Alp Altug
This summer research project at the University of California focuses on the governance of groundwater resources, a critical issue facing the state due to significant aquifer depletion. I will assist in mapping the governance structures of California’s groundwater sustainability agencies using Geographic Information Systems (GIS). By analyzing these structures in relation to groundwater management outcomes, we aim to uncover correlations that may inform policy decisions and improve resource equity. This interdisciplinary study offers a unique opportunity to contribute to published research and gain a deep understanding of the intersection between […]
Vera Wheatley
In a harrowingly divided political climate with startlingly low rates of faith in the judicial process, bridging the gap between judges and those over which they seek to fairly preside is one of the most crucial and central goals of the Berkeley Judicial Institute. As such, beyond supporting the day-to-day needs of the institute and its events, my research this summer will consist of continuing to compile case studies in the form of interviews with judges who run successful community outreach projects in their district, supplemented by an in-depth historical […]
Ian Fredrickson
During the latter half of the 20th century, America experienced a sizable shift in political and economic ideology. By analyzing a random sample of work-related articles from the New York Times from 1950 to 1989, we measure whether the broad, symbolic framing of work shifted alongside the altering public discourse surrounding American social movements. We are tracing what was said, and not said, about working life during this critical period in American political economy.
Emma Wu
Water conservation policies in Southern California are reducing the amount of recycled wastewater discharged into rivers, but this reduction may lead to streams drying out. Environmental managers in Southern California are working to balance water conservation with the health of stream ecosystems. This project focuses on analyzing the impact of these water conservation policies on the surrounding vegetation. I will be conducting data analysis on how these new policies have impacted vegetation diversity. I will also use Google Earth Engine to monitor changes in water levels in the Los Angeles […]
Xinfang Xing
Cataracts affect millions of people worldwide.This project will mainly focus on RNA sequencing and differential expression analysis for comparing genetically mutated mice with wild-type mice. It aims to find target genes involved in cataract formation, retinal degeneration and lens growth.
Minseo Kim
Nuclear body formation contributes to cellular homeostasis under stress conditions by regulating nuclear processes like DNA repair and stress signaling. Previous studies have identified NUMR-1/-2 as a protein required for subnuclear organelle formation in response to nucleolar stress as well as for pathways for metal-induced stress resistance. However, the protein’s role in UV-induced stress response mechanisms has not been studied for C. elegans. At the Ma lab, I have previously found NUMR-1/-2 expression to strikingly increase by 24 hours after UV. This summer, I aim to further explore NUMR-1/-2’s role […]
Lynn Gu
Pacific coast irises are native to California, Oregon and part of Washington, and they are often found in small, isolated populations. Preliminary analyses of their phylogeny have shown that the relationship between populations do not necessarily coincide with relationship between species. I am researching how populations of pacific coast irises relate to each other by constructing maximum-likelihood/Bayesian phylogenetic trees and using statistical methods to further analyze the credibility of these trees.
Johan Zhang
The lateral line system is a sensory system in fish that allows them to detect movement, vibrations, and pressure gradients in the surrounding water. This system becomes crucial when studying the various behaviors such as navigating, hunting, or avoiding predators. My work this summer at the Liu Lab will consist of segmenting these lateral line canals and branching tubules using a software called Avizo. By doing so, we hope to identify any evolutionary adaptations, functionalities, or phylogenetic relationships between ancient and modern fishes.
Serena Gu
AskOski is a degree planning system that incorporates machine learning models built on various data like course description, past preferences, and historic enrollment to help students explore their academic interests. To further facilitate the system’s exploring and planning features, my summer research project will focus on exploring, building, and fine-tuning different variations of the bag-of-words and course2vec models. Additionally, I plan to leverage tools like OpenAI’s models to perform feature extraction and searching.
Maddie Qualls
The Center for the Tebtunis Papyri (CTP) recently received thousands of unstudied papyri fragments, so I will catalog them by measuring, describing, and properly storing them. I will also update the CTP’s online catalog by imaging additional papyri for the collection and making edits to the existing catalog. This way, the CTP will be able to offer new and better research materials to scholars worldwide through the Library’s Digital Collections platform. Lastly, I will continue working on the Smyly Correspondence Project, a collaborative project, which entails digitizing archival materials related […]