As the return to normality in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic enters its early stages, the necessity for accurate, quick, and community-wide surveillance of SARS-CoV-2 has been emphasized. Wastewater-based epidemiology (WBE) has been used across the world as a tool for monitoring the pandemic, but studies of its efficacy in comparison to the best-known method for surveillance, randomly selected COVID-19 testing, has limited research. This study evaluated the trends and correlations present between SARS-CoV-2 in the effluent wastewater of a large university campus and random COVID-19 testing results published by the university. A moderately strong positive correlation was found between the random testing and WBE surveillance methods (r = 0.63), and this correlation was strengthened when accommodating for lost samples during the experiment (r = 0.74).

Intellectual property (IP) is the lifeblood of the U.S. economy. Despite being an important motivator for innovation, IP laws and IP protections are largely unknown by most individuals outside of the legal field. The purpose of this work is to condense some of the most fundamental concepts in U.S. intellectual property law and describe them in an understandable way for non-lawyers. This thesis covers basic information on U.S. patents, copyrights, trademarks, trade secrets, and the ways in which they impact both science and society. Additionally, this thesis discusses the need for better IP education and presents a solution to this problem in the form of a partly completed draft for an educational book. The book itself is meant to illustrate how the research of this thesis can be utilized in introductory educational materials while also demonstrating the potential for presenting IP law concepts in a fun and visual way.

Intellectual property (IP) is the lifeblood of the U.S. economy. Despite being an important motivator for innovation, IP laws and IP protections are largely unknown by most individuals outside of the legal field. The purpose of this work is to condense some of the most fundamental concepts in U.S. intellectual property law and describe them in an understandable way for non-lawyers. This thesis covers basic information on U.S. patents, copyrights, trademarks, trade secrets, and the ways in which they impact both science and society. Additionally, this thesis discusses the need for better IP education and presents a solution to this problem in the form of a partly completed draft for an educational book. The book itself is meant to illustrate how the research of this thesis can be utilized in introductory educational materials while also demonstrating the potential for presenting IP law concepts in a fun and visual way.

An exploration into the history of the 1918 Influenza Pandemic and the societal impacts associated with it, as well as an analysis of the developing SARS-CoV-2 pandemic today. Based upon these analyses, similarities were drawn between the two pandemics which suggested a lack of innovation in preventative measures over the last century. Given this conclusion a series of proposals were made that should be further explored to give not only the United States, but the world at large, a better chance in the face of the next emerging disease.