Stander Symposium Projects

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  Ethos Guatemala Breakout - Photovoltaic Systems

  Leah Michelle Dalton, Sophia Marie Dugan, Adriana Lucia Garcia, Amanda Metzler, Cameron A. Pierson

  A team of undergraduate engineering students developed and installed photovoltaic systems for low income families in El Jocotillo, Guatemala who did not have access to electricity. The students used a systems thinking approach as part of a design thinking process for this project. During a 10-day immersion in Guatemala, they learned from and worked with local photovoltaic experts and members of the community to install photovoltaic systems that are sustainable and appropriate for the families. This project is part of the Ethos Center within the UD School of Engineering.

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  Euphoria’s Trans Representation

  Katharine G. Tucker

  This THR/VAR 250 Diversity in the Creative and Performing Arts poster presentation project requires each student to research and present on a topic relevant to the interdisciplinary fields of visual and performing arts through a critical multicultural and social justice lens that foregrounds the appreciation of diversity and enables the expansion of personal cultural competencies.

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  Evaluating the Developmental Evidence for the Re-Evolution of Lost Mandibular Teeth in Frogs

  Madeline M. Brinkman

  Osteopilus septentrionalis, the Cuban tree frog, is a frog species that possesses upper jaw teeth but lacks mandibular teeth as an adult and is emerging as a new model organism for amphibian dental research. Through my research, I am evaluating the development and genetics of teeth in O. septentrionalis from late-stage tadpoles to froglets in order to increase our understanding of the underlying gene signals responsible for the formation of amphibian teeth, as well as the evolutionary loss and regain of complex traits. I am evaluating the presence and absence of core tooth development genes that indicate the induction and formation of teeth on the developing upper and lower jaws of O. septentrionalis. Several different genes of interest are being studied during the morphogenesis of teeth in order to investigate possible mechanisms for the re-evolution of lost mandibular teeth in G. guentheri, a species that was last seen in the wild in 1996 and is feared to be now extinct. Histology and in situ hybridization experiments will be conducted in order to answer these questions and better understand broad-scale patterns of dental diversity in frogs.

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  Evaluation of Object Detection Methods in Inclement Weather

  Vatsa Sanjay Patel

  In this study, we thoroughly investigate the reliability of computer vision object detection systems in real-world traffic scenarios, particularly focusing on challenging weather conditions. Traditional evaluation methods often fall short in addressing the complexities of dynamic traffic environments, which is increasingly important with the advancement of autonomous vehicle technologies. Our research specifically examines how these algorithms perform in adverse weather like fog, rain, snow, and sun glare, recognizing the significant impact of weather on their accuracy. We emphasize that a system performing well in clear weather may struggle in adverse conditions. Our study includes detailed analyses of different architectural approaches, aiming to enhance traffic monitoring, vehicle tracking, and object tracking. Ultimately, our goal is to enhance transportation safety and efficiency by advancing robust computer vision systems for future autonomous and intelligent transportation technologies.

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  Evil Born from Good Intentions: Gandhi’s Critiques of Technology and Science

  Beecher Charles Dunne

  What is nonviolence — a concept, a mode of protest, a practice for modern living? This poster explores the ways in which nonviolence has been historically interpreted as "ahimsa," "beloved community," and as a way for practical and ethical thinking in our modern lives. We highlight the role of nonviolence as method and practice in historical and contemporary global instances that range from the farm workers movement, anti-nuclear protests, environmental green politics, and Dalit and Black actions towards representation.

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  Evolution and Diversity of Frog Osteoderms

  Arianna Jenelle Olivares

  Osteoderms are bony deposits that form and are embedded within the dermis layer of vertebrate skin. Osteoderms can be found in many species of tetrapods (amphibians, reptiles, and mammals), but are most well known from crocodilians, lizards, and armadillos. These structures are generally plate-like but can exhibit substantial variation in size, shape, thickness, surface ornamentation within and across species. The function of osteoderms is also variable, acting as protective armor, aiding in heat exchange and thermoregulation, or serving as a calcium reservoir. Several frog species have previously been reported to possess osteoderms, but the evolution, diversity, and function of these structures within living amphibians is poorly understood. The central aim of this study is to investigate the presence and characteristics of osteoderms among species to better understand how many times this trait has evolved in frogs and infer potential functions based on ecological data from the literature. We are using publicly available micro-computed tomography (microCT) data of all major frog groups to identify all species that possess osteoderms and to quantify osteoderm diversity (e.g., size, shape, thickness). Our results demonstrate that 1) osteoderms have evolved many times throughout the frog tree of life, 2) the location and anatomy of osteoderms vary substantially across species, and 3) these structures have arisen in species that vary dramatically in body size and ecology.

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  Examining Students' Perspectives on Restorative Justice

  Kyle A. Linares, Joshua Tate Weiss

  The aim of this study is to compare college students’ perceptions on restorative justice and traditional justice. Our topic revolves around students’ attitudes regarding restorative justice alternatives when presented with certain crimes. Furthermore, we are aiming to examine students’ perceptions of punishments for crimes and whether they believe that a restorative justice alternative is more favorable than traditional punishment.

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  Examining the Influence of Social Media Usage on Knowledge of Political and Social Issues

  Kaelene Samaria Walter, Alayna M. Yates

  This study will outline how social media can be a resource in educating its users considering the political climate, as well as the social activism that is present today. Previous research has helped explain the ways social media can act as a resource for learning about political and social news and occurrences, how it can spark civic engagement, and encourage political discourse and participation. However, there is still a gap that exists that this study aims to fill. This study asks how social media usage influences knowledge of political and social issues. It seeks to explain how news from social media is consumed by citizens, how it resonates with them, and whether it encourages specific participation or involvement in today’s social movements.

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  Examining the Relationship between Eating Disorder Diagnosis and Co-occurring Mental Health Disorders

  Molly Joy VanDerWoude

  The purpose of this study is to determine if there is a relationship between eating disorders and co-occurring mental health disorders specifically in people ages 18 to 25. Much research has been conducted on the general correlation between eating disorders and mental health disorders. However, research on the relationship between the two co-occurring disorders is limited, which is why attention on this topic is needed. This study aims to explore the causational relationship between eating disorders and mental health disorders to help with earlier diagnosis and prevent life threatening impacts these disorders may have.

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  Experimental Investigation of a Novel Morphing Wing Design

  Julian Alejandro Pabon

  The aerodynamic performance of a novel Fishbone Skin-Actuated-Camber (SAC) morphing wing design, which actuates its skin to change its effective camber, was studied both experimentally and numerically. Force-based experiments were conducted at the University of Dayton Low Speed Wind Tunnel (UD-LSWT) to compare the performance of four morphing wing designs with different hinge locations, two ideal trailing edge flap wings, and one conventional trailing edge flap wing. All test articles have an Eppler 479 airfoil, an effective aspect ratio of four, and were tested within an angle of attack range of -15° and 15 °. The novel design achieved effective camber change without any buckling, maintaining comparable aerodynamic performance to ideal flap wings at a Reynolds number of 270,000. At a Reynolds number of 400,000, the morphing shows a lower drag than the ideal flap wing. Simulations from FlightStream®, a numerical solver correlated well with experimental lift data, with the morphing wing's pressure contours indicating reduced flow separation and gradual pressure change on the upper surface when deflected.

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  Exploring Accessibility in Education: Are we creating Equal Learning Opportunities for Students with Disabilities?

  Grace Marie Van Atta

  It was only in 1959 that laws requiring education for children with disabilities started to appear. Since then, numerous laws have been put into effect to provide these students the adequate instruction and skills support needed to succeed in school. The accessibility of schools vary between rural, suburban, and urban schools. Different access to professional development for teachers, funding for students with disabilities, and the effects of Covid have impacted accessibility in education. This review aims to look at these factors and their effects on accessibility in education and thus the education that students with disabilities are receiving.

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  Exploring Influencing Factors of Body Image and their Impact on Mental Well-being

  Lauren Marina Santiago

  Body Image has been described as the mental picture an individual has of themselves. How an individual perceives their shape and size can be directly related to their self-esteem. Those who experience body dissatisfaction have also been found to experience symptoms of depression or anxiety. The goal of this research project is to explore the underlying factors that can influence body image, and how experiencing distorted body image can impact mental well-being.

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  Exploring Neural Circuitry and Purkinje Cell Changes Underlying Cerebellum-Dependent Motor Abnormalities in Down Syndrome

  Amelia Rhyne Moore

  Down syndrome (DS) is a commonly diagnosed neurodevelopmental disorder and is caused by the triplication of human chromosome 21 (Trisomy 21). Individuals with DS have a broad range of behavioral deficits in cognitive and motor domains. From previous studies, it has been found that the cerebellum- a region of the brain that is critical for locomotor learning and coordination- has altered developmental trajectory in DS. This includes atypical development of purkinje cells (PCs) which are the sole output neurons for the cerebellar cortex that impacts locomotor behavior. We will use the Ts65Dn model to look at the abnormal brain development and compare the results to euploid mouse brains as the control. Previous studies have shown that these inputs are important for proper motor learning. However, it is unknown if the motor deficits in DS are caused by altered synaptic input in the PCs. The aims of my research include- 1.) define potential changes of PCs in a mouse model of DS by using immunohistochemistry (IHC) and 2.) define gait abnormalities using locomotor learning tasks- ErasmusLadder and RotaWheel. Future experiments will be targeted towards continuing to make connections between the circuitry and behavioral tests to advance the understanding of DS.

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  Exploring Rhetoric: Insights from Bacon & Nichols

  Zack Rocco, Emma Sawchuk, Jessica Schad

  Rhetoric drawing on religious stories, ideals, concepts, and experiences surround us in our daily lives. These posters represent a sampling of the rhetorical analyses conducted by students from CMM 357 Religious Rhetoric throughout the Spring 2024 semester. Groups presented several themed reports prior to Stander and picked one to showcase at the symposium.

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  Exploring the effects of anaerobic propionate exposure on the cell wall of Listeria monocytogenes

  Elizabeth K. Herr, Angela J. Murrin, Troy D. Reisner, Jeanne Paula Escalante Sering

  Listeria monocytogenes is a food borne pathogen that causes serious infection, especially in immunocompromised, elderly, and infant populations. The gram-positive facultative anaerobe is exposed to many different conditions during its path of infection, and studying its ability to survive in these conditions can be helpful in learning how to prevent its spread. Anaerobic propionate exposure is frequent during Listeria transmission and infection but little is known about the ways in which Listeria fitness is impacted. To investigate Listeria fitness, we first measured cell morphology by comparing cell length to width ratio between bacteria grown with or without propionate. To further look into cell wall homeostasis, we also tested lysozyme susceptibility, peptidoglycan synthesis, and cell surface charge. We found that exposure to propionate changes the length to width ratio of Listeria cells in both anaerobic and aerobic conditions. Further research discovered that propionate exposure protects Listeria from degradation by lysozyme under anaerobic but not aerobic conditions. Tests for peptidoglycan synthesis and cell surface charge can provide further insight into reasons for the change in cell morphology. Overall, the impact of anaerobic propionate exposure on Listeria indicates changes in its cell wall but further research is necessary to understand the full implications.

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  Exploring the Impact of Parenting Styles on Juvenile Interpersonal Violence

  Kassandra L. Correa, Odyssey Marie Oehme

  1 in 3 women and 1 in 4 men have experienced physical violence from an intimate partner. According to the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence, on average, nearly 20 people per minute are physically abused by an intimate partner in the United States. During one year, this equates to more than 10 million women and men (NCADV, 2023). The root of this problem can be found in different ways. Depending on who the offender is, who the victim is, the individual's background, and mental issues all influence this kind of behavior. Although it might be difficult for some to understand how one can physically abuse another and claim that they love them, this presentation specifically offers a different view into interpersonal violence and the relation between the different parenting styles. That is, if there is any role of parenting styles in influencing children to become future offenders involved in dating violence. Starting from a young age, what experiences and trauma led one to become future offenders? The objective is to discover if there is a connection. It is important to study the data, using the Pathways to Desistance, in order to come to a conclusion as to what triggers this kind of behavior and stop it before it happens and not after it has already occurred. This presentation will review the previous literature on theories, studies, and data about interpersonal violence to uncover what, if anything, is missing.

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  Exploring the Role of Social Support in Juvenile Recidivism.

  Jose Yeriel Antonio Urena, Caroline E. Majors

  There is existing research that supports the idea of social supports acting as a criminal deterrent. Therefore, the current research project took a sample from the Pathways to Desistance research study of 1354 juvenile offenders, ages 14-18, and created a negative binomial regression to study the participants’ self-reported offending as they are associated with other factors. The current research in Model 1 is studying whether familial or non-familial social support, and the depth of those supports, has an impact on the frequency of offending in the past year. Furthermore, the research in Model 2 is looking at the models of social support in addition to demographic factors and peer influence to see if there was an impact on frequency of offending. Models 1 and 2 were both included in separate tables for each dependent variable, one for the frequency of offending including drug offenses, and one for frequency of offending excluding drug offenses. The results of Model 1 show that more non-familial social support was associated with higher amounts of offending. The results also showed that depth of social support exhibited a significant negative correlation, indicating that greater support depth, or the depth of support a caring adult gave to the participant, was associated with lower offending frequency. In Model 2, antisocial behavior from peers demonstrated a highly significant positive correlation with offending. Antisocial influence from peers showed a positive correlation associated with offending including drug crimes, and a negative correlation with offending excluding drug crimes, but both without statistical significance. Demographically, higher ages were associated with higher offending frequency, the female gender was associated with lower offending frequency, and ethnicity was found statistically insignificant. These findings suggest nuanced relationships between social support, demographic factors, peer delinquency, and offending behavior, emphasizing the multifaceted nature of this phenomenon.

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  Exposure to Violence and Abuse: The Impacts of Juvenile Trauma on Mental Health

  Flordeliz Lapso, Jayden A. Lewis

  Increasing focus on juvenile mental health creates a need for explanatory methods over the causes, to better inform treatments. Two populations of interest are those with childhood exposure to violence and those in contact with the criminal justice system. This research study examines how exposure to violence and trauma affects mental health and life satisfaction in juveniles. We employed the Pathways to Desistance dataset to evaluate hypotheses informed by literature across multiple disciplines. We gathered dependent and independent variables that follow logically from findings in our literature review. Two forms of regression analysis test the association between the dependent and independent variables. The results demonstrate correlations between specific subject characteristics and the likelihood of victimization, severity of mental illness, and the cumulative impact on future success and satisfaction with life. More specifically we found that if you are a female or you have been exposed to higher levels of victimization you are more likely to have a high severity of illness and be more depressed. This work presents our findings in two contextual studies from distinct perspectives. The two different perspectives allow for the discussions of how we can tackle issues that are mentioned above. If we understand what is happening in the criminal justice system, specifically the jails, and how individuals are impacted by the environments they live in will allow the necessary changes to happen.

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  Facility Data Business Operations Improvement

  Matthew Gordon Adkins, Glenn Malvin Koranteng, Emilee H. Pham

  MIS and OPS Senior Capstone Projects include small teams of 3 or 4 senior students working weekly with a company/organization to solve a real business problem. These projects extend for the complete undergrad senior year including both Fall and Spring semesters. Students act as Project Consultants and Managers to guide the project from inception until conclusion by delivering solutions and deliverables to the client. Students produce project documentation and formal presentations at multiple stages of the project and conclude with presentations to the supporting Client's Leadership Team.

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  Factors That Create Positive Outcomes for Encounters with Frontline Workers

  Leonard Patrick Zaleski III

  Frontline public service workers (street-level bureaucrats) provide the most critical services to our most vulnerable populations. Residents of various communities may only interact with frontline workers instead of upper-level public servants throughout their lives, meaning that these public servants are crucial to the positive perception of their agencies, departments, and entire government. This creates a need to understand what factors can produce a positive outcome, both for the frontline workers and the residents they interact with. To understand what creates positive experiences, a comprehensive literature review of recent research from two of the top journals in public administration will be examined to determine what creates positive encounters with frontline workers for local residents.

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  Failure modes of silver versus gallium-alloy conductive traces at flex-to-stretch interfaces

  Josafat Jimenez

  Traces made from a conductive liquid-metal ink are blade coated onto a Thermoplastic Polyurethane (TPU) substrate for flexible and stretchable applications. The same process is used for a silver flake composite ink to compare with liquid-metal samples. Uniaxial strain is applied to the samples to test resistance response of 2 mm-wide traces for both inks to investigate electrical loss and failure modes. Results show 10x increase from initial resistance at strains of 15% for silver composite inks and 140% for liquid-metal inks on average. The failure mode of the silver composite is attributed to intrinsic material loss under strain while failure for liquid-metal inks is due to localized strain at the interface between TPU and polyimide. Bilayer traces with both inks exhibit both positive ink qualities, showing silver-like initial resistance and liquid-metal-like strain tolerance. Finally, using a softer substrate of styrene-ethylene-butylene-styrene (SEBS) demonstrates higher straintolerance than TPU, without plastic deformation and lower resting state resistance creep after cycling.

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  Fatigue Limiting Behavior of LPBF Parts (AM Process Improvement)

  Luke Lowell Weston

  This study investigates the fatigue limiting behavior in aerospace alloys, focusing on the role of Critical Resolved Shear Stress (CRSS) in determining fatigue limits. Initially targeting Ti-6Al-4V (Ti64) for four-point bending fatigue bars using Laser Powder Bed Fusion (LPBF), challenges with contaminated Ti64 powder led to a shift to martensitic 17-4PH stainless steel (17-4 stainless). The research explores the impact of CRSS on fatigue limits, emphasizing its importance over slip systems per Mlikota's findings. Surface roughness analysis of the 17-4 stainless bars revealed a consistently higher average roughness, sharpness of peaks and valleys, and most importantly depth of valleys on the as-built side compared to the cut side. xCT scanning showed a 99.02% density obtained from the “high quality” parameter set, which would be suitable for many structural applications. However, the ordered networks of pores along the hatching suggest that material from this parameter set could never be considered airworthy due to the high surface area to volume ratio/surface energy. The manufacturers "normal" parameter set yielded 99.99% dense bars as measured by xCT, which is better than most castings.This research contributes to the understanding of the importance of CRSS in aerospace structural design and the fatigue limiting behavior of aerospace-relevant alloys. The findings emphasize the need for further investigation into the relationship between CRSS, slip systems, and the design of materials with infinite fatigue lives. With a proper understanding of the influence of CRSS on fatigue limiting behavior, it may be possible to develop aerospace alloys with infinite fatigue lives, greatly lowering maintenance costs.

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  Feature Selection in Reinforcement Learning

  Shruti Ajay Singh

  Artificial Intelligence (AI) has transformed today’s world with endless possibilities. We’ve reached a point where self-driving cars, and talking robots aren't science fiction anymore. Reinforcement learning (RL), a subset of AI, plays a crucial role in these advancements. However, as the lines between humans and machines blur, a question looms : “Can we trust AI to keep us safe and secure?”. RL unlocks the ability to learn on its own, but its learning can be manipulated making them vulnerable to adversarial attacks. Consider a self-driving car navigating a busy city street. Every lane change, signal interpretation, pedestrian interaction demands an instant decision in real-time. In an ideal world, the car receives noise-free sensory data, allowing the car to make safe decisions. However in a real-world scenario, the car is an easy target for malicious actors to manipulate the navigation system potentially leading to accidents. A threat that has severe consequences in other domains of RL applications : healthcare, transportation, finance. Therefore, achieving robustness against adversarial attacks requires a defensive framework tailored to the system’s characteristics. In this research, we address adversarial attacks on the observation state space in reinforcement learning. And we propose an entropy-based framework that detects and removes imposters by feature selection.

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  Financial sector stock returns in a rising Interest Rate Environment: An Empirical Analysis 1999-2023

  Michael James Kondritz, Ronald Joseph Marciano

  Financial economists have long assumed that a rising interest rate environment is favorable to financial institutions because they can lend out at interest rates greater than their cost of capital. In turn, this should result in higher financial sector stock returns. To test this hypothesis I look at four different time periods between 1999 and 2023 where the key Fed Funds rate has risen. I use the top 20 stocks by market cap in the financial sector to evaluate the relationship between rising Fed Fund rates and sector stock returns. A secondary objective is to see how non-bank entities faired, return wise, compared to the banks during these rising interest rate periods.

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  “Fitspirational” or Overhyped? How the Physical Persona of Fitness Influencers Affects Following Intentions

  Justin Daniel Palmer

  The social media landscape is filled with a variety of fitness influencers — experienced health and wellness proponents who post exercise-related advice and content for general audiences. Many of these influencers appear charismatic, inspirational, and well-intentioned. Yet, recent research suggests that fitness influencers may drive poor mental health outcomes by fueling negative comparisons and body shame. In turn, our research investigates what kind of fitness influencer is most appealing to consumers. Altogether, we find that relatability matters — and this is driven by the perceived attractiveness of the influencer.