Jules Budlow, Sociology, College of Liberal Arts
Mentor: Lauren Olsen, Sociology
Binary Code: Investigating the Rules of Gender

This paper focuses on the enforcement or policing of gender conformity in the United States, particularly among queer individuals. A historical framework contextualizes public discourse surrounding gender expression and conformity, focusing on the American Civil War era to the present. The main analysis draws upon 14 in-depth qualitative interviews with LGBTQ+ university students about their negotiation of the normative cisgender heterosexual (cis-het) binary and various forms of resistance. I find that the most significant experiences of gender policing occur in the institutions of family and education, from teachers, peers, parents, and other extended family. Additionally, I find queer students, specifically transgender/gender nonconforming (TGNC) students, exhibit both conformity and resistance behaviors, with decisions about presentation and behavior being largely context dependent.

Beth Cosminski, Environmental Science, College of Science and Technology
Mentor: Mariana Bonfim, Biology
Tree Sapling Mortality in a Temperate Deciduous Forest: Early-Stage Recovery Post-Novel Windthrow Disturbance

In fall of 2021, a novel tornado event struck Ambler Temple Campus, inflicting significant damage to a section of old-growth forest on campus. Three years later, this forest is in the early stages of recovery, resulting in a reshuffling of resources and competition among the surviving vegetation and establishing post-disturbance. Understanding the early stages of forest recovery is critical as the frequency and intensity of extreme weather events is expected to rise due to Earth’s changing climate. Monitoring sapling mortality can provide valuable insights into forest resilience and the factors that influence regrowth. Specifically, tracking how environmental factors such as light availability and vegetation density influence sapling survival may support predicting the future structure of forests and their capacity to recover from disturbance. This study hypothesizes that tree sapling survival will be negatively influenced by environmental factors, specifically light availability and the density of vegetation on the forest floor.

Nicole Estephan, Bioengineering, College of Engineering
Mentor: Evangelia Bellas, Bioengineering
Effect of Hypoxia on Lymphatic Vessel Permeability and Adipose Tissue Function in 3D Organ-On-Chip Models

Lipedema is a condition characterized by excess adipose tissue (otherwise known as fat tissue) and fluid in the lower extremities, primarily affecting women during hormonal shifts. Although commonly misdiagnosed for obesity or lymphedema, the disease is estimated to affect nearly 10% of the female population. Adipose tissue (AT) is highly vascularized, where blood vessels transport nutrients and oxygen, while lymphatic vessels primarily transport lipid molecules and interstitial fluid. In lipedema, excess AT accumulates without a matched increase in blood vessel formation, leading to decreased oxygen levels, known as hypoxia. While limited research is available, it is suspected that lymphatic vessel integrity is altered by the disease to induce an accumulation of fluid within lipedema AT. We hypothesize that the lipedema disease condition, hypoxia, will alter lymphatic vessel permeability and AT function in 3D organ-on-chip models of AT and its lymphatic vasculature.

Ava Fitzgerald, Environmental Studies, College of Liberal Arts
Mentor: Hamil Pearsall, Geography and Urban Studies
Cooling Philadelphia: Evaluating Cooling Centers and Spatial Disparities in Air Conditioning

As global temperatures rise, heat-related illnesses are increasing, highlighting the need for equitable access to cooling resources for vulnerable groups, like the elderly. This study evaluates Philadelphia's cooling centers in heat-vulnerable neighborhoods, analyzing central air access with R software and comparing cooling center placement to the Heat Vulnerability Index (HVI). A GIS walkability assessment identified half-mile accessible areas, showing that 24.4% of elderly residents and 29.1% of elderly residents in poverty are within walking distance of a cooling center. While centers are strategically placed in high-density areas, gaps remain in some vulnerable neighborhoods. To enhance resilience, policies should include mixed interventions like air conditioning access and improved cooling centers with community pantries, fridges, and water-bottle stations, addressing both cooling needs and basic resources.

Namratha Javvaji, Biology, College of Liberal Arts
Mentor: Jillian Simon, Lewis Katz School of Medicine (Cardiovascular Sciences)
The Role of Lysosomal Two-Pore Channels in Ischemia Induced Cell Death

Lysosomes, once considered solely degradation centers, are now recognized for their role in inter-organelle communication through ion transporters like TPC2. While TPC2 enhances cardiac function, excessive activation may contribute to disease. This study investigates whether post-myocardial infarction (MI) upregulation of TPC2 leads to ischemic cell death and cardiac dysfunction. Using AC16 cardiomyocytes, we found that TPC2 overexpression significantly increased cell death compared to controls, and a pore-dead TPC2 mutant confirmed that this was due to channel hyperactivation. In a model of ischemia, TPC2 knockdown (KD) cells showed a 40% reduction in TPC2 levels and were protected from necrotic cell death after oxygen and glucose deprivation. These results suggest that pathological TPC2 upregulation contributes to ischemic injury, highlighting TPC2 as a potential therapeutic target to prevent heart failure.

Jack Kleiner, Gender, Sexuality and Women's Studies, College of Liberal Arts
Mentor: Jennifer Pollitt, Gender, Sexuality and Women's Studies
Digital Messaging Interventions: Reducing HIV Transmission by Ending the Stigma of PrEP Among Men Who Have Sex with Men

Philadelphia has significantly higher HIV rates compared to other regions, and large populations of various people that are at higher risk for HIV. Despite significant progress in addressing the HIV epidemic, there remains a social stigma towards HIV insinuating that HIV+ people are “dirty” or “immoral.” Despite many efforts to increase the uptake of pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) for preventing HIV, including in Philadelphia, the vast majority of those who would benefit are not on PrEP. PrEP, along with HIV, is also stigmatized, especially for men who have sex with men (MSM) who are often labeled “Truvada whores.” As many turn to the internet or social media for sexual health information and community with other LGBTQ+ people, there are significant public health and educational opportunities for digital interventions to adequately destigmatize and provide education on HIV and PrEP especially for MSM. As Newman, et al.’s (2018) augmented PrEP Cascade indicates, the efficacy of this messaging is contingent on addressing the various needs of MSM throughout the entire process of obtaining and using PrEP. Using this augmented PrEP Cascade, I explore ways that Philadelphia’s HIV rates among MSM may be improved using a holistic approach to digital interventions.

Julia Knutelska, Speech, Language, and Hearing Science, College of Public Health
Mentor: Jing Shen, Communication Science
The Effects of Prosody on Speech Comprehension in Noise

The challenge of understanding speech in noise affects real life communication, especially for those with hearing loss. In speech, prosody includes multiple acoustic cues that convey meaning through variations in duration, intonation, and pauses. Currently audiology assessments do not include prosody as they contain simple, neutral speech material. As a result, they are not able to capture listener’s experiences in real-life communication scenarios. The current study examined whether prosody is helpful for understanding speech in background noise. We used GardenPath sentences with neutral and facilitative prosody as stimuli. A group of 12 young adult native speakers of English completed a speech comprehension task, with accuracy and reaction time as dependent measures. While a larger dataset is currently being collected, the preliminary results suggest facilitative prosodic cues are more helpful than the neutral ones in background noise.

Lidia Lapinski, Physics, College of Science and Technology
Mentor: Alexander Gray, Physics
Understanding and controlling temperature dependent interracial ferromagnetism in oxide heterostructures

Jo Liberman, Philosophy, College of Liberal Arts
Mentor: Brian Hutler, Philosophy
Consciousness in Virtual Reality: Evidence for the Interface Theory of Perception and its Neuroethical Implications

The Interface Theory of Perception, proposed by Donald D. Hoffman as a solution to the “hard problem of consciousness”, suggests that perception is not true of reality and is instead a reflection of evolutionary changes that are best fit for survival leading to the conclusion that our consciousness determines our perception of the world. Virtual reality headsets are a method through which this theory can be supported (Slater and Sanchez-Vives 2022). This project aims to establish the Interface Theory of Perception as a potentially valid claim that consciousness causes brain activity and, in fact, creates all objects and properties of the physical world and discuss how this theory can drastically affect future neuroscience research, cause us to reconsider how our consciousness shapes the world, and change the way we see the world and ourselves.

Arabella Nobel, Speech, Language and Hearing Science, College of Public Health
Mentor: Elizabeth Heller Murray, Communication Science
The Relationship Between Acoustic and Articulation in Children

This study examines the relationship between acoustics and articulation in children through the analysis of bilabial stop consonants /b/ and /p/. Voice onset time (VOT) and lip movement data were collected from 20 preschool-aged children and analyzed using Praat and MATLAB's SMASH software. Findings revealed an inverse relationship between VOT and average lip movement speed in ambiguous (30–60 ms) and full-voiceless (60–100 ms) /p/ productions, suggesting a relationship between VOT and articulation. No such relationship was found in overshoot (>100 ms) productions, indicating that exaggerated VOT may not reflect typical kinematic patterns. These results provide insight into the developmental nuances of speech motor control and phonemic distinction in children. Further research is needed to explore the spatial- temporal relationship between upper lip and lower lip coordination and how it impacts VOT.

Tommy Pham, Math and Secondary Education (Math), College of Science and Technology and College of Education and Human Development
Mentor: Charles Osborne, Math
Investigating Lucas Sequences Under a Modulus

In 2018, Alex Dishong and Marc S. Renault obtained an algorithm that computes all moduli that produce a given period for the Fibonacci sequence, G0 = 0 and G1 = 1. In this paper, we aim to genrealize their result by replacing the Fibonacci sequence with generalized Fibonacci sequences, G0 = a and G1 = b. We conclude the paper by providing proofs of the main details of the algorithm and a conjecture.

Mackenzie Sutton, Global Studies, College of Liberal Arts
Mentor: Roselyn Hsueh, Political Science
Unraveling the Peacekeeping Paradox in the UN Mission in South Sudan: A Path Toward Inclusive Multilateral Governance

This paper investigates the peacekeeping paradox, asking: Why, after over a decade of peacekeeping, is South Sudan still in crisis? Who are the international and local stakeholders? What are their goals and interests toward sustainable peace? Existing literature on “new wars” and third-generation peacekeeping highlights the complexities of modern conflicts, emphasizing the need for adaptable mandates and expanded responsibilities for peacekeepers. While these perspectives acknowledge the evolution of peacekeeping strategies, they often fail to account for how conflicting strategic interests among stakeholders undermine efficiency. This paper argues that the peacekeeping paradox stems from a fundamental mismatch between the goals of external actors and the realities on the ground. The research adopts a mixed-methods approach, analyzing in-depth, semi-structured interviews with UN stakeholders and quantitative quality-of-life indicators. Through a case study of the UN Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS), the paper examines how competing interests and the exclusion of local perspectives hinder mission success. The competition between China and the United States manifested on the ground in South Sudan further worsened peacekeeping efficiency since 2013. Findings reveal that misaligned mandates and insufficient integration of local communities perpetuate instability and prolong conflicts. This study concludes that adopting an inclusive multilateral governance model, which incorporates the perspectives of developing nations and regional organizations, can resolve the paradox, improve mission outcomes, and enhance global peacekeeping frameworks.

Kati Tanguay, Psychology, College of Liberal Arts
Mentor: Michael Mccloskey, Psychology and Neuroscience
Examining the Role of Perceived Social Support and Social Information Processing in the Relationship Between NSSI and Suicidal Behavior

LC Walker, Psychology, College of Liberal Arts
Mentor: Eunice Chen, Psychology and Neuroscience
Reproduction of a machine learning classification of ultraprocessed foods.

Replication and reproduction of machine learning (ML) algorithms is important. We attempted to reproduce a ML algorithm used to categorize foods by their degree of processing. The widely adopted NOVA food system categorizes food into 4 categories but doing this manually requires specialist training and is time-consuming. To address this, Menichetti et al., (2023) developed a random forest ML algorithm to automate NOVA classification given 3 nutrient panels. We attempted to reproduce this algorithm using the original data, incorporating updated functions and software versions. Reproducibility failures included outdated program use, a missing random seed, and applying the synthetic minority oversampling technique (SMOTE) before the split of the training and testing set. Use of the DeLong test showed no statistical difference between AUC values produced by the original ML algorithm and those produced by the reproduction. Replication using novel data and comparison against traditional coding methods are needed in the future.

Fatima Ahmed, Bioengineering, College of Engineering
Mentor: Karin Wang, Bioengineering
The effects of breast cancer epithelial cells on the microarchitecture of the extracellular matrix

Carmel Alexander, Bioengineering, College of Engineering
Mentor: Evangelia Bellas, Bioengineering
Defining Lymphatic Vascular Transport Parameters in Engineered Adipose Tissue Models of Lipedema

Lipedema, a painful condition predominantly affecting women, is characterized by symmetrical swelling and excess adipose tissue (AT) in the extremities. Lipedema, however, only has a few diagnoses supported by research and frequently gets misdiagnosed as obesity or lymphedema. In contrast to lymphedema, where interstitial fluid flow (IFF) of biomolecules are impeded, the behavior of fluid in lipedema remains unknown but is suspected to be obstructed. Since blood vessels regulate this fluid transport, we will determine the role of vasculature in IFF and its effect on lipedemic adipocytes. To further model the AT microenvironment, disease specific cues will be provided, including hypoxia and fibrosis. We hypothesize that these changes will decrease the rate of transport through the tissue and. vasculature. Preliminary results show decreased fluid flow in these diseased states, providing general insight to how IFF is affected. This model can ultimately serve to further study lipedema and as a screening platform for new therapeutics.

Mahasin Bintuabdulkareemidris, Film and Media Arts, School of Theater, Film and Media Arts
Mentor: Chet Pancake, Film and Media Arts
The Missing Couple: The Lack of Representation of Black Women and South Asian Men in Romance Films

This research examines how The Lovebirds (2020) falls into the American rom-com genre as a significant and influential body of work that explores romance and desirability of the minority. My investigation specifically focuses on Black women and South Asian men and how both groups are missing as a couple, as well as individuals being leads in blockbuster and highly-grossing romance films. Due to both demographics experiencing stereotypes and racial discrimination as inverse opposites of each other, there is an interesting commonality and relation between both being on receiving ends of racialized undesirability. Being that media representation of these two demographics has highlighted and perpetuated damaging caricatures of them, the lack of Black women and South Asian men in romance films seems to be a symptom of how racism and media negatively impact the perception of these individuals having romantic experiences on screen.

Thais Costa Macedo De Arruda, Neuroscience, College of Liberal Arts
Mentor: Laura Sinko, Nursing
Unpacking Social Impairment in those with Opioid Use Disorder: Linking Impulsivity, Childhood Trauma, and the Prefrontal Cortex

Challenges with social functioning present an obstacle to recovery from opioid use disorder (OUD), yet little research has explored the underlying mechanisms of this impairment. Impulsivity, a known risk factor for OUD, as well as corresponding neural alterations, may sit at the center of this issue. Childhood trauma, which has been linked to both impulsivity and poorer treatment outcomes, could also affect this relationship. This study explores the interplay between impulsivity and social functioning in those recovering from OUD. Survey responses, cognitive tasks performance, and prefrontal cortex activation were analyzed. We found that, when controlling for depression, adverse childhood experiences moderated the relationship between impulsivity and social functioning. Additionally, those with social impairment had differential connectivity in the prefrontal cortex when completing impulse control tasks. These findings have implications for addressing social functioning and impulsivity during OUD treatment, highlighting the importance of a more personalized and integrative approach to intervention.

Luciano Fantini, Music Technology, Boyer College of  Music and Dance
Mentor: Greg Kettinger, Jazz Studies
A Personal Jazz Exploration

Bridget Frame, Political Science, College of Liberal Arts
Mentor: Bryant Simon, History
Sticky Fingers: A Study on Organized Retail Crime in Philadelphia

People have been shoplifting since the dawn of the in-store shopping experience. It is human to pilfer a piece of gum occasionally and put a selection of merchandise under one’s sleeve when shopping with friends. Everybody of all ages, races, and genders participates in retail theft. As the economy and political climate in the United States change, retail theft has changed with it. A crime that used to be prevented through carceral strategies has become more brazen, familiar, and unsolvable for retailers. This analysis seeks to view retail crime differently through a comprehensive review of relevant literature, an analysis of retail theft participation and prevention methodologies, and qualitative interviews of loss prevention employees and law enforcement. Retail crime in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, is in a new era that shifted due to the COVID-19 pandemic. City governments and private businesses do not agree on what should be done, and retail giants have had to use private resources to get creative. Retail crime has increased in Philadelphia post-pandemic, is exacerbated by the opioid crisis, and remains common due to poverty. Initially, a new framework will be offered to establish different types of shoplifting behavior, distinguishing between thrill-seeking and non-thrill-seeking retail theft. Next, the effect of habitual shoplifting on Philadelphia businesses and loss prevention methodologies will be discussed, and then the culture of shoplifting mitigation and prevention will be addressed. As pilfering has only grown over time, the general public continues to disagree on how to solve this complex issue. This thesis is a testament to the changing nature of retail theft in Philadelphia, serving to understand the effectiveness of and future of loss prevention strategy.

Ari Gewirtzman, Gender, Sexuality and Women's Studies, College of Liberal Arts
Mentor: Jennifer Pollitt, Sociology
Understanding Homelessness and Housing Insecurity in Philadelphia's Transgender Community

Nala Hamilton, Biology, College of Science and Technology
Mentor: Rob Kulathinal, Biology
Escape from X-inactivation: A genomic mechanism for sex disparities in cancer and autoimmune disease

In many diseases, there are observed sex disparities, the causes of which are largely unknown. We argue that a possible genomic mechanism that contributes to the disparities seen is the escaping of certain genes on the X chromosome that are associated with disease response in females. This hypothesis states that some genes or loci that lay on the X chromosome and escape X inactivation offer females a different mechanism to fighting disease than males. This can result in a protection against many diseases (like cancer, cardiovascular disease, HIV, and COVID) or cause an overly aggressive and more harmful disease response like in autoimmune disease. Here we review the mechanism of escape and show multiple avenues to identify these escape genes linked to disease in non-reproductive cancer and autoimmune disease.

Salvin Kabir, Biology, College of Science and Technology
Mentor: Jinhua Wu, Fox Chase
Characterization of Cyanidin-3-glucoside, a marine natural product modifying integrin activity

This thesis studies the complex relationships between talin—a critical protein involved in integrin activation and cell adhesion—and derivatives of Cyanidin-3-glucoside chloride (C3G), concentrating on their potential as cancer treatments. Talin plays a critical function in cell motility, invasion, and metastasis through its interaction with integrin β subunits. The focus of our work is to examine the impact of C3G derivatives, namely Cyanidin chloride (CC) and Pelargonidin chloride (PC), on the talin-integrin complex. This complex plays a crucial role in regulating the behavior of cancer cells. We employ advanced biochemical techniques to generate and purify talin proteins and utilize a fluorescence polarization assay to assess the binding affinities and inhibitory effects of these drugs. The research discloses a compound-specific modulation of talin activity in an isoform-specific manner, where CC exhibits a substantial effect on the talin1 isoform (TLN1) while PC demonstrates greater efficacy on the talin2 isoform (TLN2). This emphasis highlights the significance of customizing therapeutic approaches to utilize the unique molecular interactions involved, indicating a direction for the development of more precise and efficient cancer treatments. The findings presented here contribute to a deeper understanding of talin's biological roles and highlight its potential for therapeutic applications. These findings support the need for a targeted approach in the development of innovative medicines to address disorders involving talin interaction.

Danielle Krasnove, Speech, Language and Hearing Science, College of Public Health
Mentor: Elizabeth Heller Murray, Communication Science
Examining the Relationship between Vocal Fold Nodules and Children's Vocal Mechanism

This study investigates the impact of vocal fold nodules (VFN) on the vocal and articulatory systems in children, with a focus on the acoustic analyses of voice onset time (VOT) and cepstral peak prominence (CPP). VFN are small callus-like bumps that sit on the vocal folds, which lead to a disordered sound of voice (Tuzuner et al., 2017). This study includes a retrospective examination of clinical voice recordings from nine children who were diagnosed with VFN. It examines changes in VOT and CPP at two time points. Results show there is a significant relationship between decreased CPP (worsening quality of voice), and increased VOT, which implies that VFN symptoms progressed overtime, indicating an overall impact on the control of the vocal mechanism (Jiang et al., 2000).

Camryn Krumbhaar, Neuroscience, College of Liberal Arts
Mentor: Mathieu Wimmer, Psychology and Neuroscience
Dorsal Hippocampal Lesions Cause Craving Variations With Sex Differences After Sucrose and Heroin Abstinence

The rodent incubation of craving paradigm has provided a foundation for understanding craving and relapse in SUD. There is extensive data on the neural circuits that are critical to reward-seeking behavior, namely, the nucleus accumbens and the Pre-Frontal Cortex. The hippocampus has been relatively understudied within the context of neural circuits that are critical to reward-seeking behavior. After 10 days of sucrose F1 self-administration and 30 days of forced abstinence, male rats with lesions of the dorsal hippocampus exhibited enhanced cue-induced sucrose seeking. After 10 days of heroin F1 self-administration and 21 days of forced abstinence, male rats with lesions of the dorsal hippocampus exhibited enhanced cue-induced sucrose seeking compared to controls, yet their female counterparts did not exhibit the same effect. These results suggest that the dHPC plays a causal role in the incubation of craving for sucrose, aligning with the dHPC’s role of consolidating rewarding memories. 

Eve Matthew, Marketing, Fox School of Business
Mentor: Vinod Venkatraman, Marketing
Understanding Purchase Behavior for 3D vs 2D Bespoke Fashion

As online commerce changes with the introduction of 3D (three- dimensional) and interactive Virtual Reality (VR) technology into online selling platforms. So similarly, does the buyer and seller approach to commerce follow the industry trend and migrate into the 3D and Web 3.0 space (Virtual Reality interactive, Metaverse, online platforms etc.). Given this demonstrated shift in industry standard for consumers engaging in commerce, what could the implications be for that of commerce dealing in the marketing and sale of one-of-one, or “bespoke” fashion? Bespoke fashion is fashion made specifically for the specifications of the wearer. (Deeba, 2023).  It is increasingly relevant because it recognizes and satiates a budding fashion e-commerce trend in modern consumers. “Bespoke fashion’s renaissance is not a fleeting trend but a reflection of a broader cultural shift. As the coming generation embraces authenticity, individuality, craftsmanship, and sustainability, bespoke fashion becomes an embodiment of these values”. (Deeba, 2023). The answer to this question lies within the consumer sentiment to the utilization of VR tech in the e-commerce, purchase decision-making process. Specifically we must first answer how the consumer perception of the value of 3D fashion. When the purchase environment changes (2D vs 3D fashion) the product evaluation that consumers conduct is similarly subject to change. This may potentially be due to the drastically different environments that the purchase decision is made in (i.e. VR or physical). This research aims to identify and measure any effect on perception of value and purchase intent in consumers that encounter a bespoke fashion item in a physical purchase context when compared to that of the same item in a VR purchase context.

Nicholas Scheri, Psychology, College of Liberal Arts
Mentor: Peter Marshall, Psychology and Neuroscience
Predicting infant fine motor skills at 14 months from earlier grasping kinematics

This study utilized kinematic data collected by caregivers via smartphones to determine whether the development of the pincer grasp is a predictor of later fine motor performance. We tested whether the video kinematics of 17 infants grasping at 9 and 12 months differentially predict scores on the Bayley Scales of Infant Development at 14 months. We hypothesized that 12 months would better predict fine motor performance. The results indicated a significant difference between the timepoints, (F(1, 15) = 3.46, p < 0.001), suggesting that 9 months was significantly more predictive of scores on the Bayley. The development or lack thereof of the pincer grasp could serve as a predictor for trends in broader fine motor development.

Suruthikha Vijay, Bioengineering, College of Engineering
Mentor: Rouzbeh Tehrani, Civil Engineering
Understanding Protein Adsorption on High Flux Hemodialyzers: Insights from Infrared Spectroscopy and Imaging

Visualizing and quantifying the interactions between proteins and the hollow fibers present in a high-flux hemodialyzer is essential to understand the efficacy of hemodialyzers at the molecular level. Two main proteins of interest are albumin, an essential blood protein that needs to be retained, and beta 2 microglobulin (B2M), which in excessive quantities can lead to many issues for patients, and as such must be removed during hemodialysis. Maintenance of levels of these proteins is of paramount importance and thus techniques that can be used to quantify the interactions between the protein and the dialyzer fiber will help in determining the efficiency of the dialyzers. The goal of this research is to establish methodologies to assess the interactions between proteins and the hollow fibers by different modalities of infrared spectroscopy and imaging.

Michael Kegel, Bioengineering, College of Engineering
Mentor: Karin Wang, Bioengineering
The Effect of pH in Chronic Wounds on Fibronectin Matrix Formation

Chronic wounds affect 6.5 million Americans and $25 billion is spent annually on the treatment of chronic wounds. Therefore, there is need to understand the underlying biological driver that creates this expensive healthcare expenditure. Fibronectin is a molecularly flexible glycoprotein that is involved in several stages of the wound healing process. During the inflammation stage in acute wound healing, fibronectin, with molecularly relaxed conformation, acts as provisional scaffold for cells to remodel into a permanent collagen matrix. During chronic wound repair, the microenvironmental pH is alkaline, which is known to alter fibronectin conformation which disrupts chronic wound repair. However, what is unknown is if the molecular unfolded fibronectin exposes binding sites that impair fibronectin matrix maturity, matrix alignment, and fibril assembly rate. 

Rida Ayub, Neuroscience, College of Science and Technology
Mentor: Evangelia Bellas, Bioengineering
Neuro-Adipocyte Crosstalk in Engineered Adipose Tissue

Skylar Jennings, Speech, Language & Hearing Science, College of Public Health
Mentor: Gayle Dede, Communication Sciences and Disorders
Does Interest Level Matter? Turn Taking During Conversation Treatment for Aphasia

Group conversation treatment is aimed to improve communication and rebuild social interaction for individuals with aphasia (IWA). Participants in group conversation treatment can connect with other IWA and advance their everyday communication skills. The goal of this study was to examine how frequently participants initiate conversational turns when the topic is and is not relevant to their personal interests. IWA’s self-reported interest in planned topics on a survey prior to treatment. IWA then completed 10 weeks of treatment, with sessions twice per week for one hour each. The large group condition comprised six individuals with two clinicians and the dyadic condition comprised three groups of two IWA with one clinician. We predicted that IWA would produce more conversational turns about topics that they reported finding more interesting. In our initial analysis of the data, we found no significant difference in number of turns in relation to reported high interest level of topics.

David Devine, History, College of Liberal Arts
Mentor: Bryant Simon, History
Beautiful, Dirty, Rich: Recession, Queerness, and Lady Gaga's 'The Fame'

Abigail Derrico, Physics, College of Science and Technology
Mentor: Alexander Gray, Physics
Combining ultrafast optical and x-ray spectroscopies for the study of emergent ferromagnetism at the LaNiO₃/CaMnO₃  interface

Epitaxial superlattices consisting of antiferromagnetic CaMnO₃ and paramagnetic LaNiO₃ exhibit emergent ferromagnetism that can be tuned by varying the thickness of individual layers. The thickness dependence of the interfacial magnetic moment can be attributed to the changes in the LaNiO₃ layer, which undergoes a metal-insulator transition in the ultrathin (few-unit-cell) limit. Here, we use a combination of resonant soft x-ray reflectivity and time-resolved magneto-optic Kerr effect, optical reflectivity, and transmissivity spectroscopies of variable-thickness LaNiO₃/CaMnO₃ superlattices to disentangle multiple interrelated electronic and magnetic processes driven by ultrafast high-field THz electric-field pulses. Our new understanding of these phenomena makes the LaNiO₃/CaMnO₃ system a prime candidate for high-density spintronic devices wherein energy-efficient magnetic switching could be accomplished with electric fields or other external stimuli.

Tannishtha Nandi, Physics, College of Science and Technology
Mentor: Maria Iavarone, Physics
Surface Characterization of Superconducting Materials used for Quantum Bits 

Superconducting quantum devices are among the leading platforms of quantum computation due to their ease of fabrication and scalability. However, the problem of decoherence still remains to be understood.This project aims at understanding the science behind different decoherence mechanisms in Niobium, which is a key material of superconducting qubits. Interfaces and defects are believed to contribute significantly to the decoherence of the system. In this work we focused on the interface with the top native oxide of a Nb(100) single crystal. The sample was annealed in ultra-high-vacuum at high temperatures and the removal of hydrides along with partial oxygen dissolution was studied with the help of a low temperature scanning tunneling microscope for different annealing temperatures. It was found that at 400℃ the pentoxide is reduced to NbO₂ and NbO while oxygen diffusion into the sample lowers the superconducting gap and introduces scattering close to the interface. At higher temperatures a (3x1) oxygen reconstruction was observed while the surface of Nb recovered the bulk superconducting gap.    

Ethan Quinn, Political Science, College of Liberal Arts
Mentor: Elizabeth Hayes Alvarez, Religion
The role of the Protestant Reformation in the German Peasants War of 1525

The German Peasants’ War of 1524-25 was an uprising of German-speaking peasants and farmers against the feudal aristocracy in the Western and Southern areas of the Holy Roman Empire. Unprecedented in its size and scope, the War coincided with the Protestant Reformation following Martin Luther’s writing of his 95 Theses. By looking at primary source documents to analyze the demands of the peasants, this paper seeks to explore the link between the Protestant Reformation and the beginning of the Peasants’ War. I come to the conclusion that while the Peasants’ War originated distinctly from the events of the Reformation, the peasants were able to use the Reformation’s central ideas in their rhetoric to capitalize upon the underlying economic tensions of the time and spur on a widespread revolt of the peasantry.

Kathrine Kyrylchuk, Biology, College of Science and Technology
Mentor: Cagla Tukel, Lewis Katz School of Medicine
Adaptive Immune Response Elicited by Curli-amyloid Presenting Dendritic Cells

Chronic bacterial infections are often associated with the presence of biofilms, structured communities of bacteria that form in tissues and on organic and inorganic surfaces. These biofilms contain amyloid proteins such as curli, which forms a natural complex with DNA in biofilms. From prior research, it has been found that curli/DNA trigger activate conventional murine dendritic cells (cDCs) and that the immune system produces antibodies in response to curli/DNA fibers. Infections from biofilms cause a varied response in individuals due to distinct immune systems but those with autoimmune disorders are especially at risk. This project aimed to determine whether DCs (Dendritic Cells), the main Antigen Presenting Cells (APCs) that initiate adaptive immune responses by activating T lymphocytes (T cells), can stimulate a T cell response against the protein curli, therefore exploring the first step in the initiation of curli-accelerated autoimmunity.

Alexandra Hehn, Neuroscience, College of Liberal Arts
Mentor: Debra Bangasser, Psychology and Neuroscience
The Effect of Early Life Stress on Cocaine Self-Administration and the Incubation of Craving

Substance use disorder (SUD) is a world-wide phenomenon; understanding the neural mechanisms of SUD are vital for progress in designing interventions. Though stress can increase the risk for SUD, some stress, such as mild early life stress (ELS), can foster resilience towards stress later in life. Our lab studies ELS utilizing the limited bedding and nesting (LBN) model. Prior research out of our lab found that male rats that underwent LBN self-administered less morphine, suggesting that LBN promoted resilience towards opioid addiction. Our research looks to see if this resilience extends to stimulants. This was done utilizing cocaine intravenous self-administration; we also assessed the incubation of craving by testing drug seeking during a 30 day abstinence period. We found that LBN had no effect on the self-administration of cocaine in both sexes, but did find a female-drive LBN effect on the incubation of craving suggesting an increased likelihood of relapse.

Mollee Feeney, Speech, Language, and Hearing Science, College of Public Health
Mentor: Jing Shen, Communication Sciences and Disorders
Context Effect on Perception of Complex Speech in Background Noise

While difficulty understanding speech in noise is one of the common complaints associated with age-related hearing loss, current clinical measures do not reflect the complexity of real-world communication scenarios that contribute to this challenge. The current study examined the effect of linguistic context on speech processing in background noise. One hundred spoken pairs of sentences were recorded and segmented to create three final-word completion conditions: expected exemplar, within-category violation, and between-category violation. A group of young adult native speakers of English completed a speech comprehension task with reaction time and accuracy as dependent measures. The results demonstrated a facilitative effect of a semantically congruent final word on speech processing in noise. Utilizing theory and methodology from both psycholinguistic and hearing science research, the present study sheds light on the complex mechanisms underlying our ability to perceive speech in background noise.

Olivia Bishop, Psychology, College of Liberal Arts
Mentor: Jason Chein, Pyschology and Neuroscience
Online Misinformation Belief and Engagement in Media-Savvy Young Adults

To date, little is known about the psychological factors that might account for variation in the degree to which individuals believe in, and engage with, misinformation. Our study had two specific aims: (1) investigate belief in and sharing of nonpolitical news headlines, and (2) examine how individual differences in psychological traits relate to fake news engagement and belief. Participants viewed news headlines formatted as Facebook posts, decided whether or not to “like” and “share” them, and rated each for accuracy (Phase 1). After completing a series of surveys assessing intelligence, digital media use, need for cognition, overclaiming, and “bullshitting,” participants then repeated Phase 1 procedures with a further set of headlines (some repeated, some novel). These headlines were subdivided into “true” news, verified fake news, or fabricated. Results show interesting associations between engagement, belief, and intelligence, digital habits like Phone Checking, and evasive bullshitting. Implications and future directions are discussed. 

Lily Rossi, Speech, Language & Hearing Science, College of Public Health
Mentor: Edwin Maas, Communication Sciences and Disorders
Examining the Relationship Between Acoustic Measures of Stress Patterns and Diagnosis and Severity of Childhood Apraxia of Speech

The purpose of this research is to create a reliable and valid diagnostic and severity measure for childhood apraxia of speech (CAS). Specifically, this study focuses on acoustic measures of lexical stress, one of the hallmark features of CAS that is currently only evaluated perceptually in clinical practice. In this study, acoustic measures were taken from 4 words produced by 4 children, including 2 with CAS and 2 children without communication disorders. Acoustic measures were descriptively compared between groups and related to CAS severity to validate these measures. We predicted that acoustic measures like abnormally long vowel duration would differ between groups (with longer durations for children with CAS) and that vowel durations would be related to CAS severity. The long-term goal of this research is that Speech-Language Pathologists will be able to use such measures to accurately diagnose children with CAS and provide appropriate and effective treatment for these children.

Seren Palacio, Biology, College of Science and Technology
Mentor: Xavier Grana-Amat, Lewis Katz School of Medicine
Understanding the Substrate and Inhibitor for the PPP2R2A Tumor Suppressor

Protein phosphorylation is a reversible post-translational modification that regulatescellular processes,andis maintained by protein kinases and phosphatases, respectively. PP2A is a highly conserved Serine/Threonine phosphataseexistingas a heterodimeric “core enzyme” or a heterotrimeric holoenzyme. Regulatory subunits of the trimeric holoenzyme determinesubstrate specificity, however there is much to be understood about substrate recognition. Previous workin the laboratory identifieda Short Linear Motif with sequence R/K-V/L/I-x-x-V/I/L inB55α/PP2A substrates (Fowle et al, 2021). This project investigates twoproteins known to interact with PP2A, either as substrates or inhibitors. Focus is onthep107 conserved SLiM to regulate bi-directional dephosphorylation at varying distances, and the role of phosphorylation in the inhibitor protein FAM122A’s ability to bind B55αand inhibit holoenzyme substrate binding. Binding and enzymatic assays revealed p107-R1R2showed SLiM dependency for dephosphorylation of the S640 phosphorylation site, and unique phosphorylation of the protein FAM122AimpactsB55αbinding.

Susan Schramfield, Bioengineering, School of Engineering
Mentor: Andrew Spence, Bioengineering
The Effect of Electrocutaneous Haptics on Task Performance in Virtual Reality Environments

This study aimed to demonstrate whether touch feedback through external electrical stimulation to peripheral nerves (electrocutaneous haptics) improves task performance in virtual reality (VR) environments. The study collected data from typing tests performed by human participants on a real keyboard, a virtual keyboard, and a virtual keyboard with electrical haptic stimulation. The metrics evaluated were error rate, and words per minute (WPM). Fewer errors per test and more words per minute are considered improved task performance. Each of 12 participants were given three unique prompts on each type of keyboard and asked to type them using only their index fingers. Performance on the real keyboard was better for all participants in both metrics. There were no significant differences in performance between the virtual keyboard with and without haptics. Future work may repeat the project with different study design to minimize confounding errors in hand tracking.

Keri Kern, Biology with Teaching, College of Science and Technology
Mentor: Amy Freestone, Biology
The Effect of a Large-Scale Climate Driven Disturbance on Carbon Storage Capacity of a Mature Temperate Forest

Forests can sequester large amounts of carbon in soils and woody biomass. Large-scale disturbances, however, have been increasing in intensity and frequency due to climate change, causing a more chronic stress and reducing the climate buffer effect of forests. To investigate the contributions of a recent large-scale tornado disturbance on the shift in carbon storage capacity, we calculated the above ground biomass and carbon fraction pre- and post-disturbance of all woody stems in a 2.56 ha older growth forest located in Northeastern United States. We hypothesized that the large-scale wind disturbance substantially reduced the carbon storage capacity of the woody community, contributing to a sudden increase in deadwood carbon. Our results show a dramatic reduction in standing biomass and therefore carbon storage capacity of the woody community. In general, Temperate forests show a relatively higher susceptibility to weather-related perturbations, and this low resistance may limit the ability of future terrestrial ecosystems to continuously buffer against atmospheric emissions.

Sarah Coleman, Bioengineering, College of Engineering
Mentor: Evangelia Bellas, Bioengineering
The Effect of Macrophage Crosstalk with Vascularized Adipose Tissue
Adipose tissue (AT) is a highly vascularized endocrine organ that regulates many metabolic functions. In obesity, AT’s vascular network cannot meet the needs of hypertrophic adipocytes, leading to pathologies that trigger an inflammatory response of macrophages. There is a lack of physiologically relevant models that study how macrophages engage in crosstalk with AT and regulate adipocyte and vascular function and organization. Here, we create a 3D engineered vascularized AT model with macrophages to study this crosstalk. Macrophage crosstalk with 3D vascularized AT was confirmed by the downregulation of monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 (MCP-1). Adipocyte maturation factors were decreased yet adipocyte size was increased, implying that macrophage crosstalk allows for this normal growth. Downregulation of fibronectin suggests a change in ECM remodeling, impacting metabolic activity. Studying how AT changes during crosstalk with macrophages can help develop a better understanding of AT function in normal and obese conditions, offering insight into potential therapeutic targets for obesity treatments.

Jo Dean, Architecture, Tyler School of Art and Architecture
Mentor: Eric Oskey, Architecture
Learning from South Street: Main Street in the Modern Day
What makes for a vibrant street? What encourages people to hang out in an area? To live there? To work there? In 1899, W. E. B. Du Bois performed one of the first statistically driven sociological studies on Society Hill, which contains the eastern half of South Street. Beginning in 1968, Denise Scott Brown, architect and urban planner, followed up her and her husband’s success with their book Learning from Las Vegas by helping the community fight an existential threat. Alice Lipscomb was the community leader then, pushing back against a highway that would destroy South Street and every home and business on it. The street recovered, and thrived. Last year, the pandemic forced the street to close its doors again. With the rise of digital life, main streets like this one have been in trouble all across the US. But in the summer of 2020, South Street was busier than ever. Why? What keeps people coming back? The previous theorists mentioned, as well as Jane Jacobs, author of Death and Life of Great American Cities, have theories that could help explain the street’s continued vitality.

Alyssa Eder, Communication Studies, Klein College of Media and Communication
Mentor: Deborah Cai, Communication and Social Influence
The Planned Kidnapping of Governor Whitmer: What Happened, Who Are the Wolverine Watchmen, and How Did Michigan’s Government Respond?
In October 2021, the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) announced the arrest of 14 men on the offense of conspiracy to kidnap American politician, Gretchen Whitmer, the Governor of Michigan. The 14 suspected men, were a part of a paramilitary group called the Wolverine Watchmen. The group in their continued congregation, made the plan to kidnap Governor Whitmer and hold her on a mock trial. The purpose of this paper a case study of the planned kidnapping of Governor Whitmer. The case study is focused on this event by providing a greater a context of the political and social landscape in which the plot was enacted. The investigation is qualitative, compiling research from press releases, the criminal complaint, court documents, and journal articles. Insight and analysis of the events are proposed throughout the paper. Final research questions will be proposed at the end of the paper for continued study.

George Emory, Psychology, College of Liberal Arts
Mentor: Deborah Drabick, Psychology
Do Child Temperament and Parenting Practices Confer Risk or Resilience for Externalizing and Internalizing Problems?
Many factors influence trajectories of externalizing and internalizing behaviors from childhood to young adulthood, including youth temperament and parent-child interactions. However, there is a dearth of literature jointly considering these features across developmental periods. Several models consider the fit between children and caregivers, such as the Goodness-of-Fit, diathesis-stress, and differential susceptibility models. Participants were 775 youth (69% male, 76% Caucasian) who were assessed at five timepoints, beginning when the index child was 10-12 years until they were age 21. Results identified six profiles of youth that differed in terms of parent-child relationships, parenting practices, and child temperament. Auxiliary analysis showed that profiles of parent and child features differed on levels of internalizing and externalizing symptoms. The profile high in psychological autonomy had consistently higher symptoms compared to other profiles across multiple timepoints, whereas the high relationship/high psychological control profile had the lowest symptomology relative to other profiles.

Chloe Gehret, Biology, College of Science and Technology
Mentor: Amy Freestone, Biology
Examining Spatial Distribution and Effect of a Large-Scale Disturbance on Northern Red Oak Population within an Old Growth Forest
The northern red oak (Quercus rubra) is a dominant tree in Eastern deciduous forests and provides many ecosystem services. Spatial distribution of a tree species is indicative of ecological interactions within the community, and large-scale natural disturbances are one example of shaping processes that can affect the structure of the entire ecosystem. With an increase in climate change, large-scale disturbances are becoming more frequent and widespread. The red oak population at Temple University Ambler was examined through mapping the red oak adults and saplings preceding an EF2 tornado, then analyzing the population’s survival rate and response following the disturbance. The goal of this experiment will be to determine the spatial distribution of the adult red oak and the sapling to find the life history characteristics the red oak evolved and how these traits impacted their ability to withstand a disturbance.

Harmehauk Kaur, Bioengineering, College of Engineering
Mentor: Bojana Gligorijevic, Bioengineering
Measuring Mechanical Forces of Leader and Follower Cancer Cells During 3D Collective Invasion

Sydney Keller, Speech, Language, and Hearing Science, College of Public Health
Mentor: Edwin Maas, Communication Sciences and Disorders
Self-Reported Communication Attitudes of Children with Childhood Apraxia of Speech
Much of the research literature on childhood apraxia of speech (CAS) has focused on understanding, diagnosing, and treating the impairment, rather than examining its broader impact. The present study focuses on the Personal Factors component of the World Health Organization model. Two validated communication attitude questionnaires were administered to 12 children with CAS enrolled in an intensive speech-focused intervention. Children’s scores were compared to the questionnaires’ typically developing norms. Relationships to CAS severity, parental perceptions of communicative participation, frustration ratings during therapy, and change over a brief period were also investigated. Preliminary findings indicate that older but not younger children with CAS are more likely to have greater negative self-perceptions about their speech. No significant correlation was found between parents’ perceptions of communicative participation in various contexts and communication attitudes, highlighting the need to include more child self-report measures in research. Further implications for CAS assessment and intervention are discussed.

Yesh Khanna, Global Studies, College of Liberal Arts
Mentor: Alan McPherson, History
Analysis of the Influence of American Public Opinion on American Foreign Policy Response to 1971 Genocide in Bangladesh

Emily Koch, Political Science, College of Liberal Arts
Mentor: David Nickerson, Political Science
An Analysis of Public Risk Assessment in the Wake of Disaster

Merley Lafleur, Bioengineering, College of Engineering
Mentor: Karin Wang, Bioengineering
Fibronectin Fragments in Breast Cancer
Proteolytically cleaved fibronectin fragments from the full-length 500kDA fibronectin are known to be bioactive, but how each fragment contributes to breast cancer remains unclear. We explore the effects of the 30kDa and the 120kDa fibronectin fragments on biological roles, specifically, how these fragments will affect breast cancer cell adhesion, migration rate, and migration phenotype. To study this, we generate fibronectin fragments using metalloproteinases and validate the sizes using western blotting. Cancer cells will be seeded onto fibronectin fragment-coated gels, and time-lapse microscopy performed to observe adhesion and migration. Overall, we expect that 120 and 30kDa fibronectin fragments' increased presence will drive breast cancer cells to persistently migrate. Cells on the 30kDa will show de-adhesive properties, and cells on the 120kDa will have a stronger binding characteristic. These findings will advance our understanding of how proteolytically altered fibronectin may drive breast cancer pathology and potentially lead to novel cancer drug therapies.

Juliya Medyukh, Political Science, College of Liberal Arts
Mentor: Kimberly Goyette, Sociology
High School Experience and Career Trajectory
The effectiveness of educational institutions in America constantly undergoes rigorous debate. Many can agree that one of the purposes of high school is to help plan for post-graduate success. Not all high schools, though, can provide the resources students may need or want to reach their goals. This study evaluates how high school resources like faculty, extracurriculars, and school-sponsored mobility are perceived to have affected the trajectories of high school graduates. Factors such as the expectations of parents and peers will also be analyzed. The purpose of this project is to add to the literature on the similarities and differences between the resources provided by well-funded, under-funded, and average high schools.

Charlotte Nesbitt, Bioengineering, College of Engineering
Mentor: Evangelia Bellas, Bioengineering
Effects of Microenvironment Stiffness on Adipocyte-Macrophage Crosstalk in Engineered Adipose Tissue
In obese adipose tissue (AT), pathologic adipocyte hypertrophy can lead to necrosis and inflammation, resulting in fibrosis and macrophages infiltration. Increased stiffening and extracellular matrix deposition associated with fibrosis alters mechanical signaling and adipocyte expression This research explores the effects of altered matrix architecture on crosstalk between adipocytes and macrophages in a 3D collagen hydrogel. Here, increased crosslinking is achieved via ethylene glycol-bis-succinic acid N-hydroxysuccinimide ester (PEGDS) and effects on macrophage polarization and AT remodeling are investigated. Additional PEGDS crosslinking increased storage modulus (via rheometry) and decreased collagen fiber length (via second harmonic imaging). Adipocytes encapsulated in highly crosslinked gels adopt a smaller, more circular morphology and an antifibrotic genetic phenotype. Macrophages in indirect coculture were regulated toward an antifibrotic phenotype through soluble factors. These results indicate that macrophages could be a therapeutic target for reducing obesity-associated fibrosis, and future studies will determine whether this relationship holds in direct cocultures.

Willow Neske, Bioengineering, College of Engineering
Mentor: Erica McKenzie, Civil and Environmental Engineering
Understanding the Effect of Copper on Denitrification in Bioretention Systems with and without an Internal Water Storage Layer
Internal water storage (IWS) layers are a bioretention system design feature increasingly utilized in place of the typical drainage layer to control stormwater flow and improve microbial nitrate removal via denitrification. Biochar (pyrolyzed organic material) is an experimental drainage layer media amendment used to increase dissolved organic carbon concentration (DOC) and promote denitrification. The project tested the influence of copper and the presence of biochar on denitrification in bioretention systems with and without an IWS during intermittent storm simulations. The experiment sought a better understanding of copper ion’s inhibition of denitrifying organisms in bioretention systems, and whether the inclusion of an IWS layer and/or biochar amendment could counter this hindrance. By analyzing the effect of an IWS layer and biochar on denitrification and copper removal, engineers can evaluate whether to implement either feature in bioretention system designs to optimize copper and nitrogen pollution during intermittent storms.

Kathryn Perrone, History and Political Science, College of Liberal Arts
Mentor: Ralph Young, History
Grassroots Environmentalism: Evaluating the Effectiveness of Philadelphia’s First Earth Day
Over 10% of the U.S. population participated in the first Earth Day on April 22, 1970 all across the United States. Philadelphia held one of the largest Earth Day events in the country, with over 20,000 residents involved in the movement. There has been a significant amount of research conducted regarding the effectiveness of the first Earth Day on a national scale, but there are no studies that consider the unique qualities of Philadelphia’s Earth Week. This study evaluates three main questions in order to study the tangible impact of the Earth Week movement in Philadelphia: 1) Did the first Earth Week lead to an increase in media coverage on environmental issues? 2) What policy changes occurred after the first Earth Week? and 3) How did environmental grassroots initiatives change after Earth Week? Ultimately, it is concluded that the first Earth Day encouraged politicians to promote progressive environmental policies, but led to no significant developments in regards to media coverage and grassroots activism.

Á​ine Playdon, Art History and Classics, Tyler School of Art and Architecture
Mentor: Jane Evans, Art History
Atalanta: Liminality and Gender in Classical Greece
Atalanta is a Ancient Greek huntress and athletes who appears in three of her own myths: the Calydonian boar hunt, the footrace, and wrestling at the funeral games for King Pelias. She often assumes a position in the masculine world in both art and literature. Her character has three myths attached to it, and her role in each of them adds layers of interest to her: Atalanta races against her suitors, hunts alongside men, and wrestles against famous heroes. She operates outside of societal bounds in each of her myths, placing her in the same category as the Amazons and the maenads: societal threats. A shift occurs in the visual imagery of Atalanta during the fifth century; she moves from being an active participant in her vase paintings to being passive. This essay explores her liminality and her visual shift by examining both the literary and visual evidence available about her.

Sophia Rothstein, Photography, Tyler School of Art and Architecture
Mentor: Rebecca Michaels, Photography
Behind the Lens: 8 Women on Visual Storytelling
I am surrounded by a tight-knit community of creative women with whom I share a passion for photographic storytelling. The stories these women told me about their experiences has inspired my research, the portraits, and the final book format. These women talked openly about their creative processes, their anecdotes about their time in the industry, and their viewpoints on being tagged a “female photographer.” Having these conversations allowed me to see these women as not just incredible photographers, but also as inspiring, creative people. Behind the Lens: 8 Women on Visual Storytelling showcases the work and stories of eight female photographers. Sharing these conversations is the first step in giving voice to a female perspective in visual storytelling.

Haley Tavares, Architecture, Tyler School of Art and Architecture
Mentor: Fauzia Sadiq Garcia, Architecture
Architectural Innovation in Sustainability Using Passive and Biophilic Design Strategies
Sustainable architecture is not only beneficial to the environment, but it's design approach can often lead to more humane and comfortable architectural spaces. This research consists of analyzing both passive and biophilic design strategies to design an affordable housing building that efficiently and innovatively utilizes them. The project stresses the importance of site and climate analysis and how it influences a building's orientation, form, and detailing. When used effectively this leads to a reduction in energy consumption and increase in thermal comfort. Through passive design the building implemented strategies that reduce overall energy consumption thus decreasing utility costs and increasing thermal comfort; and through biophilic design, strategies were implemented to improve air quality, reduce the heat island effect, and to increase green space. Overall the research resulted in a building design that provides a comfortable and welcoming microclimate for its inhabitants, while reducing energy consumption and positively impacting the environment.

Melanie Thomas, Speech, Language and Hearing Science, College of Public Health
Mentor: Rebecca Alper, Communication Sciences and Disorders
Variability in Parent Conversational Turns Based on Child Gender
Early turn-taking conversations teach children communication skills that are essential for their cognitive development. The purpose of this study is to examine if and how child gender affects the way parents coordinate conversational turns. We conducted secondary analyses using baseline data from a longitudinal study which included English-speaking and Spanish-speaking participants. Twenty-one dyads of English-speaking mothers and 1 to 2-year-old children were observed during play. We compared the number of interruptions and reprompts along with the temporal latency provided based on child gender. There were no significant differences in the average number of interruptions, reprompts, or wait time based on child gender. A non-significant trend was observed, such that more mothers of daughters interrupted their child than mothers of sons. Analysis of the Spanish dataset is pending and may provide further information.

Sophia Tran, Psychology, College of Liberal Arts
Mentor: Chelsea Helion, Psychology
Social Network Learning Across Evaluative Domains
Previous studies focused on how individuals learn about and perceive others at the individual level, especially within social networks. This has been a central focus of social psychology, along with concepts, such as person perception, attribution theory, and stereotyping. However, people often need to make inferences not only about what other individuals are like, but also about the organization and structure of existing social groups. Learning and understanding group dynamics relies upon the interconnectedness of multiple psychological processes, including, but not limited to, person perception, reward valuation, prediction, and theory of mind. Most of the work done on this process largely focused on how individuals learn group structures that are based on power or hierarchy. However, these evaluative dimensions do not necessarily characterize all groups, which may instead be organized according to features like perceived warmth, kindness, deception, empathy, etc. Our project aims to identify how individuals learn and the rate at which they learn non-hierarchial social networks’ attributions and the interconnectedness of people in that network. Using a social group of seven contestants from the show, Survivor, we will test whether beliefs about these social network structures and its attributions and the rate at which they are learned differ as a function of network features present within a social network/group.

Deanna Waggoner, Political Science and Spanish, College of Liberal Arts
Mentor: Patricia Moore-Martinez, Spanish and Portuguese
Rural and Urban Latino Mental Health and the Role of Language Concordant Mental Health Care
Language concordance has been shown to be a vital component in delivering effective healthcare to speakers with Limited English Proficiency. However, language concordance in mental healthcare is understudied. Previous research is limited; therefore, this study investigates several implications and consequences of language concordant mental care. A comparison is made between accessibility to language concordant services in urban and rural areas. Additionally, data collected from Pennsylvania Death Statistics and OverdoseFreePA is used to establish deaths of despair percentages among Latinos, divided by county, which is analyzed along with accessibility ratings using robust linear regressions to determine if there is a relationship between the two variables. The findings of this study conclude that there is a significant difference between urban and rural accessibility levels, but there is not a relationship between accessibility and deaths of despair. However, the ruralness level of counties does predict deaths of despair percentages. Therefore, it can be tentatively concluded that other characteristics of rural counties besides mental health accessibility levels are influencing deaths of despair percentages.

Chavisa Arpavoraruth, Mathematical Economics, College of Science and Technology
Mentor: Pedro Silos, Economics
Accounting for the 2010s Recovery: A Business Cycle Accounting Approach
The goal of this project is to analyze the U.S. 2010s recovery through a standard growth model augmented with time-varying shocks and wedges. These wedges are constructed in a way that makes the model replicate the behavior of real gross domestic product (GDP), investment, consumption, and the employment rate. I use a Business Cycle Accounting method, which allows me to isolate each individual wedge from the model in order to evaluate its influence during the recovery. The result shows that output is mostly driven by the efficiency wedge. However, government consumption and the investment wedge have a sizable impact on output later in the recovery.

Rachel Berson, Communication Studies and Political Science, Klein College of Media and Communication
Mentor: Scott Gratson, Communication Studies
World Pride’s Rhetorical Vision: A Fantasy-Theme Analysis
This paper analyzes the evolution of World Pride’s identity between the first occurrence of World Pride in 2000 and contemporary celebrations of World Pride using a Bormannean fantasy-theme analysis. Specifically, this paper seeks to understand the way in which World Pride has rhetorically transformed from an event conducted for the purpose of staking claims on contested spaces to celebrating existing pre-established gay spaces. Ultimately, this paper concludes that World Pride’s rhetorical identity has been fundamentally reimagined in a manner that is detrimental to both World Pride’s central mission and the global queer community overall.

Alefiyah Bookbinder, Bioengineering, College of Engineering
Mentor: Karin Wang, Bioengineering
Analytical Methods for the Quantification of Cell Morphology
Cells sense physical cues from their microenvironment and translate them into biochemical signals that modulate their behavior. The extracellular matrix (ECM) is the microenvironment that surrounds the cells, providing them with a network of macromolecules, such as collagen and glycoproteins, which provide structural and biochemical support to the surrounding cells. The stiffness of the ECM is a major physical cue that influences cells in many aspects, and although recent research explores the connection between ECM stiffness and migration, little to no research has been done on the influence ECM stiffness has on cell shape and morphology. Therefore, the goal of this research project was to examine the influence of varying extracellular matrix (ECM) stiffness on cell shape (morphology) and migration.

Nicholas Carmack, Sociology, College of Liberal Arts
Mentor: Kimberly Goyette, Sociology
Students and Race: Understanding How Undergraduate Students Discuss and Comprehend Race and Racism

Devlin Eckardt, Neuroscience, College of Liberal Arts
Mentor: Vishnu Murty, Psychology
Behavioral Mechanisms of the Adaptive Communication of Memory
Memories are not veridical representations of our past, rather they are adaptive, serving future goals. One adaptive function of memories is communication. We do not only store memories for personal recall, but also to share information to others. In this study, we investigate how individual’s goal states to retrieve memories or communicate them to others changes the content and structure of free recall. We study healthy participants in a purely behavioral paradigm. Critically, half of our participants are experts at communicating memories to other individuals (i.e., improvisors and storytellers). Participants play an exploratory game where they discover a new environment. Later, during free recall, individuals recall their memories to themselves or as if to a friend. We analyzed these free recall narratives using the autobiographic interview. This work provides a deeper understanding of how we transform memories in order to communicate information to others.

Nikki Fackler, Psychology, College of Liberal Arts
Mentor: Jamie Reilly, Communication Sciences and Disorders
The Moderation of Individual Differences on Physiological Arousal while Cursing
Neurogenic cursing is characterized by the excessive or involuntary production of taboo words. This is a problematic behavioral symptom present in numerous neurological disorders and interferes with communicative functioning. As the mechanism behind cursing is not fully understood, I investigated whether individual differences in profanity use/exposure, anger, and impulsivity moderate physiological arousal while producing taboo. Participants engaged in three reading/speaking tasks consisting of taboo and non-taboo (control) stimuli. Individual differences were measured using self-report questionnaires. Physiological arousal was measured through a multitude of vocal parameters that have been hypothesized to be indicators of physiological arousal (i.e., fundamental frequency, amplitude, jitter, shimmer). Using this novel methodology, physiological arousal was significantly higher during taboo word production than non-taboo word production. Some trends were found supporting the moderation of profanity use/exposure, anger, and impulsivity on the relationship between tabooness and physiological arousal. Future research is needed to draw conclusions.

Sid Feinberg, Sociology, College of Liberal Arts
Mentor: Max Andrucki, Geography and Urban Studies
“We Went Out There and Turned His Town Upside Down”: The Use of Domestic Space in ACT UP Philadelphia Home Protest
This research focuses on the AIDS activist organization ACT UP Philadelphia from 2000-2020. It relies on online archives and oral histories, and specifically looks at ACT UP’s ‘home protests,’ which occur outside the domestic spaces of local government officials. The actions help to illustrate the ways that queer Black people, unhoused people, and poor people living with HIV are made vulnerable to illness and death. The actions further show how the home spaces of the political elite, and the reproductive labor that takes place in them, are connected to the maintenance of structural inequalities, and disrupt the illusion of the autonomous and political home.

Michelle Joyce, Bioengineering, College of Engineering
Mentor: Andrew Spence, Bioengineering
Gait Control for Obstacle Negotiation in Canines
Understanding the biomechanics of how animals overcome cluttered and complex environments has significant implications in biology and engineering. These include obstacle negotiation, neural and mechanical control, and applications in robotics as biological systems remain superior in this domain. Here we examine how flexibly controlled quadrupedal obstacle negotiation is constrained by the mechanical and temporal structure of typical animal gaits and the environment. Past research has shown that as a quadrupedal robot moves over a regular array of domed obstacles, patterns of trajectories emerge based on gait type and direct interaction between the robot’s legs and the obstacles. This results in stable locomotion with a systematic change in direction. As dogs have additional flexibility and must consider tradeoffs between desired gait, navigation, and energy expenditure, we hypothesized that in a similar array, dogs would change gait parameters including duty factor, limb phase, stride length, as well as direction of locomotion. To begin investigating the effect of space between obstacles, we quantified the natural step length of eleven dogs, and used this to normalize spacing for body size. Spacing was also increased and decreased by 20% from that value. For one adaptation, we hypothesized that with longer spacing, dogs would spend less time with their paws on the ground, thus having a lower duty factor. Feature tracking of the dog’s front left and back left paws do indicate a negative relationship between spacing size and duty factor. Using a generalized linear mixed effects model, for the front left and back left paw respectively, the effect size was -0.435 and -0.519, with standard error 0.032 and 0.035, both with p<0.01, for n=9 dogs. Continuing analysis of additional parameters will further investigate a dog’s ability to cope with obstacle fields. Adapting these strategies in robotic systems will allow for greater flexibility in cluttered environments by employing more stable and economical locomotion.

Jess Levine, Religion, College of Liberal Arts
Mentor: Elizabeth Alvarez, Religion
If American Civil Religion Really Existed, It Would be Necessary to Abolish It: Towards a Critical Sociology of American Civil Religion
This paper contends that the sociological study of American civil religion, which has descended primarily from the work of Robert Bellah, has been beset by an essentialized, Protestant understanding of religion and a naturalized perspective of American exceptionalism. It proposes a series of new analytical frames which could be used to construct a critical sociology of American civil religion. These frames emphasize behavior over belief, without reference to divinity or other traditional markers of Christian religion, to better analyze the role of American civil religion in legitimating the American state. This effort composites the work of marginalized sociologists of religion and critical scholars outside the field to suggest new conceptualizations and operationalizations of American civil religion that are better suited to that analysis, in order to support efforts to challenge that legitimation.

Alexandra Margolin, Environmental Science, College of Science and Technology
Mentor: Erik Cordes, Biology
Differences in Habitat and Species Distributions of Seep-Associated Fauna Based on Underlying Geology at Active and Passive Margins
Cold seeps harbor massive reservoirs of hydrocarbons that fuel their associated ecosystems. These inventories of organic compounds are susceptible to exploitation by offshore oil and gas operations. The factors that control species distributions at cold seeps is not well understood. A study determining which environmental variables most influence the distribution of three important seep-associated fauna at a passive and an active margin was undertaken, producing a model that showed that the distribution of bacterial mats, bathymodiolin mussels, and vesicomyid clams—key habitat-forming species present at cold seeps worldwide—is influenced by temperature and seafloor terrain features. Specifically, the distribution of bacterial mats is most influenced by its Bathymetric Positioning Index (BPI), or its elevation relative to other points within 1 km. Bathymodiolin mussels and vesicomyid clams are most influenced by aspect of the seafloor, or the direction it faces. Mussels occupying the Blake Ridge seep on the passive margin of the US east coast prefer to settle on a slope that faces North. Clams at Blake Ridge prefer slopes that face South, and at Jaco Scar, the seep on the active margin of Costa Rica, prefer slopes that face North. This study has implications for conservation and exploration, where the methods outlined would be useful for predicting cold seep and fauna presence. This study is the precursor to a broader study that aims to predict the presence of cold seeps and associated fauna at a higher resolution than ever attempted before.

Gillian McGuire, Bioengineering, College of Engineering
Mentor: Peter Lelkes, Bioengineering
Mathematical and Computer Modelling of 2D Stem Cell Growth for Potential Future Application into 3D Organoid Systems
There is a bit of interest into understanding the mechanisms of which stem cells proliferate and divide since understanding these processes can generate better clinical outcomes when it comes to tissue engineered constructs and cell-based therapies. For my research, I was interested in mathematically and computer modelling for cell count N and several parameters that effect stem cell growth such as: cell density, doubling time, lag phase, asymmetrical division, mitotic fraction, and cell death. Through literature review mathematical models were constructed and modified to explore these parameters and their effect on cell count N over time. All models were solved and used within the program MATLAB. The exploration of these models leads me toward future work in generating more complex models in 3D environments such as stem cell organoids. With these models, the goal is to make better hypotheses about 3D behaviors and mechanisms that can later be confirmed experimentally.

Jediael Peterson, Global Studies and Anthropology, College of Liberal Arts
Mentor: Benjamin Talton, History
War Is War: Ethnicity and Nation Building in Nigeria
Since its independence, Nigeria has been tasked with answering the question of what their national identity is. From its disastrous civil war and rise in militant forms of ethnic nationalism to the present day #EndSARS movement, the country is continuously reconstructing what it means to belong to Nigeria with ethnicity as a political tool. Through interviews, secondary materials; such as academic journals, and literary texts, we can see the role ethnicity plays in Nigeria's political mobilization while also wondering if it is a sustainable method.

Claudia Tangradi, Secondary Education and English, College of Education
Mentor: Sarah Cordes, Policy, Organizational, and Leadership Studies
An Investigation of Differences between Teachers of the School District of Philadelphia and Teachers of Suburban Districts Surrounding Philadelphia
Funding inequities and the differing qualities of education that students receive as a result have been heavily studied in recent years. With the acknowledgement that teachers are one of the primary factors that influence student academic outcomes, this study seeks to investigate the differences of former teachers of the School District of Philadelphia and current teachers of suburban districts surrounding Philadelphia in terms of overall quality and satisfaction. Utilizing interviews with both former teachers of the School District of Philadelphia and current teachers of districts in suburban counties surrounding Philadelphia, this study illustrates how these inequities play out in this specific area through the achievement gap and attests to the need for new educational policy. Findings of this study support the hypothesis that teachers of suburban districts are generally older, more educated and experienced, and satisfied with their jobs than teachers when they taught in the School District of Philadelphia.

Daniel Taratut, Biology, College of Science and Technology
Mentor: Brent Sewall, Biology
Ecological Changes Brought on by Fungal Invasion and Pathogenesis
Fungal epizootics are on the rise, and the variety of biological invasions associated with human influences continues to put stress on ecosystem health. Emerging mycotic diseases have cascading impacts on biodiversity, rapidly shifting and destabilizing the community structure of ecosystems. What promotes or limits the spread of many pathogenic fungi remains an elusive concept to wildlife managers, inhibiting adequate and timely responses to effected host species. I first consider here why fungal invasions have long been overlooked in terms of multi-host susceptibility, and how indirect effects through species interactions increase pathogenicity within an ecosystem. I then review several case-studies underlining the success of invasion for certain fungal pathogens in diverse species groups. Highlighting the adaptive and evolutionary changes of host-pathogen interactions, I discuss how specific characteristics of fungal invasions lead to drastic transformations in ecosystems. In hopes of shining light on ecological changes attributed to fungal invasions, my aim is to provide a comprehensive analysis of emerging mycotic diseases, and how their ultimate effects on other species within ecosystems is often overlooked.

Anabella Thompson, Jazz Studies Performance, Boyer College of Music and Dance
Mentor: James Earl Davis, Urban Education
Gender and Jazz: The Experience of Young Women in Jazz Education
The number of young women who participate in instrumental high school jazz education programs peaks in middle school, then drops precipitously throughout the high school years. With most high school jazz bands populated by only a small percentage of female instrumentalists by the later years of high school. While this disparity is well documented, efforts to understand and address the issue have often lacked the perspective of the young women themselves. This qualitative research study, based on in-depth interviews conducted with 16 female instrumentalists, from different regions of the US and Canada, examines ‘band culture’ from the perspective of young women taking part in it. The result is a portrait of their experience and how they make sense of it, offering valuable insight into the challenge of creating music education environments that sustain and support young women.

Selena Baugh, Sociology, College of Liberal Arts
Mentor: Kimberly Goyette, Sociology
Understanding the Black-White Achievement Gap: Academic Achievement by Race and Parents' Education
Researchers have long puzzled over the Black-White achievement gap and its relationship with family income and parents’ education. Findings from previous studies indicate that education and income are positively correlated with academic achievement, however the extent to which they account for the achievement gap is still debated. Therefore, using the High School Longitudinal Study 2009-2016 dataset from the National Center for Education Statistics, this study seeks to clarify this issue. Results from a bivariate crosstabulation of race and GPA reflect previous research which shows that Whites outperform Blacks academically. A tri-variate analysis controlling for parents’ education reveals that as parents’ education increases, so does the strength of the relationship between race and GPA. Furthermore, among those with a GPA exceeding 3.00, the gap remains largely constant regardless of education. An interaction model controlling for both parents’ education and income reflects the crosstabulation results with the additional finding that White GPAs are predicted to suffer more when their parents lack a college degree. The study therefore calls for further exploration of the connection between parents’ education and the relationship between race and GPA as well as the unique effect lower education has on White students.

Kiana Burton, Physics, College of Science and Technology
Mentor: Matthew Newby, Physics
Main Sequence Turnoff Star Properties of PanSTARRS Globular Clusters
Using data from the Panoramic Survey Telescope and Rapid Response System (Pan-STARRS), we define the absolute magnitude distribution of main sequence turnoff stars (MSTOs) for 45 globular clusters in the Galactic halo. We follow the method of Newby et al. (2013) and fit all clusters with two half-gaussian functions centered at 3.74 with bright side 0.14 and faint side 0.27. We also obtain a set of distances, ages, and metallicities for all 45 clusters.

Dylan Chirman, Biology and Sociology, College of Science and Technology
Mentor: Nancy Pleshko, Bioengineering
Evaluation of Chemically Induced Hypoxia in Porcine Tissue Engineered Cartilage
The purpose of this study is to identify the optimal cell culture conditions that will enhance thedevelopment of tissue engineered cartilage. The physiological environment of articular cartilage is bothavascular and hypoxic with oxygen tensions between 1 and 5%. Previous research has indicated that whenculturing cells in vitro, hypoxia improves chondrogenic commitment and more closely replicates thephenotypes of in vivo articular cartilage. This study aims to investigate the effects of chemically inducinghypoxia with a hydroxylase inhibitor, dimethyloxalylglycine (DMOG), in engineered articular cartilage,providing an inexpensive alternative to cell culture in hypoxia chambers.

Leah DeFlitch, Neuroscience, College of Science and Technology
Mentor: Susan Patterson, Biology
Distinct Differences in Hippocampal Gene Expression Patterns in Aged vs. Young Rats Following an Acute Immune Challenge
Aging increases the risk of an abrupt cognitive decline, termed delirium, following an injury or illness. An episode of delirium is associated with a greater risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease and other forms of dementia, yet very little is known about the underlying mechanisms. Data from rodent models suggests that aging primes cells of the innate immune system in the brain to produce a dysregulated response to immune challenges. To more closely examine differences in young and aged animals’ responses to an acute immune challenge, genetic expression of whole hippocampal fractions of young (3-month-old) and aged (24-month-old) rats was studied. mRNA samples were screened against a curated gene expression panel of over 700 genes, which were selected for their involvement in immune responses and neuronal structure and functioning. A time-course was used to ask whether aged animals display different inflammatory mechanisms from young animals or if their mechanisms are similar but follow a delayed time course. Results show that aged animals may mount a distinct and more limited response to infection than their young counterparts, suggesting aged animals’ inappropriate immune response is associated with abrupt cognitive failure.

Niko Di Caprio, Bioengineering, College of Engineering
Mentor: Evangelia Bellas, Bioengineering
Collagen Stiffness and Architecture Regulate Fibrotic Gene Expression in Engineered Adipose Tissue
Adipose tissue (AT) has a dynamic extracellular matrix (ECM) which surrounds adipocytes, allowing for remodeling during metabolic fluctuation. During obesity, AT has increased ECM deposition, stiffening, and remodeling resulting in a pro-fibrotic dysfunctional state. Here, incorporation of ethylene glycol-bis-succinic acid N-hydroxysuccinimide ester allowed for control over 3D collagen hydrogel stiffness and architecture to investigate its influence on adipocyte metabolic and fibrotic function. Upon stiffening and altering ECM architecture, adipocytes did not exhibit any dysfunctional metabolic markers. However, they did increase in presence of actin stress fibers, pro-fibrotic gene expression, ECM deposition, and remodeling within a stiffer, 3D collagen hydrogel. Furthermore, inhibition of actin contractility resulted in a reversal of pro-fibrotic gene expression and ECM deposition, indicating adipocytes mediated mechanical cues through actin cytoskeletal networks. This study demonstrates ECM stiffness and architecture play a regulatory role in adipocyte fibrotic function and contributes to the pro-fibrotic dysfunctional state of AT during obesity.

Chau Do, Neuroscience, College of Liberal Arts
Mentor: Mathieu Wimmer, Psychology and Neuroscience
Molecular Underpinnings of Opioid Craving in Rodent Models of Addiction
The opioid epidemic is a national health crisis and relapse contributes as a major factor to the ongoing crisis (Hostin, Hodge, and Noe, 2017). Relapse is often precipitated by intense drug craving following extended abstinence, a phenomenon known as incubation of craving (Grimm et al., 2001). Identifying the underlying biological mechanisms of drug craving may prevent relapse and improve treatment outcomes for patients suffering from substance use disorder (SUD). This project used a pre-clinical rodent model, the self-adminsitration paradigm, and RNA sequencing to study incubation of morphine craving and accompanying changes in gene expression. The nucleus accumbens shell was analyzed for changes in gene expression, following short-term or long-term abstinence from chronic morphine taking. This project delineated divergent patterns of gene expression elicited by chronic morphine and extended abstinence in males and females that lay the foundation for further experimental validation and potential new gene-directed treatments.

Madeline Dunne, Speech, Language and Hearing Science, College of Public Health
Mentor: Gayle DeDe, Communication Sciences and Disorders
Development and Assessment of a Theater Group for People with Aphasia
The Philadelphia Aphasia Community at Temple (PACT) utilizes a group therapy approach for people with aphasia (PWA) by providing opportunities for PWA to enhance communication skills in an interest-driven setting. Recent research demonstrates how theater can improve the communication of ideas through both non-verbal and verbal means and can offer a medium through which PWA can interact and share their experiences. The main goal of this project was to examine how theater has been used with PWA and how theater games and experiences can be adapted for PWA at PACT. Existing studies were reviewed in regards to the benefits of theater for people with communication disabilities and the theories underlying different theater games. These concepts were applied to a pilot theater group at PACT. Nine PWA attended six weekly sessions throughout Summer 2019. Sessions incorporated different theater games and activities to gauge interests and skills, with support from Physical Therapy. Pre-/post-group testing included the Communication Confidence Rating Scale for People with Aphasia and a theater survey examining participant’s interests, skills, and knowledge of theater. Results from pre-test and post-test were compared to determine changes in perception of theater, enjoyment, and overall benefits of a theater group for PWA.

Steven Hamilton, Economics, College of Liberal Arts
Mentor: Dimitrios Diamantaras, Economics
Social Welfare Functions: Ethical Categorization and Usage
In this article I discuss social welfare functions (SWFs). These are mathematical functions that represent the welfare of a society. Within economics,SWFs are used by fictitious individuals called social planners whose only job is to maximize a SWF for their society. I suggest that this concept of social planner needs to be expanded,as whether a social planner is simply fictitious or is approximated by certain elements of technocratic or authoritarian decision-making,this planner is expressing a preference over both ethics and informational availability with their choice of a SWF due to the inherent normative value judgments built into these functions. I am not attempting to justify the use of a SWF in making policy decisions (see Adler (2012) for such an attempt), Iam instead recognizing that SWFs (and other technical tools) are used in policy-making and analysis and that it isreasonable to move towards more transparent decision-making. The fact that SWFs are actually used in policy analysis in the United Statesand other countries make this issue more than just theoretical. The contributionof this paper is to emphasize the ethics inherent in the use of these tools and to offer a way forward –this is done through a clear analysis of the ethics underpinning common SWF and then showing that it’s possible to organize them using a flow-chart model so as to be useful for non-expert, actual social planning exercises.

J. Anderson Harris, Philosophy, College of Liberal Arts
Mentor: Lara Ostaric, Philosophy
Craft, Surface, & Function: An Interpretation of Kant’s Notion of Adherent Beauty
There are three major interpretations of Kant’s notion of adherent beauty in the Critique of the Power of Judgment. Currently, to make sense of adherent beauty, philosophers agree that the constraint model, additive model, and interactive model all have an equal interpretive grounding in the text. I find this conclusion incorrect. Instead, I argue that the interactivemodel is the only correct reading of adherent beauty in Kant’s work. To do this, Imovebeyond the current literature on the interactive model by drawing attention to works of craft as paradigmatic examples of interaction by their possession of both surface beauty and practical function.My argument concludes with my suggestion that theinteractive modelI propose nullifies the constraint and additive models.

Christopher Hsieh, Political Science, College of Liberal Arts
Mentor: Roselyn Hsueh, Political Science
Understanding Yuanzhumin Identity In Relation to Taiwanese Self-Determination Movement

Janessa Hughes, Speech, Language and Hearing Science, College of Public Health
Mentor: Lisa Bedore, Communication Sciences and Disorders
Tres Tristes Tigres and Error Codes: Understanding Bilingual Language Processing Through Tongue Twister Analysis
The purpose of this study was to analyze the errors produced by bilingual children with and without Developmental Language Disorder as they repeated tongue twisters in both Spanish and English. It was hypothesized that patterns of error-production would emerge. Fifty participants between Grades 1 and 5 completed the task over the course of 2-3 years, and their responses were transcribed, coded, and analyzed. Descriptive results indicated that there were between-group differences for the TD and DLD groups in the frequency of errors, as well as for the participants’ performances in Spanish and English. Longitudinal changes in relative frequency did not emerge as predicted; the groups demonstrated similar trajectories over time.

Jarryd Kainz, Political Science, College of Liberal Arts
Mentor: Lauren Farmer, Political Science
The Kurdish Question: Pathways to Autonomy and Unification
The Kurds of Iraq, Turkey, Syria, and Iran have fought for an independent Kurdish state since the colonial division of borders in 1923 that placed the historically inhabited Kurdish lands under the control of the Iraqi, Turkish, Syrian, and Iranian states. The Kurds of each state have faced a near century of repression under these states with Iraq, Turkey, Syria, and Iran each using different methods of repression to prevent Kurdish autonomy. This paper will track the political developments of the Kurds since the division of their lands into Iraq, Turkey, Syria, and Iran and provide a contemporary overview of the Kurdish dilemma by state followed by proposals to resolve the intra- and interstate conflicts. Then, this paper will examine the requisite preconditions towards various levels of political unification, how the Iraqi and Syrian Kurdish groups currently satisfy or fail to satisfy these preconditions, and how the Iraqi and Syrian Kurdish groups can make progress on these preconditions to further political unification between the groups.

Nina Mucciolo, Bioengineering, College of Engineering
Mentor: Chetan Patil, Bioengineering
Development of a Coherent Raman Microscopy Protocol for Imaging of Engineered Adipose Tissue
We present the development of a multifunctional nonlinear optical microscope designed to perform Coherent Anti Stokes Raman Scattering (CARS) microscopy, in addition to Second Harmonic Generation (SHG) and two-photon fluorescence (TPEFF). CARS microscopy is a type of imaging that can perform biochemically specific label-free imaging of cells and tissues, with well-established sensitivity to lipids. Prior work in our lab resulted in a 1st generation microscope platform and demonstrated ability to perform label-free imaging of lipids in engineered adipose tissue samples, however identified limitations with microscope configuration, spectral resolution, image channel-crosstalk, and a lack of environmental controls for living specimens. Here, we report developments in redesigning microscope physical and optical configuration, as well as initial results in SHG and TPEF imaging as well as their ultimate potential for CARS imaging of engineered adipose tissue.

Makayla Peterson, Dance, Boyer College of Music and Dance
Mentor: Sherril Dodds, Dance
A False Narrative: The Hypersexualization of the Caribbean
The cultural richness of the Caribbean is expressed through dance as it navigates and combats the interplay between a history of colonization, societal structure and politics. The interactions between culture and structure inform how the Caribbean dancing body exists in relation to the evolution of Caribbean dance, history of enslavement and dehumanization of Africans at the hands of European colonialism. The politics of religion and colonization has resulted in the construction of stereotypes about and hypersexualization of the black body through the overlapping lenses of race, gender, class and sexuality. The dance forms of soca dance, traditionally performed at Carnival, and dancehall and are rooted in slavery and social and political upheaval in the islands of Trinidad and Tobago and Jamaica. By examining the dichotomy that exists between the Euro-American and Caribbean view of sexuality that permeates American society and pop culture, one can understand its relation to stereotypes of the Caribbean.

Jared Radichel, Jazz Performance, Boyer College of Music and Dance
Mentor: Greg Kettinger, Jazz
Muses: Richard Davis and the Synthesis of Tradition and Innovation

Joseph Salzer, Mathematical Economics, College of Science and Technology
Mentor: Douglas Webber, Economics
Institutional Responses to State and Local Appropriations
Economists, educators, and politicians alike have attempted to explain the surging cost of college in the United States. Most notably, as the 2020 U.S presidential election rolls around, Democratic candidates have advocated for several different policies to change the post-secondary education landscape of America. However, as we examine different policy responses, we must consider how public institutions respond to one of their main sources of revenue: state and local appropriations. Given a shock to previous year appropriations, institutions might adjust their tuition revenue or total expenditures. Since tuition costs and institutional spending play significant roles in enrollment and attainment rates, as well as post-education outcomes, estimating responses to state divestment is critical for future policy. Data comes from the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS), and specifically the Delta Cost Project that has made the data longitudinally consistent. To reduce biased estimates, an instrumental-variable fixed effects model is utilized that accounts for non-random appropriation allocation. I find that for every $1,000 decrease in per student appropriations, an average student will pay $303 more in direct tuition and fees. Moreover, the institution will cut per student spending by $563 including a $247 per student decrease in instructional spending.

Megan Shaud, Psychology and Criminal Justice, College of Liberal Arts
Mentor: Jeffrey Ward, Criminal Justice
Normalization of Violence in an Urban Youth Sample: Gender Differences
Exposure to violence (ETV) in youth has been observed to have a wide range of negative effects on individuals over time, including depressive symptoms and aggressive behavior. The Normalization of Violence model introduced by Ng-Mak and colleagues (2002) attempts to explain the role that moral disengagement plays in the relationship between ETV, depressive symptoms, and aggressive behavior in urban youth. There is significant empirical support for the overarching model, but there is still a question of whether there are significant gender differences in this model. In the current study, data from the Pathways to Desistance study is utilized to empirically test whether the model is tenable. Structural equation modeling is utilized to identify the impact that moral disengagement has on the relationship between exposure to violence, depressive symptoms, and aggressive behavior across gender. According to the present study’s findings, the Normalization of Violence model seems to be both theoretically and empirically sound when it is applied to a sample of high-risk youth, with significant gender differences. In comparison to females, males display significantly higher levels of normalization of violence. Further research is needed to empirically explore this model and determine whether it is applicable to the general population of urban youth.

Kyra Skoog, Speech, Language and Hearing Science, College of Public Health
Mentor: Edwin Maas, Communication Sciences and Disorders
Predicting Intelligibility: An Investigation of Speech Sound Accuracy in Childhood Apraxia of Speech
The purpose of this study is to explore the relationship between the accuracy of speech in children with Childhood Apraxia of Speech (CAS) and the intelligibility of their productions. CAS is a neurological disorder in which children have difficulty coordinating the oral movements needed to produce speech, but typically have no muscle weakness. The study was executed through having adult listeners, who were unfamiliar with children with CAS, listen to recordings of children performing the Goldman-Fristoe Test of Articulation and type what they thought the child said. The responses were then compared against the target to determine intelligibility. Separately, the children’s utterances were also scored for accuracy using various methods by a trained research assistant. The relationship between these accuracy measures and intelligibility were examined using correlational analyses. Preliminary findings suggest that there is a relationship between intelligibility and accuracy among children with CAS.

Sean Starosta, Economics, College of Liberal Arts
Mentor: Douglas Webber, Economics
Responsibility Centered Management at Temple
Responsibility Centered Management (RCM) is the budgeting model in place at Temple University along with many other public research universities and private universities. This paper sought to answer questions about RCM’s effects on student outcomes and student body demographics. In the process of investigating these questions, RCM presented considerable obstacles for research. It was found that RCM itself, along with the opaque nature of universities, presents considerable obstacles for paper seeking to identify a causal relationship between RCM and meaningful outcomes. This paper proposes that RCM might create perverse incentives by placing faculty in positions where they have conflicts of interest in regard to student’s interests and their own. It also suggests potential paths forward for RCM researchers in the future.

Ellen Taraskiewicz, History, College of Liberal Arts
Mentor: Lila Corwin Berman, History
Avukah: Student Zionism on Temple University’s Campus (1925-1941)
The landscape of American Zionism shifted slowly and significantly over the course of the early to mid 20th century, culminating in the creation of the State of Israel in 1948. In that tumultuous period of history, American Zionism was not one single traceable ideology, but a great mass of intersecting and opposing ideologies, formed in the shadows cast by a desire for American Jews to assimilate and in the pervasive anti-Semitism in the United States and Europe. One particular student Zionist organization, known as Avukah, cultivated its own Zionist ideology and attempted to inculcate its message in universities across the country. However, as American Zionism transformed and took root in normative American Jewish society, Avukah struggled and ultimately failed to instill its Zionist ideology into the mainstream. Avukah’s strict adherence to its singular, yet ultimately unclear Zionist ideology and inability to adapt to the shifting tides of American Zionism provide a unique lens into the world of early American Zionist culture and the limitations of organizations founded on pure ideology. The study of Avukah’s rise and fall through the prism of the Avukah chapter at Temple University offer a close examination and microcosm of the limitations of Avukah’s Zionist ideology in the face of American Zionism’s period of great change.

Hibby Thach, Sociology, College of Liberal Arts
Mentor: Adrienne Shaw, Media Studies and Production
A Cross-Game Look at Transgender Representation in Video Games
Despite a history of tracking, analyzing, and discussing transgender representation in media (GLAAD History and Highlights), research on video games is lacking. In this project, I analyzed 63 games from 1988 to 2019 documented on the LGBTQ Game Archive (Shaw, 2016) as having transgender characters. A textual analysis revealed four overarching tropes in how video games represent transgender characters (dysphoria/physical transition, mentally ill killers, trans shock/reveal, and ambiguity), with each noticeably changing across time or country. I also demonstrate how transgender representation in video games manifests in similar ways to film/television. Three out of four tropes in transgender representation appear in videogames, film, and television, but gender ambiguity, mostly from Japanese translations, only appears in video games. As video games are not the only media consumed transnationally, this signals a possible lack of research on gender ambiguity in both media and game studies.

Aurora Trainor, Public Health, College of Public Health
Mentor: Heather Murphy, Epidemiology and Biostatistics
Exploring the Survival of Enteric Viruses in the Public Water Distribution System
This research aimed to evaluate the efficacy of the chlorine disinfectant residual on MS2 bacteriophage inactivation in the Philadelphia public drinking water distribution system. Six annular reactors (ARs), which simulate the flow of water through pipes, were assembled. Three contained cast iron material, and three contained cement, representing two common pipe types in Philadelphia. These were connected to the distribution system in Ritter Hall, and then inoculated with a known concentration of a harmless virus called MS2 in order to simulate a pipe break and the subsequent influx of microbes. I monitored viral decay over time in the water flow through machines (bulk water) and on the build up of organic material on the pipe surface (biofilm) using bacterial culturing methods and found that the MS2 survived for between 4-6 days in the bulk water of the ARs and between 4-14 days in the biofilm. In both cases, the virus survived longer in the cement pipes, despite higher chlorine residuals. This indicates that pipe type may be more important in disinfectant processes than previously identified.

Madeline Colker, Media Studies and Production, English, Klein College of Media and Communication
Mentor: Steven Newman, English
Art for Television's Sake: Feminist Aestheticism Dramatized
Creating a bridge between Media Studies script writing and English-based research, my project focuses on the female writers of the Aesthetic movement. Although writers such as Oscar Wilde are widely recognized for their contributions to the literary movement and hailed for their radical thinking, women Aesthetes were making equally radical statements about gender, sexuality, and social conventions. My research looks at how these writers were affected by the Aesthetic movement and how, in turn, their perspective as women in a highly patriarchal society contributed to or critiqued Aesthetic doctrines. This central question is the basis for the deliverable of my research: a completed television pilot script. Drawing inspiration from Aesthetic writers such as Amy Levy and Vernon Lee, as well as television writers such as Daisy Goodwin and Amy Sherman-Palladino, the script dramatizes the lives of the women of the Aesthetic movement in 1885 London and explores how academic research is best transferred onto the small screen.

Ariana Davis, Psychology, College of Liberal Arts
Mentor: Lauren Alloy, Psychology
The Relationship between Social Anxiety and Stress Generation among Adolescents
We examined the relationship between social anxiety symptoms and stress generation in adolescents. We hypothesized that participants reporting greater social anxiety symptoms at Time 1 (T1) would be more likely to report more peer victimization and interpersonal dependent life events at Time 2 (T2). The sample consisted of 249 12-13-year-old youth diverse in sex, race, and SES. At T1, participants reported on their depressive symptoms and social anxiety symptoms, and at T2, 7 months later, they reported on peer victimization and negative life events. Linear regressions were conducted, controlling for depressive symptoms at T1 and demographic variables that were significantly associated with peer victimization and interpersonal dependent events. Consistent with hypotheses, greater social anxiety symptoms at T1 predicted more interpersonal dependent events at T2. Social anxiety symptoms marginally predicted interpersonal independent events. These results suggest that social anxiety symptoms uniquely predict interpersonal dependent events above and beyond the effects of depressive symptoms.

Peter Dennis, Jazz Performance, Boyer College of Music and Dance
Mentor: Gregory Kettinger, Jazz
Tapestry In Sound: Meditations on the Tones and Life of James Emory "Jimmy" Garrison
This document is the product of my research on the bassist James Emory Garrison. "Jimmy" Garrison was John Coltrane's longest collaborator, a Philadelphia native, and a pillar of the avant-garde movement in jazz and American music. James Garrison's unique and beautiful bass playing created richly textured landscapes in sound through the use of non-traditional techniques combined with the universal soul blues. Within this project, a variety of topics are covered; primarily, it is a combination of his biography and an analysis of his highly influential, astoundingly creative unaccompanied solo bass improvisations.

Tanya Dhingra, Public Health, College of Public Health
Mentor: Heather Murphy, College of Public Health
Understanding Menstrual Hygiene Management Among Adolescents in Indian Urban Slums
Menstruation is perhaps the most important change during a young girl's adolescent years. In resource-poor countries like India, menstrual hygiene is heavily compromised and steeped in silence, myths, taboos, and stigma due to its common associations with impurity. Many girls are uneducated about menstruation and how to manage it. They lack access to social support resources, both at home and at school, that could provide them with access to adequate menstrual hygiene management. Insufficient sanitary facilities, safe spaces, clean water, and pads are additional environmental barriers. The most stressful psychosocial factor, however, is the inability to address and discuss these matters openly.

Melissa Eisgrau, Political Science, College of Liberal Arts
Mentor: Sean Yom, Political Science
The Power of Place in Modern Day Ukraine
External forces, rather than internal efforts, will be the cause of unification in Ukraine. Large scale, successful protest movements were not the catalyst needed to unite Ukrainians into one sovereign, democratic nation. Corruption and political sabotage consumed the Soviet-era, and the implications are still evident today. Few people trust the government, and most want distance from Russian influence. When Moscow ordered the invasion of the Crimean peninsula, Ukrainian public opinion favoring Russia diminished. The resulting displaced persons crisis forced eastern Ukrainians from their homes towards western oblasts. In western cities such as L'viv, known for their activist culture, eastern Ukrainian are shedding the historical narratives of their Soviet past. Through interviews, historical analysis, and data, this research frames the importance of regional spatial identities in Post-Soviet countries. Ukrainian regional identities are crucial to understanding an individual's interpretation of and response to issues of national salience.

Talia IrgangLaden, Linguistics, Computer Science, College of Public Health
Mentor: Edwin Mass, Communication Sciences and Disorders
Proportional Vowel Duration as a Tool in Diagnosing Apraxia of Speech
Apraxia of speech (AOS), a neurological speech disorder, remains poorly understood, making diagnosis difficult. Differentiating between AOS and aphasia is challenging because perceptual judgments, the basis of clinical diagnosis, have limited precision. This research attempts to use current theories on the underlying processes that cause AOS and develop materials that can facilitate differential diagnosis of AOS. This study examined the so-called vowel shortening effect, in which stressed vowels get shorter as the word gets longer (e.g., the vowel in zip is shorter in zipper and zippering). In this study, we examined the vowel durations in a set of words that get progressively longer, as produced by 8 people with AOS and 4 people without AOS but with aphasia. The findings suggest that people with AOS have abnormal vowel shortening effects, particularly with respect to 3-syllable words. As such, the vowel shortening effect may hold promise for diagnosing AOS.

Courtney Jones, Speech Language and Hearing Sciences, College of Public Health
Mentor: Gayle DeDe, Communication Sciences and Disorders
Effects of Conversational Treatment on the Use of Enactment and Correct Information Units
Although aphasia treatment is administered in individual therapy sessions, group conversational treatment is also said to reduce social isolation and improve communication among individuals with aphasia (IWA). Participating in conversation with other individuals with the same language impairments, as well as learning other methods of communicating in everyday interactions may give IWA the confidence to effectively and functionally communicate outside of clinical settings. The main goal of this study was to determine whether people with aphasia improve the quality of their spontaneous speech through group conversational treatment. This was addressed by comparing pre and post treatment speech samples in both experimental and control groups. The experimental group consisted of 13 IWA, who received 10 weeks of conversation treatment in the summer 2017. The control group consisted of 6 individuals who did not receive treatment until fall 2017. Two picture description tasks within the samples were the main focus for this specific study. Samples were analyzed using Correct Information Units (CIU), which measures the informativeness of discourse. We also analyzed use of enactment before and after treatment. We predicted that the experimental group would improve in informativeness in conversation as assessed by CIUs in comparison to the control group, and that the experimental group would use enactment more frequently after treatment. The results showed no consistent pattern of changes across the groups. The variability in the data could be due to the several physiological and cognitive changes that may occur within a participant between and within the testing sessions.

Pearl Joslyn, History, Global Studies, College of Liberal Arts
Mentor: Alan McPherson, History
Barriers to Conflict Resolution in International Organizations: A Case Study of the Falklands/Malvinas War
The Falklands/Malvinas War proved to be an extremely difficult problem for the international community, with no clear solution. Shrouded in legal ambiguities surrounding questions of sovereignty and decolonization, no effective diplomatic solution was reached and the outcome of the war was instead determined by Britain's military victory. The ability of the international community to lead Britain and Argentina in negotiations was greatly complicated by issues within the United Nations and the Organization of American States, as well as cooperation issues between the organizations. These issues raised serious concerns about the effectiveness of both of these organizations, and their ability to function in complex legal situations. This paper draws upon sources from the United Nations and Organization of American States, along with US, British, and Argentinian Government and secondary sources to investigate these cooperation issues.

Patrick Kelly, Public Health, College of Public Health
Mentor: Heather Traino, Public Health
A Scoping Literature Review of Transgender Experiences with Kidney Transplantation from Evaluation to Post-Transplantation Care
Despite existing literature demonstrating significant disparities by racial and ethnic identity related to kidney transplant and documented healthcare disparities across the life course of transgender individuals, the experiences and health outcomes of transgender individuals pursuing kidney transplantation has gone understudied. This scoping review aimed to examine and summarize existing literature on transgender individual's experiences with kidney transplant. A scoping literature review was conducted using three thematic search strings regarding transgender identity, kidney transplant, and hormones to search Embase, PubMed, and Scopus databases. Of 5,003 article records identified and screened for inclusion, only 2 were relevant to the objective of the study. The first article presented a guide for the management of end stage renal disease in transgender individuals. The second was a case study of a transgender man who was evaluated for kidney transplant. Both articles are limited in scope, study design, and methodology; neither examined the kidney transplant experience from the perspective of a transgender individual. The dearth of empirical research on the intersection of transgender identity and kidney transplantation indicates that more research is needed. Avenues for future research are explored, with suggestions for ensuring high quality, culturally sensitive care for transgender persons from evaluation to post-transplantation.

Demetrius Lee, Neuroscience, College of Liberal Arts
Mentor: Debra Bangasser, Psychology
Early Life Stress Has Lasting Effects on Development and Sex-Specific Effects on Cognition in Rats
Early life stress (ELS) is associated with the development of psychiatric disorders, which have cognitive deficits embedded in their symptomatology. Unfortunately, the processes that lead to disease is unclear. To study this we induced ELS in rat pups by limiting bedding and nesting materials from rat dams. This stresses the dam inducing stress in the pups. The data has shown that stressed mothers spend more time on pups and less time on themselves, but their pups still develop at a slower rate. Once the pups mature into adults, some were chosen for chronic variable stress (CVS), which consists of 6 days of 3 stressful activities. Cognitive deficits were measured using the novel object recognition task. Data has shown that only males exposed to ELS and CVS showed impairments. These findings indicate sex-specific stress-induced cognitive deficits and may explain why men are more likely to suffer from these deficits clinically.

Monica Lessen, Neuroscience, College of Science and Technology
Mentor: Eric Borguet, Chemistry
Detection and Removal of Iodide on Stabilized Gold Nanoparticles and Their Effect on Catalytic Ability
Deciphering the viability of gold nanoparticles as reusable, efficient catalyst is important for industrial uses like energy production. Contact is essential for catalysis. Substances that layer onto gold will obstruct the catalytic process. Such blockage is seen when iodide interacts with gold nanoparticles. Due to the ubiquitous nature of iodide in the water supply, this is a problem that needs to be resolved before gold nanoparticles can be used economically. To understand this phenomenon, UV-vis spectroscopy was used to monitor the stability of gold nanoparticle and the accumulation of iodide over exposures. After contact with a dilute sodium iodide solution, gold nanoparticle peak intensity decreased. After introduction of a dilute silver nitrate solution, gold nanoparticle peak intensity increased to a similar value as before iodide contamination. The nanoparticles recovered because of the reaction of the silver and iodide layer on gold to create a precipitate.

Alleh Naqvi, Political Science, English, College of Liberal Arts
Mentor: Alexa Firat, Arabic
Tahrir: Liberation
In a world where global warming has eradicated agriculture production and led to an increase in desertification, the Catastrophe took place. Eventually, it was decided that agriculture would be produced on space. While water still exists on Earth, though in limited capacity, it is currently under the control of Leviathan, who has an iron fist on the land of what was originally Cannan. Now with rising crackdowns on the Canaanites and dissent brewing everyday, the Farad subsequently open fire in Cadasa city and cause eighteen year old Somaiya to flee for her life. However, betrayal, loss, and friendship are all tested as Somaiya learns to not only survive but live. She goes on an adventure to escape arrest with the help of her newfound friends, family, and even a Droid, as she embarks on an intergalactic journey to undermine the regime that took away her right to exist.

Micaela Robalino Teran, Gender, Sexuality and Women's Studies; Political Science, College of Liberal Arts
Mentor: Rujuta Mandelia, Gender, Sexuality and Women's Studies
Document-Deportation Pipeline: The Production of Legible "Aliens"
Stereotypes are explicit representations of assumptions made upon limited information. Documents, as the institutional counterpart to stereotypes, also simplify the complexities that make up a human being. Nevertheless, government-issued documents and forms are taken as neutral tools for the sole purpose of bureaucracy. For this reason, the institutionalized forms of those stereotypes and their implications need further investigation, particularly within the construction of an "immigrant other" in today's political climate. It is the object of this study to understand how booking processes in immigrant detention centers function as deportation pipelines delivering necropolitical consequences to immigrant communities. Drawing from Michel Foucault's contributions on disciplinary power, Achille Mbembé's concept of necropolitics, and the work of activist organizations such as Freedom For Immigrants, this study examines government forms that are used during booking processes, which (1) contain othering language, (2) have the potential to turn someone into a "crimmigrant," and (3) are key to the flow of the deportation pipeline. In this way, the simplification of identity, the lack of due process, and the racialization of immigrants comes to light through the objectifying quality and the streamlining capacities of interoperable documentation. This study concludes that the production of legible people has necropolitical consequences and racist undertones.

Adelia Scheck, Music History and Music Theory, Boyer College of Music and Dance
Mentor: Jeffrey Solow, Instrumental Studies
Mechanik und Ästhetik des Violoncellspiels, by Hugo Becker and Dago Rynar: A Partial Translation and Summary
In 1929, Hugo Becker, a prominent German cellist, and Dago Rynar, a medical doctor, published Mechanik und Ästhetik des Violoncellspiels, or The Mechanics and Aesthetics of Cello Playing. Perhaps the most comprehensive account of the nature of cello playing during the time that exists, the book has never been translated from German into English. Further, it is the first book about cello technique that seeks to combine the anatomical and physiological aspects of cello playing with the musical requirements of the craft. I have summarized and partially translated the expertise of Becker and Rynar to provide an analysis of cello playing that has previously been unavailable to English-speaking audience. Also, I have researched the accounts of other cellists from Becker and Rynar's time to compare their ideas about performance and technique in order to fully depict the ideas about cello performance and technique in the early twentieth century.

Alanna Watters, Linguistics, Classical Literatures and Languages, College of Public Health
Mentor: Robin Aronow, Communication Sciences and Disorders
Vowel Reduction in Salasaka Kichwa: A Pilot Study
Salasaca Kichwa (SK), an under documented dialect of Ecuadorian Quechua (EQ) (ISO 639-3 =qxl), is spoken in the Andean Highlands. Underlying forms of the native vowel inventory consist of /a, i, u/. Initial observations of natural speech samples of native speakers showed vowel reduction tendencies in surface forms. Since vowel reduction is a salient phonological process in languages across the world it would be expected that SK would show the same tendency. Thus, it is anticipated that vowel reduction and the distribution of schwa in SK will be constrained by phonological environments. Schwa is a reduced, centralized vowel which can be a ‘default' vowel with stable qualities, or a more variable vowel based on prosody and phonological environment. This study examines the latter, which tends to have the properties of being centralized, shorter in duration, and an overall weak quality.

Tyler Wong, Geology, Mathematics and Computer Science, College of Science and Technology
Mentor: Jonathan Nyquist, Earth and Environmental Science
Monitoring Stormwater Infiltration in a Vacant Lot Using a 24/7 Electrical Resistivity Tomography System
Stormwater runoff has become a major agent for the pollution of Philadelphia's waterways due to urbanization. In Philadelphia, there are over 40,000 vacant lots, and although these lots are typically grassy and covered with soil, they may not infiltrate runoff very well due to compacted soils and debris. This study investigates the ability of a long-term electrical resistivity tomography system to record infiltration responses from storms of varying intensity and duration in a vacant lot. Soil resistivity depends on water saturation and fluid conductivity which change during storms. To automate data processing, I developed a Python-based computational workflow. Early issues with telemetrically transferring data, powering the system, and configuring the system limited our ability to obtain a substantial dataset. However, newer data show a complex pattern of wetting, recovery, and pore water chemistry in the studied lot, demonstrating the potential of geophysical techniques to study stormwater infiltration in urban settings.