Stander Symposium Projects

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  A Mobile Robot System for 2D/3D SLAM

  Tao Peng

  This project presents a mobile robot system for solving the simultaneous localization and mapping (SLAM) problem, a key issue for autonomous navigation in unknown environments. The considered scenario is that of a mobile robot using range scans, provided by a 2D LiDAR, to update a map of the environment and simultaneously estimate its position and orientation within the map. Experimental tests performed within a real-world indoor environment demonstrate the performance of the proposed SLAM mobile robot system.The mobile robot system can be easily modified to be a 3D SLAM system based on RGB-D camera.

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  Analysis and Review of the Effects of Bacterial Competition on Efflux Pump Inhibition

  Bo A Leszcynski

  Multidrug resistant antibacterial strains are a dangerous problem in modern medicine. One way that bacterial strains can become resistant to common antibiotics is by overexpressing efflux pumps, which are transporters in the cells’ membranes that pump antibiotics out of the cell. The goal is to find inhibitors of bacterial efflux pumps that might reverse the multidrug resistance characteristic. The potential for solving this problem might be found in mother nature. When cells of two different strains are grown together, they must compete with each other for nutrients. This competition can lead to the production of compounds that are toxic to the competing strain. One such compound may be a compound that inhibits the efflux of antibiotics from the cell. To address the multidrug resistance problem, microbes that are known producers of antibiotics will be analyzed and it will be determined if they can produce efflux pump inhibitors that might be therapeutically valuable for us. Preliminary results indicate that two strains, S. griseus and P. polymyxa, might indeed produce an efflux pump inhibitor when they are grown together.

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  Analysis and Synthesis of Ring-Fused Boron Dipyrromethenes

  Eduardo J Rive Lockwood

  Recently, there has been a growing interest in the boron dipyrromethene (BODIPY, 4,4′- difluoro-4-bora-3a,4a-diaza-s-indacene) compounds. BODIPY compounds have fascinating properties that allow for the absorption and emission of light in the near-infrared region of the electromagnetic spectrum. These molecules are highly modifiable making them ideal chemicals for the use of photoelectric energy conversion such as for commercial use in dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs). It has been previously shown that different meso compounds have only a slight effect on the absorptive capabilities of these BODIPY compounds. We believe that the BODIPY compounds’ lack of planarity is one of the major obstacles in more efficient absorption in the NIR and IR regions. Because of this, we are focusing on modifying recently synthesized BODIPY compounds in an attempt to align their meso group with the rest of the compound’s framework. Synthesis of various BODIPY compounds was attempted in order to perform the ring fusion reaction between the meso group and the body of the compound. Computational analysis on several BODIPY compounds was performed on these in addition to other compounds from the literature.

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  Analysis of Safety Impact of Raising Trucks Speed Limit on Rural Freeways in Ohio

  Nayabtigungu Hendrix Ouedraogo

  Large trucks play a key role in the overall safety of the highway transportation system. Previous studies have shown that in Ohio large trucks are over-represented in crashes that lead into serious and fatal injuries [1,2]. Critical factors in truck-related crashes can be divided into environmental, road geometric related, human and driver-related, or vehicle related factors. A previous study that analyzed factors affecting truck-related crashes in Ohio found that posted speed limit and speed-related factors were among the significant factors impacting crash severity of truck-related crashes [1]. Several studies have shown that increasing speed limits on roadways has a significant impact both on safety and operating speeds [3-5]. On July 1, 2013 the Ohio’s legislature raised the speed limits on rural freeways from 65 mi/h to 70 mi/h for passenger vehicles, buses and trucks and to date the safety impact of this speed limit raise has not been evaluated. The current study is investigating the impact of raising the speed limit on crash severity specifically with interest with large trucks and buses on rural freeways in Ohio. Statewide crash data have been obtained from the Ohio Department of Public Safety (ODPS) between January 1, 2010 and December 31, 2017. Given the numerous number of rural freeway segments located all over the state and traffic volumes for each segment over the study period are not easily obtainable, therefore the use of standard observational before/after study empirical Bayes (EB) method is not feasible in this case. This research will utilize the time series analysis model, which is a statistical method that can take care the differences in crashes occurring in different years and recognize trends in different periods of times. In essence, time series analysis is a statistical technique that deals with time series data, or trend analysis. Time series data means that data is in a series of particular time periods or intervals. Currently we are analyzing the data and the study will be completed before the Stander Symposium date.

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  Analysis of the Social and Political Factors of the Twin Towers Community

  Maura N Hohl, Olivia Kathryn McGann, Maria Elizabeth Plevris

  Twin Towers is located in Montgomery County, on the eastside of Dayton, and is home to 6,380 low-income residents. Dayton, Ohio itself is ranked 11th in the U.S. for food hardship and many of the children living in Twin Towers area qualify for the National School Lunch Program. The purpose of the community assessment is to analyze the social and political factors associated with the Twin Towers community. The objectives of this project are to analyze, through primary and secondary sources, factors including: food access, employment, income, housing, food policies and programs, political structure, business, and healthcare access in the Dayton Twin Towers community. Major findings include frequent fast food consumption of the Ruskin Elementary students, over half the Twin Towers residents making less than $25,000 per year, the lack of Twin Towers businesses due to the building of the I-35 highway, and barriers associated with accessing National food programs. These barriers include: language barriers, lack of ID for access of food programs, lack of transportation, and lack of education on where and how to obtain access to food programs. In conclusion, addressing these barriers may lead to better dietary outcomes.

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  Analyzing Bacterial Soil Isolates for New Antibiotic Production

  Meagan Nicole Lovin

  The last class of antibiotics to be discovered was in 1987, and no new antibiotics agents have been identified since. Bacteria have become increasingly resistant to our current stock of antibiotics and these strains have even been found to contain resistance to all known antibiotics. In the search for new antibiotics, the Tiny Earth Network has culminated labs all over the world to encourage students to join the search and learn about how to test and find new antibiotics. We collected soil samples from the University of Dayton and diluted them down to better separate out the individual bacterium. The selected bacteria are screened against various ESKAPE pathogens, specifically Acinetobacter baumannii and Staphylococcus aureus via their safe relatives, A. baylyi and S. epidermidis, respectively. This screening process showed six promising bacteria with significant zones of inhibition. Additional lab testing including Gram staining, catalase testing, triple sugar iron testing, MacConkey agar, motility identification, mannitol salt agar testing, chia seed testing, and finally PCR, extraction, and DNA sequencing will be utilized to determine the identity of the bacteria we discover. This research brings hope to the discovery of a new antibiotic that can be used on the pharmaceutical counter.

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  An Incomplete Guide to all Plants, Animals, and Insects in the Environmental Research Area at Old River Park

  Mary Catherine Lloyd, Celia Montemurri, Caroline Marie Shepherd, Taylor Marie Sparbanie

  An important first step in managing an ecosystem is discovering the biodiversity already present, to have the opportunity to bolster it, protect it, and manage for it. One way to document biodiversity is to perform a BioBlitz. A BioBlitz is an event where a group of people, usually including volunteers, aid a research group in identifying all species of living things in a certain area. During the one semester, or approximately four months, of this project the lab team focused on identifying certain categories of species. The Environmental Research Area is approximately 60-70 acres and surrounded by a moat-shaped lake. The research team focused on birds, plants, insects, mammals, and trees. Other categories are included in a master plan to be completed in the future. 104 species were identified in total within the set taxa. Many factors, such as time and resource constraints, contributed to the lower numbers of identification for other major groups of organisms. With further surveying to compile a more complete list of species, this list can serve as a useful tool in making management decisions to best protect the natural inhabitants of Old River Park, the Great Miami River, and Dayton.

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  An Investigation Correlating Bioluminescence and Metal Reduction Utilizing Shewanella woodyi

  Allison L Theberge

  The internal transfer of electrons through proteins from high to low electrochemical potentials is a fundamental aspect of life. Some microbes possess the unique ability to transfer internally derived electrons to external insoluble electron acceptors such as electrodes, redox proteins, and other cells in a process known as extracellular electron transfer (EET). Currently, this microbial process is applied in creation of microbial electrochemical systems (MESs). These systems are used in renewable energy and wastewater treatment research and applications. Shewanella woodyi is a cold tolerant, marine microbe that is an understudied candidate for its metal reduction capabilities, although it is closely related to other well-characterized strains in the Shewanella genus. Additionally, S. woodyi has bioluminescent properties and previous research indicated a relationship between bioluminescent intensity and EET existed. The bioluminescence enzyme luciferase relies on reduced flavins to generate light, therefore changes in flavin redox state can have an impact on bioluminescence. Throughout this research, the general growth of S.woodyi under a variety of conditions was characterized. Additionally, the relationship between EET and bioluminescence was confirmed utilizing the soluble electron acceptors of cobalt(II) and nitrate as the substrate for EET. Through high throughput luminescence assays and open circuit potential experiments, it was determined that increasing concentrations of the electron acceptors resulted in decreased bioluminescence output from the cells. Cell viability staining concluded that the increased concentrations of acceptors were not decreasing cell density and thus luminescence output, indicating a valid relationship between EET and bioluminescence.

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  A novel Zinc Porphyrin as an Antimicrobial

  Nehaben Nik Patel

  One of the greatest threats to human health, and life, is the rise of antibiotic resistant bacterial infections. National summary data from the CDC estimates that at least 2,049,442 million illnesses and 23,000 deaths occur each year as the result of antibiotic resistant bacteria and fungi. Pseudomonas aeruginosa is an opportunistic bacterium that causes infection ad forms biofilm that are difficult to treat due to antibiotic resistance. We are the co-inventors of two patented novel technologies for the treatment of antibiotic resistant bacteria. Both treatments make use of a novel porphyrin ZnPor (US Patent # 9,364,537) that does not require using traditional photo-activation i.e., it exhibits unique dark toxicity. Current studies have indicated the utility of photodynamic therapy using porphyrins in the treatment of bacterial infections. Photoactivation of porphyrins results in the production of singlet oxygen that damages biomolecules associated with cells and biofilms, e.g., proteins, polysaccharides, and DNA. The effect of a ZnPor on P. aeruginosa PAO1 biofilms and planktonic cells was assessed without photoactivation. Biofilms were visualized using confocal laser scanning microscopy (CLSM) and cell viability determined using the LIVE/DEAD BacLight viability assay and standard plate count was used for planktonic cell viability. At a concentration of 25µM ZnPor, there was substantial killing of P. aeruginosa PAO1 wild-type biofilms with significant disruption of the biofilm matrix or structure. Biofilms pretreated with ZnPor without photoactivation were substantially more sensitive to tobramycin than untreated biofilms. 4-log10 reduction in viable cells of wild-type PAO1 planktonic cells was observed at a concentration of 12.5 µM. Our results suggest that ZnPor permeates into the PAO1 cells and makes the cell membrane permeable/compromised. Also, the interaction study of ZnPor with the PAO1 DNA shows that the porphyrin interacts strongly with the DNA and aggregates around the helix of the DNA.

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  Antibiotic Producing Bacteria in Soil Samples at the University of Dayton

  Erin Elise Pellot

  Within recent years there has been a rise in the number of antibiotic resistant bacterial strains. These resistant strains have no known treatments and thus pose a threat to society. Bacterial strains form resistance by evolving past the mechanisms behind a given antibiotic. With bacteria’s unrelenting ability to evolve and adapt there is an ever present need for new antibiotics. To relieve this need, the Tiny World Initiative was formed to provide students the chance to conduct antibiotic research in the classroom setting. For this in class research experience, an on-campus soil sample was collected and analyzed for possible antibiotic producing microbes. After cultivating and selecting bacterial colonies, samples were tested against two pathogen safe relatives of the ESKAPE pathogens. ESKAPE is an acronym to describe the six most antibiotic resistant opportunistic pathogens which pose a threat to society. The ESKAPE relatives tested against in this experiment were Pseudomonas putida and Staphylococcus epidermidis. After finding seven antibiotic producing colonies the samples were put through multiple classification tests which include a gram stain, catalase test, hemolysis, triple sugar iron, mannitol salt agar, MacConky agar, citrate, gelatinase and a motility test. After classifying the samples they were tested against Eukaryotic cells in the hopes of finding a safe antibiotic treatment.

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  Antibiotic Resistance to Rifampin, Streptomycin, and Penicillin in Grasshopper Bacterial Isolates

  Lauryn E Brasch, Melani Muratore

  Antibiotic resistance is a growing epidemic from excessive use of available antibiotics that is leading to a global health crisis. As more antibiotics are being misused, killing susceptible bacteria, more resistant bacteria grow to be prominent in the population. Given the ability of bacteria to exchange genetic information, high prevalence of antibiotic resistance poses a great threat to make killers out of bacteria that were formerly treatable. Grasshoppers are critical players in the ecosystem serving as a connector between soil, plant, and animal. Grasshoppers are also the most consumed insect by humans. Therefore, if grasshoppers can serve as a vector to spread antibiotic resistance in the environment, they might provide a potential target to halt the antibiotic resistance epidemic. In this study, we examined whether antibiotic resistant bacteria are present in a wild grasshopper. A male grasshopper was dissected and its gut content was diluted and plated on LB agar. Different bacterial isolates were obtained. To test for antibiotic susceptibility in these bacteria, disc diffusion assays were performed by spreading the bacterial isolate on LB agar and placing discs that contain antibiotics Rifampin, Streptomycin, and Penicillin on the agar. After 24 and 48 hours, the diameter of the growth inhibition zone was measured in mm. The bigger the diameter, the more susceptible the bacteria are to the antibiotic. Out of the 17 isolates, only three were susceptible to Penicillin, demonstrating that there was a high level of Penicillin resistance. In contrast, 16 out of 17 isolates show susceptibility to Rifampin. Fewer isolates are susceptible to Streptomycin but the diameter for the zone of inhibition was larger. From these results, it is clear that antibiotic resistant bacteria are indeed present in the grasshopper, potentiating grasshoppers as a vehicle of antibiotic resistance transmission.

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  Antimicrobial Activity of Soil Isolates

  Sam Lee Neanover, Erica Marie Rinehart

  Antibiotics have historically been used for the treatment of bacterial infections and diseases, but the rise of antibiotic resistance has rendered many antibiotics ineffective against resistant bacteria. To combat these antibiotic resistant mechanisms, there is a demand for research in the development and production of new antibiotics. Antibiotics are either synthetically produced or isolated from bacteria displaying antimicrobial properties. Antimicrobial properties are observed in the environment as bacteria attempt to increase their fitness and eliminate competition for resources. As part of the Small World Initiative, this research aims to isolate bacteria from soil samples and screen for antimicrobial activity. Antimicrobial activity is detected by zones of inhibitions against Staphylococcus aureus and Enterococcus faecium, common antibiotic resistant pathogens. These zones of inhibition indicate if these pathogens are susceptible to antimicrobial activity. Bacteria that exhibit activity will be further screened for identification by Gram staining, catalase testing, and other biochemical tests. Identifying bacteria displaying antimicrobial activity is important for addressing the antibiotic resistance crisis and contributing toward the development of new antibiotics.

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  Appalachian Subcultures

  Elyse Berg, Kaehle B Crockford, Leah W DeAloia, Mercedes Mercedes Franklin, Aaron T Goode, Elizabeth Grace Michalenko, Abigail Blatt Minzler, Julius Maingi Muthusi, Maggie Mary Ward, Jeffrey Michael Zroskie

  Most people unfamiliar with Appalachian culture perceive the Appalachian population as a homogeneous entity, one lacking in diversity and reflective of backwoods stereotypes. Oftentimes, when people think of the Appalachian region or Appalachian culture, the image of the hillbilly comes to mind. Pop culture, through films like Deliverance and reality TV shows like Buckwild and Moonshiners, has helped perpetuate the notion that the Appalachian region is populated solely by uneducated and untamed Caucasians. However, true Appalachia is made up of a diverse and complex range of subcultures. Spanning an area from New York to Alabama, the Appalachian region is home to a plethora of vibrant communities, each of which has its own unique and colorful history. Appalachia is an amalgamation of cultural and racial identities. Among these are Native Americans, the Scotch-Irish, and Affrilachians, to name but a few. Our poster presentation seeks to demonstrate the diversity of Appalachia through statistical and literary evidence that embodies the experience of these marginalized groups popular media has neglected to represent accurately or fairly.

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  A Review & Analysis of Private Equity Investment Strategies: A Closer Look at the Leveraged Buyout Model

  Russell Douglas Woehrmyer

  A hypothetical leveraged buyout will be presented on Pearson PLC, a London-based company that provides education courseware and services to all ages. To complement the leveraged buyout model, I will also build three other valuation methodologies-comparable company analysis, precedent transactions analysis, and a discounted cash flow analysis-which are utilized by investment banks when trying to find a valuation range for their client. Lastly, the leveraged buyout model will be analyzed through an economic cycle, with the intent to display how internal rates of returns vary during different times in an economic cycle.

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  A Smart Beta Concentrated Portfolio Model for the Information Technology Sector: An Empirical Analysis, 2009-2017

  Jacob James Willmann

  Smart beta models are essentially factor weighting models with a focus on fundamental based stock weights (FBSW). A growing number of investment managers are now using them to generate increased alpha over their performance benchmarks. In this study I use a two factor weighting model for 10 and 20 stock concentrated portfolios in the S&P 500 Information Technology Sector ETF (XLK). I use sales growth and relative price change as my weighting factors and test two hypotheses: (1) FBSW models will outperform the broad market (S&P 500) over long periods of time and (2) FBSW models will outperform their sector counterpart over long periods of time. The period of analysis is 2009-2017.

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  Assessment of Dietary-Related Environmental/Community Factors within Twin Towers

  Erica Helene Abbarno, Rachael Harmon, Lauren Marie Murray

  The Twin Towers neighborhood is a low-income, food insecure community located within Highway 35, Wayne Ave, and Wyoming St. The purpose of this was to assess the various dietary-related environmental and community factors that have impacted the overall health and food access of the Twin Towers community. Some of our objectives of this assessment were to obtain primary and secondary data regarding food and nutrition program participation, safe food and meal availability, safe water availability, and food and nutrition-related supplies availability. Overall, the primary data suggested that a majority of participants walk to get food supplies and obtain their food supplies from Kroger, but some participants also obtain food supplies from Ray’s Food Market. Most participants obtain food from these places due to its location close to home. The data also indicated that all participants own a refrigerator, and a majority of participants own a microwave, hot plate burner, and a crockpot. Also, a majority of participants eat food at home but not at a high frequency. The secondary data suggest low ownership of vehicles, a slight decrease in food and nutrition program participation, a slight decrease in annual median income of Montgomery households, high rates of poverty, high safe water availability, and low levels of accessible healthy food providers. Due to these findings, we recommend addressing the barriers to obtaining healthy food available within the Twin Towers environment.

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  Assessment of Tensegrity-Based Aircraft Wings Capable of Morphing

  Austin Shelley Mills

  This research involves a computational assessment of the strength and rigidity of tensegrity systems configured as aircraft wings, and comparison to conventional wing structures. Tensegrity systems consist of a series of compressed struts connected by tensioned cables that place the system in a self-equilibrium state. With all components being loaded axially, a tensegrity system has a potentially large strength-to-weight ratio. Further, tensegrity systems are able to alter their shape by changing the length of the cables or struts, presenting the ability to function as morphing aircraft wings. Aircraft with wings that are able to alter their sweep, span, chord, and camber are particularly attractive for their ability change between high maneuverability to high lift to low drag configurations. Current work focuses on tensegrity wing topology optimization formulations.

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  Asset Size, Asset Growth, and Stock Returns; an Empirical Analysis, 2008-2017

  John Martin Harmon

  In this study, I consider two important strategic investment issues: (1) firms size matters and (2) asset growth is a predictor of returns in the cross section. Empirically, I test two hypotheses: (1) Small firms outperform larger firms over long periods of time and (2) firms with the highest asset growth rates underperform firms with low asset growth rates over long periods of time. Both of the above hypotheses have been tested in previous academic studies but not for the period 2008-2017. This period includes a major economic and market recession in 2008 followed by a major market expansion continuing through 2017. With this bull market, however, market returns are uneven, with a flatter trading range year in 2011 and a down market year in 2015. As a result, I will also be able to see the effects of return variability on the asset size and asset growth portfolios. Following the approach taken by Eugene Fama and James Macbeth1, I compare the performance of large size firms to small size firms over the period 2008-2017. Using the 500 stocks included in the S&P 500 index as my sample universe. I develop portfolios of stocks based on asset size and use two investment strategies to make the performance comparisons: (1) Buy and Hold and (2) Rebalance (annually). To test the 2nd hypothesis, I follow the approach used by Michael Cooper et. al.2 and calculate asset growth rates for all S&P 500 stocks on a yearly basis from 2008-2017. Firms are sorted by asset growth rates, high to low, and placed in portfolios of 50 stocks each. The highest growth rate portfolio and the lowest growth rate portfolio returns are then compared on an annual and cumulative basis using buy and hold and portfolio rebalancing strategies. Return comparisons are also made against SPY, the S&P 500 SPDR ETF. Finally, using the information ratio, risk adjusted returns will be calculated for the asset size and growth portfolios to determine which portfolio models have the best risk-return outcomes.

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  Associations between Normative and Pathological Personality Traits and Hedonic Judgment of Odor Vary by Sex

  Sahar Kaouk, Michael Alexander Lee, Brooke Lois Lipnos

  Background and Purpose: Normative personality traits (Larsson et al., 2000; Pause et al., 1998; Shepherd et al., 2017) and sex (Brand & Millot, 2010) appear to be related to odor detection sensitivity, identification, and hedonic judgment. However, sex differences in associations between olfaction and normative and pathological personality traits have not yet been studied. The aim of the present study was to investigate whether associations between select normative and pathological personality traits and olfactory function vary by sex. Subjects: 134 University students (Male N=63; Female N=71) participated in the study for course credit. Materials and Methods: Participants completed the PID-5 (Kruger et al., 2012) and the NEO-PI-3 (Costa & McCrae, 2010). Odor detection sensitivity, identification, and hedonic response (pleasantness and unpleasantness) were assessed using Sniffin’ Sticks (Hummel et al., 1997). Multiple linear regression analyses were performed separately for each measure, and stratified by sex, to examine associates between eight NEO-PI-3 and eight PID-5 facets hypothesized to be related to olfaction. Results: Regarding NEO-PI-3 facets in females, Depression (β=.431, p=.010) and Fantasy (β=-.341, p=.024) predicted odor pleasantness ratings while vulnerability predicted odor identification (β=-.477, p=.002); in males, olfaction was not related to any NEO-PI-3 facets. For the PID-5 facets, Restricted Affectivity predicted odor pleasantness ratings in males (β=-.366, p=.037), whereas in females, Depressivity (β=.454, p=.005) predicted odor pleasantness ratings. In males, Anhedonia (β=-.737, p=.004), Depressivity (β=.672, p=.006), Restricted Affectivity (β=.542, p=.001) and Suspiciousness (β=.302, p=.047) predicted odor unpleasantness ratings, while Anhedonia (β=.443, p=.013) and Depressivity (β=-.397, p=.015) predicted odor unpleasantness ratings in females. Conclusions: Most notably, associations between odor unpleasantness ratings and PID-5 anhedonia and depression differed by sex; less anhedonia and more depression predicted higher odor unpleasantness in males while the converse was found in females. Implications of these findings on personality assessment research will be discussed.

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  A Study on Integrating International Students into the Campus Community at UD

  Natalie A Weikert

  The goal of my thesis is to understand what the University of Dayton currently does for the integration of international students, identify potential gaps in these practices and create an original way that UD can offer advantages that would increase the opportunities for students at the university.

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  Automated Player and Field Tracking

  Ruixu Liu

  Tracking players in the designated field and tracking the field lines are significant challenges, especially during various gaming events like football or soccer. Players may occlude one another which confuses many tracking algorithms. There are also scale changes and camera movements that occur, which can also confuse trackers. Along with these challenges, real-time analysis with limited hardware support reduces the capability of using some state of the art tracking algorithms. We present an optimized field tracker based on the line segment detection (LSD) and an intelligent player tracking system based on features and motion estimation in real-time.

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  Bats of the University of Dayton

  Celia Montemurri

  A total of 14 bat species have been found in the great state of Ohio. These species differ greatly, however, in their preferred diet and habitat. The University of Dayton’s campus represents a highly-developed area consisting of various large buildings, a suburban neighborhood, and some highly managed green spaces. Old River Park consists of riparian, grassy, and forest habitat. Both locations contain habitats often exploited by bats during daytime hours. These include, but are not limited to, trees, alive and dead, small openings in structures, and bridges. The range of these habitats offers an opportunity to assess differences in bat communities based on habitat preference. Using an Echometer Touch 2 Pro and an iPhone, the presence of the 14 bat species of Ohio was assessed on the main campus of the University of Dayton, as well as UD’s Environmental Research Area at Old River Park.

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  Biases in the Classroom

  Matthew J Frabutt, Lanny Glenn Sparks, Anna Catherine Wolfe

  Students are subject to the consequences of a variety of biases present in the classroom based on their genders, personality styles, or academic abilities reflected in their grades. The first inequality present in the classroom can be observed through the different ways teachers treat male and female students. The types of attention teachers give to students, as well as their beliefs in students’ academic capabilities, differ depending on whether the student is male or female. Whether they be conscious or unconscious, these biases have a profound effect on widening the academic achievement gap between girls and boys. Teachers may also be biased in the ways in which they interact with extroverted and introverted students. Teachers and the educational system celebrate and cater to the needs of extroverted students rather than to introverts. The quieter students in the classroom may be perceived as “disengaged” or as students who hold negative attitudes about learning. Yet, although their personalities may not outright display it, the introverted students can prove to have the brightest minds or sharpest attention spans, and teachers must not fail to engage these students and give them adequate acknowledgement. Lastly, teachers may show a bias toward students who possess a higher academic aptitude rather than at-risk or lower performing students. This bias allows for the “smart” kids to excel further and the “dumb” kids to fall further behind. This shows a bias in the classroom because a student’s true capabilities may not be able to be properly expressed in the current grading system.

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  Bitbox Solutions

  Devon Woodward Florczak

  This project involves harvesting the waste heat from computers and re-using it for heat or electricity in some capacity. Currently we are focusing on developing a product that houses cryptocurrency mining machines, and will attempt to create other solutions for other industries once an initial product is designed.

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  Bombellii's Imaginary Numbers

  Bobby Joseph Mumma

  Looking into the history of imaginary numbers and how they were developed by Rafael Bombelli to solve cubic equations.