Benefits of Promoting College Awareness for Low Income Middle and High School Students

The disadvantages that low-income students face in today’s society make it difficult for them to move on to a post-secondary education. Since higher education is no longer for the elite few and the number of students attending colleges and universities is rapidly increasing, all students need the necessary resources to prepare for a college ready future. In order to reach low-income students and close the learning gap between low, middle, and upper income peers, there will be a need for college awareness programs in the high poverty areas. This capstone examines the barriers low-income students face and how these college awareness programs develop and promote equal opportunity to benefit the students that they target

Habitat Use of Shovelnose Sturgeon Scaphirhynchus Platorynchus in the Lower Mississippi River

The habitat requirements of shovelnose sturgeon populations are unknown for the lower Mississippi River. Active acoustic telemetry was used to measure temporal variation in habitat use of shovelnose sturgeon and preference for depth, surface current velocity, and riverbed rugosity and slope by the population and within sandbar microhabitats. Shovelnose sturgeon occupied habitats differently throughout the year; and, within habitats, areas of moderate depth and surface current velocity and smooth riverbed were preferred. Within sandbars, environmental conditions did not differ from the surrounding environment, yet frequent aggregations of individuals in the lower portion of sandbars often in close proximity suggest habitat preference at a scale greater than the 5 ha measured. Results of this study provide information on seasonal habitat use patterns and methods that can be applied to a long-term dataset to identify the habitat requirements of shovelnose sturgeon

Atomistic Simulations Uncover Microscopic Details of Nucleosomal Electrostatics, Energy Landscapes of Proteins and Photovoltaic Polymer Dynamics

Molecular dynamics (MD) simulations offer researchers a high resolution window into the atomic world. Though far from perfect, they provide researchers with a direct method for probing molecular scale processes. We have used MD to address a range of questions which span three fundamentally different topics. First, we used MD to elucidate the native state energy landscape of a small globular protein. We are able to identify a subset of direct and water-mediated contacts which may be responsible for sculpting this landscape. Next, we turn to the topic of chromatin, specifically, nucleosomal electrostatics. Using a combination of all-atom simulations and Poisson-Boltzmann calculations we are able to observe and explain counterion condensation levels and distribution patterns around the nucleosome core particle. Additionally, our results reveal the significant solvent accessibility of the core particle. Finally, we use all-atom simulations to examine small, artificial, coiled-coil peptides under development for use in light harvesting antennae. Photosensitive chromophores can be tethered to these peptides at a range of sites, and we observe that the choice of these sites plays an important role in regulating energy transfer. In addition, the flexibility of the tethers imbues the chromophores with a large amount of conformational freedom, making their dynamics important for regulating energy transfer