Stander Symposium Projects

The Brother Joseph W. Stander Symposium recognizes and celebrates academic excellence in undergraduate and graduate education. This annual event provides an opportunity for students from all disciplines to showcase their intellectual and artistic accomplishments. The Stander Symposium represents the Marianist tradition of education through community and is the principal campus-wide event in which faculty and students actualize our mission to be a "community of learners."

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Mid Century Androgyny

Jessica Nicole Williams

The constant availability of modern technology encourages society to resist moments of meditation. In hopes of creating a shift in this interaction, I am focusing on functional pottery and giving them glory. I am exploring various ways of incorporating my androgyny, searching for a balance of hard and soft, geometric and organic. The journey of finding this balance is a reflection of my struggles with gender and self-image, embodying masculine and feminine energy searching for existence of both without abundance of one. I find the linear quality of mid-century modern aesthetic to be a compliment to the organic, feminine energy I'm channeling. The childhood memories attached to this aesthetic are something I treasure, reminding me of times where we were together and so present. I am looking to encourage this presence through my functional work, to invite community and conversation into a home space.
mir-277 Targets Hid to Ameliorate Aβ42-mediated Neurodegeneration in Drosophila Eye Model of Alzheimer’s Disease

Prajakta D. Deshpande

Alzheimer’s disease (AD), an age-related progressive neurodegenerative disorder, exhibits reduced cognitive functions with no cure to date. One of the reasons for AD is the extracellular accumulation of Amyloid-beta 42 (Aβ42) plaques. Misexpression of human Aβ42 in the developing retina of Drosophila exhibits AD-like neuropathology. Accumulation of Aβ42 plaque(s) triggers aberrant signaling resulting in neuronal cell death by unknown mechanism(s). We screened for microRNAs which post-transcriptionally regulate expression of genes by degrading mRNA of the target genes. In a forward genetic screen using miRNAs, we identified mir-277 as a genetic modifier of Aβ42-mediated neurodegeneration. Gain-of-function of mir-277 rescues Aβ42 mediated neurodegeneration whereas loss-of-function of mir-277 enhances Aβ42 mediated neurodegeneration. Moreover, misexpression of higher levels of mir-277 in the GMR>Aβ42 background restores the retinal axonal targeting indicating functional rescue. Furthermore, we have identified head involution defective (hid) as one of the targets of mir-277 by Fly TargetScan and validated by luciferase assay and qPCR. The hid transcript levels are decreased by one third when mir-277 is misexpressed in the GMR>Aβ42 background in comparison to the GMR>Aβ42 fly model. Here we provide a mechanism of how mir-277 modulates Aβ42-mediated neurodegeneration by regulating hid transcript levels and demonstrate its neuroprotective role in Aβ42-mediated neuropathology.
Modeling and Visualization of Brownian Motion with Python

Jiahe Song

Brownian motion is widely used in the field of physics, mathematics, and economics, refers to the random motion of particles in a fluid, such as smoke particles in a gas. This study models and visualizes the Brownian motion in two dimensions by using random walk process and python visual package respectively. The final program performs a million steps of random walk process in a finite size lattice.
Modeling the Oscillation of a Belousov–Zhabotinsky Reaction

Wyatt Norman Lee

In the late 20th Century, physicist Ilya Prigogine formulated a mathematical model of chemical oscillators, also known as autocatalytic reactions. He named this model the ‘Brusselator’ after his home town of Brussels. The two equations of the Brusselator model of a Belousov–Zhabotinsky Reaction consist of two constants, a and b, and two variables, denoted x and y in this project, which represent the concentrations of the two chemicals in the reaction. The ordinary differential equations of this model will be solved using numerical methods in the Python programming language, specifically utilizing the Bulirsch–Stoer algorithm to do so. A plot of the solutions will be provided to gain a more intuitive understanding of the reaction taking place.
Montessori School Structures: Benefits for Student Development and Learning

Sarah W. Stuckert

This presentation explores the structure of Montessori schools where students guide their own learning. This method of teaching guided by Marie Montessori’s philosophy is believed to instill greater independence and executive functioning in students and is associated with higher standardized test scores and in class exam performance. The Montessori method is utilized for all grade levels, ranging from preschool to high school. For the preschool and elementary ages, it is believed to increase brain development. For middle school ages, it is believed to increase a drive for learning. Finally for high school ages, it is believed to increase self-esteem. With the structure of student-guided learning, these developments are likely to result. However, in-depth investigation of different studies determined that there is a discrepancy amongst the benefit outcomes.
Motivation Behind Over Involvement at Small Private Institutions

Mathew Perry

Students are encouraged to pursue professional and social opportunities during their undergraduate career but some students have the tendency to over commit themselves to these opportunities. This research seeks to understand the motivation behind these students when it comes to these students’ over involvement by asking: 1.)What are the motivations behind over involvement in students at small private institutions? 2.) How would students define over involvement? Utilizing a phenomenological qualitative approach, the researcher conducted interviews with undergraduate students from two small private institutions. The results indicate that students' motivation behind over involvement varies between each student and that there is a similarity between the two small private institutions. Most of the students’ motivation is driven by external influences. This study can be further utilized to understand over involvement at other institution types as well as helping student affairs practitioners understand how to help students that they would consider over involved.
Multi Vehicle Recognition, Tracking and Counting

Avinash Beerelli

Traffic congestion has become a major problem in the cities which are expanding at a rapid rate, making it way for looking at intelligent traffic systems. It is also rising and contributing to issues like wasted fuel, increased cost of transportation, greenhouse gas emissions, and safety as well. There are a number of solutions available which focus on reducing traffic congestion and improve traffic flow by vehicle detection, tracking and counting. In the proposed project we adopt artificial intelligence (AI) algorithms to automatically analyze ongoing traffic condition in real time, detect the vehicles and their classification, such as cars, trucks, buses, or motorbikes. In addition, we are tracking the vehicles along multiple cameras in the city.
Music Therapy Approaches and Methods with Children Ages 8-12 Who Have Had Adverse Childhood Experiences

Stephanie Elaine Kozol

There is research stating that children who have had Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs), as described by Felitti et al. (1998), can develop significant relationships with music (Fairchild & Mraz, 2018; Stuart, 2018; Zanders, 2012). For children who have experienced ACEs, music can provide a medium for self-expression, an escape from reality, a way to process challenging events, and other coping mechanisms. Although music therapy clinical resources for this age group are scarce, it seems that music therapy has potential to increase quality of life for children ages 8-12 affected by ACEs. Through interviews with three music therapists, considerations for best music therapy practices with this clientele are described with particular consideration given to salient treatment themes. This study provides resources that can improve the quality of music therapy as trauma treatment for children who have had ACEs, as well as equip current and future clinicians with insights and perspectives to advocate for expanded music therapy services for children with ACEs.
Neuromorphic Adaptive Resonance Theory for One-Shot Online Learning and Network Security

Md Shahanur Alam

In this work, we present an one shot learning system capable of online learning for network intrusion detection. Adaptive resonance theory is implemented in custom low power memristor-based neuromorphic hardware. The system is capable of discriminating with existing knowledge to learn incrementally. To determine the winning neuron, the winner takes all circuit is implemented with CMOS and a capacitor. The timing of charging the winning capacitor was found in nanosecond range. The performance of the system was evaluated on both previously known and zero-day datasets. The detection accuracy using zero-day packets is 99.97%, and 99.99% for the known attacks. Furthermore, the system was tested using various vigilance parameters and learning rates. The variation of threshold voltage across the capacitor was also investigated to observe the effect on learning and detection accuracy.
NGOs and their Economic Relationship with Women in Bangladesh

Krista R. Borchers, Laura Ann Hughes, Dominic A. Ortenzo

Based on the work and data gathered by Counterpart International, a development agency funded by USAID, this presentation focuses on how gender in Bangladesh is constructed both conceptually and in practice. This is part of a larger program Counterpart International has implemented since 2018, titled, ‘Promoting Advocacy and Rights’ (PAR) in collaboration with local NGOs. Anchored in the Gender/Women in Development (GID/WID) approach, PAR aims to deepen democratic values within civil society to improve public governance. Our specific goal is to examine how the development project implemented by the NGOs plan to ‘include’ women, who are their target population. During our research, we have come to the understanding that NGOs often have a double-sided nature. Although NGOs come with the intent of help and aid, there are many times that they misunderstand the culture and actual effects of their work in a given country. Understanding gender roles in culture is critical to finding success within development projects. In Bangladesh, there are many layers to the economic situation of women. Similarly, they have a complicated history working with international NGOs, specifically in terms of microfinance. This presentation first outlines Counterpart’s efforts in improving civil society, especially looking at gender equality and advancing equal opportunity. Next, we use the critical development studies framework to identify gaps in the project design and offer some recommendations based on our semester-long work on deepening our understanding of Bangladesh as a unique country. Finally, we analyze the development project using the critical framework of access, effects, and control.
"North American Properties Struxtion"

Jacqueline J. Chmiel, Patrick J. Hart, John Corrigan Roberts, Joe Tyler Vogrin

ERP Build vs Buy vs Hybrid Analysis and Recommendation
Novel Patented Porphyrin Works Synergistically with Bacteriophage PEV2 in the Removal of Pseudomonas aeruginosa Biofilms on Medically Relevant Substrata

Jessica Elizabeth Geyer, Hannah Corinne Gordon

Antimicrobial resistance is a leading concern for medical professionals around the world, the lack of efficacy of many major antibiotics is now causing once treatable strains of bacteria to run rampant infections. One primary pathogen of concern is Pseudomonas aeruginosa, a deadly bacterium that causes severe human infections and exhibits a high mortality rate for immunocompromised individuals. While a single cell of P. aeruginosa can rapidly acquire antibiotic resistance, the biofilms it self-produces provides it with an additional 1000 times more resistance. Bacterial biofilms produce an extracellular matrix that acts as a scaffold for growth and imparts a form of protection against predators, harsh conditions, and chemicals. As the problem of antibiotics resistance rises coupled with the difficult eradication of biofilms, there is an urgent need for an alternative and more reliable method of bacterial treatment. Our lab has produced a novel patented zinc containing porphyrin, Zn(II)meso-5,10,15-triyl-tris(1-methylpyridin-1-ium)-20-(pentafluorophenyl) porphine tritosylate (ZnPor), which exhibits broad antibacterial activity against planktonic and biofilm-associated cells. ZnPor interacts with the biofilm which results in a more porous biofilm that dissembles and detaches from substrata, making the bacterial cells inherently more accessible and susceptible to removal. In this work we show a synergistic combination treatment between ZnPor and an obligately lytic P. aeruginosa specific bacteriophage, PEV2. There is greater biofilm deconstruction from various medically relevant substrata such as polyethylene, titanium, and hydroxyapatite. These activities do not require photoactivation; however, when photoactivation is added the combinational therapy, there is even further removal of the biofilm and killing of associated cells. We also present data that demonstrates ZnPor possesses activity against the bacteriophage PEV2. We refer to this as the “take no prisoners” approach; intended to mop up the battlefield of the phage-bacteria war; thus, reducing the survival of phage resistant bacteria and addressing the issue of bacterial resistance.
Oakwood Inclusion Coalition Project

Roberto Luis Alomar, Eman Abdulaziz Alshafai, Brian M. Bollinger, Claire Townsend Brewer, William Carreras-Ortiz, Emily M. Cordonnier, Drake J. Dahlinghaus, Samantha Nicole Johnson, Megan Marie Lewis, Ajay Anton Madlinger, Remy P. McAllister, Kathryn Elizabeth Niekamp, Brendan Michael Pugliese, Lucy Rauker, Madeline Murphy Spicer, Shannon Marie Stanforth

Students in the senior level Graphic Design III course were tasked with creating a logo design and branding for the Oakwood Inclusion Coalition (OIC). Students spent the semester working as independent design firms self-named RPS and Post Meridian. Responsibilities of the two firms entailed not only design work but inter-firm management and extra-firm communications with members of the OIC. While certain roles such as Project Manager or Communications Specialist were maintained, RPS and Post Meridian used their own democratic strategy to include everyone in the creative process. Students began their approach to the OIC’s project by compiling visual inspiration, focusing on key words in the OIC’s mission, developing an appropriate color palette, and collectively creating sketches for a logo that embodied the mission of the OIC. Concept sketches were then edited and further refined to tailor the logo designs to the goals of the OIC. Political climates past, present, and future were considered along with the history of the city of Oakwood and the themes of inclusivity and action in the face of adversity. Upon presenting their logo concepts to the OIC Leadership Team, each firm was directed to move forward with a single logo direction and corresponding branding materials. RPS and Post Meridian are scheduled to present their final logo designs and branding assets to the OIC Leadership Team next week. The OIC will in turn select one firm’s proposal to move forward into production and implementation. The chance to work with a local government on a project with such important implications has been a tremendous experiential learning opportunity for all. Special thanks to Dr. Roger Crum for bringing the OIC project to the senior Graphic Design students in the Department of Art and Design.
Obstacles for Librarians Engaging in Readers’ Advisory Service in the Public Library

Joanna Merlene Phillips Schofield

One of the most fundamental tasks of a public library is to connect readers with books and other materials and therefore, library staff are responsible for making this connection. This service is called readers’ advisory (RA). An evidentiary exploration of staff engagement with readers’ advisory is needed as a first step to improve the services of matching readers with high quality books and to increase the self-confidence of staff suggesting these titles. A thorough examination of the professional librarians’ perceived obstacles to RA will shed light on how to engage staff and prioritize readers’ advisory work in the public library. The purpose of this study is to begin building an understanding of the culture of RA at the public library and to begin identifying staff perceived obstacles to high-quality RA service. Using a critical ethnographic approach, interviews were conducted with two public librarians at the Stark County (Ohio) District Library to gain insight into the shared approaches, perceived barriers, and organizational support for RA among the professional librarian working group. Data analysis identified three dominant themes in librarian engagement with readers’ advisory: the use of resources for readers’ advisory knowledge, emotion as a significant factor in engaging in readers’ advisory work, and the role of the branch as an organizational support for RA. Analysis revealed that organizations must support this work through professional development, quick access to professional resources, and time allotted to readers’ advisors to maintain their expertise in books and book attributes. Organizations must also teach and model readers’ advisory as a conversation between patron and librarian in which a reading relationship is built over time. Further study is needed to expand the sample population to all front-line library workers to better understand staff-perceived obstacles at all levels of the organization.
Ohio's Hospice Inc.

Alex Thomas Costa, Joshua Newman, Conner J. Templin, Sarah K. Thompson

"Business Intelligence/Visualization System..replace Power BI"
On a Min-Max Property of Chordal Bipartite Graphs

Kayte Lynn Jackson

I will be exploring an interesting min-max feature of a subset of graphs called chordal bipartite graphs, those without any induced cycles on 6 or more vertices. First, I will explain special properties of a larger subset of bipartite graphs, those with no induced cycles on strictly 6 vertices, and how this leads to the conclusion for chordal bipartite graphs. The findings that are described are from a paper titled "A Min–Max Property of Chordal Bipartite Graphs with Applications" that I have read in detail. Consider a graph G, a bipartite graph with no induced cycles on exactly 6 vertices, then G* is the complement of the square of the line graph of G. The paper initially proves two facts. First, it proves that each maximal independent set of G* is the edge set of a chain subgraph of G. It also proves that the minimum number of chain subgraphs needed to cover the edges of G is equal to the chromatic number of G*. These fascinating properties along with a previous discovery that a chordal bipartite graph G has a weakly chordal G* leads to the conclusion that the size of the largest induced matching of G, the largest clique size of G*, the chromatic number of G*, and the minimum number of chain graphs needed to cover the edges of G are all equal in chordal bipartite graphs.
On Meaning-Making in Academic Advising: An Examination of Academic Advisors and Their Experience with Student Mental Health

Gretchen E. Theil

The study seeks to address academic advisors’ experiences with the college student mental health crisis. Specifically, it examines how both professional and faculty advisors react to students experiencing mental health concerns, the extent to which advisors receive mental health training, the influence of multicultural factors impacting students’ mental health, and the role of technology in academic advising. The researcher performed qualitative interviews with four faculty advisors and five professional advisors. Results show that both faculty and professional academic advisors must guide students with increased mental health concerns with no required mental health training, while navigating a multitude of multicultural factors, and utilizing numerous sources of technology, especially due to the current nature of the COVID-19 pandemic. These findings will be used to expand the knowledge-base of both universities and other academic advisors on the importance of their role in the student mental health crisis.
On Sex Differences in the Effects of Rapid-Acting Antidepressants

Patrick Robert Flaherty

Major depressive disorder (MDD) is an extremely debilitating sex-related disorder that currently affects over 300 million people worldwide. Women are more vulnerable to the precipitation of depressive symptoms and they are more likely to suffer from MDD as compared to men. Despite the pronounced sex differences in the manifestation of MDD and responsiveness of patients to drug treatment, clinical andpreclinical research on the neurobiological basis of this disorder and antidepressant drug development has focused on the male sex. Conventional antidepressant drug therapies are often ineffective and typically require weeks of chronic treatment to induce alleviation of depressive symptoms in MDD patients. Recently, the discovery of the rapid-acting antidepressant properties of the non-competitive N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptor antagonist ketamine revolutionized the field of antidepressant drug discovery. In the context of the current thesis we conducted a literature review on the current clinical and preclinical evidence highlighting the important role that sex may play in response to ketamine, as well as to other rapid-acting antidepressants.
Openly HQ

Maureen Barbara Deering, Brandon Richard Donase, Jacob Levin

"Sports Review Platform - startup Enhance System Reporting Capability"
Optimization of Solar Array Positioning Actuators for Small Satellites

Mohamed Ali Alsadig Mohamed

CubeSats are standard and modularized satellites that have gained widespread implementation among the scientific research community due to their low cost of manufacture and launch. The only source of energy for CubeSat missions are from solar arrays, which are coupled to rechargeable batteries that provide power during the shaded portion of the orbit. The goal of this research is to maximize the energy per weight ratio of solar array designs for a 3U CubeSat. The solar array configurations investigated include rigidly mounted to the CubeSat sides, and deployed with zero, one, and two degree of freedom, active positioning actuation schemes. Numerical models are created for multiple variations of geo-synchronous and sun-synchronous orbits, which are common for CubeSat missions. The results for orbit parameters and energy acquisition for rigid-mounted solar arrays are validated with commercially available orbital mechanics software (SDK). The various solar cell designs are evaluated based on their energy acquisition potential and actuation complexity and weight of design.
Our Voices Matter

Lydia G. Artz, Heather E. Ashley, Kayla N. Burdette, Morgan Couture, Elizabeth Licata Gallagher, Ayla Marie Garman, Cameron Cristina Nowlin, Christina Marie Reynolds, Cameron Rutherford, Allison Shaw, Shyanne Smith, Beck Lee Trumbull

Expressing oneself is one of the core values of the LGBTQ+ community, as to combat the years the community has spent with their voices oppressed and silenced. College specifically is a time for students to not only come to understand themselves, but to also find how they communicate their identities to the rest of the world-- and this applies even more strongly to LGBQT+ students. Our Voices Matter highlights the voices of LGBTQ+-identifying students and their narratives, giving those students a chance to freely express themselves. We have collected anonymously-submitted writings and artworks from LGBTQ+ students at UD. These will be shared by volunteer members of the LGBTQ+ community. This is the fourth annual Our Voices Matter event, and the second year that it will be facilitated as a part of the Stander Symposium.
Panel Discussion: An Introduction to "The Magic Flute"

Mariah Joanna Berryman, Alyssa C. Boldt, Clare Rose Carey, Juliana Christine Hake, Mary Clare Hake, John Carter Herzog, Trinity Peace Hines-Anthony, Michaela Ann Miller, Angelo N. Moore-Knight, Arianna Maria Ranallo, Olivia Easton Redwine, Anna Jean Simmons, Blaise C. Stephens, Beck Lee Trumbull

Meet the cast and creative team who created the University of Dayton's 2020-2021 production of Mozart's The Magic Flute. Stream the episodes or binge watch the full version at the UD Music Department's YouTube channel.
Parental Hostility and Youthful Offending

Shannon Elizabeth Powers

Research shows that parenting styles are associated with children’s behavior and adjustment. One type of parenting style is parental hostility, which has been found to be correlated with delinquency. This relationship is more pronounced when parental hostility includes physical aggression towards the child or teenager. The current study aims to examine the link between parental hostility and delinquency among adjudicated juveniles. The Pathways to Desistance data was used to examine this relationship. The sample consisted of 1,354 serious juvenile offenders between the ages of 14 years old to under 18 years old from Philadelphia and Phoenix. The participants were 86% males, 41.4% African American, 20% White, and 33.5% of the rest of the sample consisted of other races. A bivariate correlation was used to examine the association. The findings show a weak statistically significant association between mother’s and father’s parental hostility and total offending, which is aligned with previous research. Findings and implications will be discussed.
Perception of Police Canines on a Midwest Campus

Tyera J. Brown, Noah Nietz

Officials at Midwest universities have often shied away from the idea of bringing police canines onto campuses in fear of the perceptions from students. The study used a phenomenological strategy to explain students' and officers' perceptions of police canines on a Midwest university campus. Participants enrolled in a Midwest university and officers employed at a Midwest university were interviewed using a snowball sampling method. Participants were asked a series of open-ended questions on their views of policing and bringing police canines on campus. Participant experiences and feedback were analyzed to answer the research questions in the study. Data collected from interviews was reviewed to identify themes.
Persistent Developmental Delays in Children Born with Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome and In Utero Drug Exposure

Elizabeth Renee Staley

Children born with Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome (NAS) and In Utero Drug Exposure (IUDE) may experience delays that can impact cognition, motor skills, speech and language, attention and behavior development. Further, children born with NAS are more likely to be referred for evaluation and subsequently qualify for special education when compared with non-exposed peers. This quantitative study involved an evaluation of existing visual motor and receptive/expressive language data from birth to 24 months for 106 children born with NAS and IUDE. Results indicated that these children had significant deficits in visual motor scores and receptive and expressive language scores. Significant differences in visual motor and language scores were found between the NAS & IUDE and IUDE only groups. Children in the IUDE only groups had lower scores on visual motor and language assessments; the IUDE only group demonstrated a significant positive rate of change.