Minyu Feng
Dark photon is a hypothesized gauge boson which behaves like a standard photon. It is called dark because it interacts very weakly with normal particles like electrons and protons, but instead interacts more strongly with dark matter. This makes dark photons escape previous detections easily. However, some unexpected radiation from the center of our galaxy implies the existence of dark photon. Therefore, we plan to produce dark photon by annihilation of a pair of particle and anti-particle with enough center-of-mass energy. We can look at the decay products of the […]
Jimmy Ng
Discovered in 2004, graphene is a single atom thick sheet of carbon arranged in a hexagonal lattice. It is also the most conductive material at room temperature known to humankind and many believe it could replace silicon and change the future of computers and other electrical devices. Despite this, there is a long way to go before reaping the benefits of its potential applications. Because graphene is a relatively new material, scientists and engineers are still in the process of learning about its production, properties, and capabilities. For my summer […]
Rebecca Yue
Salmonella enterica is a bacterium that causes major food borne disease in the world. It infects people by inducing the uptake of the bacteria by secreting proteins into cells in the host’s intestines. A crucial system of Salmonella enterica pathogenesis is the Type III Secretion System (T3SS) which transports bacterial proteins into host cells. Previous experiments indicate that the Disulfide Bond Formation (Dsb) System is needed for the Type III Secretion System. However, a direct interaction between the two systems is not currently known. Through molecular cloning and a bacterial […]
Meriel Melendrez
Coast Redwoods can grow over three hundred and fifty feet tall—well overtopping Sather Tower’s three hundred and seven. An individual Redwood might live in multiple above-ground micro-climates that can be especially noticeable on a sunny day: from low, perhaps shady to dry, hot, dizzyingly high-up. Macro-morphological features of their leaves (e.g. surface area and connection to the stem) have been demonstrated to correlate with such great height, suggesting that variable leaf structures work together with towering stature. What the stomata, pores, are up to meanwhile has yet to be as […]
Dayoung Park
Degradation reactions of alkyl radicals are of interest in combustion chemistry, planetary atmospheres, and the interstellar medium. However, the nature of their reaction pathways is not easily understood as the intermediates are highly reactive. My project will investigate the dissociation dynamics of a simple primary alkyl radical, 1-propyl, upon excitation at 248 nm using a detection scheme known as photofragment translational spectroscopy. Four distinctive product channels are assessed at this wavelength. A preliminary experimental work seems to indicate that the C-C bond cleavage is energetically the most favorable product channel. […]
Robert Stevenson
This project is investigating conflicts in the representation of plant assemblages in the middle Pennsylvanian (Moscovian, 311.7 1.1 to 306.5 1.0 Mya) fossil record. Currently, the held belief is that the tropical lowlands of the Moscovian were dominated by swamp forests (coal forests) during periods of deglaciation. However, recent studies of the Baker Coal from the Cottage Grove mine of southeast Illinois show xerophytic (dry) plants sandwiched in-between layers dominated by the more common coal forest plants. This discovery infers that these floras may have been growing in close proximity […]
Geoffrey Iwata
Laser light has been proven to be an effective and elegant method of probing sensitive physical systems, providing many seminal, precision methods in experimental physics. These experiments must prove free of systematic errors and be minimally perturbative to the phenomena to be examined. Along these lines, I am researching the properties of zero-birefringent acrylic polymers in a range of temperatures from room temperature down to a couple Kelvin. In exhibiting this unique property of zero-birefringence, these materials do not affect the polarization of light passing through them, even when under […]
Joshua Penalba
The Eastern Arc Mountains of Africa have been identified as an area of high bird diversity and endemism. The forests on these mountains underwent a contraction creating sky islands. Diversity of the forest habitat suggests that the Eastern Arc Mountains served as a refuge during the Pliocene climate cycling. Current molecular technology has allowed for discovery of cryptic taxa between the sky islands. Insights in the genetic structure of populations lead to further understanding of the driving forces of evolution for endemic taxa. There is a high likelihood that similar […]
Tara Sulur
Choanoflagellates are single-celled eukaryotic organisms that are the most recent ancestor to multicellular animals. As such, they possess most of the proteins required for the transition to multicellularity. One choanoflagellate protein in particular, Homer, has been shown through immumofluorescence to localize to the nucleus. I will be using transmission electron microscopy with Immunogold staining and membrane fractionation to discover the sub-cellular localization of Homer. In animals, Homer plays a crucial role in adhesion and scaffolding at the synapses of neurons. Since neuro-sensory systems are unique to metazoans, I hope to […]
Nicole Greenfield
Hawaiian riparian zones have a high incidence of invasive plants that threaten the biodiversity of native vegetation and stream habitats. Restoration efforts to replant native vegetation are underway; however, Hawaiis extensive history and abundance of invasive species make it challenging to find natural reference sites. Therefore, my project aims to explore ecological relationships between the riparian zone and stream habitats to help monitor the progress of an ongoing restoration. I will use Heeia Stream in Oahu as my study site, where I will compare stream habitat between invaded and restored […]