Session I

Atomically precise nanoclusters have numerous applications throughout many fields of chemical science, mostly because of their tunability and relative ease of synthesis. However, clusters that have non-noble metal cores are less stable, and therefore harder to synthesize. Despite this, working with transition metals is a promising avenue because of their wider tunability and increased applications in catalysis. Considering that the ... Read More

The Illinois State Treasurer's Office, an institution tasked with the management and investment of state finances. The focus of the program resulted in creating a Long-Term Financial Analyzer: this program transforms investment strategy by equipping users not only with five-year stock price forecasts but also critical technical indicators – thereby improving their decision-making knowledge. By harnessing cutting-edge algorithms and incorporating ... Read More

Centromeres and heterochromatin play significant roles in gene expression regulation. We hypothesize that DDX18, a protein that localizes in the nucleolus, may play a role anchoring centromeres to the nucleolus and organizing perinucleolar heterochromatin. Investigating its role in these processes would allow us to better understand the mechanism and purpose behind the centromere-nucleolus and heterochromatin-nucleolar associations, and broader implications for ... Read More

Leishmaniasis is a parasitic disease that mainly infects mammals through bites from sandflies. Not only is it primarily seen affecting people in low-income areas, but also people with other infections that debilitate the immune system, like HIV. Immunosuppressed people get infected more easily, which in turn gives the disease more hosts to spread. Medicinal treatments for Leishmaniasis are extremely lacking ... Read More

The IMSA AI Center, incubated at IN2, and currently located in A148, is one of the IMSA Vision 2033 themes. The team is creating an AI Center that serves to educate and inspire the IMSA community about the potential of Artificial intelligence. The internship developed and hosted 10 “AI Bytes” community learning sessions. The team also created a rubric and ... Read More

The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) states that adults aged 45 to 75 not at increased risk for colorectal cancer (CRC) should be screened once every ten years. Literature shows three out of ten adults don’t adhere to CRC screening guidelines due to socioeconomic status, fear of screening methods, affordability, and other inhibitors. Insufficient information is available on improving ... Read More

The course of treatments for HIV has been revolutionized by the development of antiretroviral drugs. However, in many instances, these drugs induce toxicity via mitochondrial dysfunction and the release of neurotoxins, and long-term toxicity remains an area of worry for people living with HIV. Our objective is to develop a humanized mouse model to study the toxic effects of HIV ... Read More

Leishmaniasis, a tropical disease, poses significant challenges due to the unreliability, toxicity, and cost of current treatments. Addressing this, a novel treatment approach is under investigation, focusing on 5-chloro-1,3-benzoxazol-2-amine, a promising compound identified through the Drugs for Neglected Diseases Initiative's Open Synthesis Network. This molecule is undergoing rigorous testing, including Proton Nuclear Magnetic Resonance and Infrared Spectroscopy, to verify its ... Read More

Molecular dynamics simulations (MD) sit at the interface of two fields, computer programming and biology, using the skills of the former to explore concepts and test hypotheses in the latter. MD elucidates protein motions that are vital to understanding a protein’s function and can be used to examine its interactions with its substrates in ways that are not obvious from ... Read More

As additive manufacturing (AM) develops into a more mature manufacturing technology, the scope of experimentation with its limits and use cases has broadened. With the increasing implementation of these technologies, the energy usage of these machines is gaining significance, particularly in the context of climate change and conscious material consumption. The potential of AM in space exploration and colonization, where ... Read More

The main objective of this project is to study neutrino interaction in the Liquid Argon Time Projection Chamber (LArTPC), mainly those between muon neutrinos or antineutrinos and argon targets, producing final state particles in the detector. Event simulation software based on GENIE and GIANT4 are used to simulate the neutrino interactions that would take place in the ArgonCube 2x2 Demonstrator, ... Read More

In recent years, Chicago's commuter rail service, Metra, has spoken of moving to a regional rail model, characteristics of which are more train service throughout the day as opposed to schedules centered around AM and PM peaks associated with commuters, and more frequent service overall. Reasons for this shift include the pandemic and the shifts to virtual work it caused, ... Read More

The possible existence of the doubly charged Higgs boson necessitates the existence of a beyond Standard Model extension. Models that include the doubly charged Higgs boson are dependent on other particle interactions that redefine the current understanding of Standard Model particles. Determining constant factors of the doubly charged Higgs boson allows limits or cuts to be placed, reducing background in ... Read More

Recent trends in state legislators and school districts across the United States to remove social- emotional programs from schools (Information, 2022) threaten to undermine the learning of empathy and prosocial skills that are fundamental to both social and cognitive development. To date, several studies have demonstrated the efficacy of Social Emotional Learning programs at increasing both social-emotional skills and academic ... Read More

In this research project, predictive capabilities of Long Short-Term Memory (LSTM) models for identifying thermoacoustic instability within combustion systems are explored. LSTMs, a subset of Recurrent Neural Networks, are particularly effective in overcoming the vanishing gradient problem, thus enhancing their ability to learn from and classify time series data. As a part of this project, a machine learning model will ... Read More

The heightening demand for spectrum from wireless communication services has necessitated the development of more effective frequency allocation methods. Leveraging Dynamic Spectrum Allocation (DSA) techniques, we generated and modeled data from several allocation algorithms to understand trends in optimal performances. In wireless networks, transmitters with overlapping coverage must be assigned different frequencies to avoid harmful interference, posing complex frequency allocation ... Read More

Alternative splicing is crucial for the genetic complexity of mammalian systems, allowing for the creation of numerous mRNA sequences and therefore protein isoforms from a single transcript. While introns are typically excluded from the final sequence, they may be dynamically retained to facilitate intron-mediated gene expression via protein production and RNA stability. In mouse embryonic cells, retained intron regulatory schemes ... Read More

During the total solar eclipse crossing North America on April 8, 2024, the moon will completely cover the sun's bright photosphere, allowing for unique observations of the faint outer atmosphere of the sun called the corona. While eclipses have traditionally been studied at optical wavelengths, observing at radio wavelengths can provide insights into the sun's magnetic fields and energetic particle ... Read More

The choroid plexus (ChP) is a part of the blood-brain barrier that is responsible for cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) secretion, which washes out toxins and enables nutrient transport. Correspondingly, the ChP serves as a niche for immune cells (e.g. Border Associated Macrophages (BAMs). Studies suggest that ChP and immune dysfunction increases the incidence of Alzeimer’s Disease (AD), however, in vitro models ... Read More

Pancreatic cancer has less than a 10% survival rate after 5 years of treatment. Drug resistance, among other issues, is one of the main reasons for tumor relapse. One of the main mutations in pancreatic cancer is in the protein KRAS, which controls cell proliferation and when mutated sends signals continuously for the cell to divide. Recently, a new FDA-approved ... Read More

This study aims to address the pressing need for accessible and accurate detection of heart irregularities amidst the rising prevalence of cardiovascular diseases. Leveraging machine learning's capability to process extensive datasets, the research proposes the development of predictive models for identifying heart rhythm irregularities. However, a significant challenge in healthcare persists: ensuring the security and privacy of patient data. To ... Read More

The efficacy of chemotherapeutic drug regimens has been a longstanding concern for cancer treatments, highlighting the need for research on how they could become more effective. A possible answer could lie in the field of epitranscriptomics, in which chemical modifications are made to RNA to affect gene expression. In this study, we aimed to find the effects of drug treatment ... Read More

Engineered nanomaterials (ENMs) are widely used across commercial sectors, yet their effects on environmental systems have not been examined thoroughly, especially at environmentally relevant concentrations. They are known to be harmful at lethal doses, but their effects on natural environmental systems at sublethal doses, the examples primarily seen in real life, have only recently been studied. Previous studies have shown ... Read More

Our project utilized various computational techniques, including machine learning, to address an existing issue with diagnosing esophageal diseases, specifically Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease (GERD) and Systemic Sclerosis (SSc). In the early stages of both diseases, symptoms such as chest pain, heartburn, and regurgitation are similar, potentially causing one to be mistaken for the other. Additionally, both of their current diagnoses are ... Read More

In the 60 years since cubane’s synthesis, the hydrocarbon cube has displayed considerable practicality within medicinal chemistry as a bioisostere to benzene. However, modern synthesis procedures of cubane call for known carcinogenic compounds, namely benzene, which can be a limitation for laboratories looking to synthesize cubane for research. In this study, researchers looked at a synthesis of cubane that substitutes ... Read More

We prepared a series of lead borate glasses doped with rare earth ions and with varying PbO content and studied their refractive index, optical band gap, fluorescence, and density. Using a Brewster’s angle setup, we measured the refractive indices. The optical band gaps were determined by locating the edge of the optical absorption spectra recorded using an absorption spectrometer. When ... Read More

In most US watersheds, surface water quality observations are scarce, making it challenging to assess goals, advise management, and calibrate high-resolution models. Popular statistical techniques, such as USGS's LOADEST and WRTDS, estimate daily pollution load using regression methods and the link between flow and pollutant concentrations. However, they do not consider upstream-downstream relationships. We suggest using Graph Neural Network (GNN) ... Read More

The purpose of gene editing is to manipulate the expression levels of a gene of interest. The focus of this experiment was to manipulate TP63 expression levels between proximal and distal epithelial airway cells. Gene cloning was performed through restriction enzyme digest cloning, in which the non-region of interest is cut off and substituted with the gene sequence of interest ... Read More

Acknowledging the limitations of the formal designations of the 77 Community Areas identified over a century ago in Chicago, this research aims to close the gap between these outdated definitions and the dynamic perceptions of the city's residents. This project investigates the complex urban landscape of Chicago, a city renowned for its diverse and multifaceted neighborhoods, through a novel crowdsourced ... Read More

Technological advancements in batteries and electric cars have increased global demand for critical metals like cobalt and nickel. These metals are essential to these emerging technologies’ functions; however, the majority of these technologies are disposed of with minimal effort to reuse or recycle their components. These metals are also subject to unstable supply chains and problematic mining processes, and so ... Read More

In search for new physics beyond the Standard Model (BSM), theories such as the Left-Right symmetric electroweak model predict the existence of doubly charged Higgs bosons (H++) which have the unique decay signature of a pair of same-sign dilepton (SSDL) jets which is unlike anything present in the Standard model. This unique signature makes the H++ a promising search candidate ... Read More

Tongue base retraction (TBR) is the action of the tongue being pulled backwards and shortened and is vital to swallowing in mammals. Compromised TBR performance leads to patients having more food residue in the pharynx, posing more risks for choking. However, the biomechanical mechanisms driving TBR remain poorly understood. The muscular hydrostat hypothesis posits that the hydrostatic deformation related to ... Read More

In my IMSA Internship/Independent Study, "Impact of Artificial Intelligence (AI) on Business Operations," mentored by Steve Goldblatt, I delve into the transformative role of AI technologies across industries. This study explores AI applications, focusing on automation, workforce dynamics, decision-making processes, customer experience, ethics, and future trends. My goals include mastering AI concepts, refining research skills, and enhancing communication abilities. Through ... Read More

Rapid advancement of deep neural networks has significantly improved various tasks such as image and speech recognition. However, as complexity of the models increases, computational costs and the number of parameters increase, making it more difficult to be implemented on resource-limited devices. This paper proposes a novel memorization-based inference (MBI) model that is compute-free and size-agnostic. Our work capitalizes on ... Read More

Transformer-based large language models (LLMs) have gained prominence over the last few years, with their ability to generate human-like content. One of the biggest issues with LLMs is “hallucination” where they generate factually incorrect output in response to queries that don’t have much support from the data that was used to train the model. Previous methods for mitigating hallucinations, such ... Read More

State Representative Maura Hirschauer, serving the constituents of State House District 49, is committed to enhancing education, bolstering local organizations, and advocating for sensible gun control measures within her community. Our office diligently assists constituents in connecting with federal agencies, collaborates with local organizations, participates in community events, and spearheads legislative initiatives aimed at ameliorating the state. As an intern, ... Read More

In addressing the increasingly urgent issue of climate change, policymakers around the world turn to carbon taxes as a primary initiative. However, in the status quo, the effectiveness of these various carbon tax systems is extremely contested, largely due to the variety of methods used to measure the effectiveness of said taxes and the high error rates associated with these ... Read More

For centuries, most astronomical observations have been conducted using viable light. However, within the last 60 years, astronomers have been exploring other wavelengths, including infrared, ultraviolet, and microwave. Infrared astronomy became more prevalent due to the Spitzer Space Telescope and the new James Webb Space Telescope This project utilizes mid-infrared (mid-IR) data for supernovae (SNe) obtained with the Spitzer Space ... Read More

Melanoma is a highly malignant form of skin cancer originating from melanocytes, cells responsible for pigment production, and there exist limited treatments for the disease. Monobenzyl ether of hydroquinone (MBEH), approved as a treatment for Vitiligo, targets the melanogenic pathway of melanin synthesis through its conversion into a toxic product by tyrosinase. Due to its toxicity at concentrations to get ... Read More

With the introduction of Quantum Computers, multiple methods have arisen that focus on simulating Quantum Computers. The most common and popular way many of the largest Quantum Computers are built is with superconducting qubits, similar to those built at places such as Google and IBM. Neutral Atom Technology is a quantum computer that utilizes neutral atoms as qubits. By shining ... Read More

Some current dark sector theories predict the existence of a dark photon that interacts with the Standard Model (SM) particles through kinetic mixing. Searching for the existence of the dark photon could have implications for understanding the nature of dark matter and the legitimacy of the theories predicting it. Dark photons are theorized to primarily decay into lepton jets. Our ... Read More

With text-to-image (“TTI”) models becoming increasingly popular, it is imperative that we ensure they are as unbiased as possible, an issue many text-to-image models are currently facing. For example, when we ran Google’s Image-FX text-to-image model to create an image of “a CEO from the Fortune 500 list” or “a CEO of the top 10 tech companies,” it always returned ... Read More

Mycetoma is a prevalent infectious disease commonly found in tropical regions. It has been difficult to find treatment because the current options include things such as limited therapeutic options, prolonged treatment durations, and drug resistance issues. To solve this and synthesize the final products, we added the amine (4-methylpiperidine) to the chloride (3- [chloro(4-chloro-2-fluorophenyl)methyl]pyridine) to make Compound 1. To make ... Read More

The capsaicin receptor TRPV1 is expressed in pain-sensing neurons and has been an attractive drug target for pain control. However, its physiological function such as regulating normal body temperature and heat sensation made TRPV1-targeting drug development challenging. Previous studies showed that the protein tyrosine phosphatase enzyme SHP-1 can modulate TRPV1 in the dorsal root ganglion (DRG). Our aim was to ... Read More

Walking is a crucial part of anyone’s everyday life, providing one with the ability to complete tasks and activities individually. However, some people cannot use this ability to its full potential given certain challenges such as the loss of muscle control and a decrease in strength, caused by old age or diseases. Through studies, it has been proven that exosuits ... Read More

Addressing sexual and gender minority (SGM) adolescents' healthcare barriers is critical for developing inclusive interventions. Digital platforms like Discord offer an effective avenue for discreetly reaching and engaging SGM teens. In developing a national text-message-based health intervention, we utilized Discord to host a virtual Youth Advisory Council (YAC), engaging 21 participants across the U.S. through polls, open-ended questions, and content ... Read More

Sports-related concussion reporting is an area of study with high interest, as rates of concussion reporting are estimated to be around 50% for collegiate student athletes. Several factors are believed to contribute to underreporting of concussions among collegiate athletes. Some variables that have been studied are sport played, concussion education, sex, concussion attitudes and beliefs, pressure from teammates or coaches, ... Read More

Parton distribution functions (PDFs) inform the behavior of particle interactions, but since they are experimentally determined, understanding their impact on simulation is crucial to take into account. In this experiment, we focus on how PDFs impact the background estimates of particle simulations. We analyzed 100 different PDF weight sets on the background involved in doubly charged Higgs interactions, such as ... Read More

Chicago southside neighborhoods are systemically underfunded which limits opportunities for youth. The youth in these neighborhoods face the reality of having improper educational resources and the trauma that comes from gang violence within these neighborhoods. We have developed the following research question: Do Chicago neighborhoods have more negative teen outcomes when mental health resources aren’t offered in the main language ... Read More

Relic neutrinos are some of the oldest particles in the universe, produced around 1 second after the big bang. Locating these relic neutrinos may help answer fundamental questions about the universe such as how it began. There have been attempts to study these relic neutrinos, with one proposed method being the KATRIN experiment. In our work, we hope to use ... Read More

This experiment seeks to determine whether carbon fiber is a viable alternative to brass, wood, or nickel in woodwind construction. The benefits of using carbon fiber include weight reduction, rigidity, and price reduction when mass-produced, resulting in access to affordable instruments for the underprivileged. The primary downside and reason that this is the first saxophone of its kind is that ... Read More

This study investigates the feasibility of using support vector machine (SVM) algorithms and other advanced classification techniques to decode neural responses from the guinea pig auditory system (inferior colliculus) while aiming to discern a spoken word processed by the animal. Utilizing multi-channel electrodes to record neural response patterns from the inferior colliculus of four guinea pigs, we develop SVM models ... Read More

In large solid tumors, a hypoxic core often indicates malignant progression, metastasis, and reduced responsiveness to chemotherapy and radiation. Personalized treatments can benefit from precise measurements of tumor oxygenation and reoxygenation of the tumor. Electron Paramagnetic Resonance Imaging (EPRI) along with an oxygen-measuring paramagnetic probe were used to assess tumor oxygenation in vivo. Triarylmethyl (trityl) radical has been known for ... Read More

This study investigates the recycling practices of Philip Morris International (PMI) and British American Tobacco Company (BAT) in relation to their e-cigarette products, IQOS and VUSE, respectively. The research assesses the effectiveness of the companies' recycling programs by examining factors such as progress towards stated goals, user accessibility and awareness, and their impact on reducing waste. Despite the implementation of ... Read More

We are developing an innovative nanoparticle-based photosensitizer aimed at enhancing photodynamic therapy (PDT) for cancer, addressing key challenges such as low light penetration and oxygen deficit in tumors. We synthesized a new photosensitizer, Y2O3:Eu@SiO2, featuring a europium-doped yttrium oxide core within a silica shell, and assessed its properties and functionality through transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and dihydroethidium (DHE) assays. Our ... Read More

During the recent pandemic, many people began to take different pharmaceuticals hoping to prevent the contraction of COVID-19 and to alleviate symptoms. After use, these pharmaceuticals can make their way in the environment through waste streams. Little research has been done to look at the prevalence of these pharmaceuticals in soil when used for their intended purpose, but the uptick ... Read More

This study analyzes the connections between reported diet, in terms of fruit and vegetable (FAV) intake, observed serum carotenoid values, and kidney function in people with sickle cell disease. An adequate FAV intake has a beneficial impact on kidney health, and people with sickle cell disease are at much higher risk of medical complications and early mortality if they also ... Read More

The purpose of this design experiment was to attempt to determine the accuracy/possibility of using extended Kalman filters (EKFs) to approximate a human’s shoulder’s location when occluded in a depth camera’s point of view. The project was conducted entirely through code and avoided any human involvement/error. The outcome of this research project may result in more accurate measurements for human-body ... Read More

As a barrier to the external environment, the skin serves as the body’s primary mechanism for physical and chemical defense, thermoregulation, and fluid retention. In both tissue homeostasis and wound repair, layers of skin form as cells migrate upward following proliferation and differentiation in the basal layer. Metabolism maintains physiological activity, with inhibited function in diseases such as diabetes leading ... Read More

This research investigates the impact of light on sleep and circadian rhythm in adolescents and young adults. Light serves as a primary regulator of circadian rhythms, influencing sleep-wake cycles and overall health. By synthesizing findings from various studies, we explore the effects of light intensity, duration, and wavelength on sleep patterns and circadian timing. Studies demonstrate a gradual shift towards ... Read More

Fluid Motor Union (FMU) is a luxury automotive service and maintenance shop based in Naperville IL. They focus on maintaining, repairing, and upgrading high-end vehicles for their loyal customers around the area. The project's initial idea was to get hands-on experience with different cars to expand my knowledge on the topic. Over these last 6 months, I have done projects, ... Read More

This project explores the potential applications of millimeter-wave (mmWave) radar technology for object and activity recognition. Using a Texas Instruments radar wave card and several cases, the data retrieved demonstrates the capability of mmWave radar to distinguish between different objects. Mmwave is unique in the sense that it uses the reflection points of wifi-waves which are more adverse in their ... Read More

Many attempts have been made to use generative artificial intelligence—neural networks that create new text or images given inputs of the same type—to synthesize characters or entire fonts from a few characters. Previous studies have used glyph (individual strokes that make up characters) detection and conjoinment to create these characters but fell short in connecting the glyphs to reproduce characters. ... Read More

As an intern in the office of Illinois House Representative Maura Hirchauer, my primary responsibilities centered on constituent contact, social media management, and research into nuclear energy policy for the State of Illinois. Over the course of six months, this internship afforded me invaluable opportunities. These included establishing connections with constituents, local businesses, and government agencies, as well as gaining ... Read More

The doubly charged Higgs boson is part of a Beyond Standard Model theory that aims to explain the left-right asymmetry of the Standard Model through the introduction of a right-handed gauge group. The doubly charged Higgs boson arises from the spontaneous symmetry breaking caused by the right-handed gauge group. Pair-produced doubly charged Higgs bosons decay to two same-sign dilepton pairs, ... Read More

Aerostrat's heavy maintenance planning solution, Aerros, assists airlines and MROs with heavy maintenance planning to maximize efficiency, forecast budgets, and aid in various decision-making for optimal yield and vendor support. Airlines must manage C-checks by tracking vendor updates, maintenance statuses, and deadlines, ensuring operational readiness and optimal fleet management. This is where Aerros tracks vendor updates, maintenance statuses, and optimal ... Read More

Visceral Leishmaniasis (VL) is a lethal protozoan disease caused by numerous species of the Leishmania genus, manifesting symptoms like fever, spleen and liver enlargement, progressive weight loss, and anemia. In this experiment, three potential VL drug amide derivatives were synthesized using multiple coupling agents and methods. The objective of each trial was to isolate a compound effective in treating Leishmaniasis ... Read More

Leishmaniasis is a parasitic disease primarily affecting poverty-stricken tropical and subtropical regions, including Africa, Latin America, the Middle East, and southern Asian countries. It is the second most prevalent and deadly parasitic disease after Malaria. Current treatments and therapies are becoming ineffective, causing a high demand for safe and low-cost oral treatments. A recent development for such treatment comes from ... Read More

Despite being one of the most influential parasitic diseases in developing countries, schistosomiasis has historically been treated as an orphan disease. To date, one drug, praziquantel, exists for its treatment. However, praziquantel sees faults in its effects on juvenile worms and has been proven to be susceptible to developed resistance in schistosomes. Most current developments towards new treatment for schistosomiasis ... Read More

Self-assembling peptides, or chains of amino acids that form various structures in response to environmental conditions, have a variety of uses in material science as well as biomedicine. These uses include drug delivery, or as drugs themselves. In material sciences, self-assembling peptides can be used to create materials with a variety of properties. Our work hopes to utilize machine learning ... Read More