Tissue engineering encompasses many important medical applications that pertain to the repair and regeneration of various tissues throughout the human body that have been adversely affected by disease or injury. Through combining the body’s cells with synthetic scaffolds, tissue engineering promotes proliferation of cells at damaged sites. Recent advances have demonstrated that using biocompatible materials such as alginate hydrogels—polymer networks derived from brown algae—are a cheap and environmentally-friendly approach to this. Alginate hydrogels are effective because they mimic the extracellular matrix of tissues, which provides structural support to cells that comprise human tissues.
One necessary modification to these scaffold materials is to load them with drugs that can facilitate healing. More complex designs can ideally deliver more than one therapeutic species simultaneously. In addition to hydrogels, drugs can also be loaded into a material known as porous silicon (pSi). pSi nanoparticles can be physically entrapped inside alginate hydrogels to create a two-system drug delivery mechanism with sustained release. This allows drugs such as growth factors, substances that stimulate cell growth, to be released at different times as the pSi and alginate hydrogel degrade.
This project entails the construction of alginate hydrogels that incorporate model dye-loaded pSi particles. The release of two dye molecules known as curcumin and rhodamine were monitored to assess the efficacy of the two-system drug delivery mechanism. It was first found that curcumin was too hydrophobic of a dye to achieve significant loading in the pSi. Rhodamine was found to be released from the pSi/alginate hydrogel system in a more incremental (sustained) manner over time compared to a relatively large initial ‘burst’ release observed for the release of rhodamine from pSi only. Sustained release in drug delivery is important to ideally reduce the amount of drug necessary and contrasts a burst release where large amounts of the loaded molecules are released prior to achieving a stable release profile. Furthermore, the localization of pSi in the alginate hydrogels was achieved by inserting loaded pSi membranes into pre-gelled alginate hydrogels, which is important to control the spatial delivery of the loaded molecule from pSi. Overall, it is believed that this pSi/alginate hydrogel material can greatly benefit the field of tissue engineering by creating dual delivery platforms with more diverse control over drug release.

It is estimated that 50 million individuals worldwide live with Alzheimer’s disease (AD), a neurodegenerative progressive disorder that, along with other chronic dementias, cost the United States $355 billion in 2021. Previous research links AD with amyloid beta (A𝛽) aggregation in the brain. Possible therapeutic drugs, including antioxidants and metal chelating agents, need efficient delivery systems that can cross the blood-brain barrier and release drugs appropriately. Recent discoveries in nanoscale materials as targeted drug delivery and controlled release agents have shown that such materials can release therapeutic drugs in a slow manner and increase efficacy. Chief among these carriers are porous materials with high surface areas because of their tunable pore structure, surface chemistry and drug loading capacity. This project focuses on using porous silicon derivatives as a carrier because, in addition to the above properties, it is a known biocompatible material.
This research deals with developing efficient protocols for loading mesoporous silica (pSiO2) with selected metal ion binding agents through systematic manipulation of external variables in order to achieve the highest percentage of loading. Once this has been determined, release and complexation studies are conducted. Known spectrophotometric methods are used to monitor diffusion over time and evaluate the profile of the sustained release. Different derivatives of chelating agents are tested and compared to determine the best suited candidates. The macrocyclic molecule Pyclen was the first tested candidate, followed by its dimer form, and finally a halogen substituted derivative. Stoichiometric complexation ratios with copper ions are measured followed by testing their success of inhibiting amyloid beta aggregation. Developing a slow and steady rate at which drugs capable of inhibiting neurotoxic A𝛽 aggregates in the brain can be released should be more effective and lead to more promising solutions for AD.

The misregulation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and transition metal ions contributes to the onset of Alzheimer’s Disease (AD). A series of new pyridinophane ligands with indole (L2 and L3) and 4-methyl-8-hydroxyquinoline (L4) modifications were evaluated as a means of targeting the molecular features of AD. These studies contribute to the overall understanding of the therapeutic potential of the pyridinophane backbone as a means of treating AD. In comparison to the parent molecule L1, the order of radical scavenging activity was determined to be L4 > L1 ~ L3 > L2, which is likely related to the reactivity and position of the substitutions. These results demonstrate that the addition of (1) the indole moiety to the pyridine, and (2) the addition of the 4-methyl-8-hydroxyquinoline moiety to the secondary amine on the tetra-aza macrocyclic pyridinophane both disrupt radical scavenging ability, warranting future exploration of these modifications in therapeutic design for AD.

To accomplish many critical reactions and interactions mediated by metals like zinc and copper, Nature uses the amino acid cysteine—often in pairs—that are preorganized in space by a protein. Cysteine proteases are illustrative of the former; zinc finger transcription factors of the latter. Small molecule models of these proteins can serve many roles. They can shed light on the chemical process or ape them for therapeutic gain. Here, a macrocycle is used to preorganize two cysteine residues. These macrocycles are synthesized in three steps. The route begins with a stepwise substitution of a BOC-protected hydrazine group, a protected cysteine, and dimethylamine onto a triazine ring. Next, an acetal is appended onto the compound. Finally, a macrocycle is produced using an acid-promoted homodimerization. The macrocycle product has been characterized using 1H and 13C NMR in 1D and 2D experiments. Additionally, logP, variable temperature NMR, and H/D exchange experiments will be performed to understand the shape of the macrocycle in solution. These studies conclude with a study of how these cysteines bind metal ions. The results of this work will guide their development for biomedical applications including their use as drugs.

Various semiconductor metal oxides such as ZnO, TiO2, WO3, and BiVO4 have been utilized for photoelectrochemical (PEC) water-splitting as well as for value added alternative reactions. However, single-phase materials often face multiple challenges including poor charge separation efficiency and surface degradation especially in aqueous environment. BiVO4 is well known as a promising photoanode material, but the above-mentioned shortcomings are still present. Therefore, in order to enhance the PEC performance of BiVO4,our group has focused on doping techniques for BiVO4 with tungsten (W) to yield tungsten doped BiVO4 (W:BiVO4). In addition, polyethylene glycol (PEG) has also been introduced to the material as a morphological control agent. The addition of polymer to the precursor solution helps to control the porosity of the resulting surface film by promoting a less porous and more compact formation of BiVO4 on FTO. The mixture of PEG (1% MW 100,000 : 1% MW 20,000) has been tested. The photochemical oxidation of a solution containing (2,2,6,6-tetramethylpiperidin-1-yl)oxyl (TEMPO) has been performed in acetonitrile with 0.1 M tetrabutylammonium hexafluorophosphate (TBAPF6) electrolyte. As a result, photocurrent density of PEG (1% MW 100,000 : 1% MW 20,000) - W:BiVO4 (0.58 mAcm-2 with an applied biased of 0.3 V vs. SCE) has outperformed that of W:BiVO4 without PEG (0.32 mAcm-2). Based on the data obtained, PEG(1% MW 100,000 : 1% MW 20,000) -W:BiVO4 outperformed W:BiVO4 by about 2 times. In the future, the best performing electrode samples will be studied for driving TEMPO-mediated benzyl alcohol oxidation.

Micelles represent an important example of nanoparticles with the ability to host nonpolar molecules in water. Understanding the effect of salts on micelle diffusion is important for enhancing particle insertion into porous materials in the presence of salt brines with application in enhancing oil recovery and soil remediation. In this poster, the effect of two salting-out salts (sodium sulfate and magnesium sulfate) on the diffusion of a non-ionic micelle (tyloxapol) is examined. Micelle diffusion coefficients were experimentally determined in aqueous salt solutions using dynamic light scattering at 25 ˚C. Our experimental results show that the micelle diffusion coefficient is approximately constant until a critical salt concentration is reached. After this concentration, micelle diffusion was found to decrease significantly, and this behavior reflects a corresponding increase in micelle size. To explain our experimental results, we introduce a two-state equilibrium model showing that relatively large surfactant aggregates become thermodynamically more stable than micelles at high salt concentrations. The results of our model were also used to examine the effect of salt gradients on micelle diffusion.

Adamantyl H-phosphinate esters were first introduced by Yiotakis et al. as a protecting group in the synthesis of phosphinopeptides. Gatineau et al. later found adamantyl H- phosphinate esters to be useful in the synthesis of P-stereogenic compounds. Phosphorus compounds have a broad range of applications ranging from pharmaceuticals to agricultural products, making them an area of interest in synthetic chemistry. However, methods for the preparation of P-stereogenic compounds that achieve high enantioselectivity are limited. Gatineau et al. discovered that adamantyl H-phosphinate esters serve as precursors that facilitate this preparation, which they attributed to the ability of the esters to resist racemization when displaced with organometallics. However, their methods were limited by the necessity of chlorophosphine starting materials. In this project, we aimed at developing novel synthetic methods for the preparation of adamantyl H-phosphinate esters which are not limited in terms of available reagents and are less expensive than current known methods. EDC, PivCl, and T3P were utilized in the esterification reactions. Methods were developed to prepare these esters in good yield on a multigram scale without the need for chromatography. An alternative method to the esterification of H-phosphinic acids was also employed that involved the preparation of adamantyl hypophosphite and its conversion into a variety of H-phosphinate esters. However, adamantyl hypophosphite was shown to have limited reactivity.

Artificial photosynthesis utilizes controlled photochemical reactions to store light energy from the sun as chemical potential energy (that of new chemical bonds). This study describes the fabrication and study of nanostructured BiVO4 photoanodes to optimize the capture and conversion of light energy to chemical potential energy. BiVO4 is a promising n-type semiconductor due to its ability to absorb a portion of the visible light spectrum. Moreover, BiVO4 is an eco-friendly material which exhibits an optimal conduction and valence band edge position to perform water oxidation. Research has suggested that the oxidative performance of bismuth vanadate films is based on both the overall surface area and presence of grain boundaries which can alter the chemical conductivity of the photoanode interface. Specifically, this work aims to alter the porosity and structure of the BiVO4 film by controlling the concentration of polymer additive, polyethylene glycol (PEG), used as a templating agent in the precursor sol-gel. Changing the PEG concentration should affect both the surface porosity and film thickness. The application of the film involves a simple liquid-phase, dip-coating deposition which is easily reproducible. We hypothesize that an increase in surface area and porosity of the photoanode interface will result in an increase in overall photocurrent generation. These nanostructured photoanodes were used to measure the oxidation of the stable radical, (2,2,6,6-tetramethylpiperidin-1-yl)oxyl (TEMPO), via photoelectrochemical analysis. Our findings provide insight into a simple yet effective fabrication procedure of photoanodes for use in renewable solar chemical applications.

Our product seeks to provide a teacher-driven computer programming education platform that allows users total anonymity in communication and grading. The purpose of this software is to provide educators the ability to assign students both in class programming contests that are graded on a time-to-completion basis and to facilitate both guided and collaborative communication about programming and computer software. This product was initially designed to be used in university’s Intro to Programming classes where the professor recognized that students, especially females, were hesitant to participate due to a perceived lack of knowledge of the topic. In any situation, asking questions can be beneficial, and this platform will provide students the ability to ask their peers and professors questions without the fear of negative reflection on their knowledge or understanding. 
The Platform is built on a custom serverless architecture utilizing Amazon Web Services (AWS). The Platform hosts a publicly accessible web portal, API layers for integration and data manipulation, and database and object storage solutions for data management and storage. Our choice in using AWS gave us the ability to implement pre-built and managed security solutions for our project. The security of our users information is offloaded immediately to a managed AWS service to minimize potential penetrations.
During the course of the project, we enhanced our time management skills and learnt how to collaborate and communicate within a team. Ultimately the research project will be considered a success if the application promotes better communication and learning within the classroom.

Day traders typically spend most of their day looking at graphs to try to find specific patterns and changes in the market. The chance of making a rewarding investment could be gone while traders try to figure out whether the pattern is good or bad. This tedious and time-consuming job can be made easier and quicker. Our team members, David Greenwell, Alfredo Perez, Zhengwei Zhou, Ahn Nguyen, and Kyle Conte have been working hard to build an algorithm to find one of the best possible market patterns called the three-bar pattern. This three-bar pattern is a pattern one might see in the market, and it shows a turning point in the market. Our client Dr. Zhang, a day trader, was interested in a way to find this pattern in real-time, on a select few stocks. With the help of Dr. Ma, Dr. Wei, and Dr. Kadiyala, our sponsors, we have created the algorithm and are working on implementing a web application for it.

Toyota Financial Services (TFS), being part of a highly regulated industry needs to ensure that all risk management, governance process, and controls are in place to ensure compliance. This entails documenting all the business processes, definitions of their data elements, connecting the defined data elements to the physical attributes in their various applications and databases. Furthermore, they need to document the lineage of the data to ensure that it is flowing correctly through their ecosystem. In addition to these, they must ensure the data quality at the source and through the transformations, it goes through while flowing in their ecosystem.
The problem of the disjointed system to record, store, check and correct all the data in the ecosystem/ no holistic view of data is affecting the employers/ business partners of TFS, the impact of which is unorganized data, manual process of linking physical and business data elements which is time-consuming.
A solution that our team is working towards is to build a data portal where data will be organized by business areas such as Loan Originations, Insurance, Servicing, etc., and various classifications under those areas. We are also implementing a google-like search for any data element which would bring up business definitions, physical attributes, data quality rules, profiles, and any related data associated with it.

Toyota Financial Services (TFS) is the largest automotive lender in the nation with over $125B in total assets. TFS offers financing, leasing, protection plans, and other financial services to customers and dealers all across the United States. In order to serve their customers better, it was required to have a comprehensive view of the customer. The TFS Customer 360 team has worked with TFS to create a Customer 360 view by harnessing the power of graph databases, semantic queries, and graph visualization tools. This view represents all direct and indirect relationships that exist for a customer and will be made available to different stakeholders in the company to make more informed decisions and to better identify potential opportunities.

Oxidative stress refers to the imbalance between free radical activity and antioxidant activity in the body, and is known to play a crucial role in diseases such as age-related macular degeneration in eyes and various neurodegenerative diseases (Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s). To help the body target and rebalance this process, the Green group at TCU has developed pyridinophane macrocycle frameworks (PyN3, Py2N2) for the development of a small multimodal molecule with direct targeting of oxidative stress through various approaches (metal binding, N-oxide formation, radical scavenging, and Nrf2 pathway activation). The group proposed a library of ligands as modifications to the pyridinophane frameworks to enhance antioxidant activity, which resulted in 18,000 possible molecule structures. Computational pre-screening will be essential to select the most promising candidates for synthesis and experimental tests. We wrote a program in Python using the open-source RDKit toolkit to generate a library of 13,000 prospective reduced-dimension pyridinophane macrocycle derivatives from SMILES strings based on the variation of ligands and attaching position to the frameworks, screen these compounds for their basic chemical and pharmacological properties, and identify those that fit the required biocompatibility, metabolic stability, and permeability for medicinal drug development. The properties to be computed through the virtual screening are molecular weight (MW), solubility, ring count, Lipinski’s parameters for orally active drugs, which includes octanol-water partition coefficient cLogP, number of hydrogen bond donors (HBD) and acceptors (HBA), and polar surface area (PSA). This program, therefore, helps save time and resources for synthesis while offering better optimization of chemical frameworks, and thus it can be applied to the development of various types of medicinal drugs.

The Monnig comprises a scientific research collection (the Monnig Meteorite Collection) as well as a Museum (the so-called “Gallery”). The exhibit has an educational game and interactive video screens. While there have been some updates to the technology in the exhibits in the last twenty years, most of the Gallery remains unchanged since its opening in 2003.

The current design is not inclusive for visually impaired visitors. contents are not accessible for non-English speaking visitors, and only less than 5 % of the 3000 meteorite collections are displayed. We address these problems by developing a tour assistance application with sufficient accommodations for visually impaired visitors using Android tablets that will be provided by the MMG to its incoming visitors with a capability of being fine-tuned to the individual’s preference.

The application begins with three separate menus, each with its own screen, which allows the user to customize the app to their needs. Menu 1 allows them to select their language. The beta version includes English, Spanish, and French, but later versions could consist of more language options. Menu 2 provides a font size selection, and menu 3 allows users to identify their color blindness type. These variables can be reset or changed at any time. The Monnig Meteorite Collection database has images of all of the meteorites within the Gallery and the text from each exhibit will be reproduced within the application. The images will be shown on a high contrast background (as compared to the exhibits) to allow for better viewing of the samples. Voice transcription will also eventually be available. Wayfinding, the ability for the user to identify where they are within the Gallery, on the application will be achieved in one of two ways. QR codes will be placed on each display case, allowing users to scan and locate the relevant exhibit on the map when needed. In addition, Bluetooth receivers will be used so that the application can identify where in the Gallery the user is located.

Chinese Learning Platform is a part of STARTALK Program – a federal grant program funded by the National Security Agency. The mission of the program is to assist students in learning languages identified critical by STARTALK, including Chinese, Arabic, Hindi, Persian, Korean, Russian, and Turkish. Our project aims to support students in learning Chinese, and will be extended to other languages in a near future. The supports include, but are not limited to, assistance in vocabulary, listening, reading, writing, and speaking Chinese. In addition, our project contains well-designed functionalities dedicated to language learning, thus further improving the learning experience for students.

DC to DC Conversion is important in modern electronics, and to the automotive industry. It is the process of converting a direct current (i.e constant) signal into another form of direct current (DC). A small-scale example of this is a car adapter, which converts the 12 volts provided by a car outlet into the 5 volts a cell phone needs to charge, known as a ‘step down’ converter. The main objective of the project is to design and test a bidirectional DC to DC conversion system. Most DCDC converters available on the market are unidirectional, i.e., either ‘step down’ or ‘step up’ the DC signal. Those that can switch are called bidirectional converters, but many available cannot handle the higher requirements of an electric motor. A system that can switch directions based on specific system parameters allows for situational flexibility, and the use of new devices for more efficient energy use. The supercapacitor is one such device. They provide power more efficiently than batteries but can only store a small amount of energy. They must be recharged often, which requires a step-down conversion from a power source (much like the car adapter example). Supplying the motor from supercapacitors requires a step-up conversion. So, to use, and reap the most benefit from these supercapacitors, switching from step up to step down based on their charge is a requirement. Ultimately, this would allow for the use of supercapacitors in an EV as part of a future project.

In this presentation, the process of creating a map of an area using ground truth data will be explained. The overall objective of this research project is to be able to capture a remote image of a land mass and be able to discern what sections within that image are a certain material. This is done through the matching of spectral signatures, which are unique for every physical material found on earth. A demonstration of spectral signature matching will be shown to understand the basic idea of how the mapping is done. A model expanding on this idea with the use of ground truth data will be shown with results showing how the map will be made.

Hydrodynamic Analysis of Surfboard Fin Performance set out to analyze how the outline and size of a surfboard fin can impact performance. Performance analysis involved running images from the manufacturer’s website through a MATLAB code that would process the image to determine an appropriate, numerical method, based on fluid dynamics, to explain categorical differences between fins. After testing for differences between categories for the following performance metrics: the vertical line of action, the horizontal line of action, the ratio between the tip area and the rest of the fin, and the resulting angle created by comparing the vertical and horizontal lines of action, the angle was found to be the most statistically significant factor for determining fin categories. Moving forward, users can input an image, along with the fin dimensions, to determine the performance characteristics of a fin, without having to purchase a fin. This project explains the underlying equations that are utilized, the fundamental assumptions that are made, how the results are generated, and how users can interpret the results.

Autonomous drones have been commercially available for decades. The integration of sensors has allowed robots to interact with their environment and resulting in autonomy. This quadcopter team takes on the challenge of creating an autonomous quadcopter using a frame, motors, electronic speed controllers, propellers, a Raspberry Pi, and an RPLidar. The team achieved remote control flight of the drone through pre-installed software—QGroundControl. The onboard computer will collect data using the RPLidar sensor and then send the data to the flight controller. Setting the robot (talker) and the virtual machine (listener) as nodes, they can communicate with each other through the ROS master.

Generative design implementation in this project had the goal of replacing sheet metal structures previously used to hold relays and electromechanic switches with 3D printed structures. The generative design software has the benefit of minimizing the mass of the structure, while keeping its structural integrity. The software does this by iterating through designs solving for stresses at each step, deciding where it is better to place a structure and then cutting mass at points where the structural integrity would not be compromised. Although the software creates a design on its own the user must define certain parameters: the preserve geometry (fundamental geometry for operation), obstacle geometry (sections that the software should leave without obstruction), the expected load case, manufacturing method, and material to be used. The end result is that the computer creates most efficient parts, allowing for a plastic 3D printed part to be able to safely replace one made of metal.

Humans are complex beings that take in a variety of information in a variety of different ways. Understanding that every person processes information in a different way is an important pathway in determining class structure and the method in which information is delivered to students. Students are typically multimodal learners but have a preference for certain learning methods over others. These include but are not limited to lectures, videos, reading, or having a hands-on experience. Professors have the opportunity to enhance the learning environment of their students by either tailoring their teaching method toward individual students, or by using a teaching method that acknowledges and uses each form of learning. The objective of this project is to develop a human ventilation model and corresponding video that can be used during the Case Application Session (CAS) within the Pulmonary Module at the TCU School of Medicine.

Hiller Measurements requested a mechanical design process to produce the internal chassis of their customized aerospace test equipment. The 3D printing team explored additive manufacturing to produce the generatively designed chassis using an MSLA 3D printer and photopolymer resin. The team improved production quality by standardizing support, raft, and print speed settings. Troubleshooting common 3D printing errors included reducing the effects of elephant’s foot, minimizing peeling forces, and adjusting FEP film tightness. Post-processing involved exploring the effect of cure time on material performance by utilizing dynamic vibration testing and tensile & compression testing. Final assessments were made by considering the ease of assembly of all parts and holders. 3D printing was determined to be an effective tool for production when the parts are designed for manufacturing and when the material properties are in accordance with its desired functionality. 

The reduction of CO2 emissions and the avoidance of Global Climate Change necessitate the conversion of the electricity generation industry to rely on non-carbon sources. Additionally, the mitigation of the duck-curve effects in microgrids requires the development of grid-independent buildings. Computations were performed for a cluster of one thousand grid-independent buildings in the North Texas area, where air-conditioning demand is high in the summer months. The electricity demand is balanced with energy supply generated from wind turbines, photovoltaic cells, or stored energy in hydrogen tanks. The results indicate that with one wind turbine operating, each building must be fitted with 10.2 kW rating photovoltaics capacity and a tank with 5.2 m3 of hydrogen storage capacity to satisfy the hourly demand of the buildings’ community. The addition of more wind turbines significantly reduces the needed PV rating but increases the required storage. Investing in energy conservation measures in the buildings significantly reduces both the needed storage capacity and the PV cell ratings.

The overall purpose of this project is to create a process for designing and manufacturing a Chassis (Mechanical Enclosure) for Hiller Measurements. As the Industrial Optimization sub-team, we focused on ways to optimize and fully document the process. The goal was to create procedures for utilizing 3-D generative design and printing software that most adults would be able to follow. Outside TCU students with little to no engineering background were brought in to test our procedures.

Trees provide essential ecosystem services to urban environments. Urban forests attenuate air pollution, mitigate flooding, reduce energy consumption, raise property values, promote community cohesion, and enhance quality of life. To maximize these services, colleges, universities, and associated campus organizations engage in a host of activities designed to enhance the structure and function of their urban forests. These activities include protecting and preserving trees, planting and maintaining trees, and offering outreach on the benefits of trees. Additionally, tree measurements present an opportunity to assess the extent to which campus trees provide important services to the university and the surrounding community. The purpose of this research is to quantify the ecosystem services of trees on the TCU campus. We recorded standard tree measurement variables, including trunk diameter, tree height, and crown width. Next, we used i-Tree Eco, an open source urban forestry software from the USDA Forest Service, to quantify the ecosystem services of campus trees. We calculated the following services: 1) pollution removal and human health impacts; 2) carbon sequestration and storage; and 3) hydrology effects, including avoided run-off, interception, and transpiration. Preliminary results indicate that campus trees provide a range of ecosystem services but vary by species and location. We recommend continued maintenance of campus trees and additional tree plantings to maximize ecosystem services.