Scholars Independent Research Fellowship Symposium

Earlier this fall, the University Scholars Program hosted its third annual Scholars Research Symposium, showcasing the independently-conducted, student-originated, faculty-mentored research efforts and creative endeavors of Scholars Summer Independent Research Fellowship recipients. Thirty-two Scholars presented the results of their summer-long intensive efforts to the entire university community in the Curry Student Center Ballroom. Projects ranged in scope from the development of novel scintillating bolometers for use in the detection of sub-atomic particles to the characterization of efficiency for a Continuously Variable Transmission to an examination of the differences between dark pool and high frequency trading regulations in the United States and Europe to the creation of a personal ethnography via podcast which documented the impact of the Cultural Revolution on one Chinese-American family. Below are project descriptions and links to posters from a few of the many impressive projects done this year. The projects that are not highlighted here are listed below with title and name of the student who conducted the research.

A Multi-Assay Recording System (MARS) for Electrophysiological Data Acquisition from Awake Behaving Mice
George Bekheet, COS ’18; Hayden Henderson, COE ’18
This project aimed to design and fabricate a modular headstage, which is a device used by researchers to record physiological electrical activity. The headstage mounts onto the head of a rodent and allows researchers, for the first time, to collect multiple kinds of data simultaneously from an awake behaving mouse. The headstage can be customized by individual researchers to fit their specific needs.
Advised by Marilyn Minus, Associate Professor of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering, College of Engineering, and Joshua Sarinana, Communications Administrator and Science Writer at the MIT Picower Institute for Learning and Memory

Queer Right to the City: Homonormative Streetscapes in Neoliberal New York and San Francisco
Mason Gersh, CSSH ’18
As the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender (LGBT) community continues its move towards the mainstream, historic queer neighborhoods and their residents are facing challenges that threaten their purpose and way of life. Through participant observation and formal interviews in New York and San Francisco, this project sought to explore the rapid changes experienced in queer urban space in the past two decades, ultimately arguing that neoliberal policy and the rise of “homonormativity” have sterilized queer nightlife, lessened diversity, and depoliticized once crucial community spaces.
Advised by Thomas J. Vicino, Associate Professor of Political Science, Public Policy, and Urban Affairs, College of Social Sciences and Humanities

Energy Trends in the Developing World
Amina Ly, COS ’18
The ability of utility companies to expand their reach and energy capacity relies on many factors including government support, international standards set by organizations such as the United Nations, available funds, and commitment to alternative and flexible energy sources. All of these factors, paired with the competitive global market, can easily influence not only the electricity grid, but the ability for a country to continue developing successfully. This project sought to understand how global sustainability goals align with trends of energy demand, distribution, and use in developing nations, and the effects of said energy demand on urban development.  Focus was placed on a sample of countries whose projected economic and population growth exceeded the global average.
Advised by James Connolly, Assistant Professor of Public Policy and Political Science, School of Public Policy and Urban Affairs

Characterizing the Efficiency of a Continuously Variable Transmission with Respect to Belt Tension
Dan Polnerow, COE ’17; Mitch White, COE ’17
The Northeastern Baja SAE Team currently employs a Continuously Variable Transmission (CVT), which uses friction between a rubber belt and two variable diameter pulleys to transfer torque at infinitely variable gear ratios. This project involved the construction of an apparatus to measure the efficiency of mechanical power transfer during acceleration by the CVT, with the goal of maximizing the acceleration achievable by the team’s custom off-road racing vehicle. Tests were conducted both under normal operating conditions and with various external tensioning forces applied to the belt.
Advised by Andrew Gouldstone, Associate Professor of  Mechanical and Industrial Engineering, College of Engineering

Colored: Crack Cocaine, the War on Drugs, and the Making of Post-Civil Rights America
Prasanna Rajasekaran, CSSH ’17; Joe Tache, DMSB ’18
Colored: Crack Cocaine, the War on Drugs, and the Making of Post-Civil Rights America is a seven-part podcast series exploring the racial dynamic behind the War on Drugs and the crack cocaine scare—specifically drawing from the perspective of Black Americans living in Boston. Rajasekaran and Tache delve into the complexities of this era, while presenting their ideas in an unconventional way. Each episode focuses on one theme, building to conclusions that extend far beyond drug policy.
Advised by Sarah Jackson, Assistant Professor of Communication Studies, College of Arts, Media and Design

Short Film Pre-Production: Investigating the Florida Everglades
Victoria Barranco, CAMD ’19

Developing MapReduce in Snap! for Parallel Programming and Big Data
Suzanne Becker, CCIS ’20

The State of Inclusive Play Across the United States
Durward Benham, CCIS ’18; Monisha Reginald, CSSH ’18

The Effect of Member Value Congruence in Social and Instrumental Ties on Member Commitment to the Mission of Social Enterprises
Maria Bermudez Pizano, DMSB ’19; Yara Gosula, DMSB ’19

There’s No Place Like Home: Cultural Agility of Military Families Abroad
Zoe Bishop, COS ’19; Rachna Igwe, COE ’19

Scintillating Bolometer Monte Carlo for Rare Particle Event Searches
Nicholas DePorzio, COS ’17

A National Assessment of Water Body Phosphorous Loading from Septic Systems
Margaret DiGiorno, COS ’17

Unassisted: Living Alone in Boston as an Older Adult
Anthony Formicola, COS ’18

Underrepresentation Down Under: A Critical Assessment of Higher Education Resources for Indigenous Peoples in Australia
Adrian Forrest, CAMD ’19; Chynna Lewis, DMSB ’19; Congtin Nguyen, COE ’19

Bethany – A Modern Watch with Vintage Aesthetic
Carlos Fuentes, COE ’18

Dark Pool and High Frequency Trading
Eric Holland, DMSB ’17

Shaping an Integrative Curriculum: An Exploration of Sexual and Reproductive Health Education for Adolescents with Physical Disabilities
Morgan Hines, COS ’19; Lynn Zhang, Bouvé ’19

Waste to Wattage: Thermal Energy Collection for High Efficiency Solar Cells
Emma Kaeli, COE ’18

From Brown to Green: Transition to a Green Economy for Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises in Kazakhstan and Singapore
Botakoz Koshkarova, COE ’20

European Views on the U.S. Political Scene
Daniel Lawrence, Undeclared ’20; Daniel Ostberg, COE ’20

Effects of pH on Hydrogen Evolution Reaction (HER) and Oxygen Evolution Reaction (OER) Performance of Non-PGM Electrodes in Alkaline Media
Christopher Lin, COS ’17

Pain Away with RA
Kelli Lynch, COE ’17

Intergenerational Narratives of First- and Second-Generation South Asian Americans
Sneha Pandya, CSSH ’17

Feature Extraction and Classification of Electromyographic Signals for Grasp Level Control of a Robotic Hand
Alexander Piers, COE ’17

The Topology of Fair Division
Maxwell Polevy, CCIS ’17

Frequency of Use of the Religious Exemption in New Jersey Cases of Determination of Brain Death
Rachel Son, COS ’20

How Do Genes Work Together to Regulate Aging in C. elegans?
Julian Stanley, COS ’20

A Dialogue on Dialogues: The Effects of Short-Term Study Abroad on College Students’ Cultural Competencies
Allison Traylor, DMSB ’17

Finding ‘Face’: The Power of Narrative through Chinese and Chinese American Voices
Amy Zhao, COE ’19

Longer descriptions of each project can be found within our UGRCE database.