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About the Collection
The Office of Undergraduate Research (OUR) provides students with the opportunity to present their research at three annual undergraduate research symposia. This collection contains slides from student lightning talks.
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Nucleic Acid Extraction of Human Immunodeficiency Virus from Municipal Wastewater
Fritz Vanderford, Hayley Baker, and Ching-Lan Chang
In 2021, globally there were ~ 38.4 million people living with Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), ~650,000 people died from acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) related illnesses, ~1.5 million people acquired HIV. In the US, ~1.9 million people had HIV at the end of 2019, ~30,635 people were diagnosed with HIV in 2020.
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Urban and Community Tree Cover in the Mountain West
Annie Vong
Tree Cover: provides shade, absorbs carbon, e.g. trees and bushes. Impervious Cover: absorbs heat, e.g. concrete and buildings.
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Food Insecurity in Nevada
Zachary Walusek
Defining the Food Insecurity Landscape, Methodology, Findings
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How Social Media Marketing Impacts the Economy
Madisen Yoder
Survey Question Topics: 1. Respondent Demographics 2. Social Media Platform Usage 3. Frequency of Social Media Advertising 4. Influence of Social Media Advertising on Purchasing Decisions
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Why Are My Rates Going Up? An Examination Behind NV Energy's Recent Electric Rate Increase
Grace Zielinski
96% of Nevadans live in NV Energy's service territory. Rate increase directly connected to natural gas consumption rate increase. Recent Californian heatwave raised demand for Natural Gas, straining supply and increasing prices. NV Energy does not make profit over recent increase. Electric rate increase implemented to cover the Natural Gas price increase.
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Effects of Recycled Asphalt Binder on the Viscosity of Recycled Binder and Mixtures
Abdulrahman Alahdal and Moses Karakouzian Ph.D.
Asphalt pavement is a combination of materials that are typically used in the construction of roads, highways, airports, parking lots, etc. Asphalt pavement consists of asphalt binder, mineral filler, and a mixture of aggregates such as crushed rocks, sand, slags, and gravel. These components are produced with a great deal of energy which results in significant CO2 emissions. In this study, the viscosity of virgin and reclaimed asphalt binders, as well as reclaimed asphalt binders and virgin asphalt binders’ mixtures, are examined according to the testing protocol and specifications of the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO). Results from this study will allow reclaimed asphalt to be used in asphalt mixtures to the greatest extent possible. Carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions directly increase as asphalt production grows. As a result of studying the effects, we will be able to increase the proportion of reclaimed asphalt pavement used in new asphalt pavement mixtures, which in turn will decrease the yearly CO2 emissions.
To maximize asphalt pavement's strength and resistance, it is crucial to maintain its viscosity, since asphalt binder is responsible for holding aggregate together. We found that the viscosity of the mixtures containing 5 to 30% reclaimed asphalt binder decreased linearly as the percentage of reclaimed asphalt binder increased. Despite this, specimens with 30 to 50% reclaimed asphalt binder show an increasing viscosity as the amount of reclaimed asphalt binder increases. Accordingly, reclaimed asphalt should account for approximately 5-30% of the total mix of asphalt.
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Visualizing the Southern Nevada Homelessness Crisis
Vanessa Marie Booth and William Brown Ph.D.
Presented in this policy study, is an in-depth analysis of the growing Homelessness Crisis occurring across the state of Nevada while focusing on the state of play scenario that the Las Vegas Metropolitan Area presents. The data synthesized in this study primarily focuses on predicted homelessness rates, the current scope of the homelessness crisis, housing affordability, accessibility to poverty alleviation services, alongside notable policy recommendations. The scope of the study calls into question the funding formula and allocations of federal funds to solve the current homelessness crisis. Research methodologies in this study include but are not limited to, several mixed-methods like policy data analysis, data interpretation, observations, and archival research. The findings of this study indicate that immediate policy remedies/solutions are needed to alleviate the exacerbating homelessness crisis in Southern Nevada.
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A Study on Improvement of Mobile App for UNLV: Campus Safety Protocol in User Experience
Mayra Carrera, Mustafa Diallo, Cecilia Garcia-Leon, Khristine Le, Kristine Monsada, and Sang-Duck Seo Ph.D.
According to The National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), an average of 28,000 crimes were reported on college campuses across the United States in 2019. However, while many universities offer services to help students stay safe while on campus, students continue to feel unsafe.
The University of Nevada Las Vegas’s (UNLV) proximity to the Las Vegas Strip causes campus to be vulnerable to crime. While UNLV offers students safety resources through their campus safety app, ‘RebelSafe,’ we found that only a small percentage of UNLV students actually use the app and wanted to pinpoint why. Thus, we focused our research on improving the usability and User Experience (UX) of this existing campus safety application by redesigning the app and conducting usability tests with the redesign.
To test the effectiveness of the new redesign, our empirical study consists of three tasks for participants to execute: contacting police, requesting safety escorts, and accessing other safety resources. The findings from the usability testing help us analyze the difficulties users experience from the prototype. They also help us determine areas that are working and areas that need improvement.
By focusing on the improvement of the existing UNLV RebelSafe mobile app, this study intends not only to specify an effective user interface design that fits into emergency protocol procedure but also to clarify the campus safety resources through a single mobile application.
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The Joestar Spirit: How the Protagonists of JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure Embody Key Traits of the Hero
Tracy Fuentes and Amy M. Green Ph.D.
Despite how much anime has grown in popularity over the decade and even more so this past year, studies on animes outside of Studio Ghibli’s filmography remain minimal compared to the large amount of content available today. The complexity and artistry presented in anime make them worthy of literary analysis, and the anime Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure is no exception to this. Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure spans five parts consisting of different storylines, each with its own protagonist. This paper seeks to explore the anime Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure as a literary work, and specifically examine how the characters compare to the typical hero and portrayals of masculinity. This character analysis argues that although the five protagonists of the anime are drastically different in personality and character, they all possess four basic traits of a hero: selflessness, bravery, a strong sense of justice, and the ability to succeed alone. Using the words of the creator of Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure, Hirohiko Araki; evidence from the anime; and research on heroes and Japanese culture, this paper demonstrates how the five characters exemplify these heroic traits.
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Teaching for Black and Brown Lives: The Importance of Ethnic Studies Curriculum in the Education Success of Black and Latinx Students
Lauren Patterson, Kendra Beach, and Christine Clark Ph.D.
This study identifies school policies and practices that create a gap in support for Ethnic Studies for high school graduation, college graduation, and teacher licensures. The first method was interviewing specific stakeholders through zoom who were in the position for the purpose of the research. The interviewed participants answered questions about the policies related to Ethnic studies, practice school policies, and implications of the ratification of Ethnic study policies in Nevada. The second method was analyzing Nevada state and Department of Education policies relating to teacher education. Interpreting how UNLV teacher licensure programs apply those policies in the preparation curriculum. Results from the methods were initial findings were 75% of the student population in CCSD are students of color, but there are still limited clubs that surround racialized experiences. Although students who participated in racial/ethnic club activities led to more enrollment in elective courses. Ethnic studies are considered along with social studies and “diversity studies”, which need to be differentiated from one another. Ethnic study courses can be a valuable enhancement to build cross-racial solidarity and create opportunities to make sense of school experiences. It is critical to make a foundation for success for Students of Color and Families of color in many schools and communities in CCSD.
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The Bronze Head of Thracian Ruler Seuthes III
Andrea Rangelova and Aya Louisa McDonald Ph.D.
In 2004 Bulgarian archeologists, Dr. Kitov and Dr. Dimitrova, discovered a unique Hellenistic era bronze head in a Royal Thracian burial, outside the Golyamata Kosmatka tomb. Research and visual analysis has shown that this head is most likely a portrait of Seuthes III, the ruler of Odrysian Thrace. This identification is indicated by its close resemblance to realistically sculpted profile images of Seuthes III found on Thracian coins. In both cases the heads are characterized by a thick beard and a crooked nose, which create a singular, individual identity. Traditional Greek bronze heads around 4 B.C. are beardless.
The head is a masterpiece of Hellenistic realism, dated to c. 4th Century BCE. The archaeologists further suggest that the bronze head of Seuthes III played a significant part in spiritual rituals of the Odryssian Thracians. Further objects inside the Golyamata Kosmatka tomb reveal the substantial influence of Hellenistic Greek art: a silver pitcher, a silver vial, a gold wreath with oak leaves, and a bronze helmet engraved in Greek script with the name of Seuthes III. Fragmentary images of the Gorgon Medusa were found on the funeral bed and the gold wreath. We conclude that the bronze head of Seuthes III is unique and has no analog in the Greek World.
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Compressive Strength for Geopolymer Mortar
Kers Ung-Watson and Moses Karakouzian Ph.D.
Portland cement is a common building material used globally and has been around for over one hundred years. It is reliable, inexpensive, and its material properties have been thoroughly researched. However, in recent years, the development of new building materials that are more environmentally sustainable has begun to become increasingly important to combat global warming. Research has shown that geopolymers produce less carbon dioxide emission and could possibly be a substitute for portland cement. Thus the scope of this paper is to determine the compressive strength of geopolymer to portland cement using mortar samples. ASTM C 109/C 109M-02 was followed and used as a reference when performing the experiment. Slight variations were made when creating geopolymer mortar samples due to a different chemical structure than that of portland cement. The mortar samples created using portland cement had 18% greater compressive strength than those made of geopolymer. There are multiple types of geopolymers that exist and those may offer similar or greater strength than Portland cement. Though this geopolymer type did not offer the same compressive strength or greater; the results still show that this material has the potential to meet the same strength requirements as Portland-based mortar and concrete.
