Honors Project Virtual Showcase 2020
Brittney Bauers
CHEMISTRY
Analysis of Trends in Metal Concentration as a Function of Distance from Railroads
in Southern Louisiana
Increased concentrations of metals such as Iron, Aluminum, Cobalt and Manganese have
been demonstrated in the soil and waters near roadways all around the world. From
Serbia (1) to Korea (2) to India(3) , and the United States (4) it has been noted
that roadways are a cause for metal pollution in the soil and water near them. There
are not any published research that has made an effort to examine metal pollution
within the waterways due to railway transportation. This work goes over the concentration
trends in the North Pass waterway as well as how they compare to previously tested
areas.
Karley Bordelon
GENERAL STUDIES
Advocating for Student’s Rights in Higher Education: Using Effective Communication
Resources to Instill Change
Great strides have been made to make higher education more inclusive. However, so
often students are still faced with trials and stipulations that are disguised as
necessary burdens of higher education, when they can actually constitute student rights
violations. The laws the defend student rights should be more prevalent in dialogue
surrounding local and state policies, and further still, they should be consistently
reevaluated to evolve with each university’s culture. An overlooked and prominent
resource available to defend student rights is the communication resources that every
state, university and student organization can utilize.
Stephanie Carter
INTEGRATIVE BIOLOGY
Chemistry: From Imagination to Words
Humans have been representing their ideas and dreams through stories and fiction,
whether written or oral, since the beginning of civilization. However, chemistry as
a science has only been established fairly recently, allowing us to examine firsthand
works of fiction dating back hundreds of years featuring the science of chemistry.
The subject comes up much more often than most people think.
Joshua Davies
PHYSICS
The Synthesis of Novel Ionic Liquids
An ionic liquid is a salt that has a relatively low melting point. Ionic Liquids have
several applications in multiple industries from high-temperature cooling to use as
green solvents. Our group has recently developed a method for producing mono-2-pyridyl(triphenylphosphonium)
([Mopyphos]+) salts. The bis-trifluromethylsulfonylimide (bistriflimide or Mopyphos]+
have shown to have melting points low enough to be considered ionic liquids. For this
project, we investigated whether this chemistry could be expanded into other groups.
Amber Dutsch
BIOLOGY
The Bitterness You Crave in Life
At the beginning of the semester, 122 Chmeistry Honors with Benjamin Wicker was given
the choice of a research project or an interdisciplinary project. I chose a topic
of research that is a part of my daily routine and keeps the majority of Americans
functional. Coffee. What compounds give coffee it’s bitterness and aromas, and how
different brewing methods affect the concentration of these compounds. To analyze
these differences, HPLC (High Pressure Liquid Chromatography) would be used to determine
concentrations of the four chemical compounds in the four different brewing: methods:
cold brewed, filtered drip, French press, and aeropress.
Madison Fournet
CHEMISTRY
A Glance at Chemical Demonstrations
The purpose of chemical demonstrations is to excite and educate younger generations
about Chemistry. It helps to diminish the negative connotation surrounding Chemistry
and open up a door for students to gain interest in pursuing science as a possible
career choice. In this way, it is important that those who will be demonstrating to
younger audiences come prepared and informed.
Zion Louding
CHEMISTRY
Solvent- or Temperature-Controlled Diastereoselective Aldol Reaction of Methyl Phenylacetate
Previous studies of Boron-mediated Aldol reactions included the investigation of numerous
phenylacetates; primarily Methyl Phenylacetate with n-Bu2BOTf and Ethyl Phenylacetate with Chx2BI. However, Chx2BI is unstable and is very sensitive to ethereal solvents. Examination
was refocused on a Phenylacetate with Chx2BOTf because of its ease to prepare. The research also has allowed complete control
of diastereoselectivity by changing the solvent or temperature and by keeping the
same reagents.
Zoe McKean and Razan Qamar
CHEMISTRY
The Purification and Characterization of P. falciparum Hypoxanthine Quanine Xanthine Phosphoribosyltransferase From Recombinant E. coli
The human malaria parasite, Plasmodium falciparum, is responsible for most of the
million annual deaths from malaria. The underlying causes of this disease can be better
researched by isolating the proteins and enzymes that it uses for synthesis of purine
nucleotides. This parasite is developing a drug resistance to medicines commonly used
for treatment, and scientists believe that the enzyme (HGXPRT) can be used to develop
new treatments. Our research goal is to sustainably produce and purify HGXPRT and
to express it and assess its kinetics in the presence of substrates. Our objective
for this semester was to complete a coupled enzyme assay to test the activity and
presence of HGXPRT, by measuring the absorbance of the byproducts. Our research is
focused on the study of the molecular mechanisms and the biochemistry underlying diseases
.
Grant Meadows
CHEMISTRY
Benzimidazoles and How to Synthesize Them
The concept of green chemistry has been playing an important role in recent years
for meeting the fundamental scientific challenges of protecting the living environment.
One of the thrust areas for achieving this target is to explore alternative reaction
conditions and reaction media to accomplish the desired chemical transformation with
almost negligible by-products and waste generation as well as elimination of the use
of volatile and toxic organic solvents. The goal is to identify simple, effective
syntheses of valuable substances using green chemistry techniques and materials.Molecules
with benzimidazole moieties are attractive targets for synthesis since they often
exhibit diverse and important biological properties.
Layne Miley
BIOLOGY
Comparison of Cisplatin vs Carboplatin in the Treatment of Cancer
Cisplatin and Carboplatin are two platinum-based agents and are the most widely used
agents for the treatment of cancer in the field of oncology. These agents have the
ability to crosslink with DNA, more specifically its purine bases, and cause an issue
in the DNA’s ability to repair. This process causes damage to the DNA in the cells
and eventually leads to the apoptosis, or cell death, of the cancerous cells. When
comparing these two agents, a question arises of which one is the more effective option
when looking at the treatment of cancer. Shown are some studies that give evidence
leading to one agent to be superior to the other in specific cases.
Phoenix Morel
BIOLOGY
Chemistry Lesson Plan
My goal for this project was to help improve chemistry-education for high school students.
With the help of a mentor chemistry teacher, I created an in-depth lesson plan with
an assessment. The goal for this project was to be implemented in upward bound schools.
I was going to use data from the assessments to make conclusions on how well the students
performed and which methods of teaching students in chemistry class responded better
to. Due to unforeseen circumstances the implementation portion could not be completed.
Marissa Parker
INTEGRATIVE BIOLOGY
Mechanism of Benzoyl Peroxide and Benzoyl Peroxide Irritation
Benzoyl peroxide (BPO or BzO2) is an antibacterial agent that is applied topically
and has been a pillar in the treatment of acne vulgaris. It is manufactured as both
an over-the-counter topical medication as well as an FDA approved prescription medication.
BPO is considered to be one of the first modern treatments for acne vulgaris, being
first utilized in the 1930’s. Its popularity in the world of medicine stems from the
inability of acne vulgaris to produce resistance mechanisms to the medication. Despite
these groundbreaking features, BPO does possess irritant activities and contact hypersensitivity
can be observed with usage. Because of this, the question posed throughout this research
project is: “What in relation to the mechanism of action could be a silent culprit
in the severe irritations being observed?”