Summer VT Undergraduate Research Conference July 31, 2014 The Summer Undergraduate Research Conference is a highpoint of our summer at Virginia Tech. Most students presenting today have spent ten or more weeks immersed in a research project full-time. Sum- mer affords undergraduates the opportunities to ded- - ecution and analysis of a research project. They have alsoicate hadsignificant the chance time to and become effort authentics to the planning, member ex of staff. Many thanksresearch to all who teams have by mentored working undergraduatesside-by-side with this faculty, sum- graduate students, postdoctoral fellows and research mer. Virginia Tech is pleased to offer these summer experience not weonly appreciate to our own the students, diversity but of ideasalso to and undergraduates cultures that you from have all overbrought the tocountry. our campus. We hope Congratulations that you have enjoyedto all of yourour presenters! time at Virginia Tech, and A very special thank you to Keri Swaby and Anita Dodson for their tremendous work in making this symposium happen! Jill C. Sible, Ph.D. Assistant Provost for Undergraduate Education Professor of Biological Sciences Page 2 Summer VT Undergraduate Research Conference July 31, 2014 Thank you to our sponsors! Virginia Tech Office of Undergraduate Research Virginia Tech Office of Undergraduate Studies Multicultural Academic Opportunities Program HHMI Scieneering Program Fralin Life Sciences Institute Page 3 Summer VT Undergraduate Research Conference July 31, 2014 Special Thanks to you! Program Directors: SURF- Keri Swaby (Office of Under- Biomechanics- Dr. Pam VandeVord graduate Research) (Biomedical Engineering) TOUR- Dr. Deborah Good (Human Bioprocess Engineering for Sustain- Nutrition Foods and Exercise) ability- Dr. Justin Barone (Biological Systems Engineering) VBI- Betsy Williams (VBI) CenTire- Dr. Saied Taheri VTTI/TURF- Gabrielle Laskey and Cecilia Elpy Cognitive Communication- Dr. Carl Dietrich (Electrical and Computer Engineering) Undergraduate Peer Mentors: Hands-On, Minds-On- Dr. Cindy Letitia Clay (Biological Sciences) Scie- Smith (Human Development) neering summer research (2013) Interdisciplinary Water Science and Dorian Jackson (Biological Sciences) Engineering- Dr. Vinod Lohani (Engi- Fralin SURF (2013) neering Education) Alex Karikari (Mechanical Engineer- MAOP- Dr. Jodi Thompson (MAOP) ing) Scieneering summer research (2013) Microbiology in Post Genome Era- Dr. Biswarup Mukhopadyay Kumiko Lippold (Psychology) Scie- (Biochemistry) neering academic year research (Fall, 2013) Scieneering- Keri Swaby (Office of Undergraduate Research) Carrie Hughes (Chemistry and Bio- chemistry) May 2015 Space@VT- Debbie Collins, Robert Clauer, Scott Bailey Event Coordinator: StREAM- Dr. Leigh Ann Krometis and Dr. Cully Hession (Biological Systems Anita Dodson- Office of Undergraduate Engineering) Education Page 4 Summer VT Undergraduate Research Conference July 31, 2014 Table of Contents Session schedules and list of presenters Session 1- Poster Presentation______________42-73 Session 2- Oral Presentation_______________74-102 Keynote Address___________________________6 Session 3- Poster Presentation______________103-162 Session 4- Oral Presentation_______________163-193 Session 5- Poster Presentation______________194-246 Programs with abstracts A Multiscale Approach to Biomechanics NSF REU ACC Creativity and Innovation Scholars Bioprocess Engineering for Sustainability NSF-REU Bridging the gap between physics, computer science, and K-12 education (VBI) Cognitive Communications NSF REU Dynamics of Water and Societal Systems: An Interdisciplinary Research Program at the Virginia Tech StREAM Lab NSF REU Fralin Life Science Institute Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) “Hands-On, Minds-On”: Multidisciplinary Approaches to Understanding and Preventing Societal Violence NSF REU Human Nutrition, Foods and Exercise (HNFE) HHMI Scieneering Program Interdisciplinary Water Sciences and Engineering NSF REU Microbiology in a Post Genome Era Multicultural Academic Opportunities Program (MAOP) Space@VT NSF REU Tire and Automotive Engineering (CenTire) NSF REU Translational Obesity Undergraduate Research Scholars Program Transportation Undergraduate Research Fellowship (TURF) Program Page 5 Summer VT Undergraduate Research Conference July 31, 2014 Keynote Address: Patricia M. Dove, Department of Geosciences Biography: Dr. Patricia Dove is a 2013 recipient of the MSA Dana Medal, Fellow of the Geochem- ical Society and European Association of Geochemistry, and Fellow of the American Geophysical Union for her contributions to biological mineralization and the biogeo- sciences. She is also the recipient of an Un- dergraduate Teaching Excellence Award, the F.W. Clarke Medal, and is twice recognized by Best University Research Awards from the US Department of Energy. In 2012, Trish was elected to the National Academy of Science. “Shelling Out The Shapes” Over the last 500 million years, animals have developed the abil- ity to synthesize the functional materials that we know as shells, teeth, bones, and more! These biominerals¹ are complex organ- ic-inorganic composites that often exhibit exquisite morphologi- cal complexity and possess remarkable physical properties. Using principles from chemistry, biology and materials physics, Profes- sor Dove and her students are conducting interdisciplinary stud- ies of chemical controls on patterns of biomineralization. This presentation will introduce the amazing world of biominerals and highlight recent efforts by the Dove group to decipher the pro- cesses by which modern and ancient produce these structures. Page 6 Summer VT Undergraduate Research Conference July 31, 2014 SCHEDULE AT A GLANCE 7:30-8:00 Registration and Poster set up in multipurpose room 8:00-8:15 Opening Remarks in the auditorium 8:30-9:30 Poster Session 1-Multipurpose room 9:45-11:30 Oral Session I Room B Oral Session I-Room C Oral Session I- Room D Oral Session I- Room F1 and F2 Oral Session I- Room G 11:30-12:30 Keynote Speaker Trish Dove-Auditorium 12:30-1:30 Lunch-Graduate lounge 1:30-2:30 Poster Session 3-Multipurpose room 2:45-4:00 Oral Session II-Room A Oral Session II-Room B Oral Session II- Room C Oral Session II- Room D Oral Session II- Room F Oral Session II- Room G 4:00-5:00 Poster Session 5- Room Page 7 Summer VT Undergraduate Research Conference July 31, 2014 ACC Creativity and Innovation Scholars Program Description: This program funded by the Inter-Institutional Academ- ic Collaborative of the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACCIAC) supports current Virginia Tech undergraduate students who are involved in independent research projects or creative works under the mentorship of faculty. Selected Virginia Tech scholars receive a monetary award that can be used as a stipend and/or direct sup- port of expenses such as supplies, travel, and use of specialized research services. Students from all academic disciplines were eligible to apply to the program. The six selected students represent four of the seven undergraduate colleges at Virginia Tech. Program Director: Dr. Jill Sible, Office of Undergraduate Studies Matthew Chernick Devon Johnson David Mackanic Angela Serna-Geitz Nicholas Tibbetts Shelbie Turner Page 8 Summer VT Undergraduate Research Conference July 31, 2014 Bioprocess Engineering for Sustainability NSF-REU Program description: Bioprocess engineering is an engineering discipline that utilizes biological materials and methods to make fuels, chemicals, plastics, and pharmaceuticals. Bioprocess engineering is a rapidly growing field that applies green engineering principles to replace current fossil fuel based processes. Re- search areas include synthetic biology and metabolic/ genetic engineering for bio- fuel and biochemical production, protein engineering for biopharmaceuticals, and sustainable biomaterials. Program director: Dr. Justin Barone, Biological Systems Engineering Celeste Blum Vincent Encinas Simone Gelinas Nathan Harms Ben Heithoff Will Heydinger Victoria Morales Jasmine Naik Jen Paul David Roth Shannen Scott Jessica Symons Page 9 Summer VT Undergraduate Research Conference July 31, 2014 Kids Tech University Bridging the gap between physics, computer science, and K-12 education (VBI) Program Description: Funded by an NSF grant, this 10-week summer undergrad- uate training opportunity was centered around bridging the gap between physics, computer science, and K-12 education. During the summer program, 2 under- graduate students (one majoring in physics and another in education) worked to- gether to produce various online content (including analyzing and exploring syn- thetic circuits that could be used to guide the decision of a dividing cell culture) that will be used in primary schools and on the Kids’ Tech University website. A teacher manual and hand-outs were also produced. Program Coordinator: Betsy Williams (VBI) Kids’ Tech Physics Adam Mills Lilian Hummer MBI/Ohio State and VBI/VT Madeline Edwards Akira Horiguchi Page 10 Summer VT Undergraduate Research Conference July 31, 2014 Cognitive Communications NSF REU Program Description: Students participate in research activities in the field of Cog- nitive Communications through the NSF Research Experiences for Undergradu- ates (REU) program. REU participants will work on research projects related to software-defined radio (SDR), cognitive radio, and other aspects of wireless com- munications. Program Director: Dr. Carl Dietrich, Principal Investigator and REU site director (Electrical