Science Research

Collaborative Science Research

June 16 - 20, 2008

DePauw University will offer its third summer Collaborative Science Research Experience program for teams of Indiana high school students and their high school teachers. A team must consist of one high school teacher involved in one of the five following disciplines plus four of the teacher's students: Biology, Chemistry, Computer Science, Health Science and Physics. Preference for participation is given to rising juniors. There is no application for the camp. We will notify selected high schools about this opportunity and all of its details, during January and February 2008, so that we can recruit teams of students and teachers. However, we also invite teams of interested students and their teachers to contact the project director.

We will select five teams to participate in five corresponding projects (see below). Selection will commence in early January 2008 and continue until the five teams are selected. (We remind high school students and their teachers that the summer research experiences will be tailored to high school students' abilities and prior knowledge. Lack of familiarity with terminology and concepts contained in the bullet points below are not barriers to student enjoyment and full participation in the Collaborative Science Research summer experience.)

Cost: Through a generous grant from the Lilly Foundation, there is no cost to the student or teacher. The grant supplies small stipends for students and teachers. We will house students in University residence halls and provide meals in Unviersity dining facilities.

For more information or to express interest in participating, contact Gloria Townsend at gct@depauw.edu or 765.658.4726.

Summer 2008 Projects

Balloon-assisted Stratospheric Experiments
Howard Brooks, Department of Physics and Astronomy, hlbrooks@depauw.edu

Utilizing a helium-filled balloon as a launch vehicle, a variety of small lightweight research experiments will be carried into the middle portion of the stratosphere to learn more about this neglected region of near space. The experiments will both record the data onboard and also relay it via radio to ground control station. Data from the experiments will be compared to other experimentally known and/or theoretically predicted results.

Identification of 5-HT2C Receptor Expressing Neurons in Zebrafish
Henning Schneider, Department of Biology, hschneider@depauw.edu

The specific aim of the project is to identify brain regions and neurons that express a new zebrafish 5-HT2C receptor. This project is a continuation of studies on the cellular and molecular basis of locomotion in larval zebrafish, Danio rerio. In previous studies, we demonstrated that serotonin (5-HT) and the non-specific 5-HT2C receptor agonist m-chlorophenylpiperazine (m-CPP) increase pectoral fin activity significantly. Now, we have cloned the first 5-HT2C receptor from zebrafish and generated an antibody against the receptor for identifying neurons that express the protein. Using the antibody, we will stain 5-HT2C receptor expressing neurons in specific brain areas. This project includes gene knockdown experiments, in which we block the expression of the 5-HT2C receptor gene, and developmental studies, in which we explore the role of the receptor on development and regeneration of the nervous system.

Training Methods and Balance
Pat Babington and Marie Pickerill, Department of Kinesiology , patbabington@depauw.edu and mariapickerill@depauw.edu

Balance is maintained in humans as a result of feedback from receptors in the vestibular (inner ear), visual (sight) and somatosensory (muscles, joints and skin) systems. Balance has been investigated in relation to aging, injury, and athletic skill. While the basic anatomical mechanisms for balance have been identified, little has been done to identify if these mechanisms can be trained or manipulated through exercise. Proprioceptive training (exercises to enhance awareness of body position) has been shown to improve balance, yet other types of training (endurance or strength) have not been tested for their effects on mechanisms related to balance. This project will include measurement of balance before and after acute bouts of exercise. Through this we hope to identify methods that primarily target the somatosensory system with effects that either enhance or diminish balance in humans.

Using Surface-enhanced Raman Spectroscopy to Study the Reactions of Surface-bound Succinimide Esters
Richard Martoglio, Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, rmartoglio@depauw.edu

The project is primarily focused on the detection of small amounts of specific analytes using the spectroscopic technique of surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS). By using SERS we can detect compounds in the micromolar (10-6 moles/L) regime and observe a reaction as it happens in real-time by examining changes in spectral features. When certain compounds are attached to a metal surface, a new spectral feature may be observed and a large signal enhancement occurs. Compounds that remain in solution do not exhibit signal enhancement and will not be detected. This selective enhancement is one of the main benefits of employing the SERS technique.

The Raman system is relatively easy to learn and operate. The colloids are extremely sensitive to their surroundings and must be handled with care. SERS analysis can be complex, but it is an excellent tool for learning spectroscopy and the identification of functional groups through characteristic spectral features. There is an opportunity to perform organic synthesis in this research, as well. We are interested in making new compounds as precursors for the reaction process, and we will need to synthesize the expected products to match or confirm spectral features from these reactions.

Characterization of Tax1BP2
Dan Gurnon, Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, danielgurnon@depauw.edu

Our lab focuses on characterization of coiled coils, a type of protein "rope” ubiquitous in biochemistry. For this project, we will continue work begun on the coiled coil Tax1BP2, a human protein implicated in a rare form of virally-induced leukemia. Our long term goal is to understand the structure and function of the protein, but before that is possible we must first clone the gene for Tax1BP2. Students will participate in DNA amplification using the PCR reaction and will learn how to clone a gene using the Gateway technique. Depending on the status of the project at the beginning of the summer, students may also participate in protein expression and purification.

Human Computer Interaction: Exploration of Novel Modes of Interaction
Dave Berque, Department of Computer Science, dberque@depauw.edu

Human Computer Interaction is a branch of computer science that deals with the design, implementation, and evaluation of software systems and related input/output devices that meet user needs in a safe, effective, and pleasurable way. A number of new interaction techniques are currently being explored by HCI researchers across the world. For example, “multi-touch” technologies, which allow users to use more than one finger to control an interface, are being explored in commercial systems such as the Apple iPhone and in research systems such as Microsoft’s TableTop Computer. As a second example, networked collaboration tools are being developed to better connect groups of people, in order to enhance their ability to solve problems collaboratively.

Students will work as part of a team during the summer of 2008 to help design, prototype and evaluate one or more systems that use a novel interaction technique such as multi-touch. The goal of the project is to determine how the new approach compares to more traditional approaches.