2021 Intermountain and California- Southern Junior Science & Humanities Symposium Instagram: #mttechscience21 Facebook: @MontanaTechScienceandEngineeringFair Contents About 4 Director’s Welcome 6 Sponsor’s Welcome 7 Overall Schedule 12 Symposia Schedule 13 Things to do in Montana 17 Speaker Biographies 18 Student Regional Finalists 19 Oral Presenter Abstracts 21 Poster Presenters 57 Special Acknowledgments 64 Page 2 Page 3 About JSHS About The Institute for Educational Dear Friend: Opportunities at Montana Tech I am delighted to share with you our big news! Montana Tech Technical Outreach is now the Institute for Educational Opportunities. As with any organization, we have evolved and grown over the years to better serve Montana students and teachers. Our new name is part of that evolution and we feel it better reflects what we do. The Institute will continue to provide the same high-quality programs that support our core mission: to provide students and teachers with the resources they need to achieve student success in higherThe education. Intermountain JSHS is one of 48 regional Symposia that feed The Institute for Educational Opportunities is a consortium of programs developed to provide K-12 and college students with As part of our new identity, we areinto also updating the ourNational website. This revampJSHS. The JSHS Program promotes original is part of our efforts to better shareresearch the opportunities and available experimentation for students in the sciences, engineering, and the tools and support they need to achieve success in higher and teachers and keep all stakeholders up to date on the Institute’s latest education. developments. Visit us at institute.mtech.edumathematics to learn more. at the high school level and publicly recognizes We are able to fulfill our mission studentsbecause of the support for fromoutstanding members achievement. By connecting talented Since 1994, the Institute has focused on students who show high of the community, like you. We hopestudents, that you will continue their to supportteachers, and research professionals at affiliated aptitude in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) our programs as we strive to empower students to achieve their dreams through education. Symposia and by rewarding research excellence, JSHS aims to and pairs them with programs that meet their individual needs. Students enrolled in Institute programs are given one-on-one Thank you for your ongoing support.widen Your contributions the pool have enabled of trained talent prepared to conduct research us to help hundreds of Montana studentsand achievedevelopment success in higher vital to our nation. Please visit jshs.org for more attention and support, ensuring that they receive the tools they education for more than 17 years.information. need to achieve their dreams. Sincerely, As part of its commitment to student success, the Institute offers programs to develop teachers. A number of professional courses Amy L. Verlanic and other resources are available to teachers interested in adding Executive Director moreProviding challenging the resourcesrigor to their curriculum. P.S. Think you know all there is to know about the Institute? Take our Convenientlyneeded for located success in the in Health Sciences Building on the trivia quiz for a chance to win A MONTANA TECH GETAWAY package including 2 rounds of golf at Old Works, 2 tickets to a Tech game, dinner Montanahigher Tech education campus, The Institute’s resources are available to for 2 at the Montana Club and a nights lodging. those interested in supporting lifelong learning for students. Visit us at institute.mtech.edu for more details. Institute for Educational Opportunities 1300 West Park Street Butte, MT 59701 P: 1-800-445-Tech E: [email protected] institute.mtech.edu Institute for Educational Opportunities Montana Tech Park Street 1300 West Butte, MT 59701 Page 4 Page 5 Director’s Welcome Sponsor’s Welcome It is my privilege to welcome you to It is my privilege to welcome you to the Junior Science and Humanities Montana Tech and the Intermountain Symposium joint event of the Junior Science and Humanities Intermountain and California Southern Symposium. Montana Learning Regions. Center at Canyon Ferry Lake is proud to have the opportunity to partner While 2021 is Montana Technological with the Institute for Educational University’s seventh year of hosting the Opportunities at Montana Tech and symposium, this year’s event is anything to be a sponsor of this exciting event. but business as usual. The pandemic As the Executive Director of the changed the definition of normal for all of Learning Center, a leader in STEM (science, technology, math us, including the Symposium. We are excited to be new to hosting and engineering) education in Montana, I want to applaud and the California-Southern Region and to be administering these congratulate you for participating in the Symposium for your Symposiums entirely virtual. We thank you in advance for your dedication, enthusiasm and hard work. It’s thrilling to see your flexibility and understanding. Blazing new trails is often a bumpy intelligent and creative thinking about a wide variety of scientific, road. The IJSHS team took on these logistical challenges due to social science and humanities topics. our strong commitment to support student scholars. Participation in this Symposium enhances your participants’ thinking, writing and presentation skills. More importantly, it opens Support for those of you who take on the most complex of a world of possibilities for your future, in terms of post-secondary scientific challenges is paramount! The technological advances education and potential careers. Many of you will become the that will take us through and beyond this pandemic is derived from educators, innovators and leaders of tomorrow. creative people, who through perseverance in tackling complex It is especially meaningful for us to see students participating in problems make an enhanced world. this Symposium who are or have been participants in the Learning The hard work and enthusiasm that is evident in the preparation Center’s summer science camps, the Learning Center’s NASA- of your technical papers, gives us great hope for the future. affiliated programs or both. The Learning Center strives to be a Through such probes for understanding, you lay the foundation for place where students from elementary school through college breakthroughs and accomplishments that will repay you in terms and teachers from elementary school to high school can come of personal satisfaction. More importantly, it will repay in multitude together to solve problems, create and be empowered. Its camps by its benefits to society. and NASA educational programs provide students with STEM immersion experiences and internships, friendship building and We encourage all student scholars participating this year to strive recreation. Its world-class observatory, which includes the largest for excellence, innovation, and invention throughout your scientific public access telescope in Montana, gives students, teachers and and engineering studies and careers. We wish you all the greatest members of the public the opportunity to learn about the night success in your scientific pursuits far into the future. sky. Its teacher training programs help educators expand their skills and knowledge, giving them the tools they need to help their students succeed in an increasingly complex world. Amy Verlanic I wish all of you the greatest success in this Symposium and in your Executive Director, Institute for Educational Opportunities educational and career pursuits far into the future. Ryan Hannahoe Executive Director, Montana Learning Center at Canyon Ferry Lake Page 6 Page 7 Research Paper Reviewers Research Paper Reviewers cont. Adam Maes, TRIO Coordinator - Montana Tech Randi Phelps-Potaznick, Oregon Health & Science University Bev Hartline, Emeritus Faculty - Montana Tech Rayelynn Brandl, Director Clark Fork Watershed Education Program Bill Kellogg, NorthWestern Energy Rhonda Coguill, Highland Point, Inc. Brahmananda Pramanik, Associate Professor - Montana Tech Robert Chamblin, Instructor - Montana Tech Caitlin Cooley-Chamblin, Instructor - Montana Tech Ronald Breitmeyer, Associate Professor - Montana Bureau of Mines Carrie Vath, Assoc. Vice Chancellor/Dean of Students - Montana and Geology, Montana Tech Tech Ryan Hessler, Montana Tech Curtis Link, Associate Dean - Montana Tech Ryan Munson, Instructor - Montana Tech Dalton Caron, Montana Tech Sarah Lux, Retired Doctor of Internal Medicine Dario Prieto, Assistant Professor - Montana Tech Sarah Urban, AP & Honors Biology Instructor - Capital High School Debbie Bristol, Arizona Sun Realtor Shari Curtis, Butte Public Library Douglas Coe, Emeritus Faculty - Montana Tech Vanna Boccadori, Montana Fish Wildlife and Parks Douglas Galarus, Associate Professor - Montana Tech Geri Nauck, Concord University/Upward Bound Grant Myhre, DJ & A Engineers, Planners and Surveyors Gretchen Druliner, Field Coordinator - Clark Fork Watershed Education Program Hannah Sylvester, Admission Counselor - Carroll College James Cabe, Principle Analyst, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory Jennifer Dobb, EHS Consultant - Consulting Services Jessica Solberg, Montana State University Josh Ralph, Montana Tech Joyanna-Lynn Borgagna, Montana State University Karen Wesenberg, Instructor - Montana Tech Katherine Zodrow, Associate Professor - Montana Tech Kerrie Berger, Montana Fish Wildlife and Parks Lisette Druliner-Kim,