t t REULEAUX 2019 REULEAUX Reuleaux Undergraduate Research Journal Colorado School of Mines Volume 1 Issue 1 Reuleaux McBride Honors Colorado School of Mines Golden, Colorado 80401 ©2019 Reuleaux, Colorado School of Mines Copyright Information Reuleaux is an Open Access journal. All authors retain the copyright work published by Reuleaux. All works are licensed to be shared and used under the Creative Commons CC-BY License or the Creative Commons CC-BY-NC License. The Creative Commons CC-BY License and the Creative Commons CC-BY-NC License permit works to be copied, published, and shared without restrictions as long as the original author(s) is credited with full citation details. The Creative Commons CC-BY-NC License also requires permission for the copyright owner (authors) for any commercial use of the original work. All works in Reuleaux can be shared without restrictions. Proper credit should be given. The Editorial Board can be contacted at [email protected]. T bl o Co e t 1 Demons of Los Alamos 20 Evaluating Eribulin 5 Editor Analysis: Demons of Los Alamos 23 Evaluation of the Paris Agreement 6 Three Years in the CFCC 26 Editor Analysis: Paris Agreement 9 Carreon Lab Spotlight 27 Colorado Fuel Cell Center Spotlight 13 Lunar Ice Extraction 30 Exploring Fractional Derivatives 18 Editor Analysis: Lunar Ice Extraction 32 Meet the Editors 19 Dr. Jeffrey King Spotlight 35 Call for Submissions Peer Review Shit Message from the Editor in Chief As scientific research continues to propel humanity further into the future, the problems facing scientists and engineers become increasingly complex. With each passing day, we rely ever more on tech- nology for communication, healthcare, transportation, and a plethora of other tasks vital to everyday life. But, despite the magnificent accomplishments made by science, there is still a gap between what science can theoretically accomplish and what society at large is able to understand. This barrier between scien- tific knowledge and popular understanding is primarily a result of inadequate communication and is the inspiration behind Reuleaux. Reuleaux, the Mines undergraduate research journal, aims to bridge this gap between society and science through championing the importance of effective, understandable scientific communication backed up by sound scientific methodology and experimentation. With this in mind, Reuleaux has been developed as a platform for undergraduate researchers at the Colorado School of Mines to engage with the full process of peer review and publication as carried out by the likes of Science, Nature, and many other professional scientific journals. Unlike other scientific journals, however, Reuleaux works alongside its authors to help develop scientific manuscripts that exhibit professionalism, clarity, and impactfulness in language. Additionally, Reuleaux helps guide its authors through a fully-fledged peer review process so as to foster a learning envi- ronment that dispels common fears and misconceptions surrounding the scientific publication process. It is the mission of Reuleaux to help any aspirational author realize their goal of publication in a legitimate research journal with the confidence of knowing that they have produced a novel and professional contri- bution to the scientific community. The format of Reuleaux also aims to break down conventional barriers surrounding scientific com- munication. Reuleaux encourages engagement between its readers and authors by using especially quali- fied manuscripts as a platform for learning. By providing brief analyses of articles, outlining why they are particularly exemplary, Reuleaux hopes to encourage a greater understanding of what the process of sci- entific publication demands. It is the ultimate goal to make everyone on the Mines campus feel as though they could themselves be an active and informed connoisseur of knowledge. With this in mind, please take time to enjoy the inaugural publication of Reuleaux: a true showcase of the increible undergraduate research occurring at the Colorado School of Mines. Tyler Pritchard, Reuleaux Editor in Chief The Reuleaux Peer Review Process Statement of intent Article Submission Authors submit their work on the Reuleaux website Screening by Reuleaux Staff Accepted Rejected Resubmission Authors can edit pieces Peer Review and resubmit Submissions are read by peer reviewers and put in one of the following categories Negligible Minor Major Revisions Revisions Revisions Author Revision Edits are made to submissions based on feedback. Authors then send the edited documents back to the Reuleaux staff Second Round of Review Articles are sent back to review after edits Accepted Rejected Final Formatting for Publication Welcome to the Inaugural Edition of Reuleaux ! Over the course of the next 35 pages, please take your time and enjoy a brief glimpse into the incredible happenings of undergraduate research at the Colorado School of Mines. From lab- oratory spotlights to original manuscripts written by undergraduate researchers, this journal works to cover the entire breadth of the undergraduate research experience. Enjoy! The Demons of Los Alamos Sydney Marchando is a sophomore pursuing a chemical engi- neering degree with minors in biomedical engineering and public affairs. She has participated in past research with a dermatology lab studying skin cancer. She has always been passionate about histo- ry, however, and has wanted to investigate research questions in this discipline. She chose to research more about the history of science, important scientists, and the implications of their work in order to gain a deeper understanding of the underlying moral issues present in scientific improvement. As an engineering student with the hopes of later pursuing research in her career, Sydney has found it important to understand the dilemmas that scientists face on a day to day basis. She intends to use this insight to better conduct research in a way that is beneficial to both society and the scientist. The Demons of Los Alamos Sydney Marchando Most people are aware of the Manhattan Project: the massive, top-secret rush to develop nu- clear weapons at the close of World War II. Some may even be familiar with lead physicists such as Enrico Fermi and Robert Oppenheimer. Howev- er, little is known about the 120,000 others who worked on the project [1]. The story of Louis Slotin and the Demon Core, for example, is one narrative from the Manhattan Project that has only just re- emerged. Recently, enough information from a va- riety of sources has allowed a more detailed picture of Louis Slotin to develop, highlighting not only his contributions to the Manhattan Project but also his character and the human faults that led to his fatal accident. Understanding Slotin provides a window into a fascinating period of scientific discovery that has largely remained shrouded in mystery. Los Al- amos, New Mexico is the site where the infamous atomic bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki were assembled. A third bomb was being prepared Louis Slotin at approximately the same time and this bomb’s core consisted of a critical-mass sphere of plutoni- ments on nuclear criticality. The scientists involved um, about the size of a softball. However, on Au- in the project were well aware of the dangers but gust 15th, 1945, just days before the Louis Slotin became comfortable experimenting with the mass. planned mission, Japan surrendered and this bomb At the time, this single core represented the majority was never utilized. The plutonium mass remained of the planet’s existing plutonium meaning the sci- at Los Alamos where scientists conducted experi- entists had the power of an atomic bomb at their fin- 1 The Demons of Los Alamos gertips. On separate occasions, slight mistakes - lit- were specifically intended for the scientific com- erally slips of the hand - exposed two researchers to munity. These detailed reports of the accident pro- intense, fatal doses of radiation. Following the sec- vided explanations of the plutonium core and the ond incident, the plutonium mass became known experiments being performed. The report also fol- as the “Demon Core”[2]. One of the lowed the “subjects” present at the in- lead researchers experimenting with cident from the time of the accident the core was Louis Slotin, a 35-year- "Slotin separated the until their deaths or the publication old Canadian physicist who had two halves of the metal of the paper. Illustrations showing worked on the project since sphere containing the mass where each person stood, calcu- 1942. While other scientists with his hand and a screwdriver, lations of radiation doses, and at Los Alamos were aware and with just a slip of his hand, the causes of death were care- of the tremendous risks of screwdriver dislodged and the hemispheres fully collected, while names nuclear criticality experi- closed, causing the mass to instanta- and personal histories were ments and described the work neously go supercritical and 'a left unnoted [5]. Slotin’s per- as “tickling the dragon’s tail,” sudden blue glow' to momen- sonal story only surfaced several Slotin conducted hands-on re- tarily envelop the room." years after his death. In these ear- search and demonstrations despite ly accounts, he was presented as a ominous warnings that he would “be champion of science and thoroughly dead within a year” if he continued [2]. dedicated to his work and the war ef- Slotin’s fatal dose was received on May 21, 1946, in fort [6]. the second incident at the site, and he died several The scientific reports about the two acci- days later. dents involving the Demon Core are written in a The accident itself occurred during a nucle- style typical of most science writing. Both “What ar criticality test to verify that the plutonium mass has happened to the survivors of the early Los Alam- “had the right size and heft - the critical mass - to os nuclear accidents?” and “A Review of Criticality sustain the chain reaction among atomic particles Accidents” included minute details of the accidents that would cause an explosion” [3].