Stander Symposium Projects

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  The Reverse Mission: A Service Immersion in El Salvador

  Riley C. Weber

  The organization Christians for Peace in El Salvador, or CRISPAZ, hosted myself and ten other University of Dayton students for one week in January. Throughout this week my peers and I experienced the daily routines of those living in the fast-paced atmosphere of San Salvador, the capital city of El Salvador, as well as the town of San Jose Los Flores, a small agricultural village with dirt roads and one large church at the center. Representatives from CRISPAZ sat down with us on the first night in El Salvador to discuss the purpose of the mission trip. They explained that while we were there we would not participate in what people consider traditional service. We would not be serving food, raising money, or building homes, but instead, we would spend our time in meetings with different organizations in order to gain the knowledge necessary to spread awareness about the issues in El Salvador and the current state of Latin America. Our duties in El Salvador included being attentive listeners, empathizing with the stories of the people we met, and absorbing as much information as possible. The representatives from CRISPAZ referred to this as a “reverse mission” in which our service began when we returned to the United States. We had the privilege of hearing personal witnesses of civil war soldiers, mothers of missing immigrants, and many other people who have spent their lives advocating for human rights causes but have not had their voices heard. This presentation will address the issues of labor, gender, and immigration rights in Latin America as well as my personal experiences of culture shock concerning the violence and poverty present in El Salvador.

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  The Role of Nitrogen Vacancy in Optical Transitions in GaN

  Malik Malone

  Nominally undoped n-type Gallium Nitride (GaN) layers grown by metalorganic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD) on silicon substrates were studied. Thermal Admittance Spectroscopy (TAS) and Optical Admittance Spectroscopy (OAS) techniques were used to characterize these layers. Using Thermal Admittance Spectroscopy (TAS), a defect level was observed at Ec – 0.051 eV and this defect is correlated with the nitrogen vacancy (Nv) in GaN. The samples were illuminated with a monochromatic light with wavelengths (λ) ranging from 200 nm to 450 nm. The OAS spectrum was measured at different temperatures and with different excitation light intensities. The spectrum shows a maximum photoconductance (G) peak at λ = 365nm (E = 3.40eV). This peak is attributed to transitions from the valence band to the donor level at Ec – 0.051 eV. The analysis of the results shows that the saturation level (Gm) of the photoconductance is a function of both light intensity and temperature. The photoconductance decay, after illumination has been terminated, is adequately described by a stretched exponential function. This photoconductance decay is attributed to the thermal emissions of photo-excited carriers from the donor level to the conduction band.

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  The Themes of Catholic Social Teaching Integrated into the Work of UD's Center for Catholic Education's (CCE) Urban Child Development Resource Center (UCDRC)

  Julie A. Iuliano

  Schools today are challenged to meet the mental health concerns of students due to an emphasis on academic testing and a lack of communication within schools to identify and treat the needs of the students. The needs of the student travel beyond the classroom into the non-academic barriers to learning. The University of Dayton’s Urban Child Development Resource Center (UCDRC), works in five local schools in the Dayton area and strives to help students cope with these non-academic barriers to learning. This study focuses on three of the Seven Themes of Catholic Social Teaching as stated by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops: Call to Family, Community, and Participation; Option for the Poor and Venerable; Life and Dignity of the Human Person; and how UCDRC implements these three themes into its program.

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  Thou Shall Not: The Impact of Faith on Female Students' Decision to Engage in Risky Behaviors

  Heather Vlack

  Alcohol abuse and other risky behaviors, such as illegal drug use and unplanned sex, are not uncommon on college campuses. Peers often influence these behaviors and students continue to believe involvement in them is connected to their college experience where students examine life’s meaning and purpose (Dodd, Glassman, Arthur, Webb & Miller, 2010). Therefore, an understanding of this relationship is needed. Qualitative, one-on-one interviews were conducted with eight female undergraduate students. Participants were all actively involved in a faith-based student organization on campus. Findings revealed students’ tendency to avoid risky behaviors due to their desire to honor their spiritual beliefs. Family, spiritual mentors and other members of their faith communities play a significant role in their decision-making process.

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  Tissi

  Anna Demmitt

  My thesis is a collection of short stories. The stories depict the lives of four children living in South Sudan trying to survive the genocide. One young girl has been brutally raped. A young boy is taking on the responsibility of raising his younger siblings. The third story shows a young boy who has been kidnapped and forced to be a child soldier. The fourth story is a story of hope. These stories are designed to show the chaos of genocide, and the difference that even a little assistance could make to the lives of the people in South Sudan.

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  Truncation Error for a Finite Difference Scheme for the Black-Scholes Model

  Lawrence M. Kondowe

  Finite difference methods are simplest and oldest methods among all the numerical techniques to approximate the solution of partial differential equations (PDEs). The derivatives in the partial differential equation are approximated by finite difference formulas. The error between the numerical solution and the exact solution is determined by the error between a differential operator to a difference operator. This error is called the discretization error or truncation error. The term truncation error reflects the fact that a finite part of a Taylor series is used in the approximation. In this work we will analyze the truncation error for a finite difference scheme for the Black Scholes PDE for the valuation of an option.

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  Unfamiliar Territory: A Phenomological Study of International Students Enrolled in a Large Urban Community College

  Laurie L. Malone

  International students are choosing community colleges for reasons of affordability, easy access, and as a good place to start their education, especially if English is their second language. There is a deficiency of research surrounding this student population despite an increase in enrollment. With little representation of the ICCS in current literature and with institutions recognizing their value more than ever, an understanding of their experience is needed. This qualitative study sought to explore and understand the shared experience of the international college student enrolled in a large Midwestern urban community college. The method of data collection included personal interviews with international students currently enrolled in a large urban community college and faculty and staff practicing at that same institution. Interviews were examined for common themes and compared and contrasted with existing research and literature. The study answer questions like why international students chose to attend community college, where ICCS’ get support and information, and what are the barriers that challenge their success. Fresh information surrounding social integration was revealed, illuminating a disparity between faculty/staff perception and the ICCS experience. The findings may be of interest to professionals who work in the community college setting directly with international students and/or with students and staff who interact with ICCS.

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  Upper Grade Level Literacy: Instructional Strategies for Struggling Readers

  Claire M. Shaw

  Education research has shown that a quarter of eighth-grade students perform below basic reading proficiency. Despite this, reading instruction often ceases after eighth grade while text structure and content area language become more difficult. This research project focuses on studying strategies used for struggling readers in seventh through twelfth grade and includes a case study of a struggling reader in order to identify some of the characteristics and needs of struggling readers. This research synthesizes ideas from previous studies, analyzes teacher interviews for literacy instruction strategies, and, in the case study, uses observation, primary source study, and reading assessments.

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  Visibility Improvement Through Hyperspectral Band Integration

  Paheding Sidike, Yakov Diskin, Saibabu Arigela

  The science of hyperspectral remote sensing is based on taking a fraction of the electromagnetic spectrum and breaking it into numerous bands for theoretical analysis and computations. The combination of all wavelengths in a given spatial area builds complete spectral signatures for each specific material in the scene. Based on the spectral signature obtained from hyperspectral imagery, one can detect and identify objects more precisely compared to using only three bands information provided by a RGB camera. Hyperspectral sensors can also assist in automatic target detection in noisy backgrounds since objects vary uniquely from the natural background in absorbing and reflecting radiation at different wavelengths. In many cases, the objects that the human eye fails to capture can be differentiated and identified based on the unique hyperspectral signature. Unfortunately, the spatial resolution for hyperspectral sensors is still extremely coarse compared to modern high definition camera. Thus, we present a visibility improvement technique that will increase the spatial resolution of the captured hyperspectral image and improve the image contrast. In the proposed algorithm, the image spatial resolution is increased by integrating intensity information from multiple related spectral bands. Leveraging our prior expertise with single image super-resolution on RGB imagery, we exploit the band information of the hyperspectral image and develop an adaptive contrast enhancement technique to construct a high spatial resolution image. Specifically, the enhancement algorithm selects the pixel-wise intensities to maximize the pixel’s neighborhood contrast. To verify the effectiveness of the proposed technique, we use the Resonon Pika II hyperspectral camera, which provides 240 spectral channels that ranges from 400-900nm with 2.1nm spectral resolution, to capture real-life images and test the visibility improvement methodology in a variety of environments such as low illumination or over-exposure regions. The proposed technique aids in real-world applications such as object detection, recognition, and tracking.

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  Visual and Motor Information in the Rubber Hand Illusion

  Jessica L. James, Lindsey C. Meter

  The body schema, one’s sense of body part ownership, position and location, is informed by visual, proprioceptive, and tactile information. Under normal circumstances, these sources of information are consistent with one another in providing an accurate awareness of one’s own body. The rubber hand illusion (RHI), however, illustrates the flexibility of the body schema by creating conflict between visual and tactile information. In the RHI, when individuals watch the stimulation of a rubber hand while simultaneously feeling the stimulation of their own unseen hand, they often report feeling the touch on the rubber hand (Botvinick & Cohen, 1998). The current study builds upon this phenomenon by investigating the contribution of visual and kinesthetic information to the body schema. Two experiments employed the RHI to create a sense of ownership of a robot hand. In the first experiment, a toy robot hand was positioned in front of each participant, while the participant’s right hand was positioned inside a box where it could not be seen. On each trial, participants viewed the robot hand being stroked with a paintbrush while simultaneously feeling the stroking of their own unseen hand. After several moments, participants were asked to close their eyes and point with the left hand to the location in which they believed their unseen fingertips to be located. In the second experiment, we asked participants to flex the fingers on their unseen hand while viewing the robot hand flex its fingers in the same way. In both experiments we predicted that participants would judge their hand to be closer to the location of the robot hand than to the unseen hand’s actual location. These results suggest that the body schema incorporates prosthetic limbs when visual and movement information about the prosthetic are consistent with the body’s own movements.

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  Wanted: Bromances: Impacts of Hegemonic Masculinity on the Relationships of Sophomore Men

  Zach Hooten

  Hegemonic masculinity is constructed in a way that pressures men into certain behaviors and mindsets. Traditional genders roles emphasized in hegemonic masculinity call for alcohol and drug abuse, unprotected sex, and other prohibited behavior (Edwards & Jones, 2009). There is a significant lack of research aimed specifically on the sophomore year experience for college students (Gardner et al., 2010). Hegemonic masculinity (Arxer, 2011) and its foundations give way to how men translate the pressures of masculinity into relationships. The research for this study revolved around the success of sophomore students and hegemonic masculinity. The study attempted to gain a new perspective into the real issues of sophomore men. Findings will assist higher education professionals in designing support systems for sophomore men.

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  We're Here to Help: Accessing the Needs of Transfer Students.

  Dynea Pope

  The need to assist transfer students is particularly important because transfer students enter into new institutions with unique needs, perspectives, and experiences compared to non-transfer students. Many orientation programs do not address the needs of transfer students and focus on freshman students. Little is known about the correlation between transfer students and orientation attendance. Therefore, this study aimed to identify transfer student needs, increase their attendance of orientation programs, and to provide effective programming for them. Participants were asked questions regarding barriers to program attendance and institutional support. This qualitative study focused on eight undergraduate students at a private, midsized, religious affiliated institution that transferred during the 2013-2014 academic year. Students were interviewed and responded to a series of questions regarding reason for transfer, previous orientation experience, and recent orientation experience. The results provide student affairs professionals with future implications for designing orientation programs that directly address transfer student needs and ways to increase their participation.

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  When are Positive Views of Myself Harmful? An Experimental Test of Interactive effects of Self-Enhancement, Stress Severity, and Context Controllability on Mental Health

  Hanna M. Schultz

  A wide array of research has shown that people tend to view themselves in a positively biased manner, known as self-enhancement. Some findings show that self-enhancement promotes positive mental health, while others reveal that self-enhancement can be harmful to mental health. Recent research suggests that self-enhancement’s impact on mental health during negative experiences depends on context controllability and stress severity. It also suggests that one’s motivation to address the negative experience affects the mental outcomes manifested from self-enhancement. The main objectives of the present study are to a) experimentally examine how self-enhancement, stress severity, and context controllability interact to affect mental health, b) identify the role of motivation in determining mental health outcomes through self-enhancement, and c) examine if physiological reactivity to stress changes depending on one’s degree of expressing self-enhancement. Undergraduate students completed questionnaires pertaining to self-enhancement, mental health, and motivation. The participants also experienced stress by being told they will present a speech to a panel of judges who will evaluate their speech and performance. They were told the judges are either warm and kind (low stress) or cold and harsh (high stress), and tend to evaluate the performance based either on the quality of the speech (high control) or on their own personal views (low control). Physiological measures of heart rate and blood pressure were taken before and after the participants were introduced to the speech task. This study provides an understanding as to how stress severity and context controllability interact with self-enhancement to predict mental health, and how motivation affects the interaction. Additionally, it contributes to answering the question of when self-enhancement is helpful, and when it is harmful, for mental health.

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  Who Needs Friends…I'm a Leader!: Peer Support's Effect on Student Leadership

  Justin Cox

  The relationship between student’s leadership development and the role in which peer support enhances it, creates a phenomenon which is experienced at the University of Dayton. The concept of Propinquity explains peer support as a catalyst within a student’s leadership development and provides insight for their various leadership skills and competencies. This research looks at University Dayton students' leadership competencies and strength of peer support through quantitative analyses of an online survey. Results offer insights for college professional staff and administrators in leadership programming.

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  Wingtip Vortices from an Exergy Based Perspective

  Muhammad Omar Memon, Kevin Wabick

  The lens of exergy is used to investigate a wingtip vortex in the near wake over a range of angles of attack. Exergy is the measure of thermodynamically “available” energy as determined through the more discriminating second law of thermodynamics. Experiments were conducted in a water tunnel at ILR Aachen. The data was taken three chord lengths downstream in the Trefftz plane of an aspect ratio (AR) 5 Clark-Y wing with a square edged wingtip using Particle Image Velocimetry (PIV). Intuitively, the minimum available energy state is expected to correspond to the maximum lift to drag ratio angle of attack. This, however, is not the case here. Most interestingly, although only 2-d Trefftz plane data was used to obtain the exergy distribution across the individual wingtip vortices, the crossover point for the out of plane change from wake-like to jet-like wingtip vortex core axial flow (indicating the peak lift to drag ratio) is identified by the in-plane exergy distribution. This crossover point is not identifiable in the evaluation of any other characteristics calculated from in-plane quantities. Consequently, the exergy method holds promise as a metric for the improvement of aircraft performance through the reduction of lift induced drag.

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  Writing About My Adamantium Skeleton: Media Self-Assimilation Bolsters Grip Strength When Embodying a Personal Ideal

  Mitch Brown

  Body image research focuses on how ideal physical dimensions, purported by media and culture, may not be attainable for the average person. For men, that includes evolutionary indicators of physical prowess, such as heavy musculature and physical strength. Findings often indicate deleterious effects of such media on positive regard toward the self following comparison between self and ideal other. However, considerably less research concerns itself with men feeling part of the muscular ideal, thus buffering themselves from feelings of inadequacy. The current study addresses this concern through media self-assimilation (MSA), a process of imbuing oneself with characteristics of a media figure, thus "becoming" the character. We investigated how MSA with a personal ideal can bolster physical strength and self-perception. After participants provided baseline grip strength with a hand dynamometer and confidence in performing physical tasks, they engaged in an MSA experience. They wrote a first-person narrative account of themselves as either their favorite superhero or a superhero they did not like. Following MSA, participants gripped the dynamometer and reported their confidence again, along with body-esteem and attitudes regarding their performances in feats of strength. Participants' grip strength increased from baseline following MSA, but only with a favorite superhero. Confidence in performing a physical task was augmented by MSA. Results demonstrate how embodying a personal ideal bolsters a person's physical strength due to one's perception as being ideal themselves. Membership in the cultural ideal, regardless of personal meaningfulness, enhanced confidence in ability. Narratives served as a teleological proxy by creating a coherent view of the self as part of both a personal and cultural ideal.

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  Zero Structural Error Function Generating Mechanisms

  Hessein Ali

  A slider-crank mechanism consists of an input crankshaft, a connecting rod, and an output piston. As the crankshaft makes full rotations, the output piston produces periodic curves similar to a sine wave. A drag link mechanism consists of four links with the input and output links capable of making a complete rotation. Using the output of the drag link to drive the input of the slider-crank distorts the periodic output curve it produces. Function generation addresses the design of mechanisms to create desired output curves. As the addition of a single drag link to a slider-crank distorts the output curve a modest amount, the addition of a large number of drag links (with the output of one driving the input of the next) can distort the original curve a significant amount. This research aims to generate chains of drag link mechanisms connected to a final slider-crank device capable of producing any periodic curve. The match between the desired curve and the curve produced by the chain of mechanisms is called the structural error. As the chain of drag link mechanisms increases in number, the structural error reduces.

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  A Comparison of Common Diets for the Laboratory Culture of the Green Bottle Fly, Lucilia sericata

  Allissa M. Blystone, Mark A. Hawk, Alexandra E. Jacob, Clare A. Kelly, David Barry, Foraker Kling, John M. Riordan

  Blow flies from the family Calliphoridae, specifically Lucilia sericata, are important for both forensic science and medicinal applications. They serve as agents for post-mortem interval (PMI) estimation in forensics, and are used for maggot debridement therapy (MDT) in medicine. Forensic entomologists currently use several different methods for culture of organisms in laboratory settings. A common streamlined laboratory culture protocol for L. sericata would provide the entomology community a common basis for comparison of studies involving genetics, PMI estimation, and organism culture for medical uses. This study compares and reviews several common, simple diets and the effects of each diet on the survivorship and fecundity of L. sericata. The flies were cultured at 26 degrees Celsius, 30-40% humidity, on a 12 hour light/dark cycle, and fed one of nine diets. Analyses of the data revealed that the life span of the flies was extended, and a greater number of eggs per oviposition event were produced by females, when the organisms were fed a diet of honey water and bovine liver. We propose the use of this two-part diet as an optimal diet for laboratory culture of L. sericata.

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  A Cross Sectional Analysis of Returns to S&P Industry Groups Over the Trading Range Period,2011-2012.

  Catherine M. Moerman

  A missing element in the top down stock selection approach used by the UD Flyer Fund is the relative valuation of industry groups i.e. those groupings of firms below the sector level. In this study I analyze the relationship between returns to S&P industry groups and five different measures of relative valuation: (1) Price to Earnings (2) Price to Earnings (Forward) (3) Price to Book (4) Price to Cash Flow and (5) Price to Sales. Using a small but stratified sample of 18 industry groups (8 of 10 S&P sectors are represented), I regress returns on each of the relative valuation measures for two time periods: (1) 9-30-11 through 9-30-12 and (2) 12-31-11 through 9-30-12. I use R square, the B coefficients and their T statistics to measure the relationship between returns and the relative valuation measures.

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  Adsorption Behavior of Polyphenolic Proteins onto High Strength Steel (HY80) and 5083 Aluminum Alloys

  Lu Han

  Biopolymers containing chemical groups involved in the formation of adhesive bonds to various substrates (man-made or natural) can be easily found from organisms in nature. The biopolymers utilized by organisms in a process known as quinone tanning contain a unique catecholic amino acid, namely 3,4-dihydroxyphenyl-L-alanine (L-dopa). It has the ability to chelate or couple to the metallic ions or metal oxides that are present at the metal-solution interface. The formation of an insoluble metallo-polymer complex by metal ion bridging at the surface that acts as a stabilizer of the oxide layer can inhibit the process of corrosion. This peculiar capability could be utilized as an environmentally friendly flash rust inhibitor when applied to high strength steels in a humid environment. In the present work, L-dopa containing biopolymers were isolated from the foot of the common blue mussel, Mytilus edulis L. There are five L-dopa containing proteins, named Mytilus edulis Foot Protein 1 through 5 (MeFP 1 through 5) with a wide range of molecular weights from 6-120kDa. The adsorption characteristics of these proteins onto high strength steel (HY80) and 5083 aluminum alloy were observed. The Bradford protein assay was used to detect the solution concentration of non-adsorbed protein onto either alloy. Langmuir isotherm calculations were made to determine the adsorption behavior based on the differences between the original protein concentration in solution at time zero and the protein concentration in solution at each time point. The optimal solution concentration for maximum substrate coverage onto the metal substrate was then determined. Results and data interpretation for the adsorption studies will be presented and discussed.

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  Aesthetic Evaluations and Emotional Responses Evoked by Paintings and Classical Music in Artists, Musicians, and Non-Experts

  Adam Barnas

  Most studies examining emotion have used either visual or auditory stimuli to evoke specific emotional responses. A limitation of using only visual or auditory stimuli is that these results are, in themselves, not easily generalized because a majority of real-life emotional experiences are a combination of both types of stimuli. Only recently have examinations of emotion used audiovisual displays of stimuli in their presentation, consisting of pictures of faces or humans paired with speech or classical music. Furthermore, most studies do not consider level of expertise, such as that of professional artists or musicians, which has been shown to affect cognitive processes such as memory and face recognition. Thus, it is logical to assume that the degree and quality of emotion evoked by a stimulus would also be affected by expertise. To this end, the present study examines the affect of expertise on aesthetic evaluations and emotional responses to auditory (music), visual (art), and audiovisual displays. Musicians, artists, and non-experts will be presented with emotion-eliciting visual and auditory stimuli, presented alone and together, and will report ratings of valence (whether the emotion is positive or negative), intensity of the emotion (weak or strong arousal), and several scales of aesthetics while an eye-tracker records physiological measures of ocular gaze (i.e., visual gaze path, fixation times, and pupil dilation). The use of eye-tracking equipment will add significant support to research on the effects of expertise on emotional and aesthetic responses to music and art, a research topic that has not relied on physiological measures in the past. The observations provided by subjective ratings in conjunction with physiological data will make important contributions to an improved understanding of the mechanisms involved in emotional reactions and the processes involved in the appreciation of music and art.

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  An Application of Intercultural Communication Theories in the Spanish Workplace

  Kaitlyn E. Malson

  This research project examines intercultural communication as seen in a Spanish workplace, by looking at the application of certain intercultural communication theories in the context of Grupo SM's University of Dayton Publishing (UDP), an educational publishing company where people from Spain, Great Britain, Canada, and the United States co-create electronic and print learning materials for foreign language programs in the Spanish- speaking world. The communication theories I studied and later applied to UDP include William Gudykunst's Anxiety-Uncertainty Management Theory, Stella Ting-Toomey's Face-Negotiation Theory, Geert Hofstede's Cultural Dimensions Theory, and Edward Hall's theory of high context versus low context cultures and styles of communication. While interning for UDP, I conducted semi-structured interviews with my colleagues and then supplemented these interviews with ethnographic observations in order to determine whether the theories that I studied held up in a real-life atmosphere of cultural and linguistic bilingualism.

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  An Aronszajn Tree

  Chester E. Lian

  Contrary to the popular belief that "infinity is not a number; it's a concept," numbers that are not finite do exist. Mathematicians call them transfinite numbers. Just like ordinary numbers, some transfinite numbers are larger than others. This can be thought of as there being different levels of infinity, where some infinities are "more infinite" than others. If we draw a family tree in which every generation has finitely many offspring, and every chain of descendants is finite, then it is clear that we cannot have infinitely many family members. In the realm of the transfinite, things are not as intuitive: If we draw a family tree in which every generation has offspring at a certain level of infinity, and every chain of descendants is at that same level of infinity, it is possible (though not necessary) that the total number of family members is at a higher level of infinity.

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  An Automatic and Locally Tunable Transformation Function for Fog and Haze Removal in Aerial Imagery

  Sai Babu Arigela

  A new automatic image enhancement technique based on a locally tunable transformation function for visibility improvement in aerial images is presented. Aerial images usually suffer with poor visibility and contrast because of bad weather conditions like haze, fog, and turbid conditions. We propose a model based image restoration approach which uses a new nonlinear transfer function on luminance component to obtain the transmission map. The model assumes that the weather conditions include haze and fog particles. The amount of accumulation of haze/fog particles depends on the depth information of the scene. The local luminance image provides approximate depth information of haze/fog regions. Local multi scale Gaussian mean is used to estimate the approximate local depth image. A new nonlinear function which is locally adaptive based on the approximate local depth information is used to estimate the transmission map of the image. The haze free image can be restored from the haze image by estimating the transmission map and substitute in the model for each spectral band. Results from various experiments demonstrate that this technique can be used for various applications like traffic monitoring, weather observation, video surveillance, and security applications.

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  An Electrochemical Study of L-3,4-dihydroxyphenylalanine (L-dopa)

  Rachel R. VanAtta

  The purpose of this research was to perform an electrochemical study on the novel amino acid L-3,4-dihydroxyphenlyalanine (L-DOPA). Understanding the electrochemistry of L-DOPA would give insight into the electrochemistry of an adhesive protein isolated from the blue mussel (Mytilus edulis L). Cyclic voltammetry scans were conducted on solutions containing buffer, iron, and varied amounts of L-DOPA at pH values equal to 4.5, 7.2, and 10.2. A plot of the peak potentials (Ep) was used to determine the stoichiometric ratios of L-DOPA to Iron (Fe). The solutions at pH values equal to 4.5, 7.2, and 10.2 were also analyzed spectophotometrically, and an absorbance plot was used to determine the stoichiometric ratios of L-DOPA to Iron. The data indicated that the Fe3+/(L-DOPA) complex exhibited an intricate stoichiometry, and the stoichiometric ratios calculated from the plots were similar to the values published in the literature for Iron-catechol complexes. Also, it was determined from the shape of the absorbance plot indicated a large formation constant (Kf). The peak potentials confirmed that Fe3+ was strongly complexed by L-DOPA. Further research will explore the electrochemistry of the blue mussel adhesive protein, and the findings from the Fe3+ (L-DOPA) complex will be used as a basis when investigating the metal complexing capability of the mussel protein.