SMU students accepted to NCUR

 

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Mace Cowart

Faculty mentor: Kara-Lynn Vaeni (Theatre)

"Gender Conditioning and Performance"

Abstract: Gender Conditioning and Performance is a theatre approach that challenges the relevance of maintaining a gender binary onstage. Actors are praised for playing villains and murderers, knowing that the actors themselves are not dangerous people. What keeps us from embracing transgender and non-binary actors in the same way we love cis-gender actors? Can we allow actors to play characters whose gender is different from actors' own gender? Examined through the relationship between actor, character, and gender, my research deepens the understanding of gender in theatre performances through the use of somatic theatre practices. Somatic practices decrease the possibility of self-assumptions and increase true, physical impulses, leading to genuine exploration of the actor and their relationship to gender. Through engagement with the Ohad Naharin’s Gaga movement, gender studies, and theatre practices, this research investigates the power of the gender binary, what holds it together, and what can break it apart.

Sipho Dongozi

Faculty mentor: Jill Kelly (History)

"The role that British patriarchal patterns had on Zimbabwean women's rights; by influencing existing indigenous patriarchal systems."

Abstract forthcoming.

Regina Nguyen & Odran Fitzgerald

Faculty mentors: Janille Smith-Colin and Jessie Zarazaga (Civil Engineering)

"Developing A Community-Engaged Design Framework for Community Environmental Justice Efforts"

Abstract: Due to information accessibility and lack of technical resources, disenfranchised communities risk being spoken over by protective agencies in environmental justice (EJ) efforts. However, academics can use community-engaged research methods to understand the afflicted population’s needs and vision for remediative action. In previous academic-community collaborations, methods emphasizing stakeholder participation have shown to encourage residents to think creatively about their needs and potential solutions by allowing participation in the design process. This study evaluates the benefits of allowing community members greater control in design decisions by collaborating with a community in Garland, Texas concerned with their neighborhood’s history of industrial pollution and possibly related epidemiological concerns. Over the course of the study, the research team developed a new design framework geared towards enabling citizen autonomy after short-term community-academic partnerships. This framework modified the traditional design thinking (DT) process by increasing the frequency of “choice points” which allow stakeholder feedback to alter the product during all stages of the design process. Ethnographic interviews were used to collect community perceptions as site conditions evolved. Then, insights derived using qualitative data methods were used to drive the design process. By the end of the study, use of the framework resulted in multiple product prototypes for community use and a positive relationship with the citizens involved in the EJ effort. Moreover, retrospective stakeholder feedback indicated satisfaction and a desire for continued involvement. It is expected that applications of the design framework in other EJ sites and disciplines will contribute to continuing research efforts to establish ethical and equitable methodologies for community-engaged and community-based work.

Andrea Reyes

Faculty mentor: Krista Smith (Physics)

"A Multiwavelength View of Star Formation and Feedback in Active Galaxies"

Abstract: Active Galactic Nuclei (AGN) are supermassive black holes at the centers of galaxies that are actively accreting matter. This process can drive powerful outflows of matter and radiation into the host galaxy, which can enhance and/or shut off star formation, in a process known as AGN feedback. 

I present images of these outflows in multiple electromagnetic wavebands: 22 GHz radio images taken by the Very Large Array, X-ray images from the Chandra space telescope, and visible light images from the Hubble Space Telescope. This multiwavelength view gives us a better understanding of the AGN-galaxy interaction: the radio images map the outflows themselves, visible light shows us how large the jet is relative to the galaxy and the locations of star formation, and X-ray emission maps the sites of interaction of the outflow and host galaxy gas. The radio and X-ray images were used to determine which galaxies to further analyze using spectroscopic images from the MUSE IFU instrument on the VLT, which provides spectral information for every spatial pixel in a galaxy image. I analyze a sample of both archival and newly-obtained MUSE data, resulting in maps of ionized oxygen and hydrogen gas. These images also provide velocity information, revealing distinct regions of red-shifted and blue-shifted gas emission that can indicate rotation, outflow-driven gas velocities, or turbulent motion due to shocks at interaction sites. Future work will use the MUSE data to determine the strength of the outflow, and it will also verify that it is caused by an AGN and not other radiative sources such as supernovae.

Alexandra Savu

Faculty mentor: Sean Griffin (Film)

"Stylistic Approach to Portraying a Realistic Romance on Screen"

Abstract: Night and Day, a 15-minute short thesis film, follows the romantic journey of a young couple. Emmanuel comes to Gabriella seven years after he unexpectedly left her on their anniversary. When his illegal activities from work began to have an effect on his personal life, Emmanuel knew he could not let Gabriella get involved with this. After years experiencing the harsh consequences of his immature actions, a changed Emmanuel returns, only to see Gabriella taking care of two kids. She has changed as well. As memories interfere with daily routines, the characters question whether their love deserves another chance. The reality of their present conflicts with the reality they used to have, as emotions gain control over their lives. My goals for this short film are to portray how complex love becomes with time, and to encourage young people to dedicate more effort into making relationships work. I express this stylistically by using telephoto lenses with high key lighting, and tilted angles. The editing will focus on capturing reactions, face expressions, getting an intimate insight into the mind of the characters, as the film’s goal is to reveal the profound emotion revoked through heartbreak, separation, the loss of love, but also the process of finding it again and regaining trust in the one you love. Viewers will experience a strong attachment to the characters as they discover the crazy things love makes people do.

Shriya Siddhartha

Faculty mentor: Alex Lippert (Chemistry). Co-author: Uroob Haris

"Using Photocaged Nitric Oxide Donors to Study Cellular Systems"

Abstract: Nitric Oxide (NO) is an endogenous regulatory molecule that potentially affects a multitude of cellular systems, including mitochondrial signaling pathways. Given its high reactivity, NO can be either beneficial or harmful and has been implicated in both biogenesis and the triggering of pathways that lead to neurodegeneration. However, unearthing the specific effects of NO on mitochondrial dynamics and cellular systems has proven challenging in part due to the limitations of current methods of intracellular monitoring. The development of a tool for studying this relationship is imperative and can elucidate crucial details on morphological changes in mitochondria as well as other cellular processes. Here, we delineate the synthesis and applications of NOD550, a novel nitric oxide donor that is highly localized in mitochondria. NOD550 was synthesized through a two-step synthetic cascade that started with Rhodamine 6G. Haihong H., et. al. showed that once photoactivated, NOD550 releases a fluorophore and two NO molecules, allowing for the observance of the dynamics and response of the mitochondria. Microscopy done in tandem with NOD550 serves a major advantage by enabling the study of intracellular signaling in physiologically-relevant conditions. Based on these studies, NOD550 could serve as a valuable tool for further study to be done regarding the release of NO on mitochondrial dynamics and cell signaling systems.

Sandhya Srinivasa-Narasimhan

Faculty mentor: Richard Duschl (Caruth Institute for Engineering Education)

"Activating Learning in Out-of-School Youth Science & Engineering Programs: Activation Lab Survey Findings"

Abstract: According to the U.S. National Science Foundation 2022-2026 Strategic Plan, as globalization and knowledge-based economies grow, scientific and technological innovations become increasingly important and thus enhance the importance of STEM education opportunities. Since 2019, the Caruth Institute of Engineering Education (CIEE) has offered a variety of week-long engineering summer camps to students. The camps are grouped by grade levels (7th& 8th, 9th&10th, 11th&12th), gender (all girls, all boys, co-ed), tuition-based, scholarship, and residential options. In addition, the CIEE began offering camps to 5th and 6th graders in 2022. The Institute offers Hamon Foundation camps for underrepresented and underserved youth in South Dallas, e.g., Jubilee Park Community Center, and West Dallas, e.g., Voice of Hope Ministries. The types of engineering activities over the years have included designing an irrigation system, designing, and building a wind turbine, a pollinator house, a water filter, and solar ovens. To assess learning and engagement, the CIEE utilizes the STEM Learning Activation Survey, developed by Rena Dorph, Matthew Cannady, and Christian Schunn, as a pre and post-camp to measure the interests, confidence, scientific sensemaking, and emerging identities in STEM disciplines. The STEM Learning Activation Lab/Survey has prompts that assess individual’s responses across four dimensions of science learning activation: Fascination, Values, Competency Beliefs, and Innovation Stance. The presentation will present a factor analysis that examines connections across these four dimensions as well as a discussion of findings examining correlations with other factors such as age, gender, socioeconomic status, and the domain/contexts of science and engineering that framed the activities the campers completed.

Vivian Thai

Faculty mentor: Brian Zoltowski (Chemistry)

"CRY-based Optogenetic Tools for Drug Discovery"

Abstract: The circadian clock is composed of input signals, an oscillator, and output functions that regulate circadian rhythms. Disturbed clock proteins can cause sleep disorders, immune disorders, and mood disorders. Within the mammalian circadian clock, the suprachiasmatic nucleus is driven by transcription translation feedback loops (TTFL), which has two activator proteins, CLOCK and BMAL1, and two repressor proteins, period (PER) and cryptochrome (CRY). CRY works as a negative regulator that inhibits its own expression. Small-molecule modulators can also adjust the circadian clock’s period by targeting input pathways or specific pockets on clock proteins. To study CRY’s role in the mammalian circadian system, we developed an optogenetic tool to examine interactions between CRY and nuclear receptors (NRs).

We used a mammalian two-hybrid assay to examine the interactions between mouse cryptochrome (mCRY1 and mCRY2) and NRs: androgen receptor (AR), glucocorticoid receptor (GR), and pregnane receptor (PXR).  We also introduced the small-molecule modulator KL001, which has been identified to affect both mCRY1 and mCRY2’s binding ability with other proteins. Other small molecules work as selective drugs, binding only to mCRY1 or mCRY2, or have therapeutic properties for diabetes (GR), testosterone/androgenic hormone disorders (AR), and steroid hormone receptor PXR.

Since our optogenetic tool showed that mCRY1/mCRY2 interacted with NRs, our optogenetic tool proved to be an accurate indicator for interaction between clock components and receptors. With a successful optogenetic tool, we have a high throughput assay to test interactions between CRY, NRs, and small-molecule modulators in transfected mammalian cells. Ultimately, our optogenetic tool allows us to investigate CRY’s role in the regulation of mammalian development and metabolism. Understanding the effects of drugs on the interaction between the cryptochromes and the receptors will help in developing drugs to regulate these hormonal processes.

Jonathan Thomas

Faculty mentor: Brett Story (Civil Engineering)

"Compressed Earth Block Production and Characterization"

Compressed Earth Blocks (CEB) are an alternate building material made of soil, sand, water, and cement. Compared to traditional masonry units, these CEB are cost effective, sustainable, and can be made on site. The big distinction between traditial masonry units and CEB stems from the fact that CEB is unfired. The performance of the CEB is heavily dependent on the soil type and mix design (ratio of soil to water to cement). The use for these bricks can be seen in the NAE Grand Challenge of restoring and improving urban infrastructure. However, in order for CEB to be used in construction, engineers must have a better understanding of how the mix design will affect the final material performance in order to make sure that projects are up to code. This poster presents the research done to evaluate how mix design affects the final compressive strength of CEB, as well as looking at how consistent the compressive strength values are. CEB was tested at both 7 day and 28 days to see how the final compressive strength varies at partial and full strength. In addition, the poster seeks to show future use of this block in developing countries, through the use of a program that would allow workers to do field tests on soil and input it so that they could determine what the soil type they were working with was, and how that would affect their final mix design and block performance.