Senior Thesis Titles

Recent senior theses are listed here by title, student name. faculty advisor. A complete listing of thesis titles is available via the on-line catalog of the Reed College library .

2016

Pulsed Nd: YAG laser Raman spectroscopy and normal coordinate analysis of trivalent bismuth complexes, Joohee Bang (Gerrity )

Elucidating the water reducing mechanism of bis-2-mercaptopyridine-N-oxide nickel(II) as a model for the design of next generation water reducing catalysts, Carlo Berti(Kliegman)

Spinosad analysis of apples in the Pacific Northwest, Nich Hanson (Cass )

Couches on fire. polybrominated diphenyl ethers and your dorm room, Jesyca Hernstadt (Kliegman )

Coal trains and the world: modeling the dispersion of fine particulate matter in the Columbia River Gorge, Katherine Jentoft-Herr (Walsh )

Tropospheric particle formation in forests: global modeling of secondary organic aerosol production from reaction of NO3 radical with speciated monoterpenes, Makoto Kelp (Fry )

Separation and quantification of radioactive 14 C from irradiated graphite, Ilana Novakoski (Walsh )

Probing the activity of bismuth phosphates for asymmetric catalysis, Nick Till (LaLonde )

Preparing and characterizing bis(imino)pyridine complexes of nickel, iron and cobalt for electrocatalytic hydrogen evolution, Sam Underwood (Kliegman )

Proteins, DNA, electrons, and a little bit of uranium. protein·DNA complexes and cryo-electron microscopy, Jazz Weisman (Glasfeld)

Quantitative analysis of liquid matrices using laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy, Suhai Yehuza (Gerrity )

Development of an apparatus for quantifying PAH and VOC production in electronic cigarettes, Jordan Yu (Walsh )

Biochemisty and Molecular Biology

Determination of BosR DNA binding sequence using CASTing method, Sofia-Mari Claesson (Glasfeld )

Reaction screening and optimization for use in a bismuth(III) asymmetric counterion directed catalysis system, Alyssa Harrison (LaLonde )

Spectroscopic analysis of the CusCFBA copper exporter in Escherichia coli, Ethan Ho (Chacón )

A tale of two proteins: towards cloning, expression, and purification of the bHLHZip domains of MondoA and Mlx, Erin McConnell (Glasfeld )

Towards an ideal green chemistry reaction: on the use of cationic organobismuth and tetraarylborate counteranion complexes in asymmetric alkylations, Johnny Mendoza (LaLonde )

Toward a complete understanding of copper efflux in Escherichia coli: a fluorescence-based investigation of metal transfer between CusF and CusB, Jonathan Perkins (Chacón )

Expression and purification of the putative Zn-dependent sulfatase AtsH from Mycobacterium tuberculosis, Natalie Stone (Glasfeld )

2015

Synthesis of Cobalt, Rhodium, and Iridium Acetyl(imino)pyridine Compounds for the Reductive Dehalogenaiton of Chlorinated Ethylenes, Mark Angeles (Kliegman )

Laser Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy: Brute Force Elemental Analysis, Arthur Chang (Gerrity )

DFT Analysis of a Platinacyclobutane Rearrangement, Megan Flood (Shusterman )

A Contribution to the Fight Against Malaria: Novel Synthesis and Characterization of 3-Alkylarylether-4(1H)-quinolones with Antimalarial Properties, Lisa Frueh (Glasfeld )

Towards Enantioselective Bismuth(III) Lewis Acid Catalysis via Utilization of a Chiral Counteranion Method for Asymmetric Induction, Drew Gingerich (LaLonde )

Size-Dependent Molecular-Level Characterization of Secondary Organic Aerosol from NO3 Initiated Δ-carene Oxidation using Nanospray Desorption Electrospray Ionization High-Resolution Mass Spectrometry, Hyun Kang (Fry )

Detecting Organic Nitrates Using Thermal Dissociation Cavity Ring-down Spectroscopy (TDCRDS), Natalie Keehan (Fry )

Predicting Depolarization Ratios and Relative Intensities for Resonance Raman spectroscopy Using the Irreducible Tensor Method, Kathleen Kruzich (Gerrity )

Natural Bond Orbital Analysis of the Congested Hydrogen-Hydrogen Interactions in exo-exo-Tentracyclododecane, Kata Martin (Shusterman )

Toward the Synthesis of a Novel Bismuth Catalyst Using Chiral BINOL-derived Phosphoric Acids to Effect Enantioselectivity Through Asymmetric Counterion-Directed Catalysis, Lukas Morick (LaLonde )

The Composition of Secondary Organic Aerosols at an Urban Site, Eve Mozur (Fry )

Binding Characteristics of FOX1 with Insulin Receptor RNA, Rachael Otto (Cass )

A Novel Approach to the Source Region Impact Factor Using Outputs from the Hybrid Single Particle Lagrangian Integrated Trajectory Model, Jonathan Tamsut (Walsh )

The Electrochemical Properties of Vitamin B12, a Reductive Dehalogenaiton Catalyst, Vania Wang (Kliegman )

Biochemistry and Molceular Biology

Green Toward a Synthesis of Bismuth Triacetazolamide: Activity against Helicobacter pylori, Stewart Green (LaLonde )

Determination of Actinomycin D’s role as an inhibitor in Myotonic Dystrophy Type 1, Shanee Harriott (Cass )

Towards an Understanding of Metal-Binding in Metal-Dependent Repressor 1 (MDR1) from Archaeoglobus fulgidus, Christina Johnson (Glasfeld )

Asp8 and the Metal-Binding Properties and Selective Activation of the Manganese Transport Regulator, Jacob Luton (Glasfeld )

Bi(III) Interaction with Helicobacter pylori Neutrophil Activating Protein: A foundation, Christopher Yan (Glasfeld )

Problematizing Trees: Ecosystem Analysis of Urban Trees’ Impact on Air Quality, G Luhman (Walsh )

2014

The air you breathe: A chemical characterization of the inorganic gas-aerosol system in the atmosphere above Portland, OR and Centerville, AL, Hannah Allen (Fry )

A Computational Analysis of the Kinetics of Trinaphthyl Methyl and Tri(2-Fluoro-1-Naphthyl) Methyl Cation Racemization, James Cahill (Shusterman )

NOx de Plume: A Spatial Analysis of Nitrogen Dioxide Plume Near the Brooklyn Railyard in Southeast Portland, Oregon, Christopher Cogell (Fry )

Towards the Synthesis of a Novel Chiral Ligand for Bismuth for Use in Asymmetric Catalysis, Emily Drew (LaLonde )

An Investigation into the Photocatalytic Activity of Molybdate and Tungstate Containing Mixed Metal Oxide Semiconductors, Lainey Fergusson (Geselbracht )

Toward a Novel Chiral Organobismuth Catalyst for Asymmetric Organic Transformations, Adriana Jemison (LaLonde )

Elucidating the Role of Acetic Acid in the Formation of Vanadium Pentoxide Gels from Triisopropoxy Vanadium(V) Oxide, Trevor Lohrey (Geselbracht )

Metal Binding Selectivity and the Role of Asp8 and Glu99 in Manganese Transport Regulator MntR, Will McKeen (Glasfeld )

Synthesis and Derivatization of a Red Shifted BODIPY scaffold for Super Resolution Microscopy, Vyom Shukla (Shusterman )

Structure and Electronic Properties of Low-Temperature Annealed Vanadium Pentoxide Sol-Gel Materials, Veronica Stewart (Geselbracht )

Towards a library of Catalytic Bismuth Cryptands: Self-Assembled Nanovessels and the Quest for Solubility in Aqueous Media, Kathleya Strode (LaLonde )

Biochemistry and Molceular Biology

MDR1: Characterization of an Archaeal Metal-Dependent Repressor found in Archaeoglobus Fulgidus, Adrian Dannis (Glasfeld )

A biochemical characterization of BosR, the Borrelia burgdorferi oxidative stresssensor, Talya Levitz (Glasfeld )

Synthesis and Biological Evaluations of N-acetyl-4’-sulfatoxy-3-iodothyronamine, Peter McTigue (Shusterman )

Towards the Total Synthesis of a Sesquiterpene Υ-Lactone Scaffolding, Ariana Remmel (LaLonde )

An Analysis of MBNL1 Zinc Finger Binding using Fluorescence Anisotropy, Erin Weisenhorn (Cass/Glasfeld )

The Search for an Ideal SERM: Towards the Design and Synthesis of a Novel Selective Estrogen Receptor Modulator, Rachel Yahn (LaLonde )

Observational Study of Brooklyn Rail Yard and its Effects on Air Quality in Portland, Alan Tuan (Fry )

2013

Effects of Thermal Annealing on the Structure and Electronic Properties of Sol-Gel Derived V2O5 Materials, Vaughn Cody (Geselbracht )

NO2 effects on nighttime secondary organic aerosol (SOA) formation, Danielle Draper (Fry )

Three Stereocenters, One Product: A Computational Study of a Stereoselective Amine-Catalyzed Diels-Alder Reaction, Emma Farley (Shusterman )

Electrical Properties of V2O5 thin Films Synthesized from the Sol-Gel Method, Malkolm Graffe (Geselbracht )

A Journey into the Unknown Exploring Manganese Specificity in ManS, Evan Green (Glasfeld )

Investigating the Potential Photocatalytic Activity of Molybdates and Tungstates, Nicole Horbinski (Geselbracht )

Exploring the Activation Mechanism of ScaR Through Mutations to its Metal Binding Sites, Erin Jacot (Glasfeld )

A Series of Unfortunate Compounds Improving the Solubility of Host-Targeted Antivirals for In Vivo Testing, Ilsa Kirby (Nilsen )

Adventures in Field Work: A Quantitative Analysis of Ambient Organic Aerosol Composition by FTIR with Meterological and Gas-phase Oxidant Characterization in the Columbia River Gorge, Laura Krause (Fry )

An Investigation into the Metal-Binding Properties of the Manganese Transporter MntA, Rhiana Meade (Glasfeld )

Towards the Eradication of Malaria: Novel Introduction of Acid Sensitive Functionality in Endochin-Like-Quinolones, Galen Miley (Nilsen )

A Novel Synthetic Route to Porous V2O5, Ellen Murphy (Geselbracht )

Calculating Depolarization Ratios through the Irreducible Tensor Method for Dipole-Forbidden Resonance Raman Spectroscopy, Neha Rao (Gerrity )

Synthetic Models for Second-Generation Monoterpene Chemistry in NO3-Influenced Aerosol Formation, Kathryn Sackinger (Fry )

On the Development and Synthesis of Thienopyridine Dengue Antivirals: A Novel Approach to a Neglected Problem, Kayla Sheridan (Nilsen )

Biochemistry and Molceular Biology

The N-Terminal Helix and DNA Binding by the Manganese Transport Regulator MntR, Rachel Baden (Glasfeld )

Effect of Structural Variation of Quinolone-3-diarylethers on Cytochrome bc1 Selectivity, Jeffrey Hamada (Nilsen )

Characterization of RNA-binding by MBNL zinc fingers ½ using fluorescene anisotropy, Anna Henkin (Glasfeld )

A Crystallographic Study of SloR, Dillon Nye (Glasfeld )

Monitoring the Ozonolysis of α-Pinene Using GC/FID, James Bianconi (Fry )

2012

Progress Towards the Development of an Organic Amidation Catalyst, Christopher Cahill (Boisvert )

Effects of Copper Exposure on Intracellular Calcium Distribution in a Wilson and Menkes Disease Human Fibroblast Cell Model, Megan Duffy (Glasfeld )

Ligand Influence on Catalysis of Amidation by Tertiary Arsine Oxides, Alina Kassenbrock (Boisvert )

N-Sulfonycyclobutylimines as Metal-Free Alkene Metathesis Catalyst Precursors, Joshua Katz (Boisvert )

Conformational Dynamics of MntR: Evidence from the Y95W-W107Y Mutant, Dana Loutey (Glasfeld )

Probing the role of annealing atmosphere in the lithium ion insertion behavior of V2O5, Sibongile Malunga (Geselbracht )

Organosulfate Standards for Ambient Aerosol Analysis: Synthesis and Quantification, Andrew Maser (Galloway )

Protein Crystallography of the Drosophila Muscleblind Alternative Splicing Factor, Jayasri Narasimhan (Cass )

Screening and Phase Identification of Metal Oxide Semiconductors for Water Photoelectrolysis, Elizabeth Ogden (Geselbracht )

Toward NMR Spectroscopy of NF1, a zinc finger, Paul Whittredge (Glasfeld )

Probing the Role of Annealing Temperatures in the Li+ Ion Insertion Behavior of V2O5, Li Zha (Geselbracht )

Biochemistry and Molceular Biology

A New Approach to the Synthesis and Pharmacokinetics of the Novel Thyroid Hormone Receptor Antagonist NH-3, Michael Gonzales (Glasfeld )

Copper Redistribution in Early Stages of Wilson’s Disease: Understanding Copper Hot-Spots in Atp7b-/- Mouse Livers, Emily Robinson (Glasfeld )

Identifying the metal ion specificity of the Staphylococcal iron regulator repressor (SirR), Rukayat Taiwo (Glasfeld )

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