2017 denman undergraduate research forum accepted student … denman undergraduate... · student...

2017 Denman Undergraduate Research

Forum Accepted Student Abstracts

Engineering

Category: Engineering

Title: DNA origami stability for implementation in physiological environments

Student Presenter: Nickolas Andrioff

Faculty Advisor: Castro, Carlos

Abstract: Scaffolded DNA origami allows for the construction of custom-designed DNA nanostructures

via molecular self-assembly. Recently, DNA origami nanostructures displayed promising potential over a

wide range of biological applications such as drug delivery, biophysical measurement, and biomarker

detection. However, translating these devices to clinical or other biological applications require

thorough evaluation of DNA nanostructure structural stability under harsh physiologic conditions,

including the presence of nucleases. Previous studies revealed that DNA origami stability in the presence

of physiologic buffers varies from tens of minutes to several hours depending on the structure design

and specific buffer conditions. However, the relationship between DNA nanostructure physiological

stability and optimal design parameters remains poorly understood. Therefore, the objective of the

current study is to evaluate how different structural characteristics of DNA nanostructures affects

stability under a range of physiological conditions, including varying levels of salinity and fetal bovine

serum (FBS). Stability and degradation experiments were performed on a large panel of similar DNA

nanostructures which varied in a single parameter such as surface area, crossover frequency, lattice

cross section, scaffold routing, or number of overhangs. Structural stability of nanostructures was

monitored across varying concentrations of magnesium chloride (0-20mM) and fetal bovine serum (0%-

100%) during a 24-hour room temperature incubation period. Quantitative data was obtained using

agarose gel electrophoresis coupled with a gel intensity analysis program to monitor the long-term

stability of each structure and a spectrophotometer to collect degradation kinetics data. Results were

compiled to create an algorithm to predict the structural stability of DNA nanostructures based on their

characteristics and designing stable structures suitable for various physiologically relevant environment.

An additional goal for this work is to make a publically accessible database that DNA origami

nanostructure designers can use to create an optimal structure for any experimental conditions more

efficiently and conveniently.


Title: Development of a 3D mechanomimetic model of the breast tumor microenvironment

Student Presenter: Namrata Arya

Faculty Advisor: Winter, Jessica

Abstract: Over their lifetime, about 12% of women in the United States are diagnosed with invasive

breast cancer. Whereas stage I breast cancer has a nearly 100% 5 year survival rate after diagnosis,

stages II, III, and IV have survival rates of 93%, 72%, and 22%, respectively. Breast cancer spreads by

metastasizing at new sites after travelling through vasculature or the lymphatic system. Additionally, a

growing tumor can squeeze adjacent healthy tissue. Breast cancer tumors experience compressive solid

stress as a result of uncontrolled growth in a confined space. The purpose of our experiments is to study

the effect of compressive solid stress on breast cancer migration and morphology, which may correlate

with tumor progression in the clinic. To simulate compressive solid stress, a model consisting of tumor

cells encapsulated in a hydrogel and compressed with discs was employed. The hydrogel sits on a

porous membrane that allows nutrient exchange, but not cell migration. Additionally, migration and

wound healing under pressure in a 2D microenvironment were also studied. Preliminary proof of

concept of this model was shown using brain tumor cells. Initially the hydrogel, which mimics the

mechanical properties of breast tissue, was composed of Matrigel and Agarose. However, because of

the large difference in gelling temperature between Matrigel and Agarose, this proved to be

impracticable. Low Temperature Gelling Agarose was used instead, but because of its low elastic

modulus, it was unsuited for this purpose. In the future, hydrogels will consist of Matrigel supplemented

with PEG. In each trial, the cells in the hydrogel will be exposed to varying compressive solid stress. We

hypothesize that since higher pressures lead to a higher pressure gradient, cells experiencing higher

compressive stress will migrate further. These results can potentially provide information on new

signaling pathways and drug targets for prevention of breast cancer metastasis.


Title: The binary decision diagram: abstraction and implementation

Student Presenter: Saad Asim

Faculty Advisor: Sivilotti, Paul

Abstract: A Boolean Formula is an expression on Boolean variables that evaluates to either true or false.

This seemingly simply concept has many important applications in Computer Science such as in the

validation of system models. However, as these models are extended, the number of variables needed

in the expression grows exponentially, creating problems for efficient representation. Traditional data

structures used to represent Boolean Formulas containing a large number of variables become

especially inefficient even for basic operations such as checking if it an expression can ever evaluate to

true. Binary Decision Diagrams (BDDs), a relatively new data structure used to represent Boolean

Formulas, enjoy several advantages over these traditional data structures. First, BDDs can stay compact,

even for Boolean Formulas involving large numbers of variables. Furthermore, they are canonical

representations for Boolean Formulas, meaning equivalence checking can be done effectively. Finally,

they can be efficiently modified to represent more complex formulas. The goal of this study is to

develop a provably correct software realization of the BDD. This implementation will be verified with

respect to precise specifications using proofs, not just checked using test cases as is typical with

software implementations. Achieving this goal requires solving problems in three phases: designing an

interface for the component, developing an implementation, and verifying the implementation through

proofs. Currently, a fully abstract mathematical model with formal specifications of functionality has

been constructed along with a simple reference implementation of this model. The reference

implementation will serve as a base to compare basic functionality and efficiency against the BDD

implementation, which is in progress. The full implementation of a provably correct BDD component will

provide an efficient method of representing system models that users will be completely confident in

using.


Title: Effects of geometry on an inverted wing in ground effect utilizing classical optimization techniques

Student Presenter: Matthew Aultman

Faculty Advisor: Whitfield, Clifford

Abstract: In competitive automotive racing, aerodynamics and in particular wings, has been utilized

since the 1960's to reduce lap time. Studies show that the near ground proximity experienced by the

front wing of a race car changes the aerodynamics and enhances the performance of the wing. Despite

these studies, little is known publicly of the design of wings for the ground proximities experienced in

automotive racing. For this study, the modified NACA 4 Series airfoil family was selected to study the

impact that airfoil geometry has on the aerodynamic characteristics of an inverted wing in ground

effect. Due to the large number of airfoil geometries required to test, ANSYS Fluent was utilized to

determine these effects computationally. Trend lines were developed for geometric changes of an

inverted NACA 6612-63 at five degrees angle of attack and a height of fifteen percent chord from the

lowest point of the airfoil. These trends were then utilized in defining a design space to allow for the

usage of graphical optimization techniques to determine the optimum geometric configuration for a

race car wing. Since maximum camber resulted in the highest changes in downforce while the maximum

thickness was most effective at reducing performance penalties, these two were used as the

optimization variables. Constraints were placed upon drag and lift to drag ratio to ensure that optimizing

downforce did not result in any performance penalties. This optimization resulted in a fifteen percent

increase in the downforce produced by the airfoil. This coupling of geometric parameters yielded better

overall performance than any single geometric parameter.


Title: Myoferlin depletion in MDA-MB-231 breast cancer cells reduces autocrine TGF-B1 production

Student Presenter: Victoria Barnhouse

Faculty Advisor: Leight, Jennifer

Abstract: Breast cancer is the second leading cause of cancer mortality in women, and metastatic

disease is responsible for the majority of deaths. Metastatic cancer cells often undergo an epithelial-

mesenchymal transition (EMT), enabling the cells to break free from the primary tumor and invade

surrounding tissues. Recently, myoferlin (MYOF), a protein involved in cell membrane functions, was

found to be overexpressed in the breast cancer cell line MDA-MB-231, and knocking out MYOF in these

cells reduces invasion and reverts the cells to a more epithelial phenotype. However, it is unknown why

knocking out MYOF leads to the reversal of EMT, and whether this change is permanent. Transforming

growth factor-β1 (TGF-β1) misregulation has been shown previously to contribute to the

progression of cancer via EMT. When the MYOF knockdown (KD) cells are treated with TGF-β1,

their morphology converts to a more mesenchymal appearance. Therefore, we hypothesize that the

knockdown of MYOF causes a decrease in autocrine TGF-β1 production, reversing EMT. Using an

enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), TGF-β1 levels were shown to have a 30% decrease in

MYOFKD cells compared to control cells. Western blot was used to confirm the phenotypical change in

TGF-β1 treated MYOFKD cells by comparing levels of specific markers present in epithelial and

mesenchymal cells. Western blot of vimentin, a common mesenchymal marker, increased to a level

similar to the MDA-MB-231 control cells after TGF-β1 treatment; E-cadherin, which is

characteristic of epithelial cells, showed a significant decrease in expression. These findings confirm the

EMT of MYOFKD cells after treatment. Studies on the effect of TGF-β1 treatment on migration and

invasion are ongoing. These results indicate the importance of TGF-β1 in EMT of breast cancer

cells, and gaining a better understanding of factors related to EMT can aid in the development of better

and more specific treatment methods.


Title: The removal of submicron particulates from substrates: physics-based modeling and

experimentation

Student Presenter: Patrick Beal


Abstract: One of the major issues plaguing the semiconductor industry is the adhesion of submicron-

sized dust particles (called particulates) to the silicon wafer (substrate) during the wafer manufacturing

process. Such substrate contamination results in unreliable performance of the wafers when used as the

foundation for electronic devices, causing electronic circuit defects. Over the past three decades, many

scientists and researchers have utilized brush-cleaning techniques, laser-assisted cleaning, and Atomic

Force Microscopes to manipulate particulates. However, the prohibitive cost and diminishing margin of

efficiency in mass-scaling these techniques pose a major problem in the cleaning of silicon wafers. This

project aims to investigate and develop an affordable model, verified through robust experimentation,

to mechanically remove particulates from a contaminated substrate. Initial experimentation involved

the central premise: vibratory excitation of a substrate may lead to relative motion between the

adhering particulate and substrate, thereby breaking the adhesion bonds between the two, leading to

particulate removal. To test this claim, a 40 mm diameter sphere, representing a particulate on the

macroscale, was observed while interacting with an oscillating piston. Currently, the sphere's observed

chaotic response is being replicated using physics-based MATLAB simulations. These simulations, once in

correlation with the experimentation, will be utilized to provide insight into the behavior of a particulate

adhering to an oscillating substrate on the micro/nano-scale. By applying this mechanical removal

methodology, companies within the semiconductor industry will be able to drastically improve the

reliability of their silicon wafers and the integrated circuits built atop them.


Title: A dual-targeting, mitochondrial-immobilizing nanoparticle drug delivery system to overcome drug

resistance in cancer stem-like cells

Student Presenter: Matthew Becker

Faculty Advisor: He, Xiaoming

Abstract: Cancer stem-like cells (CSCs) are rare subpopulations of cells that are drug resistant and have

been shown to be responsible for the recurrence of cancer. CSCs are typically not responsive to

traditional cancer treatments, so an alternative method, able to overcome the drug resistance of these

subpopulations, is desirable. Nanoparticles are one potential solution to this problem and are currently

under intense research. The aim of this study is to determine an ideal method for synthesizing and

loading nanoparticles with a photosensitizer to facilitate photodynamic therapy in cancerous cells. A

novel nanoprecipitation method was designed to create smaller and more homogeneous particles

compared to the traditional nanoprecipitation method. Since this process is based off of the self-

assembly of polymers, Pluronic F-127 (PF127) and poly(D,L lactic-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA) were selected

as suitable candidates. Different ratios were experimented with to determine the best conditions for

this particular application. It was found that a polymer:drug ratio of 10:1 and a water:oil ratio of 10:1

were best when used with a 1:1 ratio of PF127 and PLGA. Nanoparticles synthesized with PF127 and

PLGA, encapsulating a porphyrin derivative capable of mitochondrial immobilization, and further

functionalized with triphenylphosphonium and hyaluronic acid (PF-PLGA-TPP-HA) exhibited highly

uniform size distribution, with diameters of 160 ± 3nm and zeta potentials of -35 ±

3mV. Mitochondrial targeting capabilities of the particles will be tested with human breast cancer MDA-

MB-231 cells via confocal images and fluorescence overlap of porphyrin with MitoTracker Green dye.

Further studies will be conducted using mitochondrial membrane potential and cell viability assays with

both 2D and 3D (stem cell enriched) cultured 231 cells to examine the effects of nanoparticles on CSC

viability. Positive results from these studies will indicate the efficacy of PF-PLGA-TPP-HA nanoparticles in

bypassing the drug resistance and proliferative capabilities of CSCs.


Title: Design and characterization of periodic hyperdamping metamaterials for broadband vibration and

noise control applications

Student Presenter: Justin Bishop

Faculty Advisor: Harne, Ryan

Abstract: Unwanted air-borne noise and structure-borne vibrations come from many sources, and

attenuating or suppressing these vibroacoustic energies is critical to human performance,

communication, and comfort, and to the lifetime and effectiveness of structures and machinery.

Traditional vibroacoustic attenuators include acoustic foams which are ineffective at low frequencies,

and damping panels which add significant mass to their system. This indicates that a conventional trade-

off exists between capabilities of broadband energy damping systems and the weight of these systems.

A lightweight material system with broadband damping is still needed. Hyperdamping is a passive

method of realizing extreme damping at the elastic stability limit of structures constrained to a critical

point. In this research, a material system is realized using cellular silicone inclusions that are critically

constrained within aluminum shells. These inclusions are arranged periodically within acoustic foam to

result in enhanced noise and vibration reduction capabilities not achieved by the foam itself. Through

computational and experimental efforts, the interactions between two inclusions are first studied by

varying the spacing between these two inclusions. Next, arrangements of the inclusions respecting the

direction of incoming energy are tested for their damping capabilities. Inclusions nearer to their critical

constraint are shown to be more effective than inclusions farther away from their critical constraint.

Based on the outcomes, the periodic hyperdamping inclusions greatly improve vibroacoustic damping

without significantly increasing system mass, when compared to solid inclusions. These inclusions can be

utilized in a wide range of applications, including automotive and aerospace contexts where lightweight

solutions are key to efficiency, safety, and performance.


Title: Controlled burst release of PZP animal contraceptive vaccine

Student Presenter: Brandon Borja

Faculty Advisor: Lannutti, John

Abstract: The Bureau of Land Management has been authorized to control the wild horse population of

public lands in order to sustain the ecosystems in which they reside. The purpose of this study is to

investigate the feasibility of animal contraception through the controlled drug release of porcine zona

pellucida (PZP) vaccine loaded in three different compositions of polycaprolactone (PCL) - gelatin

composite capsules. The PZP vaccine acts by stimulating anti-PZP antibodies which bind to the surface of

an ovulated egg thus preventing sperm attachment. Drug release thus follows burst release kinetics to

ensure constant immune stimulation and avoid desensitization of the immune system associated with

only gradual drug release kinetics. The capsules have been designed to release the PZP vaccine one

month, three months, and one year after intramuscular implantation. At these time points the

degradation of gelatin and presence of controlled amounts of porosity reduces the mechanical

properties of the drug loaded capsules allowing muscular contractions to rupture them and release the

vaccine. Capsules were initially electrospun by depositing polymer nanofibers on a spinning mandrel.

Upon achieving sufficient deposition, the nanofibers were sintered to remove porosity and achieve a

wall thickness of 100μm. Degradation has been studied through the analysis of the microstructure

of samples exposed to phosphate-buffered saline (PBS) - simulating body fluid - and tracking the change

in weight of samples loaded with silicon oil - the vaccine carrier. SEM images show the elimination of

surface features over time suggesting erosive degradation of gelatin. PCL-gelatin capsules in water have

shown gradual increases in weight indicative of gelatin degradation that creates pores and allows water

to enter the capsules. Further degradation analysis will be carried out as well as tensile and compression

tests to characterize the mechanical properties of polymer blends with respect to wall thickness and

exposure to PBS over time.


Title: Comparison of single marker vs. marker clusters in kinematics calculated from 3D motion capture

data

Student Presenter: Torie Broer

Faculty Advisor: Di Stasi, Stephanie

Abstract: To evaluate human motion, researchers use three-dimensional motion capture (3D motion

capture), which requires tracking of markers configured along the segments of a subject. Several

common configurations, known as marker sets, have been established, but the literature lacks

comparison of the kinematics calculated by the various standards. The purpose of this study is to

compare measurements for hip and knee kinematics calculated from different marker sets (marker

clusters and single marker arrays) placed along the thigh and shank. We hypothesized that hip and knee

kinematics calculated by the two models would not be significantly different. 3D motion capture was

utilized to record three gait trials at a self-selected speed for twenty-one (n=21) participants status-post

hip arthroscopy. Marker clusters, consisting of four reflective markers mounted on a plastic rigid body,

and an array of four individual markers were placed on the thigh and shank of each participant to track

the segments through space. A subject-specific model was built for each respective marker set. Hip and

knee kinematics were calculated for both models. Average absolute difference between the two models

was calculated to analyze the differences between data sets. Results: there were no significant

differences in sagittal and frontal planes for hip (Sagittal: 1.8285°±1.5032, Frontal:

1.1888°±1.0070) and knee (Sagittal: 1.6542°±1.2358, Frontal:

1.6218°±1.3010) kinematics between the two marker sets. Additional research is needed

to determine the effect of marker set on kinetics and inter-session reliability. Data from these studies

can be used by clinicians and scientists to evaluate data collected across multiple marker sets, a critical

step to compare biomechanics across injured and healthy individuals.


Title: Wing structure design for flexible delta-type wings at low speeds

Student Presenter: Kegan Buchhop

Faculty Advisor: Whitfield, Clifford

Abstract: Aerial reconnaissance plays a key role in gathering intelligence for the military. Unmanned

aerial vehicles (UAVs) have proven that they can fulfill this role in a cost-effective manner. Furthermore,

high-altitude UAVs fill this need well because they do not interfere with commercial air traffic. However,

the effectiveness of these UAVs is subject to their range, endurance, and ease of deployment. High-

altitude UAVs have an enhanced challenge of weight savings because there is less lift available at higher

altitudes as air is less dense. Efforts to save weight for this class of UAV have proven catastrophic

because they are designed for high-altitude flight and are susceptible to damage in turbulent areas of

the lower atmosphere. To avoid this, it has been proposed to develop a tube-launched UAV deployed at

the intended mission altitude. The wings of this UAV must be lightweight and easily folded and stowed

in a tube. The wing must also be aerodynamically efficient to be a viable option for long-range aerial

surveillance missions. Highly flexible polyimide wings fit these criteria; however, they have been

experimentally shown to suffer losses in aerodynamic efficiency as a result of their flexibility. It has been

shown in previous experiments that adding structure to the wing can increase aerodynamic efficiency.

This research aims to determine ideal structure configuration to maximize the aerodynamic efficiency of

such wings. This research will use wind tunnel testing to validate pressure distribution results obtained

by Computational Fluid Dynamics. These pressures will then be translated to structural Finite Element

models of wing concepts to determine an ideal configuration that maximizes aerodynamic efficiency

while retaining low structural weight. Results are currently on-going, with the end goal being a drastic

reduction in the cost associated with operating the high-altitude UAV.


Title: Novel bioseparation technique utilized for on location manufacturing of biopharmaceuticals in

remote healthcare settings

Student Presenter: Athanasios Burlotos

Faculty Advisor: Wood, David

Abstract: A large percentage of U.S. Military deployments involve humanitarian missions and disaster

relief. The logistical complexities of these missions, coupled with the inherit unpredictability of disaster

situations, makes providing physicians with biopharmaceuticals-which require cold chain management-

often prohibitively costly and difficult. As a result, patients afflicted with treatable conditions suffer

needlessly from a lack of supply. In response, the Defense Advanced Research Project Agency (DARPA)

created the Biologically-Derived Medicines on Demand (Bio-MOD) initiative to develop a device to

manufacture a pharmacy-sized library of biologics at the point of care. This presents numerous technical

challenges, including limiting size for portability, meeting temporal constraints, and achieving

pharmaceutical grade purity across a vast library of drugs. To meet these constraints, our research in the

Wood laboratory focuses on a novel bioseparations technique utilizing split-intein mediated affinity

chromatography. Natively, inteins (a protein element) splice together two protein domains into an

active protein. To manipulate inteins for bioseparations, our lab reviewed existing literature on the

highly conserved regions among inteins, and designed targeted point mutations in key catalytic residues

of the intein to induce pH sensitivity. We then fixed one half of the mutated inteins to a chromatography

column, and used molecular cloning techniques to join the other halves with the protein library for

expression. The data to be presented applies time course kinetics experiments and SDS-page gel analysis

to characterize intein behavior. Results demonstrated success in inducing pH sensitive cleavage;

however, not all targets demonstrated fast enough cleavage for a high recovery within the 24-hour time

requirement. While unable to create a fast-cleaving intein universal to all drug targets, the mutations

proved to be portable, generating non-native pH sensitivity. Current efforts are focused on improving

the kinetics to allow a universal purification platform for biologics.


Title: Irregular airport geometries and correlation to incidences

Student Presenter: Austin Capell

Faculty Advisor: Young, Seth

Abstract: Travel by commercial air carrier is still an extremely safe form of transportation. This is in part

due to multiple levels of safeguards and redundancies built into the system that reduce the influence of

hazards and the very rare accidents that still occur. In order to minimize these threats, industry-wide

research initiatives for both ground and air operations are frequently analyzed in an effort to reduce

risks and increase passenger safety. One suggested hazard to both ground and flight operations at our

nation's airports is airport taxiway and runway geometry. That is, both runway and taxiway position in

relation to each other. It has been postulated that certain irregular geometries of runways and taxiways

can affect surface wayfinding tasks which can challenge positional awareness. This in turn can result in

runway incursions and/or inadvertent takeoffs on incorrect runways or taxiways which carries a high risk

of a collision with other aircraft or ground vehicles. Thus, it is paramount to research whether certain

configurations lead to more runway incidents/accidents than others thereby giving airfield designers a

better understanding of how to balance design efficiencies and other considerations with potentially

problematic configurations. We examined this notion further by reviewing a FAA database of incidences

for ground incidences which was then cross reviewed with an Airport Layout Plan (ALP) for a given

airport. Incidences that have occurred at airports with similar or same runway/taxiway geometry was

examined further for notable configurations. This more in depth examination of the data may yield

patterns to these surface layouts that should be avoided in future airport designs or necessitate a

constructions alteration to existing airfield geometries.


Title: Controlled burst release of PZP animal contraceptive vaccine

Student Presenter: Sarah Carney


Abstract: The Bureau of Land Management has been authorized to control the wild horse population of

public lands in order to sustain the ecosystems in which they reside. The purpose of this study is to

investigate the feasibility of animal contraception through the controlled drug release of porcine zona

pellucida (PZP) vaccine loaded in three different compositions of polycaprolactone (PCL) - gelatin

composite capsules. The PZP vaccine acts by stimulating anti-PZP antibodies which bind to the surface of

an ovulated egg thus preventing sperm attachment. Drug release thus follows burst release kinetics to

ensure constant immune stimulation and avoid desensitization of the immune system associated with

only gradual drug release kinetics. The capsules have been designed to release the PZP vaccine one

month, three months, and one year after intramuscular implantation. At these time points the

degradation of gelatin and presence of controlled amounts of porosity reduces the mechanical

properties of the drug loaded capsules allowing muscular contractions to rupture them and release the

vaccine. Capsules were initially electrospun by depositing polymer nanofibers on a spinning mandrel.

Upon achieving sufficient deposition, the nanofibers were sintered to remove porosity and achieve a

wall thickness of 100μm. Degradation has been studied through the analysis of the microstructure

of samples exposed to phosphate-buffered saline (PBS) - simulating body fluid - and tracking the change

in weight of samples loaded with silicon oil - the vaccine carrier. SEM images show the elimination of

surface features over time suggesting erosive degradation of gelatin. PCL-gelatin capsules in water have

shown gradual increases in weight indicative of gelatin degradation that creates pores and allows water

to enter the capsules. Further degradation analysis will be carried out as well as tensile and compression

tests to characterize the mechanical properties of polymer blends with respect to wall thickness and

exposure to PBS over time.


Title: Calcium response in endothelial cells exposed to different flows

Student Presenter: Alexander Cetnar

Faculty Advisor: Alevriadou, B. Rita

Abstract: Intracellular calcium concentrations ([Ca2+]i) oscillate and are interpreted by intracellular

downstream effectors that activate transcription factors, initiate gene expression, and

regulate cell function. Vascular endothelial cells (ECs) respond to chemical stimulation, due to

extracellular agonists, with [Ca2+]i oscillations. Our group showed that cultured EC exposure to steady

laminar shear stress results in [Ca2+]i oscillations. Due to both inositol trisphosphate (IP3)-mediated

Ca2+ release from the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) and Ca2+ exchange between ER and

mitochondria, oscillations were initiated. This study aims to expand our experimental work to

delineate mechanisms governing the shear-induced [Ca2+]i response in ECs exposed to more

physiological flows, pulsatile and oscillatory. Monolayers of a human umbilical vein EC line (EA.hy926)

loaded with Ca2+ fluorophore Fluo-4 AM were exposed to shear stress: steady laminar, pulsatile,

or oscillatory for 5 minutes following static incubation. In the microscope field of view, percentage

of responding cells, time to 1st peak, peak magnitude, peak duration at half-maximum, and

oscillation frequency of each cell were quantified using ImageJ, Cell Profiler and an in-house

MATLAB code. [Ca2+]i showed differential responses following EC exposure to temporal gradients

in shear stress (pulsatile, oscillatory) compared to steady laminar flow. Oscillatory flow, in

particular, produced [Ca2+]i oscillations of higher frequency compared to steady

laminar flow, whereas the peak amplitude depended on the amplitude of the flow pulse. Monitoring

[Ca2+]i signaling for each cell in a monolayer provided insights into the signals that determine EC

function. Since oscillatory flow is characterized by lack of nitric oxide release and by increased EC

activation, and is known to contribute to initiation of atherosclerosis, it is important to understand

[Ca2+]i signaling in ECs exposed to oscillatory flow. Future work will further quantify and examine

functional consequences of altered [Ca2+]iâ€‹ signaling during different flows.


Title: Optimizing parameters for self-cleaning water filtration membranes

Student Presenter: Monica Chan

Faculty Advisor: Weavers, Linda

Abstract: Water filtration membranes selectively remove contaminants by physical and chemical

mechanisms. These membranes foul when particle accumulation develops a layer on the membrane

surface or in pores that results in decreased flux. Since fouling necessitates costly and time intensive

cleaning processes, finding methods to clean membranes is critical. Sonication is a common technique

for membrane cleaning that uses external ultrasound to generate cavitation bubbles that clean

membrane surfaces. Previous work has shown that membranes made of piezoelectric materials inhibit

fouling by generating ultrasound when alternating voltage is applied. During voltage application,

membranes vibrate and release ultrasonic pressure waves, inhibiting formation of a fouling layer. In this

work, porous lead zirconate titanate (PZT) membranes were synthesized and operating parameters

were optimized for fouling inhibition. A dead-end filtration system was used with a dispersion of latex

particles as a model foulant. Trans-membrane pressure and frequency were varied to determine a

membrane's self-cleaning capability. COMSOL modeling was used to determine how membrane

vibrational modes vary with frequency. In all cases, membranes produced a high rejection of latex

particles (>99%). Under several trans-membrane pressures, the flux under fouling conditions stayed

above 95% of the original flux over seven hours. The self-cleaning efficacy was found to improve at 70.0

kHz compared to 90.1 kHz, indicating a dependence on the membrane's vibrational modes in relation to

how the membrane was sealed in the experimental setup. The development of these self-cleaning

membranes will improve efficient use in water treatment by eliminating the need for external sonication

and reducing filtration disruption time.


Title: Probing therapeutic resistance with a 3-D microfluidic model of the tumor stroma

Student Presenter: Jonathan Chang

Faculty Advisor: Song, Jonathan

Abstract: Cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs), a dominant cell type of the tumor microenvironment,

have been shown to mediate cancer aggression. Additionally, loss of the tumor suppressor gene

phosphatase and tensin homolog (PTEN) in CAFs promotes cancer progression and therapeutic

resistance. Preliminary experimentation found that PTEN deleted CAFs are able to decrease the

hydraulic permeability of their surrounding microenvironment in comparison to wild type CAFs. Our

experiments also showed that this decrease occurs without alteration of the matrix fiber structure, thus

suggesting a potential biochemical effect to PTEN deletion. We hypothesized that the decrease in

hydraulic permeability was due to increased secretion of hyaluronan by the CAFs and increased activity

of AKT, a protein kinase upregulated in the absence of PTEN. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to

utilize a 3D microfluidic model of the tumor stroma to investigate the underlying cause behind this

decreased hydraulic permeability and to search for potential therapeutic treatments to combat the

effect of PTEN deletion. Pancreatic PTEN deleted and wild type CAFs were both suspended in collagen

gels and injected into microfluidic devices. The CAFs were maintained in our in vitro system using media

supplemented with drugs of interest. The two drugs used in this experiment were hyaluronidase and an

AKT-inhibitor. To measure hydraulic permeability, a fluorescent tracer dye was flowed through the

system using an applied pressure difference. Then, the flow speed was extracted from time-lapse videos

of the dye and used in Darcy's equation to calculate hydraulic permeability. As a result of these drug

treatments, we were able to increase and restore the matrix hydraulic permeability of the PTEN deleted

CAFs to levels comparable to the wild type CAFs. These findings help identify decreased hydraulic

permeability as an important biomarker for therapeutic resistance and suggest a direction for the

development of future treatments.


Title: Temperature Dependent Low Frequency Noise of Few Layer MoS2 Grown by Chemical Vapor

Deposition

Student Presenter: Junao Cheng

Faculty Advisor: Lu, Wu

Abstract: The low frequency noise refers to the noise of the device generated below 100 kHz. The

characteristics of such noise performance is especially important for devices based on low dimensional

semiconductors such as MoS2 because of their high surface to volume ratio. Here in our study, two-

terminal few layered MoS2 device with ohmic source and drain contact was fabricated to study the

channel material noise performance in relevance to the device transport mechanism. We investigated

the temperature dependent (55K to 300K) noise performance from 10Hz to 2000Hz of the device with

standard noise measurement process including use of SR570 as a preamplifier, Agilent E4440A as noise

spectrum analyzer. The results showed 1/f noise dependence with 0.5V to 5V biasing conditions. From

65K to 180K, the device transport was dominated by electron hopping as normalized power spectrum

density (Sv/I2) is proportional to T-3/2. The overall trend of regional fit corresponds to the dipolar model

of Kozub due to the fluctuation of hopping site energy. The fluctuations are related to changes of local

potentials due to electron hopping within some pairs of sites defined as hopping fluctuator. From 180K

to 300K, the transport mechanism changed into thermally activated band transport with mobility

fluctuation mechanism dominated noise mechanism. This is proved by the slope of log-log plot fitting to

SV vs Id at each temperature. Also, we observed a ubiquitous trend of "W" shape dependence of noise

power spectrum density with regards to temperature variations. As the mobility fluctuation of the

device was confirmed, such phenomenon would be understood as the change of scattering events

probability with the change of temperature. In conclusion, such findings would be applied to the further

design considerations of device and circuit design in considering the physical limit of signal strength to

be applied to the system.


Title: Corneal biomechanics as a function of race

Student Presenter: Preethi Chidambaram

Faculty Advisor: Roberts, Cynthia

Abstract: Corneal biomechanical properties are known to vary across age, gender, and race, evaluated in

donor eyes. This study aims to explore the differences in corneal biomechanics between different races,

in vivo, using corneal deformation response to an applied air puff with the CorVis ST. This preliminary

study focuses on young normal subjects, ages 18-30. Thus far, 23 South Asian subjects have been

prospectively enrolled, and three measurements were taken of each eye with the CorVis ST, as well as

Pentacam, Ocular Response Analyzer (ORA), Goldmann Applanation Tonometer (GAT), and Pascal

Dynamic Contour Tonometer (DCT). The subjects were compared to an existing database of CorVis

exams from Italian and Brazilian subjects, matched by biomechanically corrected IOP, central corneal

thickness, and age. The stiffness parameter (SP), corneal velocity, and deformation amplitude were

compared between groups. Greater stiffness is associated with greater resistance to deformation.

Therefore, a stiffer cornea would have a lower velocity and smaller deformation amplitude. T-tests were

performed between groups for each of these parameters using Statistical Analysis Software (SAS).

Significant differences (p<0.05) were found between the South Asian subjects and the Italian/Brazilian

subjects with regards to SP, corneal velocity, and deformation amplitude. South Asian subjects had a

higher stiffness parameter, lower velocity, and smaller deformation amplitude. These results are

consistent with each other, and show that South Asian corneas exhibit stiffer behavior. These results are

notable because these differences in corneal biomechanics by race are evident even in a young

population. Corneal biomechanical properties affect the accuracy of IOP measurements, disease

development, and response to surgery, so further exploring corneal biomechanical differences by race

could be very valuable.


Title: Development of DNA origami nanostructures for therapeutic nucleic acid delivery

Student Presenter: Amjad Chowdhury


Abstract: Complete human genome sequencing and the discovery of epigenetic gene regulation have

greatly increased the potential of nucleic acid (NA) therapy. However, unlike small molecule drugs, the

size and charged backbone of NAs prevent transport across the cell membrane, consequently creating

the need for novel delivery strategies. Here, we present the design and validation of a nanostructure

fabricated using DNA origami techniques that is capable of delivering NAs over broad length scales. DNA

origami is the self-assembly of DNA into custom structures with high programmability. These structures

have recently demonstrated favorable properties like stability and low toxicity for applications in

physiological systems. Furthermore, their compact size and precise geometry allow DNA origami

structures to enter cells via specific uptake mechanisms, namely endocytosis. The first iteration of our

structure contains single-stranded DNA (ssDNA) "overhangs" ~30 bases in length on its surface that

encode a sequence complementary to microRNA (miRNA): short regulatory ssRNA that are often

overexpressed in diseased cells. We first demonstrated successful sequestration of the oncogenic

miRNA-155 in solution in a selective manner using our nanostructures. We further showed that the

addition of ssDNA overhangs does not adversely affect passive uptake of the nanostructure into cells.

Currently, sequestration efficacy in a model cell line is being evaluated using a bioluminescent Luciferase

assay. The second iteration of our structure contains overhangs to load an ssDNA viral vector ~ 1000

bases in length for gene delivery using an adenovirus-associated vector containing the GFP reporter

gene. Currently, we are optimizing the surface distribution and sequence of overhangs on our structures

to maximize vector loading on the nanostructure. In the future, we plan to integrate the ability to target

these nanostructures to specific cells via incorporated antibodies and develop methods to deliver

combinations of multiple NAs and other drugs to enable more robust therapies.


Title: Partial oxidation of syngas using a novel thermokinetic model

Student Presenter: Tyler Christeson

Faculty Advisor: Fan, Liang-Shih

Abstract: The OSU methane-to-syngas chemical looping process system has been shown to reduce

natural gas consumption by 23% over a baseline system using auto-thermal reforming for 50,000 barrels

per day in liquid fuel production. These dramatic reductions in natural gas flows have been proposed

based on a Gibbs-Free energy minimization algorithm and bench-scale studies and further scale-up to a

25 kWth sub-pilot plant is in progress. This study focuses on developing a more robust predictive model

that includes combined kinetics and thermodynamic equilibrium modeling. The thermo-kinetic model

utilizes Gibbs-Free energy minimization for the thermodynamic aspect, while the kinetic component is

modeled using the Unreacted Shrinking Core Model (USCM). The overall model is coded in MATLAB,

then imported and simulated in ASPEN custom modeler. The overall model will be verified using moving-

bed experiments and will allow for better risk management in scaling up the process as a whole.

Reducing the risks in technology gaps using a thermo-kinetic model associated with process scale-up will

ensure that the methane-to-syngas chemical looping process system runs at the predicted efficiencies

from the thermodynamic modeling.


Title: Convenience for passengers in airport terminals during construction periods

Student Presenter: Adam cincione


Abstract: Each year millions of travelers utilize airports in the United States. In order to accommodate

the volume of travelers, airport terminals have evolved to become nearly luxurious places for

passengers to await their flights. In order to facilitate these changes, the Federal Aviation Authority has

established strict guidelines to ensure the safety of travelers. In order for airports to continue to follow

maintain these standards construction has become a continuous part of airport operations. Our project

goal is to make airport terminals more convenient for travelers during a construction period. We will

begin with research on when construction is necessary, followed by our in-depth research on how to

make it convenient, efficient and safe for travelers to move about terminals (i.e. wayfinding, baggage

claim, check in/check out, noise, etc.). Under the guidance of the faculty assisting in our research we will

be able to collaborate with airport consulting groups and airport managers to determine what the

current process is for construction and how it can be improved. We hope to sustain the same amount of

business and convenience for airports under construction as when the airport is operating normally. If

our research proves to be sustainable it could be implemented at airports throughout the country.


Title: Converting ammonia to fuel cell grade hydrogen using chemical looping

Student Presenter: Kate Clelland

Faculty Advisor: Fan, L.S.

Abstract: Currently, 81% of the energy consumed by the United States was generated by fossil fuels,

resulting in annually increasing CO2emission. As the energy usage continues to increase, the effects of

the release of CO2 as well as other greenhouse gases will also increase. A simple way to move away

from increasing the release of these greenhouses gases is to use carbon-free fuel sources, such as

hydrogen fuel cells. One current technology for hydrogen generation is catalytic ammonia cracking.

Ammonia is readily produced at an industrial scale and can potentially produce 1.5 moles of hydrogen

per mole of ammonia. Currently, the cracking of ammonia is costly and inefficient as well as operated

under high temperatures of 700-1100°C. In order to reduce operating temperatures and cost and

to produce hydrogen more efficiently in auto-thermal conditions, a novel chemical looping process is

utilized by feeding in ammonia and steam as well as a metal oxide. This system was simulated using two

RGIBBS reactors in the AspenPlus v8.0 software to validate thermodynamic results. Testing included

simulating different temperature and pressure based operating conditions in each of the reactors as

well as varying the relative amount of metal oxide, amount of steam fed to the system and heat

integration strategies. This testing resulted in thermal efficiency of >80% for various cases at wide range

of solids fed to the system, operating temperatures, and operating pressures as well as a conversion of

ammonia to hydrogen of >99%. The theoretical results of this project confirm that cracking ammonia to

create hydrogen is a viable option for a widely available carbon-free energy source for the future.

Additionally, this process may be utilized to convert other carbon neutral liquid fuels such as hydrazine

hydrate and carbohydrazide to produce hydrogen without carbon emissions.


Title: Sex-specific relationships of brain atrophy with age for determining age specific risk of subdural

hematoma

Student Presenter: Bernard Cook

Faculty Advisor: Kang, Yun Seok

Abstract: Elderly persons have a marked increase in injury susceptibility to subdural hematoma (SDH).

Decreasing brain parenchymal fraction (BPF) with age may lead to an increase in unfavorable outcome

of stated injury. The purpose of this study was to develop sex-specific relationships of BPF with age that

permits relating brain injury to SDH age-risk curves. Using the Alzheimer's Neuroimaging Initiative

(ADNI) database, 202 healthy (24≤MMSE≤30, CDR-SB=0; 107 female, 95 male, age

76.0±6.4 years) subjects' corrected 3.0T T1-weighted MRIs were analyzed using the default

settings of the "Segment" feature in SPM12 to obtain BPF. Corrected images have been altered with

post-processing algorithms to correct for image distortions arising from scanner coil properties and high

field strength. Correcting images permits inter-scanner comparisons by minimizing hardware biases.

Outliers were independently removed using a 1.5IQR univariate analysis. After outlier analysis, 5 images

had been removed for a total of 197 images. Linear regression was employed in MATLAB to fit each BPF-

age curve. Male and female samples yielded slopes of -0.0037/year (n=94, R2=0.29, p



Student Presenter: Wen Dai


























Title: Insert from reality: a schema-driven approach to image capture of structured information

Student Presenter: Mohit Deshpande

Faculty Advisor: Nandi, Arnab

Abstract: There has been a rapid rise in availability of cameras on smartphones and augmented reality

wearables such as Google Glass and Hololens. At the same time, computer vision (CV) techniques have

reached a point in quality where they can be considered a commodity. We pick up where optical

character recognition (OCR) leaves off - while current digitization methods provide error-prone

recognized text, our methods look into the creation of well-formed, schema-rich records from ad-hoc

images, ready to be inserted into a database. We call this system Insert from Reality (IFR). IFR uses CV,

natural language processing (NLP), and a heuristic model to extract structured information from images.

We use OCR to extract text and a layout detection algorithm to determine visual structure. Finally, we

use a heuristic model that combines text, visual layout, and user-provided data to generate a high-

quality INSERT statement. Evaluations against a real dataset show that IFR provides fast, high-quality

extraction of structured information from image data. The average processing time for an image is

2.119s, with most of the time devoted to OCR. Using precision and recall as quality metrics, overall, we

achieve 96% precision and 74% recall for the final INSERT statements generated by IFR. To measure

usability, we conducted a user study where participants completed data tasks with table instances

generated by our system and image instances which were the raw inputs to IFR. This study showed that

participants preferred tables over images and took less time using tables than images when completing

complex data tasks or data tasks with many instances. Given the large amount of structured information

present as physical media such as medical forms or invoices, IFR gives us tremendous opportunity to

extract this structured information from raw, unstructured images into a database. We will include a

demonstration of IFR.


Title: Designing a paired-site catalyst to improve the conversion of sterically hindered Meerwin-

Ponndorf-Veerly reactions

Student Presenter: Brian Diep

Faculty Advisor: Brunelli, Nicholas

Abstract: Increasing energy and material demands of requires the development of cheap and efficient

catalysts. Catalysts containing Sn are an attractive solution to this problem because of their ease of

synthesis, inexpensive reagents, and good performance as heterogeneous catalysts. These versatile

catalysts are able to catalyze useful reactions important to a variety of industries such as the Meerwin-

Ponndorf-Veerly (MPV) reaction and the isomerization of glucose to fructose, among others. However,

while these catalysts are inexpensive and easy to make, they often suffer from low conversions. Drawing

on inspiration from enzymes, a novel catalyst was synthesized to counter this problem. Some enzymes

contain a pair of metal ions in their active site that are able to effectively catalyze reactions such as the

aldo-keto isomerization of D-xylose to D-xylulose. This key design is adapted by synthesizing Sn-SBA-15,

a Sn-containing mesoporous silica catalyst, using a Sn-dimer in place of traditional SnCl4. The result is a

novel catalyst that has a paired Sn site as the active site. Though initial results looked promising, it was

found that through the initial hydrothermal synthesis method there was an insignificant difference

between paired and isolated site catalysts. However, further experimentation using isolated-site

catalysts that are synthesized through a post-synthetic method grafting indicate that they achieve

similar performance in the MPV reaction between 2-propanol and cyclohexanone and greater

performance in the more hindered MPV reaction with 2-methylcyclohexanone and 2-butanol. This result

introduces a new factor of active site availability that can be adapted into future designs. By extending

this synthesis method to paired site catalysts, there is a potential to create an improved catalyst that will

be able to more effectively perform in more difficult to catalyze sterically hindered reactions.


Title: Oxygen-sensitive electrosprayed core-shell polymer microparticles for biological applications

Student Presenter: Nicole DiRando


Abstract: The development of luminescent oxygen-sensitive core-shell polymer microparticles can

provide beneficial advantages to biological applications. The objective of this research is to create

optimal oxygen sensitive microparticles in an injectable form to detect hypoxic regions within tissue

indicative of areas of low oxygen concentration associated with tumor recurrence that often resists

traditional cancer treatments. Since oxygen quenches a luminescent output from oxygen-sensitive

molecules, decreases in oxygen concentration in biological tissue can be observed by an increased

fluorescent output; hypoxic regions can be correlated with the development of small tumors in tissue.

These luminescent oxygen-sensitive molecules typically require violet or blue excitation, which suffers

from poor tissue penetration due to high levels of absorption and scattering. Since near-infrared (NIR) is

tissue penetrating and excites upconverting nanoparticles (UCNPs) to create these blue or violet

wavelengths, UCNPs are incorporated in the microparticles to locally excite the oxygen-sensitive

molecule. Electrospraying solutions for the core and shell of the microparticles both consist of 1wt%

polysulfone (PSU) dissolved in a mixture of dichloromethane (DCM)/ hexafluoroisopropanol (HFP). The

core also contains the oxygen-sensitive dye and UCNPs. To avoid particle agglomeration, a dispersing

agent was added to the shell, and a bath sonication protocol developed. Electrospraying parameters

have been altered to obtain non-porous particles of uniform size distribution: core flow rate between

0.1-0.5mL/hr, shell flow rate between 0.5-1.5mL/hr, and a collection distance between 6.5-20cm. The

lack of agglomeration was confirmed through fluorescence microscopy, and scanning electron

microscopy used to compare particle morphology. Current work is focused on analyzing the leaching

behavior of the electrosprayed particles. Future work will focus on varying shell thickness to minimize

leaching and maximize the brightness of oxygen-sensitive emission. Overall, this research targets

development of optimal injectable microparticles that are oxygen-sensitive upon NIR excitation to locate

small hypoxic regions associated with early tumor recurrence.


Title: Design of a simulated moving bed reactor for the oxidative coupling of methane

Student Presenter: William Drees


Abstract: The Oxidative Coupling of Methane (OCM) process upgrades an abundantly available resource,

methane, into value-added products such as ethane and ethylene in a one-step reaction. OCM is

typically performed in a co-feed configuration where methane is fed directly with molecular oxygen over

a catalyst. However, this co-feed configuration permits molecular oxygen to be immediately available to

combust desired products to carbon oxides limiting product yields. As a result, a chemical looping

system appears attractive where a catalytic oxygen carrier is utilized to deliver oxygen to the process in

a more controlled manner. In a chemical looping system, the catalytic oxygen carrier is oxidized with air

in one reactor and then transported to a separate moving bed reactor to be reduced by methane. The

moving bed reducer reactor can be operated in a co-current or counter-current configuration which can

have a large impact on product yields as the catalyst composition and reactivity are dependent on its

degree of oxidation. The two different moving bed configurations were simulated using two fixed bed

reactors in series. These reactors contained catalytic oxygen carriers of different oxidation degrees to

represent the conditions for co-current and counter-current moving bed reactors. The yields from the

two configurations were compared to yield obtained from a single fixed bed reactor operated in redox.

This work will lead to a better understanding of the catalyst, OCM reaction, and moving bed reactor

design.


Title: Redesign of a bio-sand water filter mold for use in rural Africa

Student Presenter: Allen Drown

Faculty Advisor: Dzwonczyk, Roger

Abstract: Each day, millions of people become sick because they do not have access to clean drinking

water. One of the most common sources of water-related sickness is E. coli, which can come from

contamination by human or animal feces. A lack of understanding the importance of using potable

sources of water exacerbates this problem. Drinking this water can cause serious health issues for

infants and children. E. coli commonly causes diarrhea and fevers in adults. Exposure can be fatal if left

untreated. The problem is to create a mold that can be used by a common Ghanaian to make a water

filter that can be put in a household environment. Biosand filters are common around Africa. The

constraints were to create a mold that can use materials found in country at a price that a family can

afford. The filter must also be easily reproducible, so the mold can create multiple filters for the village.

A mold design from a non-profit was chosen to base the improved design on. Two prototypes of the

design were constructed and tested at The Ohio State University. This involved constructing the mold,

pouring the concrete, washing and sieving the sand, and testing the flow rate. This process was critical

for troubleshooting potential issues with in-country implementation. The group traveled to Akumadan,

Ghana to implement the design, and the process of using the filter was taught to the villagers. The mold

was given to the village water department to build the filters in the future. Testing on the filtered water

showed a reduction in the concentration of E. coli by 30% with 2 days of use of the filter. The filter is

expected to reduce E. coli by 80% after 30 days of use.


Title: Improved models of joined sheet metal beam structures for vehicle safety studies

Student Presenter: Kelley Dugan

Faculty Advisor: Singh, Rajendra

Abstract: This research is motivated by the practical need of the automotive industry to enhance

simulation technology for use in crash sensor calibration prior to the construction of a physical

prototype. Successful completion of this study should aid in developing connection models and damping

parameters for use in full-scale vehicle crash models. In particular, prior literature has suggested the

need to extend the frequency range up to at least 400 Hz for simulation technology. The purpose of this

research is to create computational (finite element) models of sheet metal beam structures that are

joined using spot welds and structural adhesives. Benchmark laboratory experiments are conducted to

assist with validation of the finite element model with emphasis on the connection properties. Dynamic

accelerations and forces (under impulsive loading) are measured to compare to the model predictions in

both the frequency and time domains. Parameters of the model that are examined include mesh size,

part thickness, contact, and interfacial damping models. Results show that the beam structures joined

with structural adhesives and spot welds can be idealized as having rigid connections with light damping.

Conversely, the beam structure joined via spot welds alone exhibits significantly higher damping due to

dissipation mechanisms within the interface. This on-going study will enhance the methodology of

connection modeling for joined structures used in civil, mechanical, and aerospace applications.


Title: Effects of compressive stress on the migration of glioblastoma cells

Student Presenter: Eileen Elliott


Abstract: The application of engineering principles and technologies to biological systems has enabled

the advent of new healthcare strategies. This research is focused on understanding the effects of

compression on the migration of brain tumor cells in vitro, as well as understanding the molecular basis

regarding this change. Compression in the brain arises due to the barrier formed by the cranium. As

intracranial pressure increases, due to a head injury or tumor, compression will increase. If left

untreated, compression of the brain can lead to the destruction of brain tissue and even death. Previous

studies have shown that increasing the compression on breast cancer cells has led to an increase in

migration. The increase in migration of cancer cells in comparison to somatic cells may explain a portion

of the invasive nature of cancer cells. To study the relationship between cell migration and compression,

different sized weights were placed on top of three types of glioblastoma cells and their migration

patterns were recorded. To assess cell migration and proliferation, a traditional wound healing assay

was employed, as well as 2D and 3D single cell migration assays which can evaluate multi-directional cell

movement. To complete the 3D migration assay, a hydrogel was engineered to mimic the specific

viscosity and elasticity of the environment around the brain. Increasing the pressure above 56 Pa of

compression causes a decrease in the migration of the glioblastoma cells. Lower pressures are currently

being investigated to determine at what point compression increases migration. Our long-term objective

from this research is to elucidate the effects of compressive solid stress on glioblastoma cell migration

to introduce drug interventions to prevent the migration of glioblastoma cells.


Title: Study of co-injection molding using a Hele-Shaw cell

Student Presenter: Matthew Ellison

Faculty Advisor: Koelling, Kurt

Abstract: Co-injection molding incorporates the use of two or more immiscible polymers to make a

singular part. Industrially, this process is accomplished by injecting one material within another to create

a skin and core combination. This allows for the creation of parts that combine desirable characteristics

such as rigidity and flexibility seen in products ranging from toothbrushes to phone cases. In addition,

this process is used to create plastics that combine virgin and recycled material without sacrificing

durability through degradation. In order to better understand the influence of viscosity and surface

tension in the co-injection process, a Hele-Shaw cell, consisting of two long plates separated by a narrow

gap is used to represent the 2-dimensional analog to the industrial process. Prior experimentation with

the Hele-Shaw cell was used to model the gas-assisted injection molding (GAIM) process where only one

plastic is injected into the mold followed by an air bubble to create a hollow part. This work was able to

characterize differences based on the rheology of the displaced fluid in the GAIM process as well as

determine the thickness of the coating at the end of the process based on a ratio of viscous to surface

tension forces. The goal of this project is to expand this model to include the co-injection process.

Testing analyzes the following variables: identity of the penetrating and displaced fluid, cell geometry,

surface tension and viscosity ratio between the penetrating and displaced fluids. Industrially, co-

injection is used to create a wide array of parts. Since these parts are costly to test individually, this

research will contribute to a better understanding and prediction of the fluid interaction within the

process and decrease process cost.



Student Presenter: Sarah Finello
















Title: Development of a formaldehyde exposure system for testing of residential measurement devices

Student Presenter: Paige Frey

Faculty Advisor: Dannemiller, Karen

Abstract: Development of a formaldehyde exposure system for testing of residential measurement

devices Paige Frey Faculty Advisor: Karen Dannemiller The Ohio State University January 2017 Abstract

Formaldehyde exposure is associated with eyes, nose, and throat irritation, as well as cancer.

Formaldehyde is present in the air of nearly all indoor environments because it is utilized in many

products present in homes such as pressed-wood structures, furniture and some clothing. Despite the

health concerns and ubiquity in living spaces, the typical home occupant or business owner has no easy

and affordable method to measure formaldehyde exposure levels. The overall goal of this work is to

develop an in-home formaldehyde measurement system that can be easily used by citizen scientists and

concerned citizens for less than $5 per measurement. Morphix Technologies currently sells colorimetric

badges that detect formaldehyde in occupational settings. These badges are being modified and tested

in order to improve usability in the residential environment and characterize the extent of color change

relative to the formaldehyde dosage. This project details the use of an exposure chamber to expose the

badges to several different concentrations of formaldehyde, ranging from 10-160 ppb. Through the use

of a permeation tube system, as chemical reactions occur within the badge, it changes color and

becomes darker. A SmartPhone App will be created to measure the color change to allow for in-home

formaldehyde readings. The blank samples resulted in 0.8 Hue Saturation and Value (HSV) before and

after exposure. As predicted, when exposed to 80 ppb and 160 ppb formaldehyde, the value reduced to

0.775 and 0.75 HSV, respectively. The feasibility of testing formaldehyde must be improved in order to

allow citizens across the entire population to measure their personal formaldehyde exposure levels and

understand how these may be affecting their health. The SmartPhone App developed by this research

will allow people to access this information readily and can empower citizen scientists to reduce their

indoor exposure to this harmful contaminant.


Title: Modularization strategy for syngas generation in chemical looping methane reforming systems

with CO2 as feedstock

Student Presenter: Charles Fryer


Abstract: This study considers a CO2 feedstock in conventional methane reforming processes (dry

reforming, mixed reforming, and tri-reforming) and metal oxide lattice oxygen based chemical looping

reforming in an attempt to minimize natural gas feedstock costs. Lattice oxygen from iron-titanium

composite metal oxide is identified to provide most efficient co-utilization of CO2 with CH4. A

modularization chemical looping strategy is developed to further improve process efficiencies using a

thermodynamic rationale. Modularization leverages the ability of two or more reactors operating in

parallel to produce a higher quality syngas than a single reactor operating alone while offering a direct

solution to scale up of multiple parallel reactor processes. Experiments are also conducted with various

reactor operating conditions validating the thermodynamic simulation results. Simulation and

experimental results ascertain that a cocurrent moving bed in a modularization system can operate

under CO2 neutral or negative conditions. The results for a modularization process system for 50,000

barrels per day of liquid fuel indicate a ~23% reduction of natural gas usage over a baseline case.

Modularization improves the commercial feasibility and domestic competitiveness of natural gas to

liquid transportation fuels technology compared to foreign oil while offering an immediate solution to

CO2 utilization.


Title: Automatically solving elementary school math word problems

Student Presenter: Reid Fu

Faculty Advisor: Ritter, Alan

Abstract: Solving math word problems is a long-standing challenge in natural language processing. Past

projects have used verb categorization and semantic graph building to solve addition and subtraction

problems. This project seeks to use these methods to solve multiplication and division problems as well.

The system uses information extracted from text to build a semantic graph. The semantic graph is

updated based on the category of the verb in the sentence. When all sentences have been processed,

the system builds equations from the semantic graph. The equations are then solved to obtain an

answer to the problem. We do not currently have preliminary results, but will have results by March

29th. Our contribution is two-fold: we extend modern methods to a broader problem domain, and we

collect a large dataset for future use.


Title: Replacing cables: intra-vehicular data broadcasting via the audio infrastructure

Student Presenter: Ahmed Almostafa Gashgash

Faculty Advisor: Koksal, Can Emre

Abstract: Intra-vehicular communication of sensor outputs and control unit signals are currently handled

via cables. Due to the weight and safety issues associated with cables, the automotive industry aims to

transfer as much signaling as possible to the wireless domain. However, wireless RF communication is

prone to jamming and eavesdropping. The wireless spectrum is also scarce, and issues with interference

and contention hinder reliable low-delay communication. To address these issues, we used the vehicle's

existing speaker system to communicate part of the intra-vehicular signaling. This approach uses the 18

- 23 kHz frequency range to transmit the sound signal, which is inaudible to the human ear. We designed

a digital communication system, composed of transmitters and receivers. On the transmission end, the

signal output that is originally connected to the cables, is encoded, modulated, and broadcasted through

the speaker. On the receive end, the targeted device is equipped with a small microphone to collect the

desired data signal, which is then demodulated and decoded accordingly. To reduce the error rate, we

implemented and tested different channel coding techniques, and achieved reliable transmission of data

at rates up to 2.2 kbps. We also implemented OFDM to further improve the data transmission rate. Our

approach reduces the usage of cables in vehicles, thus reducing their weight. It also uses the existing

audio infrastructure to provide reliable and safe communication without the use of wireless RF

transmissions.


Title: Encapsulation of anthocyanin in floating alginate-pectin hydrogel particles

Student Presenter: Celene Gielink

Faculty Advisor: Kaletunc, Gonul

Abstract: Anthocyanin is a natural colorant present in fruits and vegetables, providing red, blue or purple

color. Anthocyanin also has health benefits including anti-inflammatory, antioxidant and anti-

carcinogenic properties. Due to the instability of anthocyanins during processing and storage, research

continues for delivery methods to mitigate the effects of light, heat, oxygen, and pH on ACN.

Encapsulation in hydrogels has been investigated to protect anthocyanin until it reaches the small

intestine which is the most efficient location for epithelial tissue uptake. However, because some drugs

are absorbed in the stomach and the upper part of the small intestine, a longer gastric residence time is

desired to maximize their uptake. A blend of alginate and pectin was used to encapsulate ACN in

spherical particles that remain floating, or suspended, in food or beverage until it is consumed. These

particles maintain their integrity in the potential delivery vehicles of low pH beverage and in the

stomach. Floating particles would be evenly distributed inside the beverage container and would

contribute to the desired color due to the transparent nature of alginate-pectin hydrogel. The objective

of the study is optimization of particle production parameters so that particles stay suspended during

the shelf life of the beverage. Hydrogel particles were prepared by extrusion of alginate-pectin and

purple corn anthocyanin mixture into pH 1 buffer. Floating particles were produced by incorporating air

bubbles into the mixture placed in an ice bath by using a high shear mixer. After curing, the particles

were characterized by measuring their size under the microscope, and their density. Suspension

characteristics were monitored over a period of three weeks to develop a relationship between the

production parameters and buoyancy of the hydrogel particles. Lower solution temperatures and mixing

at high shear produced well distributed smaller air bubbles leading to longer suspension times.


Title: Investigating the dynamics of coupled multistable structures

Student Presenter: Benjamin Goodpaster


Abstract: Reliable aircraft components capable of operating in the extreme conditions of hypersonic

flight would have wide-ranging applications in the development of future commercial and military air

vehicles. A major obstacle to this objective is that the thin skin panels that compose aircraft structures

may warp into states with multiple static equilibria. These panels may then exhibit snap-through, or

high-amplitude oscillations between static equilibria, in consequence to the mechanical, thermal, and

acoustical loads experienced by aircraft traveling at hypersonic speeds. This "skin buckling"

phenomenon permanently deforms airframe panels and can lead to decreased flight performance

characteristics, increased wear on structural components, decreased structure life, and catastrophic

failure in extreme circumstances. While the steady-state dynamics of simple bistable structures have

been well characterized, it is unclear how to generalize this knowledge to a complex multistable

structure, such as a post-buckled aircraft panel. This research explores the skin buckling phenomenon

and attempts to gain a fundamental understanding of multistable structures in general by analyzing a

built-up multistable structure consisting of coupled, bistable beams. Experimental parametric studies

are conducted on this structure to investigate the relationships among structural parameters, degree of

coupling, and excitation characteristics. Numerical analysis, performed in parallel with the experiments,

is used to compare predictions of the dynamic behaviors to the observations. The results of this

research will be used in order to gain insight into how best to design future airframes to reduce or

eliminate the negative effects that skin buckling imposes on hypersonic vehicles.


Title: LongQt: a cardiac electrophysiology simulation platform

Student Presenter: Daniel Gratz

Faculty Advisor: Hund, Thomas

Abstract: @page { margin: 0.79in } p { margin-bottom: 0.1in; line-height: 120% } Mathematical modeling

has been used for over half a century to advance our understanding of cardiac electrophysiology and

arrhythmia mechanisms. Notably, computational studies using mathematical models of the cardiac

action potential (AP) have provided important insight into the fundamental nature of cell excitability,

mechanisms underlying both acquired and inherited arrhythmia, and potential therapies. Ultimately, an

approach that tightly integrates mathematical modeling and experimental techniques has great

potential to accelerate discovery. Despite the increasing acceptance of mathematical modeling as a

powerful tool in cardiac electrophysiology research, there remain significant barriers to its more

widespread use in the field, due in part to the increasing complexity of models and growing need for

specialization. To help bridge the gap between experimental and theoretical worlds that stands as a

barrier to transformational breakthroughs, we present LongQt, which has the following key features:

Cross-platform, threaded application with accessible graphical user interface. Facilitates advanced

computational cardiac electrophysiology and arrhythmia studies. Does not require advanced

programming skills.


Title: Robotics project leveraging the Arduino microcontroller platform to improve attitudes toward

engineering through a design experience for middle school students

Student Presenter: Clayton Greenbaum

Faculty Advisor: Anderson, Betty Lise

Abstract: Introducing students to the engineering design process through a hands-on experience similar

to a college level Makeathon can expose them to the basic principles of engineering and provide a

positive, tangible experience to reinforce lessons and improve attitudes toward reaching a career in

engineering. The K-12 Outreach program within the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering

frequently engages students with guided, hands-on engineering activities that expose students to

engineering design and provide a positive, tangible experience working toward a predetermined

outcome. The aim of this project was to build upon the efforts of the K-12 Outreach program by

teaching students some fundamentals of the design process prior to engaging them in an open-ended

robotics design project. Leveraging recent trends in the hobbyist community to make computer systems

and programming more accessible to middle school students, the project used an Arduino based

microprocessor platform and the Snap! programming environment to enable easy access to a robotics

project. The process involved: teaching students in the engineering design process; guiding students

through a series of group activities to reinforce the design lessons; mentoring students through a design

project, which applied the lessons learned. Eighteen students in grades 6-8 were recruited to participate

in the camp. Working in teams of three, the students planned, constructed, and programmed six

different interactive robots instrumented with actuators and sensors. This project engaged students in

the engineering design process and encouraged critical thinking habits; these skills are an increasingly

important part of the twenty-first century economy, not only will they prepare students for the jobs of

the future, but they will also prove to be an indispensable basis for solving the grand challenges of the

century.


Title: Converting coal to value-added products in a dual-modular chemical looping system with 100%

carbon efficiency

Student Presenter: Gabrielle Grigonis

Faculty Advisor: Fan, L.S.

Abstract: Developing technologies which increase carbon dioxide utilization to decrease emitted carbon

dioxide from the system are of particular interest to science and engineering. Coal is an abundant and

inexpensive carbon source which can be converted to chemicals and liquid fuels to increase the nation's

energy supply. Syngas is an intermediate fuel gas, comprised mostly of carbon monoxide and hydrogen,

which can be generated by coal-gasification. Conventional technologies utilize air separation units to

supply oxygen for oxidizing coal, which are costly and carbon inefficient. The chemical looping system

offers a less expensive alternative for coal gasification by co-injecting an iron-titanium complex metal

oxide (ITCMO) as the oxygen source with steam and CO2. The ITCMO is reduced in the reducer reactor

when gasifying coal, and the lattice oxygen is replenished in the combustor reactor for recycling. The

chemical looping process, in which thermodynamics dictates the favorability of the reactions and

provides operating limitations, is simulated and analyzed using ASPEN PLUS process simulation

software. This research found dual modular configurations for which a coal to chemicals/liquid fuels

process may be thermodynamically operated at 100% carbon efficiency. This project has the potential to

re-introduce a carbon dioxide stream to the two modular system from the output stream. Experimental

studies are in progress to verify the simulated advantages in syngas purity, reduction of carbon dioxide

emission, and reduction of cost for coal to syngas systems.


Title: VFA spot welding of Aluminum 5052 and Steel DP590

Student Presenter: Jiahui Gu

Faculty Advisor: Daehn, Glenn

Abstract: Reliable bonding between aluminum and steel, which is significant for light weight design of

automotive, is a major challenge faced by the industry. The goal of this research is to further develop an

applicable and repeatable spot welding process using Vaporized Foil Actuator (VFA), which reduces the

energy cost per weld by approximately 90% as compared to state of the arc resistance spot welding. This

process can create a solid-state impact weld between steel target and aluminum flyer, propelled by

highly kinetic gas generated from electrical vaporization of another conductor. The gap needed to allow

for acceleration of the flyer sheet is created by pre-deforming a concavity in the steel target. The

diameter of the concavity also determines the size of the spot weld. The team designed new die and

punches with controlled pre-deformation profile for target material to create welds which have similar

size as a resistance spot weld. Increasing repeatability and minimizing the amount of intermetallic

compounds formed at the interface were also major objectives of the project The lap shear testing of

welds revealed that the weld is stronger than the parent aluminum as the failure occurred outside the

welded region. The diameter of the weld spot can be reduced to 9mm with 1.2kJ energy required per

weld from 14mm which required 2.5kJ of input energy. With controlled target deformation profile and

material surface condition and modified equipment setup, the quality and repeatability of the weld was

improved. New designs of process are undergoing based on data collected to improve the feasibility and

robustness of the manufacturing process. The VFA spot welding can be widely used for welding of

dissimilar metals. Furthermore, VFA welding, being a cold-welding process, creates no heat-affected

zones and the sensitive microstructure of engineered alloys can be mostly preserved in the welded

region.


Title: Replicability of classification procedures for microarray gene expression data

Student Presenter: Dinank Gupta

Faculty Advisor: Yousefi, Mohammadmahdi

Abstract: Many recent cancer diagnosis and prognosis studies have suggested that gene expression

profiles, such as microarrays and RNA-seq data, may serve as reliable detectors/predictors of several

cancers or their outcomes. To discover these clinically useful biomarkers, a preliminary study with a

small set of specimens is conducted, then a statistical analysis or machine learning procedure is carried

out and if the results are satisfactory, a follow-on study with a large set of samples is conducted to

validate the findings. Unfortunately, it has been estimated that as much as 75% of published biomarker

results are not replicable. The objective of this research was to determine the replicability of

classification procedures applied on microarray-gene expression data and to estimate the specimen size

that would ensure that results from a biomarker designed on a preliminary study will be consistent on a

follow up study. Multiple classification procedures using rules such as LDA, SVM, Random Forest and K-

NN and error estimators like bootstrapping, cross-validation and LOO were implemented on emulated

microarray-gene expression data. Then statistical inference was applied on the results from these

procedures to find their replicability. Results from the simulations showed a correlation between

number of preliminary sample size and replicability of a classification procedure. An estimate of the

preliminary sample size that would ensure certain level of replicability was also found. Future research

work involves finding replicability of classification procedures applied on RNA-seq data.


Title: Modeling microbial growth in carpet dust under diurnal variations in relative humidity

Student Presenter: Sarah Haines


Abstract: People spend 90% of their time indoors where resuspension of floor dust serves as a major

source of human exposure. Studies have shown that when the relative humidity (RH) is elevated

microbial communities grow at an exponential rate. It is still unknown however how diurnal variations in

RH will affect this growth. The purpose of this work is to demonstrate how fungal and bacterial growth

in house dust can be modeled using the "time-of-wetness" (TOW) concept from fungal growth on

drywall. The TOW concept demonstrates that as the TOW of the dust increases so too does the relative

growth rate of fungi and bacteria. To begin this experiment carpet was collected from 6 homes across

Ohio, cut in to 10 cm x 10 cm squares and embedded with dust from the same home. Three squares

from the same home were placed inside an incubation chamber with data loggers and a salt solution to

regulate RH for two weeks. RH was maintained at 50% and then increased to either 85% or 100% for a

period of 0, 6, 12, 18 or 24 hours per day. The carpet was hydroscopic as indicated by the fact that after

6 hours at 50% the RH did not lower to 50%, but instead maintained at around 70% to 80%. Quantitative

polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) was performed on all dust DNA extractions from the carpet. These

measurements revealed that the relative growth rate fit the TOW model within the determined Pearson

Correlation Coefficient of 0.897. We will continue to collect up to 20 homes to include in this study.

Ultimately, this data can be used to accurately model fungal growth in housing based on moisture and

can be utilized in public health, policy, and epidemiological models.


Title: Targeted drug delivery for leukemia with DNA origami nanostructures

Student Presenter: Laura Heyeck


Abstract: An estimated 600,000 Americans will die from cancer in 2017. Acute myeloid leukemia (AML)

is a particularly deadly form of cancer, with a five-year survival rate of only 26 percent. Chemotherapy,

currently the frontline treatment method, has two main limitations: cancer cells can develop drug

resistances and the drugs harm healthy cells as well as cancer cells. Currently no FDA-approved targeted

therapies exist for AML. The purpose of this project is to develop an effective nanoparticle based cancer

drug delivery device that can target and destroy AML cells. DNA nanostructures have recently garnered

attention as a novel method for cancer drug delivery due to the precise control they allow over

nanostructure geometry. It has recently been shown that when daunorubicin, a drug widely used to

treat AML, is attached to DNA nanostructures, the nanostructures allow the drug to circumvent

developed drug resistance in cancer cells. Therefore, we hypothesize that building a targeted version of

these DNA drug delivery devices could lead to an effective treatment for AML and other cancers. We

developed a method that uses the specificity of antibody-antigen interactions to use DNA origami to

target CD33 antigens on HL-60 AML cells. We utilized the highly precise geometry of DNA origami to

attach anti-CD33 antibodies to specific locations on a nanostructure, to prevent non-target cell

interactions. Fluorescent microscopy experiments showed that when the anti-CD33 antibody is attached

to a DNA nanostructure, without cancer drugs and in the presence of other cell types, the nanostructure

preferentially bound to the cell membranes of HL-60 AML cells. We are currently attaching daunorubicin

to the DNA nanostructures to determine the efficacy of this platform. These promising targeting results

suggest DNA origami has strong potential as a cancer drug delivery device that can potentially

simultaneously circumvent drug resistance and target cancer cells.


Title: Construction of efficient models for turbomachinery with cracks using X-Xr and BAA

Student Presenter: Tianyi Hu

Faculty Advisor: D'souza, Kiran

Abstract: Analysis of the influence of cracks on turbomachinery is important for design, failure prognosis

and structural health monitoring. However, predicting the dynamics of turbomachinery with cracks is

relatively challenging because the size of industrial turbomachinery models are typically quite large

since they need to capture the complex geometry. The large model size combined with the nonlinearity

due to the cracks in the turbomachinery requires a considerable computational effort. To deal with this

difficulty, an efficient method to build reduced order models (ROMs) for turbomachinery with cracks is

developed. This technique employs the relative coordinates to describe the motion of the crack surface

and is referred to as X-Xr approach. The relative coordinates are defined as the relative displacements

between contact pairs along the crack surface. The matrices of the governing equations are divided into

the relative and pristine components. Due to the specialized form of the X-Xr approach, the ROM of the

turbomachinery with a crack is constructed from models of the cracked and pristine sector models

alone, without the need for constructing the full stage model of the system, and thus greatly lowering

the computational expense. The bilinear amplitude approximation (BAA) is combined with the ROM to

quickly estimate the forced response of the piecewise-linear nonlinear system using linear analysis. The

X-Xr method has been used on a turbomachinery model with a crack to lower the size of the model from

approximately 80,000 degrees of freedom to approximately 200 degrees of freedom. In addition to the

ROM matching the modal properties of the full-order system, the forced response analysis from using

the ROM with BAA has also been shown to match the full-order nonlinear result. The work presents a

way to create a ROM that can be used to analyze turbomachinery with cracks at a fraction of the time

that is needed for the full-order analysis.


Title: Variable stiffness robotic arm for safe human-robot interaction using layer jamming

Student Presenter: Carter Hurd

Faculty Advisor: Su, Haijun

Abstract: Soft robotics is an important frontier in robotics research. Due to the high compliance of soft

robots, they can be extremely durable, less likely to damage the surrounding environment, and much

safer for use around humans. These attributes are particularly desirable for "co-robots," or robots which

share their workplace with people. However, soft robots lack the positional accuracy and load

capabilities of traditional rigid robots. As such, there is a desire to create robots which combine the

capabilities of traditional ridged robots with the safety of soft robots. Previous research has

demonstrated a variable stiffness technology known as pneumatic-actuated layer jamming. The goal of

this project was to build to a variable-stiffness robotic arm utilizing this layer jamming technology to

achieve the precision and load capabilities of a traditional robot and the safety of a compliant soft robot.

To determine the best design for this arm, a test rig was set up to evaluate the stiffness of different layer

jamming samples. Samples of various designs and materials were tested, and positive relationship

between number of layers and maximum stiffness was observed. A configuration with a high maximum

stiffness was selected to give the robotic arm high load capabilities, and a prototype arm was built and is

being evaluated at this time. In the future, this type of robotic arm could safely work around humans by

adjusting its stiffness in real time to ensure that it is in a safe, flexible state when contact with a person

might occur.


Title: Quantification and analysis of carbon deposition on a catalytic oxygen carrier for oxidative

coupling of methane

Student Presenter: Kevin Ikeda


Abstract: The current commercial method of obtaining ethylene, a highly valuable product, through

steam cracking is highly process and energy intensive. An alternative way to obtain ethylene is through

the direct conversion of natural gas to ethylene in a one step process through oxidative coupling of

methane (OCM). A chemical looping scheme is an attractive mode of operation for OCM because of the

enhanced selectivity towards ethylene made possible by a catalytic oxygen carrier (COC). However, a

major concern for this process is carbon deposition, or "coking", which deactivates the COC by blocking

active sites. Coking may be prominent in an OCM system, as the reactor is operated with limited supply

of oxygen. Solid carbon compounds form and collect in the catalyst bed and is difficult to directly

measure because they are not present in the reactor gas outlet. The goal of this project is to identify and

quantify solid carbon formation using analytical techniques and to determine effects of carbon

deposition on the performance of our COC for OCM. To quantify the solid carbon formation, COC

samples were run for different time periods in the fixed bed reactor and analyzed using a carbon

analyzer. After quantification of carbon, X-ray diffraction analysis will be done to confirm the phase of

carbon on the COC. After preliminary tests, carbon was detected on both fresh and used COC. The

presence of carbon on unreacted COC indicates that other carbon compounds besides carbon

deposition may form. Evaluating the amount of carbon deposition and the existence of other carbon

compounds is the first step in learning how they form and a step toward reducing the amount of side

reactions to increase the yield of ethylene in our system. This is also helpful in indicating the upper

reaction time limit for our system before coking occurs.


Title: Scalable synthesis of micellar nanocomposites via liquid-liquid electrospray

Student Presenter: Megan Ireland


Abstract: The increased demand for micro/nano scale materials for biological applications (i.e. bio-

imaging and drug delivery) has led to an interest in furthering the current biomedical strategies.

Specifically, targeted drug delivery has been widely studied through utilization of polymer aggregates,

which can encapsulate therapeutic and diagnostic agents. However, the standard synthesis routes are

primarily limited to a small scale product volume. Therefore, a scalable synthesis method is desired to

achieve high volume production. The goal of this research is to utilize Liquid-Liquid Electrospray (LLE) to

produce quantum dot encapsulated nanocomposites, multidots, for cancer diagnostics. LLE is a semi-

continuous method which can atomize a dielectric, organic solvent in an aqueous solvent through the

establishment of an electrical field. This process can form stable emulsion droplets without the use of a

surfactant in the aqueous phase. The absence of surfactant is advantageous because high quality

particles can be obtained without purification steps. In this technique, the atomization of an organic

solution, including quantum dots and PS-PEO or its derivatives, into ultrapure water will generate

emulsion droplets and is followed by interfacial instability to promote the self-assembly of quantum dot

encapsulated micelles. Here, we report the effect of the charge of the end functionalization of the

polymer on the fluorescent decay of the multidot. Functionalization of the polymer is necessary for

bioconjugation of the multidot to a Her2 antibody, which is specific for receptors on breast cancer cells.

Bioconjugation for LLE synthesized multidots is in the process of being optimized in order to successfully

label a greater number of cancer cells.


Title: Semi-supervised flood mapping using crowdsourcing

Student Presenter: Peter Jacobs

Faculty Advisor: Parthasarathy, Srinivasan

Abstract: Flood mapping is the process of labeling the pixels of an aerial or satellite image of a flooded

geographic region as land or water. Fast and accurate production of flood maps is critical. Public safety

officials are responsible for coordinating relief efforts, and accurate flood maps serve as crucial guidance

in mobilizing resources. This project introduces a fast and simple semi-supervised learning solution for

flood mapping. The input image is first clustered into patches. Users then provide labels for a couple of

the patches, and finally K Nearest Neighbors is run to produce the flood map. One of the challenges

associated with using semi-supervised learning in this setting is how to quickly collect and efficiently

utilize externally provided labels. We develop a crowdsourcing web application that can be deployed in

a flood disaster. The application can quickly accumulate sufficient ground truth knowledge to generate a

high quality flood map given Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) data. Through experiments in an offline

setting using data from the 2015 Chennai, India flood, we show the efficiency and effectiveness of our

algorithm compared to existing techniques. To demonstrate the effectiveness of our method in an

online setting, we plan to introduce an image of a partially flooded area to a class of students using our

web application. The performance and accuracy of the flood map created will be compared to that of

baseline algorithms. This work demonstrates how human supervision can be collected conveniently and

utilized efficiently in a semi-supervised framework for creating flood maps. In a broader context, this

work is a proof of concept for using large scale human guidance to conduct semi-supervised image

segmentation.


Title: Modulation of platelet-collagen adhesion by DDR1

Student Presenter: Blain Jones

Faculty Advisor: Agarwal, Gunjan

Abstract: Platelet-collagen adhesion is primarily mediated through the binding of platelet receptors,

such as glycoprotein VI (GPVI) to collagen and GPIb to collagen-bound von Willebrand factor (VWF). The

role of non-platelet derived receptors in modulating platelet-collagen interaction is not well-understood.

Discoidin domain receptor 1 (DDR1) is a collagen-binding receptor tyrosine kinase that inhibits collagen

fibril formation and disrupts the native banded structure of collagen fibers. We have recently shown

how the adventitia of DDR1 KO mice exhibited collagen fibrils with larger diameters, and an increase in

the depth of D-periods as compared to their wild type (WT) littermates. The purpose of this study was to

examine if changes in the collagen fibril structure in the DDR1 KO vessel wall impact platelet adhesion

and the extent to which this is modulated by VWF vs. GPVI. Human platelet-rich plasma was incubated,

both with and without VWF or GPVI inhibitors, over aortic cross sections from DDR1 KO and WT mice

under static conditions. Platelet adhesion to the adventitia of the vessel wall was evaluated using

indirect immunofluorescence microscopy. Quantitative analysis of platelet adhesion to the adventitia

was carried out by analyzing the area of platelet particles per unit area of collagen. The results displayed

that DDR1 KO mice had greater platelet adhesion to adventitia than WT. Also, DDR1 knockout mice

showed greater inhibition than the WT mice in the presence of both VWF and GPVI inhibitors. We thus

elucidate that changes in collagen fibril ultrastructure impact platelet-collagen adhesion by altering the

number of VWF and GPVI binding sites available on collagen fibrils. This knowledge is important for

pathological conditions, such as atherosclerosis and aneurysms, where collagen is extensively

remodeled, and could lead to altered collagen fibril structure and thrombogenic events.


Title: The role of matrix stiffness in regulating matrix metalloproteinase activity of the tumor

microenvironment

Student Presenter: Kathryn Kaltenmark

Faculty Advisor: Leight, Jennifer

Abstract: Matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) are a family of proteolytic enzymes that enable cell-

mediated remodeling of the tumor microenvironment. MMP levels have been found to be upregulated

in almost all tumor types and have been shown to play a critical role in extracellular matrix remodeling,

basement membrane penetration, and eventually, tumor metastasis. It has been shown that matrix

stiffness increases with tumor progression, however, it has yet to be elucidated how mechanical cues

from the microenvironment such as matrix stiffness work to regulate MMP activity and how this activity

is spatially distributed. Recently, a mouse model has been developed which recapitulates tissue

stiffness, a characteristic of breast tumors, attributed to increased collagen and extracellular matrix

(ECM) deposition by stromal fibroblasts which is associated with increased tumor incidence and load.

We hypothesize that the increased matrix stiffness associated with tumor progression will enhance

MMP activity of stromal fibroblasts. To investigate this hypothesis, we are utilizing a poly(ethylene

glycol) hydrogel system functionalized with a fluorogenic MMP sensor to pursue two aims: 1)

visualization and quantification of in situ MMP activity and tissue stiffness in murine mammary tumors

and 2) encapsulation of isolated fibroblasts in hydrogels with precisely tuned stiffness. Preliminary

results indicate higher MMP activity in tumor tissue vs normal tissue and increased MMP activity in

stiffer hydrogels. A better understanding of the underlying mechanisms of the tumor microenvironment

will help lead to more effective cancer therapeutics.


Title: Evaluation of the effects of molybdenum on sulfur deposition in iron-based oxygen carriers for coal

direct chemical looping processes

Student Presenter: Blaise Kimmel


Abstract: Increasing demand of energy and global warming creates a challenging balancing case for fossil

fuel based power generation plants. While mature carbon capture technology is already developed, the

technology is often burdened with significant economic penalties. Coal direct chemical looping (CDCL) is

an oxy-combustion process at The Ohio State University that successfully utilizes a counter-current

moving bed and iron-based metal oxide oxygen carriers to capture carbon dioxide (CO2) without

incurring heavy costs. However, iron-based metal oxides in the CDCL processes are susceptible to the

formation of iron-sulfide (Fe-S) bonds, due to the presence of sulfur from coal. Sulfur deposition is

known to decrease the reactivity of oxygen carriers and reduce metal carrier performance. In this study,

molybdenum was investigated for its characteristics that preferentially enhance the adsorption of sulfur

when compared with iron-oxide. The goal of this study was to explore the effects of sulfur deposition

with varying mixed metal-oxide concentrations. Thermogravimetric (TGA) experiments were studied at

temperatures of 700ºC, 800ºC, and 900ºC with incremental iron-molybdenum ratios

of binary powder mixtures. A 1:20 mixed volumetric ratio of hydrogen to 500-ppm hydrogen sulfide

gases was utilized to reduce the binary mixture while encouraging sulfur deposition. X-Ray Powder

Diffraction (XRD) was employed to qualitatively analyze the formation of both molybdenum-sulfide and

iron-sulfide bonds. Experiments were conducted to assess the ability for molybdenum to selectively

inhibit sulfur deposition on iron in the binary mixture. Although further testing is necessary to scale up

the experiment, molybdenum has shown promise in slowing the formation of iron-sulfide bonds in CDCL

processes. Enhancement of environmentally friendly combustion processes may allow for a lessened

impact of fossil fuels and ultimately a more efficient utilization of coal-derived energy.


Title: Effect of elastic tensile strain on thermoelectric voltage generation in magnetostrictive materials

Student Presenter: Alexander Koenig

Faculty Advisor: Myers, Roberto

Abstract: Waste heat recovery (WHR) is an area of research that aims to increase efficiency in electrical

power generation and to reduce reliance on carbon-producing fuels. One approach to recovering the

energy in wasted heat involves utilizing thermoelectric devices that generate an electrical current in the

presence of a temperature gradient. This effect is known as the Seebeck effect and is observed in both

metals and semiconductors. Currently, semiconductors are almost exclusively used in thermoelectric

devices due to the larger magnitude of the effect, however they are expensive and difficult to integrate

into engines and heat exchangers for WHR. This work aims to optimize the power generation in

thermoelectric metal alloys that are more suitable for WHR. We hypothesize that the coupling of

magnetism with heat in magnetostrictive materials will enable an applied elastic strain to enhance the

thermoelectric effect. In this study, thermoelectric voltage in magnetostrictive iron-nickel dogbone

samples is measured under elastic strain. An apparatus capable of establishing and monitoring the

temperature gradient evolution and voltage generation within a load frame has been developed and

was successful in measuring the Seebeck voltage of an iron sample. The research is entering the next

phase, where iron-nickel samples will be tested in the setup under an applied strain. The result of this

study will provide insight on the effect of strain on Seebeck voltage and on metal thermoelectric alloys

in the pursuit of sustainable energy.


Title: Directing the self-assembly of multiple DNA nanostructures in a single reaction

Student Presenter: Vasiliki Kolliopoulos


Abstract: DNA origami is a programmable self-assembly technique that combines a single-stranded DNA

template, called a "scaffold," with hundreds of custom DNA strands, called "staples," to fabricate

nanostructures in a bottom-up assembly process. These nanostructures are designed with

unprecedented geometric precision and have promise for applications in cancer therapeutics,

biosensors, nanorobotics and more. Despite these promising applications, the DNA origami self-

assembly process is not well-understood, and only a few studies have explored detailed folding

pathways and mechanisms. In addition, many applications require the higher order assembly of multiple

structures, which is currently carried out in a multi-step assembly processes that leads to inefficient

formation of the multi-structure assembly. The aim of this work is to study the competitive self-

assembly of simultaneously folding two or more unique structures as a means to study detailed folding

mechanisms and pathways and to establish methods for the efficient assembly of complex higher order

assemblies. We tested the possibility of folding two structures with similar but distinguishable geometry,

in the same folding reaction where the staples for both structures compete for the same scaffold, and

we explored the effect of adjusting the staple concentration of each structure during folding. Knowing

one of the two structures is more energetically favorable, we chose to keep its concentration constant

while varying the concentration of the least favorable structure. By adjusting the staple concentrations

we can tip the balance toward formation of either structure and adjust relative yields. Interestingly, we

find that chimeras that form over a short timescale appear to revert to well-folded structures over long

time periods. These findings establish a foundation to assemble complex multi-structure assemblies in

one step, and this work advances the field of nanomanufacturing by establishing thermodynamic and

kinetic principles for the controllable and scalable self-assembly of an entire fleet of nanostructures

simultaneously.


Title: Refining freeway car-following models using high resolution vehicle data

Student Presenter: Sili Kong

Faculty Advisor: Coifman, Benjamin

Abstract: Car following theory seeks to model how drivers behave in congested traffic, but for the past

60 years, these conditions have been difficult to study empirically due to the to achieve due to the fine

precision of inter-vehicle spacing necessary compared to the large distance traveled per second. The

existing car following models assume a driver only responds to vehicles that are in his/her own lane.

Recent work by our group used point detectors to infer that there is a dependency on traffic conditions

in the adjacent lane; however, the point detectors can only show trends in aggregate (i.e., a finding

based on macroscopic data). The macroscopic data showed that as adjacent lanes travel slower that

drivers become more "conservative" (have a lower speed at given spacing). My research seeks to find

supporting evidence on the microscopic scale using data collected from a probe vehicle instrumented

with sensors similar to those used on autonomous vehicles to monitor the ambient traffic around the

probe. The research has focused on the speed-spacing relationship. Generally, drivers will exhibit

counter-clockwise trends in the speed spacing relationship- accelerating as spacing gets larger and

decelerating when spacing gets smaller. If a driver becomes more conservative, as predicted by the

macroscopic findings, then they should simultaneously move to a longer spacing while they are

decelerating, i.e., exhibit a clockwise progression in the speed-spacing plane. Generally, these events are

rare, requiring a large differential between adjacent lane speeds. So far, several candidate events have

been identified in the microscopic data, with in depth study of these events on-going


Title: Stimuli-responsive assembly of hierarchical DNA nanomaterials

Student Presenter: Anjelica Kucinic


Abstract: DNA origami is an emerging nanotechnology for fabrication of nanostructures with promising

applications in biosensing, drug delivery, and nanomanufacturing. This approach uses hundreds of

oligonucleotides (short pieces of single-stranded DNA, ssDNA) to fold a long ssDNA "scaffold" strand into

precisely designed nanoscale 3D geometries. Recent advances have enabled the design of complex

structures and actuated dynamic devices; however, the ability to design nanomaterials that respond to

cues in their local environment to carry out a complex function remains a challenge. This work seeks to

develop a framework for stimuli-responsive DNA material assembly based on dynamic hinge devices

with "cryptic" or hidden binding sites that are initially occluded. Our DNA hinge device consists of two

arms, which are bundles of double-stranded DNA (dsDNA), connected by flexible ssDNA connections.

The binding sites are on the internal side of each arm of the hinge nanostructure; hence, these sites only

become accessible for material assembly after the hinges are opened. The hinge can be designed to

open in response to specific trigger molecules using DNA aptamers. Once hinges are triggered to open,

binding between hinges is designed so they can assemble into a staggered geometry inspired by the

"brick and mortar" assembly of nacre, which is known to exhibit extraordinary mechanical properties.

Preliminary results include the design, folding, and characterization of the structure via gel

electrophoresis and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Effective closing of the device was also

confirmed via TEM. Our current work focuses on optimizing the triggering and higher order assembly

through strand displacement and polymerization. Future work includes using the RNA aptamer Macugen

to detect the vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF-165) responsible for Macular Degeneration in the

eye. Ultimately this type of stimuli-responsive material assembly system could be used in biosensing,

smart materials, therapeutics, or wound healing applications.


Title: Engineering out systematic oppression: disenfranchisement, discrimination, and defensible

methods for apportionment and allocation of election resources

Student Presenter: Jeremiah Lawson

Faculty Advisor: Allen, Theodore

Abstract: It has been statistically demonstrated that long lines at polling stations deter potential voters.

This research aims to demonstrate the use of optimization and simulation methods and software to

assist in the allocation of election resources. Voting resources typically are defined as voting machines,

poll workers, or ballot printers, depending on context. Legislation, and the political system, can have a

significant impact on whether potential voters succeed in casting their vote. For example, voter

identification laws, early voting and mail-in voting policies have significant effects on voter participation.

Historical examples of disenfranchisement, such as poll taxes and literacy tests, have been a barrier to

access. Contemporary analyses have shown that parameters like issue count, polling location, and, as

stated, election resource allocation, also contribute to the success or failure of any given election system

for a given citizen. I investigate data on some specific scenarios of the 2016 presidential election to show

that allocation simulation software was effective for the Franklin County Board of Elections. We hope

these results can serve as a benchmark for election officials beyond the state of Ohio and can be

implemented for future use, where appropriate.


Title: Mitigating impacts of acid mine drainage from legacy mining through secondary coal mining and

reclamation

Student Presenter: Bill Lazar

Faculty Advisor: Butalia, Tarunjit

Abstract: Coal secondary mining or remining is the mining of abandoned surface mine lands,

underground mine lands, and coal refuse piles existing prior to the Surface Mining Control and

Reclamation Act (SMCRA) in 1977. Remining operations remove acid-forming materials and extract coal

from selected areas. During remining, many of the problems associated with abandoned mine lands

(AML), such as acid mine drainage (AMD), dangerous highwalls, and daylighting of underground mines

can be corrected without the use of public funds. This study focuses on the Moxahala and Rush Creek

watersheds located in Perry and Muskingum County in southeast Ohio. The overall objective of this

study is to advance technologies and regulatory policies to mitigate AMD by collaborating with Ohio coal

mine operators and regulatory authorities to increase secondary coal recovery from discounted and

often ignored coal reserves. A Geographical Information System (GIS) served as the primary tool to

collect and analyze data on remaining and reminded highwalls, spoil pits, and current water quality in

local streams. Aerial photography from 1975 was used to collect information on features present during

that time and served as a historical benchmark prior to reclamation activities in the area. Aerial

photography from 2014 was used to collect the same information and served as a post remining

comparison. In addition to these, mining permit boundaries, AML project boundaries, and historic and

recent water quality data were implemented in GIS. Analysis of the features within these watersheds is

still ongoing and detailed quantitative results are soon to come. Data collection thus far shows progress

in the removal of dangerous highwalls and pits and in the improvement of water quality. This enforces

the fact that remining is making a difference on the well-being and restoration of watersheds impacted

by legacy mining during an era of lax regulation.


Title: Induction of magnetism by patterned deposition of iron oxide nanoparticles onto graphene

Student Presenter: Jong Ho Lee


Abstract: Nanoparticles exhibit unique properties because of their small size and have applications in

optical, electronical, and magnetic devices. Further, interfacing nanoparticles with two dimensional (2D)

surfaces could reveal novel and synergistic properties with potential to enhance their applications in

these fields. However, practical application of these composites requires controlled, scalable processes

for integration of nanoparticles with higher order constructs. Therefore, this research aims to develop

facile and controlled methods to generate nanoparticle-2D material composites. Emergent properties at

their interfaces are also be evaluated. SPION (superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticle)- graphene

interfaces are employed as a representative system. Graphene is a monolayer of graphite with excellent

electrical and thermal properties, but it is diamagnetic, that is, it lacks intrinsic magnetic ordering.

Magnetic ordering in graphene can be exploited for spintronic applications. To conserve its native

electronic properties, proximity based approaches for inducing magnetism in graphene are explored.

Thus, SPIONs are used to induce local magnetism in graphene, which could undergo long range

manipulation by ordered deposition of particles. Initially, SPIONs were deposited by direct deposition,

controlled dipping, and spin coating to study random deposition and solvent effects. To generate

ordered structures, SPIONs were encapsulated in micelles that can self assemble nanoparticles on

surfaces. Composite topography was analyzed using Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM). Properties of

SPIONs were determined through Transmission electron Microscopy (TEM), X-ray photoelectroscopy

(XPS) and SQUID (superconducting quantum interference device) analysis. Magnetic properties of these

composites are also being evaluated via Hall measurement to detect proximity induced effects. These

techniques could be used for other types of nanoparticles and 2D surfaces to induce novel properties.


Title: Flow induced corrosion

Student Presenter: Amanda Leong

Faculty Advisor: Zhang, Jinsuo

Abstract: Aluminum corrosion in the containment of nuclear reactor may have detrimental effects on

the performance of the emergency-core-cooling system. In a loss-of-coolant accident (LOCA), an

Emergency Core Cooling System (ECCS) is initiated to safely shut down the operation of a nuclear power

plant. Formation of precipitates due to aluminum corrosion may obstruct the flow of solution through

the sump screens while the solution is re-circulated in the nuclear core through ECCS. Flow-rate

influences the aluminum corrosion as it varies at different locations and operations in a nuclear

containment. Therefore, understanding the effects of flow on aluminum corrosion is significant. This

research project mainly focuses on the flow dependent corrosion of aluminum in a borate buffer

solution at different flow rates. Corrosion experiments will be conducted utilizing a three-electrode

electrochemical system in a glass cell. The in-situ changes of thickness and porosity of the film at

different flow rates can be monitored by the electrochemical impedance spectrometry measurements,

which can also provide useful information about the kinetics of electrode reaction and the adsorption of

species aluminum surface. Potentiodynamic polarization curves can be used to obtain the corrosion

rate, and investigate the kinetics of the occurring anodic and cathodic reactions on the aluminum

surface at different flow rates. Results have shown that it is possible to develop velocity dependent

correlations for aluminum corrosion which brings importance to understanding the overall precipitation

formation following a loss of coolant accident.


Title: Simulation of an iron-based three-reactor chemical looping gasification process for production of

syngas from coal

Student Presenter: Chunyi Li


Abstract: As an essential energy source, coal accounts for 40% of the worldwide power generation from

combustion of fossil fuels. Coal gasification provides an alternative to the traditional pulverized coal (PC)

combustion for power generation with higher thermal efficiency. In order to further improve and

economize the coal gasification process, a novel chemical looping gasification (CLG) technology was

developed at OSU. Compared with a conventional coal gasification processes, CLG further increases the

syngas yield and purity, reduces capital cost by eliminating the air separation unit and gasifier, and

lowers pollutant emissions. In this research, the iron-based three-reactor chemical looping coal

gasification process is investigated. This chemical looping technology utilizes a composite metal oxide as

the oxygen carrier circulating in three separate reactors to convert coal into high quality syngas, which is

then combusted to generate electricity in a gas-steam turbine combined cycle. ASPEN PLUS is used to

investigate the thermodynamic equilibria of the iron-oxygen-hydrogen, and the iron-oxygen-carbon

systems. Operating conditions, such as oxygen carrier composition, temperature, steam input in the

reducer and oxidizer, and air input in the combustor, are varied to achieve the maximum syngas

conversion for an auto-thermal operation. Preliminary results of the CLG system suggest a significant

increase of 11.6-45.1% in syngas yield per unit amount of coal compared to conventional processes.

Next, the three-reactor system will be modified to achieve full oxidization of coal in the reducer,

producing a high purity H2 stream from the oxidizer. The simulation results will provide insights of

thermodynamic trends of the CLG process for further reactor design and operation.


Title: Shaping sound and silence: a study of foldable, origami-inspired transducer arrays for guiding

acoustic wave energy

Student Presenter: Danielle Lynd


Abstract: Conventionally, arrays of acoustic transducers, like microphones or speakers fixed in position,

are used to guide acoustic energy through active phase delays and amplitude differences between the

individual transducers. These acoustic arrays are called beamformers, and they are used in numerous

applications including ultrasonic imaging, cellphone communications, and community alert systems.

Conventional beamformers are challenged in their ease of implementation, computational complexity,

and portability due to the number of transducers that are required to achieve substantial acoustic

energy steering. To explore a means to bypass such challenges, this research investigates origami-

inspired acoustic arrays that leverage the large shape change of foldable origami patterns for simple and

large control of acoustic wave energy: a new concept termed acoustic beamfolding. This concept has

distinct advantages over conventional beamformers, including decreased computational complexity,

increased portability, and ease of implementation. This research seeks to characterize how foldable

tessellated arrays and folding behaviors affect the guiding of acoustic energy. First, various origami

patterns are chosen as bases for the arrays, as inspired by existing origami patterns in art and research

literature or as designed through computational optimizers. These origami patterns are then scored into

plastic sheets, while piezoelectric actuation materials are bonded to the resulting scored sheets. Driving

the piezoelectric materials with electrical signals causes the arrays to radiate sound. After experimental

characterization and computational study of the predicted radiated sound, the influences of different

designs and folding behaviors on the means to guide acoustic energy are uncovered. The results show

that acoustic beamfolding is a new idea to shape sound and silence, and may find application in

biomedical imaging, communications, and other contexts where conventional beamformers are in use.


Title: Human rib structural stiffness is not predictable by simplified global geometry

Student Presenter: Brianna Marselle

Faculty Advisor: Agnew, Amanda

Abstract: Thoracic injuries are extremely common, especially in motor vehicle crashes. The most

frequent injuries to the thorax are rib fractures. Geometric and material properties are known to

influence biomechanical responses of ribs. Previous studies have attempted to relate structural stiffness

to the global geometry of the rib. In particular, Holcombe et al. (2016) established a six parameter shape

model based on computed tomography scans of ribs from live adult subjects. They concluded that the

complex geometry of the rib could be simplified to only two parameters to successfully predict a

theoretical structural stiffness: overall end-to-end span length (Sx) and y-distance to the peak of the rib

(YPK). The objective of this study was to test the results of Holcombe et al.'s exercise utilizing real

experimental data. Two-hundred sixty whole human ribs were impacted in a 2D dynamic

anteroposterior bending test, and structural stiffness was calculated as the slope of the elastic portion of

the Force-Displacement curve. Sx and YPK were measured in ImageJ from still photos. Neither Sx or YPK

were able to predict rib stiffness with statistical significance (p = 0.44 and 0.08, respectively).

Furthermore, Sx could only explain 0.2% of the variance in stiffness, and YPK could only explain 1.2% of

the variance in stiffness. These findings do not support the conclusions of the geometric shape model

proposed by Holcombe et al. (2016), namely that simplified global geometry parameters alone can

predict realistic rib stiffness. Additionally, this research highlights the need to consider more

complicated models incorporating global geometry, as well as cross-sectional geometry and material

properties into explanatory models focused on rib biomechanical response. Ultimately, this information

can inform computational human body models to assess fracture risk in vehicle occupants.


Title: An experimental investigation of spin power losses of a turbofan gearbox

Student Presenter: Kyler McDonald

Faculty Advisor: Kahraman, Ahmet

Abstract: Planetary gear sets are commonly used in automotive, industrial and aerospace gearbox and

transmission applications as they provide certain advantages over their counter-shaft alternatives. Any

planetary gear set design must meet multiple requirements of size, weight, noise, load carrying capacity,

fatigue life, noise, and efficiency. Planetary gear set efficiency is dictated by two classes of power losses.

One class includes load dependent power losses that are induced by friction of contact interfaces and

they can be predicted using physics-based models. The other class includes load independent losses that

are due to interactions of the fluid with rotating gear components. These spin losses are transmission

specific and become significant at elevated speeds as in aerospace applications. This experimental study

aims at measurement of spin losses of a jet engine turbofan gearbox under realistic speed and

temperature and lubricant flowrate conditions. A dynamometer set-up that can operate a turbofan

gearbox at speeds up to 10,000 rpm will be developed. The set-up will be incorporated with a forced

lubrication system for delivery of lubricant to desired locations at specified flowrates. Torque provided

to the gearbox will be measured as a function of rotational speed to determine the spin losses of the

gearbox. Additional tests will be performed with subsets of the gearbox to quantify the contributions of

spin power loss components such as drag and gear mesh pocketing.


Title: Utilizing technology to increase airport efficiency

Student Presenter: Catherine McNutt


Abstract: How can airports utilize available and/or new technology in order to maximize efficiency? This

group plans to research how technology can be incorporated into all aspects of an airport including, but

not limited to, ticketing, checking baggage, and loading/unloading cargo. The group plans to research

how the postal service uses devices to track every location of a package, and find ways to implement it

within airports around the country. The plan is to also research, and implement, how the postal service

handles weighing and checking packages at home so they are immediately ready for pick up. The group

will also research the efficiency of implementing a baggage check-in checkpoint in the parking lot, and

using newer technologies to then transport the bags to the aircraft. Currently, most airline companies

utilize online check-in and ticketing processes, the group believes that the baggage claim process should

be equally as automated at the other places.


Title: The automated trolley problem

Student Presenter: Kurt Metz

Faculty Advisor: D'Arms, Justin

Abstract: Automated cars will soon be a viable option for personal use. Although it is reasonable to

expect that they will be involved in significantly fewer traffic accidents on average than other cars,

automated cars will not be able to prevent all crashes. This raises the issue of what actions an

automated car should take in various dangerous situations. Several proposals have been advanced in

the growing literature on this issue. The first option is the utilitarian approach, which means that the car

will always perform the action that will result in the least harm. While this approach saves the most lives

in each case, research shows that many consumers would not purchase an automated car that would

possibly choose to sacrifice the driver's life. If people don't buy automated cars, then a large population

of people will continue to die in human-caused traffic accidents. Another option is the self-preserving

approach, in which automated cars would protect the occupants' lives over all else in every situation.

This approach may lead to higher use of automated cars, which would save many lives overall. However,

it is easily criticized as selfish and unethical because there is a possibility of crashes in which several

people die instead of one person, and in which innocent pedestrians die instead of those who assumed

the risks of accidents by taking to the road. The third option is to have automated cars randomly decide

whom to save in a crash scenario in order to prevent bias or guilt. However, this approach saves fewer

lives than the utilitarian approach while potentially being as morally objectionable as the self-preserving

approach because more lives could be saved. The purpose of this project is to present a new option that

improves upon the utilitarian approach using a methodology of traditional philosophical analytical

reasoning, informed by factual premises from social psychology and engineering.


Title: Interactive analysis of aviation data

Student Presenter: Nicholas Meyer

Faculty Advisor: Omidvar, Behrooz

Abstract: Visualizing data is necessary for human experts to parse and draw conclusions from large and

unruly datasets. For the spatial-temporal data that flying creates, visualizations must grab data points

from a very large database and plot them on a map quickly, and then give users the power to

manipulate the data in order to answer any questions they deem pertinent. Currently available

technologies cannot work with the large data needed and maintain the desired sub-second speeds for

visualizing and manipulating data. This research strives to create efficient methods of visualizing flight

data so that aviation experts can rapidly solve problems in their field. These methods can also be

immediately applied to more general spatial-temporal data. The new platform stores data containing

latitude, longitude, altitude, time, departure airport, etc. in a PSQL database with proper indexing and

pre-computations to ensure fast querying. A python server is set up as the backend to communicate

between the database and users' machines. The front end is a Javascript webapp which users

interact with and which creates visualizations using the D3, Crossfilter, and Leaflet Javascript libraries as

well as custom functionality. The resulting platform can create powerful and interactive visualizations in

seconds. Future work can make it faster and give users more tools to extract information from their

data. The results show that the analysis of data which all aviation companies perform when creating

flight plans can be improved; that this new technology can save manpower and money and lead to a

better experience for customers.


Title: Compliant gripping mechanism for anchoring and mobility in microgravity and extreme terrain

Student Presenter: Collin Mikol

Faculty Advisor: Su, Haijun

Abstract: One major limitation of previous NASA missions in exploring asteroids, comets, and planetary

surfaces such as Mars has been the inability to properly navigate these terrains with conventional

mobility methods. Traditional land rovers cannot maneuver well in extreme space environments with

microgravity conditions because of the harsh terrain and very low escape velocities on smaller bodies.

Land rovers are also incapable of traversing steep crater walls and cliffs, which limits the rover's ability

to reach sites of greater scientific interest. Current drawbacks of space mobility technology lead to the

opportunity to develop new, unique robots that have the ability for vertical climbing and locomotion in

microgravity environments. My research focuses on developing a new technology that utilizes an array

of small microspine grippers to provide the required forces to latch onto various types of rock

formations. These grippers would increase a robot's ability to effectively travel in a microgravity

environment and would allow rovers to climb vertical rock faces efficiently. My research objectives will

be to design, optimize, prototype, and test a new concept design for a compliant mechanism microspine

gripper to achieve higher load sharing capabilities with the constraints of minimizing the overall area

and stresses created within the design itself. Preliminary results show that compliant mechanism use

can significantly reduce the size of the microspine mechanism while still achieving similar stiffness

requirements for increased load sharing. This ensures that the microspines will not fail to grasp rock in

critical NASA missions. This research could ultimately lead to climbing robots that would possess a

greater capability of harsh terrain and microgravity exploration with increased reliability.


Title: Indirect magnetic force microscopy

Student Presenter: Rachel Novinc


Abstract: Detection of magnetic nanoparticles holds widespread relevance in biosensing applications.

Additionally, several neurodegenerative diseases and cardiovascular pathologies are characterized by

iron-rich deposits in their plaques which are understood to be superparamagnetic in nature. Detection

of iron deposits by exploiting their magnetic signals can serve as a label-free tool in histology. In earlier

work, we had demonstrated how the atomic force microscopy (AFM) based technique, magnetic force

microscopy (MFM), can map iron oxide nanoparticles in-vitro and in tissue sections. MFM studies are

typically performed using direct MFM (D-MFM), where an MFM probe makes two passes over the

sample, first touching the sample to obtain the topography and then at various lift heights above the

sample to identify magnetic interactions between the sample and probe. D-MFM is time consuming and

can result in probe contamination. The goal of this research was to develop an indirect MFM (ID-MFM)

technique with an ultrathin barrier between the sample and probe. Here, multiple passes over the

sample are not needed, making it a high-throughput and ultrastructural magnetic mapping technique.

50nm thick silicon nitride windows commercially available for transmission electron microscopy were

used as the barrier. Fluorescently labeled carboxyl magnetic particles (2mm in diameter) were

immobilized on one side of the window and imaged on the other using an MFM tip in the dynamic mode

of AFM. As a control, a non-magnetic AFM probe was also used. Results indicate that the MFM probe

could detect the magnetic interaction between the particles and probe despite the presence of the

silicon-nitride barrier, whereas an AFM probe could not. As another control, non-magnetic particles

exhibited a negligible signal in ID-MFM. The presence of particles was verified using fluorescence

microscopy. ID-MFM can thus serve as a multimodal and ultrastructural technique that could potentially

be used to map iron in histological samples.


Title: Investigation of imogolite nanotubes as a catalyst for biomass conversion

Student Presenter: Nate Olson


Abstract: Rising energy costs and concerns regarding climate change necessitate the development of

efficient and sustainable processes for the production of fuels and chemicals. Catalysts are an attractive

solution to minimize the cost and environmental impact of these processes. One important process is

biomass conversion, which can be employed to produce 5-hydroxymethyfurfual (HMF). HMF is a

valuable intermediate for the sustainable production of biofuels, plastics, and valuable chemicals. It is

produced by the cascade reaction of glucose to fructose to HMF. Several intriguing catalysts for the

isomerization of glucose to fructose have been identified, including immobilized enzymes, triethylamine,

and zeolites. While these catalysts have sparked immense interest in this area, further research is

necessary to identify novel catalysts for the isomerization reaction that are cost effective and

environmentally friendly. The purpose of this research is the study of imogolite nanotubes as a catalyst

for the isomerization reaction. Imogolite nanotubes offer a highly tunable platform and the capability to

design an effective heterogeneous catalyst. The successful synthesis of imogolite nanotubes has been

confirmed. Preliminary catalytic tests on the imogolite nanotubes show promising activity for the

isomerization reaction. Further work includes the determination of the active site of imogolite that is

responsible for the catalytic activity. An opportunity to improve the selectivity of the imogolite catalyst

for fructose lies in modification of the nanotube structure and composition through changes to the

synthesis procedure. The results of preliminary tests establish that imogolite has the potential to be

applied as an effective isomerization catalyst. Through further investigation of the nature of the catalytic

activity, imogolite could be a novel catalyst that aids in the efficient, eco-friendly, and sustainable

production of fuels and chemicals from biomass.


Title: Implementation of LiDAR to detect critical take-off distance based on different weather conditions

at The Ohio State University Airport (KOSU)

Student Presenter: Willson Pang


Abstract: LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging), is a remote sensing method that uses light in the form of

a pulsed laser to measure ranges in variable. Our research question is how this technology can be

implemented to improve runway traffic efficiency and safety regardless of weather conditions. A LIDAR

instrument normally include a laser, a scanner, and a specialized GPS receiver. The LiDAR technology,

would allow us to measure and provide the safest takeoff distance for each respective aircraft for any

different weather conditions of the airport during its takeoff. Not only that, this takeoff distance that we

obtained can also be used to compare the standard runway length required by Federal Aviation

Administration (FAA). Naturally, this research will also focus on the takeoff behavior of an aircraft for a

dry and wet runway.As for our methodology, six LiDAR will be placed into three groups and located in

three different locations on the runway. As the sensor only have a sensing radius of 100m, we think that

it is beneficial to the team to increase the scope of view for different takeoff distance (Smaller airplane

will require shorter runway distance compare to bigger airplane). Each pair of sensors will be faced

towards different directions (one towards vertical axis and one towards horizontal axis). The horizontal

axis sensor will then be used to detect the movement of aircraft before takeoff and the vertical axis

sensor will be used to cover largest area of the runway. The results of our project could help ensure

safer takeoffs and increase the runway efficiency of airports, which saves a lot of time and money. In the

future, the LiDAR could potentially change the air traffic control system of KOSU and other airports.


Title: DNA origami nano-caliper to probe nucleosome dynamics

Student Presenter: Rutva Patel


Abstract: Nucleosomes, the structural packing units of genomic DNA that makes up chromosomes,

consist of DNA wrapped around a protein core. The dynamic structural rearrangements of nucleosome

assemblies allow for the suppression or activation of genes. Previous studies have provided extensive

insight into the dynamics of single nucleosomes. In contrast, little is understood about the dynamics of

larger assemblies that include several nucleosomes, largely because there are no tools that effectively

probe structural dynamics at this length scale of ~10-100's of nanometers, which is highly relevant for

gene regulation. Our group recently developed a DNA based nano-caliper capable of measuring the size

and conformational changes of single nucleosomes. The original nano-caliper consists of a hinge

structure with 70nm arms. To enable study of larger nucleosomes assemblies up to ~200nm in size,

which corresponds to arrays of 12-17 nucleosomes, we designed and optimized the assembly of an

extended hinge structure with ~200 nm long arms. The extended hinge consists of a hierarchical

assembly of three structures, which are individual folded and purified and then combined to form larger

structure. We are currently optimizing the integration of nucleosome arrays to the ends of the fully

assembled extended nano-caliper. We aim to maximize the polymerization efficiency of nanostructures

while maintaining conditions that both provide structure stability and allow for future experiments with

biological samples where we plan to bind the nano-caliper to full chromosomes extracted from cells

using antibodies added to the hinge arms to attach to specific sites of interest. Preliminary results show

promise of creating a tool to probe nucleosome array dynamics and other dynamics spanning structures

hundreds of nanometers long. More broadly, this research will provide insight into chromatin structural

dynamics on the scale over which gene regulation occurs.


Title: Selective and sustainable conversion of glucose to fructose

Student Presenter: Lagnajit Pattanaik


Abstract: Sustainable biomass conversion strategies require high yields for the isomerization reaction of

glucose to fructose. The key challenge for this reaction is achieving high selectivity towards fructose

using inexpensive catalytic materials. Previous studies have shown the effectiveness of this reaction

using tin-containing catalysts (Sn-BEA zeolite) and homogeneous organic bases (triethylamine), but

these catalysts are either expensive to synthesize or require energy-intensive downstream separation

processes. By functionalizing a mesoporous silica material with a triethylamine analogue, we will

combine aspects of these studies to create an improved heterogeneous catalyst to convert glucose to

fructose. Preliminary results have been promising but have highlighted important acid-base interactions

between the catalyst surface and active site; namely, the acidic surface silanols may be quenching the

nitrogen base, hindering its ability to perform catalysis. By shortening the linker length between the

catalyst surface and the active site nitrogen, the mobility of the triethylamine analogue was restricted

and the negative acid-base effect was mitigated. Results also show significant effects of active site

density on catalyst activity, but further investigation is necessary to understand these effects and apply

them to the synthesized catalyst. The final product will allow for a sustainable, cost-effective, and eco-

friendly method to selectively convert glucose to fructose.


Title: Muscular co-contraction during stair-climbing before and after a total knee arthroplasty

Student Presenter: Nicholas Pelz

Faculty Advisor: Siston, Robert

Abstract: Co-contraction is the simultaneous activation of opposing muscle pairs around a joint, and it

frequently occurs during activities such as walking and stair-climbing. While all individuals co-contract

their muscles to some extent, patients with knee osteoarthritis (OA), a disease characterized by

degradation of articular cartilage, exhibit elevated levels of co-contraction to cope with OA-associated

knee instability. While a total knee arthroplasty (TKA), the end stage treatment of OA, can help alleviate

pain and restore function, suboptimal outcomes such as muscle weakness and difficulty climbing stairs

are common. Elevated levels of co-contraction can persist even after a TKA and are believed to be

correlated with post-operative muscle weakness and difficulty climbing stairs. Therefore, the purposes

of this study were to determine if co-contraction remains during stair-climbing after a TKA, if this

excessive co-contraction has negative or positive effects on an individual's stair-climbing ability, and if

the surgical procedure has any contribution to post-operative changes in co-contraction. Motion capture

and muscle activation data from 32 subjects were processed and analyzed pre-and post-operatively to

calculate co-contraction of the medial and lateral quadriceps and hamstrings (MQH/LQH) and the

medial and lateral quadriceps and calf muscles (MQG/LQG) during stair-climbing. Clinical surveys and

functional tests were collected pre-and post-operatively, along with joint laxity and knee alignment data

intra-operatively. A paired t-test was used to determine if the post-operative changes in co-contraction

for each muscle group were statistically significant. Preliminary results (n=6) show that only the MQH

has a significant difference in co-contraction pre-to-post-operatively during stair ascent (p


Title: Apohemoglobin quantification and analysis

Student Presenter: Ivan Pires

Faculty Advisor: Palmer, Andre

Abstract: Apohemoglobin (apoHb) is produced by removing heme from the oxygen storage and

transport protein hemoglobin (Hb). ApoHb can function as a drug carrier and heme scavenger.

Unfortunately, it is highly unstable in aqueous solution. Thus, total protein quantification methods such

as UV-visible spectroscopy or colorimetric protein assays do not measure the activity of apoHb.

Consequently, this protein's high affinity for heme and spectrophotometric changes derived from heme

incorporation into apoHb justify heme based titration as a promising technique to quantify apoHb

activity. However, hematin, the soluble form of hemin, aggregates in aqueous solution leading to

inaccurate active apoHb measurements. Here we used dicyanohemin, a stable monomeric species in

aqueous solution, as a probe for the precise and accurate measurement of apoHb activity. The

equilibrium absorbance at 420 nm of a fixed concentration apoHb solution with increasing

concentration of dicyanohemin was measured using a multi-well plate reader. A 420 nm absorbance

versus dicyanohemin concentration plot was made and the fitted lines intersection point was used to

quantify the activity of apoHb. A data reduction algorithm was used to remove outliers and determine

the best-fit lines. The precision of the procedure was tested by varying the apoHb concentration and the

accuracy was analyzed using a spectral deconvolution algorithm. The effect of contaminants such as

heme-binding proteins and apoHb precipitates was also tested. Furthermore, an analysis of the

biophysical properties of reconstituted Hb was performed to confirm apoHb activity.â€‹ The precision

analysis results showed a 0.4% relative standard deviation from the stock apoHb concentration. Spectral

deconvolution confirmed the heme saturation point. Additionally, contaminants did not significantly

alter the results of the heme binding assay and the reconstituted Hb demonstrated native Hb

characteristics. This assay will assist with future drug and heme encapsulation studies by assessing the

number of available active apoHb binding sites.


Title: Ventilation and microbial communities in LEED and non-LEED certified buildings

Student Presenter: Quentin Platt


Abstract: For over a decade, the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) has strived to improve building

efficiency and indoor environmental quality around the world through its Leadership in Energy and

Environmental Design (LEED)-certification program. Attempts to maximize energy efficiency in LEED-

certification projects may be in conflict with indoor air quality with regards to microbial communities if

building designs employ lower ventilation rates in order to reduce energy demand. However, the

influence of LEED certification on indoor microbial communities is largely unknown. The aim of this

study is to investigate the effects that LEED design principles have on indoor microbial communities. We

collected carpet dust and suspended air dust at six paired LEED and non-LEED buildings, extracted DNA

and then analyzed the samples by qPCR and high-throughput DNA sequencing. We will analyze

sequencing results and compare to air exchange rates, temperature, relative humidity and building

occupancy. Preliminary data indicate that both air exchange rates and bacterial concentrations are not

substantially different between similar LEED and non-LEED buildings. Sequencing results will be used to

determine the diversities of the microbial communities along with the similarity of communities in

carpet dust with that of indoor and representative outdoor air. This information will help to assess the

overall environmental quality within these buildings with regard to their microbiomes and associated

occupant health effects. A better understanding of this issue could provide meaningful information for

the improvement of LEED building design and LEED certification requirements.



Student Presenter: Zachary Power


























Title: Biocompatibility study of monodispersed ZnO nanowires for neuronal NG108-15 cells

Student Presenter: Farhan Quadri

Faculty Advisor: Guo, Liang

Abstract: Conventional neural stimulation techniques require surgical implantation of electrodes and

can cause complications. Injectable nanomaterials are a non- or minimally invasive alternative that could

convert a wirelessly transmitted signal into localized stimuli for neural stimulation. Piezoelectric

nanomaterials were of special interest for such an application as they could convert mechanical forces

exerted by cells or wirelessly transmitted acoustic waves to localized electric fields. Semi-conducting

ZnO nanomaterials exhibit piezoelectric activity, making them an excellent candidate for stimulation

applications. Preliminary biocompatibility experiments of growing neuronal NG108-15 cells on ZnO

substrates revealed no significant effect on cell viability. In this work, the biocompatibility of

monodispersed piezoelectric ZnO nanowires are being assessed by testing their effects on neuronal

NG108-15 cell line at a series of nanowire concentrations. Their biocompatibility will initially be tested

via immunocytochemistry by determining the live/dead cells ratio and observing cell morphology. MTT

assays will be utilized to evaluate the metabolic functionality of the neurons and to determine an

optimal nanowire concentration range of biocompatibility. Determining the biocompatibility of

piezoelectric ZnO nanowires will allow future research in exploring their biomedical applications such as

in neuro-engineering.


Title: Characterizing the effects of glutaraldehyde concentration in cross-linking solution on release

kinetics of hemoglobin encapsulated in alginate hydrogels

Student Presenter: Scott Rathbun

Faculty Advisor: Palmer, Andre

Abstract: The goal of this project was to examine the effects of glutaraldehyde concentration on release

kinetics for encapsulated hemoglobin. This information could be used in future studies conducted for

the applications of these hemoglobin-alginate beads. This project started out as part of a wider scope

focused on applications of alginate combined with the work the Palmer lab does with purified

hemoglobin. It was theorized that encapsulating hemoglobin inside the beads along with insulin-

producing beta cells would increase oxygen diffusivity across the alginate membrane and increase

survivability of beta cells leading to more efficient transplantation. The alginate beads are produced

using a mixture of hemoglobin and sodium alginate solution. This mixture is then dropped from a

syringe into a cross-linking solution of a salt and glutaraldehyde mixture. Glutaraldehyde promotes

cross-linking for the beads. The beads are then given time to form, the reaction is quenched, and a

saline solution with a single bead is tested in a spectrophotometer for absorbance to determine

concentration over time. Testing is currently underway. The end results of this project will determine

the most effective concentration of glutaraldehyde, as without glutaraldehyde the beads only retain

hemoglobin for 5 hours. Too much glutaraldehyde however would kill the beta cells. The results of this

study can be used in future studies on the applications of alginate-encapsulated hemoglobin.


Title: Effects of heat treatment on poison-resistant characteristics of Pd-incorporated swellable

organically-modified silica

Student Presenter: Sushmitha Ravikumar

Faculty Advisor: Ozkan, Umit

Abstract: Groundwater contamination of chlorinated compounds has been a major concern because of

the carcinogenic consequences in affecting drinking water. The catalytic hydrodechlorination of

chlorinated compounds like trichloroethylene (TCE) to less toxic hydrocarbons offers a sustainable,

efficient, and cost effective method for decontaminating groundwater. In groundwater, catalyst

deactivation from ionic species is an on-going problem. Therefore, a newly developed swellable

organically-modified silica (SOMS) support has been used for hydrodechlorination of TCE to protect the

active sites from anions through the hydrophobic and swellable nature of SOMS. In addition, the effects

of heat treatment on the catalytic performance and poison-resistant nature of SOMS have been

investigated. Catalytic activity experiments were performed in an aqueous phase batch reactor

operating at 50 bar and 30°C for pristine and sulfide ion poisoned palladium catalysts using SOMS

support. Characterization experiments were performed through nitrogen physisorption and point-of-

zero charge experiments to analyze physiochemical properties of the catalysts. The catalytic activity and

characterization results for different heat-treated catalysts will be presented in the forum. The results of

this research project are expected to ultimately contribute to the design of cheaper, better, and

deactivation-resistant catalyst, greatly benefiting the catalytic groundwater remediation technologies.


Title: Improvement of reliability indices in a micro-grid system involving renewable generation and

energy storage

Student Presenter: Emily Reed

Faculty Advisor: Wang, Jiankang

Abstract: Integrating renewable energy sources is important to policy-makers worldwide, especially as

the depletion of traditional energy sources and the declining health of the environment continue to be

of critical concern. As the installation costs of renewable generation decrease, the incorporation of

these sources into the grid is becoming more attractive and feasible. However, in order for renewable

generation to be incorporated on a large scale, utilities must be able to guarantee that customers

receive adequate and quality power, constituting a reliable system. Thus, ensuring the reliability of a

grid system that includes unpredictable sources of generation, such as wind and solar, is studied using a

small-scale system called a micro-grid. This research also examines the effects of energy storage

systems, such as batteries, on the reliability of a micro-grid system. Energy storage can help to eliminate

or reduce the load demand that must be met by renewable generation and supply power when

renewable generation is unavailable or insufficient. A nonlinear optimization model of the problem was

developed that maximizes the reliability of the system by determining the number of critical and non-

critical loads that can be satisfied at each time step. The maximization of the number of loads is

constrained by the available generation in the system at each specific time step. Monte Carlo simulation

in MATLAB is currently being used to solve the optimization problem and analyze the results, which will

be completed prior to the Denman presentation. It is expected that the reliability indices of the system

will improve with the incorporation of energy storage into the micro-grid. This study seeks to improve

the feasibility of renewable energy sources in the grid system, thereby lowering emissions in electricity

generation.


Title: Continuous, non-invasive detection of malaria using a magnetic field

Student Presenter: Daniel Roll

Faculty Advisor: Subramaniam, Vishwanath

Abstract: Millions of people are infected with malaria annually, resulting in hundreds of thousands of

deaths. Furthermore, many oil and mining companies operate in the areas of the world where malaria is

prevalent. For these companies, it is imperative that they be able to frequently and affordably monitor

their workforce for malaria, as a single infected but asymptomatic individual can serve as a reservoir for

the parasite, leading to the spread of infection by the anopheles mosquito. Malaria can be successfully

cured if it is treated effectively, but this relies on quick diagnosis. Current methods of detecting malaria

require blood smears, microscopes and pathologists, which are not readily available in the remote areas

where malaria is endemic. Blood draws can also yield false negative results, as infected red blood cells

adhere to the walls of the capillaries and are therefore not in circulation. An improved detection method

for malaria would save lives and also save millions of dollars in terms of productivity. There is therefore

a need for development of a novel, quick, continuous, and effective method of diagnosing a malaria

infection. This research is intended to develop a method that uses an electromagnetic probe to detect

small, paramagnetic particles that the malaria parasite sequesters as a byproduct in an infected patient.

These particles, known as hemozoin, result from the consumption and chemical alteration of

hemoglobin in an infected person's red blood cells by the malaria parasite. This probe consists of two

concentric planar coils, allowing it to be placed flat on the skin of a patient anywhere where there is

significant vasculature, such as a fingertip or an earlobe, and display the presence or absence of an

infection with a red or green light. This probe will be simple to use, noninvasive, and continuously

monitor a patient for malaria.


Title: Magnetic actuation of DNA origami devices

Student Presenter: Thomas Rudibaugh


Abstract: In nanotechnology, 2D and 3D DNA nano-structures were greatly enabled through the

technique of DNA origami where single-stranded DNA is folded into a precise, compact geometry using

hundreds of short oligonucleotides, via programmed molecular self-assembly. Overcoming the static

nature of DNA origami structures is crucial to advancing DNA nanotechnology. Therefore, the goal of the

project is to magnetically actuate and reconfigure DNA nanostructures in real time (millisecond

response times) via magnetic manipulation by attaching them to superparamagnetic beads. In order to

attach micron sized beads, roughly 100x larger than these structures, long stiff arms were constructed

from a 1-D array of DNA origami structures as a connection from the nano-structure to the bead. Three

different DNA nano-structures were actuated: the lever arm itself, a nano-rotor, and nano-hinge. For the

rotor system, the lever arm connects in the center to a stationary nano-platform via- single stranded

DNA that allows rotation. The hinge system, a DNA origami nano-hinge structure is connected to two

long lever arms with the bottom arm fixed to the surface while the top is free to open and close the

hinge. Assembling each system required multiple sequential steps and presented challenges in structure

aggregation which prevented well-formed systems and led to low yields of the final assembly. Several

tests were conducted to optimize the process including, tuning of salt concentrations, folding

concentrations, folding ramps, and purification methods. After increasing the yield of fully functioning

devices, the free arm in each system is labeled with a superparamagnetic bead and magnetically

actuated using weak in-plane external magnetic fields. These DNA nanostructure systems show that

real-time actuation can be achieved by integration of dynamic DNA origami devices, micron-scale stiff

lever arms, and superparamagnetic beads and it opens up new areas where dynamic DNA

nanotechnology can be used.


Title: The effect of impact location on brain injury risk in boxing

Student Presenter: Stephen Rudolph

Faculty Advisor: Kang, Yun-Seok

Abstract: Currently there is a high incidence of concussion in boxing, but the biomechanics of the head

that create these brain injuries are still not fully understood. The purpose of this study is to determine

whether impact location influences an athlete's risk of sustaining a concussion. An instrumented

anthropomorphic test device (ATD) head and neck will be impacted with a pneumatic ram outfitted with

a boxing glove in five different locations with three vertical offsets at each location. The impact energy

was selected to simulate those experienced by boxers. Biomechanical data from the head will be

collected and correlated to concussion risk with the use of several injury criteria, namely the Head Injury

Criterion (HIC), Brain Injury Criterion (BrIC), and peak resultant angular acceleration. Preliminary data

suggests there is a significant difference in head injury risk between impact locations. Two-sample t-

tests showed a significant difference between impact locations in 12 of 15 HIC value comparisons. The

largest HIC value, 852, was recorded from a central oblique impact while the smallest, 155, was

recorded from an inferior oblique impact. The smallest and largest percent difference between impact

location mean HIC values were 3.84% and 135.25%, respectively. Data collection and analysis will

continue through and be completed this spring. Overall, this study will expand on the currently limited

knowledge of the impact-induced head biomechanics which cause mild traumatic brain injuries in

boxing.


Title: Utilizing technology to increase airport efficiency

Student Presenter: Ashley Saba


Abstract: How can airports utilize available and/or new technology in order to maximize efficiency? This

group plans to research how technology can be incorporated into all aspects of an airport including, but

not limited to, ticketing, checking baggage, and loading/unloading cargo. The group plans to research

how the postal service uses devices to track every location of a package, and find ways to implement it

within airports around the country. The plan is to also research, and implement, how the postal service

handles weighing and checking packages at home so they are immediately ready for pick up. The group

will also research the efficiency of implementing a baggage check-in checkpoint in the parking lot, and

using newer technologies to then transport the bags to the aircraft. Currently, most airline companies

utilize online check-in and ticketing processes, the group believes that the baggage claim process should

be equally as automated at the other places.


Title: Utilization of CO2 as a partial substitute for methane feedstock in chemical looping methane-

steam redox processes for syngas production

Student Presenter: Peter Sandvik

Faculty Advisor: Fan, LS

Abstract: The utilization of carbon dioxide (CO2) as a feedstock in a chemical looping process that

converts methane to syngas and a variety of downstream products has the ability to be impactful in the

field of carbon capture, utilization, and sequestration (CCUS). The Ohio State University Chemical

Looping methane to syngas (MTS) process' novelty comes from the coupling of carbon capture and

utilization strategy, which captures and utilizes CO2 to create a synergy atypical to many processes that

are designed to deal with the challenges of carbon constraints. CO2 utilization allows for increased

flexibility of H2:CO molar ratios that may be required for variations in the downstream processing while

producing a comparable quantity of syngas with reduced natural gas input. In this study, thermodynamic

models for chemical looping reactor systems are examined using ASPEN Plus and experimentally

verified. The chemical looping reducer reactor considered employs steam, natural gas and CO2 as

feedstock along with metal oxide oxygen carriers. The combustor reactor regenerates the metal oxide

oxygen carriers by combustion of reduced metal oxides with air. The regenerated metal oxides are then

recycled to the reducer reactor. The system is optimized to retain the desired syngas composition

required for downstream gas to liquid (GTL) processes. With CO2 co-injection in the MTS process, the

optimization indicates a natural gas savings of more than 20% over that of the baseline ATR process for

GTL applications. Experiments were also performed and compare well with the results from the

thermodynamic model simulations. These findings exemplify the importance of a CO2 utilization

strategy in optimized GTL processes and encourage further optimization in natural gas to commodity

chemical conversion processes including gas to methanol, gas to ammonia, and gas to ethanol, amongst

others.


Title: BIV-spectrin regulates broad spectrum of cardiac arrhythmia phenotypes in vivo

Student Presenter: Tony Satroplus

Faculty Advisor: Satroplus, Tony

Abstract: Sudden cardiac death (SCD) is responsible for over 325,000 adult deaths in the United States

each year and accounts for half of all heart disease related deaths. Arrhythmias are one of the important

causal factors in sudden cardiac death. Normal cardiac electrical activity relies on precise temporal and

spatial control over voltage-gated ion channels. Improper ion channel activity can result in abnormal

heart rhythm, leading to arrhythmias and other forms of cardiac disease. Voltage-gated Na+ channels

(Nav) are essential for myocyte membrane excitability and cardiac function. Previous work by our group

has demonstrated that βIV-spectrin plays an important role in the localization of voltage gated Na+

channel, Nav1.5, the primary Nav in cardiomyocytes. βIVspectrin also associates with

Ca2+/calmodulin-dependent protein kinase II (CaMKII), a multifunctional serine/threoninespecific kinase

and directly phosphorylates Nav1.5 at residue S571. While previous work has examined the role of

βIV-spectrin in heart, these studies have been done using mouse models with globally expressed

defects in spectrin. However, βIV-spectrin has well identified roles in excitable tissues other than

heart, including brain and pancreas. In this study, we use cardiac specific βIV-spectrin knock out

(cKO) mice to define the specific role of βIV-spectrin in regulating cardiac excitability and

arrhythmia phenotypes in the absence of potentially confounding off-target effects. To determine the

role of βIV-spectrin, a heart specific βIV-spectrin knock out (cKO) mouse was generated using

the Cre-loxP recombinant system. Action potentials were measured in ventricular myocytes isolated

from wild type, and cKO hearts at baseline and in the presence of isoproterenol (1µm).

Electrocardiograms were measured in anaesthetized animals using telemetry at baseline and following

exercise and epinephrine injection (2mg/kg). cKO ventricular myocytes displayed prolonged action

potentials (APD 90: 43.75, SD:11.18) compared to the WT (APD90: 37.04, SD:15.68). Analysis of

telemetry data showed that cKO animals displayed prolonged sinus pauses and ventricular tachycardia.

These data suggest that βIV-spectrin plays an important role in regulating the cardiac rhythmicity

at both, cellular and organ level. Dysregulation of voltage gated Na+ channel, Nav1.5 could be primarily

responsible for arrhythmia observed in cKO mice.


Title: Development & integration of hyperdamping protective material systems in helmet design

Student Presenter: Sansriti Saxena


Abstract: Helmets are used as personal protective equipment in a large variety of occupational and

recreational activities. Despite the widespread use of helmets, concussions and traumatic brain injuries

are still common due to ineffective diffusion and damping of the shock energies caused by impact

events. Conventionally used foam liners for helmet designs require large quantities of stiff, deformable

foam for shock absorption, increasing weight, and according to the data, still not providing the

protection required to prevent head-related injuries. Hyperdamping materials are lightweight,

elastomer materials able to absorb significant vibration and wave energy by harnessing principles from

mechanics of beams for the material design. This research investigates the suitability for hyperdamping

material systems to provide shock absorption properties without the conventional reliance of large

quantities of energy-damping mass. Through the use of constrained arrays of elastomer beams, the

development of hyperdamping protective materials for helmet design leads to substantial impact energy

absorption with reduction in weight. Hyperdamping protective material designs are assessed through

finite element analysis for appropriate design parameters leading to the desired constraints.

Experimentation explores the practical aspects of attenuating shock and system acceleration due a

variety of impulsive forces. Application-based investigations study the effect of the hyperdamping

protective material systems on masses in an environment similar to that of a head in helmet. The results

are compared to those of current foam liners and common helmet shock absorbers to assess the

performance and safety empowered by the new hyperdamping protective materials.


Title: What are the effects of muscle weakness on the sit to stand transfer?

Student Presenter: Grant Schneider

Faculty Advisor: Siston, Rob

Abstract: Rising from a chair, also known as sit to stand (STS) transfer, is a common, yet challenging

activity, especially for populations that have limited mobility due to muscle weakness, including the

elderly and those with pathologies. Experimental methods have been used to study lower-limb joint

angles, joint torques, and muscle activations during STS transfer to inform rehabilitation for these

populations. However, rehabilitation is not 100% effective and could be improved by understanding

individual muscle behavior during this task. Experimental methods cannot study this due to the complex

dynamics of the human body, but dynamic simulations can and have been used to estimate muscle

function during STS transfer in healthy adults. Since the effects of muscle weakness on this task remain

unknown, this information could improve rehabilitation for those who find STS transfer difficult. The

purpose of this study was to determine how muscle weakness affects STS transfer using dynamic

simulations. Motion capture, electromyography, and ground reaction force data were collected to

generate simulations of seven young, healthy individuals rising from a chair to determine individual

muscle forces produced during the task. In each model, the maximum possible forces of all lower-limb

muscles were globally weakened in 5% decrements to 50%. Major lower-limb muscle groups, including

gluteus maximus, quadriceps, hamstrings, plantar flexors, gluteus medius, and tibialis anterior, were

individually weakened in 20% decrements to 100%. Preliminary results show that simulated gluteus

maximus and quadriceps forces decrease the most due to global weakness. Additionally, when the

gluteus maximus is individually weakened, the hamstrings and quadriceps compensate through

increased force contributions. Future analysis will determine if global or individual weakness impairs STS

transfer and how muscles compensate for individual muscle weakness in the remaining major lower-

limb muscle groups. These results could improve rehabilitation strategies for populations that find STS

transfer difficult.


Title: Computational and experimental studies of microvascular void features for real-time adaptation of

structural panel dynamic performance

Student Presenter: Nick Sears


Abstract: The performance, integrity, and safety of built-up structural systems are critical to their

effective employment in diverse engineering applications in aerospace, automotive, civil, and marine

industries. In conflict with these goals, harmonic or random excitations of structural panels, often found

on such systems, lead to oscillations at the modes of vibration occurring at the natural frequencies. The

result is large amplitude vibrations that contribute directly to fatigue concerns, performance

degradation, and ultimately failure. While many studies have considered active or passive damping

treatments for structural control, these approaches exert little authority to tailor the frequency

sensitivities at the center of the concern. To provide a more authoritative means to adapt the spectral

properties of structural panels for advanced performance and safety, this research explores a new idea

of designing the static and dynamic mass distribution of panels through embedded microvascular voids.

Finite element model and experimental investigations study how removing mass in the form of

microscale voids influences the global vibration modes and frequency sensitivities of structural panels.

Through parameter studies, the relationships among void shape, size, number, and location are

determined to serve as a guide for their use in subsequent dynamic mass distribution investigations.

This research enables next-stage efforts that will characterize opportunities for real-time adaptation of

the dynamic performance via fluid-filled microvascular channels that interface the microscale voids.


Title: Dynamic characterization of a polymeric DNA nanostructure for signal transmission

Student Presenter: Andres Serrano Paladines


Abstract: In recent years scaffolded DNA origami has emerged as a novel technique for the construction

of programmable nanostructures via molecular self-assembly. This technology provides unprecedented

control over geometry and mechanical properties. These structures have demonstrated potential for a

range of biomedical applications such as drug delivery, force measurement, and biomarker detection.

Recent advancements have focused on the design of dynamic structures that can be triggered by DNA or

another biological input to undergo actuated motion of the structure into a different conformation. The

goal of this work is to develop material systems where local conformational changes can be physically

communicated to other parts of the material through propagated motion. We have designed dynamic

nanodevices that can propagate conformational changes across a length scale orders of magnitude

larger than the monomeric structure when they are attached end-to-end into arrays. A DNA strand

specific to one end of the array is designed to trigger the mechanism, which in turn makes each

subsequent structure react by the actuation of the previous one. We have fabricated multiple versions

of the nanostructure to test its propensity to react to the trigger input or to different solution

conditions. Preliminary results demonstrate the structure can reconfigure in response to a trigger DNA

strand or changes in solution conditions as desired. We are optimizing the polymerization process and

current work focuses on testing the response of the array structure and its ability to effectively

propagate motion. Moving forward, the ability to transmit a signal across micron-scale distances could

lead to customizable molecular transport systems, programmable circuits, and advanced

nanomanufacturing processes.


Title: Selective biomass conversion using silica-supported organic catalysts

Student Presenter: Kory Sherman


Abstract: Developing renewable alternatives to petroleum for producing materials, energy, and

chemicals is an important aspect of creating a sustainable planet. Biomass constitutes a sustainable

alternative to petroleum and has the potential to decrease the world's dependence on it. 5-

Hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF), a bio-derived chemical, can be used to synthesize many valuable

chemicals that can suffice for other non-renewable chemicals currently used throughout the world.

Experiments have been conducted to increase the selectivity and yield of HMF starting from biomass in

a cost-effective, energy-efficient manner. A bottleneck in this process is efficiently converting fructose to

HMF. For this step in the process, previous experiments have achieved a high selectivity and yield by

reacting fructose in a mixture of water and dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) using sulfuric acid as the catalyst,

but this method has proven to be impractical due to the energy-intensive separation of DMSO from the

reaction mixture. This research tests the hypothesis that the use of a bifunctional, heterogeneous

catalyst incorporating analogues of H2SO4 and DMSO in the dehydration reaction of fructose in water

will increase HMF selectivity and yield. The anticipated outcome of this research is that the novel

H2SO4/DMSO catalyst will allow for a sustainable, cost-effective, and eco-friendly method to convert

fructose to HMF. Preliminary tests have shown encouraging results with upwards of 71% selectivity

when only water is used as the solvent, and it's thought that further refinement of the catalyst structure

and environment could produce even greater results.


Title: Rheological and structural characterization of micellar fluid

Student Presenter: Xutao Shi


Abstract: Hydraulic fracturing, a drilling technique responsible for the latest hydrocarbon boom, has

been adopted to extract underground natural gas by injection of a fracking fluid into wellbore fractures.

However, conventional fracking fluids contain cross-linking additives such as sodium tetraborate that are

especially hazardous to environment. And the common polymer constitutes, e.g. hydroxypropyl guar,

result in post-injection residual that will impede the gas outflow. Therefore, alternative fracturing fluids

called micellar fluids have been developed to minimize the hazardous environmental impacts while

correcting the issue of guar residual. Composed of cationic and anionic surfactants, micellar fluids are

environmentally friendly and efficient in terms of gas-yield. However, due to complexity in the

surfactant structure, it is often difficult to predict the rheological behaviors of micellar fluids with

different compositions. In this research, rheological characterizations such as steady rate sweep,

oscillatory frequency sweep, and birefringence time scan have been conducted for a micellar fluid with

different cation/anion ratios. A non-linear Giesekus-Stress-Diffusion model was tailored and

implemented to study the fluid behavior under different surfactant concentrations and a series of

structural parameters were estimated based on the coupling of shear rheology and rheo-optics

experiments. Analysis of the results showed that the studied micellar fluids exhibit shear-banding and

nematic phase under high enough shear rate, which is represented by the intermediate stress plateau in

steady rate sweep. During this shear range, the cationic surfactants along with charge shielding anionic

surfactants exhibit shear-induced isotropic-nematic phase transition, which is manifested by the

birefringence index in rheo-optics experiments. It was also observed that the recombination-breaking

equilibrium of micellar structures was shifted under high strain and the re-establishment of equilibrium

varied in time due to different amount of strain. The current research will result in a better

understanding of the structural and rheological characteristics of micellar fluids and further its various

industrial applications such as detergents, central heating, and drug delivery.


Title: Development of an inverted GaAsP photovoltaic subcell structure for application to high-efficiency

III-V/Si tandem solar cells

Student Presenter: Amber Silvaggio

Faculty Advisor: Ringel, Steven

Abstract: Solar power is a viable, sustainable, and environmentally-friendly energy source used in

terrestrial and space applications. The affordability of photovoltaic technologies for terrestrial solar

power generation is controlled by a number of variables, particularly power conversion efficiency.

Silicon is currently the dominant commercial technology due to its wide availability, low cost, and

sufficient performance, but is limited with respect to further improvement. The efficiency of solar cells

can be improved using multi-junction designs composed of III-V compounds, like GaAs and GaInP, but at

substantial cost. Nonetheless, efficiency can be increased by combining these two technologies in

tandem-for example, a III-V top cell in tandem with a Si bottom cell. This study seeks to improve the

efficiency of a prototype GaAsP/Si tandem structure via the application of a novel "inverted" GaAsP

subcell design. TCAD software has been used to model the existing GaAsP top cell and fit the modeled

structure to measured data, enabling the extraction of important material properties. The model was

then modified to test designs with different parameters, including an inverted cell geometry. Current

progress indicates that the inverted structure is more efficient than its upright counterpart at longer

wavelengths of the solar spectrum and less so at smaller wavelengths. These preliminary findings

suggest that multiple design details of the inverted cell, such as the new window/base interfacial

structure, must be carefully adjusted to provide efficiency improvement across the entire spectrum of

interest. Ongoing work includes optimization modeling of the original and inverted cell designs coupled

with growth and fabrication of test devices for comparison with the simulated results. This work is

expected to yield a new GaAsP top cell design that will be significantly more efficient than its

conventional counterpart, and will thereby improve the efficiency of the overall GaAsP/Si photovoltaic

structure to harness and utilize solar energy.


Title: Low temperature steam-methane reforming over cadmium intermediate

Student Presenter: Nick Singstock


Abstract: A hydrogen-based energy economy may prove to be the ticket to a clean and sustainable

future. Currently, 95% of the hydrogen produced in the United States today is made via a process known

as steam-methane reforming (SMR). Two reactions are carried out in this process, the oxidation of

methane to carbon monoxide, and the oxidation of carbon monoxide to carbon dioxide, both requiring a

steam input. The first reaction is endothermic and requires high temperature steam around 700-

1000°C. Steam reforming is typically 65-75% efficient, meaning that 2.6-3.0 moles of hydrogen are

produced per mole of methane. SMR also produces a significant amount of carbon dioxide as a

byproduct. A promising new process developed in Dr. Fan's lab involves the oxidation of methane with

cadmium hydroxide. Using cadmium hydroxide in a two-reactor chemical looping system can produce

hydrogen from methane at 400°C with a 91% efficiency (3.6 mol H2/mol methane). This process

also produces only 0.25 moles of carbon dioxide per mole of hydrogen, meaning it is cleaner for the

environment. This process has been developed theoretically using thermodynamic screening in

FactSage, meaning that a future goal of the project would be to experimentally confirm the

theoretically-determined results. In addition to experimental confirmation, a global thermo-kinetic

model in python and a full-scale techno-economic model in Aspen are being developed to verify the

viability of a commercial process. Applied on a larger scale, this process could serve as a significant step

towards cleaner and more efficient production of hydrogen.


Title: Assessment of a surgeon's ability to determine knee laxity

Student Presenter: Jessica Smith

Faculty Advisor: Siston, Robert

Abstract: A total knee arthroplasty (TKA) is a common end-stage treatment for knee osteoarthritis (OA),

and affects millions in the US. A primary objective of a TKA is to provide the patient with a stable,

balanced knee. To determine if the knee is stable and balanced, surgeons will often use a varus-valgus

stress test to qualitatively determine if there are problems with knee laxity (how tight or loose the

ligaments are) before and after a TKA. If the knee is too loose, too tight, or malaligned, the surgeon

intra-operatively adjusts the soft tissues (e.g., ligaments) appropriately. However, these methods rely on

a surgeon's experience and judgment to "feel" for normal knee laxity, which leads to variability in the

outcomes of TKAs. The purpose of my research is to assess the surgeon's ability to determine knee laxity

using the manual varus-valgus stress test. This will be done by building model knees, using mechanical

concepts and data from literature, with known varying laxities and verifying these models with a stability

rig developed at OSU. Each knee must be designed to be consistent and realistic in size/weight. Tests

were performed on multiple prototypes, showing that a range of laxities can be achieved that align with

trends from previous studies. The surgeons will perform varus-valgus stress tests on the model knees

and answer questions about the models' laxity. Their accuracy will be compared to experience (years of

practice and frequency of TKAs). Participants will be surveyed in February and March. The expected

result is that surgeons that frequently perform TKAs and have been practicing longer will have higher

accuracy; however, frequency will be more related to accuracy than years of practice. The results could

affect how current techniques are viewed by the surgical community and could improve existing training

modules for surgeons who perform TKAs.


Title: Optimizing hyperdamping materials for enhancing vibration control and shock attenuation

performance

Student Presenter: Yu Song


Abstract: To reduce unwanted mechanical vibrations in automotive, aerospace, and civil engineering

fields, recent research has investigated periodic metamaterials having especially architected topologies.

Yet, these solutions employ heavy materials and narrowband, resonant phenomena which are

unsuitable for the many applications where broadband frequency vibration energy is a concern and

weight is a performance penalty. To overcome these limitations, a new idea for hyperdamping materials

is recently being explored, such that improved vibration damping is achieved without the drawbacks of

the conventional periodic metamaterials. On the other hand, optimized designs of hyperdamping

materials have not been determined which suggests that best practices for design and implementation

are needed. The objectives of this research are to identify optimized, architected topologies of

hyperdamping materials having square cross-sections, and to study the roles of beam taper direction in

energy absorption of hyperdamping material. Through simulation, new design is evaluated in transient

and eigenfrequency model with parametric study to investigate the roles of geometry design and

quantify energy absorption. With impact testing, the dissipated energy is quantified experimentally by

assessing the increase in response amplitude decay caused by the effective hyperdamping material

design. The results show that square cross-section hyperdamping materials provide rapid suppression of

broadband impact and wave energies in square-section structures observed in numerous engineering

applications.


Title: The relationship between peak localized deformation and global displacement of human ribs in

anteroposterior loading

Student Presenter: Akshara Sreedhar

Faculty Advisor: Agnew, Amanda

Abstract: Thorax injuries, and rib fractures are common in motor vehicle crashes (MVC), leading to high

morbidity and mortality rates. Simulation of MVCs requires accurate computational models of the

thoracic skeleton to determine the limits of its structural and material properties. The goal of this study

was to determine the relationship between localized deformation and global percent displacement in a

simplified anteroposterior (X-direction) impact to human ribs. Two-hundred sixty two mid-level ribs

from 153 fresh post-mortem human subjects were tested in a 2D dynamic bending scenario, which

simulated a frontal impact to the thorax in a MVC. Uniaxial strain gages were attached before impact to

the cutaneous and pleural surfaces of ribs at 30% and 60% of the total curve length. After impact, peak

strain was defined as the maximum strain value immediately before fracture, as recorded by the strain

gages. The normalized displacement in X was calculated as the displacement at fracture relative to the

original span length of the rib. Results show a significant (p


Title: Effect of initial particle size on silver nanoparticle aggregation and dissolution in aquatic systems

Student Presenter: Audrey Stallworth

Faculty Advisor: Lenhart, John

Abstract: Silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) are used in many consumer products as an antibacterial agent.

The small size of these particles means they are more reactive, because their surface area is larger.

However, the widespread usage of AgNPs has consequently led to their release into the aquatic

environment, where they have the potential to harm organisms that are not their intended target.

Studies have been conducted on the fate and toxicity of AgNPs, but each study uses different size

AgNPs, calling into question the consistency of results across different sizes of AgNPs. In addition, a

variety of sizes may be utilized in consumer products. One method of determining the behavior of

AgNPs in the environment uses the addition of electrolytes to determine their effect on the dissolution

and/or aggregation of AgNPs. This research focused on the effect of different concentrations of three

different electrolytes (NaNO3, CaCl2 and NaCl) on the aggregation kinetics of three different sizes of

citrate-coated silver nanoparticles (10 nm, 50 nm, 80 nm). It was hypothesized that AgNPs with a smaller

initial particle size would be less stable than AgNPs with a larger initial particle size in the presence of

electrolytes. After the addition of an electrolyte to a silver nanoparticle suspension, the change in size of

the particles was measured over time (10 - 15 minutes) using Dynamic Light Scattering. Preliminary

results indicate that 50 nm silver nanoparticles are indeed less stable than 80 nm AgNPs in solutions

with NaNO3 and CaCl2. With NaCl, the stability seems to be the same regardless of initial particle size.

With each of the three electrolytes there is evidence of initial dissolution and significant aggregation.

These results suggest that AgNPs of different sizes may behave differently under the same

environmental conditions. Subsequent tests will look into the stability of the 10 nm AgNPs.


Title: Simulation of isothermal gas-assisted injection molding for non-Newtonian fluids

Student Presenter: Eugenia Stanisauskis


Abstract: Gas-assisted injection molding (GAIM) is a process where a molten polymer is injected into a

cooled mold cavity followed by an injection of gas, allowing the polymer to fill the cavity and form a

hollow part as it cools and solidifies. Current GAIM simulations for isothermal Newtonian fluids can

accurately predict the coating thickness of the polymer melt. However, no existing models predict the

behavior of isothermal non-Newtonian fluids. The proposed simulation uses known material properties,

the glass transition temperature, and process variables such as mold temperature, melt temperature,

and pressure, to calculate the temperature and velocity profiles to predict the coating thickness using

derived relations. Experiments have been performed to determine the effect of temperature gradients

and rheological behavior of the penetrating fluid. It was found that as the delay time between the

injection of polymer and gas increased, the coating thickness increased. It was also found that polymers

with higher viscosity displayed an increase in coating thickness in the mold. The results are plotted

against both Fourier number and Capillary number. Fourier number is a measure of dimensionless time

required for heat transfer to occur across an object while Capillary number is the ratio of viscous to

surface tension forces acting across an interface between a liquid and a gas. The experimental data was

compared against the simulation for both Newtonian and shear-thinning fluids and showed that the

simulation was reliable in predicting the relationship between wall thickness vs Fourier number and

Capillary number. An accurate simulation will help to reduce production costs and improve product

quality. Future work will aim to optimize the capillary number prediction based on optimal radial

position to alter viscosity for a more accurate model.


Title: Gas-assisted injection molding in non-isothermal systems at low capillary numbers

Student Presenter: Lena Ta


Abstract: In gas-assisted injection molding (GAIM), pressurized gas is injected into a cavity filled with

molten polymer to create a mold with a hollowed core. Experimentation in non-isothermal conditions at

lower capillary numbers was necessary to evaluate the accuracy of a recently developed simulation

model. Fractional coverage is dependent on a multitude of parameters including the mold's

temperature gradient, delay time, and capillary number used. Capillary number is the ratio of viscous

forces to interfacial tension and is a strong function of gas bubble velocity and fluid viscosity. Previous

experiments have been performed at capillary numbers high enough to maintain the assumption that

fractional coverage will plateau at a value of 0.6. This same assumption, however, cannot be used for

low capillary bubble speeds. The experiments were conducted at low capillary numbers for two

Newtonian fluids, and two water baths with varying temperatures were used to create a gradient. A

high-speed camera captured the polymer behavior as the temperature gradient and gas injection delay

time varied for each trial, and was used to determine the fractional coverage. The simulation program

calculates fractional coverage with inputted initial conditions similar to the trials, and will be compared

to the experimental fractional coverage. It implements a numerical solution through a hybrid control-

volume finite element/finite-difference method, a momentum balance, and heat-transfer governing

equations to predict wall thickness. The simulation incorporates a correcting equation at low capillary

numbers to adjust for non-uniform thickness down the tube, but must be checked for any deviations

from the actual. Experimental results are crucial to determine if the simulation program can accurately

make predications of more realistic process parameters. This research can become a foundation for

future characterization of even more complex GAIM processes, such as ones of non-Newtonian fluids in

non-isothermal, non-steady state systems.


Title: Three dimensional lithographic micro-patterning for the analysis of cancer migration

Student Presenter: Zheng Hong Tan


Abstract: Breast to brain metastasis is a therapeutic challenge that is becoming increasingly common

amongst patients with metastatic breast cancer. Because of limited treatment options, these patients

have a grim prognosis of 6 to 20 months and impaired quality of life from neurologic impairments.

Importantly, metastasis to brain requires breast cancer cells to traverse the blood-brain barrier (BBB), a

natural barrier between the blood and the brain, and form secondary tumors inside the brain stroma.

Not much is known about the mechanisms of metastatic cellular transit across BBB, as current two

dimensional models to study migration do not adequately recapitulate the complex tumor

microenvironment of BBB, including the required dimensionality.This research develops a three

dimensional, lithographically printed, hydrogel model to mimic the BBB that metastatic breast cancer

cells have to traverse to reach brain stroma. This study investigates the physical effects of composite

Hyaluronic Acid(HA)-Collagen hydrogels, which are used to mimic the brain stroma, on breast cancer cell

migration. HA was chosen because it is the most common glycosaminoglycan found in brain,whereas

collagen is a major component of the BBB basement membrane.To study the physical effects of the

hydrogel on migration, MDA-MB-231 breast cancer cells were either encapsulated in the hydrogel or

suspended on the surface of HA-Collagen hydrogels with varying HA concentrations. Cell morphology

and migration velocity were investigated as a function of varying HA concentration and the

dimensionality of the matrix. HA concentrations above 5mg/mL limited migration and adhesion of MDA-

MB-231 cells, resulting in a rounded morphology. Current studies are focusing on the efficacy of the

model in invasion assays.


Title: Stream surface seeding curve generation based on vector similarity

Student Presenter: Ross Vasko

Faculty Advisor: Wenger, Rephael

Abstract: Flow fields are widely used through science and engineering to model phenomena such as air

flow over vehicles, weather patterns, and blood flow. Flow fields are often visualized by geometries such

as stream surfaces. A stream surface is the union of streamlines seeded at an infinite density along a

seeding curve in a flow field. Stream surfaces are a powerful visualization tool that can allow a user to

easily understand how a region of a flow field behaves. A stream surface is completely determined by its

seeding curve. Traditionally, the seeding curve is a single line segment that is placed by the user through

trial and error. This process is time consuming and often produces stream surfaces that appear

unnatural and do not properly represent the flow. We present an algorithm that automatically

generates stream surface seeding curves that accurately capture the behavior of a flow field around a

point given by the user. Our algorithm creates seeding curves that minimize the change in the velocity

vectors along the length of the seeding curve. The seeding curves are also orthogonal to the flow around

the point of the interest. We additionally provide a method of filtering seeding curves based on

similarity measurements using the Frechet distance. Lastly, we demonstrate the effectiveness of our

algorithm by automatically generating seeding curves on a number of fluid flow data sets and displaying

the resulting stream surfaces.


Title: Scalable power generation for wearable electronics using fabric electrochemistry

Student Presenter: Ramandeep Vilkhu

Faculty Advisor: Kiourti, Asimina

Abstract: Wearable sensors are becoming increasingly popular for consumer, sport, and healthcare

applications. In fact, recent studies indicate a projected shipment of over 237 million wearable devices

by 2020. One of the biggest challenges associated with wearable sensors relates to the way of powering

them: batteries are bulky and require frequent maintenance. In this research, we present a new method

for powering wearable sensors via flexible electrochemical fabrics that generate scalable amounts of DC

power when moistened by bodily fluids (sweat, wound exudate, etc.). The electrochemical fabric is

made up of several inter-connected 'printed battery' cells, each of which consists of Ag2O and Zn

deposits to realize the cathode and anode, respectively. When the electrochemical fabric comes in

contact with a conducting fluid, a redox reaction occurs and DC power is generated at the terminals of

the 'printed battery' cell. In the study, two off-the-shelf Procellera® electrochemical 'printed

battery' cells were connected in series via conductive threads, moistened via a saline solution, and used

to power a digital thermometer. A single Procellera® 'printed battery' cell was shown to generate an

open circuit voltage of 0.9V, whereas the series connection of two cells boosted the voltage to 1.2V-

indicating DC power scalability. The digital thermometer's display was shown to flicker when connected

to the two Procellera® 'printed battery' cells. The flickering of the sensor's display as opposed to

fully powering of the sensor is attributed to the limited current generation capabilities of the employed

electrochemical fabric. Future studies will explore more sophisticated electrochemical fabric

configurations for scalable voltage and current generation. Overall, this is the first time that fabric

electrochemistry is demonstrated as a means for powering wearable sensors; thereby serving as a

catalyst for future exploration and scalability that will allow for a novel, efficient method for powering of

wearable sensors.


Title: Uniting thermodynamics, rheology, and drag reduction of surfactant micelles: temperature effects

Student Presenter: Lucas Watson

Faculty Advisor: Zakin, Jacques

Abstract: A surfactant is a molecule consisting of a polar headgroup and a non-polar tail. Because of this

dichotomy, under appropriate conditions the surfactants in aqueous solvent will self assemble into a

variety of structures to minimize the contact between the hydrophobic tails and the surrounding water.

The resulting self assembled micelle structures can have a dramatic effect on the physical properties of

their solutions such reduction of pressure requirements in turbulent flow-up to 90%. Each micelle

morphology has unique effects on the physical properties of their solutions. The morphology of a

surfactant micelle is determined by its packing parameter which varies by temperature, deformation

rate, and chemical composition. Unfortunately, there is no way to directly image or predict the

nanostructure of the micelles while they are in flow. Because of this, it has been impossible thus far to

understand details of the mechanism of drag reduction. The objective of this study is to predict drag

reduction parameters for new solutions using predictions from thermodynamics. Rheology, dynamic

light scattering, and Cryo-TEM imaging will be used to determine the size and nanostructure of

surfactant micelles over a range of temperatures and solution compositions. These experimental results

and thermodynamic trends will be applied to drag reduction data to infer the morphology of the

micelles in drag reduced flow. Preliminary results suggest that wormlike micelles are present.

Furthermore, temperature can have either an inverse or direct influence on the Reynolds number of the

onset of drag reduction depending on whether vesicles or wormlike micelles are present in the

quiescent state.


Title: Influence of tumor microenvironment biophysical properties on Myoferlin-mediated changes in

breast cancer cell migration and invasion

Student Presenter: Kelsey Watts

Faculty Advisor: Ghadiali, Samir

Abstract: The five-year survival rate for breast cancer decreases from 89.4% to 25.9% if the cancer

metastasizes to invade other body tissues. Metastasis requires increase cell motility and previous

studies indicate that loss of a membrane repair protein, Myoferlin (MYOF), can be used to reduce the

motility of a highly invasive line of breast cancer cells, MDA-MB-231. In addition, biophysical properties

of the tumor microenvironment, such as tissue stiffness and fibroblast-mediated remodeling of the

collagen extracellular matrix, can alter cell motility. For example, the loss of an important tumor

suppressor, PTEN, in stromal fibroblasts leads to increase collagen deposition and remodeling, a stiffer

microenvironment and increased tumor growth. However, it is not known if "knocking down" MYOF

expression (MYOF-KD) can modulate cell motility under different biophysical conditions. In this study,

we first cultured spheroids of wild-type (WT) and MYOF-KD tumor epithelial cells on polyacrylamide gels

of varying stiffness and quantified migration over 24 hours. WT cells cultured on stiffer gels exhibited

greater migration while the migration of KD-MYOF cells was relatively low on all gels. In a second study,

wild-type mouse mammary fibroblasts (WT-F) or fibroblasts with a mutation that results in the loss of

PTEN (PTEN-null) were seeded into a 2 mg/mL collagen gel and allowed to remodel the collagen matrix

over 24 hours. Fluorescently labeled WT and MYOF-KD epithelial cells were then seeded on top of the

remodeled gels and epithelial cells invasion through the gel was quantified. PTEN-null fibroblasts

induced significantly more invasion for both WT and MYOF-KD cells and MYOF-KD cells invaded less than

WT cells under all conditions. These results indicate that knocking down MYOF leads to decreased in

migration and invasion under different biophysical conditions. Future studies will seek to determine the

specific mechanism by which knocking down MYOF alters cancer cell motility.


Title: Modulation of collagen fibril structure and matrix mineralization by DDR1

Student Presenter: Brent Weiss


Abstract: Collagen type I is the most abundant extracellular matrix protein. Understanding the role

collagen fibril play in collagen mineralization is relevant to the field of biomaterials as well as in

understanding the pathogenesis of diseases characterized by aberrant mineralization. The collagen fibril

structure can be modified by certain non-collagenous proteins which bind to collagen, such as discoidin

domain receptor (DDR1). The Agarwal lab has previously established that by binding with collagen and

disorganizing the fibril structure, the collagen receptor DDR1 modulates collagen fibrillogenesis and the

resulting morphology of collagen fibrils in both in-vitro and in cell-based assays. This project aims to

further the field by analyzing how mineralization in collagen fibrils is differentially impacted by the

presence of DDR1 in murine models. Studies were conducted on the femora extracted from DDR1

Knout-out (KO) and Wild-type (WT) mice. Mechanical properties of the femora such as stiffness and

toughness were determined from 3-point-bending experiments and the resulting load vs. displacement

data. The broken bone samples were then cleaned and defatted and subjected to Thermogravimetric

analysis (TGA) and Inductively Coupled Plasma Optical Emission Spectrometry (ICP-OES) protocols to

determine mineral content and relative weight percentages of Ca and P respectively. The collagen fibril

structure was analyzed using transmission electron microscopy. Our results indicate an increased

stiffness for DDR1 KO bones, which is correlated with their increased mineral content. The collagen fibril

diameter was increased in DDR1 KO mice suggesting a putative role of collagen fibril in promoting

mineralization. Understanding how DDR1 effects mineralization could have broader applications in

understanding the regulatory effects of DDR1 on matrix accumulation and mineralization in the body

and in the development of collagen based biomaterials.


Title: Hydrodechlorination of trichloroethylene over palladium supported on high temperature treated

swellable organically modified silica

Student Presenter: Trevor Wendt

Faculty Advisor: Ozkan, Umit

Abstract: As many parts of the world face water shortages, it is essential to find ways to decontaminate

groundwater contaminants like the volatile compound trichloroethylene (TCE). A hydrodechlorination

(HDC) reaction could treat this carcinogen by reducing the chlorinated hydrocarbon with hydrogen over

palladium metal to produce ethane gas and hydrochloric acid. In order to protect the active metal from

anionic poisons like chlorine and sulfur present in groundwater, a novel compound called swellable

organically modified silica (SOMS) has been proposed as a possible catalytic support due to its

hydrophobicity. However, SOMS is not thermally stable and cannot be used in reactions requiring high

operating temperatures. This study shows the effects of fully saturating the material with acetone and

calcinating it instantly at high temperature (H-SOMS) prior to impregnating palladium catalyst to

improve the thermal stability. In order to understand the chemical and physical properties of the H-

SOMS, nitrogen physisorption, temperature programmed decomposition (TPD), and CO chemisorption

were utilized. The steady-state gas-phase HDC of TCE catalytic activity experiments were performed in a

fixed-bed reactor using gas chromatography (GC) to identify and quantify reaction products. These

methods showed that the instant heat treatment changed the textual properties and increased the

accessibility of CO to the Pd sites. The high temperature treated swellable organically modified silica did

achieve better conversion than original SOMS (from 38% to 93% at 200â•°C). These promising results

reveal H-SOMS would make an effective catalytic support for HDC reactions operating at high

temperatures. Using this discovery, the cost of water treatment plants could potentially be reduced due

to the better utilization and protection of the active metal. Increasing the feasibility of eliminating

volatile chlorinated hydrocarbons could result in cleaner and safer drinking water.



Student Presenter: Kierra Wiggins
















Title: Application of parametric reduced order models in gas turbine bladed disks

Student Presenter: Ryan Wilber

Faculty Advisor: D'Souza, Kiran

Abstract: Gas turbines experience vibrational effects in blades during normal operations, however, if

unchecked these vibrations can lead to failure. There are many parameters that affect these vibrations

including mistuning effects, which changes the stiffness of individual blades, and rotational speed, which

makes all the blades on the disk stiffer. The goal of my research is to create a parametric reduced order

model (PROM) to capture the effects of rotational speed and mistuning while being computationally

efficient. Current industrial bladed disk geometries are often very complex, leading to high

computational costs when running vibration simulations. For this reason, reduced order models (ROMs)

are needed in order to make the analysis more efficient when conducting statistical studies of mistuned

bladed disks. To couple the effects of mistuning and rotational speed, a PROM is used to approximate

the stiffness matrix at any speed by using a Taylor series approximation at three simulated speeds. The

PROM is combined with the nodal energy weighted transformation (NEWT) method which is used to

capture the mistuning effects by creating ROMs using a set of the mode shapes from the vibration

analysis of a single sector model. Forced response and modal analysis can then be conducted on the

reduced system to compute vibrational characteristics of the system. Preliminary results show that

rotational effects will cause a quadratic increase in the natural frequencies of the blades and a great

variation in the modes shapes. This causes the mode shapes for each speed to be included when

reducing the matrices. This modeling method requires three initial simulations in order to create the

initial PROM. Then the user can operate in the reduced order space to investigate a variety of mistuning

levels and rotational speeds, which leads to great computational savings.


Title: Hydrogen measurement capabilities for characterizing hydrogen-assisted cracking in dissimilar

metal welds

Student Presenter: Jacob Wildofsky

Faculty Advisor: Alexandrov, Boian

Abstract: Oil and gas companies have been experiencing catastrophic subsea pipeline fracturing and

failure due to hydrogen assisted cracking (HAC). The cracking originates from dissimilar metal welds

(DMW) on high strength steel forgings with Ni-base or austenitic stainless steel filler metals after

hydrogen slowly diffuses into the dissimilar transition zone in hydrogen containing environments. The

welding research group at the OSU materials science and engineering department is currently

conducting Delayed Hydrogen Cracking tests (DHCT) on DMW samples to determine the conditions for

failure utilizing constant loading conditions and simultaneous hydrogen charging. Additional hydrogen

measurement capabilities were required to quantify the maximum amount of hydrogen, which diffuses

into the sample before it fails in the DHCT test (hydrogen saturation time), and the rate at which

hydrogen diffuses in and out of the sample (hydrogen diffusion coefficients). A gas chromatography

thermal conductivity detector (GC TCD) was modified to test DHCT samples for diffusible hydrogen

content. The GC TCD functions by flowing nitrogen gas over a hydrogen charged sample, collecting and

measuring the diffused gas in the TCD. Software was developed in LabVIEW to collect and analyze these

voltage and temperature signals. Utilizing a personally designed calibration valve, the GC TCD calculates

the volume of hydrogen within an unknown sample by comparing the signals from known volumes of

hydrogen generated by the valve. In order to characterize and compare the hydrogen measurements

between DHCT samples, a data base is in development of the hydrogen content and diffusion rates

within samples of varying compositions, dimensions, and charging periods. When complete, oil and gas

companies can use the DHCT test to prevent future failures by evaluation the HAC susceptibility of

undersea pipes that approach the observed maximum load, hydrogen content, and time required for a

fracture to occur.


Title: Effect of nanoparticle addition on grain refinement and solidification cracking in high-strength

aluminum welds

Student Presenter: Brett Worrell

Faculty Advisor: Zhang, Wei

Abstract: Aluminum alloy (AA) 7075 is very desirable across many industries such as aerospace and

automotive for its high yield strength to density ratio. However, AA 7075 is limited in many applications

due to its poor weldability with arc welding processes. Currently, the main solution to join AA 7075

materials is to use friction stir welding which is limited to welding in the flat position, and not feasible

for joining parts with more complicated geometries. Arc welding processes offer the ability to weld

these more complicated geometries. A major factor preventing AA 7075 from being arc welded is the

tendency for solidification cracking to occur. Literature reviews have shown that decreasing the average

grain size can successfully reduce the solidification cracking susceptibility. In this study, TiO2

nanopowder (30-50 nm) was introduced to welds created with the gas tungsten arc welding (GTAW)

process to investigate the effect on grain refinement, and subsequent solidification cracking resistance.

Initially the TiO2 nanopowder has been introduced into the aluminum through containing the

nanopowder in foil and creating a spot weld on top of an AA 7075 sample. These GTAW spot weld trials

have shown a reduction in grain size of up to 47% with additions of five weight percent TiO2

nanopowder. The current method is to friction stir weld the particles into the AA 7075 base metal to

better disperse the particles throughout the material. A GTAW weld will then be created on top of these

friction stir welds. Possible reductions in solidification cracking could show plausible uses for introducing

nanoparticles to high strength aluminum and creating a filler wire containing these nanoparticles.


Title: Generating and building a perfect perfect-maze in Unity

Student Presenter: Skylar Wurster

Faculty Advisor: Crawfis, Roger

Abstract: Using research on creating new algorithms to generate perfect mazes satisfying specified

attributes - such as solution path length, dead end length, choice tiles, etc. - the goal of this project was

to create a Unity plugin which takes the resulting perfect maze topology and produces a game level. One

approach I explored was to generate Wang Tiles through editing terrain chunks. For a perfect maze, a

graph on a Cartesian grid in which all grid cells are connected without any loops, there are 15 different

"types" of tiles that a required, tile topologies. Another approach placed objects or barricades to

produce the tiles used to construct the maze level. We began by creating algorithms that turn the two

bit vectors which represent a compressed representation of a spanning tree on the grid into a tiling of

tile topologies. From there, we created tools that allow the user to change the tiles generated so that a

path for the maze is visible on the tiles. After this was implemented, we explored ways to have the maze

look more natural. This included recursive backtracking for random walks and using a Bezier curve when

painting the path on the tile's texture. The finished tool will speed up the creative process, and will allow

rapid prototyping of various maze-based maps.


Title: Enhanced butanol production in Clostridium acetobutylicum using small regulatory RNAs for

metabolic engineering

Student Presenter: Hopen Yang

Faculty Advisor: Wood, David

Abstract: Butanol is an attractive alternative to fossil fuels due to its high energy density and ability to

directly replace gasoline. The anaerobic bacterium Clostridium acetobutylicum produces butanol,

acetone, ethanol, butyrate and acetate during the ABE fermentation process. To increase butanol titer

and yield, we chose to down-regulate two genes in the ABE metabolic pathway, buk and hydA. Down-

regulation of these genes presents a novel opportunity to modify Clostridium, as hydA is essential to

cellular function and cannot be turned off completely using the DNA knockout method (gene

disruption). Instead we used a regulatory RNA-based gene expression control system for metabolic

engineering in C. acetobutylicum. Bacterial small genetic regulatory RNAs (sRNAs) bind to protein-coding

mRNA sequences to enhance or reduce mRNA translation and thus protein expression, and can provide

flexible gene expression tuning. We used E. coli DsrA sRNA variants previously retargeted to bind the

clostridial mRNA leaders. DsrA is a multi-targeting sRNA that allows simultaneous retargeting to both

clostridial transcripts. The sRNA was semirationally designed using genetic engineering techniques and

prototyped in an E. coli genetic system for repression of buk and hydA reporter gene fusions. In this

work, a recombinant shuttle vector plasmid for sRNA production was created and used to transform C.

acetobutylicum ATCC 824 in anaerobic conditions. The DsrA variants were then tested in C.

acetobutylicum to determine fermentation yields as compared to the original strain. Preliminary results

show that one of our DsrA variants that target hydA improves butanol yield, presumably by increasing

the intracellular NADH concentration. Simultaneously we see decreased production of butyrate and

acetate. This project will significantly improve the economic viability of the production process for

biologically derived n-butanol. The sRNA platform has potential for broad applications in metabolically

engineering various bacterial species for specialty chemicals synthesis.


Title: Conversion efficiency of EHC in cold start and stop-start events with different heating patterns for

plug-in hybrid electric vehicle

Student Presenter: Shuhan Yang

Faculty Advisor: Midlam-Mohler, Shawn

Abstract: As concern for the environmental issues become more severe, emission regulations typically

become more stringent. To meet increasing demands of emissions regulations Electrically Heated

Catalysts (EHCs) have been proposed as a solution. This technology can be particularly helpful for Plug-In

Hybrid Electric Vehicles (PHEVs) to reduce the emissions following a cold start event. One challenge for

implementation on PHEVs is that they typically have low current capability in the 12-volt system that

supplies the EHCs. EHCs often require more than 100 amps from a 12-volt system for 20-30 seconds

making it difficult to use in a PHEV. This research is focused on investigating the relationship between

emission conversion efficiencies and heating patterns to achieve the desired emission reduction goal. A

wide range of heating times, air flow rates, and power for cold starts and warm/hot engine restarts

were tested to study thermal and chemical characteristics of the EHC. Emissions data during these tests

was collected and studied to determine the best possible solution for lowering emissions while staying

within the constraints of the 12-volt system. These results were used to develop a control strategy for

OSU's EcoCAR vehicle which will compete in a national competition in May of 2017.


Title: Induction of hypertrophy in human cartilage endplate cells promotes angiogenesis and catabolism

in the intervertebral disc

Student Presenter: Taylor Yeater

Faculty Advisor: Purmessur, Devina

Abstract: Low back pain is second only to cancer in terms of socioeconomic burden in the U.S., but

current treatments are highly invasive and fail to target the underlying cellular mechanisms of

intervertebral disc (IVD) degeneration. In degeneration, the cartilaginous end plate (CEP) becomes

calcified, which coincides with angiogenesis and neoinnervation into the IVD. In diseases such as

osteoarthritis, a proposed mechanism is the recapitulation of developmental processes and we suggest

that in degeneration, CEP cells undergo hypertrophic differentiation similar to endochondral

ossification. The aim of this study was to determine if CEP cells can undergo hypertrophic

differentiation, leading to angiogenesis. Human CEP cells were isolated from autopsy and pellet

cultured. Cells were cultured in basal media for 24 hours, after which samples were used for qRT-PCR,

DMMB proteoglycan assay, and generation of conditioned media (CM). For 21 days, pellets were

cultured in either chondrogenic or hypertrophic (10% FBSorCHIR99021, a wnt agonist) media in 5%

oxygen. Soluble factors from CM generated after 21 days was pooled, and a HUVEC tubular formation

assay ran. Tubular length was assessed using Image J plug in, Angiogensis Analyzer. QRT-PCR showed a

decrease of chondrogenic marker, COL2, in both hypertrophy groups compared to the chondrogenic

group. Hypertrophic markers MMP13 and IHH displayed increases in the hypertrophy groups. Increases

were also seen in the angiogenic and pain related markers, VEGF-A, TAC1, and NGF in the hypertrophy

groups. DMMB assay results show decreases in proteoglycans in the hypertrophy groups. HUVEC tubular

formation assay showed that both hypertrophy groups increased the total length of tubules. This study

sought to determine the underlying cellular mechanisms of low back pain and suggests that

hypertrophic differentiation of CEPs, with subsequent angiogenesis and neoinnervation, may be

implicated in the process of IVD degeneration.


Title: Controlling ionic conductivity via PPy-based regulation

Student Presenter: Victoria Yee

Faculty Advisor: Sundaresan, Vishnu

Abstract: Aqueous systems, especially for biological applications, can be sensitive to minute changes in

chemical composition. Therefore, understanding the effect of ionic concentration on these systems is a

research topic of interest. Electrically conductive polymers, such as polypyrrole, intercalate ions in a

solution at the onset of electrical potentials. Through this removal (reduction of polypyrrole) or addition

(oxidation of polypyrrole) of ions, the chemical concentration of the solution is altered. While this

concentration change uniquely perturbs the system, the effects of the transport phenomena on overall

solution composition are not well-quantified. In an effort to further understand how aqueous systems

are influenced by conducting polymers, a relationship between polypyrrole mass and change in a bulk

ionic solution was studied by measuring changes in ionic conductivity. Polypyrrole samples of varying

masses underwent chronoamperometry in multiple potassium chloride concentrations, and the number

of ions moved by polypyrrole was calculated. In the same chamber, cyclic voltammetry was performed

in a conductivity cell (formed with platinum wire electrodes) during both reduction and oxidation of

polypyrrole. Preliminary findings indicated more massive polypyrrole samples removed a greater

number of ions from the bulk solution, although experiments are still ongoing. As ions are removed from

solution, the ionic content and therefore conductivity decrease. Due to ions favoring ingression to sites

near the polymer's surface, membranes were expected to impede ingression once a certain polymer

thickness was achieved. A limit to the relationship between polymer thickness and ionic conductivity

was present in the data, as conductivity increases at the highest thicknesses tested. These findings

establish that polypyrrole can be used as a solid-state method to alter ionic conductivity without

needing to input additional fluid into the system. With further refinement, polypyrrole has potential as a

solid-state method for controlling chemical concentrations in a solution and vacillate between desired

concentrations.

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