Due to habitat loss the Texas horned lizard (THL) (Phrynosoma cornutum) population has declined across its historic range. To date, reintroduction attempts for the species have been unsuccessful, calling into question the suitability of the habitat. Texas horned lizards require suitable thermal habitat to meet their thermoregulatory needs, because of this, understanding the thermal habitat requirements of THLs is important. While the critical temperature limits and preferred body temperatures of THLs are established from laboratory studies, thermal habitat preferences for THLs in the wild are poorly understood. The objective of this study was to determine thermal habitat preferences and home range sizes of reintroduced THLs at Mason Mountain WMA compared to a nearby natural population of THLs on the White Ranch. We also compare the thermal conditions of different microhabitats between the two sites. To compare thermal conditions between the two sites, we used thermal dataloggers to record the temperatures in different microhabitats throughout the day at each study site, then compared how much of the time these data loggers were within the lizard’s optimal temperature range between the two study sites. Home ranges were calculated for lizards from the two study sites and average home range sizes between the two study sites were compared for significant differences. The ground temperature selected by the lizards versus random points were compared between the two study sites. These findings will improve our understanding of THL thermal ecology and reintroduction requirements.

Metal Halide Perovskites (MHPs) are an emerging type of semiconductor for use in electronic devices that produce or utilize light. MHPs have shown advantages over traditional semiconductors such as silicon due to ease of solution processing, high defect tolerance (defects are strained chemical bonds and/or missing atoms in the crystal lattice) and tunable emission of light color. MHPs have the chemical structure ABX3 where A is a monovalent cation (+1) such as cesium, methylammonium or formamidinium; B is a divalent cation (+2) such as lead or tin, and X is a halide such as chloride, bromide, or iodide. Their favorable properties have resulted in solar cells capable of 32.5% power conversion efficiency in a tandem perovskite/silicon solar cell. However, MHPs suffer from issues with long term stability brought about by exposure to air and moisture, as well as ion migration under illumination.
Crystal engineering and chemical passivation using small molecules have been implemented to improve the long-term stability and reduce ion migration. Incorporation of small molecules with charged groups onto a MHP helps to mitigate surface defects by occupying surface sites of missing atoms or strained bonds. Recent work has shown incorporation of these small molecules during MHP synthesis results in the formation of two dimensional layers on top of the three-dimensional perovskite crystal resulting in increased long-term stability, resistance to heat and moisture, and reduction in ion migration at grain boundaries. Current work in our lab involves synthesizing thin films of methylammonium lead tribromide by spin coating and incorporating a macrocycle based on triazine molecules for this purpose. This presentation focuses on the effects of triazine treatment on the above perovskite, as evaluated by photoluminescence microscopy, powder x-ray diffraction, and scanning electron microscopy.

Salt-induced diffusiophoresis is the migration of a colloidal particle in water caused by a salt concentration gradient. Recent studies have shown that diffusiophoresis can be used for controlling particle motion, with potential applications in separation science, microfluidics, and enhanced oil recovery. These applications are especially appealing for nanoparticles with host-guest properties such as micelles. In this work, Rayleigh interferometry was used to experimentally characterize diffusiophoresis of tyloxapol micelles in the presence of the strong salting-out agent, sodium sulfate, in water at 25oC. Our results show that micelle diffusiophoresis occurs from high to low salt concentration. A model based on micelle preferential hydration was used to quantitatively explain our findings. At relatively high salt concentrations, liquid-liquid phase separation (LLPS) was observed. Near this phase transition, micelle Brownian mobility was found to dramatically decrease, making micelle diffusiophoresis the dominant transport mechanism. Our work suggests that salting-out agents and proximity to LLPS can be used to control the motion of micelles and hydrophilic nanoparticles in general.

Catalases are a class of metalloenzymes responsible for the protection of cells from damage caused by hydrogen peroxide by converting it into water and oxygen. Manganese-based catalase (MnCAT) has been identified in different organisms as an antioxidant, raising the interest in developing small molecules as biomimetic models. A Mn(III) complex of pyclen, a 12-membered ring pyrinophane macrocycle, has previously shown to be a functional mimic of MnCAT in our laboratory. In the present study, modifications of the pyridinophane macrocycle were used to evaluate their impact on the catalytic disproportionation of hydrogen peroxide. Two series of ligands were studied: (1) varying the number of pyridine moieties within the macrocycle, and (2) substitutions in the 4-position of the pyridine ring. pH-potentiometric titrations were used to determine the formation constants (log ß) of each manganese complex, which allowed us to derive speciation curves in solution. The initial rates method was used to calculate the kinetic-relevant parameters for the disproportionation reaction. The results emphasize the effect of structural differences of the ligand on modulating the reactivity of manganese, which are the basis of a mechanistic study of the reaction that is currently underway.

N-alkylation of amino acid-containing pharmaceuticals has been shown to increase their respective oral availability and membrane diffusion. Macrocycles, too, have been an interest in modern drug design due to their ability to have a dynamic conformation and adopt a chameleon-like property to enhance the ability for the drug to be properly delivered in a multitude of environments, and similarly macrocycle's ability to fully envelope an active site to block enzymatic activity. In this project, four novel N-alkylated amino acid-linked triazine macrocycles were synthesized from cyanuric chloride using BOC-hydrazine, an N-alkylated amino acid, and dimethylamine. Coupling of the amino acids with EDC to form the acetal product and further acidification and removal of protecting groups with trifluoroacetic acid yielded macrocycles in good yield. Characterization via 1D and 2D NMR reveals the emergence of different conformations in varying proportions. These conformations result from by the restricted rotation around the Ar-N bonds of both the hydrazine and amino acid of the macrocycles. A previous, non N-alkylated, glycine macrocycle was used as a reference compound, and the emergence of the different conformations was not observed for this molecule. Furthermore, the N-methylated glycine macrocycle displayed an asymmetric configuration, whereas the proline macrocycle was too rigid around the Ar-N of the amino acid to form the different rotamers. The successful synthesis of these N-alkylated amino acid macrocycles shows that further customization of these triazine macrocycles is possible.

Metal-halide perovskites are crystalline materials that work as a semiconductor in both Light Emitting Diodes (LEDs) and solar cells. In general, perovskites possess the formula ABX3. For this project, the A site is an organic molecule such as Methylammonium (MA), the B site is Lead, and the X site is Bromide. While perovskites are easily fabricated, their crystal size and number of defects present are challenging to control. Defects cause LEDs to be less stable and/or less photoluminescent (bright) and cause solar cells to be less efficient at converting light to energy. One approach to reduce the number of defects is to use ionic liquids during perovskite formation. Ionic liquids are compounds made of ions in the liquid state due to a low melting temperature. They can be added to the perovskite precursor solution to slow down the crystallization process so that fewer defects are created. The goal of this project is to create new metal halide perovskites in the presence of selected ionic liquids, evaluate their structure and photophysical properties, with the long-term goal of creating new LEDs that are both stable and efficient.

In this project, cetyl-ionic liquids (cetyl meaning 16 carbon chains) were investigated for their effects on perovskite structure and light emission. The three ionic liquids were investigated: [C16-mim]Br (referred to as "IL1"), [C16-py]Br ("IL2"), and [C16-C1pyrr]Br ("IL3"). Variations on the addition method of ionic liquids to the perovskite precursor were studied as well. It was hypothesized that the inclusion of cetyl-ionic liquids will protect the perovskite films from the environment (increasing stability) by providing a hydrophobic layer on the surface and will improve the electronic properties by filling in pinholes that cause defects. It is found that perovskite films with IL3 are more photoluminescent than the perovskite films formed with IL1, IL2, or no IL (control). Preliminary experiments varying the addition method of IL3 during film formation have shown that the perovskite films are brightest when IL3 is added to both the precursor and the antisolvent layers at the beginning of the fabrication process. These results, along with detailed structural characterization of a given perovskite film, will be discussed in this presentation.

This project aims to incorporate unnatural amino acids into proteins using an ortogonal pair composed by a leucyl synthetase from Methanobacterium thermoutotropicum (MLRS) and tRNA from Halobacterium sp. NRC-1 (HL-TAG3). A plasmid called pRCG was designed to contain a cat-upp fusion gene with amber stop codons at permissible sites of the chloramphenicol acetyl transferase protein (CAT). Three variations of the pRCG plasmid were tested: Q98TAG, D111TAG, and a double mutant containing both mutations. To study the amber codon suppression ability of the mutants, a functional leucyl-tRNA synthetase lacking the editing domain was tested for the incorporation of its endogenous amino acid using the three pRCG variants. To show that the amber stop codon is being suppressed, E. coli GH371 cells must survive when grown in the presence of leucine and chloramphenicol because the full-length CAT is expressed. In contrast, when grown in the presence of 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) and leucine, cells will not survive because the MLRS produces a full-length uracil phosphoribosyl transferase protein (UPRT) that converts 5-FU to a toxic product, causing the cells to die. Only Q98TAG or D111TAG mutant was able to suppress the amber stop codon when E. coli GH371 cells were grown in the presence of leucine under positive and negative selection conditions. The Q98TAG variant showed higher suppression ability. A library of MLRS with five randomized amino acids in the active site was designed and selected using the pRCG Q98TAG system and two unnatural amino acids (UAAs): 4-nitro-1-phenylalanine and 2-amino-3-(5-(dimethylamino)naphthalene-1-sulfonamide)propanoic acid (Dansyl-Dap). The obtained variants are currently under study to test their ability to incorporate these UAAs into a model protein called Z-domain

Catalase is one of the most efficient antioxidants metalloenzymes in biology responsible for the decomposition of hydrogen peroxide into water and oxygen. The desired antioxidant activity of catalase for medical and industrial application has inspired the study of metal-based mimics of catalase activity. However, very few of these studies explored iron-based mimics, their mechanism of action and the impact of the metal center environment on the activity of the complex. In this study, the first goal is to investigate pyridine containing macrocyclic Fe (III) complex (L1) as catalase mimic. Mass spectroscopy and UV-Visible spectrophotometry were used to follow the mechanistic activity of FeL1. The second goal is to evaluate the impact of adjusting the electronic properties (L2 and L3) and the structural rigidity (L1 and L4) of the ligand on the activity of the complex. Cyclic voltammetry, X-ray structural analysis, potentiometric titration, and UV-Visible spectrophotometry were conducted to characterize and study the properties of all the complexes. Kinetic studies following the initial rate method and TON studies were conducted to compare their activity.

Three b-branch substituted macrocycles featuring a b-branched amino acid linked acetal, a trans-hydrazone, and dimethyl amine were synthesized via acid condensation to yield homodimer macrocycles near quantitative yield without need for further purification. Previous attempts at the dimerization of triazine monomers utilized glycine or b-alanine that do not contain steric bulk. Here, L-valine, L-threonine, and L-isoleucine were used to probe the effects of steric bulk upon macrocycle formation. The resulting macrocycles are symmetrical species that are characterized by 1H-NMR, 13C-NMR, 1H-COSY spectroscopy, and 1H-rOesy spectroscopy. The symmetrical macrocycles containing valine exists as one species while threonine and isoleucine macrocycles exist as two isomers in a 9:1 and 6:4 ratio respectively. All three macrocycles exist as one rotamer state out of four possible. The minor isomer of the threonine macrocycle has an inconclusive rotamer state where the isoleucine macrocycle shows the same rotamer state as the major isomer. Well-tempered MetaDynamics Simulations tell us the rotamer state seen in the rOesy favors a folded state in all cases with barriers to interconversion decreasing as size of the side chain increases.

Cancer is a disease worldwide, and every year millions of people are diagnosed with it. Platinum compounds play an important role as anticancer agents. Their ability to bind to DNA in the nucleus (by a process known as intercalation within DNA base pairs) result in DNA damage and cell death. Unfortunately, these platinum-containing compounds lack specificity toward cancer cells and attack normal healthy cells that results in significant side effects as a consequence (loss of hair, nausea, among others).
Drug carriers (inert structures that house a given drug) that can deliver relatively large amounts of one of these drugs in a small volume (which are often chemically metastable) with some degree of specificity toward the tumor (thereby sparing the healthy cells) are clearly desirable. Our research group has developed a straightforward method to produce a well-defined nanoscale drug carrier known as silicon nanotubes (SINTs), along with a way to incorporate platinum on their surface using (3-Aminopropyl) triethoxysilane (APTES) as a functional arm. These silicon nanotubes have attracted great attention in applications relevant to diagnosis and therapy, owing in part to its biocompatibility and biodegradability in cells.
Once inside the cell, platinum is released slowly, thus allowing an interaction with DNA. Our previous results using this technology showed significant toxicity on a type of cancer cell known as HeLa. While these findings are promising, specificity has not yet been achieved.
Cancer activates signaling pathways that translates on overexpression of specific proteins/receptors. Particularly, folate receptors (FR) are present in 90-98% of ovarian, prostate, uterus, breast, as well as some adenocarcinomas. FR expression is very limited in normal cells and generally not accessible to blood flow which makes it a suitable and promising system to target cancer. These receptors are glycopolypeptides that present a high affinity for folic acid (FA). We propose to incorporate folate to our silicon-based Pt nanoparticles to enhance selectivity.
A viable strategy has been identified, involving the conjugation of a molecule known as glutathione to act as a linker to the surface of the silicon-based platinum nanoparticles through N-Hydroxysuccinimide (NHS) activation, followed by substitution with folic acid. This presentation will highlight some of our recent progress in this approach.

Oxidative stress is caused by the accumulation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) in the body and is a key player in many maladies, including neurological diseases like Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s disease. Superoxide dismutase (SOD) enzymes are capable of transforming the common ROS molecule superoxide (O2-) into less toxic species such as H2O2 or O2, thus protecting the body from harmful reactions of superoxide. Synthetic metal complexes show promise as SOD mimics and can be effective alternatives to therapeutic dosing of SOD enzyme for oxidative stress. In this work, we present a series of 12-membered tetra-aza pyridinophanes (Py2N2) and the corresponding copper complexes with substitutions on the 4-position of the pyridine ring. The SOD mimic capabilities of the Cu[Py2N2] series were explored using a UV-Visible spectrophotometric assay. Spectroscopic, potentiometric, and crystallographic methods were used to explore how the electronic nature of the 4-position substitution affects the electronics of the overall complex, and the complex’s activity as a SOD mimic. This work is an initial step toward developing these Cu[Py2N2] complexes as potential therapeutics for neurological diseases by mimicking SOD’s capabilities and protecting the body from oxidative stress.

Small molecular probes, dyes with photophysical properties correlating with various environmental physical properties, such as polarity, pH, viscosity, and temperature, are widely used in various areas of analytical, biological, and material sciences.

This poster will describe spectroscopic behavior of pyrrolyl-squaraine dyes in various types of media (i.e., molecular, ionic and deep-eutectic solvents, and micelles) using a variety of spectroscopic techniques (i.e., absorption, fluorescence, nuclear magnetic resonance and circular dichroism). Some aspects related to the synthesis of these dyes will be presented as well.

Due to the high demand of proteins in the pharmaceutical and biotechnological fields, the number of available proteins obtained through DNA recombinant techniques has significantly increased. The high demand for protein production has motivated a need for more efficient and sustainable methods for protein purification in downstream processing. Currently, chromatography is the primary method used in protein purification. However, it is generally regarded to be expensive and cannot be easily applied to large amounts of protein raw materials.
Preparative protein crystallization is regarded as a promising alternative for protein purification as it does not suffer the limitations of chromatography. However, protein crystallization is a complex, not well understood process. Hence, its implementation requires extensive crystallization screening with moderate success. In this poster, a new strategy for enhancing protein crystallization from metastable protein-rich droplets generated by liquid-liquid phase separation (LLPS) is outlined. This strategy requires the use of two additives. One additive promotes LLPS (inducer), and the other additive (modulator) alters the composition of droplets and their thermodynamic stability. This strategy is supported by our recent work on lysozyme in the presence of NaCl (inducer) and 4-(2-hydroxyethyl)-1-piperazineethanesulfonate (HEPES, modulator).

Transparency in business operations has increased across industries as consumer demand for companies to share their sustainability practices has expanded. Because of this, businesses have begun to reinvigorate earlier operational goals that involved actions to improve environmental protection, social equity, or economic stability to align with the three conceptual pillars of sustainability – economy, society, and environment. The purpose of this research is to add to the expanding body of scholarly work investigating methods for operationalizing sustainability research and build on a method for visualizing and analyzing the extent to which sustainability practices align with each pillar of sustainability. To illustrate this method, we examined the websites of 164 manufacturing companies that have their headquarters in one of Texas’s four largest metropolitan statistical areas (MSA; i.e., Austin-Round Rock-Georgetown, Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, and San Antonio-New Braunfels). We used a quantitative content analysis approach to document occurrences of sustainability practices related to each entity’s business operations. We sorted these observations into one of the three pillars of sustainability and then visualized the occurrences across the four MSAs. The results show how location can influence manufacturer’s sustainability efforts, and that the integration of sustainability practices remain nascent despite consumer demand for transparency and sustainability.

It is generally acknowledged that natural resources are preferentially selected by wildlife and it is only when these resources are unavailable or limited that a species will seek a less preferable option or alternative. While the use of anthropogenic structures and features by wildlife in disturbed habitats or urban environments is well-documented, the use of such resources in natural and semi-natural habitats is not. To address this, we explored the importance of artificial water sources for bats in a semi-natural habitat. We conducted acoustic monitoring surveys at two swimming pools at tourist lodges on the Amakhala Game Reserve in South Africa from 2018 to 2021 and behavioral observation surveys in June of 2021. From the data collected, we determined species-specific activity within proximity to the pools, foraging activity (identified by approach phase calls and feeding buzzes), and drinking activity (identified by the occurrence of drinking buzzes). Seven of 23 locally known species have been identified at the swimming pools, at which both foraging (~1% of calls) and drinking activity (~5%) has been recorded. This study provides insights into how anthropogenic features could be of value to wildlife in a semi-natural habitat.

The 1.2 Ga Barby Formation located in SW Namibia is comprised of basaltic andesites and shoshonites from oblique subduction in a volcanic arc setting. Recent mapping and whole-rock geochemistry within the Barby Formation has been completed by previous TCU graduate students. Clinopyroxenes (CPX) from samples collected during these studies were analyzed using an Electron Microprobe (EMP) at Fayetteville State University, North Carolina. Data collected from CPX phenocrysts corresponds with previous findings that the samples can be divided into two groups. Group 1 samples show an enrichment in rare earth elements (REE) and light rare earth elements (LREE) Th, Zr, La/Yb, Nb, with a smaller Ti anomaly as compared to Group 2 (Lehman, 2019; Orhmundt, 2020). CPX phenocrysts within Group 1 have higher TiO2 wt% concentrations. Differences between the two groups are attributed to different source rock compositions and partial melting (Lehman, 2019; Orhmundt, 2020). Mineral compositions and cation ratios from EPMA data were also used to determine geothermobarometric conditions of the formation’s magma plumbing system. Single-clinopyroxene thermometry and barometry equations from Wang et al. (2021) and Purtika (2008) were utilized in this study. Wang et al. (2021) calculations resulted with average pressures between 1-3 ± 1.5 kbar and average temperatures between 1100-1200 °C. Purtika (2008) calculations resulted with overall higher pressures averaging at 3-5 kbar and slightly hotter temperatures at 1200 ± 50°C. Overall temperatures are higher than what would be expected in the basaltic andesitic system and variations could be due to the low-grade metamorphism the area has experienced that has affected the geochemistry.

Subsidence is a downward sinking of earth materials that creates a large or small circular surface, but it may produce linear or irregular failure patterns. The highly dissolved calcium carbonate or evaporite rocks allow acidic rainwater to permeate its strata. Near or underlying rock can easily be dissolved in water and create space and caverns underground, making a sudden catastrophic collapse of the land surface. Highly soluble bedrocks are a widespread geologic phenomenon in the West Texas Permian Basin. The majority of the area has been impacted by the subsurface dissolution gypsum layers, which is a cause of the active sinkhole formation from a few meters to 100 m wide. This geohazard has caused damage on infrastructure and civilian property. It can cause environmental problems when it alters the local hydrology. Sinkhole detection using field surveying is expensive, time-consuming, labor-intensive, and not easily accessible, and it might be potentially dangerous for the surveyor. In this paper, I detect, map, and thus analyze anthropogenic triggering factors of sinkholes in Wink, Texas, using open-source high-resolution LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging) data. Methods involve Generating Digital Elevation Model (DEM), extracting the depressions from DEM, identifying sinkhole boundary contour, and then converting the delineated sinkhole to a polygon shapefile, analyzing the shape and geometric properties. False alarm sinkhole depression eliminates based on the threshold value. Finally, human-induced factors have been investigated.

Distributive fluvial systems (DFS) are cited to be one of the most dominant fluvial depositional systems seen in continental basins. This system can now be defined by five common characteristics seen in many continental basins: 1) channels that radiate from an apex; 2) a channel size decrease downstream; 3) an increase in preservation of floodplain deposits relative to downstream deposits; 4) a decrease downstream in channel grain size; 5) a change from amalgamated channel deposits in proximal areas to more separated and smaller channels in distal areas. DFSs have been heavily studied in the Morrison Formation near the Four Corners of the United States, however, they have not been tested in eastern New Mexico. The above set of parameters are tested in the Morrison Formation in East New Mexico against the Salt Wash DFS to see how the two systems compare.
Completing this study will provide quantitative analysis over a potential ancient DFS with the goal of providing a dataset that can be used to compare with other DFSs. Additionally, analyzing an unknown area of the Morrison Formation will ultimately open up studies to be worked on in the future. Correlating the East Morrison Formation DFS with the Colorado Plateau Morrison Formation DFS will bridge the gap for determining similarities and differences between these exposures and set the stage for future studies. Additionally, this work will also help us better understand the wider Morrison basin and facies distributions within.

The Upper Jurassic Morrison Formation has been extensively studied in the Western-Interior United States since it contains economic resources of uranium, vanadium, and some of the most well-preserved dinosaur fossils in the United States. Covering over 450,000 square miles from southern Canada to New Mexico, the Morrison Formation's enormous extent presents a unique opportunity to understand the processes happening on Earth's surface during the Late Jurassic. Studies of the Morrison Formation have primarily focused on areas where there are large concentrations of the aforementioned economic resources within its strata. The geologic community has largely overlooked Morrison Formation outcrops in northeastern New Mexico compared to the exhaustively studied outcrops in and around the Colorado Plateau. The absence of recent studies in the Morrison Formation in northeast New Mexico provides a chance to explore it with a level of detail unobtainable until recently. This study will undergo a detailed architectural analysis of two to three extensive outcrops of the Morrison Formation in northeastern New Mexico. This Study will do detailed bedding and facies diagrams of these outcrops from drone images to constrain fluvial style and fluvial history of these rocks. Studying the Morrison Formation in a high level of detail will, in all likelihood, produce new information on the climate and fluvial morphology of the environment in the Late Jurassic. With a new detailed understanding of this all but forgotten piece of the Morrison Formation, the groundwork will be laid for the potential to correlate this piece of the Morrison Formation with other understudied or non-correlatable pieces elsewhere across its vast depositional extent and to piece this part of the Late Jurassic fluvial story into the larger puzzle.

Martian meteorites provide us with a window into the processes occurring during the formation and evolution of the terrestrial planets, such as: accretion and differentiation, emplacement and formation of magmatic rocks, the behavior and content of volatile compounds, and the effects of impact events. Here, we present the initial results from a two-phase study on a presumed Martian meteorite, hereafter referred to as NWA X. First, the 800g main mass of NWA X was imaged prior to cutting using 3D laser scans and photogrammetry to produce 3D models of the meteorite’s exterior, and computed tomography (CT) to provide scans of the interior. The main mass was cut and a 175g end piece was donated to the Monnig Meteorite Collection, along with a 5g chip for scientific analysis. In the second phase of the study, we will characterize NWA X in terms of its texture, modal mineralogy, and mineral chemistry. Results from this study will allow us to confirm if NWA X is of Martian origin and, if so, place it in context within the existing dataset for Martian meteorites.

Mesosiderites are a group of stony-iron meteorites that contain roughly equal amounts of core material (metal) and crust (silicates) from one or more asteroid parent body. The core material is predominantly Fe,Ni-metal, with some troilite (FeS), and is found as clasts and/or intimately mixed within the meteorite matrix. Silicate clasts are basaltic or gabbroic in origin, representing different formation depths within the crust, and are predominantly plagioclase and pyroxene. The formation of mesosiderites is not fully understood, but observed features require a three stage process: (1) formation of asteroidal silicate crust; (2) metal-silicate mixing, where molten metal is injected into the solid silicates; (3) deep burial, as reflected by the extremely slow cooling rates of less than 1ºC/My. Mesosiderites are classified by pyroxene content and degree of metamorphism, which focuses only on the silicate phases. That not only ignores half of their mineralogy, but also the third stage of their formational history. Additionally, only 15% of known mesosiderites have been studied in detail. This research aims to 1) investigate five previously understudied and ungrouped mesosiderites and 2) determine if metal within mesosiderites can be used to refine current classification schemes.

Debris flow is a landslide with a quick velocity of displacement that involves risk and damages to life and property. It can be triggered by periods of intense rain usually on steep slopes. Also, a second triggering factor is the influence of wildfire. Wildfire can increase drastically the probability of this type of landslide because the fire burned the vegetation which helps to stabilize the soil and the slope. The research uses geographical information system (GIS) for the development of mapping landslide susceptibility, with a particular interest in the evaluation of areas vulnerable to debris flow natural hazards that may be triggered after a wildfire, with the effects of intensive periods of precipitation. The method has been applied to Montecito city, which was exposed to a massive mudslide in January 2018. The spatial landslide susceptibility response in this study area is correlated to different factors, such as vegetation, lithology, slope gradient, and distance to streams networks which are considered the control of the probability of incidence of a landslide event in this area. Obtained by using the methodology of the multi-criteria decision evaluation (MCE) model. The results obtained from this study indicate that the GIS-based model is valuable and appropriate for the scale used in this study. The model helped to identify areas that still are affected by the wildfire, which can be vulnerable to a new process of debris flow impacting the population closer to the rivers downhill.

The city of Austin and its surrounding area is experiencing tremendous growth and expansion as a consequence of fast urban development and population growth. This has led to increased constructions and other anthropogenic alterations of the environment to accommodate the growing population and economy. These activities, coupled with the natural conditions and forcings, have made areas within the metropolis susceptible to the threats of landslides. The present study aims to identify zones in the study area that are susceptible to the threats of slow-moving creep/slow-slide landslide hazards and understand the factors and processes that control the occurrence of these events through an integrated study approach. This includes: (1) generating a landslide susceptibility (LS) map through a combination of the triggering factors including local geology and tectonic features, land use/cover, elevation/slope, and precipitation; (2) detecting active deformation processes that could lead to landslide failure using Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar (InSAR) analysis techniques applied on Sentinel-1 SAR datasets (2015 – 2020) and validated through datasets from campaign GPS surveys and permanent stations; and (3) identify the factors and processes that directly or indirectly constrain the occurrence of the phenomenon through spatial analysis of relevant datasets. Our findings show: (1) the main concentration of vertical displacement (-1 to -6 mm/yr) is around the northern region of the study area; (2) zones with a moderate subsidence rate coincide with urbanized areas (up to -2 mm/yr) whereas pockets of high displacement rates (up to -6 mm/yr) are noted on NW parts; (3) most of the areas experiencing subsidence are underlain by the Comanche Series characterized by alternating beds of harder and softer limestones interbedded with beds of marly/clayey layers, and formations of marine marl, sandstone, and carbonaceous shale from the Gulf Series; (4) there is a high spatial correspondence between areas with high subsidence rates and high LS index; and (5) efforts are currently underway to analyze relevant datasets to determine factors and processes that control the occurrence of the hazard.

Nationally groundwater supplies 30% of the freshwater while within Texas that number increases to 60%. As population increases across the United States, Texas being the 7th fastest-growing state, there is immense pressure on freshwater resources. It is important to monitor the quality of groundwater reservoirs to ensure continuous and sustainable use of these reservoirs for current and future populations.
This study assesses the water quality of all nine major aquifers in Texas, with a focus on investigating the water chemistry change across shallow wells (below 300 feet) in these aquifers. This study used a distributed analysis to extrapolate the pH and Total Dissolved Salts (TDS) distribution across Texas major aquifers and revealed that all the shallow wells exhibit signs of water chemistry change. Decadal analysis of data from the Pre-1960s up to 2016 indicates that the pH of these shallow wells had sudden salinization between 1975-1985, followed by significant acidification from 1985 to 2016, where all aquifers followed this trend with the exception of Carrizo Wilcox in the far East and Hueco Mesilla Bolsons in the far West of Texas. On the other hand, TDS increased consistently statewide.
Added effort will be geared towards finding a correlation between the long-term groundwater chemistry change and the land use/land cover change around the major aquifers of Texas. The results of this project will help to determine the possible origin and causes of the change in groundwater chemistry of shallow aquifers in Texas.

The Austin Chalk is a rhythmically bedded sequence of chalk and marl that represents pelagic to hemipelagic carbonate deposition in the ancestral Gulf of Mexico during the Upper Cretaceous. The Austin Chalk differs from traditional chalk deposits due to its relatively high abundance of clay and volcanic ash. Outcrops of the chalk stretch from north-central Texas to west Texas and surface exposures mirror the subsurface trend of the Ouachita orogen. Deformation of the heavily fractured Austin Chalk is caused by the normal faults associated with the Balcones Fault Zone.
Historically, the Austin Chalk has been exploited as a conventional hydrocarbon reservoir produced from natural porosity and permeability without large hydraulic stimulations. More recently, the Austin Chalk has been explored as a combination fractured and unconventional reservoir, relying on natural porosity and permeability combined with induced hydraulic fracturing to generate new fracture permeability to release hydrocarbons trapped in microscopic pores. In addition to its reservoir properties, much of the city of Dallas is built within the outcrop trend of the chalk. Thus, understanding the properties and deformation features of the Austin Chalk is also important to the construction industry in north-central Texas.
Deformation of the Austin Chalk in Ten-Mile Creek is characteristic of normal faulting seen in platform carbonate sequences. Faults are identified by the presence of slickenlines and fault gouge, and are surrounded by a damage zone defined by synthetic faulting, jointing, and folding. Deformation is concentrated near the fault core and decreases with distance from the fault core. Here, we present a structural analysis of Church of the Nazarene section of Ten-Mile Creek. The mechanical properties of stratigraphic units are quantified using a Schmidt hammer. Fracture parameters, such as fracture density and intensity, are quantified using scanline surveys. Additionally, spectral gamma ray measurements are made in the field using the RS-230 spectrometer. Spectral gamma ray properties are combined with fracture parameters to create an integrated structural and petrophysical analysis.

The Sierra Nevada in California has a rich Cenozoic volcanic history including important arc sequences related to the southern Ancestral Cascades dating as far back as 30 Ma (du Bray et al., 2014). The present study focuses on Pliocene volcanic debris-avalanche deposits in the northern Sierra Nevada that fill paleocanyons west and northwest of Lake Tahoe. The paleocanyons trend west, west-southwest, and west- northwest from an unknown volcanic source to the east (Berkebile, 2003; Harwood et al., 2014). The main objective of this study is to examine petrogenetic relations of the debris-avalanche deposits and obtain isotopic ages for them. Another purpose is to determine if the three debris-avalanche deposits are from the same eruptive event or possibly the result of separate eruptions and multiple source vents. To acquire detailed data for this study, I am using whole-rock chemistry of both major and trace elements, electron microprobe analysis of phenocryst phases, and analysis of melt inclusions for magmatic volatile contents. Isotopic ages will be obtained using 40Ar/39Ar dating. Clinopyroxenes (CPX), orthopyroxenes (OPX), and plagioclase phenocrysts from samples collected have been analyzed using an electron microprobe (EMP) at Fayetteville State University, North Carolina under supervision of Dr. Steven Singletary. Data from these phenocrysts phases will be used to determine geothermobarometric conditions of the parental magma chamber or chambers.