UCI Undergraduate Journal: Volume VIII, 2005
2005 Published Papers
- Attitudes Toward Disabilities and Reasonable Accommodations at the University Gregoria Barazandeh
- Investigation of Atomization, Mixing and Pollutant Emissions for a Microturbine Engine Christopher D. Bolszo
- Defying Bureaucratic Malfeasance: The IMF’s Push for Good Governance Ryan S. Cadry
- Introducing “Protein-Like” Functional Groups into Carbohydrate Molecules: A New Way to Obtain Well-Resolved Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Spectra Alpay Dermenci
- Paving Paradise Genevieve N. S. Ernst
- The Role of Contractile Proteins and Cellular Phenotype in Rat Abdominal Aorta Exposed to Simulated Microgravity Nadeem A. Goraya
- A New Strategy for the Detection of Low Levels of Mitochondrial DNA Mutations Using Blood Derived from Diabetic Patients Richard A. Jimenez
- Effect of Picture Similarity on Recognition Memory. Mercedes La Voy
- Software Simulation of DNA-Based Killer Automaton: The Innovative Nanomedicine Shaoshan Liu
- Making Whole the Woman Writer: The Deployment of the Promethean Myth in L.E.L.’s “Felicia Hemans”. Theresa H. Nguyen
- Double Bracing Element for Reducing Seismic Demands to Suspended Piping Systems Brian Olson
- Comparison of Two Methods of Donor Heart Preservation in a Transplantation Model Jessica Reddy and Justin T. Zelones
- A Program Suite for Visualizing and Interpreting Four-Dimensional Environmental Monitoring Data, and its Application to Locating Pollution Sources Scott N. Ritter
- The Influence of French Theory on Edward Said’s Concept of Worldliness Martin Vega
- Environmental Regulation of Neurite Growth and tau Expression in Cultured Human Cortical Neurons Khin May Win
A Letter from the Advisors
Undergraduate research enables students to participate in the process of discovery. Through research, students take the knowledge acquired in the classroom and apply it in the laboratory, the archive, or in the studio. The University of California, Irvine (UCI) supports faculty-mentored research as a way of inspiring students and expanding their education. The Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program (UROP), the organization behind the Journal, assists UCI undergraduates in finding and exploring the opportunities to expand their knowledge, develop their talents and skills, and gain the expertise to pursue their passions.
The papers published in The UCI Undergraduate Research Journal are examples of the quality and diversity of undergraduate research conducted by students in virtually every academic unit of the campus. More than 30 percent of UCI students enroll in independent research courses, and thousands more carry out research projects or take other classes with research-related components. Over the past eight years, the Journal has published exceptional research papers by some of UCI’s most outstanding students. It has been, and continues to be, a valuable part of how the undergraduate research community demonstrates UCI’s excellence on a national level. Since 1998, we have had the privilege of reading and reviewing the results of hundreds of remarkable undergraduate research and creative projects, and each year the selection process becomes more difficult. We have chosen to present only 15 carefully selected papers this year from almost 80 submissions. These papers represent UCI’s undergraduates at their very best.
Producing a journal of this size and scope represents the work of a number of people. We commend the undergraduate authors and their faculty mentors for their commitment to the excellence of their projects. Our thanks go to the UROP Student Editorial Board, whose efforts were essential in evaluating the submitted papers and editing and producing the Journal. We express sincere gratitude to the UROP Faculty Advisory Board, whose distinguished members provided final evaluations of the papers selected for publication. Finally, we acknowledge the hundreds of students and faculty who participate in research and creative projects each year, whether associated with UROP or not, and thank them for the wide array of exciting and innovative scholarship they bring to the UCI community.
UROP is committed to supporting and facilitating faculty-mentored undergraduate research projects and creative activities. Launched in 1995, UROP’s programs now include, in addition to the Journal, advising and assisting students in pursuing on- and off-campus research opportunities, funding undergraduate research projects through Calls for Proposals in the fall and spring quarters of each academic year, and sponsoring the annual UCI Undergraduate Research Symposium. In the summer of 2001, UROP launched the Summer Undergraduate Research Program (SURP), through which more than 650 students have already conducted research projects. Moving forward, UROP continues to expand the opportunities it offers. The Inter-Disciplinary Summer Undergraduate Research Experience (ID-SURE), the Integrated Micro/Nano Summer Undergraduate Research Experience (IM-SURE), and the Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship in Information Technology (SURF-IT), all introduced in the summer of 2005, provide undergraduates even more opportunities to conduct research and to explore and grow. As the scope of undergraduate research continues to expand, a corps of young, inquisitive, boldly imaginative, and idealistic scholars is emerging and we present just a few of them here.
Sharon V. Salinger Dean, Division of Undergraduate Education |
Said M. Shokair Director, UROP |
Dedication, With Gratitude
Dr. Richard T. Robertson
|
This edition of The UCI Undergraduate Research Journal is dedicated to two outstanding individuals. Dr. Richard T. Robertson, Professor and former Chair of the Department of Anatomy & Neurobiology, served on the UROP Faculty Advisory Board from 1997 – 2006, as a representative from the School of Medicine. He is an accomplished scholar who is committed to excellence in faculty-mentored undergraduate research at UCI, and we are grateful for his guidance, dedication, and the many hours he spent evaluating proposals, abstracts and manuscripts. Dr. Fawzi H. Hermes, Assistant Dean of the Division of Undergraduate Education, will retire in June, 2006. He has helped launch and support numerous successful programs within the division and at UCI, including UROP. He has served as president of the Staff Assembly and Chair of the Council of UC Staff Assemblies, and received the 1997 Lauds & Laurels Award for Staff Achievement and many other awards for his contributions to UCI. It is with gratitude for their support of the undergraduate research culture at UCI that we dedicate Volume VIII of The UCI Undergraduate Research Journal to Professor Robertson and Dr. Hermes. The UCI Undergraduate Research Journal publishes outstanding research papers written by undergraduates from all disciplines who have completed faculty-mentored research projects. The Journal is published annually by the Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program (UROP) in the Division of Undergraduate Education. It is published in hard copy and on the UROP Web site (www.urop.uci.edu). The Call for Papers is announced to all faculty and undergraduates early in the Spring Quarter. Submissions are initially reviewed by the UROP Student Editorial Board. Guided by this review, the UROP Faculty Advisory Board selects the papers to be published in the Journal. The Student Board and the UROP Journal Assistants handle the final editing and publication process for the selected papers. |
A Letter from the UROP Student Editorial Board
Journal Advisors
~ Letter from the UROP Student Editorial Board ~
The opportunity for undergraduate research publication is limited, and it is with great pride and dedication that we present to you the best of the best in faculty-mentored undergraduate research from the last year. The UCI Undergraduate Research Journal is truly interdisciplinary in scope, and we have endeavored to make this volume representative of the breadth and depth of research and creative projects undertaken at UCI. While this has been a demanding task, it has also been a rewarding and fulfilling experience. Each Board Member has brought unique and outstanding skills to this volume, as have the talented and enthusiastic students who labored to create original projects under the guidance of their faculty mentors. We looked for originality and significance as we evaluated the submitted papers, along with a high quality of research and writing, and we feel that these 15 papers are a tribute to the academic excellence attained at UCI. It is our hope that the work represented here will further encourage students to undertake projects of their own, reflecting the creative and academic potential of UCI undergraduates.