse” and “limp and damp and milder than the breath of a cow”; however, Forster’s polemics and literary criticism of Rudyard Kipling refute such disparagement. After he stopped writing fiction, Forster wrote the polemics “Me, Them and You” and “What I believe” in 1926 and 1939 respectively. In the latter essay, he wrote, “…if I had to choose between betraying my country and betraying my friend I should hope I have the guts to betray my country.” Whereas interpretations of the two essays have traditionally focused on Forster’s pacifism and secular humanism, there is extensive evidence in the essays’ close reading that he used metafora di decettione and systematic queer encoding to create two complete and coherent readings. In one, he discusses his politics of war and imperialism; in the other, he discusses the politics of sexuality and discrimination. He did this to identify and affirm the burgeoning gay subculture while disrupting the hetero-normative social model toward homosexual tolerance. Thus, with his writings and actions, Forster was a part of a much larger pre-Stonewall Riot gay equality movement. Therefore, history proves that Forster showed quiet courage in his rebellious dissent; and as such, he did in fact, have the guts to choose a friend over country.

‐‐ ‐ 7 ‐

Panel 4: Education and New Ideas Time and Location: 3:30-4:45, Merrimack East Moderator: Charlotte Ryan

Tucker, Lindsay, Jessica Berry THE ROLE OF LOWER LEARNING IN HIGHER EDUCATION (Advisor: Susan Kirtley)

Who is to blame for the discrepancies of basic grammar knowledge among college students? Better yet, how do we address this issue? What is the adequate level of grammar knowledge for a college freshman? A junior? A senior? To explore these questions, I offer a peek back in time to the basic fundamentals of grammar at upper elementary levels. Looking back on grammar school, I recall the horrors of punctuation and syntax rules that were drilled into my brain. Fortunately, I have retained (most of) the information and kept the cob webs away by constantly writing and rehearsing proper grammar usage. Many other college students do not have the same opportunity; appropriate comma usage on a lab report would be the last thing on the mind of a Chemistry major. Student musicians are well-versed in writing notes and lyrics, but who will punctuate their responses to fan-mail? Writing is a universal necessity, and one that UMass Lowell promotes through the Write Place tutoring center. Considering college-level courses range in size and intensity, they are mixed with students of multiple skill levels. This becomes a disadvantage for many students when a writing project is assigned, since their peers may have a better understanding of the English language. For this reason and for the purpose of instituting a satisfactory campus-wide written communication system, it is necessary to establish a college-level grammar accuracy standard and to create a program that promotes such advancement.

DeFronzo, Alex J. LEARNING IN COMMON: A NEO-MARXIST EXAMINATION OF MODERN ACADEMIC LIBRARIES (Advisor: Charlotte Ryan)

Public universities face a unique challenge in the coming years; in Massachusetts, the UMass System is continually challenged by funding cuts through neoliberal divestment. At the same time, there is a growing call for increased technology and services in our university libraries (Wolfe 2010). As learning commons gain recognition as a favorable direction for academic libraries, we must offer services that increase information literacy and that meet the needs of students, while also ensuring that we are not over- mechanizing our facilities and exploiting the labor of our librarians and faculty. In this study, I will provide a comprehensive examination of literature focused on the development of university learning commons and examine the strategies used to create recognized ‘model’ facilities. I will synthesize best practices from other universities, using this information to provide specific recommendations for the University of Massachusetts Lowell regarding the most effective means through which institutions of public higher education can create a functional learning environment. Reflection: The purpose of this project is to examine the effect that neoliberal divestment has reaped on academic libraries, while simultaneously seeking the best possible way to integrate new technology and resources without compromising the welfare and the interests of the library, the librarians, and the students. This project has taught me a great deal about the processes of a renovation, and how to best make student input an important piece of university development.

Kilbride, Samantha STANDARDIZED TESTING: EFFECTIVE? (Advisor: Susan Kirtley)

‐‐ ‐ 8 ‐ There is a wide consensus that newly enrolled college freshman are often overwhelmed at the caliber of education compared to what they experienced in high school, mainly in the areas of mathematics, critical reading, and writing. The motivation behind this research is to understand how effective or ineffective standardized testing, mainly MCAS, is on measuring a student's attained knowledge in grade school. Ten Lowell High School students of varying ages took our survey and we found that the MCAS has 50% negative opinions from these students. The results were not significant enough to make an overall assessment of the results and further studies and surveying must be done in the future.

Panel 5: Global Perspectives, Critical Analysis: Investigations of Issues Time and Location: 3:30-4:35, Merrimack West Moderator: Julie Nash

Schneider, Taylor HISTORY OF COLLEGE STUDENT VIOLENCE (Advisor: Susan Kirtley)

Although the thought of college campuses typically brings to mind images of young and enthusiastic scholars studying in historic buildings while preparing for their futures, the reality is not always so picturesque. Once in a while, news surfaces of a protest gone awry or the excitement of a sporting event leading to student riots. These cases of violence are nothing new. In fact, a look at educational history shows that student violence was fairly common in the Middle Ages, and leading up into early American colleges. Research of this topic has revealed four main causes of college student violence: rivalries between colleges, problems with authority, national or cultural rivalries, and strained town and gown relations. These causes were not uniform throughout the study, as changes in culture or geography often set the precedence for the unrest at any given time.

Tretheway, Zack PERCY SHELLEY AND THE POLITICS OF TODAY (Advisor: Julie Nash)

An advocate for the dissolution of monarchies, empowerment of the people, and even vegetarianism, Percy Shelley’s political viewpoints were regarded as wildly radical for his age. In his writings he always yearned for the fires of revolution to topple the despotic dictatorships of his era. These revolutionary ideas are especially present in Laon and Cyntha and The Masque of Anarchy. These two works are clarions of his message of idealism and political independence as they tell of the downfall of tyrants and despots that smother the people they rule over. Loan and Cyntha tell the story of a corrupt sultan brought down by the will of the people, while The Masque of Anarchy exhumes a call to arms of the suppressed people of an oppressed nation to stand up and fight for their freedom. This powerful message still resonates within contemporary society, specifically around the Middle East and North Africa where in the last four months alone riots and revolutions have occurred throughout the Arab nations, and despots have been removed from Tunisia and Egypt respectively. In this essay I intend to use Shelley’s works to shed light on the revolutionary moments of these countries and the struggle to ensure their freedom and the freedom of their children. Shelley’s youthful exuberance and penchant for non-violence correlates with the youth led peaceful protests that led to the deposing of Tunisia and Egypt’s dictators.

LaCount, Heather JAPANESE DISCRIMINATION DURING WORLD WAR II (Advisor: Jenifer WhittenWoodring)

The United States is often referred to as a melting pot, a nation of high levels of mixed culture and race. This is so, because of the diversity of immigrants that populated the country in its early years. Unfortunately, the virtue of this country’s diversity was blatantly damaged beginning with Chinese

‐‐ ‐ 9 ‐ immigration to the United States in the 1840’s, during the California gold rush. Economic inspired resentment of Chinese initiated during the gold rush, was then exerted onto Japanese immigrants upon increased arrival to the United States in the late 1800’s. Americans feared the Japanese were going to try and overrun the country. As a result, open discrimination was popular, and protests were frequent. Following the attacks of Pearl Harbor in December of 1942, the United States declared war on Japan, and all persons of Japanese ancestry were open targets for discrimination, despite American citizenship. On February 19, 1942, President Roosevelt signed Executive Order 9066, which allowed for the removal of all persons of Japanese descent from West coast military areas. After conducting an extensive literature review with a concentration on: Asian discrimination prior to WWII, the bombing at Pearl Harbor, the politics behind Executive Order 9066, life in internment camps, life after internment, and redress, the proposed thesis is that the United States government masked a latent racism in the name of national security in signing Executive Order 9066.

Panel 6: The Exportation of Ideals: American Ideology in a Global Context Time and Location: 3:30-4:45, Merrimack Center Moderator: Mike Millner

Dubinski, Erin FEAR IN THE HEARTS OF AMERICANS (Advisor: Michael Millner)

This essay relates Henry R. Luce's LIFE Magazine article The American Century to Fareed Zakaria's Foreign Affairs article The Future of American Power. These articles have drastically different views concerning the responsibility of America in respect to global affairs, the definition of America as a country, and America's future within our globalized society. What they have in common however is their influence on the American people, urging them to create and sustain an identity that they can be proud of. This message has stood the test of time, over sixty years between the two, and remains to be a worthwhile lesson to be learned today.

Torres, Natasha NOT SO QUIET AMERICANS: GRAHAM GREENE'S RESPONSE TO HENRY R. LUCE'S "THE AMERICAN CENTURY" (Advisor: Michael Millner)

The paper explores how the characters in Graham Greene's The Quiet American represent and argue with the ideas of Henry R. Luce's 1941 article "The American Century." The paper focuses on how cultural ignorance combined with idealist thinking can be very dangerous.

Music

MU1 Farmosa, Elizabeth Music “88 KEYS AT 88 MILES PER HOUR: THE DEVELOPMENT OF PIANO SONATAS OVER TIME” (Faculty Advisor: Timothy Crain)

The keyboard sonata has been molded and standardized since the beginning of the Classical era. There were many influential composers of sonatas who focused their career around Vienna. This paper will look at select works to help form a stylistic timeline from the early classical era with C.P.E. Bach to the Romantic Era with Franz Liszt. To explain how the sonata evolved the use of theory sources, pieces, and

‐ ‐ ‐ 10 ‐ analysis of pieces will be used. The theory sources will be from theorists of the time period and what contemporary musical historians have said about past theorist and their writings. The composers and pieces that will be involved in this piece have been specifically chosen because of a certain criteria. The criteria for chosen composers include: proximity to Vienna and are most well known for their keyboard works. The criteria for choosing pieces are: full scores are available, they are written by the composers chosen, and the best represent the small time frame given to each composer. The analysis of the pieces will be looking for unique characteristics of each composer. They will also be analyzed for different stylistics techniques found in the theoretical sources. This paper is will show the development and standardization of sonata form while proving how these composers where influential.

Social Sciences

SS1 Lindroth, Jessica Psychology EXAMINATION OF SENSORY PROCESSING DISORDER IN INFANCY (Advisor: Patricia Trela)

Many children and adults suffer from Sensory Processing Disorder (SPD), formerly known as "sensory intergration dysfunction," a disorder which affects the way the brain interprets sensory input. The disorder can often interfere with daily life. It is difficult to diagnose because symptoms are similar to other disorders. It is extremely important to diagnose the disorder early in order to begin treatment. In this study, occupational therapists and parents will be interviewed to learn about how the disorder presents in infants as well as how it is treated. This information will be combined with previous research on Sensory Processing Disorder to understand how this disorder affects infants and the treatments to help them better integrate sensory input. Subjects, occupational therapists and parents, will be asked to participate in an interview regarding symptoms displayed by infants. All identifying information will be removed from the data for confidentiality. The results of the study will be combined with the literature review to help identify SPD symptoms in infants, assess popular and successful therapies used with infants diagnosed with SPD, and determine the best time to intervene with these therapies. Areas of future research will be discussed.

SS2 Mason, Nicole Psychology "REACTION TO BEER ADVERTISEMENTS: COLLEGE STUDENTS' RESPONSE TO SEXUALIZED FEMALE IMAGES IN BEER ADVERTISEMENTS" (Advisor: Mary Duell)

Sexualized female images are increasingly used in popular media to sell products. The aim of this experimental study was to explore what effect sexualized images of women in beer advertisements had on both male and female participants’ perception of alcohol consumption and personal body image. University of Massachusetts Lowell undergraduate students were randomly assigned to view televised beer advertisements which either did or did not utilize female objectification to sell a product. Questionnaires assessing participants’ reactions to the advertisements and a body image scale were then completed. However, the only significant effect was an interaction between gender and advertisement content. Females who saw the nonsexual ads were significantly more likely to report that they would buy the beer products presented in the ads or recommend them to a friend than women who saw nonsexual ads. Although not significant, the male response pattern was reversed. These findings demonstrate the

‐ ‐ ‐ 11 ‐ difference in male and female perceptions and the necessity of further research on the effects of media on individuals’ assessments of self.

College of Engineering

ENG1 Clay, Molly Chemical Engineering POROUS NANOPARTICLES: A UNIQUE PLATFORM FOR THE ENHANCEMENT OF ELECTROCHEMICAL SENSING AND ITS INTEGRATION WITH GK-12 EDUCATION (Advisor: Zhiyong Gu)

Galvanic replacement reaction is an efficient method to synthesize various metal nanostructures. Up to date, silver (Ag), copper (Cu), tin (Sn), and cobalt (Co) have been used as template materials to fabricate new nanomaterials and nanostructures. Herein we will show that a wide variety of porous metal nanostructures can be fabricated by the galvanic replacement reaction using aluminum nanoparticle. The template particle, aluminum, owing to its very low redox potential, can be replaced by such metals as nickel (Ni), iron (Fe), Co, Ag, copper (Cu), palladium (Pd), gold (Au), and platinum (Pt). Various porous metal nanostructures have been formed with this new template material. It was found that the growth kinetics play an important role in the formation of the porous nanostructures. The element and structure of these porous nanostructures is determined by SEM, TEM, EDS, and XRD. These porous nanoparticles/nanostructures have promise as electrocatalysts for the electrochemical sensing of biomolecules. As part of the GK-12 Fellowship I worked with two honors physics classes at Lowell High School. Throughout the school year I communicated my research to the students by focusing on two units; nanotechnology and spectroscopy. I covered the nanoscale, properties changes, surface area to volume ratio, and research in the field as part of the nanotechnology unit. Spectroscopy, which is the basis of characterization techniques in my research, was brought into the classroom. Spectrometers, diffraction grating, light, absorption and emission were the focus of my lessons. These concepts were covered using demonstrations, labs, and interactive lectures.

ENG2 Aho, Katherine Electrical & Computer Engineering TWO-DIMENSIONAL ANALYSIS OF FLUID MOTION IN THE COCHLEA RESULTING FROM COMPRESSIVE BONE CONDUCTION (Advisor: Charles Thompson)

In this work, an analysis of fluid and cochlear partition motion is presented. The role of compressional excitation of the cochlear capsule is of particular interest. It is shown that asymmetric motion between the oval and the round windows gives rise to a pressure gradient across the cochlear partition and in turn to basilar membrane displacement. The motion of the cochlear partition and the corresponding basilar membrane displacement are shown to be similar to that observed in stapes driven case. The influence of evanescent modes on the pressure field is considered as the limit of the aspect ratio, epsilon, approaches zero and a uniformly valid solution is obtained.

ENG3 Au, Jenny Electrical & Computer Engineering COLLABORATIVE BEAM SHAPING FOR NONUNIFORMLY SPACED LINEAR MICROPHONE ARRAYS

‐ ‐ ‐ 12 ‐ (Advisors: Charles Thompson and Kavitha Chandra)

In this work, an analysis of beam formation for a nonuniformly spaced linear microphone array is presented. The e ect of random and deterministic placement of transducers on the response characteristics of the array is considered. Arrays that exhibit maximal sidelobe reduction are of particular interest. A new solution for the transducer density as a function of position is given.

ENG4 Bhatta, Ambika Electrical & Computer Engineering AN ANALYSIS OF SCATTERING FROM A RE-ENTRANT WEDGE (Advisors: Charles Thompson and Kavitha Chandra)

The scattering of acoustic pressure from a rigid wedge is examined. The wedges having re-entrant geometry are of particular interest. The incident field is considered from a time harmonic point source. The solution for the scattered pressure field is obtained by modal, image and asymptotic analysis. It is numerically shown that the exact modal solution and image based solution for different incident frequencies and source positions are the same. It is also shown that the asymptotic solution obtained matches with the image based solution.

ENG5 Chery Jr., Armand, Ye Tian, Nan Wu Electrical & Computer Engineering NOVEL LABEL-FREE FIBER OPTIC BIOSENSOR (Advisors: Xingwei Wang and Wenhui Wang)

This abstract reports of a simple tapered fiber optic biosensor capable of detecting and distinguishing between various biological entities. The sensor is based on a single-mode optical fiber that is tapered to sub-micrometer dimensions, using a laser heating source to obtain the melting point temperatures of the optical fiber. Once the melting point of the optical fiber has been attained, a pulling force is applied on either end of the fiber to achieve a tapered waist of desired diameters. This tapering technique is performed to ensure the evanescent field, which will be used for sensing, achieves a penetration depth that is suitable for detecting the ambient biological artifacts. Coupled with the tapering technique, the addition of a Fabry-Perot (FP) cavity will be implemented a few millimeters in radius from both transition areas of the tapered region, to enhance sensor sensitivity. Currently fabricated sensors have produced spectrums with desired fringes and minimal power loss. Replication of these results rely on the refinement of the fabrication process due to a small range of unsatisfactory results. Moving forward, ensuring factors of fabrication such as material choice of FP cavity, method of adhesion of FP cavity material, tapered waist diameter, and uniformity of transition regions, are optimal will solidify results that are suitable for immediate application and mass production of these biosensors.

ENG6 Denis, Max Electrical & Computer Engineering PADÉ APPROXIMANTS AND THEIR APPLICATION TO SCATTERING FROM FLUID MEDIA (Advisor: Charles Thompson)

In this work, a numerical method for modeling the scattered acoustic pressure from fluid occlusions is described. The method is based on the asymptotic series expansion of the pressure expressed in terms of sound speed contrast between the host medium and entrained fluid occlusions. Padé approximants are

‐ ‐ ‐ 13 ‐ used to extend the applicability of the result for larger values of sound speed contrast. For scattering from a circular cylinder, an improvement in convergence between the exact and numerical solutions is demonstrated. In the case of scattering from an inhomogeneous medium, a numerical solution with reduced order of Padé approximants is presented.

ENG7 Deschamp, Barbara Electrical & Computer Engineering TRANSDUCTION IN ACOUSTICALLY ACTUATED CARBON NANOTUBES (CNT) (Advisor: Kavitha Chandra)

This work investigates the mechanically induced charge transport dynamics of a CNT clamped between two metallic junctions and suspended over a substrate backed gate electrode. The vibrations of the CNT result in a spatially varying capacitance along the length of the CNT. This capacitance influences the tunneling probability at the two junctions and the probability distribution of excess electrons in the structure. A physical model that couples the mechanical and charge transport phenomenon is presented and computational results for the current flow in the CNT are discussed. This work is supported by the National Science Foundation, GK-12 Vibes and Waves in Action award, #0841392.

ENG8 Gandhi, Pratik Electrical & Computer Engineering PERFORMANCE OF SPECTRUM SENSING ALGORITHMS FOR COGNITIVE RADIOS (Advisor: Kavitha Chandra)

In this research, the problem of spectrum sensing for detecting the presence of a signal on a radio channel is investigated. Three different methods: matched filter, energy detection and cyclo-stationary detection are analyzed and their performance compared. The objective is to determine the probabilities of detection and false alarm under conditions of inter-symbol interference and in low signal-to-noise ratio scenarios. Of particular interest, is the influence of the various parameters such as receiver window length, decision thresholds and sampling rate of the sensor on the detection and false alarm probabilities. The spectrum sensing problem is important for the operation of cognitive radio networks that are expected to improve the utilization of some of the licensed bands through opportunistic spectrum sharing.

ENG9 Misiunas, Nicholas Electrical & Computer Engineering INVESTIGATION OF A MULTI-SERVER QUEUEING MODEL FOR SPECTRUM SHARING AND ALLOCATION (Advisor: Charles Thompson)

This research investigates the problem of radio spectrum sharing between licensed (primary) and secondary users in an environment where the licensed spectrum is underutilized. Spectrum sharing is a key feature of future cognitive radio networks. Cognitive radio networks are expected to enable a more efficient usage of the spectrum by allowing secondary users to opportunistically access channels licensed to primary users when these channels are not being used. In this work, the spectrum sharing between primary and secondary users is modeled by a multi-server queueing system. The multiple servers represent discrete radio channels that are available for sharing. A Poisson process represents the arrivals to the system and the channel holding times are modeled by an exponential distribution. The key parameters that define the probability of users being blocked are: the offered load, the number of servers, the number of servers a primary user occupies and constraint on whether contiguous or non-contiguous

‐ ‐ ‐ 14 ‐ channels are allocated. This research will guide the specification of the region of operating characteristics for efficient usage of the RF spectrum. This will be done by identifying the key parameters and sharing strategies and investigating the effects of various allocation methods and how they compare to a base operation, where the allocation is a first-come-first-served policy.

ENG10 Remany, Raji Electrical & Computer Engineering ENERGY AND PILOT TONE DETECTION IN SPECTRUM SENSING (Advisors: Kavitha Chandra and Charles Thompson)

This research investigates the problem of spectrum sensing for dynamic channel allocation and spectrum sharing in future wireless networks. Spectrum sensing is an integral component of cognitive radio networks that are expected to enable better utilization of RF spectrum in certain licensed bands. The sharing of spectrum previously utilized by television channels is of particular interest. In this context, the performance of energy detectors and pilot tone detection is presented. The probabilities of detection and false alarm are estimated for binary phase shift keyed signals with additive white Gaussian noise. A software implementation of a phase locked loop (PLL) designed for synchronizing transmitted and received frequencies is also discussed.

ENG11 Silva, Vinicius, Xiaotian Zou Electrical & Computer Engineering FUNDAMENTAL RESEARCH ON TITANIUM DRILLING WITH ROTARY ULTRASONIC MACHINING (Advisor: Xingwei Wang)

Titanium is one of the most utilized metals in the industry because of its mechanical properties. Titanium is a high strength metal with a great modulus of elasticity. It’s as strong as steel with less than 60% of its density. Titanium alloy has high temperature survivability, and is excellent in corrosion resistance. Because of its mechanical properties, Titanium is used in several applications such as aerospace, motors, petroleum, and chemical processing. Due to its superior mechanical properties, titanium is classified as a difficult-to-machine material. Rotary Ultrasonic Machining (RUM) of Titanium, proposed by Prof. Pei from Kansas State University, will provide an innovative and cost-effective Titanium drilling process. His research results have shown that cooling variables as well as machining variables such as ultrasonic power, spindle speed, and feed rate must be taken into consideration. The goal of our research is to collaborate with Prof. Pei’s group by creating a finite element analysis (FEA) model, as well as designing and fabricating optical sensors to measure the cutting temperature during machining. The advantages of using optical fiber sensors include: High temperature survivability, immunity to electromagnetic interference, miniature size, and low cost. One of my tasks in this project will be helping construct the FEA model to predict the temperature distribution in the work piece using a commercial software (Abaqus).

ENG12 Sunny, Megha, Ayse Kalkan-Savoy Electrical & Computer Engineering HUMAN COMPUTER INTERFACE VIRTUAL ACOUSTIC DISPLAY USING GYROSCOPIC SENSORS (Advisor: Charles Thompson)

‐ ‐ ‐ 15 ‐ In this study, the spherical-head model for the Head Related Transfer Function (HRTF) is developed and is used in conjunction with yaw angle tracking provided using software developed for a Wii-Remote controller to simulate sound radiated from a point source as a function of head position. The yaw rotation angle is evaluated using gyros supplied in the Wii motion-plus extension device. The real-time data obtained is used to control the parameters of HRTF. This work aims to bring affordable experimental platforms for educating students in physical acoustics and signal processing. This work was supported by the National Science Foundation, GK-12 Vibes and Waves in Action award #0841392.

ENG13 Connelly, Timothy Mechanical Engineering USING THE FINITE ELEMENT METHOD TO ASSIST IN THE DESIGN OF AN INJECTION MOLDED COMPOSITE BASEBALL BAT (Advisor: James Sherwood)

Composite baseball bats are typically made of a polymer matrix that is reinforced with woven fabric or filament winding. The manufacturing time for these bats is limited by the need to hand lay all of the individual plies of the woven fabrics or the time to wind the filament, respectively. An injection molding process using chopped fibers for reinforcing a polymer matrix would allow for a faster and more cost- effective manufacturing process of composite baseball bats. The high cost of the injection mold does not allow for prototype bats to be produced and tested in a trial and error design cycle. The finite element method allows for the virtual design and virtual testing of a bat without the need or the expense in time and money for machining a mold to make prototype bats for testing. The only requirement of the finite element model is material property data, which can be developed from relatively simple tests on standard size plate specimens and/or from previously documented material data. In the current research, finite element software will be used to make decisions on material options and to optimize the bat geometry for performance and durability. To reduce manufacturing costs, baseball bat barrel sections will be molded based on the findings of the initial finite element models and tested for calibration of the finite element results. Based on the experimental results from these barrel sections and further finite element modeling, a final design will be chosen and a production mold will be created. The durability and performance of the final design will be tested and subsequently the mass production of the baseball bat will proceed.

ENG14 Fill, Anthony Mechanical Engineering STUDY OF BASEBALL BATS AT THE YOUTH LEVEL (Advisor: James Sherwood)

Youth bats come in a wide variety of lengths and weights and are used by a large number of players of different ages and skill sets. Because of the wide range of skill levels, different swing mechanics lead to a variety of swing speeds. To conduct laboratory tests of baseball bat performance at the youth level, the dynamics of a bat and ball produced by players in the field must be correlated with bat performance tests in the laboratory to select an appropriate lab test swing speed. The actual collision speed of a bat and ball consists of the swing speed of the bat added to the pitch speed of the ball. Without a clear knowledge of either a typical swing speed or pitch speed, a bat/ball collision cannot be effectively replicated in a laboratory setting to study baseball bat performance. Although pitch speeds are easily measured using radar guns, at the youth level, typical bat swing speeds are not well-known. The kinematics of these youth bats were studied in a batting cage setting by Brown University Department of Orthopedic Science. The study was performed using a video tracking system to analyze the motions and mechanics of the player, bat, and ball. These field test results will act as a standard to which the performances of bats tested in a laboratory setting can be compared. The comparison of laboratory and field results will aid in

‐ ‐ ‐ 16 ‐ the understanding of the proper swing speed to be utilized in laboratory tests to simulate as best as possible the actual bat/ball collision in the field of play to study youth bat performance.

ENG15 Green, Steven, Paul Phamduy Mechanical Engineering THE PURSUIT OF EFFECTIVE LOW COST EXPLOSIVE SENSORS (Advisor: Byungki Kim)

The detection of explosives is of interest to the military and a variety of agencies, both in the US and abroad. Explosives vapors originating from a bomb are in very low concentrations in the surrounding air due to currents and adsorption of molecules on surfaces [1]. This necessitates that the sensors are able to detect very small quantities in the 0.1 ppb level and even lower. The added need for a low cost and portable sensor required to deploy the sensors means manufacturing needs to be able to scale up. Graphene has shown promise as the sensing medium for conductive explosive sensors [2]. The electrical properties of graphene show promise for the creation of low noise sensors that could detect minute amounts of dinitrotoulene 2,4 (DNT), an explosive simulant. The combination of graphene layered on a flexible substrate shows promise for fabrication using roll-to-roll techniques. Examples of the sensors fabricated by Nanotrons and the electronics designed for the project have been tested to show their potential; the sensors have been able to respond to a saturated DNT environment using a combination of sensor and portable battery powered electronics. Research is continuing to minimize noise and maximize the signal to noise ratio in order to increase the speed of detection and lower the minimum detectable level. Further research into flexible backings continues. A Model of Explosive Vapor Concentration, T.A. Griffy, Proceedings Third Symposium on Analysis and Detection of Explosives, 38-1, 1989. Reduced Graphene Oxide Molecular Sensors, Jeremy T. Robinson, F. Keith Perkins, Eric S. Snow, Zhongqing Wei, Paul E. Sheehan, Nano Letters, 2008 8 (10), 3137-3140

ENG16 Harvey, Eric Mechanical Engineering DYNAMIC STRESS-STRAIN PREDICTION OF VIBRATING STRUCTURES IN OPERATION (Advisors: Peter Avitabile and Chris Niezrecki)

Complex composite structures, which are subjected to externally induced loads, fatigue and fail over a lifetime. For many structures, failure and loss of structural integrity is not externally apparent. Typical failure occurs at the interfaces between the structures surface and internal ribs or stiffening members. Conventional approaches for proper validation of full-scale exterior dynamic behavior of numerical models require a sufficient number of measurement points; unfortunately, interior dynamic response due to time-varying loads is not currently predictable from measured data. The current research focuses on the global and local interior and exterior member dynamic interactions to understand the possible loss of structural integrity and fatigue failure of complex composite structures. Using some newly developed dynamic stress-strain modeling approaches from limited sets of measured locations, identification of stress-strain distributions will be used as a damage detection tool for structural health monitoring assessment.

ENG17 Lundstrom, Troy Mechanical Engineering RIGID BODY CORRECTION USING 3D DIGITAL PHOTOGRAMMETRY FOR ROTATING STRUCTURES

‐ ‐ ‐ 17 ‐ (Advisors: Chris Niezrecki and Peter Avitabile)

In recent years, stereophotogrammetry techniques have been used to measure high-speed dynamic systems. More recently, this technique has been used to measure the motion of rotating systems, such as wind turbines. In evaluating the vibration of rotating helicopter rotors or wind turbines, the rotor rigid body motion induced from the hub or the flexure in the tower is not of interest to understand the structural dynamic motion and needs to be removed from the overall motion. Dynamic measurements have previously been taken on a rotating turbine and the rigid body correction algorithms have yielded unexpected dynamic behavior. To characterize and understand this behavior, a series of experiments were developed using counter-rotating wedges along with known flexing elements to study the rigid body correction process and replicate the unexpected dynamic behavior in the turbine. Using the dynamic measurements taken on a small wind turbine, a sensitivity study was conducted to show how the flexure amplitude affects the rigid body correction. A systematic approach to the appropriate selection of points necessary for rigid body correction algorithms is presented within this work.

ENG18 Marinone, Timothy Mechanical Engineering EFFICIENT COMPUTATIONAL NONLINEAR DYNAMIC ANALYSIS USING MODAL MODIFICATION RESPONSE TECHNIQUE (Advisor: Peter Avitabile)

Structural systems that involve dynamic response typically have significant nonlinear effects. These nonlinear systems require significant computational resources for solution of the equations of motion. Much of the model, however, is basically linear where the nonlinearity results from very discrete local elements connecting different components together. Using a component mode synthesis approach, a nonlinear model can be developed by interconnecting these linear components with highly nonlinear connection elements. The approach presented in this paper, the Modal Modification Response Technique (MMRT), is a very efficient technique that has been created to address this specific class of nonlinear problem. By utilizing a Structural Dynamics Modification (SDM) approach in conjunction with mode superposition, a significantly smaller set of matrices are required for use in the direct integration of the equations of motion. A specialized test apparatus has been designed to allow validation of the method for both linear and nonlinear dynamic responses. In addition, this validation will demonstrate the advantages of this technique for several different configurations. The approach will be compared to traditional analytical approaches to make evident the usefulness of the technique for a variety of test cases.

ENG19 Migliori, Michael Mechanical Engineering FABRICATING A HIERARCHICAL STRUCTURE FOR PATTERNING A CURVED SURFACE USING NANO-IMPRINT LITHOGRAPHY (Advisors: Hongwei Sun and Majid Charmchi)

The goals of this research are to 1) manufacture hierarchical superhydrophobic surfaces with micro-to- nano scale structures of different morphologies using nanoimprint lithography (NIL), and 2) understand the interaction of liquids with these surfaces. By understanding how liquids interact with various surface structures, we can offer a lot of valuable insight to applications such as sustainable energy and biological analysis, such as anti-icing of anti-erosion surfaces for wind/steam/aircraft turbines, or low insertion loss for dynamic wave based biosensors (acoustic wave sensors, quartz crystal microbalance, and cantilever beam biosensors). A process using nanoimprint lithography (NIL) for micro-patterning a curved surface was designed which showed that NIL was a plausible technique for achieving our ultimate goal. A

‐ ‐ ‐ 18 ‐ procedure for fabricating millimeter scale lens shaped (convex) structures using negative photoresist was developed. This micro-pattern will allow for more coverage of nano-patterns on a micro-to-nano-scale hierarchal surface, thereby achieving maximum amplification of hydrophobicity on the surface. The photolithography mask was designed with various pattern shapes, sizes, aspect ratios to cover a wide range of experiments and will be used for many research projects and training purposes.

ENG20 Mitchell, Cynthia Mechanical Engineering FRICTION TESTING FOR BENCHMARK FRICTION STUDY (Advisor: James Sherwood)

Before the automotive industry will accept the idea of replacing aluminum and steel stampings with weight-reducing composites, the cost of the composites parts must be on par with the metal stampings they are replacing. Thermostamping of woven fabrics is a low-cost high-volume composite manufacturing process that can address this requirement. To optimize the thermostamping process so as to make high-quality parts as fast as possible, it is important to understand the friction between the composite material and the tool and between adjacent layers of the fabrics. Too little friction will lead to wrinkling of the fabrics and too much will lead to tearing. Because the static and dynamic coefficients of friction vary under different external conditions (temperature, speed and pressure), experiments must be performed at these various conditions in order to characterize the behavior of the friction for a given fabric material system. Several labs have developed different test methods to measure the static and dynamic coefficients of friction for different fabrics at various temperatures, pressures, and sliding velocities. An international benchmark study is being preformed to compare the results among these various testing procedures with prescribed fabrics, temperatures, pressures, and sliding velocities. Tests have been performed at UMass-Lowell, and the results of these tests will be submitted to the international benchmark team.

ENG21 Morris, Corey Mechanical Engineering FINITE ELEMENT MODELING AS A DESIGN TOOL FOR THE THERMOSTAMPING PROCESS (Advisor: James Sherwood)

The thermostamping process has the potential for making composite parts at the same rate and cost as the currently used steel parts in automobiles. Composite parts have advantages over steel because the composites are typically lighter than steel parts and the composite properties can be tailored for specific applications. To optimize the manufacturing process, a design tool is required to link the manufacturing of the composite to its in-service mechanical-behavior performance requirements, such as directionally dependent stiffness and strength and energy management during a crash situation. The finite element method is a numerical method that has potential to be such a design tool. The applicability of the explicit solver within finite element modeling, specifically LS-DYNA, is the focus of this research. Explicit solvers are designed for high-speed impact scenarios, e.g. the stamping of sheet steel. The advantages of an explicit solver over an implicit solver are better contact algorithms, better convergence for highly nonlinear problems such as the thermostamping process, and easier implementation of user defined material subroutines. The LS-DYNA finite element models range in complexity from as simple as a unit cell in pure shear to as complex as a double dome stamping model with a user defined friction subroutine and multiple layers. The LS-DYNA model results are compared with ABAQUS, which is another finite element solver, for validation.

‐ ‐ ‐ 19 ‐ ENG22 Munroe, Brian Mechanical Engineering FINITE ELEMENT MODELING TO ACCURATELY PREDICT BASEBALL BEHAVIOR (Advisor: James Sherwood)

A baseball consists of many different materials and layers. A spherical cork core is wrapped with two layers of rubber, three layers of wool, one layer of cemented cotton and one layer of cowhide to create a baseball. The varying material properties of these layers make it challenging to accurately capture the behavior of a baseball. Existing finite element models (FEMs) treat the baseball as a single viscoelastic material. These models do not necessarily possess the same hyperelastic and viscoeleastic qualities as a real baseball, and these missing behaviors limit the ability of these baseball models to simulate a bat-ball collision over a very narrow range of impact speeds. A layer-by-layer approach will be used to create a more robust baseball FEM that characterizes the layer behaviors within the baseball. The pill, which is a cork core wrapped in two layers of rubber, will undergo bounce and compression testing at a wide range of impact speeds and compression rates. These data will be used to tune the pill properties and ensure close agreement between experimental and FEM results. The remaining layers will be added individually until the complete baseball is modeled and agrees closely with experimental results over a range of impact speeds. Possible applications for a new and improved baseball FEM include accurate simulations of baseball testing and bat-ball collisions. The improved ball model can also be used to predict performance of future bat designs not yet manufactured.

ENG23 Page, Christopher Mechanical Engineering PASSIVE NOISE REDUCTION USING THE MODALLY ENHANCED DYNAMIC ABSORBER (Advisors: Peter Avitabile and Chris Niezrecki)

Often structure borne noise has a deleterious effect on both the performance and aesthetics of many commercial and military systems. Noise issues can be dealt with many ways through incorporating active, semi-active and passive solutions. A common passive approach to solving structural vibration problems is to use a tuned vibration absorber. Tuned absorbers are commonly used to affect a single undesirable resonance at a time. In order to affect multiple resonances multiple tuned absorbers are typically required, causing the design and implementation to be prohibitively difficult. The objective of this research is to develop the concept of the Modally Enhanced Dynamic Absorber (MEDA) that can be used for the suppression of multiple structural resonances. The MEDA is an auxiliary substructure designed to achieve a multi-resonance tuned absorber effect with minimal added mass penalty. Modal and impedance characteristics derived from a primary structure are used as design targets for the MEDA substructure. Preliminary analytical studies have been undertaken to demonstrate the MEDA concept on simple structures. Further analytical work will be done to develop this concept on more complicated structures. Experimentally, this approach will be demonstrated through the reduction of underwater noise radiated from plates and cylinders.

ENG24 Petrov, Alexander Mechanical Engineering AUTOMOTIVE LIGHTWEIGHT COMPOSITE STRUCTURES WITH EMBEDDED COMMUNICATIONS (Advisor: James Sherwood)

‐ ‐ ‐ 20 ‐ The automotive industry is challenged by government mandated regulations to produce more and more fuel efficient ‘green’ vehicles. At the same time, increased telecommunications applications within a vehicle for control of safety features and health monitoring of the engine require fast and high-bandwidth data transmission. The strength-to-weight capabilities of continuous fiber composites can provide significant weight reductions in comparison to steel and aluminum through the application of multiple layers of woven and stitched fabrics as either resin-infused dry or pre-preg materials. Communication grids can be embedded between the plies of the composite part for simplicity and protection of thecommunication cable from the environment. The choice of materials and the associated manufacturing process has to be suitable to the high-volume low-cost manufacturing requirements of the automotive industry. The current research focuses on developing a reliable design-aid using the finite element code ABAQUS/Explicit to simulate the composite forming process of ply schedule and processing conditions to enable a part to be formed in a short cycle time without defects such as wrinkles or tearing. The embedded communication grids are included in the model to explore how their presence influences the overall mechanical behavior of the plies and the associated formability. Test coupons in flat panel, double dome, and surrogate formed part geometries manufactured by MAG in Cincinnati, OH will be used to validate the forming models. The fabrics used for this research are first mechanically characterized to define their shear, tensile, and friction behavior for implementation into user-supplied material subroutines and computer simulations of the forming process.

ENG25 Phamduy, Paul, Steven Green Mechanical Engineering MECHANICAL TESTING RANGE FOR MICROMACHINED DIFFRACTION GRATING FOR SPECTROSCOPY (Advisor: Byungki Kim)

A new micromachined scanning grating is developed and analyzed for its mechanical testing range. Traditional grating spectroscopy without mechanical scanning requires an array of detectors. The developed grating can generate a spectrum and uses only a single detector. This design can contribute to the development of an even more portable spectroscopy system. To include, this grating in a spectroscopy system, it mechanical capabilities must first be determined. Experiments were completed to determine the voltage range, frequency range and resolution of the grating. The results have shown that the grating has a useable voltage range from 0V to 12.2V. The working frequency range limit determined experimentally was 100Hz to 3600±238Hz. The resolution is improved from an applied voltage to the grating, observed experimentally. Further experimentation and analysis is underway to improve the grating and developing a spectroscopy system.

ENG26 Ruggiero, Eric Mechanical Engineering VARIABLE-SPEED COR TESTING OF BASEBALLS AND PILLS (Advisor: James Sherwood)

Examining what happens to a baseball during a dynamic collision helps to understand the relationship between the structure and coefficient of restitution (COR), which is a measurement of the liveliness of the baseball. This information can be used to develop a finite element model of a baseball for use in investigating bat performance and for use in ball and bat design. In the current research, experiments were conducted using full baseballs and pills that had been extracted from baseballs through dissection or new pills. A pill is the core of a baseball and consists of cork wrapped in two layers of rubber. Each specimen was fired against a flat steel plate mounted to a load cell. This device measured the force applied to the plate over the interval which the collision took place. The impact was simultaneously

‐ ‐ ‐ 21 ‐ recorded using high-speed video. The time interval over which the collision took place was determined, and what was visibly happening to the specimen could be matched with force measurements taken at any moment during the impact. Testing for baseball and pill specimens were performed over a wide range of speeds to see how they affected the results. This information can be used to help define the behaviors of the pill and the baseball for high and low speed impacts, which can then assist in developing a finite element model of a baseball using a layer-by-layer approach.

ENG27 Sargent, Joseph Mechanical Engineering STUDY OF SELECTIVELY PERMEABLE COATINGS TO TEXTILES (Advisors: Jun Lee and Emmanuelle Reynaud) Michael D. Gilbert, EIC Laboratories (Norwood, Ma); James M. Sloan, U.S. Army Research Laboratory (Aberdeen Proving Ground, MD)

Breathable barrier textiles for both chemical agent and moisture are being actively developed for military and industrial applications. An ideal approach is to coat textiles with a semi-permeable film that allows the transport of water while still serving as a barrier for chemical agents. Sulfonated poly (styrene-block- isobutylene-block-styrene) (SIBS) copolymer spontaneously phase separates upon drying from solution to produce a nanostructured film with the controlled barrier functionality for water permeation and repelling of chemical agents. The objective of this research is to investigate coating uniformity and phase morphology of SIBS coating materials fabricated by novel solvent combinations. Scanning electron microscopy analysis is used for the assessment of the coating uniformity as well as the level of adhesion between the polymer coating and fabric substrate. Transmission electron microscopy is used to characterize the phase separation morphology of the SIBS copolymer coating. The mechanical behavior of the coated fabric is determined through tensile, shear, and fritcion tests and is compared to the bare fabric behavior. The goal of this study is to relate the processing conditions to the final nanostructured block copolymer coated fabric produced on industrial scale.

ENG28 Soteropoulos, Dimitri Mechanical Engineering DIGITAL METHOD OF ANALYZING THE BENDING STIFFNESS OF NON-CRIMP FABRICS (Advisor: James Sherwood)

As the aerospace and wind energy industries continue to strive toward improving the structural and aerodynamic performance of various parts while reducing weight, the use of continuous fiber composite reinforcements is critical to achieving the combination of these objectives. Continuous fiber reinforcements such as Non-Crimp Fabrics (NCFs) are capable of conforming to complex curvature geometries such as wind turbine blades and automotive underbodies. Finite element models are frequently used to simulate the complex deformation mechanisms of fabric composites during various manufacturing processes such as thermoforming, vacuum assisted resin transfer molding, and compression molding. Often in the manufacturing of composite parts, defects such as in-plane and out-of-plane waves can develop which can compromise the structural performance of the part. The ability of the model to predict the formation of these types of defects depends on a credible characterization of the mechanical behavior of the fabric that includes in-plane shear, yarn tension, friction, and bending stiffness. A digital-analytical method for characterizing the bending behavior of NCFs is developed. The study is based on a catilevered hanging fabric loaded to a known displacement. The image of the deformed fabric is captured digitally, and then analyzed to describe the deformed shape of the beam using x-y coordinates. The bending stiffness of the fabric is then determined through an iterative method using a finite element method

‐ ‐ ‐ 22 ‐ (ABAQUS). This effective bending stiffness is of importance for the formation of wave defects in NCFs during the manufacturing process of various parts.

ENG29 Thibault, Louis Mechanical Engineering EQUIVALENT REDUCED MODEL TECHNIQUE DEVELOPMENT FOR NONLINEAR SYSTEM DYNAMIC RESPONSE (Advisor: Peter Avitabile)

The dynamic response of structural systems commonly involves nonlinear effects. Often times, structural systems are made up of several components, whose individual behavior is essentially linear compared to the total assembled system. However, the assembly of linear components using highly nonlinear connection elements or contact regions causes the entire system to become nonlinear. Conventional transient nonlinear integration of the equations of motion can be extremely computationally intensive, especially when the finite element models describing the components are very large and detailed. In this work, the Equivalent Reduced Model Technique (ERMT) is developed to address complicated nonlinear contact problems. ERMT utilizes a highly accurate model reduction scheme, System Equivalent Reduction Expansion Process (SEREP). Extremely reduced order models that provide dynamic characteristics of linear components which are interconnected with highly nonlinear connection elements are formulated with SEREP for the dynamic response evaluation using direct integration techniques. In addition to analytical efforts, experimental data will be obtained utilizing a specialized test apparatus to acquire both linear and nonlinear dynamic response data for the validation of the analytical models developed and to verify the predictions made.

ENG30 Yee, Jennifer Mechanical Engineering MAXIMIZING PERFORMANCE AND CHARACTERIZING THE INTERACTIONS BETWEEN SOFTBALLS AND SOFTBALL BATS (Advisor: James Sherwood)

This research will explore the resulting interaction between a softball bat and softball as a function of the respective bat and ball constructions. The overall objective of the research is to identify bat characteristics that result in maximum performance as quantified by batted-ball speed (BBS) for a given ball construction while complying with the standards sanctioned by the respective softball associations. This objective will be achieved through a combined experimental and finite element modeling approach. In addition, there is an interest in the investigation of the different combinations of bats and balls on the “feel” of the bats as perceived by the player at contact. The goal of this portion of the study would be to quantify what a player perceives as good or bad using modal analysis. Players of all levels, from international to youth leagues will be able to be surveyed.

ENG31 Ravichandran, Sethumadhavan 1,5, Ryan Bouldin2,5 Plastics Engineering NOVEL ‘GREENER’ ROUTES TO HALOGEN-FREE FLAME RETARDANT MATERIALS (Advisors: Ramaswamy Nagarajan4,5 and Jayant Kumar3,5 ) Departments of 1Chemistry, 2Chemical Engineering, 3Physics and 4Plastics Engineering, 5Center for Advanced Materials

‐ ‐ ‐ 23 ‐ Flame Retardants (FR) control or reduce the risk of fire and have a direct impact on human safety. Most of the commercially used polymers are intrinsically very flammable and hence the incorporation of FR materials is indispensable for their safe use. But most commonly used FRs, specifically halogenated compounds have found to be extremely toxic for biological life and remain persistent in the environment. Hence, it is necessary to replace these toxic halogenated compounds with environment friendly alternatives. Identifying radical scavenging as a fundamental requirement for FR action, substituted phenols like cardanol/hydrogenated cardanol (renewable waste product from cashew nut shell industry), 3-pentadecylphenol (synthetic analogue of cardanol) and 3,4-hydroxyphenyl 1-propanol (HPP - Model for lignin) were used as starting materials to synthesize polyphenols. The use of polymeric FR would prevent undesired leaching problems associated with small molecules, leading to bioaccumulation. The polymerization of substituted phenol monomers was accomplished using eco-friendly biocatalysts, namely, horeseradish peroxidase, soybean peroxidase, hematin porcine (biomimic from pig’s blood) and iron salen (synthetic biomimic) in non-toxic reagents. The FR ability of the synthesized polymers was analyzed based on char yield and heat release capacity (HRC) using a thermogravimetric analyzer and pyrolysis combustion flow calorimeter respectively. Polycardanol based compounds exhibit very high char yields (~20%) and low HRC (~ 230-260 J/gK) which can be compared to PEEK. Poly(HPP) had a remarkably high char yield (> 40%) with very HRC (< 100 J/gK) comparable tot ultra high fire resistant materials like Nomex and Kevlar. Preliminary results on vertical burn tests performed on FR coated automotive upholstery fabric indicated good flame inhibition causing incomplete combustion/smoldering. It is envisioned that the synthesized polyphenols can also be successfully introduced into commodity plastics like PE and PP by blending them in a minicompounder/brabender to improve FR efficacy.

College of Management

MGT1 Joshi, Pranav Management DEVELOPMENT/DEPLOYMENT OF A PARKING FINDER SYSTEM (Advisors: Luvai Motiwalla and Joelle Vrana)

During the systems analysis and design class, I developed a prototype for a parking finder system (demo). The objective was to alleviate the parking issues caused by the university’s ongoing construction projects. This web-based application would communicate with the parking lot database and update the users of available parking. Updates occur via internet-enabled devices such as smartphones or computers. For example, a student enters the parking lot on Salem Street and looks around for a place to park; however, the parking lot is full. Now the decision that the student needs to make is should he park on the street, go to the Fox hall parking lot or choose the South Campus parking lot. In this particular situation, it would be extremely useful for that student to know current parking availability in the adjacent parking lots (South Campus and Fox Hall). This is where the system comes into play; the system will display current parking lot information to the student based on his proximity to the parking lots. If Fox hall has two available spaces and South Campus has ten spaces available, the application will suggest the latter. This just-in-time information saves the student time and money, as he will not risk a parking ticket by parking on the street. It is my goal to discover what would be involved in deploying such an application throughout the university campus. My research would include: -Obtaining current hardware and software system specifications of the university IT department (office controlling the parking lots); -Gathering model information on the parking booths (entry/exit machines) located in every parking lot; -Researching possible interfaces used by the parking booths to transmit parking information (car count) to the database Obtaining information on current parking lot administration, methods, and policies; -Inquiring and examining ways to improve current parking arrangement; -Offering hardware/software upgrade

‐ ‐ ‐ 24 ‐ requirements in order for successful implementation of this system; -Presenting realistic tangible and intangible costs associated with deployment of this system (system maintenance, cost of upgrades, etc.) The ultimate goal for this system is deployment at the larger scale, i.e.: City of Lowell, Common Wealth of Massachusetts, and the Nation. I believe that this system will improve the quality of life & I see a great deal of potential in this concept. Following are possible advancements: • Implementation of GPS tracking of vehicles • Locating a parking spot with help of in-dash car GPS systems • Computation of distance and route to nearest parking lot • Categorization of available parking options based on parking costs and proximity • Application of GPS vehicle search feature so the location of the car is always known

College of Science

SCI1 Dunaj, Sara Biological Science THE ROLE OF SOIL ORGANIC MATTER, NUTRIENTS, AND THE DIVERSITY OF THE MICROBIAL COMMUNITY ON THE PERFORMANCE OF MICROBIAL FUEL CELLS (MFCS) (Advisors: Mark Hines and Juliette Rooney-Varga) Dr. Joseph Vallino, Marine Biological Laboratory (Woods Hole, MA); Marcus Gay, GAIA Consulting Services (Boston, MA)

Microbial fuel cells (MFCs) offer the potential for generating electricity, mitigating greenhouse gas emissions, and bioremediating pollutants through utilization of a plentiful, natural, and renewable resource: soil organic carbon. This study investigated the premise that active, highly electrogenic microbial communities are selected for and sustained in MFCs constructed from agricultural soils because they are rich in labile organic carbon and nitrate, while nutrient-poor soils do not support high-performing microbial communities. MFCs were constructed with soils from research sites at Harvard Forest (Petersham, MA). The bulk soil characteristics were analyzed, including polyphenols, small fatty acids, total organic C and N, abiotic macronutrients, N and P mineralization rates, and CO2 respiration rates. Microbial community structure of the anodes, cathodes, and bulk soils was determined with molecular fingerprinting methods, which included terminal restriction length polymorphism (T-RFLP) analysis and 16S rRNA gene sequencing analysis. Microbial community profile data indicate that the microbial community at the anode of the high power MFCs was less diverse compared to the microbial community at the anode of the low power MFCs. The clone library of the high performance anode contained 29% Geobacter (44% Deltaproteobacteria) and 7% Clostridia, while the low performance MFC clone library contained no Geobacter and 80% Clostridia. These data suggest that the presence of organic carbon substrate (acetate) was not the major limiting factor in selecting for highly electrogenic microbial communities, while the nitrate and phosphate soil content may have played a significant role in supporting high performing microbial communities.

SCI2 McCowan, Caryn Biological Science EVOLUTIONARY ANALYSIS OF VENOM GLAND GENE EXPRESSION IN BROWN AND BLACK WIDOW SPIDERS (Advisor: Jessica Garb)

‐ ‐ ‐ 25 ‐ Venoms have evolved as a means for an animal to quickly disable a victim for feeding and for defensive purposes. The venoms of widow spiders (genus Latrodectus) are composed of complex mixtures of proteins, several of which possess potent neurotoxic activity. Despite their biomedical significance, the composition, diversity and evolutionary origins of these toxins remain largely unstudied. We constructed a cDNA library from venom gland tissue of the brown widow spider, Latrodectus geometricus, in order to identify Expressed Sequence Tags (ESTs) that code for toxin proteins. In addition, we performed a comparative analysis of toxins and venom-specific proteins from related species, including the black widow spider (Latrodectus hesperus). With our data we constructed phylogenetic trees to understand the evolution of these proteins. Our results demonstrate the molecular diversity of spider venom as well as identifying toxins with relevant medical functions.

SCI3 Rumore, Allison Biological Science A MOUSE MODEL OF DRY EYE SYNDROME (DES) FOR EFFICIENT TESTING OF NOVEL THERAPEUTICS TO TREAT A FREQUENT OCULAR AFFLICTION IN HUMANS (Advisor: Peter Gaines) Laura Belen and Kathy Crawford, Ora Inc.

Dry eye syndrome (DES) is one of the most frequent ocular disorders, affecting tens of millions of people each year. Although present drugs are able to temporarily relieve the discomfort of DES, it is important to explore long-lasting options. We generated a murine model of DES in order to test the efficacy of new potential treatments. Female C57BL/6J mice were exposed to a controlled-adverse environment chamber (CAE) with controlled temperature (22-25oC), low humidity (<15%), and high airflow. Subcutaneous scopolamine (1.5-2.0 mg/day), a drug known to cause DES-like symptoms in both humans and mice, was administered 2-4 times daily. DES symptoms were evaluated via both physiologic analyses that included measuring tear production (ZoneQuick phenol threads) and corneal fluorescein staining (NEI grading scale), and biochemical analyses (Luminex Multi-Analyte Profiling, Millipore) of tear samples for the expression of signaling proteins that are associated with eye inflammation. Scopolamine injections together with CAE exposure increased eye staining levels (12.2 ± 0.4) and reduced tear production (1.0 ± 0.1 mm). Analyses of cytokine levels in the tears of scopolamine and CAE treated mice identified an elevation in IFN-γ (4-fold), IL-10 (10-fold), IL-13 (10-fold), and TNF-α (4-fold). Our studies demonstrate that we have successfully generated a model of DES in mice that display the physical symptoms and amplified molecular signals on the ocular surface associated with the disease. This model is currently being use to test the efficacy of potential therapeutics that will allow for future clinical studies aimed at identifying new drugs to treat DES.

SCI4 Warden, Daniel Biological Science DETERMINATION OF MERCURY METHYLATION IN FRESHWATER SEDIMENTS USING THE RADIOACTIVE ISOTOPE 197-HG (Advisor: Mark Hines)

Mercury (Hg) is a globally important pollutant that can be methylated to methylmercury (MeHg), which is a neurotoxin that adversely affects brain development in fetuses and children. Commercially-available radiotracers such as 203Hg that are used to monitor Hg transformations in the environment must be added at concentrations that are typically above ambient, which invalidates the tracer approach and may stimulate methylation. Since 197Hg has a very short half-life (<3 days), it can be used as a true tracer. We produced 197Hg the core of UML’s nuclear reactor from enriched 196Hg. Approximately 0.5 microcuries of the 197Hg product was injected into anaerobic slurries of freshwater pond sediment and incubated

‐ ‐ ‐ 26 ‐ overnight. After killing samples with acid, MeHg was extracted with toluene, dehydrated, and the radioactivity was counted. Experiments were conducted to determine the time course of methylation, its variation seasonally, and a range of concentrations of Hg was used to investigate the kinetics of methylation. Methylation always exhibited a few hour lag despite efforts to maintain conditions conducive to methylation, such as anoxia. During winter, cold temperatures and sediment oxidation prevented Hg methylation even when several-day anaerobic pre-incubations were employed. However, methylation was active in warmer months. Methylation displayed first order kinetics when Hg levels were above~100 ng/g. At lower Hg concentrations, the turnover of 197Hg increased as Hg levels decreased suggesting that increased Hg levels inhibited methylation, or were more easily bound by sediment organic matter. These latter possibilities are being investigated further.

SCI5 Bhoskar, Prachi Chemistry EFFECT OF EXCESS LIGHT CHAIN EXPRESSION ON ANTIBODY PRODUCTIVITY AND STRUCTURAL INTEGRITY (Advisor: Jin Xu) Brett Belongia and Robert Smith, EMD Millipore (Bedford, MA)

During the antibody folding process, light chain (LC) initially folds and facilitates the folding of heavy chain (HC) followed by complete antibody assembly. In this manner, LC functions as a chaperone by promoting heavy chain folding and IgG assembly. Therefore, excess LC could be beneficial for antibody production. Also it minimizes unfolded heavy chain accumulation. Thereby it reduces aggregation caused by HC accumulation. IgG-producing cell lines have often been observed producing excess LC. However, due to limited cellular resources for protein production, antibody productivity may declines with elevated free LC production. Moreover, since nascent LC contains an unpaired C-terminal cysteine that is generally oxidized prior to secretion, free LC production could alter the redox balance and thereby generate under-disulfide-bonded IgG. Unformed disulfide bonds may then generate partial antibody and aggregates. As free LC expression has the opposing consequences of antibody productivity and structural integrity, it is imperative for antibody manufacturers to determine the optimum level of free LC expression for cell line selection and cell culture optimization in order to obtain cell cultures with high product titer and superior quality. In this project, reversed phase-HPLC was used to determine the LC: IgG expression ratio in cell culture media. With regards to antibody structure, we have focused on disulfide bond formation, partial antibody generation as well as antibody aggregation. By analyzing samples from various clones and cell culture conditions, we were able to correlate the levels of LC expression/oxidation and antibody productivity/structural integrity. These results demonstrate that free LC analysis could serve as a novel and potentially critical parameter for IgG cell line development and process optimization.

SCI6 Carter, Tyler Chemistry GLYCOPROTEIN IB ALPHA: AN INTRINSIC PROMOTOR OF AMYLOID BETA FIBRILLIZATION (Advisor: Jin Xu)

A predominant modern theory links Alzheimer’s disease (AD)-related neurotoxicity to early-stage amyloid beta (Aβ) oligomers rather than mature Aβ fibers and plaques. It is believed that the process of Aβ fibrillization dictates Aβ toxicity, and that in vivo cofactors which mediate the kinetics of Aβ aggregation play a critical role in AD pathogenesis. As a potential modulator of Aβ aggregation, the effects of platelet surface receptor glycoprotein Ib alpha (GPIbα) on Aβ fibrillization were investigated.

‐ ‐ ‐ 27 ‐ Time course thioflavin-T (ThT) fluorometry demonstrated that GPIb2V – a fully-sulfated GPIbα variant with platelet-type von Willebrand disease (Pt-vWD) mutations – dramatically enhanced Aβ fibrillization. Subsequent ThT studies indicated that the Pt-vWD mutations instigated Aβ aggregation, implying an interaction similar to that between GPIb2V and von Willebrand Factor (vWF). Bis-ANS fluorometry and far-UV circular dichroism showed that GPIb2V reduced the duration of Aβ oligomerization. Sodium dodecyl sulfate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE) and size exclusion chromatography (SEC) demonstrated that Aβ aggregates and low molecular mass Aβ respectively appear and disappear more rapidly in the presence of GPIb2V, and that the latter co-aggregates with Aβ. Multiangle laser light scattering (MALLS) confirmed that Aβ aggregates observed on SEC were fibrillar in nature. A preliminary cell-based cytotoxicity assay suggested that GPIb2V alleviated Aβ neurotoxicity. These results revealed a potential link between this intrinsic “cardiovascular” protein and AD pathology.

SCI7 Farris, Leslie Chemistry PROMOTION OF ANTIBODY ORIENTATION BY UNIQUE NONCOVALENT POLYMER- PROTEIN PAIRING: STRUCTURAL ELUCIDATION, MECHANISTIC ANALYSIS, AND APPLICATIONS IN IMMUNOASSAYS AND BIOSENSORS (Advisor: Melisenda McDonald)

The ALYGNSA is an affinity based antibody orientation system produced through the interaction of the polymer Poly(methyl) Methacrylate (PMMA) and recombinant Protein G (rProG), a Streptococcal Group G surface protein. In conjunction with a PMMA surface, rProG binds with the Fc region of antibodies such that they are more frequently oriented according to earlier fluorescence assay studies. However, the underlying mechanism has yet to be determined. The objective of this work is three fold: to examine the potential for specific association of the rProG and PMMA that would improve antibody orientation, to examine the prepared antibody bound surface for orientation, and to use this system to assess the quantitative benefit of orientation. A tertiary structure model of the full rProG was created using the iterative threading assembly refinement (I-Tasser) server. The highest confidence model and short chains of PMMA were subject to docking experiments to elucidate potential sites of specific interaction. Antibody orientation was examined through non-contact atomic force microscopy studies of the fully prepared ALYGNSA surface; PMMA treated with rProG, and hIgG. Lastly, this system was applied to an immunoassay and interferometric immunosensor format. Assays for Influenza A and an array of cancer biomarkers revealed lower limits of detection compared with their commercially available counterparts.

SCI8 Michaels, Brian, Patel Rutwik, Prachi Bhoskar, Tyler L. Carter Chemistry SITE-SPECIFIC CHARACTERIZATION OF OLIGOSACCHARIDE STRUCTURES ON A RECOMBINANT GLYCOPROTEIN PRODUCT (Advisor: Jin Xu)

Glycosylation plays a critical role in protein folding, structure and function. For protein therapeutics, glycans likely have a direct impact on pharmacokinetics/pharmacodynamics, immunogenicity and clinical efficacy. Due to the complexity of protein synthesis and folding, batch-to-batch variations in glycan structures are often observed during biopharmaceutical manufacturing. Determining oligosaccharide structures is therefore a crucial component of biopharmaceutical characterization and analysis. In this project, the oligosaccharide structures of a fusion protein were determined site-specifically using a combination of HPLC methods and mass spectrometry. Tryptic peptide mapping/MS analysis localized N-linked oligosaccharides to a single peptide (T13) at Asn101 and Asn107; one appeared to be occupied by a core-fucosylated, sialylated biantennary complex-type oligosaccharide while the other is partially-

‐ ‐ ‐ 28 ‐ occupied with a high-mannose oligosaccharide. Glycosylated asparagine residues were converted to aspartate following PNGaseF deglycosylation. Mass spectrometry detected two distinct T13 peptides containing one and two Asp residues respectively derived from singly- and doubly-glycosylated T13. MS/MS fragmentation of the single Asp-containing T13 peptide determined that positions 101 and 107 were respectively occupied by Asp and Asn, suggesting that the former is mostly occupied by complex- type oligosaccharides while the latter is partially occupied with Man5. A weak cation exchange-HPLC method successfully resolved between various glycoforms of the protein; the four resulting peaks represented species with varying sialylation levels and glycan occupancy. The sialic acid content was further quantified by reversed phase-HPLC analysis of o-phenylenediamine (OPD)-labeled sialic acids released from the protein by mild acid treatment.

SCI9 Mogulla, Sindhura, Isso Bayala Chemistry DETERMINATION OF Α -TOCOPHEROL QUINONE IN SUNFLOWER AND SOYBEAN OIL DEODORIZER DISTILLATES BY REVERSED-PHASE HPLC AND ITS REDUCTION BACK TO Α -TOCOPHEROL (VITAMIN E) (Advisors: David Ryan and Mary Hooker)

Vegetable oil is a natural source of vitamin E, an important antioxidant that protects the cell membranes from oxidation by reacting with lipid radicals produced in the lipid peroxidation chain reaction. During commercial production of vegetable oil the vitamin E which is naturally present in the oil can become oxidized to α-tocopherol quinone (α-TQ) due to exposure to high temperatures, oxygen, light and chemicals and α-TQ has no known antioxidant properties. The deodorizer distillate (DOD), which is obtained during the production of vegetable oil, is expected to contain a significant quantity of the oxidation product α-TQ. Studies in our laboratory have shown that the reduction of pure commercial . standards of α-TQ using stannous chloride (SnCl2 2H2O) or tin (II) ion successfully reduced 95% of α-TQ to yield alpha-tocopherol (α-TOH) i.e., vitamin E. These results motivated us to separate α-TQ from DODs of Organic, Expeller pressed sunflower oil and Soybean oil by liquid-liquid extraction and reduce it to α-TOH using the method formerly developed. Results show that about 96% of the alpha-TQ from Organic sunflower oil DOD was reduced to alpha-TOH, 86% reduced in Expeller pressed sunflower oil DOD and 60% reduced in Soybean oil DOD. Based on these results, it can be concluded that the reduction of alpha-TQ by tin (II) can be considered as an economic and valid alternative route for increasing the efficiency of the tocopherol recovery processes from deodorizer distillates.

SCI10 Tsui, Katherine Computer Science DESIGNING A TELEPRESENCE ROBOT SYSTEM FOR USE BY PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES (Advisor: Holly Yanco)

Telepresence robots provide interactive two-way audio and video communication. Additionally, these telepresence robots can be controlled independently by an operator, which means that the person driving can explore and look around as he/she desires. We have conducted previous research to determine what types of office workers might have positive experiences using these robots in an office environment. We found that people who were no longer in the same building as their teammates had the best experiences recreating the closeness with their teams using telepresence robots. We hypothesize that similar benefits can be gained by people with special needs who wish to engage in social interaction but cannot be physically present with their family and friends. Assistive technology benefits directly from the consumer electronics market. Thus, given the recent emergence of a number of telepresence robot

‐ ‐ ‐ 29 ‐ platforms (i.e., Giraff Technology's Giraff, RoboDynamics' TiLR, Anybots' QB, VGo Communications’ VGo, Willow Garage's Texai), we believe that people with special needs will adopt this new technology. Our research focuses on the scenario in which people with special needs take the active role of operating telepresence robots. We describe design of our telepresence robot system for use by this target population. We augmented our VGo robot with additional processing and sensor capabilities. We have designed an alternative user interface prototype in which a robot operator can teleoperate the robot or request it to “follow a person” or go to a specific room.

SCI11 Hoell, Andrew Environmental, Earth & Atmospheric Science GLOBAL SEA SURFACE TEMPERATURES AND THE 1998-2002 UNITED STATES DROUGHT (Advisor: Mathew Barlow)

The most intense, widespread and long duration drought since the early 1970s affected the United States between 1999 and 2002. Precipitation deficits were persistent coastward of the Rockies and Appalachians, particularly during October through March, and intermittent in the interior. The United States was separated into nine regions, and all but two regions experienced yearly precipitation deficits between 1999 and 2002. Monte Carlo resampling suggests that a drought of this length and breadth is unlikely, as these widespread drought conditions never occurred in any of the 1000 simulations. United States precipitation is related to eight distinct SST areas over the Indian, Pacific and Atlantic Oceans. Many of these SST areas have statistically significant relationships during their warm and cold extremes with regional United States precipitation. In addition, each of these SST areas during 1999-2002 was generally in excess of one standard deviation from their monthly mean. The SST areas explain all of the global SST anomalies, such as, a strong La Nina, a warm west and central extratropical Pacific, a cool north Pacific and a warm Atlantic poleward of 30°N during 1999-2002 when used as predictors in a linear regression model. Monthly precipitation anomalies over the United States were reconstructed during 1998-2002 using the SST areas as predictors in the same linear regression model. Tropical Pacific, North Pacific and Atlantic SST reconstructed the evolution and magnitude of Southwestern and Southeastern United States precipitation anomalies during 1999-2002. However, precipitation reconstruction over the Northwest and central United States, particularly Texas, was poor using any and all SST indices as predictors.

SCI12 Roller, Christopher Environmental, Earth & Atmospheric Science TOTAL INTERNAL PARTITION SUMS FOR MOLECULES IMPORTANT TO ASTROPHYSICAL APPLICATIONS (Advisors: Robert Gamache and Julien Lamouroux)

Astronomers studying objects in deep space via spectroscopic techniques need the partition sums, Q(T), of the molecules in question to determine their number density in the area being studied. The applications include studies of molecules around star forming regions and evolved stars, evolution of planetary atmospheres, and the detection of molecules in space. The vast conditions in space require the Q(T)s be known from 1K for the colder deep space areas up to 3500K for the warmer areas around the outer edge of these evolving stars. To aid the astronomy community, partition sums have been calculated for all isotopologues of the 51 molecules listed in the HITRAN database over the range 1-3500 K. Reduced Hamiltonians are used to calculate the energies from which the partition sums are determined via direct summation. The direct sum (DS) method is the most accurate method for determining Q(T) at lower temperatures. At high temperatures, Q(T) from direct sums are often not converged and analytical

‐ ‐ ‐ 30 ‐ models (AM) must be used. Here the final Q(T)s are a merger between the DS at low and AM at high temperatures splices at the temperature where the agreement is best. These data will be made available to the scientific community via the web site of Prof. Gamache (faculty.uml.edu/Robert_Gamache) or from spectrafactory (http://phobos.jb.man.ac.uk/sfv2/).

SCI13 Cromptom, Bryan Mathematical Science THEORETICAL AND NUMERICAL ANALYSIS OF THE FRACTIONAL DIFFUSION-WAVE EQUATION (Advisor: Victor Shubov)

Fractional calculus is an old generalization of traditional calculus to non-integer differential and integral orders with recent developments. Applications of the theory include novel methods of solution of ordinary differential equations such as Bessel's equation and new differential models of physical phenomena using explicit fractional order derivatives. The fractional diffusion-wave equation with a fractional time derivative bridges the gap between the heat and wave equations and is used to model heat propagation in fractal like media. A study of this equation was undertaken by reviewing recent literature and conducting numerical work. Fourier and Laplace transform methods yield solutions of the diffusion- wave equation in the form of the convolution with the Green's function. This function is expressed in terms of an auxiliary function, related to the Mittag-Leffler function. The behavior of the Green's function was studied in detail. Results on how the Green's function changes in the slow diffusion range and from the expected heat equation case to the wave equation case as the fractional time order derivative is varied will be presented.

SCI14 Cramer, James Physics THZ DIELECTRIC RESONATORS (Advisor: Robert Giles)

This work explores materials and fabrication techniques for THz dielectric resonators. Several dielectric resonator metamaterials were developed. These dielectric resonator structures consisted of custom synthesized titantium dioxide micro-spheres, arrays of lithium tantalate micro-rods, and an array of lithium tantalate micro-cube. All three structures exhibit a first Mie resonance where the effective permeability is non-unity. The resonance frequency is dependent on the dielectric constant of the resonator material as well as the size and shape of the resonators.

SCI15 Doradla, Pallavi Physics TRANSMISSION LOSS OPTIMIZATION IN METAL COATED HOLLOW FLEXIBLE TERAHERTZ WAVEGUIDES (Advisor: Robert Giles)

Hollow flexible metal coated polycarbonate waveguides have been designed and fabricated for the transmission of Tera hertz radiation. Propagation and Bending characteristics of Ag/Au waveguides with bore diameters 4.1mm, 3mm, 2mm were studied at a wavelength of 215μm. Minimal propagation loss of 2dB/m was achieved by coupling the lowest loss TE11 mode into the waveguide from an optically pumped terahertz laser. Maximal bending loss of 0.8dB/m was achieved for waveguides of bending radii 4cm, 5cm, 6.5cm and bending angles of 0 to 150 degrees. The investigation shows that a mode can be

‐ ‐ ‐ 31 ‐ preserved in metal coated waveguide by launching the lowest order TE11 mode into a small bore hollow waveguide.

SCI16 Nagy, Eric Physics CONCENTRATION CONTROLLABLE GAS DELIVERY FOR MID-INFRARED SENSING APPLICATIONS (Advisors: Robert Giles and Daniel Wasserman)

The mid-infrared (mid-IR) is known as the "chemical fingerprint" region of the electromagnetic spectrum, as numerous molecular species have strong and unique absorption resonances in this wavelength range. Because of this, the mid-IR is an extremely attractive region of the spectrum for chemical sensing applications. One of the challenges in testing and calibrating mid-IR optical sensing devices is integrating a gas delivery system which has controllable concentration of a known gas. IN this work, the design and testing of an isopropanol-air gas mixture delivery system is described and calibration and characterization data is provided. Free space absorption is measured using this system and the ability to increase the strength of these absorption peaks by increasing the concentration of the gas mixture is shown. In order to more effectively detect trace amounts of chemicals, enhancement of the light-matter interaction is needed. Fabrication, modeling, and characterization of sub-wavelength toothed metal-insulator-metal (MIM) waveguides was done to optimize this capability. Using a gold-air-gold architecture, the confined electric fields inside the waveguide maximize overlap with chemical species present. The toothed design of the waveguide also imposes a photonic band-gap structure on the device’s transmission properties, with light at the band edges propagating with a low group velocity (slow light). This also increases the time-scale for this light-matter interaction, an improvement over free-space testing. Integration of the gas flow control system designed here with the toothed MIM waveguide may provide a valuable chemical sensing architecture.

SCI17 Patel, Rakesh Physics MULTIMODAL OPTICAL IMAGING FOR DETECTING BREAST CANCER (Advisor: Anna Yaroslavsky) Ashraf Khan and Robert Quinlan, UMass Memorial Healthcare

Background and Significance: Re-excision is required in up to 60% cases of breast conserving surgeries, as most are performed without intraoperative margin control. Real-time mapping of cancer margins during surgeries would be indispensible. Materials and Methods: Fresh excess breast cancer tissue was collected from surgeries, stained in 0.2 mg/ml aqueous solution of methylene blue, and imaged using wide-field high-resolution multimodal polarization reflectance and fluorescence imaging systems. Reflectance and fluorescence images were excited at 642 nm and 785 nm. Fluorescence emission and polarization was registered between 690 nm and 720 nm. After imaging, the specimens were processed for H&E histopathology. Histological slides were digitized and compared side-by-side with optical images. Results and Conclusions: Fluorescence, reflectance and polarization wide-field high resolution images of breast samples correlate with respective histopathology and demonstrate significant differences in the appearance of cancerous and normal tissue. Visual examination of the stained specimens confirm preferential uptake of methylene blue by cancerous tissue. These preliminary results show potential of multimodal reflectance fluorescence and polarization imaging for intraoperative delineation of breast cancers and may lead to a novel application of optical imaging technologies in breast cancer oncology.

‐ ‐ ‐ 32 ‐ SCI18 Smith, Shaun, Joshua Mason Physics MID-IR METAMATERIALS WITH THERMALLY EMITTING PROPERTIES (Advisor: Daniel Wasserman)

In this work, mid-Infrared (mid-IR) metamaterials with strong absorption resonances are modeled and studied using the finite element method (FEM). The models developed are compared to spectral characterization of fabricated structures. Metamaterials have been investigated extensively for a wide range of applications in the microwave and optical regions of the spectrum. Optimization of the optical properties of a metamaterial is achieved through the parametrization of the structural properties and material make-up of these devices, while using empirical values for the constituent material properties. The mid-IR, consisting of the wavelength range between 2 and 30 microns, is less well-studied in the metamaterial community, despite its importance for a number of sensing and security applications. The ability to tailor the mid-IR behavior of the structures studied in this work allow us control of the structures' optical properties in the thermal wavelength range, which in turn, allows for control of the thermal signature of our metamaterials; the ability to control of the thermal signature of a material, or alternatively, to coat a blackbody with a thin metamaterial layer, and thus control the emission from the coated structure, may have significant applications for security and defense technologies.

SCI19 Williams, Richard, David DiGiovanni Submillimeter-Wave Technology CHARACTERIZING DIELECTRIC PROPERTIES OF MATERIALS FROM 2 GHZ TO 12 THZ (Advisor: Andrew Gatesman)

In the vast field of Materials Science one aims to fully characterize the physical properties of a material. The Submillimeter-Wave Technology Laboratory at UMASS Lowell has the capabilities to characterize a material by analyzing its propensity for reflecting, transmitting, and absorbing Electromagnetic Radiation. The measurements are taken over a wide spectral range encompassing the Microwave and Terahertz regimes. A Free-Space Network Analyzer system provides the low end of the spectrum, covering the 2 to 40 GHz range. A Backward-Wave Oscillator system extends the Microwave range from 75 to 170 GHz and a Bruker Vertex 80V FTIR interferometer provides the transition into the far infrared. For materials with a low resistivity the reflection, transmission, and absorption properties are measured indirectly through the measurement of the material’s DC sheet resistance. With data over this broad spectrum the frequency dependent complex dielectric constant can be determined.

School of Health and Environment

SHE1 Kambalapally, Swetha, Anton Edumund Biomedical Engineering; Clinical Laboratory & Nutritional Sciences ENCAPSULATION OF CADMIUM SELENIDE QUANTUM DOTS USING A SELF- ASSEMBLING NANOEMULSION (SANE) REDUCES THEIR IN VITRO TOXICITY (Advisors: Robert Nicolosi and Thomas Wilson)

Although, nanometer-scale semiconductor quantum dots (QDs) have attracted widespread interest in medical diagnosis and treatment, many can have intrinsic toxicities, especially those composed of CdSe,

‐ ‐ ‐ 33 ‐ associated with their elemental composition. Using our self-assembling nanoemulsion (SANE) formulations which we have previously reported to be composed of non-toxic components ,i.e., such as vegetable oil, surfactant and water, we hypothesized that their appropriate utilization would reduce the toxicity of QDs by encapsulating the CdSe QDs in our (SANE) system using a modified phase inversion temperature (PIT) method. SANE encapsulation of the QDs did not alter their emission wavelength of 600 nm which remained unchanged during the encapsulation process. In contrast, zeta potential of encapsulated QDs was reduced from -30 mV to -6.59mV, which we have previously reported to be associated with beneficial properties (increased bioavailability and efficacy) for SANE-encapsulated bioactives such as pharmaceuticals. Relative to the number of cells in untreated controls (0.330+0.001 X 105 cells/mL), the viability of HeLa cells exposed for 48 hours to un-encapsulated CdSe QDs at a concentration of 115 µg/ml was reduced by 77% (0.075+ 0.002 X 105 cells/mL) (p<0.05). In contrast, the number of viable HeLa cells following exposure to SANE-encapsulated CdSe QDs vs un-encapsulated CdSe QDs at the same concentration was 0.302 + 0.011 X 105 cells/ mL or a 307% increase in number of viable cells (p<0.05). When the dose of CdSe QDs was increased to 230 µg/mL, the number of viable HeLa cells after exposure to the unencapsulated CdSe QDs was 0.053+ 0.001 X 105 cells/mL compared to untreated controls (p<0.05). In contrast, at the same increased concentration (230 µg/mL) of unencapsulated CdSe QDs, the number of viable HeLa cells following exposure to SANE-encapsulated CdSe QDs was 0.290+ 0.011 X 105 cells/mL or a 448% increase in number of viable cells (p<0.05). Exposure of HeLa cells to a nanoblank, (nanoemulsion without QDs), showed no significant effect on cell viability (0.321+ 0.008 X 105 cells/mL) compared to untreated cell culture (0.330 + 0.001 X 105 cells/mL. In conclusion, application of our SANE technology for encapsulating QDs increased cell viability of cells exposed to CdSe QDs while maintaining the original emission wavelength and therefore may be applied to reduce QD toxicity.

SHE2 Gonzalez, Jennifer Clinical Laboratory & Nutritional Services THE EFFECT OF ENDOCRINE DISRUPTORS ON WEIGHT (Advisor: Mindy Dopler Nelson)

There are many toxins in the environment that chemically change the way our body functions. Endocrine disorders caused by exposure to these toxins change the programming of the human’s biological pathways thereby creating abnormal mechanisms to occur. The global community is exposed daily to disruptive chemicals and we live our lives not being aware of it. These chemicals are found in dyes, pigments, medicines, flavoring, perfumes, plastics, resins, rubbers, preservative and even in contaminated water. Exposure to these environmental agents has been proposed to have an effect on weight due to the subsequent metabolic alterations. Neonatal exposure to Bisphenol- A, a common chemical used in plastics, increases the production of testosterone. Studies done in ewes exposed to testosterone during the critical gestational period (30-90 days) show traits similar to a woman with Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS). PCOS is characterized by the following symptoms: obesity, insulin resistance, dyslipidemia, and infertility; however, the exact etiology is unknown. My motivation to participate in this research is because weight is continuing to rise in this country despite an individual’s effort to diet and exercise thereby placing a greater emphasis on the role of the environment on weight. During this research, I used the following websites to investigate the effect of endocrine disruptors on weight: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed and http://www.cdc.gov.

SHE3 Judge, Alexander Clinical Laboratory & Nutritional Services ANTIBACTERIAL EFFECTIVENESS OF FRESH, ONE-, THREE-, AND FIVE-DAY OLD 10% BLEACH IN A STUDENT LABORATORY SETTING

‐ ‐ ‐ 34 ‐ (Advisor: Nancy Goodyear)

In the student laboratory, 10% bleach (sodium hypochlorite) is used to disinfect benches before and after work, and when a spill occurs. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s Bloodborne Pathogen Standard specifies bleach should be made fresh daily. In order to save time in the student laboratory setting, bleach concentrate is diluted at the beginning of each week and remains in use until Friday; it is then remade fresh again the following week. This study was designed to determine the antibacterial effectiveness of bleach after it has been stored at room temperature in translucent plastic bottles for one, three and five days. A laboratory bench was inoculated with serial dilutions of Staphylococcus aureus (ATCC 6538) and Escherichia coli (ATCC 21214) ranging from 3 x 101 to 3 x 106 colony forming units. Each spot was allowed to air dry, flooded with 10% bleach, and wiped dry following the standard practice in the student laboratory. The cleaned spots were sampled with tryptic soy agar contact plates, which were incubated and observed for bacterial colony count. Control tests included uninoculated background (isolated airborne contaminants only) and untreated recovery (1.1 – 1.5% recovery). For both S. aureus and E. coli, fresh, one-, three-, and five-day bleach each demonstrated 100% killing, with no bacterial colonies recovered. It has been determined that bleach up to 5 days old can effectively kill common bacteria used in student laboratories.

SHE4 Lai, Randy, Aaron Stella Clinical Laboratory & Nutritional Services HEAVY METAL TOXICITY REVIEW: FROM HISTORICAL RISKS TO NEW POTENTIAL THREATS (Advisor: Eugene Rogers)

Heavy metal toxicity poses a serious potential threat to human health. Industrial exposure to lead, cadmium, mercury, and arsenic have been more common place and historically of more concern. The mechanisms and symptoms of toxicity from these metals are well known. Common properties that these metals share are their affinity to bind to sulfhydryl groups of proteins which inhibit their activity in biochemical pathways. These common toxic heavy metals are currently the only ones screened for in cases of suggestive heavy metal poisoning, however, there are a variety of other metals which can impart toxicity to the human body if exposure were to occur. Many new technologies in particular associated with nanomaterials may be potentially harmful due to the presence of other types of heavy metals. A clear example is the catalysts used for the manufacturing of carbon nanotubes. These metals are not included in the common screening assays that are currently being performed in medicine and may give rise to new safety concerns. Therefore, toxicity from these metals will go undetected with routine diagnostics. By performing this review, it underscores the large disconnect between emergence of technologies and potential toxic risk.

SHE5 Merlino, Emily Clinical Laboratory & Nutritional Services RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN DOPAMINE, GENETICS, AND ETHNICITY ON THE REWARD PATHWAY (Advisor: Mindy Dopler Nelson)

Humans have the ability to control many of their actions and some of their desires on a daily basis. There are outliers to this statement, those with addictions, whether drugs, alcohol, or as we are learning, food. Food addiction has a web of physiological causes very similar to other addictions that trigger the reward pathway. My project this semester was to collect and review information about dopamine as it relates to genetics, specifically the dopamine receptor Taq A1 allele, gender, and ethnicity on the reward pathway.

‐ ‐ ‐ 35 ‐ A number of articles and media sources were reviewed to define the reward pathway and compile evidence of the role this pathway plays in obesity. Allele prevalence based on ethnicity and gender in study participants was also assessed, taking environment into account. The significance of finding connections between the genetics found in addiction and obesity has the potential to make a great impact on future obesity treatment based on the interactions of individuals within their environment.

SHE6 Nou, Erica, Katelyn Keefe, Natasha Frenzo Clinical Laboratory & Nutritional Services INVESTIGATION OF BACTERIAL ANTIMICROBIAL RESISTANCES (Advisor: Guixin He)

Antibiotic resistance is an issue of great importance, as infections with antibiotic-resistant bacteria generally result in longer hospital stays and increased mortality of infected patients. Antimicrobial agents are frequently used in hospital and household settings as a common means of decontamination, and are currently suspected to play a significant role in inducing bacterial antibiotic resistances. The aim of this study is to research the occurrence of antibiotic resistant bacteria in environment and to understand their antimicrobial resistance mechanisms. Our investigation began with the collection of 67 isolates from the environment and a subsequent investigation into the various antimicrobial resistances these organisms possessed. All collected isolates were cultured on properly agar for pure isolates and identified via standard biochemical procedures. Our results showed varying levels of resistances to both synthetic antimicrobial agents and antibiotics, with some isolates exhibiting resistance to multiple antibiotics. While we feel that these results indicate a possible relationship between the widespread use of disinfectants and the rise of antibiotic resistances, as well as highlight the possible future need of novel disinfectant/antibiotic methods and therapies, more research is still needed to understand their resistance mechanisms.

SHE7 Stella, Aaron, Shu-Feng Hsieh Clinical Laboratory & Nutritional Services AN HPLC METHOD TO LINK INTRACELLULAR OXIDATIVE DAMAGE IN ERYTHROCYTES TO EXTRACELLULAR OXIDATIVE DAMAGE ELICITED BY NANOMATERIALS (Advisors: Dhimiter Bello, Eugene Rogers and Daniel Schmidt)

RESEARCH SIGNIFICANCE: Engineered nanomaterials are growing in popularity, but may pose a health threat to humans and the environment. Specifically, nanomaterials have demonstrated the ability to cause oxidative stress in human blood serum. The ferric reducing ability of serum (FRAS) test was optimized by our laboratory to evaluate the the effect of nanomaterials on serum antioxidant capacity. We now introduce an HPLC technique to determine intracellular glutathione status in fresh erythrocytes after exposure to nanomaterials and evaluate possible links between intracellular and extracellular nanotoxicity testing. METHODS: Fresh erythrocytes, which accurately reflect intracellular glutathione status in humans, were exposed to several titanium dioxide nanomaterials. A strong reducing agent and a highly- specific thiol fluorescence derivitization reagent were utilized to quantitate endogenous reduced glutathione (GSH). Oxidative damage was then determined by measuring the conversion from total endogenous reduced glutathione (GSH) to oxidized glutathione disulfide (GS-SG) after exposure to titanium dioxide nanomaterials. RESULTS: The results indicate that some nanomaterials cause an increase in GS-SG while others are less reactive. Also, the results indicate that the HPLC method parallels the FRAS assay in terms of usefulness in determining oxidative stress in human biological systems. CONCLUSION: The new HPLC method for evaluating intracellular nanotoxicity demonstrates the ability to correlate with an established test for extracellular nanotoxicity, FRAS. Future work will continue to

‐ ‐ ‐ 36 ‐ compare HPLC erythrocyte oxidized/reduced glutathione results to FRAS results with more nanomaterials.

SHE8 Melo, Bianca Community Health & Sustainability UNIVERSITY STUDENTS' PERCEPTIONS ON FOOD QUALITY AND AVAILABILITY IN THEIR RESIDENTIAL CAMPUS DINING FACILITIES (Advisors: Leland Ackerson and Edwin Jahngen)

Recent reports have characterized the typical diets of college students as consisting heavily of sugar- sweetened beverages and foods high in sugar and fat. In addition, studies have found that there is little variety in foods consumed among students, with many individuals consuming few vegetables and fruits. The primary aim of this study is to investigate college students’ perceptions of available food options to determine how these perceptions affect their dietary choices. A secondary aim of this study is to establish to what extent students with dietary restrictions feel that residential dining facilities address their needs when selecting menu options. Results from focus groups consisting of full-time students residing on the University of Massachusetts Lowell’s East campus will be analyzed to provide a general assessment of student perceptions.

SHE9 Crotty, Sally Nursing RISK AND PROTECTIVE FACTORS INFLUENCING BINGE DRINKING AND HEALTH- RISK CONSEQUENCES (Advisor: Barbara Mawn)

Binge drinking among college students and its myriad health risk consequences is of critical concern to healthcare professionals working with college students across the nation. Despite the implementation of numerous programs designed to reduce this risky health behavior, binge drinking remains one of the leading problems on college campuses. Using a conceptual framework for adolescent risk behavior based on Problem Behavior Theory, the purpose of this study was to test the constructs of this complex theory, identifying environmental, individual differences and behavioral risk and protective factors as predictors of binge drinking. Using a retrospective, cross sectional design, this study used data from the spring 2008 American College Health Association National College Health Assessment representing over 80,000 college students from 106 institutions. Results from the structural equation models found the constructs of Individual Differences and Behavior accounted for significant variance in the prediction of binge drinking and health risk consequences. Results from the logistic regression model found protective factors included residing in a parent's home, being in a committed relationship, reporting a low number of academic impediments, having a previous diagnosis of depression, employment and participation in volunteer activities. Risk factors for binge drinking included smoking, the use of marijuana, cocaine or other drugs, Greek membership, having a high social norm perception of alcohol use on campus, and being in an emotionally abusive relationship. The results of this study could lead to the development of more appropriate policies, preventive education programs, screening methods and interventions that focus specifically on these risk and protective factors.

SHE10 Baltisberger, Nicholas, Amanda Lopes, Rebecca McCabe Physical Therapy THE EFFECT OF EXERCISEAND RELATION ON HEART RATE VARIABILITY IN THE YOUNG HIGHLY FUNCTIONING AUTISTIC POPULATION

‐ ‐ ‐ 37 ‐ (Advisor: Deirdra Murphy)

Purpose: The aim of this study was to assess the effect of an 8-week program with 6-week physical exercise and relaxation intervention on stress, as measured by heart rate variability in adolescents and young adults on the autism spectrum. Participants: Fourteen participants with ASD (14-24 years, mean age 17 years) participated in the program. Methods: The interdisciplinary program included 6 weeks of physical activity intervention, and 2 weeks for fitness assessment (weeks 1 and 8). The participants engaged in low-level exercises designed to improve fitness, balance, coordination, and posture. Participants also engaged in relaxation exercises and group activities designed to encourage social interactions. Participants were issued activity logs weekly to track any activity that they engaged in outside of the fitness program. Heart rate measurements were collected continuously using a chest strap Holter heart rate monitor during all sessions. Fitness levels were assessed before and after the program implementation. Analysis: Data analysis of HRV included transformation of log normal distributed dependent variables (hf and lf). Pre and post fitness measures were analyzed with a parametric t-test. Reported minutes on the activity logs were compared to the median values of seven selected fitness measures. Results: Preliminary results indicate an acute (session) response toward reduced sympathetic nervous system activation (reduced lf/hf ratio); and increased parasympathetic system activation (increased RMSSD). However, there does not seem to be a chronic adaptation toward increased overall relaxation response by the end of the 8-week intervention. Pre and post fitness data showed the greatest improvement in Mean Arterial Pressure (MAP). Conclusions: Our findings highlight the effectiveness of exercise and relaxation for improving symptoms of anxiety and stress among those with ASD. Implications: A greater emphasis on objective evaluations of similar non-pharmacological interventions is needed in the field to support individuals with ASD.

SHE11 Bertorelli, Laura, Amanda Bourgeois, Amanda J.H. Ricard Physical Therapy USE OF STATISTICS IN PHYSICAL THERAPY JOURNALS AND IMPLICATIONS FOR EVIDENCE-BASED PRACTICE (Advisor: Joyce White)

BACKGROUND: The American Physical Therapy Association has set the professional goal of evidence- based practice. Determination of best evidence is based upon critical appraisal of research literature, requiring a working knowledge of statistics and research design. OBJECTIVE: This study sought to determine and compare the most frequent statistics and designs used in physical therapy-specific journals. METHODS: All original articles from 1995 and 2009 in Physical Therapy, Physiotherapy, Journal of Orthopaedic and Sports Physical Therapy, and Journal of Physiotherapy were examined. The variables: year of publication, journal, types of statistics, research design, funding, sample size, hypothesis statement, and p-value were recorded. RESULTS: Articles in both 1995 and 2009 had descriptive statistics, p-values, ANOVA/ANCOVA, ICC, t-test, and post-hoc multiple comparisons among the ten most cited statistics. Pearson correlation and chi-square were included in 1995’s ten most cited list, while CI and measurement error were included in 2009’s ten most cited list. Significantly more articles contained statistics in 2009 (91%) than in 1995 (73%), and more statistical tests (1,610) were found in the 2009 articles than in the 1995 articles (841). A greater number of articles in 2009 (46%) reported funding than in 1995 (21.4%). Randomized controlled trials/true experiments and quasi-experiments were the two most frequent research designs in both years, while case-control, correlation/prediction, and systematic reviews/meta-analyses were significantly greater in 2009. CONCLUSIONS: Information from this study can assist in determining the content of research methods courses in entry-level physical therapy programs, and aid therapists in focusing their continuing education.

‐ ‐ ‐ 38 ‐ SHE12 Brady, Megan, Meghan Ierardi Physical Therapy TRIGGER FINGER TREATMENT: AN OUTCOMES STUDY (Advisor: Erika Lewis)

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to report on the outcomes of surgical intervention vs. non-surgical intervention for patients with trigger finger. Participants: Fourteen participants were included in the analysis of the study including 10 females and 4 males with a diagnosis of trigger finger at UMass Memorial Health Care, Worcester, MA. Methods: Participants were recommended treatment based on clinical evaluation and were assigned to one of six treatment groups. The three non-surgical groups consisted of A) injection and hand therapy, B) hand therapy only, and C) injection only. The fourth treatment group consisted of D) surgery only. The two newly added treatment groups since the initial research report of the study include E) modality hand therapy and F) injection and modality hand therapy. Procedure: An occupational therapist conducted the initial evaluation that included date of birth, date of onset, symptoms, treatment history, and past medical history. The four dependent variables that were measured to assess participant status included: pain, finger ROM, finger edema, and level of functional ability. The measurements were taken on the initial visit, then again at six-weeks, three-months and six- month follow-up. Data Analysis: The data was collected throughout seventeen months and was organized into a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet. Conclusions: The study’s findings demonstrated improvements in range of motion in all treatment groups. The greater the initial functional deficits, the decreased opportunity for return to normal, full functioning of the affected digit. Improvements in pain ratings and functioning were found in participants utilizing custom splints.

SHE13 Clark, Lyra, Michael Dellogono Physical Therapy LARGE MOLECULE RECOVERY DURING IN VITRO MICRODIALYSIS (Advisor: Danielle Day)

Microdialysis is a well-established technique used to sample the interstitial fluid of a diversity of human cells in vivo. This technique allows investigators to directly assess local cellular metabolism under homeostatic or experimental conditions through examination of the concentration of target analytes as indicated by their relative recovery (RR). However, one limitation of microdialysis is that the RR of large molecules is typically low due to net loss of perfusion fluid into the interstitial space. This effect is especially marked in the large membrane probes (100 kDa) required to sample larger hormones and cytokines. Prior studies have shown that addition of a colloid to the perfusate will prevent or minimize this fluid loss, consequently leading to higher RR. Previous research has examined the addition of Dextrans (10, 40, 70 kDa) and Albumin (bovine and human) to the perfusate. While both are effective at increasing analyte RR, their use has not been studied concurrently, therefore it is unknown which is more effective. Another method that has been shown to offset perfusion fluid loss is utilization of a push-pull pump. To establish the most efficacious procedure, we will compare the in vitro RR of several large molecules under the following experimental conditions: 1)Perfusion fluid without colloid, 2)Perfusion fluid + Dextran-80, 3)Perfusion fluid + Albumin, 4)Perfusion fluid + Dextran-80 and Albumin, 5) Push- pull pump. A constant perfusion rate and bath solution to simulate interstitial fluid will be used for all trials, and RR of target analytes will indicate which method is most efficient.

‐ ‐ ‐ 39 ‐ SHE14 Donigian, Laura, Julie Lorden, Matthew Read, Joshua Turner Physical Therapy PSYCHOLOGICAL AND PHYSIOLOGICAL BIOMARKERS OF STRESS AND PERFORMANCE IN A TRACK ATHLETE: A CASE STUDY (Advisor: Cynthia Ferrara)

The purpose of this study was to determine the association between changes in psychological and physiological biomarkers of stress and performance in a track athlete during his non-competitive and competitive seasons. Subject: One competitive track athlete was recruited to participate in a case study. Methods: During competitive and non-competitive seasons, the athlete submitted weekly saliva samples for the measurement of cortisol and perceived stress via completion of the Recovery –Stress Questionnaire (RESTQ-52, Kellman and Kallus, 2001). Data was analyzed using descriptive statistics, pooled t-tests, and Spearman correlations to determine differences between competitive and non- competitive seasons, and associations between perceived stress and physiologic stress. Results: There were no significant correlations between salivary cortisol levels and perceived stress measures (general stress, emotional exhaustion, and personal accomplishment) in either the competitive or noncompetitive season. Higher levels of cortisol were found during the competitive season, and more specifically, in the later part of the competitive season, when performance declined. Conclusion: Based on the results of this case study, salivary cortisol levels may not related to perceived stress levels measured using the RESTQ- 52. Further study is necessary to examine this question, with a larger number of subjects competing in a variety of sports.

SHE15 Niddrie, Rebecca, Courtney Larguinho, Svetlana Amitan Physical Therapy PREVALENCE OF FALLS, BALANCE CONFIDENCE LEVELS, AND FUNCTIONAL BALANCE SCORES IN HEALTHY COMMUNITY DWELLING OLDER ADULTS (Advisor: Susan O’Sullivan)

The objective of the study is to determine the relationship between balance confidence, functional balance and prevalence of falls among community dwelling older adults. The researchers hypothesized that there will be a relationship between these variables. Researchers predicted that fallers will have lower balance confidence and lower functional balance scores, compared to non-fallers. A total of 36 subjects- 17 fallers and 19 non-fallers aged 65 -94 were recruited from a senior center. The Activities-Specific Balance Confidence scale (ABC) was used to asses balance confidence. The Berg Balance Scale (BBS) and Tinetti Performance Oriented Mobility Assessment (POMA) were used to determine functional balance. The relationship between the ABC and the BBS for the whole group was significant (p=.000) with a correlation coefficient of .625. Relationships between the ABC and the POMA were significant (p=.001) with a correlation coefficient of .516. The relationship between the BBS and the POMA was significant (p=.000) with a correlation coefficient of .822. There was a significant relationship between fall status and the POMA and the Berg (p value of .001 and .008 respectively). The POMA was the only test that showed to have a significant relationship (p=.013) with fall status. The results of this study determine that there is a relationship between functional balance and balance confidence. This identifies the need for balance testing to include both activity participation and functional limitations when testing balance in community dwelling elders. Further research is needed to determine the relationship between fall status, functional balance and confidence levels.

‐ ‐ ‐ 40 ‐ SHE16 O’Connor, Heather, Samantha Sells Physical Therapy EVALUATION OF THE FLEXIBILITY AND STRENGTH OF GOLFERS AND THEIR RELATIONSHIP TO SWING MECHANICS AND MUSCULOSKELETAL INJURIES (Advisor: Gerard Dybel)

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to determine how core strength and flexibility affect the velocity of a golf swing and what influence these factors have on the increased risk of low back injuries. METHODS: Five male golfers between the ages of 16-22 participated in this study. Subjects completed a questionnaire regarding their golf experience and musculoskeletal injury history. Trunk and lower extremity strength and flexibility of each subject were evaluated. Each subject was videotaped with a high speed camera while completing three swings with a 5 iron golf club. DATA ANALYSIS: Correlation analysis was performed between club head angular velocity and hamstring flexibility, trunk rotation, and core strength to determine the relationship between the variables. RESULTS: There was a poor correlation of 0.12 between hamstring flexibility and club head velocity. Trunk rotation range of motion and club head velocity had a moderate correlation of -0.70. Lastly, core strength and club head velocity demonstrated a fair correlation of -0.43. CONCLUSION: Based on the results of this study, it cannot be concluded that core strength and bilateral hamstring flexibility had a positive impact on the angular velocity during the downswing. However, for these subjects, trunk rotation was negatively correlated with club head velocity. Due to the lack of injuries among participants it cannot be concluded that subjects having decreased core strength or increased trunk rotation range of motion will have a higher incidence of low back injury.

SHE17 Pruett, Michael Physical Therapy AN INTEGRATIVE LITERATURE REVIEW ON STUDENT STRESS IN THE PHYSICAL THERAPY PROGRAM, HOW IT IS MEASURED AND WHAT CAN BE DONE (Advisors: Sean Collins and Linda Kahn-D’Angelo)

Aim: To critique the evidence that attempts to measure, document, and describe Physical Therapy Student stress; look at what has been done to reduce that stress, to inform DPT students, educators, researchers and policy makers regarding the current literature and findings on these topics. Background: Student stress in the DPT curriculum is a recognized problem, but the amount of research and reviewed literature on the topic remains low. Little consistency exists concerning objective methods of stress measurement, differentiating between stressors and stress and exactly how to go about reducing PT student stress. Design: An integrated literature review. Method: Searches of the Cochrane Library, CINAHL, MEDLINE/PubMed,OVID UML Journals, HighWire Press, Sage Premier Journal Collection, Wiley Online Library, and Health Reference Center Academic, were conducted between May 2009 –Apr 2010. Included articles were reviewed and then synthesized into a summary that narrated all applicable findings. Results: Seven primary research studies were included and fell under one of four study designs: qualitative case study, descriptive correlational, quasi-experimental, exploratory and experimental. There is no consistent method for quantifying stress or its various dimensions neither reliable nor strong evidence for the efficacy of techniques to reduce stress. Unclear division between dimensions of academic stressors and stress contributes to this issue. Conclusions: Effort remains on defining PT student stress and standardizing methods to assess it; corresponding solutions and coping mechanisms are highly dependent on those efforts. Studies that focus on sources and magnitude of stress do less to incorporate PT student attitude and motivational factors, and studies that look at emotional management techniques, fail to appreciate psychological and physiological responses to multiple sources of stress. A more organized and structured approach towards this subject is required in order to establish a solid

‐ ‐ ‐ 41 ‐ foundation for future studies to build upon. This applies to defining, assessing individual responsibility, academic responsibility, and effective coping mechanisms. This is only possible if more quality research studies are conducted and published.

Community Engagement Panels

Panel 1: Service Learning Time and Location: 2:15-3:00, Hamilton Room Moderator: Michelle Holmberg

BUILDING IDENTITY: AN EXERCISE IN COMMUNICATION Presenters: Julie Mangan, Harrison Quinn, Mike Malloy (graduate students) Advisors: Pat Fontaine and Michaela Colombo, Graduate School of Education Course title: Curriculum and Instruction: History Partner: Bartlett Community Partnership School

Project description: Eight pre-service history teachers were paired with twelve middle school Cambodian-American students in an after school program at the Bartlett Community Partnership School in Lowell that lasted nine weeks. The purpose was for the graduate students to teach the middle school students Cambodian history, concentrating on the Cambodian genocide. The school administration felt that the middle school students chosen for the project were very disconnected from their familial identity as a result of their parents and grandparents lack of full disclosure about their lives in Cambodia under Pol Pot. Films, books, visuals, history lessons taught and especially interviews conducted of the Cambodian parents by the graduate students who lived through the killing fields will be displayed. The interviews were taped for StoryCorps, an organization that believes that Americans of all backgrounds and beliefs should have the opportunity to record, share, and preserve the stories of our lives. These tapes will be stored at the Library of Congress. This grant involved both service and learning by all participants.

Personal reflection: "First of all, the service learning project allowed each of us to study a topic that is not a part of the regular history curriculum. This aspect of the project not only enhanced our historical content knowledge but it also enabled us to become culturally responsive to the children we were teaching.

"I think what happens to a lot of people who grow up with dual cultures is that often one culture becomes dominant and the other becomes less and less prevalent. Hopefully this service learning project will decrease the effect of this."

KNOWING THE SELF: SELF ESTEEM, SELF AWARENESS, AND SELF WORTH Presenters: Elizabeth Sheils, Colleen Cusack (undergraduate students) Advisor: Nicole Champagne, Community Health and Sustainability Course title: Service Learning in Health Promotion Partner: EMARC

Project description: The mission of EMARC is to provide support and services for individuals with intellectual disabilities and their families. EMARC makes living, working, and having fun easier for individuals in Eastern Massachusetts. At the culmination of the 10 weeks, Liz and I left tangible products at EMARC to be reused and replicated. We created a curriculum that Life Skills instructors can use to help individuals develop self esteem, self awareness and self control. Our service at EMARC had a profound impact on Liz and I, as well as the community. Together we were able to create teaching tools and teaching methods that can be replicated. Our biggest impact, however, was that we worked to

‐ ‐ ‐ 42 ‐ empower individuals by addressing issues surrounding self worth and pride in oneself. Observing the classroom dynamics taught us how to interact with members of the target population and gave us an opportunity to develop relationships with the individuals that attend the day program.

This project offered a vast amount of professional preparation. Together we were given the opportunity to work with a new population and the chance to develop and implement lesson plans. We also gained experience with needs assessments through adapting curriculum methods to meets the needs of the target population. Skills that we executed included using professional communication with the preceptor, instructors, employees, and the individuals who attend EMARC's day program. In addition, we remained aware of varying maturity levels and cognitive abilities amongst the individuals when planning the programs. Skills that were enhanced through the project included additional experience in a professional setting, networking and interacting with other health care professionals.

Personal reflection: Service learning was very worthwhile because we were able to utilize professional skills, learn new skills and build upon those we already had. We both felt that experience was extremely positive. This provided us with many opportunities that a classroom experience could not provide, but must be learned through the application of knowledge and skills. We had the chance to gain confidence in our abilities, expand our social and professional network, expound upon creative freedom, and receive support and encouragement in our future endeavors. Most importantly though, we felt that our contribution were valuable and appreciated.

Panel 2: Volunteer Experience Time and Location: 2:15-4:00, Hamilton Room Moderator: Shawn Barry

LOWELL IMMERSION Presenters: Emily Punch, Trevor Cullen, Rebecca Walsh (undergraduate students) Advisors: Elaine Donnelly, Laura Edelman, Center for Family, Work and Community Partners: Lowell Transitional Living Center, Pawtucket Congregationalist Church, YMCA of Greater Lowell, Walter Denney Center of Dorchester, 119 Gallery

Project description: Lowell Immersion is an alternative spring break experience that gives students a chance to get involved within the Lowell community, learning about Lowell as well as socioeconomic and community issues. This trip also allows students to enhance their communication skills while forming bonds and working with other students and individuals. Getting involved in community service may seem like a very small contribution to society, but it truly does make a difference in many people's lives. Not only does improving a community directly benefit the community, it may also inspire others to get involved. By exposing others to knowledge of community issues, and gaining more awareness and support, major changes can be acted upon. Lowell Immersion of 2011 consisted of a four day, three night excursion within Lowell. Each day of the trip consisted of a different theme or community subject where the students were exposed to knowledge about that subject, and were able to act upon it with community service work.

The city of Lowell benefitted from the Lowell Immersion trip in a physical aspect, due to restoration and painting projects. Also, many people within Lowell benefited in an emotional or mental aspect due to the recognition of good people wanting to give to others. The students who did participate in Lowell Immersion all agreed that it was an incredible experience. Not only did the students make a difference within Lowell, they also allowed themselves to learn about each other, making new friends and gaining more self-assurance.

Personal reflection: Lowell Immersion was truly one of the most rewarding opportunities that I have experienced. By opening up my eyes to different people and community problems I was able to learn a lot

‐ ‐ ‐ 43 ‐ about not only Lowell, but about myself as well. By participating in Lowell Immersion, I clearly see now that getting involved within the community and working to better people's lives and health is something that I want to further dedicate my time and possibly career too. This experience was so inspiring to me; learning that the smallest thing can make a difference within another individual's life.

SPECIAL SPIRIT @ UML! Presenter: Todd Borchers (undergraduate student) Advisor: James Kohl, Residence Life Partners: Residence Life and New Hampshire Special Olympics

Project description: Special Spirit @ UML! is a project I created to give Special Olympic athletes the equality and equity of being able to play sports in a 'college-like' environment. The goal of this program is to have the teams have the main focus of the crowd and surrounding environment and be recognized for their efforts for the sport they put many hours of hard work in practice for.

These athletes deserve the proper recognition for their efforts and should be able to perform for crowds as other athletic teams do. So, for the Special Spirit program, the athletes will have the full experience of a college or professional game. For example, the athletes will have colorful flyers advertising before the event, greeted with attractive posters and decorations for the game, announcer player introductions, special apparel to wear, cheerleaders, mascots, an exciting halftime show, and most importantly a packed gymnasium with fans just for them!

Personal reflection: I personally have been involved with the New Hampshire Special Olympics program for several years now. I have the enjoyment of head coaching the basketball team for my high school, Pinkerton Academy of Derry, NH. Although my team has been extremely successful playing the sport capturing 6 gold medals at the State Special Olympics games, the most important part is making sure the athletes are enjoying themselves and having fun. One thing I have noticed through the years is that even though the teams are amazing, the room in the gymnasium, and the attendance is not something I have been satisfied with. The courts are insufficient to hold many fans and the only people having the opportunity to watch the games are parents and volunteers. These athletes deserve the best, and they might be getting the equality of getting a chance to play the game, but my vision is the equity of having the opportunity to fill a gymnasium and have the full experience of the sport. Special Spirit will provide these athletes with a well-organized 'college-like' environment to play their sport in, and make this dream come true. Panel 3: Internships, Practica, Community Coops Time and Location: 3:15-4:00, Hamilton Room Moderator: Molly Berry

A CREATIVE APPROACH TO SUSTAINABILITY Presenter : Dimitrios Booras (undergraduate student) Advisor: John Wooding, Political Science Partner: Cultural Organization of Lowell - COOL

Project description: The first step to having a sustainable society is recognizing the need for sustainability and as part of this, communities must respect and appreciate their environment. 'Riverfest: Art Goes Green' on June 12, 2010 was an event designed to achieve this goal in the City of Lowell. Sustainability can be broken down into three E's: ecology, economy and equity. This project focused on the first E of sustainability, ecology, and how sustainable ecological practices promote the health of a surrounding community. 'Riverfest: Art Goes Green' also stressed the often forgotten fourth E of sustainability, education. Only by having others understand the benefits of sustainability can we hope to have a sustainable society.

‐ ‐ ‐ 44 ‐ I acted as project manager for the temporary public art component of 'Riverfest: Art Goes Green.' As project manager, my duties included collaborating with the Lowell National Historical Park and Lowell Canalwaters Cleaners to organize canal cleanups in the City of Lowell; overseeing the creation of a sculpture by an artist, Bill Turville, and Lowell High School art students; and teaching the students and other members of the community about the necessity of a sustainable society. The materials used by Turville and the students were debris retrieved during the canal cleanups. This sculpture remained on display for a period of five months and during this time acted as a reminder that communities can harm the local ecology as well as protect it. 'Riverfest: Art Goes Green' represented what communities can do to step towards becoming a sustainable society.

Personal reflection: I realized little needs be done to motivate a community to action. When this project was proposed, high school art students were hooked. When word of canal cleanups spread, environmentalists responded. When the sculpture was being put into place on the day of the event, entire families offered helping hands. These students, environmentalists and families were all members of a community and 'Riverfest: Art Goes Green' made them realize they are members of the same community. Once the project was completed I recognized I did not oversee the creation of an art piece; I oversaw the uniting of a community.

NEIGHBORCIRCLES: WORKING TOGETHER FOR BETTER NEIGHBORHOODS IN LOWELL Presenters: Johana Reyes Quinteros (graduate student), Robyn Long-Navas (community partner) Advisor: Meg Bond, Community Social Psychology Partner: Coalition for a Better Acre (CBA)

Project description: NeighborCircles (NC) is a series of three house meetings with neighbors, who come together to talk, share a meal and get to know each other. Through facilitated discussions, neighbors build relationships; discuss issues in their neighborhood and work together to address them. The main goal of NeighborCircles is to strengthen relationships, build trust between neighbors and empower residents to be leaders in community revitalization.

The learning outcomes on the context of my participation in NC were 1) program planning and development, 2) community organizing and coalition Building, and 3) community assessment and program evaluation. To achieve the first competence I worked closely with my supervisor to develop an overall plan for the project and I worked actively in its implementation by setting up, facilitating and evaluating each NC meeting. In order to achieve the second competence, I worked on developing strategies to identify and recruit participants, hosts and facilitators for the Circles. I got involved in doing outreach in the community working with neighborhood groups and other grass root organizations. I also worked on strategies to keep participants of NeighborCircles involved throughout the whole NeigborCircle process so that they could generate fruitful discussions about how they can assess the issues in their community that affect them. Finally, to accomplish the last competence related to community assessment and program evaluation I collaborated on the development of an evaluation plan to assess the qualitative and quantitative outcomes of the program.

Personal reflection: Based on my personal involvement in the implementation of NeighborCircles(NC) I can say that this is indeed a project that works. Despite the fact that this is an initiative that The Coalition for a Better Acre just started last September, we have accomplished important results particularly in terms of how the NC process is impacting residents in Lowell. Participants of our NCs have gained more trust in each other and are developing relationships of friendship. Most importantly, participants recognized in NC an opportunity to build community and to create small changes that can be seen for other members of their communities. This is, I think, the base for larger involvement in

‐ ‐ ‐ 45 ‐ community revitalization and people's empowerment.

Community Engagement Poster Session

Poster Presentation Key: SL: Service Learning Course RA/CW: Research Assistantship or Campus Work HT: Honors Thesis VOL: Volunteer Experience PR/INT/COOP: Practicum, Internship, or COOP Programs

Service Learning

Service Learning is a teaching and learning strategy that connects meaningful service, addressing a real community need, with course learning objectives and integrates student reflection to enrich the learning experience, teach civic responsibility, and strengthen communities.

SL1 Abreu, Marlene, Pascale Jean-Jacques PARTNERSHIP FOR A HEART HEALTHY AND STROKE FREE MA HEALTH COMMUNICATIONS PROJECT Community Health and Sustainability: Health Education (Advisor: Suzanne Nobrega) Service Learning Course

Our goal for this service learning project was to develop the partnership’s first newsletter featuring information relevant to their members such as upcoming events and educational resources. For the development of these newsletters, students contacted fellow partnership members for suggestions as what they wanted featured. Some did not reply, but others provided useful resources. Based on what was sent to us, we researched the information further and developed articles based on our findings. By the end of this service learning project, we had one newsletter ready to be published for this season and a second newsletter ready for next season. Since there are other events going on before publishing the newsletter for next season, what we put together may be altered. Prior to beginning the newsletter, a final contact sheet was developed though the contacts from previous conferences. Having one contact sheet made it easier to get an accurate count of how many people were on this list and will make it easier in the future when adding additional members.

SL2 Akroyd, Kaitlynne, Ariel Werbicki THE GREAT INTERNATIONAL WALKING MATCH: CHARLES DICKENS VISITS BOSTON English (Advisor: Diana Archibald) Service Learning Course

This project has been ongoing since Summer 2010, when Kaitlynne was working on it for Fall 2010 practicum. During this time, Kaitlynne did initial research for “The Great International Walking Match” and other Dickens information. In the Fall of 2010, Ariel and Kaitlynne worked on this project even more in a class with Professor Archibald. During this class, more research was done about the event, more brainstorming was done, and they both wrote grant proposals. These grant proposals were to help gather money for the exhibit and re-enactment. Now that Spring 2011 is here, Ariel and Kaitlynne are still

‐ ‐ ‐ 46 ‐ furthering their knowledge about Charles Dickens and his voyages to America for practicum credit. “The Great International Walking Match” has officially been selected to be exhibited in the Lowell National Historical Park and the organization of the 2012 walk re-enactment is still underway.

SL3 Baldwin, Greg, Jacquelyn Zani BRIDGING THE GAP: USING COMMUNICATION TO CREATE CROSS-CULTURAL AWARENESS English (Advisor: Diana Archibald) Service Learning Course

Our work began with a Community Writing Lab course in the English department in the spring semester of 2010. We worked in conjunction with the Village Empowerment project, using a wide array of communication methods to document projects in other parts of the world. We also assisted volunteers with travel, communication, and establishing goodwill between Village Empowerment and the people they work with. We began the course by revising the manual used by Village Empowerment to educate its volunteers on the trip to Peru. We then helped to establish the new partnership between Village Empowerment and the Toho O'odham nation in Arizona. We employed written, audio, and visual forms of media to assist Village Empowerment in communicating with the Tohono O'odham people, and educating participants on the nature of the project. At present, we are continuing the work we began in this course through directed studies in the English and Gender Studies programs. We are developing a handbook specifically for the participants going to Arizona, and we are studying the cooking practices of women on the Tohono O'odham reservation to determine whether or not new solar cooking technology would integrate successfully with the O'odham way of life. We are also continuing to assist the Village Empowerment project in its communications by creating a how-to video for this new solar technology, which will help students on the O'odham reservation learn how to construct and implement this project on the reservation.

SL4 Banda, Angelee M. NUTRITION EDUCATION EXPERIENCE AT LOWELL COMMUNITY CHARTER SCHOOL Clinical Laboratory and Nutritional Sciences (Advisor: Mindy Dopler Nelson) Service Learning Course (Senior Research Project)

The main focus of my senior research project was to introduce fourth grade students to healthy eating to reduce the risk of becoming an obese adolescent and to minimize risk of developing Type II Diabetes, which is becoming prevalent in youth. Significant tasks of this research were to determine how to effectively communicate nutrition to children and find out what is important to them in order to make the information relevant. Information in this area was obtained from websites for nutrition professionals, such as Eatright.org and UC Davis. Throughout the semester I designed a curriculum which targets a fourth grade audience, incorporating nutrition knowledge with learning exercises that stimulate healthy choices in daily eating. This project benefits the class with updated facts about nutrition and also taught me how to better organize and prepare information learned through both research and in the classroom. I will be a guest speaker at the Lowell Community Public School on April 15, 2011 where I will teach nutrition to a fourth grade class. I hope to learn how this group of students I talk with responds in relation to what research has shown.

‐ ‐ ‐ 47 ‐ SL5 Bratt, Lorna, Jason Hebert, Erica Lavoie, Alexandra Lamont COMBATING MALARIA IN RURAL GHANA Community Health and Sustainability, Nursing (Advisor: Valerie King) Service Learning Course

Though nearly unknown in the United States, malaria is a major killer in many less developed countries. Annual malaria cases are 247 million per year with 212 million of those occurring in Africa. 801,000 people die annually in Africa secondary to malaria and 85% of deaths in children under five years old results from malaria in Africa. The goal of our service project was to visit Ghana and reduce the morbidity and mortality associated with malaria. Through partnering with a local Ghanaian organization, a group of ten nursing students, with a registered nurse, and an advanced practice nurse faculty member, we traveled on behalf of the University of Massachusetts Lowell Nursing Department to make a difference. We visited a rural village and taught women with children, or of child-bearing age, about malaria, how to avoid the disease, assessing for symptoms, how to take a child’s temperature, how to hang a bed net, and when to seek medical treatment. We distributed thermometers and long lasting insecticide treated bed nets to the women and evaluated their learning following our project. Our project empowered the women with knowledge of the disease, prevention, and healing their children when they become ill. Changes will not appear in international statistics through just our trip, but thirty families are now sleeping under bed nets and hopefully avoiding malaria due to our nursing actions.

SL6 Abankwa, Daniel, Colleen Cusack, Thomas DeSalvo, Pascale Jean-Jacques, Jimmy Le SURVEY OF TOBACCO-RELATED ATTITUDES AND BEHAVIORS OF UMASS LOWELL STUDENTS Community Health and Sustainability: Introduction to Epidemiology (Advisor: Leland Ackerson) Service Learning Course

Community Health and Nutrition students in the Introduction to Epidemiology course teamed up with the community preceptors to assess tobacco-related attitudes and behaviors of UMass Lowell students. As more universities are going smoke and tobacco free to promote healthier campuses, University Health Services wanted to measure the attitudes of students at UMass Lowell regarding this topic. In order to gather this data, we created and administered a survey to all UMass Lowell students. After the survey was completed, the Epidemiology students analyzed the qualitative and quantitative data, interpreted the data and wrote a report of the results. University Health Services is using this report to plan future activities designed to create a campus atmosphere more amenable to becoming a tobacco-free campus. They are also using the results to advocate going smoke free with university policymakers and the wider community. The results also shed light on barriers that current tobacco users face regarding their smoking habits as well as problems that nonsmokers face regarding breathing second hand smoke on campus.

SL7 Gao, Fan "COFFEE HUSK DRYING" PROJECT IN CHEMICAL ENGINEERING: A SERVICE- LEARNING CASE STUDY Chemical Reaction Engineering (Advisors: Zhiyong Gu, Raul Raudales, Richard Trubey, Linda Barrington, Alfred Donatelli and John Duffy) Service Learning Course

‐ ‐ ‐ 48 ‐ A coffee husk drying service-learning project was initiated in the "Chemical Reaction Engineering" course in the Department of Chemical Engineering in collaboration with the staff from Mesoamerican Development Institute (MDI), with a unique focus with direct industrial relevance and cross-cultural aspects. The approach is based on renewable energy technology designed for cooperatives of coffee producers. Hybrid solar/biomass coffee drying systems allow using the gasification of coffee husks to provide thermal energy. The technology reduces energy costs and eliminates the use of firewood in coffee drying, which otherwise contributes significantly to deforestation throughout coffee growing regions. In this project, several groups were formed with different focuses of the gasification process. Feedback was provided to the students to increase their understanding of the process and its relevance to the course content. The student input has accelerated the design, testing, and implementation cycle for the drying system. The project also increased student interest and motivation and facilitated student participation and involvement in a real world problem.

SL8 Gelinas, Sean TOXIC WASTE SITES EFFECTS ON COMMUNITY HEALTH Community Health and Sustainability (Advisors: Mansoureh Tajik, Nicole Champagne) Service Learning Course

The goal of the service learning project was to explore the impacts of living near toxic waste sites on health, stress, quality of life, and risk perception of the residents in Tewksbury and Wilmington, Massachusetts. This goal will be met by conducting a series of open-ended, in-depth interviews with residents who live near known toxic waste sites in Tewksbury and Wilmington that are currently experiencing health problems perceived by them to be caused by the potential exposure to toxic waste sites. The student's roles within the project were to develop a recruitment brochure, an interview guide, and the Institutional Review Board application for working with human subjects. The student's also conducted the interviews with participants living in the community near the toxic waste site. The research investigation is currently still underway, and some of the students, including myself, are continuing to conduct interviews with volunteer participants. Once the interviewing is completed, the data will be analyzed and an abstract will be submitted to the Annual Massachusetts Statewide Undergraduate Research Conference in 2011 and participate as co-authors of the manuscript.

SL9 Ferullo, Melinda, Colin Costello, Hugo Ortega, Nick Schwartz, Stephanie Allen, Susannah Barnes, Christopher Soldi, Martin Guay, David Nader, Keith Kady, Jhony Valez, Yansel Abreu, James A. Joseph, Gary Jean-Joseph, Maria Vidal, Jennifer L. Greene FLUID MECHANICS PHENOMENA: CREATE, DEMONSTRATE, & DONATE Civil and Environmental Engineering: Fluid Mechanics (Advisor: Kenneth Lee) Service Learning Course

This Service-Learning project involved several steps. First, the Fluid Mechanics students worked in collaborative groups to discuss various ways to design and construct an apparatus that would demonstrate a fluid mechanics phenomenon which are observable occurrences in our everyday surroundings. Common materials found in local stores including recycled materials were required to be used in the construction of the apparatuses. After the apparatuses were designed, they had to be tested to ensure that they worked correctly, presented in Fluid Mechanics class, and each group submitted a ten page paper describing the project. Additionally, each group had to contact science professors from local high schools or community colleges in order to allow for the demonstration of the apparatuses to their students. Once the

‐ ‐ ‐ 49 ‐ demonstrations were completed, the apparatuses were donated to the classrooms for use by their present and upcoming students.

SL10 Hale, Elisabeth A GALA EVENT: FUNDRAISING, REPORTING, IMPROVING Sociology: Learning from the Field (Advisor: Charlotte Ryan) Service Learning Course

Agencia Alpha's 9th Anniversary Fundraising Event is to be held on April 7, 2011. My initial responsibility working with Agencia Alpha was to provide additional labor power for their already existing planning team. My responsibilities extended into the following: 1) Do as much prep work as I can for fund-raiser including writing invitation letters to the consulates and support request letters to the sponsors. 2) Create templates as I go to help next-year's intern. 3) Attend April 7th fundraising event helping them keep track of who comes (keep list of donors, sponsors, ticket buyers, vs. attendees). 4) Think through how to take photos of event without identifiable faces. 5) Work through media release forms with leadership. 6) Write up and provide a report for them on what I did, what I learned, and what could be done differently next year given more time/labor.

SL11 Hillard, Mallory PERSON CENTERED PLANNING: CREATING A LIFE OF VALUE AND AUTONOMY Psychology: Integrative Field Work in Developmental Disabilities (Advisor: Katherine Fox) Service Learning Course

"Person Center Planning: Creating a Life of Value and Autonomy" focuses on a person who is developmentally disabled and receives support services from an agency. The primary focus of this project was to design a plan that is centered around the individuals' capacities rather than focusing on their deficiencies. In doing this, we are able to promote change and create an environment that is beneficial to the individual.

For this project my focus person was an 18 year old man who has profound developmental impairments. He was in a period of his life where there was a great deal of transition occurring and it was significantly impacting his behaviors and ability to progress. In order to aid him though this process of transition, I worked with his mother and other support members to help him engage in social interactions, strengthen relationships as well as improve basic life skills such as hygiene and communication. We created a Person Centered Plan through conducting a capacity search which allowed us to navigate aspects that bring out the best in him as well factors that do not. From the capacity search we then developed a set of maps regarding areas of his life that needed improvement along with a set of goals and outcomes related to improving his overall quality of life. In total this Person Centered Planning Process promoted autonomy, reduced stigma and gave my individual a sense of value that he may not have experienced with out this project.

SL12 Hillard, Mallory, Katrina Greenhalgh "KIDS CAN'T FLY" WINDOW SAFETY AND FALL PREVENTION CAMPAIGN Community Health and Sustainability: Service Learning In Health Promotion (Advisor: Nicole Champagne)

‐ ‐ ‐ 50 ‐ Service Learning Course

The "Kids Can't Fly" Window Safety Campaign was first founded by the Boston Public Health Commission in an effort to promote window safety among the City of Boston. The City of Lowell adopted the campaign in partnership with Lowell General Hospital, Saints Memorial Medical Center, Trinity EMS, Lowell Health Department, and Lowell Housing Authority to promote window safety throughout the community.

In order to promote the "Kids Can't Fly" campaign we were responsible for the research and development of the health promotion materials regarding window safety. As interns on the campaign we were required to develop visual communications such as brochures, fact sheets, power points and display boards. We worked in coalition with the Lowell General Hospital to expand "Kids Can't Fly" and establish a uniform campaign that is able to be recognized throughout the City of Lowell. Much of the work that we did as student interns was to prepare for the promotion of "Kids Can't Fly" which will be launched in the spring of 2011. Throughout this service learning experience we put forth great efforts to continuously assess and revise the educational materials to meet the needs of our target population and ensure efficiency. The primary purpose of our Service Learning experience was to promote the growth and develop of the "Kids Can't Fly" educational campaign through creating materials and resources that are creative, organized and effective for the target population. We hope that through our efforts we were able to promote a safer and healthier community.

SL13 Bernier, Melissa, Kelly Britton, Amanda Cincotta, Kim Cook, Laila Charmchi, Lauren Horgan IMPROVING NUTRITIONAL HEALTH IN THE CHILDREN OF GHANA Nursing: Community Health Project / Nursing Students without Borders (Advisor: Valerie King) Service Learning Course

Ghana is a developing nation with limited resources and education. Working with the community of Peki, a community assessment was done to determine health needs. Poor childhood nutrition was found to be a major health issue that led to developmental problems and disease. This project was developed to teach the children of Peki about nutrition and maintaining a healthy lifestyle. The project was conducted in a small one-room schoolhouse in Peki. The population consisted of children ranging from ages four to seventeen. The intervention consisted of a lesson plan that was implemented through verbal communication as well as the use of visual charts and written information. The children were taught about the five food groups in accordance with USDA (United States Department of Agriculture) standards. They were also taught about local foods available to them and the health benefits of these foods. In addition, the children were taught that hand washing and exercise contribute to a healthy lifestyle. At the end of the lesson, the children were given a project in which they created a “healthy plate of food”. The results of this project show how education can be used as an intervention for health issues. The children were receptive to the education and eager to learn about nutrition. The effectiveness was seen through the children being able to recognize healthy foods and positive feedback from the nurse at the local clinic. This project was created to teach children about nutrition and ultimately lead to longer and healthier lives.

SL14 Houde, Courtney, Amy Fenton, Emily Strachan, Dan Keeney PROMOTING PEACEFUL RESOLUTION TO CONFLICT WITH HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS Regional Economic and Social Development - Peace and Conflict Studies Graduate Certificate (Advisor: David Turcotte) Service Learning Course

‐ ‐ ‐ 51 ‐ The purpose of our project was to engage a community partner where there may be conflict issues and apply what we learned in the classroom to help resolve the conflict. We chose to work with youth in the city of Lowell due to an uprising in youth violence. We connected with the Lowell High School (LHS) Freshman Academy. Our group met with the dean of the school and discussed what issues she felt were the most serious issues facing the kids and how she would like us to address them. The main issues were bullying and physical fights during after school hours. Our group decided to design 45 minute long workshops focusing on the following issues: anti-bullying, conflict resolution, de-escalation of situations that could turn violent, equality, empathy and social justice. The workshops lasted for one class session in every classroom reaching every freshman student. Our workshops were based on the Help Increase the Peace Program curriculum. Our goal was to get our message across to all freshmen and in doing so, decrease bullying and increase peaceful alternatives to conflict. We also wanted to increase students’ empathy and understanding of one another. We hoped to encourage students to take advantage of the peer mediation program at LHS. We distributed confidential surveys at the end of each workshop to collect feedback about satisfaction and helpfulness of the workshop. We had some follow up meetings and have established strong peer mediation connections. Student from UML have followed up with internships.

SL15 Lamont, Alexandra, Jason Hebert, Lorna Bratt, Erica Lavoie, Lauren Horgan, Laila Charmchi, Kelly Britton, Kim Cook, Melissa Bernier, and Amanda Cincotta WORKING TO MAKE A CHANGE IN GHANA, AFRICA Nursing: Community Health Project /Nursing Students without Borders (Advisor: Valerie King) Service Learning Course

Nursing Students without Borders (NSWB) traveled to Ghana in January 2011 for sixteen days with the with the goal of making a difference in the health of the people in Ghana. With the assistance of Clinical Assistant Professor Valerie King and UML nursing alumna Maura Norton, ten undergraduate nursing students were able to provide care to those in need by participating in several community health promotion projects and donating supplies. Months before departing to Ghana, NSWB received supplies from local hospitals and businesses for donations to the hospitals, clinics and orphanages in Ghana. Items collected or purchased prior to our departure where clothing, toys, toiletries, medical supplies and medications. NSWB also participated in several projects during this service learning experience; the major one was the blood pressure clinics that were held in several small villages, where the local Ghanaians had little to no access to healthcare due to location and cost. Patients underwent blood pressure screening by UML nursing students and teaching about the methods to prevent and treat hypertension. If needed, medications were also disbursed under the direction of the faculty. Another project that was implemented was related to malaria education where the students educated a local community of mothers on the importance of malaria prevention as well as distributed insecticide treated bed nets to approximately 35 mothers. A nutrition education project was delivered to school-aged children, emphasizing proper nutrition as well as ways to maintain healthy. Our brief time in Ghana allowed us to deliver nursing care to a wide range of people from infants to adults. This experience served the people of Ghana, but also helped to enrich our own nursing education.

SL 16 Light, Kristin, Jaime Hadley ARE YOU FEELING THE EFFECTS OF STRESS? WE CAN HELP! Community Health and Sustainability: Service Learning in Health Promotion (Advisor: Nicole Champagne) Service Learning Course

‐ ‐ ‐ 52 ‐ The goals of this service learning project were to help increase knowledge about stress in the workplace and provide suggestions for healthier living to employees of Lowell General Hospital. Tactics to reduce the current level of stress felt by the employees were offered. The project helped to educate and provide resources to both employees at LGH and others who were concerned about their stress level and the effects stress has on the body. As part of this effort, a roughly 30 minute webinar was planned, produced and recorded, entitled “Stress and You.” Recruitment of employees and others to listen to the webinar was done through a visual communication board. A variety of short, “Tips of the Week”, were published for the weekly employee newsletter, “Heartbeat.” These “Tips of the Week,” focused on the reduction of workplace stress, work-life balance, indoor fitness for winter and reducing fat by remodeling recipes. Finally, healthy recipes to make during SuperBowl season were provided to the employees.

The Health and Wellness Department will continue to offer employees and others the opportunity to listen to the webinar. The department will also continue to offer support to the employees and surrounding communities regarding the reduction of stress in the workplace. Lowell General Hospital provides a wide variety of workshops that are both educational and enjoyable. Other workshops include topics such as: getting ready for a baby, heart health, healthy aging, family health, and many more.

SL 17 Mangan, Julie, Harrison Quinn, Tim Hirsch, Mike Malloy, Alessandro Cornelio, Nick Bergeron, Jonathon Almon, Glen Gallagher and Andrew Genovese BUILDING IDENTITY: EXERCISES IN COMMUNICATION Graduate School of Education (Advisor: Pat Fontaine) Service Learning Course

Eight pre-service history teachers were paired with twelve middle school Cambodian-American students in an after school program at the Bartlett Community Partnership School in Lowell that lasted nine weeks. The purpose of the grant was for the graduate students to teach the middle school students Cambodian history, concentrating on the Cambodian genocide. The school administration felt that the middle school students chosen for the project were very disconnected from their familial identity as a result of their parents and grandparents lack of full disclosure about their lives in Cambodia under Pol Pot. Films, books, visuals, history lessons taught and especially interviews conducted of the Cambodian parents by the graduate students who lived through the killing fields will be displayed. The interviews were taped for StoryCorps, an organization that believes that Americans of all backgrounds and beliefs should have the opportunity to record, share, and preserve the stories of our lives. These tapes will be stored at the Library of Congress. This grant involved both service and learning by all participants.

SL18 McLaren, Jaye, Megan Brady, Meghan Ierardi, Michael Pruett INTERDISCIPLINARY COMMUNITY BASED EXERCISE AND SOCIAL SUPPORT PROGRAM Physical Therapy (Advisors: Deirdra Murphy and Andrew Hostetler) Service Learning

Psychology students and faculty collaborated with physical therapy students to create a community-based exercise program for seniors. Through focus groups held in the fall at the Lowell Senior Center, seniors were able to express their opinions and experiences about past exercise programs while making suggestions for the future program. The focus groups provided information on creating a senior exercise program that addresses the varying physical abilities of each senior while paying particular attention to incorporating social support and a community atmosphere. More specifically, this project aimed to assess

‐ ‐ ‐ 53 ‐ the physical therapy students’ capacity for addressing the social, emotional, and physiological needs of seniors while developing the exercise program. Ideally, throughout the duration of the program, the facilitators learned from the community and across disciplines in the development of a physical activity program that addresses the social and emotional needs in addition to the physiologic needs for community dwelling seniors.

SL19 Ross, Heather, Meagan Guy, Lindsi Panarelli, Ali Ferraro, Katie Enaire, Rachel Schafler, Samantha Macy, Elyssa Boris EAT WELL. LIVE BETTER. IMPROVING HEALTHY DINING OPTIONS AT UML Sociology: Public Sociology (Advisors: Charlotte Ryan and Juan Cruz) Service Learning Course

Eat Well Live Better, a UML-based working group, documented the nutritional facts for all soups offered in a two-week span in the UML Dining Services. We were able to provide substantial evidence that the sodium levels within the soups are well beyond what the F.D.A. recommends for a single serving (1 cup/8oz.). Also taken into consideration was the number of calories per serving. The sodium to caloric ratio was calculated to properly assess if the soup could be labeled healthy or not. The sodium to caloric ratio should be no higher than 3:1, but results found that roughly 70% of soups offered exceeded the 3:1 ratio, labeling these soups as unhealthy. Eat Well Live Better met with Mill City Restaurant Location Manager Juan Cruz to discuss these findings and ways in which they can improve the health of their diners. Cruz was taking action during the winter break, aiming to improve his menu and sodium levels for the start of the 2011 spring semester. All information was based on a 2,000 calorie diet, and 2,300mg sodium daily intake, numbers given by the F.D.A.’s dietary guidelines.

SL20 Saad, Jessica, Sabrina Lozandieu WHAT GIRLS CAN DO WITH "HEALTHY YOU!" Community Health and Sustainability: Service Learning in Health Education (Advisor: Nicole Champagne) Service Learning Course

Healthy You! is a curriculum that provides the girls at Girls Inc. with healthy values that they can maintain throughout their lives. All girls are eligible to participate in the program; however, on average each class contained around twelve girls between five and eighteen. Healthy You! consists of ten lesson plans that include important topics such as healthy eating, stress relief methods, and increasing physical activity. It is important to the staff that each topic of Healthy You! be included in each lesson plan. The idea is to continuously reinforce what it means to be a "healthier you" so there will be much higher likelihood that the girls retain the information that is being provided to them. Much of Healthy You! is hands on as a way to keep the girls involved and increasing participation. We would generally introduce each lesson plan with stress relieving methods and have a review of what it means to be stressed as well as different ways to manage it. We would then transition to the physical activity portion where the girls would stand up and participate in a fun exercise in which the girls could stay moving and play. Each program would end with a fun and interactive healthy snack. Every lesson plan contained a different activity for each topic where the girls could use their own uniqueness and individuality so that they become a "Healthy You!"

‐ ‐ ‐ 54 ‐ SL21 Sheils, Elizabeth, Colleen Cusack KNOWING THE SELF: SELF ESTEEM, SELF AWARENESS, AND SELF WORTH Community Health and Sustainability: Service Learning in Health Promotion (Advisor: Nicole Champagne) Service Learning Course

At the culmination of the 10 weeks, Liz and I left tangible products at EMARC to be reused and replicated. We created a curriculum that Life Skills instructors can use to help individuals develop self esteem, self awareness and self control. Our service at EMARC had a profound impact on Liz and I, as well as the community. Together we were able to create teaching tools and teaching methods that can be replicated. Our biggest impact, however, was that we worked to empower individuals by addressing issues surrounding self worth and pride in oneself. Observing the classroom dynamics taught us how to interact with members of the target population and gave us an opportunity to develop relationships with the individuals that attend the day program.

This project offered a vast amount of professional preparation. Together we were given the opportunity to work with a new population and the chance to develop and implement lesson plans. We also gained experience with needs assessments through adapting curriculum methods to meets the needs of the target population. Skills that we executed included using professional communication with the preceptor, instructors, employees, and the individuals who attend EMARC's day program. In addition, we remained aware of varying maturity levels and cognitive abilities amongst the individuals when planning the programs. Skills that were enhanced through the project included additional experience in a professional setting, networking and interacting with other health care professionals.

SL22 Vaillancourt, Keith D., Charles Melchin HOMEBUYER’S EDUCATION WORKS!: THE PREVENTION OF FORECLOSURE AND THE DEVELOPMENT OF COMMUNITY ASSETS Regional Economic and Social Development Graduate Program (Advisor: David Turcotte) Service Learning Course

The objective was to determine how effectively Lawrence Community Work’s (LCW) first-time homebuyer’s educational program worked and what homeowner needs were being addressed.

Step process: Two data sets from two different time periods of homeowners and homebuyers who participated in the program were provided to us in Excel format (totaling four different sheets and thousands of names/addresses/properties). The data for sorted and formatted, while research was done regarding specific real estate and program terminology. Chuck updated the current status of homeowners and properties by researching deeds and mortgages by hand at the Registry of Deeds in Lawrence, or through the electronic registries. At this time, Keith was prepping and formatting the data to be used for GIS mapping, as well as, locating the necessary street file sets of Lawrence from the Massachusetts GIS data bank. Chuck would update mortgage, homeowner and real estate information, as well as, cross-check names and crucial dates for when homeowners participated in the program and the results of their real estate holdings over a span of two to five years. When each section was completed, Keith would process and trouble shoot the data in a GIS program to generate maps of property locations and status (foreclosed, order of notice, sold) throughout Lawrence, as well as, where program participants bought new homes across the state.

‐ ‐ ‐ 55 ‐ Final results: Maps and data-sets were used in a yearly compact assessment, program report and brochure. Two of LCW’s data sets were consolidated and updated by LCW with the information provided.

SL23 Vincent, Greta, Margarida Bernardo, Alec Garabedian, Margaret Maron, Charles Miller, Ashley Nehiley UMASS LOWELL STUDENTS THINK PINK: A COMMUNITY NURSING OUTREACH PROJECT Nursing: Community Health Project (Advisors: Alison Basmajian and Valerie King) Community Health Promotion Project

The purpose of our Community Senior Nursing project was to increase awareness about breast cancer and breast cancer screening in Dracut. Our objective was to educate the women of Dracut about breast cancer screening and early detection methods. Our community assessment indicated that the rate of breast cancer deaths in Dracut was 66.7 compared to the state average of 22.1 (Mass Chip data). Dracut currently has no public health nurse. Our target population is Dracut women of all ages. The project was implemented at the Dracut high school craft fair on March 5, 2011. Our group consisted of six UML nursing students. We obtained a table and provided American Cancer Society breast cancer education pamphlets and Self Breast Examination models. We wore matching shirts and guided visitors through a three question survey Our survey results of 25 visitors identified: 75% of residents stated they performed SBE or have had a routine mammogram and 96% stated they intend to initiate SBE or Mammograms after visiting our table. Our purpose was to spread awareness via primary prevention and we succeeded. A resident of Dracut who visited our table contacted the BOH concerning the high breast cancer mortality rate and demanded a response from the town. A limitation was that our project is not a replacement for a public health nurse.

By promoting breast cancer awareness and educating the population, we acted as a catalyst for change. Nursing and community education facilitated a significant community response to address a serious health issue.

Volunteer Experience

Volunteering is the practice of people working on behalf of others or a particular cause without payment for their time and services. Volunteering is generally considered an altruistic activity, intended to promote good or improve human quality of life, but people also volunteer for their own skill development, to meet others, to make contacts for possible employment, and to have fun.

VOL 1 Baez, Rudy, Alex Amado, Orson Oriol, Andrade Fearon M.A.L.E.S: BUILDING COMMUNITY & BROTHERHOOD Office of Residence Life, Campus Recreation Center, Student Activities (Advisors: David Jones and Devon Rembert) Volunteer/Service

M.A.L.E.S. will display the community work that the organization engages in during the academic year. Community involvement programs include mentoring program, feeding the homeless at Lowell soup kitchens, UMASS Lowell Food Drive and the Safe Trick or Treat community event.

VOL 2 Borchers, Todd SPECIAL SPIRIT @ UML!

‐ ‐ ‐ 56 ‐ Office of Residence Life (Advisors: James Kohl, James Warren, Tasha Henderson, Brenda Evans and Jennifer Nolan) Volunteer/Service

Special Spirit @ UML! is a project I created to give Special Olympic athletes the equality and equity of being able to play sports in a 'college-like' environment. The goal of this program is for the teams to have the main focus of the crowd and surrounding environment and be recognized for their efforts in the sport into which they put many hours of hard work in practice. These athletes deserve the proper recognition for their efforts and should be able to perform for crowds as other athletic teams do. For the Special Spirit program, the athletes will have the full experience of a college or professional game. For example, the athletes will have colorful flyers advertising before the event, greeted with attractive posters and decorations for the game, announcer player introductions, special apparel to wear, cheerleaders, mascots, an exciting halftime show, and most importantly a packed gymnasium with fans just for them!

VOL 3 Diaz, Janelle SAFE TRICK OR TREAT Office of Residence Life (Advisor: Marshall Greenleaf) Volunteer/Service

Safe Trick or Treat is an opportunity for members of the UMass Lowell community to engage in a volunteer activity that fosters campus and neighborhood affiliation. The program was initiated to increase UMass Lowell's engagement with the Lowell community as well as provide a safe environment for children of the community to trick or treat. Throughout this process, volunteers are able to help by setting up, by giving out candy, or by forming activities for the children and their families to participate in. With students, campus organizations, and Office of Residence Life's involvement, every year this program has been a huge success. Each year the number of attendants increases and seeing this influences the likelihood for more future student volunteers. This program is a great way for students and faculty to give back to the community and have fun doing so.

VOL 4 Ebhohon, Merrytime VISION ALIVE PROJECT Electrical Engineering & Student Clubs (Advisor: Elaine Donnelly) Volunteer/Service

Vision Alive is a school supply drive set up in Lowell, MA with a vision to provide school supplies for students of the Idinwe and Uhonmhebho primary schools located Ewatto, Edo State, Nigeria. I believe that every child deserves an opportunity to grow and learn. Being in school gives a child the opportunity to develop many life skills such as communication-related skills, decision-making skills, personal and social skills which are important in all areas of life - work, school and family life. The future lies in the hand of a child and a child needs school supplies to learn and grow into someone that would make the future a better place to live. Vision Alive will take the steps to make that possible. My goal this year is to get as many supplies as possible reaching at least 300 pounds of supplies by May 2011. In order to reach this goal, I will be collecting school supplies from faculty, students, and student organizations on campus.

Attending Idinwe Primary school at a younger age was not the best environment to learn, but I had no other choice and it is sad now to know that the school has gotten worse. Some of the older buildings have collapsed and the teachers do not have enough school supplies for the pupils. In the future, I hope to see

‐ ‐ ‐ 57 ‐ the Vision Alive project do bigger and better things in both primary schools, such as building libraries, class rooms and perhaps computer labs.

VOL 5 Funaro, Julia A LIFE OUTSIDE THESE WALLS: COMMUNITY CREATES COMPETENCIES Disabilities Studies: Developmental Disabilities I (Advisor: Katherine Fox) Volunteer/Service

Utilizing systems and supports to plan with an individual, as opposed to for them, requires more time and effort than traditional planning for people with disabilities. Attempting to take on the feat for an individual, for confidentiality reasons I will call him Chris, who lacks nearly all customary expressive skills and who has been caught up in the residential treatment environment since childhood requires an even further level of creativity and trial and error approaches. Chris encompasses all the challenges associated with person centered planning (PCP), as he is an individual with an Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) who has severe differences in expressive language skills, as well as ocular albinism and deafness. An even greater challenge is that Chris lives full time at Walden School for the Deaf, a residential treatment facility that treats children who face severe challenges. This all inclusive environment unfortunately succumbs to a more traditional human service model than would be ideal for helping children overcome their differences and individualize themselves. By observing Chris, looking for ways to enhance his strengths and mapping the community for involvement, an individualized person centered plan (PCP) transpired.

VOL 6 Gaffny, Alanna, Alexandrea Dyson, Tia Warren "A WALK IN HER SHOES" RAISING SEXUAL ASSAULT AND GENDER VIOLENCE AWARENESS Health Services, CASA and Alpha Sigma Tau (Advisor: Susan T Pulido) Volunteer/Service

Our event took place September 4th, 2010 on East Campus at UML. Men walked the river-walk in women's red high heel shoes to raise awareness to sexual assault and gender violence. Donations were accepted and donated to The Rape Crisis Services of Greater Lowell. UML raised a little over $1000 to donate. "Walk a Mile in Her Shoes”® (The International Men's March to Stop Rape, Sexual Assault & Gender Violence) is a project of Venture Humanity, Inc. a 501 (c) (3) nonprofit corporation. Men literally walk one mile in women's high heeled shoes to protest sexualized violence, educate their communities and raise money for chronically underfunded rape crisis centers, domestic violence shelters and other sexualized violence prevention and recovery services. This is a group where organizers, walkers and interested others from all over the globe can come together, share stories about their efforts, share ideas, and share resources.

VOL 7 Jean-Jacques, Pascale, Elena Lafortune, Merrytime Ebhohon, Joanne Alexandre, Abiola Sonuga, Priscilla Pimentel, Antoinette Toussaint, Vynelle White CHARITY WITH FLAIR! S.I.S.T.E.R.S.' FIRST ANNUAL "PASSION FOR FASHION" Office of Residence Life/ Sisters of Integrity Striving Towards Empowerment, Respect and Success (S.I.S.T.E.R.S.) (Advisors: Anyelina Diaz, Payne Hiraldo, Christyn Toomey and Jennifer Nolan) Volunteer/Service

‐ ‐ ‐ 58 ‐

Charity with flair! S.I.S.T.E.R.S.' first annual "Passion for Fashion" clothing swap and drive was an event thrown to unite a passion for shopping with human compassion, which resulted in much needed help for the less fortunate in our community. Student and faculty participants came together last semester for this fun night of charity, bringing with them countless numbers of bags overflowing with clothes, shoes, and accessories. Guests browsed through the selection laid out on multiple tables, and swapped items among themselves. Anything left over after the swap (as well as bags of items we had purposefully set aside that would not be swapped, but instead directly donated), were given to Lowell's Salvation Army. By the night's end there were pounds of clothes and accessories left over to give away to the needy. The donations were not only plentiful, but varied. We sorted through a multitude of women's & men's clothing, some children's apparel, and an innumerable amount of undergarments and socks! Members of our executive board promptly dropped off the remaining heap of donated items to the Salvation Army, which undoubtedly continue to keep Lowell's less fortunate warmly clothed and stylishly accessorized! This unique event is definitely something we will continue with on a yearly basis. "Passion for Fashion" taught us that fun mixed with good intent is a winning combination. As time goes on, we predict that this event will only get larger. Surely, every year we will continue to benefit our community on an increasingly larger.

VOL 8 Rousseaux, David, Stephanie Hamelin, Steven Parent, Christopher Kelly, Jaclyn Toner, Nick D'Hemecourt, Sergio Pernice, Tim Klouda, Liam Moriarty, Brenna Cobleigh, Nolan O'melia, Samuel Codyer, Allison Rumore, Kyle Napolitano, Benjamin Rouleau, Shannon Gardner, Leia Kaplan, Alex D'Agostino, Michael Donaghue, Kurt Mann, Chris Breton, Brian Diaz, Chris Ingram, UMASS LOWELL EMERGENCY MEDICAL SERVICES....WHEN EVERY SECOND COUNTS Biology/UMass Lowell Emergency Medical Services (Advisor: David Eberiel) Volunteer/Service

Over the years, UMass Lowell EMS has responded to thousands of calls ranging from the minor cuts and bruises to life threatening situations such as drug overdoses, attempted suicides, respiratory and cardiac emergencies. UML EMS is a vital part of the Universities emergency response system. When seconds count, we are there.

VOL 9 Peirce, Krystal, Tia Warren, Barka Abdalla, Kristen Hart CONSCIOUS ALLIANCE STUDENT GROUP @ UMASS LOWELL "ART THAT FEEDS" Campus Ministry/ Conscious Alliance Student Group @ UMASS Lowell (Advisor: Imogene Stulken) Volunteer/Service

Our goal is to help local families by raising money and donating food through music, artwork, and volunteering. Project Bread is the state’s leading anti-hunger organization. Project Bread is dedicated to alleviating, preventing, and ultimately ending hunger in Massachusetts. Our club works with Project Bread to help feed families in Lowell, MA. UML bands have volunteered their time by playing shows at Fox Hall. All the money raised at the benefits is donated to those in need. We have donated to Haiti, Project Bread, and the National 501 C Conscious Alliance non-profit organization. We also host art events on campus and in our community – for example, at the campus-wide Thanksgiving Food Drive and Distribution, November 22, 2010. The members of Conscious Alliance have a garden located behind Fox Hall. The food grown at the garden is donated to families in Lowell, MA. On September 25, 2010, we partnered up with the Lowell National Parks for National Public Lands Day. Volunteers and UMASS students painted pumpkins, had a concert, and a BBQ for free!

‐ ‐ ‐ 59 ‐ VOL 10 Reardon, Brendan, Bridget Mettler, Ally Hill-Whilton, Alexis Burke, Rajan Santhamoorthy, Samantha Hamilton, Tyler Reid, Kevin Copson, Zach Thorpe ALTERNATIVE SPRING BREAK CLUB: MISSISSIPPI Student Activities/ Department of Engineering (Advisor: Linda Barrington) Volunteer/Service

Each Spring Break, rather than returning home to loved ones, the Alternative Spring Break Service Club travels to perform a service trip. This year, we will travel to Mississippi. Over the course of the academic year, ASB has continued to fundraise for the trip through a variety of means; such as bake sales, leaf raking, snow shoveling, to name a few. While endeavoring on these events we have bettered our understanding of one another and engendered a further sense of community amongst ourselves and the UMass Lowell community. As of February, we have fundraised over $2,000 since September. We will be venturing to nearby Gulfport, Mississippi to Camp Victor. Throughout the week, we will be performing a number of projects such as: construction, city beautification, and environmental clean up. It is sure to be a memorable experience.

VOL 11 Smith, Kristina, Jenna Lapachinski, Pieter Wallace, Susannah Barnes, Melinda Ferullo, Tinuviel Lathrop, Josiah Bote, Alisha Silvestrone, Michael McGrath, Duncan Pettingell, Meghan Mandel, Anna Pearson HALLOWEEN SAFE NIGHT FOR THE CHILDREN OF LOWELL Office of Residence Life, Student Affairs, Omicron Delta Kappa, Tau Sigma (Advisors: Marshall Greenleaf, Mary Connelly and Stephen Pennell) Volunteer/Service

This project was based on having all of the student leaders of Omicron Delta Kappa, Tau Sigma, and Office of Residence Life watch over the youths and infants that walked through the doors of the Sheehy and Concordia dorms. Specific tasks for these individuals were to take groups upon groups of children trick or treating around the dorms, lead the daring children through the haunted house, dress up appropriately for the holiday, provide candy, and provide games. Furthermore, we had fun little games that were easy for young children to win so that everyone could feel like a winner and leave with all the candy we could give. Nevertheless, this project took an hour to decorate and clean up to get everything prepared for the fun night.

VOL 12 Keeler, Sarah, Jessica Lindroth, Emily Legere, Jeffrey Gangi, Eric Peary, Jared DeFoe, Kristina Smith, Maddie Bassaillon, Matthew Brady, Bryan Crompton, Marc Ruch, Hannah Merullo, Nathaniel Conway, Nina Coppens, Amy Carbon, Jason DeLunca ODK'S HELPING HEARTS Student Affairs, Omicron Delta Kappa/ Tau Sigma (Advisor: Mary Connelly) Volunteer/Service

As the honors leadership society here at UMass Lowell, we had the pleasure of working with the American Heart Association to give back to the community. On a cool October morning, dozens of students came together to help heart disease survivors unite and share their accomplishments. Our tasks involved setting up, distributing water/food, and most importantly cheering on the walkers. We were able to help considerably towards the movement of the walk and some say that if it was not for ODK, they could not have went through with the event.

‐ ‐ ‐ 60 ‐ VOL 13 Puleo, Alaina, Rob Tanso, Alayna Mender, Paul Muzinieks, Danane Chhor, Alex Chalmers, John Deshaies, Dave Klisiewicz, Frank Stegnar, Jason DeLuca, Zack Laplante, Heather Chim, Tom Cole, Stephanie Bergeron, Jess Lindroth, Ryan Bottary, Lisa Caputo, Carly Arrico, Francina Victoria, Brian Bahia, Scott Maitland THE ODK HANDICAP ACCESSIBLE GARDEN Student Affairs, Omicron Delta Kappa (Advisors: Mary Connelly and Stephen Pennell) Volunteer/Service

Our project was to provide the people-power and motivation in order to build the first handicap accessible garden in Lowell, MA. We built gardens that are high enough to be eye level with people who are in wheel chairs, as well as ramps so they may move around through the area. Handicapped people are able to experience the beautiful surroundings of a garden with the many different kinds of flowers provided in arm’s grasp.

VOL 14 Thomas, Walter, Julianne Rhoads, Srilakshmi Kurmana, Erik Jordan, Michelle Azzi, Christopher Bradley, Holly Butler, John Connor, Apurav Jain, Milo Dipalma, Kemmeng Peng, Matthew Polese, Abdelwahed Nabat, TEAM MASSACHUSETTS AND THE 2011 SOLAR DECATHLON Mechanical Engineering / UML Solar Energy Association (Advisor: Robert Parkin) Volunteer/Service

The U.S. Department of Energy Solar Decathlon has grown into one of the most highly anticipated design competitions held. Twenty teams of fiercely competitive students must design a solar house, build it, test it, and then ship it across a state, a continent, or an ocean. These students then rebuild the house on the National Mall in Washington DC within a week and put it through a series of 10 contests that evaluate the house's aesthetics and measure its energy performance. Thousands of people visit the National Mall to tour the houses (over 300,000 in the 2009 event), and sponsors benefit from the exposure the team will have on consumers, building and green energy professionals and news media, both here in Massachusetts and nationally.

Team Massachusetts must build a grid-connected, "net-zero" home, with all its energy coming from photovoltaic and solar thermal panels. We will use innovative systems and components, sourced from local Massachusetts businesses as much as possible. The team's goals are straightforward: win the competition, educate the public on the benefits of solar energy, become better engineers and architects, and have fun. Though the team receives a grant from the Department of Energy, we are prohibited from using that grant for actual building materials or labor. Hence, we are required to raise funds for our project through donations from sponsors, both in cash and in goods and services. We estimate the complete cost of the project to be in excess of $500,000.

VOL15 Vidrine, Emily, Joy Mosenfelder BRINGING MONEY BACK TO LOWELL Regional Economic and Social Development (RESD) (Advisor: Robert Forrant) Volunteer/Service

‐ ‐ ‐ 61 ‐ This tax year, 22 UMass Lowell students are offering tax prep services through the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance program, and they are hoping to exceed last year's recapture of $300,000 in tax refunds. New services this year will include free translation and education tables to provide information related to health and locally available services while tax payers wait to be seen. The VITA Program offers free tax help to low and moderate-income people who cannot prepare their own tax returns. Certified volunteers receive IRS training to help prepare basic tax returns in communities across the country. Community Teamwork Inc. has coordinated tax prep sites for 9 years. This is the second year that UMass Lowell has partnered with CTI through The Learn and Serve program to coordinate student volunteering for VITA. VITA sites in Lowell are located at the CTI offices on Merrimack St., the Lowell Senior Center, and the Center for Family, Work, and Community on Suffolk Street.

VOL16 Punch, Emily, Trevor Cullen, Rebecca Walsh LOWELL IMMERSION Center for Family, Work and Community (Advisors: Elaine Donnelly, Laura Edelman) Volunteer/Service

Lowell Immersion is an alternative spring break experience that gives students a chance to get involved within the Lowell community, learning about Lowell as well as socioeconomic and community issues. This trip also allows students to enhance their communication skills while forming bonds and working with other students and individuals. Getting involved in community service may seem like a very small contribution to society, but it truly does make a difference in many people's lives. Not only does improving a community directly benefit the community, it may also inspire others to get involved. By exposing others to knowledge of community issues, and gaining more awareness and support, major changes can be acted upon. Lowell Immersion of 2011 consisted of a four day, three night excursion within Lowell. Each day of the trip consisted of a different theme or community subject where the students were exposed to knowledge about that subject, and were able to act upon it with community service work.

Community-based Practicum, Internship, or Coop

A Practicum is a college course, often in a specialized field of study, that is designed to give students supervised practical application of a previously or concurrently studied theory. For example, practicum programs are common for education and social work majors.

Internships provide real world experience to those looking to explore or gain the relevant knowledge and skills required to enter into a particular career field. Internships are relatively short term in nature with the primary focus on getting on the job training and taking what’s learned in the classroom and applying it to the real world.

A Cooperative Education Program (Co-Op) is a partnership between employers and educational programs. Higher education provides the academic training and administrative coordination. Employers generally provide meaningful, paid work experience, supervision of technical skills development, and a formal written evaluation for the student.

PR/INT/COOP 1 Berry, Molly PRACTICUM AT CFWC: STRIVING TO INCREASE COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT AT UML Community and Social Psychology Masters Program: Practicum I & Practicum II

‐ ‐ ‐ 62 ‐ (Advisors: Robin Toof, Elaine Donnelly and Meg Bond) Practicum/Internship

My practicum experience at the Center for Family, Work and Community allowed me to become a valuable contributor on a number of community and university projects aimed at encouraging student participation and civic engagement. I took on leadership and collaborative roles on various projects at the center, including recruitment for the Lawrence YMCA Mentoring Program, Lowell Immersion: Alternative Spring Break, REACH OUT, the Community Engagement Showcase, VITA, and more. Since September of 2010 I’ve worked specifically on involving students with community projects and emphasizing the importance of reflection and leadership development. In doing so, I developed a booklet called “I’m a Volunteer, Now What Do I Do?!” for first time volunteers that provides insight on working with culturally diverse communities and reflecting on the volunteer experience. By working with the staff at CFWC, utilizing community resources and networks, and enhancing programs offered by both UML and CFWC, I have aimed benefit both the student population at UML and the community based organizations in the Greater Lowell area.

Furthermore, my practicum at CFWC allowed me to enhance leadership and program development skills throughout the production of the week long event, Lowell Immersion: Alternative Spring Break. This program involved building community partnerships with local organizations and soliciting donations from neighboring corporations. Significant effort was placed on recruiting student volunteers from the university, and encouraging the emergence of leaders from a select group. This program alone allowed me to develop considerable skills that will be valuable for my future as a community leader.

PR/INT/COOP 2 Booras, Dimitrios A CREATIVE APPROACH TO SUSTAINABILITY Political Science (Advisor: John Wooding) Practicum/Internship/Coop

The first step to having a sustainable society is recognizing the need for sustainability and, as part of this; communities must respect and appreciate their environment. 'Riverfest: Art Goes Green' on June 12, 2010 was an event designed to achieve this goal in the City of Lowell. Sustainability can be broken down into three E's: ecology, economy and equity. This project focused on the first E of sustainability, ecology, and how sustainable ecological practices promote the health of a surrounding community. 'Riverfest: Art Goes Green' also stressed the often forgotten fourth E of sustainability, education. Only by having others understand the benefits of sustainability can we hope to have a sustainable society.

I acted as project manager for the temporary public art component of 'Riverfest: Art Goes Green.' As project manager, my duties included collaborating with the Lowell National Historical Park and Lowell Canalwaters Cleaners to organize canal cleanups in the City of Lowell; overseeing the creation of a sculpture by an artist, Bill Turville, and Lowell High School art students; and teaching the students and other members of the community about the necessity of a sustainable society. The materials used by Turville and the students were debris retrieved during the canal cleanups. This sculpture remained on display for a period of five months and during this time acted as a reminder that communities can harm the local ecology as well as protect it. 'Riverfest: Art Goes Green' represented what communities can do to step towards becoming a sustainable society.

PR/INT/COOP 3 Cole, Danielle SPEAKING WITH THE UNEMPLOYED THROUGH SURVEYS AND INTERVIEWS

‐ ‐ ‐ 63 ‐ Sociology Practicum (Advisors: Mignon Duffy and Dan Egan) Practicum/Internship/Coop

My project at the Career Center of Lowell will consist of one-on-one interviews and evaluating the surveying tools used at the center. I hope to improve the surveys they distribute and create a new way to code and file them. The Career Center gets daily feedback through surveys from their clients who participate in workshops and one- on-one counseling. However, they would like a tool that can help them receive negative or critical feedback as equally as positive feedback. Through interviewing, I would like to gain personal insight from the clients about their experiences at the Career Center. I hope to learn about what services have been beneficial to them. Through this process, I will also be learning how the center can become more inclusive and available to the community from a client perspective.

Since this is a sociology practicum, I will be keeping a journal and connecting my observations to society, the sociology of family and work, and various social theories. The goal is to learn by working on these projects and speaking with those who are navigating a tough job market. In the end, I hope my research and work at the Career Center will help them to serve the community better and gather the feedback they need.

PR/INT/COOP 4 Corcoran, Kaitlyn BULLY PROOFING SCHOOLS: HELPING STUDENTS HELP THEMSELVES AND OTHERS FROM BULLIES Community Social Psychology: Practicum II (Advisor: Meg Bond) Practicum/Internship/Coop

Throughout this practicum experience, I have been using many of the skills I have learned throughout the past year of Community Social Psychology courses, and applying those skills to my work with the Center for Hope & Healing (CHH). The Community Social Psychology competencies that I hope to develop are: Program Planning and Development, Community Assessment, and Community Organizing and Coalition Building. In regards to Program Planning and Development, I will be researching and reviewing curriculum for any schools that contact the CHH about giving classroom presentations. The subject the CHH has been focusing on recently has been school bullying. In my practicum I have been gaining knowledge in this area and have been able to give a presentation to a class on my own and also with a partner. In terms of Community Assessment, I have been helping to hand out and analyze the new Community Assessment Tool (surveys) to figure out how we can alter our ways of educating the community on issues involving sexual violence. Some of my potential projects for my practicum include: Aiding with the Community Assessment Tool being used to identify best methods for prevention work in the Greater Lowell community, and aiding in the development and research for progressive curricula to address primary prevention of sexual violence. So far throughout my experience, I have expanded my knowledge about Community Social Psychology with hands-on learning in the community and I have also gained confidence with public speaking in the process.

PR/INT/COOP 5 Jacobs, Samantha REACHING OUT TO EMPOWER YOUTH AND THE COMMUNITY Community Social Psychology Master's Program: Practicum II (Advisor: Meg Bond) Internship or Coop

‐ ‐ ‐ 64 ‐ Every Tuesday, I am responsible for co-facilitating a youth violence prevention program called Youth Reaching Out or YRO. Through this program youth are given leadership skills and the opportunity to coordinate and create peace events within the Lowell community, such as Dance for Peace, which typically has over 2000 people in attendance. I am responsible for helping to create and implement the program curriculum, which includes domestic abuse training and the "Prom Project" which looks at dangerous behaviors that occur after prom and how to be safe, as well as be a mentor for the youth that come to the program. The purpose of the program is to give the youth confidence and the skills to become leaders in their community. Youth are able to become peer leaders as well. The program also teaches skills in public speaking, outreach, and event planning.

PR/INT/COOP 6 Quinteros, Johana A. Reyes NEIGHBORCIRCLES: WORKING TOGETHER FOR BETTER NEIGHBORHOODS IN LOWELL Community & Social Psychology Graduate Program: Practicum (Advisor: Meg Bond) Practicum/Internship/Coop

NeighborCircles (NC) is a series of three house meetings with neighbors, who come together to talk, share a meal and get to know each other. Through facilitated discussions, neighbors build relationships; discuss issues in their neighborhood and work together to address them. The main goal of NeighborCircles is to strengthen relationships, build trust between neighbors and empower residents to be leaders in community revitalization.

The learning outcomes on the context of my participation in NC were 1) program planning and development, 2) community organizing and coalition Building, and 3) community assessment and program evaluation. To achieve the first competence I worked closely with my supervisor to develop an overall plan for the project and I worked actively in its implementation by setting up, facilitating and evaluating each NC meeting. In order to achieve the second competence, I worked on developing strategies to identify and recruit participants, hosts and facilitators for the Circles. I got involved in doing outreach in the community working with neighborhood groups and other grass root organizations. I also worked on strategies to keep participants of NeighborCircles involved throughout the whole NeigborCircle process so that they could generate fruitful discussions about how they can assess the issues in their community that affect them. Finally, to accomplish the last competence related to community assessment and program evaluation I collaborated on the development of an evaluation plan to assess the qualitative and quantitative outcomes of the program.

PR/INT/COOP 7 Tasiopoulos, Stephanie FOOD SERVICE MANAGEMENT EXPERIENCE AT LOWELL GENERAL HOSPITAL Clinical Laboratory and Nutritional Sciences: Directed Study in Nutritional Sciences (Advisor: Mindy Dopler Nelson) Internship/Coop

The field of Food and Nutritional sciences is constantly changing. In order for students to pursue a career in dietetics, a formal internship is required consisting of volunteering in the field, and satisfactory completion of didactic coursework. The main focus of the volunteer internship is to integrate practical experiences in dietetics. Two significant exposures of the internship pertain to food service management and dietary clinical applications. Goals to achieve during placement should be to obtain the education, training and resources for the understanding and achievement of safe practices in food service areas. Components such as budgeting, inventory, temperature and sanitation checks according to Hazard

‐ ‐ ‐ 65 ‐ Analysis Critical Control Points (HACCP), prevention of Food Bourne Illnesses, food production flow, recipe standardization and menu analysis are just a few of many important aspects for the student to become familiar with during the food service management internship. Menu planning for diets in patients with specific disease states provides experience in dietary clinical applications.

Lowell General Hospital's Dietetic Department provided an ideal atmosphere for this type of internship by providing insight into various areas of food service. The hospital provides patients with meal service for restricted diets, healthy options in the cafeteria for employees and visitors, and implements safety rules and precautions to be followed by all workers. As a future professional in the industry, all of these aspects will lead to a thorough understanding, excellence in services, and the ability to educate the public on the importance of food and nutrition

PR/INT/COOP 8 Uong, Charya ASSESSING THE NEEDS OF THE IMMIGRANT COMMUNITY Psychology: Practicum II (Advisor: Meg Bond) Practicum/Internship/ Coop

My goal for this practicum was to utilize my competencies as well as improve and work on new ones. At the Parish, the first project I tackled was writing grants. The Parish was in desperate needs of funds to fix up their Rectory and Church and so many of the grants I was writing were more for a capital campaign. I also took on the role of being the organizer and communicator for their Building Committee, making sure that reminders were sent out for the dates and times of the meetings as well as creating the agenda. I wanted to work more with the community itself so I created a one page survey intended to try and assess the needs of the immigrant community. Unfortunately due to lack of funds, I was only able to translate it into English and Spanish. The survey has been passed out to various organizations that work with the immigrant population and are being collected weekly. The surveys will be passed out until the end of this semester and hopefully after gathering the data, I will be able to figure out what the needs of that particular community is, so that I can establish how the Parish can be of assistance to them.

PR/INT/COOP 9 Webster, Erin, David Harrington, Subhashini Pakalapati THE MIND-MOUSE PROJECT: COMMUNICATION FOR LOCKED-IN ALS PATIENTS Electrical & Computer Engineering/Assistive Technology Research Center (Advisors: Alan Rux and Senait Haileselassie) Practicum/Internship/Coop

This project will return control to persons who are severely disabled as those affected with ALS and are "Locked-IN". By applying past assistive projects developed by the senior electrical engineering students in their "Capstone Project Design" course and joint combined work done with our sister school " B.V. Raju Institute of Technology" - Assistive Technology Lab., Hyderabad, India, on the Mind-Mouse project.

The project is based around a "Net-Book" small laptop computer, the input device will be a computer "mouse" modified to accept " EMG" signals from eye or forehead muscle movement to sensors attached on a headband. This modified mouse will provide a mouse "click" to the Net-Book. This tiny computing powerhouse will be loaded with software, student written and can be mounted on the ALS client's wheelchair or bed side, for persons that are non-verbal the computer will give them a voice, for those who have no control of their hands and arms it will control their environment, turning on and off lights, TV, Stereo systems, nurse call devices and other electrical appliances.

‐ ‐ ‐ 66 ‐

Community-Based Research Assistantships and Campus Work

Research assistantships (RAs) are designed to support students engaged in research activities under the supervision of a faculty member. A research assistant is a researcher employed, often on a temporary contract, by a university or a research institute, for the purpose of assisting in academic research. Campus work provides part-time employment to undergraduate and graduate students to help with college expenses. Campus work programs encourage employment in community service and in fields related to your major of study. Job positions can be either on-campus or off-campus. Most off-campus positions are at private nonprofit agencies or public agencies and are in the public interest.

RA/CW 1 Carkin, Danielle Marie, Rath Chhun, Alfredo Rodriguez, Jay Bouchrouche, Yisbeel Oviedo, Alex Olson, Vanessa Kahrman, Michael Lucido BRIDGING THE DIGITAL DIVIDE: ONE LESSON AT A TIME Economics (Advisors: Bob Forrant, Carol McDonough, Robin Toof and Michelle Holmberg) Campus Work

The Broadband Technology Opportunities Program (BTOP) is a project that is focused on increasing broadband internet usage and adoption, especially among vulnerable populations where technology traditionally has been underutilized. Our main goals include bridging the digital divide and increasing the relevance of the internet in people’s everyday lives. As part of the project, we have set up computer stations for trainings at various locations including Community Teamwork, Inc, the Boys & Girls Club of Greater Lowell, and numerous Lowell Housing Authority sites, Lawrence Senior Center, Amesbury Senior Center and Salisbury Senior Center. Students play an important role as computer literacy trainers and work directly with the local participants. They are also involved in creating and sustaining lesson plans and curriculums. With over fifty lesson plans created, we cover everything from the basics to emailing to Skype. Training sessions are conducted with all age groups ranging from pre-teens to elderly. Our training sessions assist the unemployed or under-employed create professional resumes, apply to jobs and learn the necessary computer skills to be successful in a business environment. For the local youth, we assist them in learning how to use the internet for educational purposes, while ensuring that the websites are safe and fun. Elderly participants are generally interested in e-communication methods so that they can be in touch with family and friends regardless of their residence. We also play a role in helping our participants choose an internet service provider, and often assist in the set-up as well.

RA/CW 2 Kushi, Lianna IMMIGRANT MURALS Regional Economic and Social Development (RESD) (Advisor: Robert Forrant) Research Assistantship

During the academic year of 2009-2010 the UMass President's Office funded awarded a creative economy grant to fund the “Immigrant Murals” project to support the creation of a 140 foot mural compromised of 15 separate panels. The goals of the project were to be a partnership between the university, the revolving museum, and Lowell youth. Located at the Revolving Museum, my role as the Research Assistant was to support the implementation of a murals program for Lowell teens that explored Lowell's immigrant history and visually present Lowell diverse immigrant history and present community.

‐ ‐ ‐ 67 ‐ The Artistic Director gave me a lot of freedom to outline the program and work directly with the Artist Instructor creating the syllabus. In addition to learning the skills of drawing, scaling, and painting, many students were drawn to the program because of the content. Therefore much of the programming involved discussions and research about Lowell's immigrant history and communities. Oral histories of local immigrant obtained in a separate project by Professor Forrant were presented to the youth. I also coordinated a presentation by the local group Deported Diaspora to discuss deportation issues within the local Cambodian community. All of the youth were first or second generation immigrants, for them placing value on the immigrant experience was personally empowering.

On May 27, 2010 we held an unveiling at the United Teen Equality Center were students presented their murals to the community and had the opportunity to share their and discuss their piece. Two of the murals were chosen to be a book cover that Professor Forrant has written. Since this project students continue to be involved in other Revolving Museum programs, volunteer opportunities, and take on leadership roles at the high school and in the community.

RA/CW 3 Marín, Luz Stella, Chuan Sun COLOMBIAN AND CHINESE STUDENTS WORKING TOGETHER FOR LATINO CONSTRUCTION WORKERS Work Environment Department: Protección en Construcción Project (Advisors: Lenore Azaroff, Maria Brunette, Cora Roelofs and Susan Shepherd) Research Assistantship

Proteccion en Construccion (PenC) is a Community-Based Participatory Research (CBPR) initiative aimed to prevent fall and silica hazards among construction workers with focusing on Latino Construction Workers. PenC brings together community and organizations in Lawrence, MA, and also involves two foreign students: a Hispanic doctoral and a Chinese master student who work as Research Assistants.

Research Assistants are involve in preparing, printing, packaging, translating materials; designing supervisor training program; participate in fieldwork with contractors; designing tracking databases, preparing Newsletter for communication with community and project members; testing survey instrument; administering surveys; participating in design, implementation of community talks for project dissemination, communication with outreach workers for feedback related to project elements; and analyze qualitative data.

RA/CW 4 Thompson, Michelle PROMOTING WORKFORCE DIVERSITY: PERSONAL REFLECTION ON ORGANIZATIONAL PRACTICES Psychology: Directed Study (Advisors: Michelle Haynes and Meg Bond) Research Assistantship

The goal of the project is to better understand organizational challenges and best practices for promoting cultural diversity within the workforce in local community health centers (CHCs). Towards this aim, we have collected data employing survey methodology about recruitment, training, and other strategies used to foster diversity in the workforce. We are currently involved in interviewing the directors of CHCs to delve into these issues more deeply. During the course of this project I have had several responsibilities including: conducting literature reviews on interview strategies (ex. methods critical incident interviewing), summarizing key articles to use as a launching point for development of current interview

‐ ‐ ‐ 68 ‐ strategy, exploring grant opportunities through online and networking outlets, data entry, and contacting participating CHCs for further information gathering when required.

My involvement in The Healthy Diversity Project provided me the opportunity to secure a paid internship as a HR Assistant for a local CHC. This opportunity has given further insight to how CHCs foster and manage diversity. The knowledge I acquired through my RA position has allowed me apply analytical lens to the organizational functioning of this CHC, and offer suggestions to encourage administrative diversity and positively develop strategic recruitment. For my Directed Study this semester, I am writing an empirically based research paper focusing on recruitment practices in CHCs. I will focus primarily on issues of cultural competence, effective strategies, formal incentives, barriers and challenges. Additionally, I will develop a Best Practices piece, to provide participating CHCs with a list of resources towards recruiting a diverse workforce.

RA/CW 5 Vidrine, Emily DECISION MODELS FOR FORECLOSED HOUSING ACQUISITION AND REDEVELOPMENT Economics (Advisor: David Turcotte) Research Assistantship

This National Science Foundation-funded project is called "Decision Models for Foreclosed Housing Acquisition and Redevelopment." The community-based research is particularly interested in the activities of organizations which acquire foreclosed properties to support neighborhood stabilization and revitalization. These actions have the potential to minimize blight, reduce unanticipated housing mobility, and provide affordable housing opportunities. This project seeks to solve decision problems related to the number and location of foreclosed properties that should be acquired to maximize neighborhood stabilization and revitalization, the timing of property acquisition, and the redevelopment activities that are best suited toward the goal of community stabilization.

Investigators for this interdisciplinary project have expertise in management science, public policy and housing and community development. This team has partnered with Twin Cities CDC in Fitchburg and Codman Square NDC in Dorchester identify requirements for decision models to improve organization operations and strategy, design and implement decision models, and evaluate the impact of these models on the partner organizations and the communities they serve. My role in this project has been to work in collaboration with all 6 members of the research team to: 1) to conduct research related to policy that affects the redevelopment of foreclosed properties and the practices of nonprofit organizations that purchase and rehabilitate foreclosed properties; 2) synthesize analyses and summaries of related literature; 3) conduct interviews with intermediary and partner organizations; and 4) participate in the design of workshops with partner organizations.

RA/CW 6 Zhang, Weifang HELPING YOUNG PEOPLE ACHIEVE HEALTHY WEIGHT AND PHYSICAL ACTIVITY Nutritional Sciences (Advisor: Garry Handelman) Research Assistantship

We worked with Lowell Community Health Center and Greater Lowell Boys and Girls Club to identify overweight youth and provide an afterschool program that offers nutritional advice and opportunities for

‐ ‐ ‐ 69 ‐ increased physical activity, with the goal of achieving greater fitness and healthy body weight. Twenty- five youth with body-mass-index >85% for age were recruited, and eighteen youth completed the five month program. Immediate goals of greater fitness were not realized, but there was great interest by the participants in continuation of the program, and we are working on plan to continue the program next year. My role in the project was to carry out data review and analysis of diet and behavior surveys completed by the youth in the study. And participate in conducting measurements of several metabolic indicators, including plasma insulin, glucose and other fitness markers. For continuation of the study, I will take responsibility for the measurements that are made on the youth to evaluate the changes in fitness that occur. My learning and service goals were to take part in the assessment, and to achieve a greater appreciation of the social challenges of helping young people achieve fitness, in an environment that needs greater opportunities and incentives for healthy diet and increased levels of physical activity.

Community-based Honors Thesis

Honors Thesis projects provide an opportunity to enhance knowledge in a student’s academic discipline and further enrichment of the curriculum. This work is tailored to the requirements of the student’s specific area of study.

HT1 O’Connell, Patrick ZIPBIKE: A BETTER WAY TO TRAVEL College of Management: UML Honors Program/Honors Thesis (Advisors: Steven Tello and Brooke Hargreaves-Heald) Honors Thesis

I have developed a business plan to present as an option for UMass Lowell to consider for the campus. ZipBike is a bicycle rental service that is modeled after popular services in Europe (ex. Velib in Paris, France). It aims to reduce traffic, reduce consumption of fossil fuels, and provide convenience to students/faculty/residents that require efficient transport across the campuses. The business plan provides an executive summary, concept statement, product description, technology description, market analysis, operational feasibility study, and financial statements/scenarios. If successful, the project will help the university, its patrons, and the community to achieve a healthier, more attractive, Earth-friendly mode of transportation.

HT 2 Squibb, Melissa TIME2TAKECARE: TYPE-2 DIABETES IN PRE- AND POST-MENOPAUSAL WOMEN Community Health and Education: Biology Senior Research Project/ Honors Thesis (Advisor: Mansoureh Tajik) Honors Thesis/ Service Learning Course/ Campus Work

This short educational video and supplemental brochure aims to raise awareness among women in the pre-menopause and menopausal state (ages 45-60) about type 2 diabetes prevention and management. The video is designed to address three levels of primary, secondary, and tertiary prevention of Type 2 diabetes. Specifically, it highlights effective prevention, early diagnoses, and treatment approaches and alternative therapies. The supplemental brochure summarizes the key components of the video. Development and production of the material use specific constructs in the Health Belief Model. This model addresses individual risk perception, and factors influencing the likelihood of individual behavior change to promote health and reduce risks related to Type2 diabetes. Focus groups and in-depth interviews with 4-6 women in various stages of menopause and health professionals are conducted and

‐ ‐ ‐ 70 ‐ data are analyzed using content analysis techniques. Emergent themes from the analysis are then used to construct the video script. Once the video and supplemental brochures are produced, they are disseminated through various outlets that include: private blogs, University website, YouTube channels, physicians' offices and hospitals, and community screenings.

‐ ‐ ‐ 71 ‐ Addendum

College of Fine Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences

Social Sciences SS3 Lynch, Christopher Psychology DISABILITY AND JUVENILE DELIQUENCY: THE RISKS AND THEIR IMPACT ON PREVENTION, INTERVENTION, AND RECIDIVISM (Advisor: Doreen Arcus)

Learning and emotional disabilities are a difficult problem faced by many youth. While 13% of school- age youth in the United States are faced with a learning disability, a disproportionately high 34% of incarcerated youth deal have been identified as having a learning disability (Leone, Krezmen, Mason, & Meisel, 2005; Quinn, Rutherford, Leone, Osher, & Poirier 2005). Learning and emotional disabilities have been identified as a potential risk factor for both initial and repeat incarceration of juveniles. Yet many juvenile detention programs fail to address the needs of incarcerated youth with learning and emotional disabilities. This poster presents a critical review of the extant literature regarding the relationship between juvenile delinquency and learning and emotional disabilities as well as a discussion of implications for best practices.

College of Management MGT2 Reid, Michael Management THE EFFECT OF PROPOSED REGULATION FOR STUDENT AID ON THE MARKET VALUE OF FOR-PROFIT INSTITUTIONS (Advisors: Saira Latif and Steven Freund)

For-profit colleges could be focused more on the bottom line for their shareholders at the expense of student welfare. For example, students are encouraged to rely heavily on student loans, even though post- employment job prospects are pessimistic. Recently, the Obama Administration proposed new regulations of student loans that will link availability to repayment of prior loans. The goal of this research paper is to ascertain if these proposals to limit federal loans for students of institutions with high default rates affect shareholder wealth of firms in the for-profit educational business. The firms that would be affected were found using the Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) Code = 8200, Educational Firms. Firm’s Annual Reports were screened to insure that they were involved in U.S. based post-secondary education. The next step was to identify the dates when information to the proposed new regulation was disseminated to the public. Sources of this information came from LexisNexis, Google News, and Wall Street Journal Online. To test if the dissemination of the information to limit federal loans affects stock prices, we used an event study methodology which tests if the calendar event in question creates a statistically significant change in the stock price, above and beyond what would be expected, after controlling for market-wide effects. All firms in our sample had a negative market reaction to the news that there might be a change in regulation related to student loans. The magnitude of the reaction varied according to how much such news will impact each firm. Although not all of the coefficients are significant, we are still investigating the possibility that potential earlier leakage occurred prior to the event date.

College of Science SCI20

‐ ‐ ‐ 72 ‐ Harrington, Thomas Physics DISCRIMINATING NEUTRON-GAMMA WAVEFORMS FROM NOVEL SCINTILLATION DETECTORS USING DIGITAL PULSE PROCESSING* (Advisor: Partha Chowdhury, S. Lakshmi) J. Glodo and K. Shah (Radiation Monitoring Devices, Inc., Watertown, MA)

In this research, we report the results of neutron- pulse shape discrimination studies performed with digital signal processing techniques. Two novel scintillator crystals, Cs2LiLaBr6 (CLLB) and Cs2LiYCl6 (CLYC), (provided by Radiation Monitoring Devices Inc.), which have different pulse shapes for neutron and -ray detection, were used to detect neutrons and –rays from a PuBe source enclosed in paraffin. Following digitization of the pulse waveforms with a 1 GHz Lecroy Digital Oscilloscope, a pulse shape discrimination algorithm was explored through custom C++ programs integrated within the ROOT analysis software developed at CERN. The selection of integration windows was optimized to provide the greatest separation between the two signals. The latest results for the CLYC and CLLB crystal will be presented and the neutron- discrimination capabilities of the two detectors will be compared. 1* Work supported by the U.S. Department of Energy

School of Health SHE18 Jagadeesan, Premlatha, Eden Hok, Rhea Cabrera, Anupriva Singh EFFECT OF QUERCETIN TREATMENT ON HEPG2 CELLS MARKERS OF OXIDATIVE STRESS AND INFLAMMATION (Advisor: Mahdi Garelnabi)

Background: Quercetin like other flavonoids has been reported to have antioxidant capabilities. Previous studies have shown that quercetin plays an important role in reducing oxidative stress and also lowers the oxidative modification of LDL an important step in plaque formation in arthrosclerosis. Objectives: The goal of this study is to investigate effect of quercetin treatment on markers of inflammation and oxidative stress. Study Design and Methods: In this study we have used a HepG2 cell lines as an in vitro model. Cells have been treated with 3 different quercetin concentrations of 20, 40 and 100 μmoles in the presence of 13-HODE an oxidizing agent or a fatty acid linoleic acid as a control. Cells were harvested after 12, 24 and 36 hours. Mediums from these treatments were collected and oxidative stress and inflammation markers namely: Interleukin 6 (IL6), paraoxonase-1 (PON1), and superoxide dismutase (SOD) were assayed. Results and Discussion: Preliminary results from these studies demonstrated conflicting role for the quercetin in relation to the strength and duration of the treatment. Data presented in this study will show the effect on SOD, IL6 and PO1.

‐ ‐ ‐ 73 ‐