UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON’S Fifth Annual Undergraduate Research Symposium A Celebration of Undergraduates in Research Fostering a Community of Student Scholars in the Arts, Sciences, Social Sciences, Technology, and Humanities UNI UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON’S Eighth Annual Undergraduate Research Symposium A Celebration of Undergraduates in Research 13 May 2005 MARY GATES HALL 12:00 – 5:00 PM PROCEEDINGS Sponsors: The UW Office of the President, Office of Research, Office of Undergraduate Education, the Mary Gates Endowment for Students, and the Undergraduate Research Program The Eighth Annual Undergraduate Research Symposium is organized by the Undergraduate Research Program (URP), which facilitates research experiences for undergraduates in all academic disciplines. URP staff assist students in planning for an undergraduate research experience, identifying faculty mentors, projects, and departmental resources, defining research goals, presenting and publishing research findings, obtaining academic credit, and seeking funding for their research. Students interested in becoming involved in research may contact the URP office in Mary Gates Hall Room 120 for an appointment or send an email to [email protected]. URP maintains a listing of currently available research projects and other resources for students and faculty at: www.washington.edu/research/urp. Janice DeCosmo, Director Nichole Fazio, Assistant Director Jentery Sayers, Graduate Student Assistant Alain Duong, Student Assistant The Undergraduate Research Program is a program of the UW’s Office of Undergraduate Education. UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON’S EIGHTH ANNUAL UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCH SYMPOSIUM PROCEEDINGS _______________________________________________________ TABLE OF CONTENTS POSTER SESSIONS 6 PRESENTATION SESSIONS 95 1A. AFRICANS IN THE WORLD: PERSPECTIVES, CHALLENGES, AND POSSIBILITIES 96 1B. ALGAE, PLANTS, AND THE FRUITS OF RESEARCH 98 1C. BIOENGINEERING APPROACHES TO DRUG DELIVERY AND BIOMOLECULAR MOTOR ACTIVATION 100 1D. CELLULAR AND ORANISMIC BIOLOGY 102 1E. CONFLICT IN CONTEMPORARY INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS 103 1F. ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH: SCIENTIFIC AND HUMAN DIMENSIONS 106 1G. GENETICS AND IMMUNITY 108 1H. LIVING SYSTEMS 111 1I. MECHANISMS OF DISEASE, INFECTION, AND HEALING 113 1J. NEW MATERIALS, STRUCTURES, AND SYNTHETICS STRATEGIES 115 1K. RETHINKING CAPITALISM AS SOCIAL ENGINEERING: THE DYNAMICS OF OF CAPITALISM IN CULTURAL AND HISTORICAL DIFFERENCE 117 1L. SHAPING LEARNING EXPERIENCES IN UNIVERSITY EDUCATION 119 2A. APPLIED MATHEMATICS AND PHYSICS IN ENGINEERING 121 2B. EARTH SCIENCES AND ANCIENT LIFE 123 2C. EDUCATION, EXPRESSION, AND THE FAMILY: A CROSS-CULTURAL EXAMINATION 125 2D. HISTORY, RELIGION, AND THE PRODUCTION OF SPACE: DISCOVERING MEANING AND AGENCY THROUGHOUT THE GLOBE 127 2E. MECHANISMS AND MODULATION OF NEURALLY-ENCODED RHYTHMS 129 2F. MODERN GRRRLS AND WOMEN: HISTORIES, IDENTITIES, AND REPRESENTATIONS 131 2G. MOLECULAR AND CELLULAR STUDIES IN HUMANS, ARTHROPODS, BACTERIA, AND VIRUSES: IT’S ALL ABOUT THE GENES AND THEIR PROTEINS 134 2H. PUTTING BIOLOGY TO WORK: INNOVATIVE BIOENGINEERING APPROACHES 136 2I. SYNTHESIS AND CHARACTERIZATION OF NANOMATERIALS 138 2J. THE CONTOURS OF POLICY: STRATEGY, CHALLENGES, AND COMMUNICATION 140 2K. UNDERSTANDING ISSUES AND ADDRESSING SPECIAL NEEDS 142 INDEX 145 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS 152 PLEASE NOTE Abstracts are listed alphabetically by the presenter’s last name, unless otherwise noted. ADDITIONAL OPPORTUNITIES FOR UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCHERS! Travel Awards for Undergraduates to Present Research These new awards help make it possible for undergraduates to extend their research experience by contributing to important discussions of current research at professional conferences. Students who have had a paper or poster accepted to a conference may apply for funding for travel expenses and registration fees. Applications are accepted on a continuing basis. For more information visit the Undergraduate Research Program website: www.washington.edu/research/urp/urta.html. Sponsored by the UW Office of Research, Undergraduate Research Program and the Mary Gates Endowment for Students Mary Gates Research Scholarships Through participation in research, undergraduate students learn about the essential role of inquiry in a vital society. These competitive research scholarships are available to enhance the educational expe- riences of students across campus who are engaged in research with faculty. For more information visit the Mary Gates Endowment website: http://www.washington.edu/oue/mge/ becoming_research.shtml Libary Research Award for Undergraduates The University Libraries, in cooperation with the Undergraduate Research Program, is sponsoring the “Library Research Award for Undergraduates” competition, recognizing University of Washington students who produce significant inquiry requiring use of information resources, the library, and its collections. Application deadline: May 16, 2005. For more information visit the Odegaard Under- graduate Library website: http://www.lib.washington.edu/researchaward/ Competition awards are funded through the Kenneth S. Allen Library Endowment. STUDENTS HONOR THEIR MENTORS “My mentor, Dr. Bryan Jones, has impacted my educational experience in many ways that go beyond the research project he has spent countless hours helping me with. As a veteran scholar, his guidance has proved invaluable as I struggled with my own project at all stages, from research design to data collection to interpretation. “Struggling,” he would tell me, “is how you know you’re on the right track.” These words of wisdom, as well as many others, have taught me the importance of an open, curious mind not just in academic research but also for life.” - Ashley Watson, Senior, Political Science Mentor: Bryan Jones, Political Science “Dr. Horacio de la Iglesia has been a supportive and inspirational mentor since the day I stepped into his lab. He not only teaches me how to conduct the experiments independently, but helps me develop the skills to troubleshoot problems on my own. He is always on hand when I need help and is a tremendous support of my academic and career goals.” - Jennifer Lee, Junior, Neurobiology, International Studies Mentor: Horacio de la Iglesia, Biology “It has been an extraordinary learning experience for me to be working in such close contact with an experienced researcher, both practically and personally. The kind of personal attention that I receive as a student researcher is something that is not duplicated in a classroom setting.” - Sophia (Jihae) Kim, Junior, Biology Mentor: Wendy Raskind, Medicine, Medical Genetics Mentor: Patrick Navas, Medicine, Medical Genetics POSTER SESSIONS PLEASE NOTE Abstracts are listed alphabetically by the presenter’s last name. Effect of Subarachnoid Hemorrhage on Cerebral Arte- respect to lifter geometry, component design, and power riolar Responses to Somatosensory Stimulation and supply. Recent research has focused on quantifying per- Hypercarbia in the Rat formance of stacked lifters, multiple layers of collectors Taylor Abel, Senior, Neurobiology and emitters, and different electrical polarities. The most Mary Gates Scholar optimized designs constructed so far have been capable of Mentor: Gavin W. Britz, Neurological Surgery generating thrusts as high as 0.23 Newtons. With clear Mentor: Joe Meno, Neurological Surgery trends established in most geometric properties of the lifters, current and future research is focused on the electrical paths, Cerebral vasospasm and the resultant ischemia remains a power supply design, and investigating methods to increase significant cause of morbidity and mortality following sub- the amount of ionized molecules generated. Analysis of arachnoid hemorrhage (SAH). Stroke is the third leading ionization is mainly based on experimental photographs of cause of death in the United States and as many as 15% of the ionization corona. Simulation is also under consider- all strokes occur secondary to aneurismal rupture. Most ation to improve understanding of the acceleration of the previous research efforts have focused on vasospasm in ionized air molecules. The Ionic Wind Lifter Project pro- larger cerebral arteries following SAH. However, it is the vides important insight to the future capabilities of ionic small diameter arterioles that play a critical role in regulat- flow control and thrust generation. ing cerebral blood flow. Therefore, understanding the on- set of vasospasm following SAH in cerebral arterioles is of Activity of Cohesin During Cell Division in Tetrahy- critical importance to developing future therapies. The pur- mena thermophila pose of this study is to directly test the hypothesis that SAH Amanda Anderson-Green, Senior, Biology, Seattle results in time-dependent alterations in functional reactiv- University ity of cerebral arterioles in the rat. To accomplish this, we Mentor: Michelle Dubois,Biological Sciences, Seattle utilized an established model of SAH, the endovascular fila- University ment model, and studied functional arteriolar reactivity at Mentor: Marcella Cervantes, Fred Hutchinson Cancer varying time points using an in vivo method of CBF mea- Research Center surement, the closed cranial window technique. Using the cranial window model to visualize the cerebral circulation, Cohesin is a protein involved in ensuring accurate chro- we evaluated pial arteriolar reactivity to somatosensory mosome replication and distribution in eukaryotes. Its total stimulation (contralateral sciatic nerve stimulation