Stander Symposium: Projects with UD Institutional Learning Goals

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  "Faculty Value Perceptions: The Influence of Gender and Rank"

  Samantha Bowman, Maria Gillotti, Jack Koertje

  This research investigates how women, transgender, and gender nonconforming non-tenure track (NTT) faculty perceive their value in the university as compared to men in similar roles. The academy is in a moment of pivotal change, in which changing demographic trends and competition for tuition-paying undergraduates has forced institutions of higher learning, especially regional private universities, to restructure faculty appointments. This has led to an increasing proportion of faculty hiring into non tenure-track roles vis-à-vis traditional tenure eligible ones as a method of cost savings. Moreover, the proportion of women and gender nonconforming individuals (as a group) serving in these contingent roles is notably higher than that of their male counterparts. To uncover the gendered dynamics of value perception amongst professional faculty at a university, we employ a brief survey followed by more in-depth interviewing through the use of focus groups and, potentially, one-on-one interviews. We acknowledge different instruments are needed to answer different and complex questions of how gender identity intersects with the experience and perception of value of NTT faculty.

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  Faith and Fertility: The Intersection of Reproductive Rights and Religion

  Grady Baumgartner, Mya Hurst, Katherine Marzec

  A literature review over the complicated relationship between religion and reproductive rights. Seeking to promote understanding and respectful dialogue, emphasizing the need for policies that balance religious convictions with the protection of individual rights.

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  Fast and Flourishing: How Callery Pear Outpaces Native Species

  Megan Stoneburner

  Callery pear (Pyrus calleryana) is an invasive woody species that threatens ecosystems in the eastern United States. This species was originally introduced to the United States as fire-blight resistant ornamental trees, and became popular due to the attractive flowers that are present from April to May that develop into fruits that stay on the trees for some of the winter. In the Miami Valley region, Callery pear is prevalent and aggressive in taking over niche space. Phenology is the study of the life cycle of a plant. In this study, we are focused on the phenology of Callery pear’s vegetative, fruiting, and flowering features. Callery pear is thought to have an extended phenology that allows it to outcompete native species in the area. The goal of this study is to give us a better understanding of Callery pear’s phenology in a changing climate. To obtain this goal, we established three study sites located in Montgomery County, Ohio, USA. These study sites were categorized as rural, urban, or suburban. Each of these study sites had five tagged Callery pear tree branches where vegetative, fruit, and flowering features were recorded on a weekly basis.We found that Callery pear begins to leaf out and buds earlier than similar native species. There was also evidence that some Callery pear trees flowered twice in a single growing season. These findings support our idea that Callery pear’s phenology is giving it an advantage over native species.

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  Fate in Focus: Investigating Dve and Chb Roles in Drosophila eye development

  Sunanda Yogi

  Chromosome bows (Chb)/Mast/Orbit is essential for organizing the bipolar mitotic spindle at the kinetochore. This microtubule plus-end tracking protein maintains the microtubule dynamics and is evolutionarily conserved, with its human ortholog being a cytoplasmic linker-associated protein (CLASP). CLASP is vital for microtubule distribution and stability during the cell cycle and has been implicated in neurofibrillary tangle formation in tauopathies. From the preliminary studies, we have found certain pathogenic variants in the CLASP, which leads to a spectrum of opathy disorders, including Roifman Syndrome. The phenotypic features were seen as skeletal and organ anomalies, developmental delay in vision, and facial dysmorphism. We use Drosophila as a genetically tractable model system encompassing various developmental stages to mechanistically understand how pathogenic variants in CLASP/Chb contribute to developmental delays. Our investigation of the genetic interactome revealed that Chb is suppressed by defective proventriculus (Dve), a K50 homeodomain transcription factor, which is essential for cell type specification and expressed in the dorsal head vertex region of the eye-antennal imaginal disc. We hypothesize that if Dve regulates Chb expression, it may lead to altered microtubule assembly. By employing the UAS-Gal4 system to knock down and overexpress Chb in the eye, we observed a reduction in eye size and a shift from eye to cuticular fate in the proper ommatidial arrangement. We are examining Chb expression in the eye, focusing on its loss-of-function and gain-of-function effects on Dve. Additionally, we aim to investigate the impact on Dve expression and its downstream regulators of eye development. This research will provide insights into the key partners involved in the cellular assembly of microtubules during birth eye defects.

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  Feathered Friends and Solar Trends: A Study of Bird Nest Architecture in Solar Prairies

  Andrew Heinisch, Aidan Minnick, Megan Stoneburner, Nicolina Valore

  Solar prairies are becoming increasingly more popular as a sustainable energy source, but there is a current gap in research regarding animal interactions with solar panels. Birds often use solar panels as nesting sites because it provides protection from aerial predators. However, higher nest temperatures can affect bird development with the ideal nest temperature ranging from 36 to 40 degrees Celsius. In our study, we observed bird nests at two different solar prairie locations and both locations had different solar panel types from one another. The first was at Curran Place which has tilting solar panels which adjust their position to maximize sun exposure. The other location was at the Marianist Environmental Education Center (MEEC) which contained fixed solar panels that did not move at all. At both locations we measured the diameter, height, depth and angle of attachment of each bird nest found. Along with these measurements we also noted the species of bird for each bird nest, and we recorded the temperature of several House Finch nests at both locations over several weeks to compare how the temperatures of the nests varied between the two different solar panel types. We found that bird nest architecture is affected by the movement of solar panels: most bird nests had increased height, diameter, and depth on the fixed array. Findings from this study will help fill the gap of knowledge regarding animal and solar prairie interactions and ultimately provide insight into building and structuring solar prairies in eco-friendly ways.

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  Finding Your Tribe: Cultivating Meaningful Connections at a Marianist Online Doctoral Program

  Maha Azzazi

  A positive college experience is characterized by proving a holistic development of the student beyond the classroom where students thrive to engage and grow. As a student at the EdD in Leadership for Organizations online program, I experienced development not only in academic aspects but also through cultivating meaningful social connections and engaging in extracellular and cultural activities provided by the program. Leading to personal growth through supportive faculty and mentors’ guidance, this program fostered students a sense of belonging and confidence. Nurturing the whole student development experience in this program provided the tools to build a virtual cohort community connected globally for a lifelong friendship and learning experiences. This experience impacted in empowering me as part of this program to reach my potential goals so I can contribute positively to my community in the future.

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  Flexible Learning environments: The role of furnishings and technology

  Camerine Rowe

  In this literature review, I investigate the impact of furnishings and technology on pedagogical agility and student engagement within flexible spaces. Using various research methods, including focus groups, interviews, and surveys, the research reveals that elements like writable surfaces and digital displays promote collaborative learning. The findings highlight the necessity of dynamic classroom designs that accommodate diverse learning needs, ultimately enhancing student commitment and fostering a sense of ownership in the learning process.

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  Flight Test Validation of Tandem Propeller Performance with Vertical Offset

  Michael Foster

  Positioning the aft rotors of a multirotor above the plane of the fore rotors, relative to the freestream, can improve power consumption efficiency in edgewise flight. To validate the results of a previous wind tunnel study at the University of Dayton Low Speed Wind Tunnel (UD-LSWT) with flight tests, a custom-built multirotor was developed. The multirotor accommodated multiple vertical offset configurations of the aft rotors and utilized GPS to sustain altitude and velocity in edgewise flight, thereby ensuring repeatable flight paths. The mass of the multirotor was held constant throughout the tests to isolate the effects of vertical offset on performance. Flight tests were performed for multiple flight speed and vertical offset configurations under calm ambient conditions, as recorded by a custom-built anemometer and wind-direction sensor. Wind tunnel experiments were conducted to further investigate certain trends identified in flight testing and to validate their underlying causes.Flight test data confirmed the findings of the previous wind tunnel data, demonstrating a clear correlation between vertical offset of the rear rotors and improved power consumption efficiency. Specifically, at advance ratios between 0.15 and 0.45, a vertical offset of 20% of the propeller diameter led to more than a 15% reduction in power consumption as compared to a baseline configuration without offset. Additional increases in the vertical offset above 20% of the propeller diameter yielded only minimal further efficiency gains. These findings affirm the practicality of using vertical rotor offset to improve multirotor efficiency while maintaining a compact design.

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  Flyer PR 2024-25 Client Cases

  Stacy Allen, Gabrielle Davis, Maeve Kelly, Haley Reid

  Flyer PR, UD’s student-run public relations agency, account executives will present results from its major client cases from this year.

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  Formalizing some Historical Partition Theory Identities in Lean

  Gabriel Gray

  Lean is a functional programming language that serves as a proof-checking language to assist mathematicians in the process of writing and confirming mathematical theorems. Particularly, the project taken on by the Lean community is to formalize theorems and definitions from all different areas of math, in pursuit of perhaps a new paradigm and era of mathematical theorem proving. As of right now, much of the work of the Lean community is focused on formalizing all undergraduate and intro-level graduate mathematical content to set the stage for future and more advanced work within the language. Euler's classic partition identity states that the number of partitions of a natural number n into odd parts equals the number of partitions of n into distinct parts. Since then, there have been many extensions, analogs, and generalizations of this famous identity. For example, Glashier in 1883 generalized odd to non-divisible by k, and distinct to appearing less than k times. Currently, the only partition identity formalized within the Lean language is Euler's original identity, leaving a large gap in the area including many historical theorems. This project seeks to do just that; formalizing results such as Glashier's and further extensions, reaching out to newly proven research by the presenter.

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  Fostering Creativity in Young Minds

  Rachel Shawgo

  Significant research proves that creativity has a critical role in education. By promoting creative thinking, it allows for better development of students' problem-solving skills, engagement in class, and their learning as a whole. Being able to develop a classroom that focuses on the importance of creativity in all lessons will ultimately promote success for students going forward.

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  From Beak to Prairie: Bird Influence on Seed Dispersal and Invasive Plant Establishment

  Kiyah Burroughs

  Invasive plant species pose serious threats to biodiversity within many ecosystems, including in the American Midwest, by outcompeting native plants. Extended phenology of invasive plants is a useful adaptation of invasive plant species that allow better success at outcompeting native plant species. This research focuses on identifying bird species found within two study sites, Spring Run Conservation Area and Fouke Forest Preserve, and the identification of seeds found within bird feces collected at those sites, throughout the year, to gain a better understanding of the influence birds have on seed dispersal into prairie habitats. It is hypothesized that seed species within bird droppings will vary throughout the year as well as vary among the different bird species. Bird feces were collected in baskets from the study sites from July 2024-January 2025 and sorted to species. Seed viability was accessed through the use of a TZ test and germination trails. Many seed species were identified based on seed morphology. Those that were difficult to identify through seed morphology alone underwent a cold stratification before being germinated so that they may be identified using sprout morphology. After collection, it was observed that native seedlings were collected more in the summer while invasives were present in bird feces in the late fall and winter. The visible shift in seed species from native seeds to heavily invasive shows the effectiveness invasive plant species have on open field establishment through bird dispersal techniques. This research aids in providing a wider understanding of the impact birds have on open field plant establishment, specifically their impact on invasive species success, and brings us one step closer to finding solutions

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  From Persecution to Protection: Interdisciplinary Approach to Anti-Semitism and the Holocaust in the Classroom

  Katherine Desmet, Jarrett Dixon, Clare Murrin

  This interdisciplinary unit lesson examines the history of anti-Semitism and its role in the Holocaust. Through a social studies lens, students will analyze primary and secondary sources to understand the systemic discrimination and policies that led to the Holocaust while drawing parallels to contemporary issues of religious and ethnic persecution. In English/Language Arts, students will read survivor testimonies, literature, and historical documents to develop critical thinking and empathetic writing skills.Using math and science, students will explore data on Jewish displacement, refugee migration patterns, and the environmental challenges faced by displaced populations. Through this hands-on experience, students will not only develop STEM skills but also deepen their understanding of human rights, resilience, and global responsibility. The unit fosters civic engagement, encouraging students to connect history to present-day advocacy and solutions for displaced communities worldwide.

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  From Ripples to Waves: Temporal Effects of Stormwater on Fish and Macroinvertebrate Community Diversity

  James Brown, Adele Hinker, Elizabeth Miles-Flynn

  The City of Dayton is a confluence of five major rivers and is responsible for ensuring these bodies of water remain safe for human and biological activities. Throughout the city, municipal separate storm sewer systems (MS4s) empty stormwater runoff that drains into the surrounding rivers. Regular assessments of stormwater outfalls for pollutants are essential to ensure these bodies of water meet the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency requirements for the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES). This project focuses on how stormwater dry weather flows alter water quality and bioindicators at five MS4s sites throughout the City of Dayton. We surveyed each aquatic habitat using the Qualitative Habitat Evaluation Index (QHEI). We measured water quality, quantified fish diversity, and collected macroinvertebrates monthly between May and September 2024 at each site. We also collected environmental DNA to estimate fish diversity, which was sent for analysis at the beginning and end of the summer. We preserved, sorted, and identified macroinvertebrates at the family level in the Reihart Lab to measure the biological integrity of each site. Overall, we found that most sites had water quality variables that fell within the normal range for streams; however, one site had high values for pH, dissolved oxygen, conductivity, total dissolved solids, and high levels of E. coli. Because of the size of most of the streams we sampled, we only found more than one fish species at one site. eDNA results demonstrated that most streams did have a diverse assemblage of fish species and may be a better method to estimate the richness and relative abundance of fish. Furthermore, macroinvertebrate diversity was typically highest at sites with high QHEI scores and better water quality. Conclusions from this study will be reported to the EPA and the state office responsible for issuing NPDES permits.

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  Functional morphology of the lower jaw in frogs

  Sudipta Kalita

  The lower jaw is toothless in all frogs, with the notable exception of Gastrotheca guentheri (Guenther’s marsupial frog), a species that re-evolved true mandibular teeth. Frogs evolved a spectrum of dietary preferences, with some species specializing in hunting small insects like ants and termites to larger species that are opportunistic predators of small mammals. Such vast dietary variation could possibly drive the morphology of lower jaws. Frogs also occupy diverse ecological niches. For example, tree frogs from South America spend their entire lives in the upper canopy of trees, species of African aquatic frogs spend the majority of their life underwater, and some desert frogs live entirely underground, only coming to the surface to breed. Microhabitat differences may also influence jaw shapes due to variability in the types of prey available. A few frogs have tooth-like bony projections on the lower jaw called odontoid fangs. Some of these fanged frogs are among the largest anuran species and known to prey on other vertebrates. Additionally, some fanged frogs take part in male-male combat during the mating season, using their odontoids to bite one another. Currently, it is unknown if the lower jaw morphology of frogs is influenced by diet, microhabitat variation, or presence of odontoid fangs. Our study uses micro-computed tomography data and three-dimensional geometric morphometrics to quantify shape diversity of the lower jaw from 150 frog species. Using phylogenetic comparative methods, we are testing if jaw shape is correlated with diet, microhabitat, fang presence, and body size to understand the factors driving lower jaw morphology across living frog diversity.

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  Fungi Fighting Back: How a Native Fungus Could Limit the Spread of Invasive Trees

  Elizabeth Bornhorst

  Invasive species are able to outcompete and steal resources away from native plants, altering the natural ratios in an ecosystem. Callery pear (Pyrus calleryana) is an invasive tree species introduced to Ohio as an ornamental plant which is now outcompeting native trees especially in areas undergoing early succession. While there is no known way to mitigate this invasive effectively, a common and native tree pathogen, rust fungus (Gymnosporangium clavipes), has been observed infecting Callery pear tree leaves and fruits in Montgomery county Ohio. Rust fungus is a heteroecious pathogen so it requires two hosts, a juniper host and then it is able to spread to the berries and leaves of a rosacea host. Being a native pathogen, rust fungus doesn’t severely impact other native trees meaning it could be used as a mitigation technique to limit the spread of Callery pear. This study examined the effect of rust fungus on Callery pear germination as well as the effects of how proximity to juniper hosts influences the severity of rust fungus infection. Germination rates were tested by collecting berries with and without rust fungus from four field sites. The seeds were then stratified and planted to test seed viability between groups with and without rust fungus. Effect of proximity was studied using GIS to map location of Callery pear and Juniper trees and shrubs on campus. Severity of the rust fungus infection was recorded and using a buffer and a T.test statistical significance was found between severity of rust fungus infection number of junipers within 500 ft. These projects are preliminary work that proves that rust fungus could be an option for mitigating Callery pear spread.

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  Future Changes of Intensity-Duration-Frequency Curves for Extreme Precipitation in Ohio Based on CMIP6 Climate Models

  Joseph Baker

  The purpose of this study is to generate future Intensity-Duration-Frequency (IDF) curves for extreme precipitation events in Ohio under three climate change scenarios using output of CMIP6 climate models. IDF curves define the amount of precipitation produced by storms of various durations with specific return intervals. They are used widely by many groups including engineers and urban planners for infrastructure design and other projects. Current IDF curves are generated based on past climate data and the assumption that the climate of a region does not change over time. However, climate change is expected to significantly increase extreme precipitation in the future. Therefore, it is important to update IDF curves to account for such changes. For this study, we used two main datasets: historical precipitation data of 1970-2014 from rain gauges in Ohio and precipitation data from 28 CMIP6 models including the historical run (1970-2014) and future runs (2015-2100) under ssp245, ssp370, and ssp585 scenarios. We extracted model data covering Ohio (38.125-41.875N and 84.875-80.125W). We first compared the model historical runs with observational data to evaluate the models and correct model biases. After that, we used the frequency analysis method to establish the magnitude of precipitation events of different durations with different return intervals. With these results, we developed future IDF curves under three climate change scenarios. In general, extreme precipitation will increase more than average precipitation, and the rate of change is generally higher for shorter-duration and more extreme (i.e., longer return intervals) events. Our results could provide practical guidance for designing long-lasting infrastructure projects.

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  German Mainstream Political Response to the Rise of Far-Right Nationalism

  Mitchell O'Brien

  Right-wing nationalism has been on the rise in Germany in the last twenty years. A range of factors have contributed to this, similar to factors in Europe and around the globe. While the mainstream parties have traditionally had a firewall policy, the “Brandmauer,” recent events have seen that weaken. The far right has polled well among older and younger Germans, as well as in the states that made up the former East Germany. Germany’s economic stagnation and immigration policies have led to distrust and disillusion with the government and other mainstream parties. Because of this rise it is important to explore how the mainstream German political parties have responded. As one of Europe’s largest and wealthiest democracies, it is important to see how the mainstream shifts policy positions and talking points. If Germany normalizes far right parties, then there is no telling how both large democracies and smaller states will interact with more fringe elements of their societies. By using academic research, economic data, opinion polling and recent election results, I will explore how rightwing nationalism has shaped the current German political discourse. It is important to examine the rise of right-wing nationalism, as it will help understand the current global political undercurrents.

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  Ginkgo Biloba and Canis Latrans: Ancient Seed Meets Modern Predator

  Rose Combs

  Ginkgo biloba (thereafter gingko), known for its decorative leaves and notorious smell, is regarded as one of the most primitive seed-bearing tree species living today (Rothwell and Holt, 1997). Ginkgo is believed to have originated nearly 100 million years ago, with its main dispersers possibly being Mesozoic marsupial-like rodents (Del Tredici, 2000; Crane, 2019). Dinosaurs have also been suggested dispersal agents, although which ones specifically are not mentioned (Del Tredici, 2000). The seeds are dispersed through endozoochory or the process of consumption, digestion, and defecation by vertebrate species such as mammals or birds. Fossil records show that past the Cretacious period, ginkgo frequency has decreased over time (Wang et al., 2023). Few wild populations of ginkgo exist today, confounding botanists and researchers as to why (Del Tredici, 2000). This experiment aims to explore how ginkgo has been impacted by the extinction of its original dispersers and the procuring of modern ones, such as birds, squirrels, raccoons, and coyotes (Del Tredici, 2000). This research examines the distinct relationship between ginkgo and Canis Latrans, the coyote, a modern day carnivore mammal, focusing on seed viability after being processed through digestion. Our hypothesis states that digestion will have a positive effect on the viability of ginkgo seeds. We predict that the seeds processed through the gut of a coyote will have a higher germination rate than whole seeds with the sarcotesta (i.e. outer flesh) manually removed.

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  Globalization and the Interdisciplinary Impact of Climate Change: Understanding the Global Crisis

  Allison Bertke, Melanie Hendrick, Matthew Welch, Kaylee Woolman

  This interdisciplinary lesson plan explores the complex topic of globalization through the lens of maquiladoras in Mexico, with a focus on their impact on workers, pollution, and human rights. Designed for a ninth-grade classroom, the lesson integrates history, Spanish, science, and English to provide students with a comprehensive understanding of the global supply chain and its local consequences. This topic will explore the complex issues of both globalization and marginalization and its impact on immigration through a modern-day, student-centered, lens. Further, this will be applied to classrooms in the United States with diverse student populations, such as students who are culturally and linguistically diverse.

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  Glory: Dean Summer Fellowship Project

  Jayonna Johnson

  A photographic project in fulfillment of a Dean’s Summer Fellowship mentored by Associate Professor Glenna Jennings (Photography and Social Practice). The work explores the insider and outsider perspectives within the context of worship gatherings and offers a reflective presentation on how the studio was transformed into a space for fine art and spiritual encounters to combine.

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  Gravitational Waves - LIGO Project

  Aidan Augustus, Emma Tams, Ethan Tedder

  The Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory (LIGO) project is an experiment designed to observe gravitational waves. Gravitational waves are a phenomenon that was first predicted by Albert Einstein in his general theory of relativity in 1916, and physicists have been attempting to detect and measure their existence since. Gravitational waves can be described as ripples in spacetime that are produced by large astronomical events such as collisions between black holes, neutron stars, and more. These waves travel through the fabric of spacetime at the speed of light and are able to “pass” through matter itself, including whole planets, such as Earth. These waves have a minuscule effect on spacetime itself. Thus, making them elusive and extremely hard to detect. LIGO utilizes two highly sensitive laser interferometers located 3000 kilometers apart that are capable of detecting small changes in the distance traveled by the lasers due to the presence of gravitational waves. The first successful detection occurred in 2015, and since then LIGO has continued to improve its technology and expand its collaborations to further our understanding of gravitational waves and events happening distances beyond our solar system. This foundational accomplishment in physics has confirmed this phenomenon predicted by Einstein and has made progress in both theoretical and experimental physics in very important ways.

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  Hamiltonian Cycles and Cartesian Products

  Connor Seng

  This is a project for MTH 466, Graph Theory and Combinatorics. A graph is a mathematical object that allows us to describe the relationship between two vertices by placing an edge between them, and vertices without an edge between them are not related. A Hamiltonian cycle in a graph is a closed walk in the graph which visits each vertex exactly once. Given two graphs, G and H, a new graph, called the Cartesian product, can be created. This project will investigate what conditions on G and H are required for their Cartesian product graph to have a Hamilton cycle. Conversely, this project will investigate what conditions on G and H prevent their cartesian product graph from having a H-cycle.

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  Harnessing crowdsourced images to investigate the relationship between color polymorphism and climate in woodland salamanders

  Brendan Enochs

  Color polymorphic species, where multiple color phenotypes (i.e., morphs) coexist within the same population, are extremely common in nature. In the salamander genus Plethodon, at least ten species exhibit a striped/unstriped color polymorphism, while closely related species are fixed for either morph. In a single species, the Eastern Red-backed Salamander (Plethodon cinereus), previous work has indicated that morphs diverge in climatic niche use. However, the magnitude and direction of color morph-climate associations has varied across studies. Further, little research has examined the relationship between climate and color morph in the nine other color polymorphic Plethodon. Here, I scored color phenotypes from >65,000 web-based georeferenced community science images of color polymorphic Plethodon. With this extensive color morph dataset, I quantified the climatic niche of each species and their color morphs when applicable and utilized a comparative approach to examine patterns of climatic niche overlap, niche breadth, and potential responses to future climate change.

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  Health Disparities in Spanish Speaking Communities Increasing the Risk of Cardiovascular Diseases

  Liam Byrne

  The purpose of this project is to investigate the various social, financial, and civil disparities in healthcare that increase the risk of cardiovascular diseases in Spanish-speaking populations. The research question is “what aspects support the disparity in cardiovascular care that Spanish speakers suffer from?”. Disparity in cardiovascular care is only one of the many health disparities Spanish speakers face, but it is one of their largest disparities in healthcare. 43% of Hispanic women and 53% of Hispanic men have a cardiovascular disease. This project aims to acknowledge some of the factors that lead to this issue, including their causes, effects, and possible solutions.