UC Davis 32nd Annual Undergraduate Research, Scholarship and Creative Activities Conference 1 32nd Annual Undergraduate Research, Scholarship and Creative Activities Conference Letter from the Chancellor April 28, 2021 Dear Students, Colleagues and Guests: On behalf of UC Davis, it’s my pleasure to welcome you to the 32nd Annual Undergraduate Research, Scholarship and Creative Activities Conference! UC Davis is one of the top research universities in the nation, with globally leading programs in agriculture, veterinary medicine, environmental science, healthcare and more. Our scholarship and research addresses some of society’s most critical challenges, including climate change, feeding the world and sustaining the health of all living beings. Student researchers are at the heart of the research enterprise. They represent a wide variety of fields and are critical to building a better tomorrow. Through this conference, we are preparing our students to move into the future with confidence and creativity. We are providing and showcasing educational opportunities that prepare students for career success. Many employers are looking for talented people who not only shine in their research and scholarship, but also have the capacity to collaborate and communicate their work in the most impactful manner possible. In addition to the skills developed during research, these oral and poster presentations are a great form of practice as our students prepare for graduate school and the workforce. Our students are currently facing an environment like no other, amid a pandemic that has changed every facet of daily life. Yet they still maintain their passion for their research and desire to participate in a virtual conference. Our students continue to demonstrate their ability to problem solve and adapt to any situation. I congratulate the student presenters for their dedication and excellent work thus far. They have partnered with faculty mentors and peers in a spirit of collaboration and discovery. Now, they can share their work with experts in their fields and our UC Davis community. I want to thank the Undergraduate Research Center for organizing this important conference and connecting students with important research opportunities, programs and awards. I also want to recognize our faculty members, who serve as mentors and role models for students. Your collaboration and mentorship with students bring out the very best in UC Davis, and your work helps prepare them for future success. Finally, I extend my gratitude to the many faculty volunteers and staff who serve as moderators for the conference sessions. This is exactly the kind of thoughtfulness and synergy between students and faculty that defines UC Davis. I wish everyone a great conference and thank you for bringing out the best in our university. Gary S. May Chancellor 2 UC Davis 32nd Annual Undergraduate Research, Scholarship and Creative Activities Conference ACKNOWLEDGMENTS The Undergraduate Research, Thank you to our Sponsors Scholarship & Creative Activities Conference gratefully acknowledges Global Affairs the faculty sponsors and other Student Affairs individuals whose mentoring has UC Davis Library contributed to the research produced Undergraduate Education by our presenters. We would also Undergraduate Research Center like to thank the many programs that generously support and encourage Conference Chair undergraduate research and creative activities at UC Davis. Among these E. Nuñez | Undergraduate Research Center are the following: Beckman Scholars Program; California Alliance for Minority Participation (CAMP); Educational Conference Organizing Committee Enrichment Outreach Programs (BUSP, Annaliese Franz | Undergraduate Research Center BUSP-Honors, BSHARP-MARC, CURE, Lolita Adkins | Undergraduate Research Center ADAR); Internship and Career Center; Dee Clark | Undergraduate Research Center McNair Scholars Program; Mentor- Sarah Stinson | Undergraduate Research Center Mentee Program in Humanities, Arts, Sharon Lee | Undergraduate Research Center Cultural Studies and Social Sciences; Jacques Bowyer | Graduate Studies, McNair Scholars Program Mentorships for Undergraduate Lili Bynes | Dean’s Office, College of Agricultural & Environmental Sciences Research in Agriculture, Letters and Connie Champagne | College of Biological Sciences; BUSP Science (MURALS); Mentorships for Raynell Hamilton | Student Academic Success Center; MURALS Undergraduate Research Participants Holly Hatfield | Dean’s Office, College of Letters & Science in the Physical and Mathematical Shadaya Litt | Dean’s Office, College of Engineering Sciences (MURPPS); Provost’s Mirka Dirzo | Undergraduate Student Representative Undergraduate Fellowship; University Sarah Sheridan | Undergraduate Student Representative Honors Program; UC Davis Washington Matangi Kumar | Undergraduate Student Representative Program; UC Leadership Excellence Through Advanced Degrees (UC Design and Publications LEADS), and Vertically Integrated Projects (VIP). Steven A. Morse | Undergraduate Education UC Davis 32nd Annual Undergraduate Research, Scholarship and Creative Activities Conference 3 4 UC Davis 32nd Annual Undergraduate Research, Scholarship and Creative Activities Conference Comparison of Machine Learning Models for Image First There Was Nothing, Then…Luminescence: The Classification + Isolation of Individual [(C6H11NC)2Au] Ions in Crystals and Their Formation of Benzene Solvates Mehita Achuthan Sponsor: Stephen Robinson, Ph.D. Alexandria Adams Mechanical & Aerospace Engr Sponsor: Alan Balch, Ph.D. The purpose of this project is to teach UC Davis’s first CubeSat Chemistry when to collect pictures and IR sensor data. The Space and Studies have shown that the two-coordinate cation, Satellite Systems (SSS) Club has developed a CubeSat that lays + - the foundation for low cost missions focused on Earth Science. [(C6H11NC)2Au] , self-associates with the anions (AsF6) and This mission objective relies heavily on the problem of when to - (SbF6) to form luminescent crystals that contain linear chains of collect data and ensuring the quality of our data. This is cations and display unusual polymorphic, vapochromic, and accomplished through machine learning and information theory thermochromic properties. The interest in developing these and processing by the Computer Systems Team of SSS. After types of environmentally responsive, luminescent metal-organic dedicated research, we have compared and contrasted three compounds can be useful in areas of temperature sensing, methods for teaching our CubeSat: Linear Regression, Logistic biological imaging, and metal toxin detection. Different ways to Regression, and Support Vector Machine. Our results were + verified with mathematical optimization. We are developing a isolate [(C6H11NC)2Au] ions from one another through the novel data set, which is highly sought after in Machine Learning formation of non-luminescent crystalline salts have been research, to further test our methods. Future work will include a investigated. It has been found that the crystallization of novel method that will not only teach the machine, but allow it [(C6H11NC)2Au]EF6 (E = As, Sb) from benzene solution produced to actively learn at low cost to our power systems. colorless, non-luminescent crystals of the solvates C6H6 • [(C6H11NC)2Au]EF6. These solvates lose benzene upon standing in air, and in turn produce green luminescent ([(C6H11NC)2Au]AsF6) or blue luminescent ([(C6H11NC)2Au]SbF6) The Influence of Climate Variables and Disease on powders. Further investigation of these crystals involves mixed Plantago lanceolata Survival amounts of anions during crystallization, as well as the anion - Lilly Ackerman (PF6) , exploring different properties of their conversion from a Sponsor: Jennifer Gremer, Ph.D. benzene solvate to a powder. Evolution & Ecology This project is a continuation of a study on the globally- distributed perennial plant Plantago lanceolata that has been Expression and Function of Sox10 During Neural Crest conducted annually since 2016. Studying global P. lanceolata Cell EMT populations in relation to climate change helps to inform the development of persistence models. The protocol of Plant Pop Carly Adamson Net, an international project, was used to execute our study. Sponsor: Crystal Rogers, Ph.D. Plant Pop Net aims to comprehend the factors driving the spatial VM: Anat Physio & Cell Biology dynamics of plant populations in response to climate change using data from P. lanceolata populations around the globe. At Neural crest cells are embryonic stem cells that transition from a our site in Davis, CA, we measured the abundance and tightly adherent epithelial sheet to migratory and invasive phenotypic traits of P. lanceolata for five years. Data collected mesenchymal cells. The epithelial to mesenchymal transition includes leaf length, inflorescence length, disease presence, (EMT) is a crucial process in which neural crest cells gain the and other phenotypic traits. We would like to investigate the ability to migrate out of the neural tube to become diverse influence of climate variables and disease on plant survival. derivatives (craniofacial bone, pigment, neurons) in the Using compiled data, we will look at variation in precipitation developing organism. Here, we study the molecular mechanisms and temperature to see if there is a correlation with yearly plant within and across species that drive the development and EMT survival. In addition, yearly survival will be compared to the of neural