Barrett, The Honors College Thesis/Creative Project Collection
Barrett, The Honors College at Arizona State University proudly showcases the work of undergraduate honors students by sharing this collection exclusively with the ASU community.
Barrett accepts high performing, academically engaged undergraduate students and works with them in collaboration with all of the other academic units at Arizona State University. All Barrett students complete a thesis or creative project which is an opportunity to explore an intellectual interest and produce an original piece of scholarly research. The thesis or creative project is supervised and defended in front of a faculty committee. Students are able to engage with professors who are nationally recognized in their fields and committed to working with honors students. Completing a Barrett thesis or creative project is an opportunity for undergraduate honors students to contribute to the ASU academic community in a meaningful way.
Displaying 1 - 10 of 54
Description
Space microbiology, or the study of microorganisms in space, has significant applications for both human spaceflight and Earth-based medicine. This thesis traces the evolution of the field of space microbiology since its creation in 1935. Beginning with simple studies to determine if terrestrial life could survive spaceflight, the field of space microbiology has grown to encompass a substantial body of work that is now recognized as an essential component of NASA' research endeavors. Part one provides an overview of the early period of space microbiology, from high-altitude balloon and rocket studies to work conducted during the Apollo program. Part two summarizes the current state of the field, with a specific focus on the revolutionary contributions made by the Nickerson lab at the Biodesign Institute at ASU using the NASA-designed Rotating Wall Vessel (RWV) Bioreactor. Finally, part three highlights the research I've conducted in the Nickerson lab, as well as continuing studies within the field of space microbiology.
ContributorsMcCarthy, Breanne E. (Author) / Lynch, John (Thesis director) / Foy, Joseph (Committee member) / School of Life Sciences (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2016-05
Description
This study focused on the connection between the EnvZ/OmpR two-component regulatory system and the iron homeostasis system in Escherichia coli, specifically how a mutant form of EnvZ11/OmpR is able to reduce the expression of fepA::lacZ, a reporter gene fusion in E. coli. FepA is one of several outer membrane siderophore receptors that allow extracellular siderophores bound to iron to enter the cells to power various biological processes. Previous studies have shown that in E. coli cells that expressed a mutant allele of envZ, called envZ11, which led to altered expression of various iron genes including down regulation of fepA::lacZ. The wild type EnvZ/OmpR system is not considered to regulate iron genes, but because these envz11 strains had downregulated fepA::lacZ, this study was undertaken to understand the connection and mechanisms of this downregulation. A large number of Lac+ revertants were obtained from the B32-2483 strain (envz11 and fepA::lacZ) and 7 Lac+ revertants that had reversion mutations not directly correcting the envZ11 allele were further characterized. With P1 phage transduction genetic mapping that involved moving a kanamycin resistance marker linked to fepA::lacZ, two Lac+ revertants were found to have their reversion mutations in the fepA promoter region, while the other five revertants had their mutations mapping outside the fepA region. These two revertants underwent DNA sequencing and found to carry two different single base pair mutations in two different locations of the fepA promoter region. Each one is in the Fur repressor binding region, but one also may have affected the Shine-Dalgarno region involved in translation initiation. All 7 reveratants underwent beta-galactosidase assays to measure fepA::lacZ expression. The two revertants that had mutations in the fepA promoter region had significantly increased fepA activity, with the revertant with the Shine-Dalgarno mutation having the most elevated fepA expression. The other 5 revertants that did not map in the fepA region had fepA expression elevated to the same level as that found in the wild type EnvZ/OmpR background. The data suggest that the negative effect of envZ11 can be overcome by multiple mechanisms, including directly correcting the envZ11 allele or changing the fepA promoter region.
ContributorsKalinkin, Victor Arkady (Co-author) / Misra, Rajeev (Co-author, Thesis director) / Mason, Hugh (Committee member) / Foy, Joseph (Committee member) / Biomedical Informatics Program (Contributor) / School of Life Sciences (Contributor) / W. P. Carey School of Business (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2016-05
Description
For my creative project, I began an art press that produces small-run vinyl records and artist's books. Initially, the venture began as a means to circumvent record pressing facilities as a vinyl record-cutting service. By the end of this project, the focus shifted to encompass more visual art products than just vinyl records. The project began with vinyl records because I saw a need in the market; in the past decade, the industry has grown dramatically, but the dozen record pressing plants in the country cannot keep up with the demand. Because record pressing companies prioritize large orders, it is difficult for many small bands and independent record labels to produce work on this medium. This is due to the long lead times, high prices, and large minimum order sizes. I located a man in Germany, who invented a machine that makes high-quality, lathe-cut records. I named the project Blushing Soup, as homage to my father, who passed during my first semester of college. It is through his passing that I was able to secure funds to pursue this venture. I brought on a partner, who was more familiar with art and audio recording than myself. In the summer of 2015, we met with this inventor to learn how to use his machine. By October of 2015, a machine of our own had arrived. In early November, Blushing Soup won a grant from the Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art. During this time, we released two vinyl records for local bands. For a culminating project, I coordinated a Record Store Day compilation album consisting of six bands featuring. After securing all of the music, the machine started having problems, which forced me to cancel this release. Recognizing the delicacy of the machine, prompted a shift in the aim of Blushing Soup. During this process, I started learning printmaking processes, and I realized that Blushing Soup could function as more than a record cutting service; we could be an art press. In the last few month of this project, I started making artist's books. By the end of April 2016, Blushing Soup will have released vinyl records for two bands, as well as produced four handmade books. This creative project centered around the process of creating art through lathe cutting and printmaking; the objective was not to maximize profits but rather refocus the consumption of art (in a sustainable practice).
ContributorsStringer, Shelby Manning (Author) / Essig, Linda (Thesis director) / Peck, Sidnee (Committee member) / School of Art (Contributor) / Department of English (Contributor) / School of Historical, Philosophical and Religious Studies (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2016-05
Description
Einstein's theory of special relativity has been used by accomplished science fiction authors since its discovery in 1905, allowing intrepid adventurers to reach far away worlds without having to fear time's passage. By traveling near light speed, these fictional travelers experience a different passage of time as the universe ensures the commonality of the speed of light in all reference frames. In the here and now, this method of travel has been proposed to assist in interstellar and interplanetary exploration. This paper will investigate the practicality of this method of travel by proposing a mission utilizing a craft with this type of velocity.
ContributorsWaaler, Mason Duran (Author) / Jacob, Richard (Thesis director) / Covatto, Carl (Committee member) / Foy, Joseph (Committee member) / School of Life Sciences (Contributor) / School of Earth and Space Exploration (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2016-05
Description
Interaction is key to education, as students who perform their own inquiry into a subject retain information longer. The field of interactive fiction, which emphasizes personal decision making and freedom of choice, is ripe for opportunity as it is relatively simple to develop and deploy to audiences of any size. However, few interactive fiction platforms exist with the openness and flexibility required for classroom use. My project attempted to create an interactive fiction platform that can be created for and engaged with by both teachers and students. This led to the creation of an interactive fiction platform that conforms to a variety of requirements, such as openness and compatibility across multiple platforms, and which can display meaningful content. This was accomplished by someone with a content area education background and only limited computer science experience, and shows promise for similar future endeavors.
ContributorsWilley, Kyle Allen (Author) / Bruhn, Karen (Thesis director) / Foy, Joseph (Committee member) / Viles, Rebecca (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / Division of Teacher Preparation (Contributor) / School of Historical, Philosophical and Religious Studies (Contributor)
Created2014-12
Description
Children today are being primed with technology at very young ages, leading to a more digitally focused lifestyle. Tangentially, today's digital culture has led to the increase of online shopping rather than in-store shopping. A group of students at Arizona State University's Innovation Space program, in partnership with Disney Consumer Products, set out to create a children's product that bridged the physical-digital gap, and encouraged outdoor activity. The result of their work was Blitz: a versatile, outdoor gaming console that brings traditional outdoor fun into the digital world. This thesis and paired creative project are an extension of the research and development done by the Blitz team. The purpose of this additional research is to discover how parents and children shop online in to design a website to market and sell the Blitz gaming system. Some of the topics covered include visual design, functionality, user interaction, and marketing tactics. The goal is not to develop advertising tactics to manipulate children, but to find the best ways to design for, and market children's products.
ContributorsPoindexter, Devin Alan (Author) / Fehler, Michelle (Thesis director) / Peck, Sidnee (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / Department of Marketing (Contributor) / Department of Finance (Contributor)
Created2014-12
Description
SparkLED designs innovative and intelligent LED products to concert attendees for the music industry (specifically, electronic dance music). Unlike other LED product distributors/manufacturers, such as emazinglights.com, orbitlightshow.com, and led-clothing.com, we offer products with higher degrees of customization, while maintaining higher quality, such as battery life and product durability. Our venture aims to solve the problem that consumers have with current LED product offerings. In most cases, consumers have a problem with the quality of their products while they are used throughout the day at a concert, club, or festival. In addition, with an over saturated market of LED product vendors that strictly utilize online channels, we hope to offer the physical channel needed to foster customer relationships and development at various events.
ContributorsYip, Indy Boyin (Author) / Trappen, Eric (Thesis director) / Peck, Sidnee (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / Department of Management (Contributor) / Department of Information Systems (Contributor)
Created2014-05
Description
Entrepreneurs have always existed in some form. Many researchers have attempted to define the core characteristics and personal traits of entrepreneurs. Few authors have presented significant research about the relationships between these entrepreneurs and their mentors. The purpose of this paper is to explore and evaluate the need for mentoring student entrepreneurs. Quantitative data on the subject is scarce, but there are several sources that provide qualitative data that are available for review and interpretation. This study will review the available research and draw from the insights and conclusions to provide a framework to improve the success of entrepreneurship through mentoring.
ContributorsViramontes, Stephen (Author) / Ostrom, Amy (Thesis director) / Boradkar, Prasad (Committee member) / Peck, Sidnee (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2016-05
Description
Since the acceptance of Einstein's special theory of relativity by the scientific community, authors of science fiction have used the concept of time dilation to permit seemingly impossible feats. Simple spacecraft acceleration schemes involving time dilation have been considered by scientists and fiction writers alike. Using an original Java program based upon the differential equations for special relativistic kinematics, several scenarios for round trip excursions at relativistic speeds are calculated and compared, with particular attention to energy budget and relativistic time passage in all relevant frames.
ContributorsAlfson, Jonathan William (Author) / Jacob, Richard (Thesis director) / Covatto, Carl (Committee member) / Foy, Joseph (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / School of Mathematical and Statistical Sciences (Contributor) / Department of Physics (Contributor)
Created2015-05
DescriptionA comprehensive business model aimed at providing young travelers with authentic local experiences while reducing the financial burden of travel by leveraging users primary and extended networks.
ContributorsAskin, Christian Edward (Author) / Miller, Duane (Thesis director) / Peck, Sidnee (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / Department of Management (Contributor) / Department of Marketing (Contributor)
Created2015-05