Category: Poster Presentation

Synthesis of Diindenoanthracene Derivatives for use in Organic Field-Effect Transistors

Presenter: Victoria Stanfill

Faculty Mentor: Michael Haley, Geri Richmond

Presentation Type: Poster 39

Primary Research Area: Science

Major: Chemistry

Funding Source: Presidential Undergraduate Research Scholars Program, $5000

Organic field-effect transistors (OFETs) are a type of organic electronic device that determine how and where charge flows throughout a system. They are important to the electronic industry because they are longer lasting and cheaper to synthesize than traditional silicon field-effect transistors. OFETs are ranked on their charge mobility, the speed and quality of the charge transfer. Diindenoanthracenes are a type of organic small molecule with potential to be used in OFETs because of their biradical character, giving them the ability to transport charge. Our research focuses on synthesizing a variety of diindenoanthracene derivatives so we have a large range of molecules with different electronic properties to test in devices. The ultimate goal is to increase the charge mobility of these molecules so that these electronic devices are comparable to traditional inorganic electronics. So far we have created one new diindenoanthracene which has yet to be tested in devices, but we are working towards creating a more generalized synthesis method to make it possible to add a variety of substituents to the general diindenoanthracene scaffold.

Relieving Ukrainian Energy Reliance on Russia: Working with Wind for Prosperity to Encourage Energy Reform and Support New Relations with Western Europe

Presenter: Priscilla Sol

Faculty Mentor: Patricia Curtin

Presentation Type: Poster 38

Primary Research Area: Social Science

Major: English, French

The ongoing conflict between Ukraine and Russia following the 2014 invasion of Crimea and other eastern Ukrainian territories has garnered attention and interest throughout the world. This project utilizes tenets of Public Diplomacy to strategically target problems of Ukrainian energy supply and dependence, and to help the country continue its gradual divestment from Russian resources. Through cooperation between Wind for Prosperity—a program which connects with investors and builds wind turbine mini-grids in rural locations—the US State Department, and federal and local governments in Ukraine, citizens will have access to reliable renewable energy and economic ties with Western Europe will be strengthened.

The first section of this project is a white paper establishing political, social, and economic history in Ukraine and clarifying the context for a renewable energy project. The second section is the strategic plan for the project which includes: overall goals, analyses of audience reception, long term objectives, strategies for garnering attention and support, and actual on-the-ground tactics to be implemented.

Ukraine is struggling to maintain its sovereignty over its people and territory. This project intends to support the movement towards economic independence from Russia, foster citizen involvement in developing renewable resources, and provide for energy needs in rural regions of Southern Ukraine.

Center of Mass Displacement with a Rigid Ankle-Foot Orthotic in Healthy Individuals

Presenter: Spencer Smith

Co-Presenters: Therese Wichmann, Shannon Pomeroy, Michael Hahn,

Faculty Mentor: Shannon Pomeroy, Michael Hahn

Presentation Type: Poster 83

Primary Research Area: Science

Major: Human Physiology

Ankle arthritis is inflammation of the articular cartilage, resulting in pain, stiffness and diminished quality of life. Ankle arthritis is often treated with a complete artificial fusion of the affected bones and removal of the damaged cartilage, which can lead to significantly altered gait and further long-term complications. Rigid ankle-foot orthotics (AFOs) have been used in similar clinical populations to stabilize the joint; however, they have been shown to retain many gait characteristics and improve stability despite limiting ankle range of motion (ROM). In order to better understand how the body adapts to such a sudden and severe limitation of ankle ROM, we performed a gait analysis on 16 healthy individuals within the lab. Each subject went through a normal baseline walking trial on the treadmill followed by a 30 minute walking trial in which they were equipped with a rigid AFO. We used motion capture cameras to collect the 3D motion of strategically placed reflective markers. Subsequently, whole-body marker position data was used to calculate and observe the subjects’ center of mass between walking without an AFO and with an AFO over time. Preliminary data analysis indicates that a rigid AFO may result in increased COM displacement with a range less than baseline following 30 minutes of AFO acclimation, suggesting that an AFO leads to return to more normal gait given an acclimation period.

Gender Socialization of Masculinity

Presenter: Alexis Skaw

Co-Presenters: April Wheeler, Brent Koekkoek

Faculty Mentor: Julie Heffernan

Presentation Type: Poster 37

Primary Research Area: Humanities

Major: Education

As soon as a child is born in the United States, they are assigned a sex in the male/female gender binary and gender socialization automatically begins. For boys, this means they will be taught to be tough, strong and control their emotions in order to enact masculinity. While much of this socialization occurs in the child’s home, it is also strongly enforced throughout social institutions. Sometimes this socialization is explicitly taught while other times
the lessons are implicitly engrained into traditions and practices. Schools, as social institutions, contribute to student’s socialization regarding gender, race and class. Our focus is on how gender socialization of masculinity, which can intersect with race and class, affects boys at different stages of their development. Hyper-masculinity, the exaggeration of masculinity which emphasizes aggressive and impulsive behavior, is associated with a breadth of emotional and physical ramifications. By pointing out the negative effects of hyper-masculinity, we hope to inspire teachers to enact pedagogy which encourages boys to explore non-gender conforming hobbies, sports, studies
and careers among other activities. By fostering an environment where students do not feel pressured to enact masculinity, boys will feel less burdened to become hyper-masculine and in turn, they can avoid situations which have negative effects on their mental and physical well-being.

Rpb1 Mutations and Interactions with Backtracked RNA in RNA Polymerase II in Yeast

Presenter: Mandi Severson

Faculty Mentor: Diane Hawley

Presentation Type: Poster 82

Primary Research Area: Science

Major: Biology, Human Physiology

Funding Source: NICHD Summer Research Program, National Institutes of Health, $3800

RNA Polymerase II (RNAP II) is an enzyme that catalyzes the synthesis of all mRNA in eukaryotic cells. The Rpb1 subunit participates in RNA elongation in the active site of the enzyme. However, residues in Rpb1 have also been identified as having a potential role in backtracking and arrest. Backtracking occurs when RNAP II moves backward along the DNA, causing the 3’ end of the RNA to dislodge from the active site and bind to nearby RNAP II residues. If the polymerase has not backtracked extensively, RNAP II can spontaneously resume transcription; however, if the polymerase has backtracked too much, elongation stops and RNAP II arrests. This study focuses on creating mutations in Rpb1 residues that interact with backtracked RNA. The point mutations being investigated change nucleophilic amino acid residues into residues that theoretically should have reduced ability to bind to backtracked RNA. If RNAP II residues and backtracked RNA are interacting this way, it may induce less extensive backtracking and decreased incidence of arrest. Currently we are using site-directed mutagenesis to create and isolate mutants, which are then tested in transcription assays to observe the effects on speed and incidence of arrest of RNAP II. Mutants are still being isolated and tested at this time. Results from this study will contribute to our knowledge about backtracking and its function in the transcription cycle, which could help us combat viral proliferation and genetic disease.

The UO Veterans Oral History Project

Presenter: Leonie Schulze

Co-Presenters: Jennifer Esparza

Faculty Mentor: Alexander Dracobly

Presentation Type: Poster 92

Primary Research Area: Social Science

Major: English, History

Funding Source: Tom and Carol Williams Fund for Undergraduate Education; Department of History; Kira Homo and James Fox at Special Collections; Kirstin Hierholzer and her staff at the Center for Media and Educational Technologies

Every person has a story to tell and everyone’s story deserves to be told. These stories can be recorded and stored in archives to be read and possibly used for research in the future. This is exactly what students of the UO Veterans Oral History Project have been doing for the past five years and will continue to do for however long there are veterans out there willing to tell their story. For students, the project is an opportunity to learn about how to prepare and successfully conduct interviews, as well as how to transcribe them in a way that lets the interviewee’s character shine through black letters on white paper. For the veterans who are interviewed, the project is an opportunity to reflect on their military past in a safe environment, to perhaps tell a story they have not told before and to know that their names will not be forgotten. For future researchers this project will hopefully be useful in various ways. During the past five years that this project has been pursued, UO students have collected enough material for researchers to ask a wide variety of questions. Why did people decide to join? How did one individual’s experiences in Iraq or Afghanistan differ from those of another soldier? What did the service mean for the members’ families? Our project will hopefully serve as a public record and as a tool for future researches and historians to find answers to their questions.

Women and Femininities in Relation to Sports

Presenter: Megan Schucht

Co-Presenters: Megan Davis, Amy Lee

Faculty Mentor: Julie Heffernan

Presentation Type: Poster 36

Primary Research Area: Humanities

Major: Educational Foundations

In what ways has gender roles and stereotypes affected women’s relationship to sports?
There is a need to improve the quality of women’s athletic experience. With Title IX, there has been an increase in sport participation but a significant decrease in women coaching the sport. However, female athletes are rarely included in the media and are often sexually objectified when they do receive media attention. Female athletes who are able to display the balance of masculinity and femininity receive the most attention and positive outputs by the media whereas those who are not able to show that balance are not shown or interviewed by the media. In order to be a successful female athlete, one must be able to provide that impossible balance of femininity and amazing skill. Our society has created an invisible line between what is too feminine and what is too masculine. This balance between masculine and feminine traits is known as the feminine apologetic where masculine power roles must be counter balanced with feminine qualities. This project has helped us gain an in depth understanding of the women’s role in sports and how it has made a significant impact today and will continue to make a change in the future.

630 ka Lava Creek Tuff Exchange with Isotopically Labeled Water: Testing the Stability of D/H Paleoenvironmental Signals

Presenter: Abigail Ross

Faculty Mentor: Angela Seligman, Ilya Bindeman

Presentation Type: Poster 35

Primary Research Area: Science

Major: Geology

Funding Source: UROP Mini-Grant Recipient, $1000; Department of Geological Sciences

Studies focused on paleoenvironments are becoming increasingly popular and relevant as we begin to understand future climatic patterns through studying those of the past. Isotopic ratios of hydrogen and oxygen of volcanic glass that has been hydrated by surrounding environmental waters have been used as paleoclimate indicators through inferring the isotopic values of past meteoric waters. By testing the exchange of hydrogen and oxygen isotopes

of hydrated volcanic glass with surrounding water, we analyze the validity of this method. This project focuses specifically on the element of age, evaluating if a significant difference in deposition time makes a difference in the isotope’s ability to re-equilibrate, as was suggested by Cassel et al. (2014).

Nolan and Bindeman (2013) placed hydrated ash from the 7.7 ka eruption of Mt. Mazama in isotopically labeled water and observed that the H2O and d18O values remained constant, but the dD values of ash increased with the surrounding water, INDICATING THAT XXX. My research expands on this work by conducting the same experiment, but with ash from the 630 ka Lava Creek Tuff eruption of Yellowstone to see if significantly older glass produces similar results. Preliminary data show that exchange of hydrogen isotopes of hydrated glass is not limited by the age of the glass, and that the use of hydrogen isotopes of secondarily hydrated glass may not be a reliable paleoclimate indicator.

Gender and Inequalities in the Workplace

Presenter: Jessica Romeo

Co-Presenters: Belicia Castellano, Bailey Davenport

Faculty Mentor: Julia Heffernan

Presentation Type: Poster 34

Primary Research Area: Social Science

Major: Educational Foundations

Gender inequalities and instances of patriarchy in the workplace are creating limitations for individuals and overall affecting their lives. The focus of our research is predominantly on women in the workplace and how these factors affect them in a negative manner. Through the use of Gender: Ideas, Interactions, Institutions, and other resources, we will examine topics such as sexual harassment, job segregation by sex and gender, and wage gaps. Within these topics, we have determined that these support the idea that gender inequality in the workforce is typically aimed toward women. Such instances are apparent in pay, as the average woman makes $0.78 to the average male. This is also apparent by the fact that depending on sex and gender, women and men are stereotyped to fit into a specific and particular career, therefore establishing job segregation. A significant amount of women report leaving their job due to sexual harassment, which is yet another example of how these topics are apparent in the workplace. These factors, and our research, suggest that women do not have equal opportunities in the workplace, which reestablishes gender binaries and devalues the work of women.

Understanding the Intersection of Twitter Advocacy Subcultures and Corporate Social Responsibility

Presenter: Andrew Rogers

Faculty Mentor: Dean Mundy, Kim Sheehan

Presentation Type: Poster 33

Primary Research Area: Social Science

Major: Journalism: Public Relations

Abstract: As social media activism continues to gain influence in today’s social, cultural, and political spheres, it has become relevant for public relations professionals and social media strategists to better understand the values, motivations, and attitudes of these activist users. This study examines how Twitter users who post, engage with, and participate in conversations regarding political and social issues (i.e. Twitter advocacy subcultures) interpret tweets sent by corporate Twitter accounts that contain activist-like messages. This study asks, “How do users in Twitter advocacy subcultures interpret and respond to corporate social responsibility messages?” and “How can brands better reach and engage Twitter advocacy subcultures?” To answer these questions, a survey concerning interpretation of corporate advocacy tweets was sent to students, student groups, staff, and faculty at the University of Oregon. This survey asked participants to examine screenshots of advocacy tweets posted by corporations and brands and answer questions about the tweet’s core message, intended goal, and overall effectiveness. The initial results of this survey show that message intentionality, co-option of social movements, and tangible actions by a corporation or brand are primary concerns to survey participants who assessed the tweets. The findings of this study serve to elucidate the intersection of Twitter advocacy subcultures and corporate social responsibility.