OFFICE OF UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCH VI RT UAL APRIL 30, 2021 RESEARCH.UN D ERG RAD UATE. VT.ED UI SYMPOSIUM Contents WELCOME FROM ASSOCIATE VICE PROVOST FOR UNDERGRADUATE EDUCATION, DR. JILL SIBLE 2 WELCOME FROM DIRECTOR OF THE OFFICE OF UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCH, KERI SWABY 3 ACC MEETING OF THE MINDS - RECOGNITION 4 NATIONAL CONFERENCE ON UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCH - RECOGNITION 5 TRAVEL AWARDS - RECOGNITION 6 2021 OUTSTANDING UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCH MENTOR AWARDS 7 OFFICE OF UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCH AMBASSADORS 8 INFORMATIONAL BOOTHS 9 ABSTRACTS (ALPHABETICAL) 10 1 Jill C. Sible, Ph.D. Associate Vice Provost for Undergraduate Education, Professor of Biological Sciences Welcome Welcome to Virginia Tech’s Spring Undergraduate Research and Creative Scholarship Virtual Symposium. This event is a celebration of the creative and scholarly accomplishments of undergraduate students campus- wide. Our program reflects the quality and diversity of undergraduate research at Virginia Tech. Many of the projects are the result of collaborations among several students. Undergraduate research is recognized as one of the high impact practices in undergraduate education. Students who participate in undergraduate research are more likely to thrive and persist in their education. They become co-creators of knowledge, makers of objects that are useful and beautiful. At the heart and soul of these projects are collaborations between undergraduates and their mentors. Many thanks to the faculty, graduate students and others who commit to these scholarly endeavors with undergraduate students. It is remarkable that we have near-record levels of presentations by students despite the challenges of conducting and presenting undergraduate research during a pandemic. This is credit to our amazing students and dedicated faculty and the resourcefulness of the Office of Undergraduate Research in creating the virtual symposium. I am most grateful to Keri Swaby, Director of the Office of Undergraduate Research, for her steadfast leadership and advocacy for undergraduate research regardless of the challenges. Thanks to the Fralin Life Sciences Institute, and to Dr. Dennis Dean for continuous support and advocacy for undergraduate research and to the many colleagues who have contributed to building an endowment for this symposium. My best, Jill C. Sible, Ph.D. Associate Vice Provost for Undergraduate Education 2 Office of Undergraduate Research Keri Swaby Director of Undergraduate Research Welcome to the annual Dennis Dean Undergraduate Research and Creative Scholarship conference at Virginia Tech hosted by the Office of Undergraduate Research (OUR). This year we convene virtually once again but hope that we can be together in person next year, as we celebrate the exceptional work of our undergraduates. Despite the disruption to normal research and creative operations this year, our students have persevered and excelled, producing notable and impressive results that are on display today. Today's asynchronous event will showcase the breadth of research and creative scholarship taking place across campus every day at Virginia Tech and will demonstrate how broadly we define this impactful form of experiential learning. Presenting results of a research or creative project is an important part of a student’s overall journey because it provides them with the opportunity to learn to effectively communicate to a broad audience, defend their work, exchange ideas, and even be inspired for future directions in their work. I applaud our presenters for creating such compelling videos to share their work with you and I encourage you to engage these scholars with comments and questions on their “pages”. Thank you for participating and helping our students to grow. As with many other offices, the OUR shifted all operations virtually this year, but we are pleased that we were able to maintain the same level of support and programming to students and faculty as in the past, although perhaps with a little more creativity and added patience for technology. Critical to the success of the OUR this year has been the hard work of our Program Assistant, Nicole Bottass; the guidance of an active advisory board, comprised of faculty, administrators, and undergraduate and graduate students; and the 13 amazing Ambassadors who tirelessly work to help students navigate undergraduate research, particularly at this moment in time when so much is uncertain and has changed. Without these dedicated people, the operations of the OUR would not be possible. I must recognize and specially thank the Fralin Life Sciences Institute, whose continued financial support allows us to celebrate undergraduate research and creative scholarship every day. As always, I am humbled by the quality of work on show as part of this symposium and invite you to marvel at the wealth of research and creative scholarship the university has to offer. I invite you to engage, to explore, to connect, and to have fun… all from the comfort and safety of your own home! Keri Swaby Director of Undergraduate Research 3 ACC Meeting of the Minds Due to the COVID-19 pandemic the 2021 ACC Meeting of the Minds (ACC MOM) at the University of North Carolina – Chapel Hill was held virtually. The scheduled conference dates were April 9-11, 2021. The Office of Undergraduate Research would like to recognize the students who presented. Each year, 5-10 outstanding undergraduate researchers (accompanied by a faculty/ staff member) from each ACC university gather at a host institution to present their research, either orally or as a poster. Virginia Tech representatives are selected by a competitive refereed process. It is truly an honor to be invited to participate in this conference. Student name, academic major, title of presentation, and faculty mentor listed below alphabetically. Bella Brann (Physics) ENGINEERING FASTER DOMAIN WALL MOTION IN MAGNETIC NANOSTRIPS Dr. Satoru Emori Christine Faunce (Experimental Neuroscience) SINGLE NUCLEOTIDE P129T MUTATION SHOWS SUSCEPTIBILITY TO PROBLEMATIC DRUG USE IN MICE Dr. Matthew Buczynski Adam Luftglass (Materials Science and Engineering) THE IMPACT OF STANDARDIZED FOOTWEAR ON LOAD AND LOAD SYMMETRY Dr. Robin Queen Victor Mukora (Computational Modeling and Data Analytics) APPLYING MULTIPLE LINEAR REGRESSION TO PREDICTING SOLAR ENERGY Dr. Anne Brown Timothy Proudkii (Physics) STAR FORMATION IN EARLY-TYPE GALAXIES: THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN H2/H1 SURFACE DENSITIES AND MEASURED HYDROSTATIC MIDPLANE PRESSURE Dr. Danielle Lucero Taylan Tunckanat (Biochemistry) BIOCHEMICAL CHARACTERIZATION OF AMINOMUTASES INVOLVED IN SALT TOLERANCE IN METHANOGENIC ARCHAEA Dr. Kylie Allen 4 NATIONAL CONFERENCE ON UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCH Due to the COVID-19 pandemic the 2021 National Conference on Undergraduate Research (NCUR) was held virtually. The scheduled conference dates were April 12-14, 2021. The Office of Undergraduate Research would like to recognize the students who were selected to present. The National Conference on Undergraduate Research (NCUR), established in 1987, is dedicated to promoting undergraduate research, scholarship and creative activity in all fields of study by sponsoring an annual conference for students. Unlike meetings of academic professional organizations, this gathering of young scholars welcomes presenters from all institutions of higher learning and from all corners of the academic curriculum. Through this annual conference, NCUR creates a unique environment for the celebration and promotion of undergraduate student achievement, provides models of exemplary research and scholarship, and helps to improve the state of undergraduate education. Student name, academic major and title of presentation listed below alphabetically. Neema Ahmadian (Engineering) DRONE ULTRASOUND ACOUSTIC ENERGY TRANSFER Samuel Browning (Psychology) APPLYING POSITIVE PSYCHOLOGY DURING A QUARANTINE: HOW DOES A WEEKLY GRADITUDE LETTER AFFECT DAILY MOOD STATES? Shruti Das (Mechanical Engineering) SOUND MANIPULATION TECHNIQUES AND APPLICATIONS Ryan D'Onofrio (Biology) A STUTTERING ASSOCIATED MUTATION IN THE GENE GNPTAB ALTERS RAT PUP "ALTRASONIC VOCALIZATIONS" Lucas Feldkamp (Architecture) CONTROL OF EXCESSIVE MOVEMENTS OF ARCHITECHURAL STRUCTURES Michael Taylor (Biology) SN OVEREXPRESSION OF A FOXP2 TRUNCATED VARIANT SHOWS BIOLOGICAL RELEVANCE ON THE DEVELOPMENT OF VOCALIZATIONS AND BEHAVIORS IN RATS Taylan Tunckanat (Biochemistry) BIOCHEMICAL CHARACTERIZATION OF AMINOMUTASES INVOLVED IN SALT TOLERANCE IN METHANOGENIC ARCHAEA Sam Williams (Computer Science) 3D LEARNING ENVIRONMENTS IN PRACTICE-VIRTUAL MUSEUM AND VIRTUAL CLASSROOM CASE STUDIES 5 Travel Grant Awards 2020-2021 In these uncertain times, the VT Office of Undergraduate Research encourages students to present their research at virtual conferences. OUR travel support program will cover expenses related to presenting at a virtual conference. This rolling review process is designed to assist undergraduate students who have had their research or creative scholarship accepted for presentation at a regional, national or international conference. This program will provide travel funding to students who, without this support, may not be able to attend a conference to present their work. Current undergraduates from any discipline are eligible to apply for travel support. Samuel Browning (Psychology, College of Science) Faculty Mentor: Dr. Scott Geller MID-ATLANTIC UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCH CONFERENCE (MAURC) March 25- 27, 2021 Mackenzie Davis (Psychology, College of Science) Faculty Mentor: