JMU REPRESENTED AT 21 NATIONAL CONFERENCE ON UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCH

Summer 2007
O F F I C E O F S P O N S O R E D P RO G R A M S
JMU REPRESENTED AT 21st NATIONAL
CONFERENCE ON UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCH
Equipped with their intellectual
curiosity and faculty mentors as guides,
thirteen James Madison University
undergraduate students attended The
National Conference for Undergraduate
Research (NCUR) at Dominican
University of California. The NCUR is
viewed as the premier event for
showcasing undergraduate research in
the United States. The James Madison
University (JMU) students joined over
2,000 undergraduates, faculty, and
administrators from 282 colleges and
universities around the country to
participate in NCUR. The JMU NCUR
p r e se n t e r s r e p r e s e n t e d s e v e n
disciplines and three colleges of the
university. Faculty advisors and the
entire university should be proud of the
level of knowledge and professionalism
demonstrated by the JMU students who
presented at NCUR 2007. Moreover,
the students should be recognized and
commended for the high degree
of passion they displayed for their
research.
At JMU, scholarly research and
creative endeavors are necessary
components of higher education. JMU
strongly supports undergraduate
research.
Allowing undergraduate
students to participate in facultystudent mentored projects provides a
unique educational experience that
contributes to the students’ personal
growth. The faculty mentored research
experience allows students to learn
early on what research is about and
whether they like the work, enables the
student to make career decisions prior
to committing to a graduate research
program.
Over the past 20 years there has
been a tremendous growth in
undergraduate research at all types of
educational institutions. The National
Conference for Undergr ad uate
Research promotes research,
scholarship, and creative activity in all
fields of study by sponsoring an annual
conference for students. Through this
annual conference, NCUR creates a
unique environment for the celebration
and promotion of undergraduate
student achievement.
In addition
NCUR provides a forum for student
presentations and performances by
gathering young scholars from all
corners of the academic curriculum.
JMU has sponsored 322 student
representatives to the conference since
1989. Attendance at NCUR provides a
wonderful opportunity for students to
present their research to peers and
faculty from around the country
working in similar research fields and
to learn about how research and
scholarship is conducted in a wide
range of fields from the humanities and
creative arts to the life sciences and
engineering.
Student presenters at
NCUR also have the opportunity to
publish their work in the Conference
Proceedings edited and produced
annually by NCUR.
Dr. Steve Whisnant of the Physics
Department and Dr. Judith Flohr of the
Kinesiology Department accompanied
the JMU students to San Rafael,
California for the conference, which
took place from April 12 through April
14. JMU’s undergraduates’ research
accomplishments are highlighted in the
following pages.
For details on upcoming undergraduate
research conferences contact:
Pat Buennemeyer
Driver Modular II
(540) 568-7025
http://www.jmu.edu/sponsprog/
E-mail: [email protected] or
[email protected]
Page 2
Scholarly and Creative Endeavors
BILALI: AN AFRICAN MUSLIM IN 19TH CENTURY GEORGIA
Joseph A. Beatty
(Dr. Steven A. Reich), History Department
Bilali, an enslaved African, lived on Sapelo Island
in the Georgia low country during the first half of
the nineteenth century. He arrived on Sapelo
Island in 1803, and almost immediately became
head overseer of Thomas Spalding's large
plantation and workforce. For nearly fifty years
Bilali led the people of Sapelo with dignity
through both his action and example. During the
War of 1812, as British troops lay offshore, he
led a group of armed slaves to defend the island
from attack. A decade later his quick thinking
helped save Sapelo's residents from devastation
during a major hurricane.
Bilali, however, was more than just a protector of
Sapelo -- he was also an educated spiritual
leader. He penned a manuscript in Arabic that
describes, in his own words, the foundations of
his Islamic faith. The manuscript survived Bilali,
and has become a part of regional literature and
lore. He was then, and is now, an important
figure in coastal Georgia; although, much of
what is commonly known about him has been
based on popular legend -- a problem
compounded by a paucity of primary sources.
The life of Bilali can be used as a vehicle for
learning about the lives of slaves in coastal
Georgia and their origins in West Africa.
Furthermore, an examination of his life sheds
light on the role of Islam in the Upper Guinea
Coast and the complex social and economic
relationships between Georgia and the
Bahamas.
THE SOCIAL IMPLICATIONS OF THE 1348 BLACK DEATH IN ENGLAND
Tiffany T. Dann
(Dr. Michael J. Galgano), History Department
The Black Death was a devastating pandemic
that ravaged Europe in 1347 and quickly spread
by routes of trade on land and sea, eventually
entering the British Isles in 1348. The Black
Death knew no differentiation between social
classes, sex, or location. It spread to most who
came in contact with it, reaping deadly results,
and greatly altering the social life of the
fourteenth century. This paper examines the
social effects of the Black Death in England, first
establishing the context of pre-plague life there,
through an examination of specific cities such as
Winchester. Through examination of pre,
contemporary, and post plague England, the
plague’s impact on faith, lifestyle, agriculture,
and how society as a whole changed as a result
are studied. Comparative analysis and cross
examination of different primary sources in the
Winchester region are used to draw conclusions
about the spread of the plague and its severity.
There are an abundant amount of primary
sources on the Black Death in England, such as
manorial accounts, church registers, pastoral
records, and governmental records that will form
the foundation of this interpretive analysis.
Summer 2007
Page 3
DESIGN AND FABRICATION OF A BENCH TOP INSTRUMENT FOR IRBASED NON-DESTRUCTIVE EVALUATION OF COMPOSITE AND METAL
STRUCTURES
Curt L. Dvonch, Matthew R. Walters, Dane A.
Arpinoda, Tristan A. Goget,
(Matthew D. Goodwin), Infrared Development
and Thermal Structures Laboratory, and
(Dr. Jonathan J. Miles), Integrated Science and
Technology Department
A bench top instrument was developed to
perform non-destructive evaluation of composite
and metal materials. This evaluation technique
linearly scans a quartz heat source/infrared
imager assembly across a test sample to detect
de-laminations, voids, thinning, and other
defects consistent with composite structures
and other materials. This technique, developed
by NASA Langley Research Center, examines the
transient heating/cooling characteristics of a
test sample to characterize defects; the
technique is applied to aircraft, spacecraft, and
commercial boilers (steam tubes). A NASAsupported study was performed by our team that
demonstrated the feasibility to miniaturize the
instrument by utilizing an uncooled
microbolometer in place of a standard, cooled
infrared imager. A bench top instrument was
developed that utilizes a microbolometer,
miniature heat source, and other reduced-size
components. This system is used to optimize the
operating parameters of a miniature system to
evaluate and optimize its performance with
respect to typical test materials. The bench top
instrument will support the development of a
prototype, portable instrument for hand-held
NDE.
ACCURACY AND PRECISION FINDINGS WHEN ANALYZING OTC
DIETARY SUPPLEMENTS FOR SELENIUM USING AN ICP-MS
Dana M. Edwards
(Dr. Maria T. Wessel), Health Sciences
Department, and (Dr. James J. Leary),
Department of Chemistry
This work documents the accuracy and precision
that can be achieved in the analysis of selenium
in OTC dietary supplements using an inductively
coupled plasma mass spectrometer (ICP-MS).
OTC dietary supplements are no longer
regulated by the FDA; in 1994 the Dietary
Supplement Health and Education Act was
passed which allows the FDA to issue current
good manufacturing practices (cGMP’s). This
interdisciplinary paper will focus on four main
areas: health sciences, dietetics, analytical
chemistry, and applied statistics. The health
science and dietetics aspect of this paper will
emphasize: 1) label values and claims about
health benefits of selenium, 2) consumer
information regarding dietary supplements, and
3) information regarding the intake of selenium.
The laboratory component of this work involved
the determination of the selenium content of the
following OTC supplements: Centrum Silver®,
One a Day® Cholesterol Plus, One Source®
Advanced, Equate® Complete, Spring Valley ®
Selenium, and One Source® Prenatal. The
analytical protocol has evolved to include the
use of tellurium as an internal standard in a
“standard addition” based experiment.
Proprietary considerations have made it virtually
impossible to obtain information from
manufacturers about either the accuracy or
precision associated with the selenium content
of any OTC dietary supplement. As a result,
experiments were performed that meticulously
document contributions to the total standard
deviation associated with the results obtained
with the laboratory protocol used. Indirect
evidence of the accuracy achievable was
documented by adding known amounts of
selenium to the sets of pills that had already
been analyzed and then monitoring the increase
in the amount of selenium found. The authors
feel that the results of this study could be of
interest to any of the millions of Americans who
routinely take OTC supplements.
Page 4
Scholarly and Creative Endeavors
A LITTLE BIT GOES FURTHER THAN THEY THINK: THE PERCIEVED RISK OF
DEVELOPING MELANOMA AMONG INTERMITTENT TANNING BED USERS
Georgette Flood
(Dr. Monica J. Reis-Bergan),
Department of Psychology
Out of the 10,710 people who will die of skin
cancer in 2006, the American Cancer Society
predicts that 7,910 die from melanoma (ACS,
2006). It has been a long standing fact that too
much UV exposure can cause cancer, but more
recently, UVA radiation in tanning beds has been
linked to melanoma. One study of adolescents
reported 24.1% of respondents to a survey
about tanning bed use admitted to using a
booth at least once in their life (Demko et al.,
2003). A unique subset of the tanning bed users
are those who tan only for special occasions.
These intermittent tanners are at a higher risk of
developing melanoma over a life time than
those who are exposed regularly (Gandini et al.,
2004).
This study’s primary interest is to discover the
percentage of young adults who are intermittent
tanners and to see how much knowledge and
perceived risk they have as a population about
the risks of their type of tanning. With the
information available about the increased risk of
melanoma associated with intermittent tanning,
it is also an interest of this study to assess the
knowledge of episodic tanners about their own
behavior. Perceived risk of tanners, intermittent
tanners, and non-tanners will also be examined.
It is proposed that risk perception of intermittent
tanners will be similar to non-tanners because
they are not aware of their elevated risks for
melanoma. Specific tanning beliefs of these
three groups will also be gathered to assess if
differences are apparent and skin type will be a
covariate to investigate if having a high risk skin
type affects tanning behavior.
Expected results are that intermittent tanners
will identify themselves as more like non-tanners
than regular tanners as they may see their
sporadic behavior as being not as dangerous as
regular tanners. Application of the results of this
study may aid in targeting interventions for
overlooked at risk tanning groups.
IMPOSED VIBRATION IN SHEARED GRANULAR SYSTEMS
Eric P Hoppmann
(Dr. Brian C. Utter), Department of Physics
The complex nature of granular materials has
left us without a fundamental understanding of
how they behave. No general equations exist
which govern their flow. At best we have
statistical approaches to estimate their
behaviors. Systems such as these act like solids
in some situations and liquids in others, but
mostly exhibit a very unusual set of properties.
We are studying granular shear using energy
added via vibration to break up the force chains
in a jammed system. The experiment consists of
a 2D shearing plane between which a single
layer of photoelastic grains are sandwiched. The
walls of the experiment consist of belts moving
in opposite directions so that we can simulate
planar shearing in the center region. We have
two methods of adding vibration to the system.
In the first method we vibrate one of the
shearing planes at a known frequency,
amplitude and acceleration. This causes the
force chains to both break in the bulk of the
material and to slip at the shearing plane. We
find that while changing the frequency of
vibration has no effect on the material,
amplitude has a dramatic affect. Our second
method involves shaking the entire system to
provide bulk forcing and leads to breaking of
force chains in the interior of the sample.
Summer 2007
Page 5
THE ANGULAR DISTRIBUTION AND FLUX OF COSMIC RAYS
Lori A. Jackson, Sean E. O’Brien
(Dr. C. Steven Whisnant), Department of Physics
A muon telescope has been constructed and
used to measure the angular distribution of
cosmic rays. The telescope consists of two
parallel rectangular plastic scintillators mounted
to permit rigid rotation of the telescope to view
the full 180° of the sky. The detectors are each
150.x630.x1.00 mm and are separated by 170
mm. Using NIM electronics, true and random
coincidences between the detectors were
counted. The random counting rates observed
are compared to those expected based on the
single detector rates and good agreement is
found. The random coincidence corrected
cosmic ray flux is confirmed to have a cos2q
dependence, where q is measured from the
horizon. The absolute counting rates are
obtained using the solid angle of the detector
telescope computed from a Monte Carlo
simulation of the experiment. The solid angle
was determined using the dimensions of the
parallel plates in a C++ program. The
propagation of the statistical uncertainties will
be discussed. The flux at 90° (normal incidence)
is found to be 70± 5 (sec m2 sr)-1. This is in good
agreement with the global average flux.
THE SYNTHESIS OF 1-HEXYLCYCLOBUTENE FOR SYNTHETIC STUDIES WITH
DIFLUOROCARBENE
Christopher M. Kane
(Dr. Scott B. Lewis), Chemistry Department
Organofluorine compounds are prevalent in
pharmacological agrochemical applications
worldwide and are a source of constant
research. Chemically, the fluorine atom is ideal
for biological applications. The carbon-fluorine
bond length is 138 pm but the atom has a
similar size to its non-fluorinated analogues to fit
certain receptor types, thus sharing inherent
biological activity. Moreover, the C-F bond is
very strong with an energy of 485 kJ/mol, so
they are more resistant to metabolic
degradation. Increased lipophilicity is another
quality that is provided by the fluorine atom.
Fluorinated aromatics include, but are not
limited to, anti-bacterial, pesticides, liquid
crystals and anti-inflammatory agents. However,
due to problems with handling elemental
fluorine, the synthesis of fluoroaromatics with
benzene as a starting material has been proven
to be a complicated process. In addition, a
fluorine atom’s ortho/para directing influence
during substitution of a benzene ring causes
difficulty in obtaining a 1,3-difluoroaromatic
compound. As a solution to this difficulty,
instead of adding F2 to the benzene ring, one
may add difluorocarbene to a highly substituted
cyclobutene. A double ring expansion will lead to
the desired formation of the 1,3difluoroaromatic compound.
The synthesis of the 1-hexylcyclobutene was
accomplished in four synthetic steps from 1octyne. Characterization of intermediates has
been made using Bruker 400 and 600 MHz
NMR, GC-MS, and HR-MS. Future research is
expected to produce the desired 1,3-difluoro-2hexylbenzene product.
Page 6
Scholarly and Creative Endeavors
THE DETERMINATION OF RELATIVE CONCENTRATIONS OF HYDROGEN
ISOTOPES
Laurence A. Lewis,
(Dr. C. Steven Whisnant), Physics Department
James Madison University’s hydrogen distillery
produces hydrogen deuteride (HD) gas with a
purity greater than 99.99%. This purified gas is
used to make a frozen spin target with
polarization relaxation times that approach one
year. These targets are ideal for use in polarized
gamma ray beams to study the spin-dependent
properties of nucleons. To affect the polarization
of the target a small, known concentration of
ortho-H2 and a minimal amount of D2 must be
present. Therefore, it is important to quantify the
H2 and D2 concentrations present in the distilled
HD gas to determine the amount of H2 which will
achieve the longest relaxation times. Lowtemperature gas chromatography (GC) is
implemented to determine these relative
concentrations. The GC utilizes the isotopic
variances in column transit time and produces
three overlapping asymmetric Gaussian peaks
with areas proportional to the hydrogen isotope
concentrations.
By implementing numerical
algorithms using functions modeled on fitting
these asymmetric GC peaks, high quality chisquared fits are obtained which allow for the
extraction of the relative concentrations. The
method and results of such fits will be
discussed.
36-JUNCTION THERMOPILE MICROSENSORS: FABRICATION, CHARACTERIZATION, AND APPLICATIONS TO SENSING OF CHEMICAL AND BIOLOGICAL
AGENTS
Patrick T. Olin,
(Dr. David J. Lawrence),
Integrated Science and Technology Department
Thermopiles consist of several thermocouples
connected in series. Thermopiles are sensitive
thermal detection devices that have a higher
output voltage than thermocouples when the
sensing junctions are at a different temperature
than the reference junctions. Our thermopile
design consists of 36 bismuth-antimony sensing
junctions that we microfabricate for a final
thermopile circuit size of 9 x 9 mm. This process
involves thermal evaporation and photolithography to deposit and pattern the metals.
The sensor output is monitored using an
amplifier circuit built for 100x gain of the analog
signal which is then acquired by a computer
For ammonia sensing, a
using LabView®.
controlled flow rate of air is injected over a
sensor that has been coated with copper
oxalate. When ammonia is present in the
airflow, it reacts with the CuC2O4 exothermically.
This generation of heat produces an output
voltage by the sensor, thus allowing for
detection of ammonia in air. The current design
of the sensor allows for detection of ammonia
concentrations less than 4 PPM. Methods have
been developed to monitor several sensors
simultaneously to account for variations in
sensor outputs. Coatings for detection of
biological contaminants are also being
researched and will be discussed, as well as
results we have obtained from various sensitivity
and response experiments.
Summer 2007
Page 7
MONITORING RIPARIAN RESTORATION: QUANTIFYING THE EFFECT OF FINE
SEDIMENT ON BROOK TROUT INCUBATION HABITAT AS SPAWNING GRAVEL
QUALITY IMPROVES
Sarah M. Roberts,
(Dr. Christine L. May), Geology Department
Increased sediment loads have contributed to a
decline in populations of gravel-spawning fishes
throughout agricultural areas of eastern United
States. Interest in the causes and effects of this
decline is linking ecologists with
geomorphologists to identify relationships
between fish populations and streambed gravel
permeability. The link between spawning
success rates and gravel permeability has been
experimentally studied. Gravels with high
permeability have higher egg survival rates for
gravel-spawning salmonids. The permeameter is
a precise in-situ tool that directly measures
streambed permeability. We used this
instrument to test spawning gravels in Smith
Creek (Rockingham County, Virginia), a stream
heavily impacted by sediment from decades of
intensive agricultural practices. In the summer of
2006, a major restoration effort began on Smith
Creek including the planting of 12,000 trees and
cattle fencing to restore brook trout habitat. By
measuring permeability we were able to quantify
the effect of fine sediment on brook trout
incubation habitat. We related mass of surface
fine sediment and riffle gradient measurements
to permeability to define current conditions of
spawning gravels for the summer of 2006. We
can compare these conditions to yearly
estimations of fish species populations and
ratios. Measured changes in gravel permeability
in Smith Creek after restoration efforts provide
useful information on the improvement of
spawning habitat over time and the potential for
successful re-introduction of brook trout.
THE INFLUENCE OF MENOPAUSAL STATUS, PHYSICAL ACTIVITY AND
HORMONE REPLACEMENT THERAPY ON A WOMAN’S LEVEL OF C-REACTIVE
PROTEIN
Carolyn E. Schubert,
(Dr. Judith A. Flohr), Morrison Bruce Center,
Department of Kinesiology
Heart disease is the primary cause of death for
women in the United States. Among women,
almost twice as many will die from heart disease
or stroke than from all forms of cancer, including
breast cancer (AHA). This reflects the importance
of screening using traditional coronary heart
disease risk factors as well as continued
research for the development of new risk
factors. The inflammatory marker C-reactive
protein (CRP) has been identified as a nontraditional risk factor for coronary heart disease.
The purpose of this study is to determine if 1) a
difference exists in CRP between pre and
postmenopausal women, 2) CRP levels differ
between women taking and not taking hormone
replacement therapy (HRT), and 3) CRP levels
are related to physical activity (PA), as measured
by a pedometer and questionnaire. Pre and
postmenopausal women will volunteer to
complete questionnaires concerning HRT status,
have blood drawn to determine CRP status and
wear a pedometer and complete a questionnaire
to determine physical activity levels. In addition,
the cardiovascular fitness status of each
participant will be determined using a graded
exercise test on the treadmill. A t-test will
determine if CRP differs in menopausal and HRT
status. A correlation will test the relationship
between SC and CRP. These results will increase
our knowledge about inflammatory markers
(CRP) and heart disease risk in women. This will
also advance our understanding of the influence
of PA on CRP and risk for heart disease.
Page 8
Scholarly and Creative Endeavors
Dr. Steve
Whisnant
Lori Jackson
Carolyn Schubert
Sean O’Brien
Carolyn Schubert and
Dr. Judith Flohr
Laurence Lewis
Sarah Roberts
Eric Hoppmann
Chris Kane
Patrick Olin
Curt Dvonch
Dana Edwards
Joseph Beatty
Tiffany Dann
Georgette Flood
Summer 2007
Page 9
22nd NATIONAL CONFERENCE ON UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCH
James Madison University
Application Procedure
Students are selected to attend the National Conference on Undergraduate Research and represent
the institution by a committee composed of JMU faculty and administrators. For consideration to
participate and represent JMU at this national event, students must fully complete and submit an
application adhering to all deadlines.
The application packet includes the JMU Student Application and the Faculty Advisor Form. The
student must complete the JMU Student Application and return it, along with a copy of the abstract,
on paper and in electronic format to the Office of Sponsored Programs, JMAC-6, Suite 26, by no later
than 12:00 p.m. Friday, October 26, 2007.
Meeting this deadline enables the NCUR Selection Committee to review the applications and select
students to represent JMU. Those candidates selected by JMU must then register with NCUR in time
for the NCUR registration deadline.
The three-part applications may be obtained at the Office of Sponsored Programs or from the
Web at the following URL: http://www.jmu.edu/sponsprog/ncur.html
• The application packet has the following elements:
1. NCUR Application Checklist
2. Student Application (Including Abstract Information)
3. Faculty Advisor Form (Letter of Support)
•
•
Print and complete the JMU online Student Application
Submit
1. The signed original application along with a copy of your research abstract
2. An electronic copy (on disk) of your abstract
• to the Office of Sponsored Programs (OSP)
• by NOON on Friday, October 26, 2007.
REMINDERS:
• The ENTIRE application form must be typed.
• ALL required signatures must be obtained prior to submission to OSP.
• Abstracts MUST be submitted on paper and on disk.
• NCUR22 to be hosted by Salisbury University, April 10-12, 2008
Note:
Faculty advisors must complete the Faculty
Advisor Form and return it separately
to the OSP by Friday, October 26, 2007.
Congratulations to the participants
of the 2007 NCUR Conference!
Front Row:
Back Row:
Laurence Lewis
Sarah Roberts
Tiffany Dann
Dana Edwards
Lori Jackson
Carolyn Schubert
Georgette Flood
Pat Olin
Eric Hoppmann
Curt Dvonch
Sean O’Brien
Chris Kane
Joseph Beatty
JMU students
breaking for lunch
Steve Whisnant
chatting with JMU
participants
Chris Kane, Patrick Olin,
Curt Dvonch, Dana Edwards,
Tiffany Dann, and
Joseph Beatty