Student Projects

Blame Attribution, Race, and Ethnicity in Juvenile Perpetuated School Shootings

Abstract Following the Columbine High School shooting in 1999, the United States experienced a rise in school-based gun violence. As a result, the public has looked for someone to blame, directing attention towards the perpetrator, schools, law enforcement, and gun policy. Particularly, parents have born the burden of responsibility for their child’s actions, viewed by …

The Role of Parenting Composition on Deviance

Objectives: Research has indicated that parenting style influences healthy development in children. Although this finding is significant, it does not address how family structure can influence later deviance. This study examines the role that unconventional familial composition, such as the number of guardians involved in parenting, has on deviant behavior. Data & Methods: Using case …

Terrorism Recidivism Study

About the TRS After the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001, the government enacted policies that resulted in the capture and detention of alleged terrorists to be held in Guantanamo Bay. The rush to hold those involved in international terrorism led to a quick rise in population at the naval …

Synthesis of Thin Film, Nonfouling, Polyampholyte Hydrogels

Abstract: Zwitterions are molecules that possess both a negatively and positively charged region, but maintain an overall net charge of zero. Zwitterionic polymer hydrogels possess good hydrophilic and nonfouling properties. The nonfouling property means these materials greatly reduce the amount of nonspecific protein adsorption that can occur on the material. The nonfouling nature of zwitterionic …

Spatial Analysis of Soil Lead Exposures from Lead Poisoning Tragedy in Nigerian Mining Villages

Abstract In 2010, an unprecedented lead poisoning in Zamfara State, Nigeria resulted in the death of more than 400 children. The outbreak was caused by artisanal processing of lead-rich gold ores inside rural village homes, where incidental ingestion of contaminated soils and dusts resulted in geomean blood lead levels (BLLs) of 149 µg/dL and maximum …

Testing the Capacity to Over-Stabilize Viruses by Engineering Mutations into the Capsid of Bacteriophage ɸX174

An effective virus must successfully attach to a receptor on a host cell and inject its genetic material into the cell so that new viruses can be produced. Its ability to infect the host cell is highly dependent on both the binding capability of its capsid proteins as well their ability to modify their conformation …