2024 GSAW Research Symposium Posters
Permanent URI for this collectionhttps://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12588/6380
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Item An STM Study of Nickel Carbide and Copper Carbide Surfaces(UTSA Graduate School, 2024-04-02) Sutherland, Kevin; Sanchez, Jennifer; Xu, FangTransition metal carbides and nitrides (TMCs and TMNs) have shown unique properties for strongly binding reaction intermediates and d-block transition metals and have been used as heterogeneous catalysts. Due to the predicted strong binding with metals, TMCs and TMNs are also very promising support for single atom catalysts (SACs), which possess high atomic efficiency and high catalytic performance compared to traditional catalysts yet face a common challenge of thermal instability. Elucidating the structures of TMCs and TMNs at an atomic level and the interactions between the surface and adsorbate is a crucial fundamental question to address. Herein, well-defined transition metal carbide and nitride films are prepared on Cu(111) and Ni(111) surfaces as model catalyst supports for SACs (Figure 2). The insights gained from the model catalyst surfaces will be used to promote the development of catalytic reactions, such as aqueous phase methanol reforming (APRM).Item Creating Healing Space Through Plática: Processing the Overturning of Affirmative Action(UTSA Graduate School, 2024-04-02) Benavidez, Melina; Rivera, Brenda; Victor, Jasmine; García-Louis, ClaudiaAffirmative Action in Higher Education: Within higher education, affirmation action, which stemmed from the Civil Rights Movement in the 1960s, is "the practice of considering student background characteristics such as race as a factor in deciding whether to admit an applicant" (Wood, 2023) In June 2023, the Supreme Court banned affirmative action in higher education spaces and prohibited all colleges in the country from using race as a consideration in admissions (Jones & Zinshteyn, 2023) "By disregarding the significance of race, these approaches risk creating a wider divide between equal opportunity and communities of color" (Maye, 2023) [...]Item Tail of the Striatum's Activity in Aversive Conditioning(UTSA Graduate School, 2024-04-02) Timmons, Sara; Bertero, Alice; Apicella, Alfonso J.Averse conditioning, also known as fear conditioning, is a form of associative learning in which a mouse learns to associate a conditioned stimulus (an auditory stimulus) with an unconditioned stimulus (foot shock).The striatum is the main input source of the basal ganglia, a collection of subcortical nuclei that mediate learning, memory and decision making, and its role in aversive conditioning remains to be fully elucidated. Here, we seek to better understand the involvement of the tail of the striatum (TS) in auditory aversive conditioning by utilizing c-FOS immunohistochemistry to examine changes in its expression as a measure of neuronal activity following conditioning. This study contributes to a deeper understanding of the neural circuitry underlying aversive and learning behaviors.Item Motivation and Identity(UTSA Graduate School, 2024-04-02) Summerville, Bryce; Brown, Denver M. Y.Background: • Physical inactivity is a major public health concern for adolescents in the US, even more so for Hispanic youth • Evidence indicates self-determined motivation and physical activity (PA) identity are robust predictors of adolescent PA behavior, but no studies have examined links between these variables and their interactive influence on PA Aim: Examine relationships between self-determined motivation and PA identity, and how these constructs interact to influence PA behavior in Hispanic adolescentsItem Influence of land use on geochemistry and microbial population and their subsequent effects on soil phosphate mobilization across a climatic transect in Kansas(UTSA Graduate School, 2024-04-02) Banerjee, Protik; Veach, Alisson; Kulkarni, Harshad V.; Nagaraja, Thiba; Das, Suprem; Datta, SaugataIntroduction: ➢ Phosphorus(P) is one of the major nutrients required for plant growth and it is important to understand its dynamics in soils and identify the factors that govern its cycling in nature ➢ Understanding abiotic and biotic drivers of P across land use will broaden our knowledge of soil P cycling in semi-arid ecosystems Methods: ➢ Samples collected from two regions – Konza Prairie LTER and Hays, which lie on a climatic transect across Kansas ➢ These two locations have contrasting land use patterns: Konza Prairie(LTER) - naturally pristine site with minimal human intervention, Hays - agriculturally influenced site Konza Prairie soil type: Sandy loam Hays soil type : Loamy soil Sample collection: Soil samples collected from depths 0-6” inches from the surface from different watersheds in Konza (n=18) and from different land use areas in Hays (n=12) followed by preservation in anaerobags using O2 absorbers and subsequent storage in 4°CItem A computational framework to examine public response of moral language on polarization following vigilantism incident(UTSA Graduate School, 2024-04-02) Kurumathur, Shalini Kapali; Najafirad, Peyman; Valecha, Rohit; Rao, H. RaghavIntroduction: ➢In August 2022, Kyle Rittenhouse fatally shot two men and wounded the third in Kenosha, Wisconsin. ➢Incidents of vigilantism provoke discourses related to moral values and may induce polarizing judgements in social media. ➢Moral foundations entail automatic gut-reactions of like and dislike when certain patterns are perceived in the social world, which in turn guide judgments expressed on social media. ➢The social media users could use moral languages of different vice and virtue. e.g., care (virtue) for the victim, harm (vice) the perpetrator ➢Such extreme judgements or attitude of right or wrong challenge the social cohesion in modern civil societies. ➢ We argue that understanding of polarization is incomplete without accounting for morality because moral foundations can predict attitudes on several social issues such as immigration, same-sex marriage and abortion. Purpose (or Objective, Goal): • How do public communicate moral language (virtue/vice) on social media following vigilantism incidents? • How does public’s vigilantism-related moral language (virtue/vice) on social media affect polarization?Item A Programmable and Participatory Sensing Testbed using Micromobility Vehicles(UTSA Graduate School, 2024-04-02) Jadliwala, Murtuza; Prasad, Sushil K.; Griffin, Greg P.; Maiti, Anindya; Molina, Nico; Wijewickrama, Raveen; Ashan M.K., Buddhi; Trinh, Khoi V.; Najafian, Nima; Khan, Ubaidullah; Sakib, Nazmus; Duthie, Christina; Patel, Ahmer; Kumar, PriyankaWhat is ScooterLab? An NSF funded community research infrastructure initiative, currently under development at UTSA. This publicly-available micromobility testbed and crowd-sensing/crowd-sourcing infrastructure will provide researchers access to a community of riders and a fully operational fleet of customizable dockless e-scooters. Issues & challenges in micromobility: [Figure] Why ScooterLab? • Provides space for researchers to address multidisciplinary challenges • Bypasses commercial service providers who may be unwilling to share data for research • Offers more customizable sensors • Creates infrastructure necessary to collect diverse rider, mobility, and contextual data in realistic settings Broader impact: • Rider/pedestrian safety • Urban routing & infrastructure planning • Public policy • Transportation engineering • Data privacyItem Methodological Approaches to Recording Ancient Maya Incised Graffiti(UTSA Graduate School, 2024-04-02) Nowakowski, LaurenObjectives: This research analyzes the documentation of an understudied art form within Maya archaeological studies, Ancient Maya Graffiti. Three of the most popular and accessible documentation techniques (Reflectance Transformation Imaging (RTI), hand mapping, and Mylar tracing) are analyzed to uncover which situations these methodologies are best suited for.Item Redefining Trauma-Informed Care through a Cultural Lens: The Importance of Combining Cultural Safety and Trauma-Informed Care When Working with Indigenous Populations(UTSA Graduate School, 2024-04-02) Mayorga, ChristineIntroduction: Counseling Professionals can promote transformative healing among Indigenous trauma survivors by acknowledging the impact of historical trauma. Integrating cultural safety into trauma-informed care can help repair the damage caused by colonization and extend support for recovery. Objective: 1. Attendees will be able to state four critical dimensions of the equity-oriented care model. 2. Attendees will be able to become familiar with culturally safe trauma-informed care strategies. 3. Attendees can synthesize cultural safety and trauma-informed care implications when working with Indigenous populations.Item Cytotoxicity Screening for Future Evaluation of Tranexamic Acid and its Derivatives for Rapid Hemorrhage Control and Patient Stabilization in Combat(UTSA Graduate School, 2024-04-02) Norouzi, Dena; Zuniga, Kameel; Hutcheson, JackTraumatic hemorrhage is the leading cause of preventable combat deaths, with limited resources in austere environments. Tranexamic and valproic acid have shown promise in improving coagulopathy and survival. This study explores different cell toxicity assays to evaluate the relationship with small molecules like tranexamic acid (TXA) and valproic acid (VPA). TXA exhibited dose-dependent cytotoxicity, with A549 cells resilient, while VPA showed heightened toxicity across all cell lines. These findings highlight the need for safer hemostatic agents, with TXA derivatives as a potential solution for combat hemorrhage control.Item Innovative Solutions for Seismic Challenges: The Horizontal Self-Centering Structural System Strategy(UTSA Graduate School, 2024-04-02) Acevedo-Mejía, Dorian A.; Schultz, Arturo E.This study explores the seismic benefits of a steel structure with Horizontal Self-Centering Structural System (H-SCSS) between Vertical Lateral Force Resisting Systems (VLFRS) and the floor diaphragm. The H-SCSS enables decoupling, facilitating relative displacement and energy dissipation. Comparing nonlinear cyclic quasi-static, and time history analyses on a Special Concentrically Braced Steel Frame (SCBF-X, ASCE 7), with and without H-SCSS, reveals reduced residual drift, energy dissipation concentrated in fuses, significantly lower energy demand for VLFRS, increased ductility, and decreased stresses and inelastic deformations in vertical lateral resistance systems when using H-SCSS.Item Using Project-Based Learning to Teach Water Quality and Nitrogen Cycle(UTSA Graduate School, 2024-04-02) Wright, EmilyIntroduction: Water quality is an essential component of the natural world and of human life. Lack of access to clean water is a global issue that affects more than 450 million children (Alhattab, 2021). An integral component of water quality is the nitrogen cycle. The complex and real world application of the nitrogen cycle and water quality naturally lends itself to STEM education (Moore & Glancy, 2020). The nitrogen cycle also incorporates biology, math, chemistry, and many other subjects. For these reasons it provides an excellent base for interdisciplinary learning/teaching. Research Questions: Water quality is a global issue. However, current curriculum does a poor job teaching this to K-12 students. My goal is to discover the best teaching practices to engage students in authentic learning. How can teachers utilize inquiry-based learning to help students recognize the importance of the nitrogen cycle in their lives and in real-world water quality problems? How can an interdisciplinary approach be used to effectively engage students of different ages? What are the limitations or challenges in using these methods? In summary: How can teachers engage students in project-based inquiry to increase learning and curiosity about the relationship between the nitrogen cycle and water quality?Item Electrochemical and Spectroscopic Investigation of Solvation and Complexation Effects on Titanium Redox Flow Battery Electrolytes(UTSA Graduate School, 2024-04-02) Ahmed, Sheikh Imran Uddin; Sankarasubramanian, ShrihariItem Understanding the Connection Between Carbon Rich AGB Stars & Bipolar Planetary Nebula(UTSA Graduate School, 2024-04-02) Stribling, Finis L. IV; Speck, AngelaIntroduction: [Figure] Asymptotic Giant Branch (AGB) stars are variable stars are late type stars for low to intermediate mass stars. They have relatively high mass loss rates and are major contributors to the interstellar medium. Their mass loss is symmetric as the star ejects its circumstellar envelope in shells. When the mass of the hydrogen envelope Me = 10^(-3) M☉ , the envelope is so thin there is no more large scale mass loss and the star is no longer pulsating (Volk & Kwok 1989). This will mark the end of the AGB phase. [Figure] Planetary Nebula (PN) phase is the next stage in a low to intermediate mass star’s life. At 30,000 K the star will begin to ionize the gas around the central star. This is the beginning of the planetary nebula phase. The central star will increase in temperature up 200,000 K. At this stage, the star develops a fast, low density, wind that travels from a few hundred kms^(-1) to thousands of km s^(-1). There are 3 main classifications of PN: Elliptical, Bipolar, and Irregular. Bipolar PNe have a torus ring of molecular material with 2 high velocity outflow poles. The big question is how does a star go from symmetrical mass loss during the AGB phase to an asymmetric structure during he PN phaseItem Modeling Emission of Jet/Accretion Flow/Black Hole (JAB) Systems in GRMHD(UTSA Graduate School, 2024-04-02) West, Hayley; Anantua, Richard; Oramas, Lani; Duran, Joaquin; Curd, BrandonIntroduction: • Modeling emission in jet/accretion flow/black hole (JAB) systems is a crucial part of understanding the dynamics behind active galactic nuclei. • An established emission model emulating turbulent heating, the R-β Model, expresses the ion-to-electron temperature R as a function of plasma beta. • Our alternative Critical β Model has an exponential transition from preferential electron to proton heating as a function of β; Our inclusion of magnetic-to-particle energy reconnection based emission in jet regions for both turbulent heating models are key advances in JAB emission model accuracy. • We look at two distinct flow states for the accreting plasma: standard and normal evolution (SANE) and magnetically arrested disk (MAD). • We model two large, well-studied Event Horizon Telescope (EHT) targets (M87 and Sgr A*), to create a pattern of emission properties and compare with observational evidence.Item SSL4EO-L: Datasets and Foundation Models for Landsat Imagery(UTSA Graduate School, 2024-04-02) Stewart, Adam J.; Lehmann, Nils; Corley, Isaac A.; Wang, Yi; Ait Ali Braham, Nassim; Sehgal, Shradha; Robinson, Caleb; Banerjee, ArindamLandsat: Science, Petabytes, and SSL: [Figure] • Landsat's scientific significance and extended coverage • Petabytes of accessible Landsat imagery • Challenge: diverse sensors, varied wavelengths, and the lack of pre-trained models • Problem: scarcity of large labeled datasets • Solution: self-supervised learning (SSL)Item ZRG: A Dataset for Multimodal 3D Residential Rooftop Understanding(UTSA Graduate School, 2024-04-02) Corley, Isaac; Lwowski, Jonathan; Najafirad, PeymanRooftop Understanding: [Figure] The anatomy of a residential roof is complex. The understanding of rooftop geometry and structure has important real world applications including: ● Roof Damage Inspection & Detection ● Residential Solar Rooftop Potential ● 3D Modeling and Digital Twins Cities Dataset Acquisition: [Figure] ● Data acquired from over 20k residential roof inspections from across the United States using DJI drones ● Diverse: includes single and multi family homes (e.g. apartment complexes) from rural and urban locations ● Overhead and oblique imagery acquired for analyzing inspecting rooftops as well as performing multiview reconstruction to estimate rooftop structure and heightItem Experiences in Delivering Online CS Teacher Professional Development(UTSA Graduate School, 2024-04-02) Wilde, Jina; Beltran, Emiliano; Zawatski, Michael J.; Fernandez, Amanda S.; Prasad, Priya V.; Yuen, Timothy T.This paper describes our team’s experience in designing and delivering the online teacher professional development (PD) program, Computer Science for San Antonio (CS4SA), aimed at empowering educators with computer science (CS) knowledge to increase Latinx participation in CS and STEM education within a large, urban predominantly Latinx school district in South Texas. This paper highlights the successes, challenges, and lessons learned while facilitating two cohorts of the CS PD through online platforms during the COVID-19 pandemic. As a result of this program, participants recognized the importance of integrating CS into their classroom and becoming advocates for the discipline at the high school level. Additionally, teachers, investigators, and other personnel learned important lessons for enhancing the program’s impact through collaboration with district administrators and refinement of the online learning experience.Item Teaching Water Safety Skills to Children with ASD using Behavior Analysis(UTSA Graduate School, 2024-04-02) Pullen, Michele; Neely, Leslie; Kirkpatrick, MarieINTRODUCTION: • Water related incidents following wandering/elopement (i.e., leaving an area without permission) are among the leading causes of death for kids with autism spectrum disorder (ASD; Guan & Li, 2017). • Previous research evaluated reactive strategies for individuals with ASD level 1 PURPOSE: • Evaluate the effects of behavior analytic strategies in teaching water safety skills to children diagnosed with ASD level 2Item Sensitivity Analysis in the Thermal History of Metal Laser Powder Bed Fusion Additive Manufacturing Using HYPAD-FEM(UTSA Graduate School, 2024-04-02) Rincon Tabares, Juan Sebastian; Aristizabal, Mauricio; Balcer, Mathew; Montoya, Arturo; Millwater, Harry; Restrepo, DavidAdditive manufacturing (AM) is transforming global manufacturing by offering design flexibility and rapid innovation through layer-by-layer part production. It is gaining importance in industrial production due to metals' crucial role in modern manufacturing. Laser powder bed fusion (LPBF) is the most mature and widely used metal-based AM technology, known for producing complex, accurate, and large parts with improved surface quality. [Figure] Challenges in Laser Powder Bed Fusion Additive Manufacturing: LPBF utilizes high-speed and high-power lasers, but this can result in undesirable microstructural traits and mesoscale defects that impact mechanical performance. [Figure] Analyzing the thermal profile of PBF AM is critical for improving the quality, reliability, and efficiency of the process, as well as for advancing our understanding of the underlying physics and facilitating its broader adoption in industrial applications. [...]