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.
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Aluminum alloys are commonly used for engineering applications due to their high strength to weight ratio, low weight, and low cost. Pitting corrosion, accelerated by saltwater environments, leads to fatigue cracks and stress corrosion cracking during service. Two-dimensional (2D) characterization methods are typically used to identify and characterize corrosion; however, these methods are destructive and do not enable an efficient means of quantifying mechanisms of pit initiation and growth. In this study, lab-scale x-ray microtomography was used to non-destructively observe, quantify, and understand pit growth in three dimensions over a 20-day corrosion period in the AA7075-T651 alloy. The XRT process, capable of imaging sample volumes with a resolution near one micrometer, was found to be an ideal tool for large-volume pit examination. Pit depths were quantified over time using renderings of sample volumes, leading to an understanding of how inclusion particles, oxide breakdown, and corrosion mechanisms impact the growth and morphology of pits. This process, when carried out on samples produced with two different rolling directions and rolling extents, yielded novel insights into the long-term macroscopic corrosion behaviors impacted by alloy production and design. Key among these were the determinations that the alloy’s rolling direction produces a significant difference in the average growth rate of pits and that the corrosion product layer loses its passivating effect as a result of cyclic immersion. In addition, a new mechanism of pitting corrosion is proposed which is focused on the pseudo-random spatial distribution of iron-rich inclusion particles in the alloy matrix, which produces a random distribution of pit depths based on the occurrence of co-operative corrosion near inclusion clusters.
ContributorsSinclair, Daniel Ritchie (Author) / Chawla, Nikhilesh (Thesis director) / Jiao, Yang (Committee member) / Bale, Hrishikesh (Committee member) / School of International Letters and Cultures (Contributor) / Materials Science and Engineering Program (Contributor, Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2020-05
Description
With renewable energy on the rise, researchers have turned their funding and their focus towards new solar cell technologies, and perovskites are a major source of interest. This class of materials is particularly interesting due to their quick, simple synthesis as well as their physical and electrical superiority when compared to current silicon-based solar cells. Through this thesis, we will explore the synthesis of various types of perovskites and their subsequent characterization, which includes optical microscopy, photoluminescence spectroscopy, Raman microscopy, and X-ray diffraction. Analyzing two different perovskites both before and after a two-week period of storage revealed that while synthesis is indeed experiment-friendly, these materials have a concerning lack of stability even in ideal conditions.
ContributorsBuzas, Benjamin Joseph (Author) / Tongay, Sefaattin (Thesis director) / Muhich, Christopher (Committee member) / Materials Science and Engineering Program (Contributor, Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2020-05
Description
Hyperspectral imaging is a novel technology which allows for the collection of reflectance spectra of a sample in-situ and at a distance. A rapidly developing technology, hyperspectral imaging has been of particular interest in the field of art characterization, authentication, and conservation as it avoids the pitfalls of traditional characterization techniques and allows for the rapid and wide collection of data never before possible. It is hypothesized that by combining the power of hyperspectral imaging with machine learning, a new framework for the in-situ and automated characterization and authentication of artworks can be developed. This project, using the CMYK set of inks, began the preliminary development of such a framework. It was found that hyperspectral imaging and machine learning as a combination show significant potential as an avenue for art authentication, though further progress and research is needed to match the reliability of status quo techniques.
ContributorsChowdhury, Tanzil Aziz (Author) / Newman, Nathan (Thesis director) / Tongay, Sefaattin (Committee member) / School of Politics and Global Studies (Contributor) / Materials Science and Engineering Program (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2020-05
Description
Immigrant families expect their children to go above and beyond since they have access to better facilities and opportunities in comparison to their home land. In my autobiographical works of art for my Barrett Honors Thesis project, I explore how my family has become more Americanized, yet still holds traditional values. I’ve focused on how differences in culture have molded different sets of morals between my parents, me, and my sibling. My series of graphite drawings on paper are a collection of milestones in my life. It may not be a completely fluid timeline but all the important points are present and the viewer can ponder what happened in snapshots of my life. The difference in culture is depicted through representations of clothing, posture, praying, religion, and subjects.
ContributorsChu, Amanda R (Author) / Hogden, Heidi (Thesis director) / Green, Heather (Committee member) / Materials Science and Engineering Program (Contributor) / School of Life Sciences (Contributor) / Harrington Bioengineering Program (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2020-05
Description
Heavy metals such as selenium can be especially important to limit because they can cause serious health problems even at relatively low concentrations. In an effort to selectively remove selenium from solution, a PAABA (poly(aniline-co-p-aminobenzoic acid) conductive copolymer was synthesized in a selenic acid solution, and its ability to remove selenium was studied. Analysis of the Raman spectra confirmed the hypothesized formation of PAABA polymer. Constant voltage cycles showed success in precipitating the selenium out of solution via electroreduction, and ICP-MS confirmed the reduction of selenium concentrated in solution. These results indicate the PAABA synthesized in selenic acid shows promise for selective water treatment.
ContributorsSulzman, Serita Lynne (Author) / Wang, Qing Hua (Thesis director) / Chan, Candace (Committee member) / Materials Science and Engineering Program (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2020-05
Description
The goal of this thesis was to simplify the sample preparation process for cryogenic electron microscopy (cryo-EM), clearing the way for the imaging of larger biomolecules and further expansion of the field. Various protic ionic liquids (PILs) were chosen for synthesis according to their pH and other physical properties. After several failed synthesizes, one PIL, cholinium dihydrogen phosphate, was chosen for further testing. This solution was put through a series of vitrification tests in order to understand its crystallization limits. Once limits were understood, cholinium dihydrogen phosphate was combined with ribosomal proteins and viewed under a transmission electron microscope to collect negative stain images. After adjusting the ratio of PIL to buffer and the concentration of ribosomes, images of whole intact ribosomes were captured. Samples were then placed in an EM grid, manually dipped in liquid nitrogen, and viewed using the the cryo-EM. These grids revealed ice too thick to properly image, an issue that was not solved by using a more aggressive blotting technique. Although the sample preparation process was not simplified, progress was made towards doing so and further testing using different techniques may result in success.
ContributorsStreet, Maya Ann (Author) / Angell, Charles Austen (Thesis director) / Chiu, Po-Lin (Committee member) / Materials Science and Engineering Program (Contributor) / School of Molecular Sciences (Contributor) / School of Human Evolution & Social Change (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2020-05
Description
In the past decade, the volume, variety, and velocity of amassed data relevant to healthcare have reached staggering levels. This data has come in the form of numerous sources such as electronic health records, genome sequencing, pharmaceutical research. This recent rise of big data in healthcare has enabled the rise of new healthcare research methods. One of these emerging methods is known as drug repositioning (also commonly known as drug repurposing) and is the process of finding new clinical applications for existing FDA-approved drugs that have previously been approved for a different indication (Naveja et al., 2016). This process often leverages big data sources containing information about specific drugs and diseases and utilizes specialized algorithms and bioinformatics techniques to find unknown connections between certain drugs and diseases.
The traditional drug discovery process often amasses substantial costs, faces high attrition rates, progress at an extremely slow pace, and has no guarantee of receiving FDA approval by the end of the process. On average, the total cost and timeframe of drug discovery are $2.6 billion and at least 10 years (PhRMA, 2015). Alternatively, drug repositioning has become an increasingly attractive approach to pharmaceutical development and drug discovery because it has the potential to circumvent these obstacles by utilizing “de-risked” FDA-approved compounds, employing lower-cost computational research methods, and necessitating shorter development timelines (Pushpakom et al, 2019). Used effectively, drug repositioning can save a lot of money, time, and lives.
One potential application of drug repositioning research is in neurodegenerative diseases, which are diseases that primarily affect neurons in the brain. Many of these diseases manifest themselves through complex mechanisms that can impair memory, cognition, and movement. Huntington’s Disease (HD) is a fatal genetic progressive neurodegenerative disease that causes the progressive breakdown of neurons in the brain. This disease is caused by a trinucleotide repeat disorder known as a CAG repeat. This means that, due to a mutation in a person’s DNA, a set of code in the DNA erroneously repeats itself an excessive number of times. These mutations lead to the production of deformed, highly reactive proteins that can cause neuronal dysfunction, degeneration, and death. The number of repetitions varies from person to person, and longer repeat chains tend to cause the onset of HD to occur earlier in life. Symptoms include loss in motor function, personality and behavioral changes, decline in cognitive function, severe weight loss, and suicidal ideation (Heemskerk and Roos, 2012). One unique facet of the disease is that symptoms generally do not begin to appear until ages 30-50 and worsen over the course of a 10-25-year period. HD is also an autosomal dominant hereditary disease, meaning that any parent who is a carrier of the genetic disorder has a 50% chance or higher of passing the gene to his/her child. The high transmission rate, coupled with the prolonged symptoms of the disease, makes HD a devastating disease for families, as individuals are often unaware of their HD disease until after they have already had offspring. Currently, there are approximately 30,000 symptomatic HD patients and more than 200,000 individuals at risk for developing HD. The disease is also significantly more frequent in Western countries. There is no known cure for the disease, and the only focus of treatment is managing symptoms.
The goal of this Honors Thesis project is to utilize basic drug repositioning methods to develop a disease profile for HD and curate a set of drugs that can be tested and validated for HD treatment in future experiments.
The traditional drug discovery process often amasses substantial costs, faces high attrition rates, progress at an extremely slow pace, and has no guarantee of receiving FDA approval by the end of the process. On average, the total cost and timeframe of drug discovery are $2.6 billion and at least 10 years (PhRMA, 2015). Alternatively, drug repositioning has become an increasingly attractive approach to pharmaceutical development and drug discovery because it has the potential to circumvent these obstacles by utilizing “de-risked” FDA-approved compounds, employing lower-cost computational research methods, and necessitating shorter development timelines (Pushpakom et al, 2019). Used effectively, drug repositioning can save a lot of money, time, and lives.
One potential application of drug repositioning research is in neurodegenerative diseases, which are diseases that primarily affect neurons in the brain. Many of these diseases manifest themselves through complex mechanisms that can impair memory, cognition, and movement. Huntington’s Disease (HD) is a fatal genetic progressive neurodegenerative disease that causes the progressive breakdown of neurons in the brain. This disease is caused by a trinucleotide repeat disorder known as a CAG repeat. This means that, due to a mutation in a person’s DNA, a set of code in the DNA erroneously repeats itself an excessive number of times. These mutations lead to the production of deformed, highly reactive proteins that can cause neuronal dysfunction, degeneration, and death. The number of repetitions varies from person to person, and longer repeat chains tend to cause the onset of HD to occur earlier in life. Symptoms include loss in motor function, personality and behavioral changes, decline in cognitive function, severe weight loss, and suicidal ideation (Heemskerk and Roos, 2012). One unique facet of the disease is that symptoms generally do not begin to appear until ages 30-50 and worsen over the course of a 10-25-year period. HD is also an autosomal dominant hereditary disease, meaning that any parent who is a carrier of the genetic disorder has a 50% chance or higher of passing the gene to his/her child. The high transmission rate, coupled with the prolonged symptoms of the disease, makes HD a devastating disease for families, as individuals are often unaware of their HD disease until after they have already had offspring. Currently, there are approximately 30,000 symptomatic HD patients and more than 200,000 individuals at risk for developing HD. The disease is also significantly more frequent in Western countries. There is no known cure for the disease, and the only focus of treatment is managing symptoms.
The goal of this Honors Thesis project is to utilize basic drug repositioning methods to develop a disease profile for HD and curate a set of drugs that can be tested and validated for HD treatment in future experiments.
ContributorsJategaonkar, Gaurav (Co-author) / Sulit, Christian (Co-author) / Readhead, Ben (Thesis director) / Dudley, Sean (Committee member) / Materials Science and Engineering Program (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2020-05