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The 1994-1995

Undergraduate Research

Abstract Book

The following students completed their research projects during the
1994-1995 academic year and were named Undergraduate Research Associates.
Students are listed alphabetically by their home college, although many
crossed disciplines to work with faculty in other departments and colleges.

The following document is long and is arranged as follows:

   * Carnegie Institute of Technology (CIT)
        o Chemical Engineering
        o Civil and Environmental Engineering
        o Electrical and Computer Engineering
        o Materials Science and Engineering
        o Mechanical Engineering
   * College of Fine Arts (CFA)
        o Architecture
        o Art
        o Design
        o Drama
   *  Humanities and Social Sciences (H&SS)
        o English
        o History
        o Psychology
        o Social and Decision Sciences
   * Mellon College of Science (MCS)
        o Biology
        o Chemistry
        o Mathematics
        o Physics
   * School of Computer Science (SCS)
   * Industrial Management (IM)

Carnegie Institute of Technology

Chemical Engineering

Joel A. Cohen (Senior, Chemical Engineering)
Advisors: William S. Hammack (Chemical Engineering)
Edmund Ko (Chemical Engineering)
"Microstructural Characterization of Titania-Silica Aerogels Using High
Pressure Raman Spectroscopy"
Mixed oxides prepared from two different metal precursors often have
structural and chemical properties that differ from either of the two
separate metal oxides. When small amounts of silica are mixed with titania,
for example, silica tends to stabilize titania with respect to thermal
degradation of the textural properties of the oxide, such as surface area
and pore volume. In addition, titania-silica oxides have been shown to have
enhanced acidic properties over those of pure titania or silica.
Traditionally, mixed oxide aerogels have been produced by mixing precursor
solutions of titania and silica directly. However, by prehydrolyzing the
less reactive of the two precursor molecules, the silicon precursor in this
case, the difference in the relative reactivities of the two precursors is
reduced. The result is an improvement in the micro-mixing of the two
components. By varying the prehydrolysis time, control of the oxideÍs
homogeneity and thus control of the structural and chemical properties of
the resulting mixed oxide is achievable. Although the chemical and textural
properties of titania-silica aerogel systems are well established, little is
known about the local structure of these mixed oxides.

In this project, high surface area titania-silica aerogels were prepared
using the sol-gel method followed by supercritical extraction of the solvent
with carbon dioxide. We then used pressure as a variable to perturb the
structure of titania-silica aerogels in order to determine the feasibility
of characterizing the degree of micro-mixing by manipulating this variable.
Pressure was applied to the mixed oxide continuously and smoothly up to 150
kbar in a Merrill-Bassett type diamond anvil cell and was measured by
analyzing the florescence spectrum of a ruby chip placed in the cell with
the sample. Raman spectroscopy was used in situ to probe the local structure
of 73 wt% titania (anatase)-27 wt% silica aerogels that had previously been
heat treated to 1173 K, at which point titania began to crystallize out of
the amorphous aerogel matrix. The energies of the 145 cm-1, 400 cm-1, 519
cm-1, and 637 cm-1 titania Raman bands were mapped as a function of pressure
for prehydrolyzed titania-silica, non-prehydrolyzed titania-silica, and pure
titania (anatase) aerogel samples. Results show no difference in the
response to pressure for the three aerogel samples. Thus, using pressure as
a variable is ineffective in characterizing the degree of micro-mixing of
mixed oxide aerogels.

Richard Gilmore (Junior, Chemical Engineering)
Advisor: Joe Trotter (History)
"History of Negro National Baseball League in Pittsburgh"
The history and impact of Black Baseball in Pittsburgh is by no means
something to be forgotten. The accomplishments in the game of its "Forgotten
Heroes" alone, deserves to be recognized. Known as one of the greatest
baseball clubs in the Negro leagues, the Pittsburgh Crawfords, began as a
team made up of youth from the Hill District but later acquired names like
Harold "Hooks" Tinker, and Hall of Famers, Josh Gibson, Satchel Paige,
"Cool" Papa Bell, Judy Johnson, and Oscar Charleston. These men, through
their efforts on the sandlots of Pittsburgh, paved the way for your Jackie
Robinsons and Larry Dobys, who were able to break to color barriers of
baseball in America. Not only did the integration of major league baseball
bring about the downfall of Black baseball, but it ignited a flame for
social reform in America that dominoed into the Civil Rights Movement. For
years, historians have debated over the origins of integration in our
society. Now, with scholarly works like Rob RuckÍs "Sandlot Seasons; Sport
in Black Pittsburgh," Jules TygielÍs "BaseballÍs Great Experiment; Jackie
Robinson and His Legacy," and the documentary, Kings on the Hill: Baseball's
Forgotten Heroes, there exist new hypotheses to engage. Finally, these gifts
create a window in which we can look back and remember the rich history of
Black baseball, its players, and its impact on American society.

Civil and Environmental Engineering

Kevin J. Ludwick (Senior, Civil and Environmental Engineering)
Advisors: Dr. Steven J. Fenves (Civil and Environemntal Engineering)
Dr. Harold W. Paxton (Materials Science and Engineering)
"A Geometrical, Structural, and Metallurgical Study of the Coraopolis
Bridge"
The Coraopolis Bridge consists of two sets of camel back trusses and two
sets of pony trusses. The bridge was designed by Theodore Cooper and built
by the Union Bridge Company in 1892. It originally stood at Sixth Street
across the Allegheny River in Pittsburgh. Changes in navigational
regulations required higher clearance for water traffic and the Sixth Street
Bridge had to be replaced. In 1928 the bridge was lifted off its piers at
Sixth Street, placed on barges, floated down the Ohio River, and placed on
new piers at the site in Coraopolis, crossing the back channel of the Ohio
River.

Starting in the mid 1980Ís, the bridge began to show signs of deterioration.
The bridge was weight restricted to 3 tons and shut down whenever the air
temperature dropped below 32 degrees, for fear of the steel becoming too
brittle. The seasonal closing made it imperatve that the bridge be replaced.
The Coraopolis Bridge was demolished in the spring of 1994.

The purpose of this research was to determine the integrity of the bridge
before demolition with respect to its geometrical, structural, and
metallurgical properties, and to investigate possible solutions prior to
demolition that could have saved the bridge.

The geometrical properties of the bridge and accesses were investigated in
accordance to the AASHTO specifications to determine whether they were
within these specifications. The only area of the bridge system which was
not in accordance was the 90 degree turn on the Neville Island end of the
bridge. The turning radius was approximately 15-20% below standard. There
were, however, no economically feasible solutions to solve this problem.

The structural integrity of the bridge was determined through a complete
structural analysis. The analysis was done using a finite element analysis
program. The analysis showed that 45 of the 77 members were under strength
for current loads. The large number of deficient members would not have
economically justified retrofitting the bridge for additional capacity.

The metallurgical study included mechanical and chemical tests on actual
steel samples from the bridge after it was demolished. The most surprising
of the results was the low toughness of the steel, which is a measure of how
brittle a material is. The toughness was close to 2 foot pounds, or less
than 15% of the current standards. The temperature however was found not to
be critical because the toughness did not change noticeably between service
temperature ranges.

The overall results of the research show that PennDot was justified in
demolishing the bridge. The bridge had sevral severe problems which could
not be solved economically or realistically by retrofit solutions. The
bridge was an extremely old steel structure which had long outlived its
usefulness and needed to be replaced.

Electrical and Computer Engineering

Gil Alterovitz (Freshman, Electrical and Computer Engineering)
Advisor: Jose Moura (Electrical and Computer Engineering)
"DNA Classification Using a Nueral Network"
Currently, DNA fingerprints are usually used to confirm guilt (or establish
innocence) in a court of law for just the one case to which it is applied.
If a database of criminal DNA fingerprints were kept, blood samples could be
taken whenever someone is arrested for a violent crime and used to create a
DNA fingerprint database of people with a criminal record, just as regular
fingerprints are taken today when someone is arrested in such incidents.
This database could then be used to identify possible criminal suspects in
many different cases by comparing DNA fingerprints obtained from bodily
fluids or hair samples located in a crime scene with those contained in the
database. Such technology could also be used to establish or confirm
parentage such as in cases where fathers neglect to pay child support or in
identifying unrecognizable bodies of relatives.

This project sought to achieve classification of DNA fingerprints through
creation of a custom designed automated filter and neural network program
which takes images of DNA fingerprints from imaginary suspects and compares
them to the DNA of past fictional criminals in order to find matches.
Performing this task with a neural network program allows for matches to be
made instantaneously, for data to be compared in a manner that reduces the
possibility for error in determining a match, and for the establishment of a
database that can be used to identify criminals. Although a model of human
DNA (Lambda bacteriophage DNA and different enzymes were used) as well as
human DNA gel photographs from other sources were used to explore this
method, the project itself was constructed in a manner which lends itself
well to a real life crime scenario. Computer generated virtual DNA
fingerprint data, along with noise altered data, was fed into the neural
network for training purposes. The neural network achieved 100% accuracy
more efficiently in the cases when noise was added to the training data set.
DNA gel photographs obtained from performing a lab, as well as from other
sources, were run through the neural network program and resulted in 100%
accuracy for distinguishable lanes in both cases. The aforementioned neural
network was compiled and run under a Pentium 90 MHz system as well as on the
Pittsburgh Supercomputing Center (PSC) Cray C90 system to determine learning
curves and the number of iterations needed for convergence using variable
parameters.

Eugene Gan (Senior, Electrical and Computer Engineering)
Advisor: Lowry Burgess (Art)
"Computer Dreams"
This project serves to bring together my interests in both Electrical
Computer Engineering as well as in Art. I have sought to apply both my
engineering and art backgrounds in one cohesive, capstone design type
project- a creative approach to integrate technology in Art with a series of
computer generated imagery, visualization and simulations.

The final output is a movie on videotape. The movie comprises of the
following sections:

  1. Introduction: series of computer generated stills as well as a three
     dimensional computer animated titling prologue.
  2. ïJourneyÍ and ïSketchesÍ: 2 multimedia presentations of my art
     work„sound and all.
  3. ïAstrologyÍ: A morphing look at an ancient practice.
  4. ïInGeÍ: A general overview of a past computer science project, now
     rendered in morphs and in sound with explanations preceeding.
  5. ïJourney 2Í: A look at wondrous, photo-realistic landscapes of my mind,
     all rendered on computer„none of them exist outside virtual space!
  6. A civil engineering visual simulation of a river and how it changes
     over time with a fly through and a morphing over time„helps explain
     flooding.
  7. Closing scene.
  8. Video movie of ïnetworking for dummies-a guide for the rest of usÍ„a
     movie I filmed in our own Cyert hall about how networks work.

Daniel J. List (Sophomore, Electrical and Computer Engineering)
Aron L. Soha (Sophomore, Physics)
Advisor: Bruce Maggs (Computer Science)
"Probing the Limits of Neural Networks: The Broccoli Test"
There are certain types of problems which cannot be solved easily by
traditional computer programming methods. In situations where the goal is
clear but the means of obtaining that goal are not, such as pattern
recognition and adaptive learning, artificial neural networks have proven
useful. It would be extremely difficult to generate programs to perform
tasks such as gender recognition or autonomous vehicle navigation without
the use of neural networks. However, because artificial intelligence is
still a growing field, there are a great number of unexplored topics. This
project focused on expanding the base of knowledge regarding the types of
determinations a neural network can make, and the kinds of information it
needs to be successful.

For our neural network, we chose to implement a multi-layered
back-propagation algorithm because it is the most common and fully-developed
kind of neural network, and also because it is powerful and easily adaptable
to our needs. This algorithm requires two sets of data, one on which to
train and one on which to test itself, in order to determine how well it has
learned. We gathered this data by surveying 200 people on the CMU campus.
Surveying consisted of taking a photograph, recording a voice sample,
obtaining a handwriting sample, and administering a short questionnaire to
each subject. The neural network would ultimately attempt to guess a
persons' answers to the items on the questionnaire using only combinations
of the other media involved as data. The categories tested were gender,
whether the subject is left or right-handed, age, college of affiliation,
whether the subject considers herself athletic, educational level at CMU,
and whether the subject likes or dislikes broccoli. The final goal of the
project was to determine if the neural network is capable of finding
patterns which humans cannot. Since the number of trials required, both
training and testing, was quite large, and these trials had to be performed
on a variety of categories and data sets, we also coded a shell program to
help automate the process.

After an initial phase of experimenting with various network parameters, we
began to train and test the network on the available data. Unfortunately,
most of our results were inconclusive. For the most part, the neural network
was able to find a pattern for the training set and achieve better than 90
percent on those files, but when presented with the testing set, files it
had never seen before, correct results rarely exceeded 60 percent. In some
cases it was able to achieve seemingly encouraging percentages, but on
further inspection many times it was simply guessing the most common type of
file. For instance, in determining whether a subject is younger or older
than 19 years of age, the network consistently scored better than 60
percent. However, we found that it was simply guessing 'older' a
disproportionate number of times. Because the majority of our subject pool
was older than 19, the results were skewed. We therefore do not consider the
network to have effectively learned a category unless it scores well for
each division in that category.

There were, however, several important findings to be gained from our
results. In determining whether the subject was left or right-handed, none
of the networks we tested were able to score consistently high across
multiple divisions. However, networks that were trained on samples of the
subjects' handwriting consistently scored better than those trained on their
pictures or voice. Since the computer views all types of media purely as
data, it is interesting to note that it does seem to have found some kind of
correlation between handwriting and handedness. While this may seem
intuitive, it is a determination few humans can make. We also found that the
greater the number of divisions within a category, the poorer the networks'
overall performance within that category. This is most likely because the
larger numbers of divisions lead to reduced numbers of subjects in each
division. The pattern learned seems to have a better chance of being valid
when the network can train on as large a number of subjects as possible.
Furthermore, a network which we had trained to determine whether the subject
considers herself athletic by analyzing her picture scored better than 60
percent in each division on the testing set. However, attempts to duplicate
this result failed. Since there is an element of chance involved, the
patterns learned by different networks, even when trained on the same data,
do not have to be the same. It is therefore likely that this particular
network just happened to learn a pattern which is superior to the others.
One can conclude from this result that even if a valid pattern is not found,
one may still exist.

Edmund F. LoPresti (Junior, Electrical and Computer Engineering)
Advisor: Virginia L. Stonick (Electrical and Computer Engineering)
"Statistical Modeling of Surface Electromyogram Signals"
Recordings of electrical activity in muscles (electromyograms or EMG) can be
used for medical diagnosis and biomedical research. This project
investigates the frequency content of EMG signals, particularly how the
frequency content changes over time. EMG data was first collected for
subjects supporting weights ranging from 2.5 to 10 pounds. Time-frequency
distributions were used to select significant frequencies and to identify
patterns in the frequency content with respect to time and amount of weight
held. The most powerful frequencies in the EMG were found to vary over time,
usually within a range of 30 to 50 Hz, and to increase with the amount of
weight. Next, autoregressive (AR) models of the EMG signals were produced.
AR models can provide information about the frequency content of signals.
Changes in the parameters of the model indicate changes in EMG spectral
characteristics across time. The results of this experiment suggest patterns
in EMG spectral activity across time and muscle load, and possible methods
for visualizing and modeling EMG activity.

Carl Ramey (Senior, Electrical and Computer Engineering)
Advisor: Richard Grace (Carnegie Mellon Research Institute)
"Long-Range Infrared Communications"
The goal of this project was to design the infrared link for a wireless
overhead-crane controller. The thrust of the effort was in designing a
receiver for the communications scheme.

The system uses a quadrature phase-shift keying communications scheme along
with a byte/complement byte protocol. The transmitter uses high power
infrared emitting diodes (IREDs). The diodes are capable of handling large
currents in short bursts. The present system uses three IREDÍs to achieve
maximum optical output.

The critical receiver optics include filtering and light gathering. The
phase-shift information will be demodulated using a phase-locked loop. The
implementation of the phase-locked loop is not finished. Tests with a pulse
encoded system yielded a range of 224 feet. With the completion of the
phase-shift keyed system, the link should sustain communication at 100
yards.

Future work on this project should include the completion of the receiver
phase-locked loop circuit. Once this is done, we should investigate
range-improving measures such as increasing the optical output by using more
IREDÍs. We also need to look into long term reliability if this project is
going into production.

Martin Rimm (Senior, Electrical and Computer Engineering)
Advisor: Marvin Sirbu (Information Networking Institute)
"Marketing Pornography on the Information Superhighway"
Pornographic images and their accompanying descriptions were downloaded from
the Internet and more than 1,000 adult computer bulletin boards across the
country. Descriptions of approximately 750,000 images were analyzed, as well
as more than three gigabytes of actual images. A computerized dictionary of
2,500 words was developed for a computer program which sorted the
descriptions into categories. The program also calculated which files were
the most frequently downloaded, the percentage each category comprised with
respect to the entire portfolio, and the monthly increase or decrease in the
number of images provided by the pornographers.

It was discovered that more than half of all pornography of the Internet
originates from private adults BBS. By imprinting their logos and telephone
numbers onto the images, the BBS operators use the Internet to market their
pornography. A link was thus documented between private computer bulletin
board and Internet pornography, which blurred the distinction between
commercial and non-commercial applications of the Internet when defining the
"Information Superhighway." The data also suggests that consumers are
assisting pornographers in compiling huge databases of information about
their buying habits and sexual tastes.

Analyzing the BBS, it was discovered that the files in most demand were
categorized as incest, pedophile, bestiality, watersport, bondage, and
fisting. The traditional distinction between hard and soft core pornography,
as well as erotica, was entirely inadequate to describe the current state of
digitized porn. A three lump model was suggested: 1) Kink, 2) Conventional
Hard-and-Soft-Core, and 3) Pedophile. Of the large BBS analyed in depth, it
was discovered that all offered the Conventional lump, but most also offered
either the Kink or the Pedophile lumps. It was also discovered that Kink
surpassed "violent" type images both in supply and demand. The nineties was
thus labeled in this study as "The Kink Decade."

Chinarut Ruangchotvit (Senior, Electrical and Computer Engineering)
Advisor: Jay Strosnider (Electrical and Computer Engineering)
"SHDL: Implementation of a Software/Hardware Description Language"
I implemented a portion of a description language that helps define both
software and hardware tasks interchangeably to aid in hardware/software
co-design. Currently known as SHDL, my objective was to implement an integer
class library that will allow an arbitrary task to be easily partitioned
into both software and hardware. This was accomplished by combining key
features found in both C++ and current HDLs such as Verilog.

SHDL presently supports features such as arbitrary precision integer bit
widths and the ability to use bit-fields. SHDL also can support signed
magnitude, ones complement, and twoÍs complement arithmetic. Much effort was
taken to create a library with as clean of an interface as possible to the
programmer. I found that by taking advantage of many of C++ features such as
inheritance, operator overloading, and data encapsulation, I was able to
develop some intuitive syntax for SHDL. The implementation as it stands has
a large emphasis on functionality and having a working model. A natural
progression for further research on this project would be to refine the
library with additional constructs and improve on its efficiency to lessen
the impact of the overhead the library currently presents.

Alexander Michael Sharf (Senior, Electrical and Computer Engineering)
Advisor: Michael Reed (Electrical and Computer Engineering)
"The Orthogonal Walker Continues"
Phase two of The Orthogonal Walker has resulted in several robotic
advancements from the prototype of phase one. The original prototype was
made of wood with no significant tolerances. In phase two, I redesigned the
whole machine in AutoCad and then manufactured it with small tolerances.
Then I constructed the new robot of aluminum and steel. The locomotion was
fully redesigned using a pulley-like system instead of rack and pinion
gearing. Sturdiness and reliability of the structure have been greatly
improved. The incorporation of a Motorola microcontroller was the most
difficult addition. Extensive software had to be written, tested and
debugged. Also, wiring the new controller and electronics on the robot
became complex. During this phase there was not enough time to include
actuator feedback in the system, but future plans exist.

Ronak Singhal (Sophomore, Electrical and Computer Engineering)
Advisors: Karun Shimoga (Electrical and Computer Engineering)
Pradeep Khosla (Robotics Institute)
"Development of a Virtual Environment for Touch Feedback"
One of the most fascinating areas in which research is being conducted today
is virtual reality. The purpose of this overall research project is to
develop a virtual reality system which will allow doctors to examine
patients who are thousands of miles away. The goal of the research I am
conducting is to develop a virtual environment in which the user of a system
will be able to receive touch feedback information. In other words, a user
of this system will be able to "feel" the texture of items displayed on the
screen. In order to attain this goal, it is necessary to develop objects
with varying surface textures that can be differentiated by the user and to
create an interface that allows the user to receive this texture data
through haptic sensing, that is, through the sense of touch.

The first task undertaken in this project was to develop a mathematical
equation to calculate data points to be mapped onto a surface, and, thus,
yield a surface with a definite texture. Natural surfaces lack an ordered
texture representation, so an equation to produce textures with erratic
behavior was sought. After much testing, an equation using trigonometric
functions was developed and the roughness of the resulting surface was
calculated using the universally recognized parameter of roughness, Ra.
Also, the equation developed was a function of only one variable, which when
changed causes a marked difference in the resulting surface texture
produced. This feature allows for the easy production of data needed to
create surfaces with varying textures.

It was then necessary to create objects with varying surface textures from
the data collected using the previously mentioned equation. This was done
using the graphical software package AVS on a Silicon Graphics workstation.
The data calculated from the equation was read into AVS and transformed into
three-dimensional coordinates which were then plotted. The result of this
process were surfaces that visually appear to have a definite texture.

The remaining step in this research project is to create the interface
between the user and the overall system, so that the surface texture of the
objects displayed can be identified both visually and through the sense of
touch. It is anticipated that the user will be able to control a pointer on
the object by an external device, such as a three-dimensional probe or a
mouse. By moving the pointer across the surface of the object, height data
will be output from the computer to a device connected to the user. This
device will use actuators to simulate the feeling of roughness by varying
the frequency at which they vibrate. Thus, the user will think that he is
actually feeling the surface that appears on the screen and will hopefully
be able to distinguish surfaces of varying textures.

Brian Stewart (Senior, Electrical and Computer Engineering)
Advisor: Virginia Stonick (Electrical and Computer Engineering)
"Distinguishing Speech and Music"
The main purpose of the project is to find characteristics in music and
speech which form the basis of a robust, implementable classification
system. During the Fall 1994 semester the project focused on analyzing a
representative set of samples in order to finding general distinctions.
Intuition suggested several possible distinguishing features. A variety of
analysis techniques were applied to highlight these features and determine
if they robustly represented inherent differences between music and speech.
Unfortunately, while some of the characteristics did hold across some
samples, in general, the differences between music and speech were not well
quantified by the techniques applied. Each analysis, however, provides more
perspective on the problem and hints at other potential features. Next
semester, research will continue on finding general characteristics which
separate music and speech.

Materials Science and Engineering

Min Chen (Senior, Materials Science and Engineering)
Advisor: Prashant Kumta (Materials Science and Engineering)
"Synthesis and Characterization of IR Transmitting Glasses in the GeS2-CdTe
System"
The project involved synthesis and infra-red characterization of the
GeS2-CdTe material and to determine whether or not a glass could be made
from this system. The results indicate that the various samples tested were
almost completely transparent in the range of infra-red wavelength scanned
by a Fourier Transform Infra-Red spectrometer (FTIR). The X-ray diffraction
data indicate that crystalline formation (especially CdS) is strongly
influenced by the amount of CdTe present in the sample.

Jared K. Ching (Senior, Materials Science and Engineering)
Advisor: Warren M. Garrison (Materials Science and Engineering)
"The Internal Oxidation and Coarsening of Titanium Oxide Particles in a
Copper Matrix"
Copper-0.135wt% Titanium specimens were internally oxidized to produce TiO2
second-phase particles in a copper matrix. The particles were coarsened at
1000ÁC for 200 and 400 hours in rhineÍs packs and inert atmospheres and
average particle diameters determined via TEM. As-oxidized particle size was
250ª. Samples coarsened in rhines packs for 200 and 400 hours had particles
sizes of 330ª and 400ª, respectively. The sample coarsened in an inert
atmosphere showed a decrease in particle size. None of the Coarsening
conditions produced our aim particle size of 700ª.

Sean Derrington (Senior, Materials Science and Engineering)
Advisor: Marc DeGraef (Materials Science and Engineering)
"The CMU Buckeyball Project"
The advances in the fullerene field have in large part been due to the
KrÉtschmer-Huffman carbon arc process. This breakthrough was followed by the
discovery of "buckytubes and buckyonions" as well as techniques for
endohedral doping of fullerenes. An exciting offshoot of endohedral
fullerene production is in the synthesis of Carbon coated metal or metal
carbide nanocrystals. Onion-skin-like graphitic C-coatings impact on
oxidation resistance. The CMU buckyball group has described the preparation
of rare earth carbide nanocrystals. We have also produced C-coated
ferromagnetic nanocrystals and suggested fine particle magnet applications.
Recently, we have demonstrated that the Carbon-arc synthesis route could be
used to produce refractory carbide particles with nanocrystalline
dimensions. These refractory carbides are produced by reduction of metal
oxides in the arc plasma. We have initiated studies of the usefulness of
these materials as dispersed hard second phases in metallic matrices and as
components of nanocomposite materials.

Todd J. Dickinson (Senior, Materials Science and Engineering)
Advisor: Tresa Pollock (Materials Science and Engineering)
"Microstructural Characterization of Lead-free Solders"
Sn-Bi, as a low melting eutectic, is a possible lead-free solder
alternative. At near-eutectic composition it forms a very fine layered
structure with some dendritic bismuth upon solidification. Indium is a very
soft, low melting metal and in small quantities may form a ternary eutectic
with properties superior to the binary composition.

Studies of the microstructures of both Sn-Bi and Sn-Bi-In have been
conducted with the use of scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and optical
microscopy. Mechanical property studies of the microstructure of the Sn-Bi
eutectic have also been conducted using in-situ straining of bulk samples on
a straining stage with SEM.

In-situ straining of Sn-Bi microstructures showed that at a strain of less
than 0.3 significant slip bands formed across the sample at 45 degree angles
to the loading axis. Within the microstructure, large numbers of voids on
the order of 0.2 microns in diameter could be observed. The tin solution
within the eutectic exhibited significant flow, resulting in significant
ductility, while the bismuth resisted the flow giving the sample a tensile
strength of approximately 25 MPa.

An extremely fine eutectic structure of Sn-Bi-In was found at 42 wt.% Sn, 21
wt.% In, 37 wt.% Bi. This structure was approximately ten times finer than
that of Sn-Bi. It consisted of three phases: primary Sn, a Sn-In solution
and a dispersion of fine Bi rich particles. Sn-Bi-In had about half the
strength of Sn-Bi,12.6 MPa, and also exhibited substantial plastic flow
throughout the specimen. Under the straining conditions studied, no
significant slip bands were observed as for the binary material.

John Matoney (Senior, Materials Science and Engineering)
Advisor: Prashant Kumta (Materials Science and Engineering)
"NbN Synthesis from Niobium Oxide Aerogel Precursors"
Temperature programmed reactions were conducted on niobium oxide aerogel
precursors using ammonia gas. X-ray diffraction analysis revealed the
formation of d-NbN at a temperature horizon of 800ÁC for two hours. Another
sample was indexed to Nb2O5/d-NbN after heat treatment at 600ÁC. Further
investigation of these samples was executed with Brunauer Emmett and Teller
(BET) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) analyses.

Experimental Procedure: The anhydrous ammonia gas incorporated in our
studies was manufactured by Matheson. The niobium oxide precursor employed
was prepared via sol-gel synthesis outlined in detail elsewhere.1
Approximately 0.5 grams of the precursor was placed in an alumina boat in
the center of a ceramic heating tube set in an oven (General Signal's
Lindberg; Type 54357-S). Based upon a similar study2, the oven was
programmed to heat the sample from room temperature to 800ÁC with a heating
ramp of 10ÁC per minute. The temperature of 800ÁC was held for two hours.
Another experiment was conducted with a final temperature of 600ÁC. After
sealing and purging the tube with NH3 (g), the heat treatment was initiated.
The flow of NH3 (g) was kept constant throughout the experiment.

The characterization of the resulting samples included x-ray diffraction,
BET, and SEM analyses. The x-ray diffraction patterns were obtained from a
Rigaku Geigerflex X-ray Diffractomoter (Cu Ka monochromatic radiation)
operated at 35kV and 20mA.

Paul Andrew Smith (Senior, Materials Science and Engineering)
Advisor: Michael McHenry (Materials Science and Engineering)
"Examination of MnxAlyOz Compounds by Transmission Electron Microscopy
(TEM)"
This investigation involved the examination of MnxAlyOz compounds by
transmission electron microscopy (TEM). These materials are magnetically
hard below their curie temperature. The magnetic properties of this class of
materials is dependent on what sites within the crystal lattice the Mn and
Al atoms occupy. Using TEM, the relative proportion of each type of atom per
site in the lattice will be determined, which will yield a better
understanding of atomic and magnetic behavior of these materials. The
internal structure of the crystals and the morphology of the grains within a
particle will also be investigated using the imaging and electron
diffraction features of the TEM.

Corey W. Zinn (Senior, Materials Science and Engineering)
Advisor: Gregory Rohrer (Materials Science and Engineering)
"Synthesis of an Interstratified Oxide Nanocomposite"
Composite materials formed from individual layers of two distinct substances
(such as a metallic oxide and a clay) can be referred to as interstratified
solids. The potentially interesting electrical and optical properties of
these materials has stimulated much research. For example, the effects of
cation concentration on the electrical and optical properties of these
materials can be studied, and in some layered materials, there is the
possibility of increasing the critical superconductivity temperature by
intercalation.

This research concentrated on synthesizing composites of a metallic oxide
(LixMoO3) and a clay (Na-montmorillonite) and then studying the structure of
the resulting material. I have made attempts to flocculate the suspensions
of the finely divided solids by using highly ionizing salts, such as HCl and
NaCl. The addition of the salt ions causes a slight charge change in the
solution, and the two different soluted layers attract each other and then
flocculate. Ideally, layers of the two solutions will stack on each other
into a random, but somewhat homogenous, substance. Different concentrations
of the flocculating agent were used, and varying methods of drying the
flocculated substance have been explored. The resulting composites have been
analyzed by x-ray diffraction.

Mechanical Engineering

David Calvo (Senior, Mechanical Engineering)
Advisor: Norman Chigier (Mechanical Engineering)
"Measurement of Extensional Viscosity by the Stretching of Viscoelastic
Liquid Columns"
Recent studies of liquid atomization have investigated the breakup of
viscoelastic liquids. Because of their high resistance to extensional flow
and stretching, viscoelastic liquids exhibit a high resistance to drop
formation in spraying processes. Although the property of extensional
viscosity has been identified as having a major influence on liquid breakup,
no studies have yet been successful in correlating spray quality with a
parameter that is truly descriptive of the extensional viscosity of
viscoelastic liquids. This study presents a technique for measuring
extensional viscosity and reports results for aqueous solutions of
polyacrylamide e10. The technique quantitatively shows variations in
extensional viscosity as a function of polymer concentration.

The main difficulty in measuring extensional viscosity is establishing a
flow which is purely extensional. A novel way of obtaining an extensional
flow is to supply a highly viscous liquid to a vertical capillary tube. As
liquid is supplied at a very low flow rate, a drop forms at the capillary
tube exit suspended by viscous and surface tension forces. When the weight
of the drop overcomes these forces, the drop falls from the tube exit. As
the drop falls from the capillary tube, a liquid column develops between
liquid that is in the capillary tube and the drop. As the drop descends, the
column undergoes simple uniaxial extension. If the motion and mass of the
drop are known, both the extensional strain rate and tensile stress can be
solved for allowing a determination of the extensional viscosity.

To obtain accurate measurements of the extension rate, a laser refraction
method is employed in which laser light is cast into the liquid column. The
amount of light refracted by the column is a function of its diameter. A
photo diode system is used to collect a portion of the light refracted.
Calibration of the photo diode current in response to changes in column
diameter is performed using a series of slender glass columns ranging in
diameter between 120 - 450 micrometers. Other necessary measurements are the
drop mass and the volume of the liquid column. Both of these quantities are
obtained by analyzing enlarged video images of the drop and liquid column.
Video images of the column taken at various stages during stretching showed
that the volume of the column remained constant during stretching and hence
radial strain rate can be related to axial strain rate by continuity.

The technique was validated by measuring the extensional viscosity of a
Newtonian liquid. Experimental results corresponded to the theoretical
result that the extensional viscosity of a Newtonian liquid is three times
its shear viscosity. Experiments conducted on polyacrylamide e10 showed the
effect of "extension thickening" or an increase in extensional viscosity as
the extension rate is increased. As polymer concentration was increased,
both the extensional viscosity and the degree of extension thickening
increased. Of most interest was that the tensile stress reached a maximum
value as the stretch rate was increased beyond which the extensional
viscosity sharply decreased. As part of the investigation, modeling of the
flow using both the Maxwell and Oldroyd constituitive models was performed.
It was found that the single relaxation time Maxwell model was not as
successful as the Oldroyd model at describing the rheological behavior of
polyacrylamide e10 in extension. Because results were obtained from tests on
relatively dilute solutions of polyacrylamide, the method shows promise for
providing a parameter characteristic of the extensional viscosities of
weakly viscoelastic liquids that are sprayed in industry.

Gary Groznik (Senior, Mechanical Engineering)
Advisor: Norman Chigier (Mechanical Engineering)
"Buoyancy Effects in the Mixing Layer between Two Flows"
A wind tunnel capable of creating two parallel air flows with different
velocity and temperature profiles was designed and constructed to study the
effects of buoyancy in the mixing layer. A step-wise change, in both
velocity and temperature, was desired between the two flows to create a
large gradient. A buoyancy force was introduced by heating the bottom air
jet which created a density gradient between the two flows. The effects of
this density gradient were analyzed using the smoke-wire method of flow
visualization.

First, the performance of the wind tunnel was analyzed by taking velocity
and temperature profiles near the nozzle exit. The velocity profiles were
found using a two color Laser Doppler Velocimeter (LDV). Propylene glycol
was used as the seeding material. Detailed measurements of velocities in the
mixing layer were found for various initial conditions and a step-wise
gradient was produced. A multiple-point temperature measuring system was
used to measure the temperature profile at the nozzle exit. While a
temperature gradient was produced, it was not a step-wise gradient. This
showed the necessity of finding a material with better insulating properties
for the central splitter plate separating the two flows. The smoke-wire
technique was used for flow visualization of the air flows exiting from the
tunnel nozzle. A relay circuit was used to create the bursts of electricity
required to vaporize the working liquid„in this case, mineral oil. As
mineral oil vaporizes, it produces white smoke; therefore, a black
background was used for proper contrast.

A multitude of pictures show the large eddy structures that exist in the
mixing layer between the two air jets. Significant results of these
photographs include: mixing lengths, direction of flow propagation,
identification of which flow drives the mixing process, and the effect of
buoyancy on each of the previous. When the buoyancy force was introduced,
the mixing length decreased and the flow propagated at a slightly upward
angle. The flow driving the mixing process was dependent on the velocity
gradient. The higher velocity jet, when on either the top or bottom, always
drove the mixing process. This is attributed to the increased momentum force
associated with higher velocity.

The wind tunnel is being redesigned to eliminate problems with heat transfer
across the splitter plate. Revolutionary vacuum superinsulating panels
should improve the thermal insulation of the splitter plate. Reduction in
the total length of the tunnel should also limit the heat transfer between
the two air flows. The nozzle exit height is being doubled in an attempt to
obtain better initial velocity profiles at the nozzle exit. With these major
changes, the new wind tunnel is expected to generate initial conditions much
closer to the ideal conditions.

Pasan Kulvanit (Senior, Mechanical Engineering)
Advisor: Robert H. Sturges (Mechanical Engineering)
"Configuration of an Autonomous Underwater Walker"
The purpose of this work is to configure a walking robot used in a nearshore
zone where water depth is less than 100 ft. The areas are characterized by
strong wave surge and tidal current. In addition to dynamic and hostile
conditions, a challenging nearshore terrain is another hurdle that the
walker has to overcome. The terrain is diverse in that it is composed of 10
to 20 degree slopes, rocky grounds, ripple ground in the high current area,
long shore bar, and the vegetation. The underwater robot should also be able
to withstand a high pressure and corrosive environments. Various tasks need
to be carried on in such areas. Some of them are scientific data
acquisition, rig and cable inspection, underwater surveillance, and mine
neutralization.

Remotely operated vehicle (ROV) have been used in many underwater
applications. However, the dynamic and severe condition of nearshore
environments prevent the use of the swimming ROV. It is difficult to
stabilize the ROV in such environment. Unstable platform makes the
manipulation work difficult. Although stable orientation could be done, a
great amount of energy is sacrificed. A legged underwater robot is an
alternative solution to these problems. The walking robot is very stable at
a very low cost of energy dissipation. Legged locomotion has great
qualification to surmount terrain difficulty. Moreover, the walker has an
advantage of operating on the seafloor which has the least effect from
underwater currents.

The underwater walker configuration is composed of two parts: leg-foot
configuration and body geometry. Leg-foot configuration involves the subject
of leg number, foot design and leg type. Body geometry concerns the shape of
body including subject of leg arrangement on the body. Four criteria we used
to configure the underwater walker are simplicity, reliability, power
efficiency, and mobility. We have converged to a configuration with six
orthogonal legs placing parallel to one another on the eclipse body. Three
legs are placed in front while the other three are placed in the back (in a
sagittal fashion). We choose orthogonal leg because it does not incur extra
energy dissipation owing to geometric work. Moreover body attitude
adjustment (help improve walker mobility) can be attained readily with
orthogonal leg. This configuration also facilitates multi-gaits capability.
With this chosen configuration we expect the robot to have good mobility,
good adaptability to various underwater applications, and good power
efficiency.

Chayakorn Thanomsat (Senior, Mechanical Engineering)
Advisor: Norman Chigier (Mechanical Engineering)
"The Effect Of Jet Diameter, Velocity, And Viscosity On Satellite Droplet
Formation"
The presence of small satellites droplets produces undesirable conditions in
many spray applications. Satellite droplets are the primary cause of low
printing quality in ink jet printing. The research objective is to
investigate the formation process of satellite droplets. The Rayleigh
breakup mode commonly prevails in the breakup of low velocity liquid jets
and often controls secondary atomization even when the liquid velocity is
high. In the breakup of low velocity liquid jets, axisymetric dilational
(varicose) instabilities result in large droplets having sizes larger than
the liquid jet diameter. Between two adjacent large droplets, there is often
a long thin ligament of liquid which subsequently disintegrates and forms
smaller satellites droplets. An even thinner ligament is occasionally formed
between two satellite droplets which results in formation of smaller
sub-satellite droplets. The well-known linear stability theories of
Rayleigh, Weber, and others [Rayleigh, 1878 and McCarthy and Molloy, 1974]
provide accurate prediction of both the jet breakup length and the size of
large droplets. However, these theories do not predict the formation of thin
ligaments and satellite droplets. The research objective is to study the
satellite formation process and investigate the effect of the nozzle
diameter, exit velocity, the liquid jet viscosity, and the nozzle vibration
wave form on the satellite formation mechanisms. In the experimental
investigation, the effects of each parameter were studied using Digital
Spray Analyzer. The vibration of the nozzle was controlled by means of
Piezoelectrical devices. The results are used in determining possible
solutions for eliminating the formation of small satellite droplets.

The College of Fine Arts

Architecture

Yen Ha (Senior, Architecture)
Advisor: Richard Cleary (Architecture)
"A Comparison Study Between India and Ceylon Centering on the Figures
Representing the Buddha."
Buddhism began as a construct of the religious developments occurring in
India before the second century BC. Its popular existence is primarily
accredited to the emperor Aoska who declared it a national religion. The
first representations of Buddha were aniconic in nature (not figural, but
symbolic in the form of animals and various architectural representations).
In an attempt to appeal to the lay person, Buddhism became less of an
intellectual religion, and moved towards a form of cult worship. The
transformation of the Buddha in figurative form is an expression of the
desire to communicate to the masses. The anthropomorphic representation is
the focus of this study.

The study examines both seated and standing figures from India and Ceylon
starting in the 2nd century BC. and moving towards the 6th century AD. From
the collection of images assembled, it is possible to suggest that the
figures from India typically are found with attached backgrounds while the
figures from Ceylon are "in the round" or freestanding. I have chosen to
define a "background" as something that attempts to focus the viewing of the
figure towards a frontal view only. Freestanding or "in the round" tends to
indicate a statue that makes no effort to focus the viewerÍs gaze. The
images from India were sculpted into reliefs or with a nimbus while figures
from Ceylon can be found freestanding with no concession to a background. It
is feasible that in India the move from two dimensional representation into
a three dimensional form occurred as a transition phase for the artist. In
Ceylon, the traditional form of representation was "in the round" and the
need for a transitional phase may not have been necessary. While examining
seated and standing figures from India and Ceylon from the indicated time
period, it is obvious that a representational difference does occur and that
this can be fundamentally linked to the specific regional ideologies towards
Buddhism.

Walter Tien (Senior, Architecture)
Advisor: Scott Smith (Architecture)
"Tone Deaf"
My project was to examine how different woods produced different tones in
electric guitars. As a guitarist, I have always heard that different woods
produce different tones in sound. I have heard that more porous woods
produce mellower tones and denser woods produce brighter tones but have
never found any research to support this.

I began with this hypothesis and decided that I would build one guitar out
of hard maple and the other out of basswood. These are standard woods used
in guitar construction. Woodwork consisted of wood preparation, glue up,
routing cavities, sanding, and applying a finish.

I discussed this project with James Ferla, a classical guitar teacher from
CMUÍs Music Department. We discussed this proposal and he was unable to
refer me to any source material or research. I also spoke with Robert
Schumacher, a professor from the Physics department about possible ways to
empirically test my results. He explained to me that this was very difficult
to do because of the way plucked instruments work. To get consistent data, I
would need a way to puck both guitars exactly the same way. The physics
involved in plucking a string introduce many variables that can affect the
results. With this in mind, the only feasible way I could test my results
was by ear.

To keep my results as consistent as possible, I used the same hardware on
each body. I tested one guitar, removed all the hardware, and then tested
the same hardware on the other guitar body. I recorded both guitars and had
several friends listen to the tape and give me their opinion on the sound.

I have completed my project and tested my hypothesis and found it to be
true. The maple body guitar sounded brighter. It produced a snappy bright
tone. The basswood guitar had a more mellow tone and did not have the same
snap in tone that existed in the maple guitar. The differences in tone are
not dramatic to an average listener. To a guitarist, however, they are very
recognizable.

Art

Michael B. Beard (Senior, Art)
Advisor: Michael Pestel (Art)
"Portraits of Craig Street"
Portraits of Craig Street started out as The Unofficial guide to Craig
Street and was designed to present the store owners of Craig Street in a
different context. After doing several interviews and making some mock-ups
of the guide, I decided to make blocks prints of the owners because the
images from the block prints would be more interesting than the video
images. I purchased linoleum blocks and paper to produce this artwork.

Lauren Goldmann (Senior, Art)
Advisor: Joann Maier (Art)
"Flea Circus"
My proposed project was successfully completed and displayed this semester
at Forbes Gallery. The final installation included a light table covered
with approximately 200 glass slides and a wooden case of drawers, also
containing slides, was mounted on the wall.

Over the time period in which I worked on the project the images under the
glass began to change and expand. The repetitive nature of the process of
making the slides forced me to experiment and become better at the creation
of each. What began as paper under glass with singular etchings, transformed
to pieces of hair, leaves and different colored inks on translucent paper
under glass. The result was much closer to my intended facade of science and
a higher aesthetic sensitivity.

The presentation also developed. Originally the slides were to remain in the
case, however the idea of a light table enhanced the overall presentation by
allowing me to arrange the slides in a layered and fragmented state which
contrasted to the sterile appearance of the slides themselves. At the same
time the glow of the light table both illuminated the slides as well as
radiated them, seeming at once beautiful and contaminated.

In conclusion I felt satisfied with my end result and was surprised by the
amount of development and knowledge that occurred within the project.

Meghan Hayes (Junior, Art)
Advisor: Joe Mannino (Art)
"Volunteering Brings People Together"
I am constructing a set of six artistÍs books about my experiences as a
tutor. These books specifically deal with some of the personal realizations
I have come to regarding tutoring and volunteering in general. I believe
that volunteer organizations provide people of all different backgrounds,
age groups and races a chance to get together and get to know each other. I
know that from my experiences this semester, I have benefited as much from
the tutoring sessions as the children I have been helping.

For the past semester, I have been working with the ExtraOrdinary Tutoring
Program, a division of the East End Cooperative Ministries. During this time
I have tutored two children, Stormie and Lawrence, one day a week after
school. These books will be a collage of pictures the children have taken
themselves with disposable cameras, things that they have drawn and written,
and also memorabilia and pictures from my childhood.

Monica Leeke (Junior, Art)
Advisor: Joe Mannino (Art)
"AIDS: Spreading Prevention"
Almost everyday I hear stories about my friends having unsafe sex. I want to
actively remember that AIDS is here, now. I want to do this because there is
no likely cure outside prevention.

When I hear about last nightÍs adventure, I always ask, "Did you use a
condom?" or, "Did the thought of AIDS enter your head?" The answers I get
are what led me to "AIDS: SPREADING PREVENTION". Our behavior as 18-28 year
olds does not reflect our knowledge; we need reminders.

In March 1994, in the College of Fine Art, Ellis Gallery, research in the
Pittsburgh AIDS Task Force (PATF) library was vital to the creation of a
sculptural room installation which dealt with our own sexual activity and
the threat of HIV infection. "To Sleep with the Fishes" was a bed teeming
with a school of heavy clay fish, and a fortune cookie for each viewer in a
bowl near the exit. I had replaced the fortune in each cookie with a
question or provocative statement about HIV, sexual and social behaviors,
and risks.

In August 1994, I wanted to do something similar but for a broader audience.
To take best advantage, as an artist, of the highly accessible resources and
flexibility of PATF, I became a volunteer.

Taking a hard look at time limits and at the needs of the staff, volunteers
and clients at the Task Force, and keeping in mind their philosophy of
education, prevention and compassion, I developed ideas for images through
research and drawing both on-site and in the studio. My correspondence with
Pam Vingle, volunteer coordinator at the PATF, confirmed my belief that this
type of project provides badly needed communication in the community. With
"AIDS: SPREADING PREVENTION", I engage our hopeful responses to the presence
of HIV in our lives. As a result, the mural visually and emotionally
improves the PATF work space, and strengthens the presence of the community
that is ïout thereÍ living the AIDS epidemic, too.

The site in Wilkinsburg which serves as an office, testing, counseling, and
storage facility for the Task Force is noisy, open, and well-lit, but needed
more color. We decided that collaboration and interaction would also be
important because the making of ïplop artÍ often allows the viewer and the
artist to continue thinking, or not thinking, as they always have.

The art work, in process and in completion directs the viewer to take a new
look. Collaboration can be an intensive way to promote understanding and
clear communication between people. This is precisely the kind of
relationship essential to the spread of AIDS prevention. The mural is the
interactive aspect of "AIDS: SPREADING PREVENTION", and the artistÍs book
serves to document and disseminate the information I compile.

Paolo Malabuyo (Senior, Art)
Advisor: Ron Bennett (Art)
"Piece of Mind"
The first time I can to Schenely High School it was more out of chance. A
friend had invited me at the last minute to last yearsÍs spring production
of Guys and Dolls. It was that night that I was first exposed to SchenelyÍs
strong support of it arts and the first time I was able to meet Ms. Fulsom
and Mr. Brown. I expressed an interest in their art program and, with their
encouragement, felt motivated to get involved somehow. This involvement grew
from a few sporadic visits to spending regular amounts of time with a couple
of Mr. BrownÍs afternoon art classes.

During this same time period, my concern for our societal problems grew.
Every day weÍre bombarded by these problems in one way or another, whether
it be through the media or through the fronf door. I found it very
disturbing to see that todayÍs teenagers are adversely affected very much by
these issues, not just physically but mentally and emotionally as well. My
contact with Schenley led me to try and address these problems with the help
of the group of students I had begun to have regular contact with. I had no
specific agenda when I proposed to do this project; I just felt like doing
something, something the students would be deeply involved in from the
conception to creation. And I wanted students who wanted to be involved; I
did not want them to feel like this was something they had to do. I was very
pleased to have more than twenty students volunteer. These students were all
very different. They came from various backgrounds, brought unique ideas,
and had varying levels in skill in art; I was very excited to work with
them.

I asked the students to then address issues they felt strongly about and to
produce images from these feelings. I wanted them to know that this was a
chance for them to speak out, that this was their project. With their help
the project evolved from a simple wall mural to the complex interaction of
ideas and images before you.

I have been working with the puzzle piece in my own work for a while now.
>From an aesthetic and conceptual point of view I find it extremely
intriguing and powerful. I then brought the puzzle piece element into the
project; it solved the problem of figuring out how to incorporate all the
different images together in addition to enriching the whole outcome of the
mural. Again, the studentsÍ input and involvement were a key factor in my
decisions. I designed the modular puzzle piece specifically for this project
and it worked more successfully than I had hoped. With this single shape, we
could put together our images in any way we wanted; each piece retained its
own unique flavor while interacting with all the other pieces.

The project came together quite succesfully; I had been able to achieve most
of what I had set out to do. But it does not end here. I would like to
pursue this further in the near future and maybe reach out to other schools
in the Pittsburgh area. I would use my experiences here at Schenley to lay
down the groundwork for taking this project further.

When I was asked to name the mural, I thought about many possible titles. I
had a difficult time choosing; it seemed impossible to say so much in so few
words while doing justice to it. Then it came to me. Piece of Mind. "Piece"
bieng spelled P-I-E-C-E. It seems appropriate seeing our peace had been
shattered by all these problems and that the actual images on the mural is a
piece of someoneÍs mind.

I wanted to convey through this project a simple idea. Looking at it as a
whole, one can see that it is actually made up of many smaller pieces. These
pieces, though all different, connect with one another to create the whole.
Our problems, though all different, create what we would call "The Big
Problem." In the same token, maybe all of us, differences and all, could
find it in ourselves to work together to pick up the pieces and once again
give ourselves our Peace of Mind.

Lauren Shuke (Junior, Art)
Advisor: Bob Bingham (Art)
"New Art From An Old Perspective"
At the beginning of the school year I established a recreation program in
the arts at Shadyside Nursing and Rehabilitation in Shadyside. This program
enabled the residents of the facility to experiment with a variety of
mediums to create their own work. Throughout the year I held work sessions
weekly providing a specific space and time that I could meet the
participants. I provided materials and assisted the residents in their
artistic endeavors. The sessions furnished a productive atmosphere seen
through the variety of two-dimensional work completed throughout the year.

The SURG Grant enabled me to provide the residents with materials to
experiment with a variety of mediums. Residents reviewed art movements and
were introduced to painting and drawing, and eventually given technique
demonstrations. Once the group felt comfortable with the mediums, the
sessions integrated discussions on subject matter and explored concepts
within their work. The discussions, although often heated, were insightful
and inspirational.

Recently, the residents displayed their work during National Nursing Home
Week. This provided an opportunity to show friends, family and the community
at large their work and obtain feedback. The enthusiasm that they now shared
for painting and drawing was evident to all. In turn, the opportunity for so
many people to experience something for the first time so late in their
lives was quite rewarding. The SURG Grant provided me the means necessary to
give to the elderly something that I have a knowledge and skill in.

The efforts of Shadyside Nursing and Rehabilitation will be acknowledged in
years to come with brochures of the work and participants as well as some of
the work which will be a permanent part of the Nursing Home. Therefore the
products of the sessions will be able to seen and treasured in the future by
many. The sessions have also sparked interest in a number of the residents
who are anxious to see the program continue in the future.

Paul LaRoy Snelson (Senior, Art)
Advisor: Mark Millstein (Art)
"A Matter of Seconds"
My experimentation with electronic media led me to discover an important
principle: the intriguing effect of stillness versus motion, when opposing
forces complement one another. This concept of of complementary components
applies to all languages of art especially multi-media and performance art.

In fact, my fascination for static and kinetic elements integrated my work
and amplified all of its contrasts, variation, subtleties, geometric and
organic qualities. I have also arrived at the conclusion that structure in
art is crucial; it is an orientation device for creativity. It allows me to
articulate my deepest convictions and translate dreams into reality. It is a
map a "geography" of the mind that allows me to contemplate many facets of
meaning at the same time.

I am attracted to the elements of space, time, light, sound and performance.
Recently I combined all of them in a piece entitled "A Matter of Seconds." I
created a performance in which I walked in my sleep through a larger than
life size metal structure, accompanied by computer animation and music, all
while telling a story about a dream.

To produce a dreamlike environment, I transformed a big open space in a
basement into a theatre. The set was a 9 x 9 foot scaffolding with 3 x 3
foot squares of white fabric, scaled to exact proportions of a huge computer
animated video projection. I wrote the music myself on a synthesizer and a
boom box.

I juxtaposed different patterns of rhthymic sounds, and colorful catroon
imagery, with live spoken text to acheive a supension of time. While all
these elments were functioning automatically I was a sleepwalker. I walked
through the bright lights, and shadows of my own surrealistic construction,
while telling a short story in a contemporary American vernacular about a
moment.

Jill Stutzman (Senior, Art)
Advisor: Bob Bingham (Art)
"The EmperorÍs New Phone"
My initial intentions and the final result of my project ended up being very
different. My original proposal involved a large collaboration of volunteers
at Animal Friends Inc., a no-kill animal shelter in the Strip district. It
was intended that on a regular basis we would, as a large group, walk dogs
in various parks throughout Pittsburgh, hoping to raise awareness about
these homeless dogs.

As the second semester progressed, I became more involved with the dogs at
the shelter and less interested in my original proposal which seemed
detached from the actual interaction with the dogs. Also, the continual
barrage of snow storms did not help me in the least to illicit volunteers
for my project. Rather than explore and try to change the relationship the
organization (and dogs) have with the outside world, I began concentrating
on the type of interaction (or communication) that is at the heart of the
organization : one-on-one, dog-human interaction. Using my own movement
within the organization, particularly the relationship I have with Butch, a
dog whom I am in the process of adopting, I began to visually document and
reflect what the site is about.

My final piece is a combination of digital photographs and text which
depicts what I have learned about ButchÍs character, how I identify with
that character, and what this new relationship means to me and also to
Butch.

Aside from the obvious things I learned about dogs, I learned that itÍs
extremely difficult to change the an existing opinion or way of doing
things, and even more difficult to detach oneself from something one feels
strongly and emotionally about. In my particular case, not only did I prefer
to spend my time an effort actually being with dogs rather than campaigning
politically and doing paperwork to propel my initial plan, but I believe I
did more by working with Butch than my entire project would have helped dogs
in general.

Grace Summanen (Junior, Art)
Advisor: Bob Bingham (Art)
"BoysÍ and GirlsÍ Club Mural"
The organization I worked with was The Boys and Girls Club in Shadyside. The
Boys and Girls Club is a United Way agency that provides professional
programming to assist youth in developing self-esteem, values, and skills
through educational, vocational, and recreational activities. Voluntarily, I
taught a drawing/painting class to elementary school children. For my SURG
Grant, I proposed a collaborative project involving both the children and
myself. I had the children do separate painting panels on canvas. After a
monthof working on these separate panels, I sewed them together to make a
quilt/wall hanging. Three wall hangings were generated in all. Each has a
different focus. These three focuses involved names, abstract and realistic
subject matter. These wall hangings have been displayed in a Hallway Exhibit
on the third floor of CFA from April 25 to May 2. After the closing of this
exhibit, they were displayed at the Boys and Girls Club. The Boys and Girls
Club will maintain possession of these pieces for display purposes to
recognize the children's achievements.

Design

Jim Cockerille (Senior, Design)
Josh Marks (Senior, Computer Science)
Chris Taylor (Senior, Computer Science)
Eric Wilmot (Senior, Design)
Advisor: John McClusky (Design)
"Alchemy"
Project Alchemy„to increase human comprehension of information using
computer interfaces. In order to make a more significant contribution, we
focused on one aspect of human computer interaction„intelligent vehicles.
New technologies have been developing for the automobile industry that will
make driving easier, safer, and more efficient; however, there are many
interface issues that have been left relatively untouched with this rapidly
approaching technology. Just as airplane cockpits have become overly
complicated and non-standard, the dash of an automobile has potential to
become overcrowded and confusing as more and more vehicle and environmental
data becomes available. Even more importantly, the cognitive demand on the
driver of a land vehicle is much greater than that of a pilot; thus, it is
critical to convey information to the automobile driver in an effective but
non-distracting manner. This is the vision of Project Alchemy.

Through contact with Intelligent Vehicle Highway Systems (IVHS) at the
Carnegie Mellon Research Institute (CMRI), we were introduced to current
directions in the application of vehicle technology. We chose to concentrate
on information display for commercial trucks so that our research would more
directly benefit IVHS and concurrent research, and also because American
heavy vehicle interiors offer some exciting challenges. Since dash and
interior design of American commercial vehicles has been largely neglected,
there is great opportunity to redesign the environment of the driver while
incorporating intelligent vehicle technology to solve problems in such areas
as blind spot alleviation, fleet control and weigh station bypass. The
challenge of Project Alchemy is to take the current truck designs and the
wide variety of information that will be available to drivers and integrate
these into one holistic environment. Our research manifests itself in a
series of models, drawings, and example interfaces that we have developed
through an iterative process involving discussion with manufacturers and
drivers of heavy vehicles. These tangible products of our work are being
passed on to both IVHS and Williams Control to provide images of the future
of intelligent vehicle interfaces for the research and commercial
communities. The intangible results of our efforts--our ideas and contacts-
will continue to be developed through another group of CMU undergraduates
who see the potential impact of intelligent vehicle technology and the
important role of Project Alchemy.

Ben Fry (Sophomore, Design)
Advisor: Sharon Carver (Psychology)
"The Prblme wif Spel-chkers and Defelopn Riters"
In the original plan for this project, a number of issues were presented
that would be dealt with in the prototype spell checker. Interface: the
interface to todayÍs spell checker is clunky and tougher to use than it
should be, as well as inappropriate for childrenÍs (and most adultÍs) use.
Algorithms: childrenÍs misspelling patterns do not follow those of adults so
closely. Dictionaries: an adult-size dictionary is entirely inappropriate in
proportion to the written vocabulary of the students that weÍre developing
for.

The resulting product from this effort is in the prototype stages. There is
a great deal left to be addresses, and modification needs to take place as
well. Though the prototype is based in a text editor, I think that my next
step is to make it piggy-back on top of ClarisWorks or Microsoft Word, so
that people can actually use it within their own word processors. Something
to keep track of projects and students would be helpful as well, to avoid
the opening/closing/saving mess that results in trying to keep track of your
files. I would also like to revisit the algorithm issue. From studying some
of the output from the phonix generator, I noticed a number of things that
could be fairly easily dealt with. Once these sorts of things can be
addressed, the program will be strong enough that it can handle some student
testing and abuse. Using the information gathered from this, a much stronger
product can be created.

Drama

Christine DÍErcole (Senior, Drama)
Advisor: Camilla Griggers (English)
"Peeling the Sun"
My SURG grant project, originally titled, the Swallowing Dark, is proving to
be a truly rewarding process. The theatrical writing process has taken many
turns, transmuting itself, and has finally become something that I had never
expected it to be. My initial ideas were formed around themes of political
imprisonment and what happens when the battle between prisoner and torturer
dissolves into a battle which takes place solely within the prisoner„that
individualÍs mind, body and memory. I was working with the way in which
memory and hope become the torturers instead of the saviors and how common
objects take on new meanings through the process of torture. I had planned
on using effects of light, counterpoint voices, sounds and prop-dependent
visual imagery to create an atmosphere of imprisonment for the audience, in
order that I might bring such a foreign and disturbing issue home to the
hearts of my audience.

Over the past year, it has undergone such development as to have earned this
new title, Peeling the Sun. It is now the story of an every-day woman, here
and now, hanging clothes on a line, and how she is struck by the memories
living stained in the fibers of her clothing. She is imprisoned by the weave
of the fabric which covers her body and she is trying to break/rip out of
it. She is fighting a battle between her memory and her body. And she leaves
the stage with the success of putting some of it behind her- unraveling a
little of the thread that binds her. She has finally been able to integrate
her past experience into her present life. Her story is the story of the
political prisoner- the prisoner in her own house, under her own clothes.
She has, in many ways imprisoned herself three-sweaters-under, in order to
keep herself safe from the prison of her parents. And perhaps her parents
are the real victims, for their ignorance, their inability to address their
daughters torture, and to address their own deterioration as self-willed
human beings, makes them the truly helpless ones in this scenario.

All in all, I have found this project overwhelmingly educational. It has
traveled through so many versions, so many mutations that I found that it
took on a life of it's own in order to become what it is. It has been pared
down to a very basic, very simple and direct story, without the expense
demands required for the original conception. The ideas, the struggles are
now conveyed through the spoken words themselves, and do not need to be
embellished through extreme stage-effects. As for the final dissemination of
knowledge, the piece is not only being performed as a Staged Fiction
Adaptation, but Camilla Griggers is publishing it as a piece of fiction in
an up-coming issue of the on-line, multi-media magazine called Cultronix.

The College of Humanities & Social Sciences

Steve Fink (Senior, H&SS Self-Defined)
Advisor: Steven Smith (Robotics Institute)
"A Computer-Driven Model of Artificial Life"
I have constructed a simple model of mate preference in organisms, and used
it to support a hypothesis concerning genetic similarity. Attitudes are
defined as how likely an organism is to mate with another organism based on
externally distinguishable attributes, here abstracted into the term
"appearance". An attitude is a function which takes the difference in
appearance between an organism and a prospective mate, and returns a value
indicating the level of desire to mate with the prospect. The hypothesis
states that "liberal" attitudes towards mating (liberal is used for an
attitude where dissimilar organisms are preferred as much as or more than
similar organisms) will ultimately result in passing on a larger percentage
of genes to future generations. While this conclusion is only claimed to be
valid in systems roughly matching the assumptions I have made my model, the
assumptions are sufficiently realistic as to suggest that the same mechanism
exists in real-life systems (in a modified or muted form).

The assumptions in my model are: (1) all organisms involved are assumed to
be of the same species, i.e., mating with any other organism is equally
likely to produce offspring; (2) attitudes do not determine whether or not
an organism will mate, but only which prospective mate it will choose; (3)
external appearance and total genetic similarity are not necessarily highly
correlated; (4) external appearance is a single-dimensional scale; (5)
offspring's traits are a combination of their parents' traits, with an
amount of random variance mixed in which is proportional to the difference
between the parents' traits; (6) there is a limited number of organisms
which are allowed to exist (in my simulation, this was due to physical
(geographic) barriers, but a limited food supply would have nearly the same
effect); (7) external appearance is not strongly correlated with fitness. In
light of these assumptions, particularly the last, the study might be most
similar to interracial marriage in humans. Other assumptions (e.g., life
span and reproductive rate) are also built into the model, but these are
regarded as being less critical in determining when this model applies.

Naomi Langer (Senior, H&SS Self Defined)
Advisor: Judith Modell (History)
"A Study of Russian Humor: Content Form and Purpose"
My project on Russian humor set out to explore the relationships between the
content of Russian humor, the purposes of that humor and the form in which
it is used. I used films, books, caricatures, and interviewed an immigrant
in the Pittsburgh area in order to understand the content of the humor. I
then considered the reasons a Russian might have for using certain
characterizations of people and animals, I explored the politics involved in
Russian humor and the highly centralized media system through which much
humor was produced, as well as the censorship through which it was
controlled.

I found that Russian humor is far too complex to fit into the simple
frameworks I originally had created. The political boundaries for humor in
Russia were a strong factor before the recent coup, and did affect printed
and published humor, but there was a much stronger sense of oral humor in
Russia which was saturated with political meanings and dissent which I had
little access to. This oral tradition of humor seems to have laid the
framework for the written humor, and the popular humor in Russia had strong
ties, like much of the culture has, to agrarian culture in Russia. I intend
to continue observing Russian humor, and to participate in it, in order to
learn more about the structures of it. The final product of my study was a
paper that revealed to me the inherent social strife in Russia, and the
resistance of the Russian people to the governmentÍs controls.

English

Kara L. Chipoletti (Senior, English)
Advisor: Kristina Straub (English)
"Alter Egos"
My thesis is a manuscript of poetry that includes a prefatory note. In the
prefatory note I explored the personal and cultural connections and
disconnections that I've made in my lifetime. I defined connections as ideas
that I heard or read about that felt comfortable and congruent with the
person I was at the time, ideas that were reassuring about my feelings, and
ideas that, eventually, became a part of my work and facilitated my writing
voice. And disconnections are defined as ideas that made me uncomfortable
with myself and even undermined my confidence and decision-making abilities,
ideas that proved harmful to me (such as ideologies that promote the Beauty
Myth for women), and ideas that I finally had to detach myself from in order
to let my developing self survive. These connections and disconnections make
me the writer that I am today, the writer of each and every one the poems in
the manuscript, "Alter Egos."

Brock Y. Hamlin (Senior, English)
Advisor: Hilary Masters (English)
"Milltown Fiction: A Personal Journey of How Regional Elements Emerges Into
Fiction."
The Photographs: What has emerged from this research is a few black and
white photographs, the beginnings of a body of fiction called "When We Could
Fly Away" and a more intimate knowledge of how fiction works.

For about two weeks this past December, I traveled back and forth daily from
Pittsburgh to Clairton in my brotherÍs 1988 pickup truck. I reacquainted
myself with friends and family. But so many people things and people have
changed, I felt almost overwhelmed at times. Everywhere I went, people had
stories to tell. I listened.

I tried to take photographs of whatever caught my eye, and of course, those
are the worst kind of photographs. With a few hints from Hilary, my faculty
advisor, I went out again. I tried to become more discerning. In fact, IÍm
still trying to capture the essence of Clairton: the ballfields, the steel
mill looming in the back, the hard hatted workers, the projects, and of
course, the folks in the projects. Although it was tempting, I never took
pictures of the dealers selling their wares. Those photos would be
interesting, but even my closest boyhood chums would never allow anyone take
such an indicting photograph. I didnÍt even bother to ask. Many of the
photographs may provide viewers with an idea of how Rivertown might look on
a typical day: dark and gray, perhaps a little sunlight in someoneÍs eye„a
hint of hope.

The Fiction: "When We Could Fly Away" is a story that takes place in
Rivertown, but through elements of memory and ancestry„you see a little of
Africa, Vietnam, and Charleston, South Carolina, too. ThatÍs because in a
place like Clairton, nearly all of the African Americans are descended from
the South in the Great Migration. And, of course, we still carry cultural
remnants of slavery. Also, my father and three of my uncles all fought in
Vietnam. I hear their stories so Vietnam is in there, too.

It seems to me that I have been blessed with good ears and a good hometown.
I listen when people tell stories and in Clairton, where some of the best
storytellers reside, I listen even more. ThatÍs where the process of writing
starts. Listening to stories unfold, hearing the language, imagining the
characters, etc. Writing begins with a love for stories.

History

Michael A. Bahe (Senior, History)
Advisor: David Hounshell (History)
"Firearms Research and Development"
This project is an attempt to understand patterns of research and
development within the firearms industry. I chose the firearms industry
because very little is written about it and because of I have a personal
interest in firearms. I looked at several firearms manufactures and 1
designer. These include Colt Firearms; Smith & Wesson Corp.; Sturm, Ruger, &
Company; U.S. Repeating Arms Company; Remington Arms Company; and John
Browning. Some of the information I found confirmed my original premises for
this project; that firearms companies did not do large amounts of laboratory
based research leading to the development of new firearms. However, other
things I found surprised me. For example, the industry has been
characterized by a high degree of movement of designers and engineers
between firms in the industry, and this pattern may help to explain
technological change within it.

Research and development in the firearms industry has several important
differences from research in other industries such as the automobile and
electrical industries. First, the industry is smaller than the other
industries I have mentioned, but it is not insignificant with $1.1 billion
in assets and $900 million in annual rifle and shotgun sales. Second, the
firearms industry is more design-oriented than research-oriented. Several
companies, like Winchester, had laboratories to work on ballistics for new
cartridges but did not research new firearms themselves. Instead, some
person or small group of people designed and built a firearm with particular
features. These features were then improved upon by either the original
designer or another designer working for the company. Design was based on
practical experience and trial and error more than laboratory research.
Also, the firearms industry is more responsive to their market in that
suggestions from shooters, if repeated enough, will lead to design changes
or entirely new designs. The biggest surprise in my research was the
mobility of people within the industry. It was not uncommon for one designer
to work for two or three different companies beside operating his own
company at different points in his career. One thing that I expected to find
was a lot of competition between companies for military contracts, which
does not seem to be the case. The military was always testing new designs,
but the companies rarely produced a firearm specifically for the military
trials; instead companies submitted militarized versions of designs they
were making for civilian markets. The military also did more of its own
designing and building of firearms out of the Springfield Armory.

My research methods for this project were rather simple. I spent many hours
searching for journal and newspaper articles on firearms. Outside of hunting
and National Rifle Association magazines there is little written on the
firearms industry. Each company does have small groups of collectors
associations that publish quarterly journals; however I was not able to gain
access to these during the course of this project. I also read several books
on the firearms industry; both company specific and general. Finally I
called the Historical departments of Colt, Smith & Wesson, Strum Ruger,
Winchester, and Remington and interviewed them about their companies and how
they conduct research and development.

Troy S. Benowitz (Senior, History)
Advisor: Jim Daniels (English)
"Ham Causes Cancer: A Collection of Poems"
We live in a society hooked on consumption. I have witnessed the diffusion
of Americanism- from Ray Charles drinking Diet Pepsi on a billboard in the
Czech Republic to the Green Bay Packers jacket worn by the boy pulling the
reins of my camel through the Sahara. I have seen the destruction of
Christianity and the family, both home and abroad, torn apart by technology
and a mass media culture. My poetry critically examines this era,
questioning what I saw while growing up in a small French Canadian pulp and
paper mill town in upstate New York and then traveling to over twenty
countries. I look at my family, Born-Again Christians, Pac-Man, pork pies,
balsa models, party-goers, absinthe, St. Anthony, The Nightwatch, ships on
the Saint Lawrence River and other elements to portray the world as I have
seen it„entertaining, lively, but not without its price, its deadly toll.
This is the age of the transferal of values where St. Anthony can be a pop
icon and smoking Marlboros a religious sacrament, where everyone is confused
about where to worship, and where technology only serves to alienate. The
last lines of "Pac-Man Brought Me Through My MotherÍs Born-Again Christian
Phase" best summarize this sentiment:

My grandmother, being a strict Catholic,
endorsed Pac-Man,
said it built up my reflexes.
She bought me Pac-Man soaps and washcloth,
stickers, lemon-flavored ices
for bowling a ``150 game.

Fernando DeGuia Jr. (Senior, History)
Advisor: Judith Modell (History)
"How is AIDS Affecting Friendships of Gay Men in Pittsburgh?"
My research has been geared to documenting and analyzing the change in
friendships among gay men in Pittsburgh since HIV was first diagnosed here
fifteen years ago. My research has been able to show several patterns of
behavior. All of the gay men I studied were drawn to AIDS service
organizations (ASOs) in the mid 1980s and continue to be active in working
with them. The men who have HIV work with ASOs almost as if it were a second
career. Their friendships for the most part show a shift from diverse
community or work-oriented connections to connections made with other
volunteers or staff of ASOs. Past friendships or pseudo-friendships were
altogether abandoned. Gay men I studied who do not have HIV show a different
pattern of behavior. These men work professionally with ASOs as full or
part-time staff and with one exception have actually made conscious efforts
to decrease personal interactions with HIV positive men.

Several factors become apparent in analyzing why such patterns are present.
Physical ability and mobility is a key factor. Even among HIV positive men,
a range of physical abilities is present and affects the formation of
cliques or friendship circles. The presence or lack thereof of common
concerns is another over-riding factor. The HIV positive men I studied chose
to move away from friendships not concerned with HIV to connections that
did. Other factors affecting the change in friendships include the presence
of a primary relationship and whether HIV primarily affects a personÍs
personal or professional life.

The product of this research will be a paper for Dr. Judith Modell and the
members of the Pittsburgh AIDS Task Force and Shepherd Wellness Community
with whom I worked. It is my hope that the information gleaned from this
project will better educate the larger gay and non-gay communities in
Pittsburgh about the inter-personal effects of HIV.

Psychology

Anthony M. Avolio (Junior, Psychology)
Barbara E. Thompson (Junior, Biological Sciences)
Carolina Diaz-Peroza (Senior, Psychology)
Kevin J. Byrne (Junior, Psychology)
Mark A. Denny (Senior, Biology)
Advisor: Karen Adolph (Psychology)
"How Infants Learn To Cope With Slopes: The Role Of Locomotor Experience and
Exploratory Activity"
A longitudinal study examined infant learning within the developmental
context of changing bodies and skills. Twenty-nine infants (15 boys, 14
girls) went up and down steep and shallow hills (0-36 degrees) from their
first week of crawling until months after they began walking. Locomotor
skill on slopes increased over test sessions; each week babies could manage
steeper and steeper hills. Most importantly, infantsÍ ability to
differentiate safe versus risky hills depended on weeks of crawling or
walking experience and corresponding changes in exploratory activity. For
uphill, babies attempted ascent and observed the consequences. For downhill,
infants learned to gauge their ability more precisely by hesitating,
touching, and testing positions before starting down. Errors were high in
the first weeks of crawling, then decreased with crawling experience.
Learning did not transfer from crawling to walking. Again, errors were high,
then decreased with walking experience.

Justin Richard Klemmer (Senior, Psychology)
Advisor: Jonathon Cohen (Psychology)
"Separating Conscious and Unconscious Influences of Perception Using
Modality Shifts"
Research by Lindsay and Jacoby (1994) has shown that using L. L. JacobyÍs
"process-dissociation paradigm" to evaluate performance on Stroop (1935)
tasks gives evidence for separate processing mechanisms for word reading and
color naming. Further, they have shown that reducing the quality of the
colors in these tasks affects only the color naming contribution to
performance; hence, they have shown that the traditional incongruency of
facilitation and interference can be balanced using degraded colors. The
first experiment did not replicate these findings. A second experiment was
run to more closely model the conditions of their original experiment. In
the first experiment, color naming and word reading trials were randomly
distributed in blocks of different color quality. The second experiment
blocked trials by task (i.e. word reading, color naming), as Lindsay and
JacobyÍs experiment did, using three different levels of color quality. The
results from this second experiment haven't been completely analyzed or
interpreted at the present.

Aaron Kozbelt (Senior, Psychology)
Advisor: Shaun Vecera (Psychology)
"Artistic Style-Learning and Inversion"
FarahÍs (1992) theory of object recognition postulates that different
objects are recognized in fundamentally different ways: words are recognized
piecemeal, while faces are recognized wholistically. Because wholistic
recognition uses an overall configuration of features, disruption of the
configuration by inversion leads to a marked deficit in recognition. Diamond
and Carey (1986) found such an inversion effect in dog experts when
recognizing dogs, suggesting wholistic recognition for visual stimuli other
than faces. This study attempts to extend these findings into the domain of
artistic styles. Expert and novice subjects were trained either upright or
inverted on artistsÍ drawing styles, and their extraction of stylistic
elements was measured in a forced-choice foil task. Results suggest that
there is no inversion effect for these stimuli, but that novices are less
able than experts to extract stylistic features that are independent of
orientation. Implications of the results as well as possible future
directions are discussed.

Mark Denny (Senior, Biological Sciences)
Yamam Fadl (Junior, Psychology)
Simone Gill (Sophomore, Psychology)
Ana Lucero (Sophomore, Psychology)
Advisor: Karen Adolph (Psychology)
"Increased Balance Requirements Constrain Variability in Infant Crawling"
This research was the first to examine the effects of changing balance
requirements on interlimb coordination throughout infantsÍ entire crawling
period. We calculated overall velocity, stance and swing periods for each
limb, and relative phasing between limbs. In belly crawling where balance
requirements are minimal, interlimb coordination was highly variable. In
hands and knees crawling where balance requirements are more stringent,
infants tended toward a uniform gait pattern. Our data suggest that
modifications in balance requirements drive developmental changes in
patterns of interlimb coordination whereas strength constraints play less of
a role.

Catherine Marquis (Junior, Psychology)
Michael Perrott (Junior, Psychology)
Advisor: Martha Alibali (Psychology)
"Do Spontaneous Gestures Reflect Encoding Processes?"
Previous studies have shown that children sometimes express their knowledge
in gesture and not in speech. In this study, we investigated whether
childrenÍs gestures reflect their knowledge about Piagetian conservation. We
hypothesized that childrenÍs gestures reflect what they have mentally
represented or "encoded" about a problem. 19 Kindergartners (mean age 5
years) participated. Each child solved 8 conservation tasks, including 4
water and 4 number tasks. In each task, children were asked to (1) judge
whether two quantities were the same or different in an initial and a
transformed state, (2) provide an explanation for that judgment, and (3)
choose the "best" drawing of the task objects from a set of three drawings.
For the water tasks, the transformations and the "correct" drawings varied
both the heights and widths of glasses of water. For the number tasks, the
transformations and the "correct" drawings varied the lengths and densities
of rows of chips.

We investigated whether characteristics of childrenÍs spoken and gestured
explanations predicted how often they would choose the correct drawing. Our
preliminary analysis has focused on the water tasks. Almost all children
talked about height when explaining their judgments. Children who also
talked about width were most likely to choose the correct drawing. Children
who did not mention width were least likely to choose the correct drawing.
We predicted that children who gestured but did not speak about width would
be moderately likely to choose the correct drawing. We were unable to
adequately test the prediction because there were too few subjects who fit
this description. We plan to collect data on an additional 40 children.

Heather J. Miles (Junior, Psychology)
Jodi Suzanne Levy (Senior, Biological Sciences)
Advisor: Stephen Lepore (Psychology)
"Chronic Stress and Reactivity"
People encounter many stressors in their day-to-day living. Some of these
stressors are acute; they are brief in duration, for example having to give
a spontaneous speech. Other stressors are chronic, they last for a long
period of time and are often unresolved. For example, financial
difficulties. It is not uncommon for people to undergo multiple stressors at
one time. It is thought that coping with one stressor can effect oneÍs
ability to cope with concurrent or subsequent stressors. This study
addressed how exposure to multiple stressors, in particular exposure to
chronic stress effects oneÍs ability to cope with subsequent stressors. We
predicted that individuals faced with many chronic stressors would have
greater cardiovascular reactivity during an acute task than individuals
faced with few chronic stressors due to an exhaustion of coping resources.
In this study subjects blood pressure was monitored while at rest and during
two acute challenges, a mental arithmetic task and a speech task. A
semi-structured interview was used to asses participants levels of chronic
stress. As predicted, individuals reporting high levels of chronic stress
had greater increases in cardiovascular reactivity when completing an acute
challenge than individuals who reported having low levels of chronic stress.
Currently, we are exploring the social and personality factors that moderate
this relationship.

Rhonda Payne (Senior, Psychology)
Advisor: Vicki Helgeson (Psychology)
"Attributions for Success and Failure in Black and White Males"
This study was conducted to better understand the effects of discrimination
and prejudice on young black males by examining their attributions for
success and failure in an academic setting. Seventy-six black and white
fifth graders, their parents, and their teachers were participants in this
questionnaire-based study of attributions for performance. The
questionnaires contained success and failure scenarios that were specific to
three domains: English/reading, math and basketball. Generally, we
hypothesized that teachers, parents, and students would make different
attributions for success in academics compared to athletics for black and
white males. The most important finding was that white males attributed
success in English/reading to ability more than black males. The same
finding appeared for teachers. The results suggest that white males are
socialized early on to believe that they have the natural ability to do well
academically more than black males.

Katherine E. Sukel (Senior, Psychology)
Advisor: Marlene Behrmann (Psychology)
"Location-based and Object-based Components of Visual Attention"
Researchers have long debated whether visual attention accesses
representations that are defined by location (location-based selection), or
by the gestalt properties of objects (object-based selection). Twenty-five
subjects participated in a variation of the much-debated Egly, Driver, &
Rafal (1994) visual target detection paradigm, where a validly pre-cued
target appeared either in the same retinotopic location as the cue, or in
the same location as the cue with respect to an object; and invalidly cued
targets appeared either in the same object as the cue or the object opposite
the cue. This study replicated Egly et al.Ís original findings, in which
subjects were faster to respond to validly cued trials than invalidly cued
trials. Moreover, targets in the same retinotopic location as the cue were
responded to more quickly than targets in the same location as the cue with
respect to an object. This finding makes it necessary for subsequent studies
to examine more closely the nature of visual attention and the interaction
of location-based and object-based selection in visual tasks.

Minhnoi Celeste Wroble (Senior, Psychology)
Advisor: Vicki Helgeson (Psychology)
"Parental Attributions for their ChildÍs Disabilities"
Prior studies have shown that men and women make different attributions for
failure. Since having a disabled child can be construed as a failure,
parents of disabled children were asked to rate the extent the following
items contributed to their child's disability: genetics, fate/GodÍs will,
heredity, behavior during pregnancy. It was hypothesized that men would
attribute the disability to genetics and fate/GodÍs will, while women would
attribute the disability to heredity and behavior during pregnancy. Results
indicate that men attributed the disability to genetics significantly more
than women. Heredity was chosen more frequently for boys rather than girls,
regardless of parent sex. Parents also responded to an open-ended question
about the cause of the disability. Answers were coded on two dimensions,
internal/external and stable/unstable. Results revealed that the majority of
responses fell into the external unstable category. Attributions also were
associated with parent depression and perceived stigma of the child.

David Jason Wyse (Senior, Psychology)
Advisor: Margaret Clark (Psychology)
"The Moderating Effects of Self-Esteem on Reactions to Anger"
Previous research has demonstrated that people expressing anger are liked
less and are perceived as more dominant than people expressing happiness or
sadness. This pair of studies was designed to extend previous research by a)
studying subjectsÍ reactions to anger directed at other people or directed
at the subjects themselves, and b) beginning to investigate individual
differences in their reactions associated with differences in self- esteem.
The first study involved a brief questionnaire asking subjects to fill out a
measure of self-esteem and rate their perceptions of target people
expressing different emtions, including anger. The second study was
conducted in a traditional laboratory setting. All subjects completed a
self-esteem scale early in the session. Later their reactions to partners
who were either in no particular mood, generally angry, or angry
specifically at the subject were measured. For both experiments we
predicted: a) a target person angry at someone other than the subject would
be perceived as more dominant, less friendly, and less approachable than a
neutral target, b) the perceptions of a target person angry at the subject
would be more extreme in the predicted directions than for targets in the
plain anger and neutral conditions, and c) self-esteem would moderate the
subjectsÍ reactions, such that subjects with low self-esteem would perceive
an angry target person as more dominant, less friendly, and less
approachable than subjects with high self esteem. The main effects of anger
confirmed predictions a and b in both studies. Additionally, the data for
low self-esteem subjects followed predictions a and b. High self-esteem data
was different for each variable and suggested that high self-esteem might
have the effect predicted in c for liking and anxiety but that dominance
follows a different pattern.

Social and Decision Sciences

Jeffrey C. Kunins (Senior, Social and Decision Sciences)
Advisor: John Miller (Social and Decision Sciences)
"Using Genetic Algorithms to Facilitate User Interface Design"
The explosive growth of the Internet has rapidly thrust many new people and
organizations headfirst into the global telecommunity. This expansion has
opened new channels of electronic commerce that range from industrial-scale
markets for major commodities to personal home shopping. These new channels
present economists and computer scientists with a unique opportunity to
study how and under what conditions markets form in new environments.
Electronic agents that intelligently search the vast global network may
provide would-be traders with an efficient mechanism for locating potential
deals and conducting profitable transactions. My thesis investigates this
proposition through the use of computerized simulations. A virtual world is
constructed in which autonomous buyers and sellers seek each other out in
order to conduct transactions and earn profit. Agent movement strategies and
propensity to trade are evolved over time using Genetic Algorithm techniques
to maximize agent profitability. Investigating agent behavior and market
dynamics over a wide range of conditions has yielded powerful insights into
how the characteristics of autonomous electronic agents impact profitability
and efficiency at both the individual and aggregate levels.

Jeffrey Siu (Senior, Social and Decision Sciences)
Advisor: Paul Fischbeck (Social and Decision Sciences)
"How to Make a Smart Student Loan"
Trying to determine what is the best way to finance a college education is a
complex task. There are many options available: grants, loans, scholarships,
and student jobs. Funding decisions made during the Senior year of high
school can affect a student long after graduating from college. During this
past year, I created a computer program to help high school seniors make an
informed decision about how to finance their college education. I used the
Excel spreadsheet program to develop an interactive decision support system.
In order to understand the long term effects of a college financing
decision, I forecast a student's college performance and future earning
power using data collected from numerous sources. The output from this DSS
includes numerous copies of financial forms, comparison graphs (projected
college costs, costs vs. aid vs. parental contribution, etc.), and a awards
letter.

Mellon College of Science

Biological Sciences

Jennifer Dianne Keen (Senior, Biological Sciences)
Advisor: John L. Woolford (Biological Sciences)
"Characterization of SRL161, a suppressor of a mutation in the yeast
ribosomal protein L16 gene."
To identify molecules that functionally or physically interact during
ribosome assembly and function, we have identified a genetic suppressor of a
yeast ribosomal protein mutation. rpl16b-4, a mutant allele of a ribosomal
protein gene isolated in our laboratory, RPL16B, cannot properly assemble
ribosomes or grow at 13oC. We mutagenized this strain and isolated 5
revertants. srl161, one revertant, contains a mutation in a second gene that
enables cells to grow at 13oC, despite its rpl16b-4 mutation. At 37oC,
srl161 is defective in ribosome assembly and cannot grow. We have inserted
fragments of DNA representing the entire wild type yeast genome into the
srl161 strain. Some of these DNA fragments allow cells to grow at 37oC.
These plasmid DNAs contain either the wildtype SRL161 gene, or other genes
that suppress the srl161 phenotype (gene-dosage suppressors). We are
characterizing these plasmids and thus far have isolated one gene-dosage
suppressor.

Jodi Levy (Senior, Biological Sciences)
Advisor: Stephen Lepore (Psychology)
"Stress and Cadiovascular Reacticity"
This study examined whether individuals high in cynicism were less likely to
benefit from social support during a stressful task (speech) than
individuals low in cynicism. One hundred and four college students gave a
speech in one of two social conditions: alone or in the presence of a
supportive confederate. Blood pressure, heart rate, and perceived stress
were measured at rest and during the speech. While delivering the speech,
supported subjects exhibited significantly smaller increases in blood
pressure, heart rate, and perceived stress than their unsupported
counterparts. Individuals high in cynicism tended to have stronger negative
cardiovascular and psychological stress reactions than individuals low in
cynicism, but the effects were marginal. There was an interactive effect of
support and cynicism on blood pressure reactivity: subjects low in cynicism
who received social support had smaller increases in blood pressure than low
cynicism subjects without support and high cynicism subjects with or without
support. Changes in perceived stress appeared to mediate the main effects of
support on blood pressure reactivity, but did not explain the interactive
effects of cynicism and social support.

Jodi Levy (Senior, Biological Sciences)
Advisor: Stephen Lepore (Psychology)
"Effects of Context on the Suppression of Personal Intrusive Thoughts"
The objective of this study is to understand how people suppress unwanted
thoughts about personally meaningful events and stimuli. Pervious work has
shown that individuals who attempt to suppress thoughts about a neutral
stimuli, such as a "white bear," experience elevated levels of this thought
in subsequent expression periods. This phenomenon is known as the "rebound
effect". One explanation for the rebound effect is that we use our
environment to distract us from the thoughts we are trying to suppress, and
that these environmental distracters become reminders of the suppressed
thought. The rebound effect has almost always been studied on novel and
neutral stimuli, however this study examines the effects of context on
personally intrusive thoughts. It was predicted that the context in which
people suppress unwanted thoughts will affect their success. Specifically,
it was predicted that people will not be able to effectively suppress
unwanted thoughts in the context where the initial attempt at suppression
occurred, due to the presence of external cues that remind them of the
thought. A 2 X 2 X 2 between subjects factorial design was used: Context
(laboratory vs. dorm room), Thought (thoughts of a white bear vs. thoughts
of roommate problems) and Order (suppress-express vs. express-suppress). A
rebound (Order) effect was found for the "white bear" condition. No
significant effects were found of Order or Context in the personal intrusive
thought condition (roommate problems).

Valerie Loik (Senior, Biological Sciences)
Advisor: John Woolford (Biological Sciences)
"Isolation of Proteins that Interact with the Yeast Core snRNP Protein Sm
d3p"
A major step in the expression of genes in eukaryotic organisms is the
removal of intervening sequences, introns from the precursor mRNA. Pre-mRNA
splicing is directed, in part, by four small nuclear ribonucleoprotein
particles. These are known as the U1, U2, U4/U6, and U5 snRNPs. Each snRNP
is comprised of a single snRNA molecule and a group of proteins. Some
proteins are common to all of the snRNPs and are thus termed the core snRNP
proteins, or the Sm proteins. Little is known about out the biogenesis of
these snRNPs or about the function of the core snRNP proteins that are
contained in them. Genes for only a few yeast core snRNP proteins have thus
far been characterized. Dr. John Woolford's laboratory has recently
characterized one of the yeast core snRNP proteins, Smd3p. Smd3p is required
for pre-mRNA splicing and may be required for snRNP biogenesis, but most
importantly is has been shown to interact with all four of the snRNA
molecules thereby proving it is indeed a core snRNP protein. The aim of this
project was to isolate and identify genes that encode proteins that
physically interact with Smd3p in vivo. This could potentially lead to the
isolation of other core snRNP proteins that have not previously been
characterized.

We chose to take a genetic approach in the yeast strain Saccharomyces
Cervesiae to isolate proteins that interact with Smd3p. All of the
experiments performed were designed around the use of the Two-Hybrid system
for isolating interacting proteins. The SMD3 gene was fused, in frame, to
the LEXA DNA-binding domain. This served as the bait for the Two-Hybrid
screen. The bait was then transformed into a strain of yeast carrying two
reporters to both select and screen for protein interaction. The two
reporters were a LEXAop-LacZ reporter and a LEXAop-His3 reporter. DNA was
prepared from three libraries containing random pieces of genomic insert DNA
fused to the GAL4 activation domain. The DNA was transformed into the yeast
strain carrying the bait and the reporters. Over 208,000 colonies were
screened and out of those, we isolated 57 that were potential positives. We
have completed several tests to determine if any of these potential
positives do indeed interact with Smd3p, and we have found 3 that do. We are
currently in the process of sequencing the GAL4 activation domain genomic
insert plasmid of these strains to identify the protein fused to the GAL4
activation domain.

Joseph Nagy (Senior, Biological Sciences)
Advisor: David Hackney (Biological Sciences)
"Rate Determination of Kinesin Head Constructs Using Fluorescence
Spectroscopy"
Kinesin is an ATPase enzyme predicted to be responsible for the subcellular
movement of membranous organelles toward the plus end of microtubules (MT)
in the cell. MTs also stimulate the enzyme during hydrolysis of ATP. The
structure of this molecule has been determined to be composed of two heavy
chains which interact with two light chains. The heavy chains of this
protein (between 110 and 130 kD) have been studied in greater detail,
consisting of two globular heads at the amino terminus of the molecule,
followed by a long stalk region of alpha helical coiled coil, ending with a
tail of smaller globular regions compared to the structure of a fan. It is
at this tail that the two light chains (between 60 and 80 kD) interact with
the heavy chain forming the complete kinesin molecule.

Four constructs have been isolated and purified and are named for their
amino acid length from the N-terminus of the protein. They are referred to
as 346, 365, 381, and 405. Additionally, previous work in the lab has led to
the isolation of three other constructs referred to as 340, 357, and 392.
These represent the "head" of the molecule and house the site necessary for
the hydrolysis of ATP. Using sedimentation experiments on a sucrose
gradient, it has been found that 340, 346, 357, and 365 are monomeric while
381, 392, and 405 are dimeric.

Biochemical characterizations of the head constructs were completed using a
fluorescent assay as the main procedural tool. The general theory behind
this technique is based on obtaining a signal of the enzymatic activity,
namely the hydrolysis of ATP, using a special form of ATP. It encompasses
all of the necessary biochemical properties of ATP while harboring a steric
side group that produces a fluorescent signal when excited with a distinct
wavelength (356nm) of fluorescent light. This form of ATP is called mant ATP
(mATP). In the presence of low concentrations of mATP, the kinesin
constructs hydrolyze the molecule to ADP and hold onto it. If an excess of
regular ATP is added, the enzyme releases the fluorescent molecule producing
a fluorescent signal which can be traced and corresponds to the ADP release
rate of the kinesin construct. A rate constant for the curve can be obtained
through computer analysis by fitting theoretical first order rate curves to
the experimental data.

Rates for the 381 and 392 constructs were determined under different MT
concentrations. Over the range of concentrations observed, it was found as
stated before, that the presence of MT stimulates the rate of release of ADP
for kinesin. The release rates for the two heads were similar in nature
through the dilution of MTs, 381 being slightly faster as the concentration
of MT was increased. Basal ADP release rates for all of the head constructs
were then examined. These experiments were performed in a regular buffer
(25A25) without added salt or MTs. The final condition that was examined
utilized the 357 and 392 constructs in different salt (KCl) concentrations
of the buffer. It was thought that as the concentration of salt was
increased, the rates for the heads would be slower than basal release rates.
The data for this experiment, however, was inconclusive showing no distinct
pattern. These results are most likely due to the buffers being prepared
incorrectly and if time permitted, the experiments could be performed again
to obtain more representative data. In future studies, it would be
interesting to determine the effects of different MT and different salt
concentrations upon all of the constructs in order to compare the
differences in rates among them.

Most exciting was that this work contributed to an abstract published in the
Biophysical Journal (Feb. 1995, vol.68, number 2) and was presented at the
annual meeting of the Biophysical Society which took place in February in
San Francisco.

Raphael Joseph Streiff (Senior, Biological Sciences)
Advisor: John Woolford (Biological Sciences) "Genetic Investigations of
Feedback Regulation of a Yeast Ribosomal Protein Gene"
CRY1 and CRY2 are genes which both encode yeast ribosomal protein rp59. rp59
has been shown to be expressed primarily from CRY1 in wild type cells.
However, in strains in which CRY1 has been deleted or inactivated, the
expression of CRY2 has been shown to increase 8-10 fold to produce near
wild-type levels of rp59. A feedback mechanism of inhibition of CRY2 has
been postulated, with the involvement of rp59 at the level of pre-mRNA
splicing or turnover. Cis-acting sequences within the CRY2 pre-mRNA have
been found to be necessary for this regulation.

To facilitate the identification of trans-acting factors I have constructed
two reporters for the expression of CRY2: the yeast HIS3 gene and the E.
coli lacZ gene each fused in-frame to the regulatory region of CRY2. By
mutagenizing a strain containing both reporters and selecting for colonies
which show both increased HIS3 expression and b-galactosidase activity, we
intend to uncover mutations in genes encoding trans-acting factors necessary
for CRY2 repression. Integration of these reporters in separate strains was
followed by Southern blot analysis to verify their presence at single copy.
Subsequent genetic manipulation was required to generate a single strain
containing both reporters. This strain was mutagenized by UV under selective
pressure of minimal media lacking histidine and containing an optimal
concentration of the HIS3 gene product inhibitor 3-aminotriazole. Mutant
colonies passing the HIS3 selection were screened for b-galactosidase
activity on X-gal media. My recent work has been centered around
characterizing the most promising mutants with respect to
dominance/recessivity, conditional phenotypes (cs-/ts-) and CRY2 mRNA levels
by S1 nuclease protection assay.

A focus of my recent work has been on the further characterization of a
putative CRY1 mutant. This is potentially useful for future studies
regarding how the CRY1 gene product interacts with the CRY2 regulatory
region. My work has centered on cloning a wild-type copy of CRY1 into a
suitable vector for complementation testing of the putative CRY1 mutant
strain. I have also attempted to sequence the putative CRY1 mutant by
asymmetric PCR, and have met with some success.

Chandra Lynn Theesfeld (Senior, Biological Sciences)
Advisor: Javier Lopez (Biological Sciences) "Characterization of
Tumor-Specific Anti-Mucin Monoclonal Antibodies"
Mucin is a heavily glycosylated protein that is normally found on the apical
intra-ductal surface of epithelial cells in several body organs. A few years
ago our lab identified mucin as cell surface antigen associated with breast,
pancreatic, and some ovarian cancers. Monoclonal antibodies that expressly
recognize tumor-specific mucin are of high diagnostic value in determining
mucinUs immunogenicity. Of the hundreds of monoclonal antibodies that exist
to mucin only one, SM-3, shows significant recognition of only
tumor-specific mucin and not mucin found on normal epithelial tissue. The
antibody recognizes an immunodominant epitope in the tandemly repeating
portion of the molecule. A new panel of seven anti-mucin monoclonal
antibodies (mAbs) was generated with hopes that more antibodies like SM-3
would be found. My project was to characterize the reactivities of these
antibodies as well as to define their epitopes.

Indirect immunofluoresence assays indicate that all seven antibodies
recognize mucin on breast and pancreatic tumor cell lines. Treatment of
these cell lines with a glycosylation inhibitor unmasks more epitopes and
increases this recognition in a manner similar to that seen with SM-3.
Competitive binding enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISA) demonstrate
that two of the seven new antibodies, 3C6 and 11-D1, recognize a region of
the tandem repeat containing the immunodominant epitope that SM-3
recognizes. Immunostaining frozen sections of normal and malignant breast
tissue confirm that these two mAbs, as well as 4H5 and 11-E2, preferentially
recognize tumor-specific mucin.

Chemistry

Hindy Eva Bronstein (Senior, Chemistry)
Advisor: Richard McCullough (Chemistry)
"The Study of Optical Properties of Molecular Sized Component
Semiconductors"
Semiconductor nanocrystallites, such as CdSe, have been of very much
interest in the last decade. These clusters of molecules, called quantum
dots, can be passivated or "capped" with a wide variety of organic
molecules. These "capping agents" alter the electronic and optical
properties of the semiconductors. The particular capping agents that are
used and studied by the McCullough group are the tetrathiafulvalene (TTF)
molecules. New, molecular materials, one with electron withdrawing
substituants and the other with electron donating substituants, are being
synthesized in order to determine the relationship between the electronic
and photonic properties of the of the quantum dot-TTF materials and the
oxidation potential of the TTF derivative capping agent. The synthesis is in
progress and much of the starting and intermediate materials have been
synthesized. The synthesis of these molecules is multisteped and the
purification difficult. The final target molecules have not yet been
obtained and further work is necessary.

Cindy Lou Chepanoske (Senior, Chemistry)
Advisor: Richard McCullough (Chemistry)
"Progress Towards Controlling Order In Functionalized Regioregular
Oligothiophenes"
It is recognized that the most stable conformations of a wide variety of
biological molecules arise from reversible intermolecular interactions,
which is known as H-bonding. The numerous low energy reversible interactions
in molecules allows a solvated molecule to independently find low energy
conformation. Design of a synthetic system could lead to structures that
spontaneously assemble via this process (H-bonding), controlling the
materialÍs bulk physical properties.

The goal of this research is to explore the use of H-bonding in the directed
synthesis of 3-functionalized 2,5-oligothiophenes and stabilize particular
desirable molecular interactions. One of the functional groups to study is
the amide and its derivatives, with the amide being responsible for the
H-bonded structure of both Nylon and Kevlar.

I have worked to improve the yields of existing reactions for the starting
materials of the oligomers and succeeded for one reaction . In an attempt to
synthesize a model dimer system using starting materials obtained from
myself along with a graduate student, I explored many routes to try and
produce a purifed dimer with a substantial yield. After completing
successive reactions without desired products, I tried to omit a step in the
synthesis by forming a Gringard reagant in the 5- position of one thiophene
monomer and then direcly coupling a functionalized monomer. Once all of the
products of the reactions were separated and characterized by NMR
spectroscopy, the functional group on the dimer did not survive the
coupling. In the future, more attempts will be made to perfect the synthesis
of this model dimer system for further use in the project.

Molly Dalkiewicz (Senior, Chemistry)
Advisor: Richard McCullough (Chemistry)
"Polythiophenes: Effect of Sulfur in the Sidechain on Electrical Properties"
The goal of the project was to synthesize a new conducting polymer, a
polythiophene with sulfur in the side chain of the ring at the three
position, and to study its properties and conductivity in comparison with
the already established poly(3-alkylthiophenes). The first step was to
synthesize the basic repeat unit of which the polymer is then made. The
synthetic design was created and successfully carried out after several
attempts. The purification of the product was difficult, but the pure
monomer product was obtained by column chromatography in good yield.

The polymerization of the monomer was first carried out in the same manner
as the polymerization of poly(3-alkylthiophenes), which involves varying the
temperature of the reaction between -79~ C and -40~ C. This proved
unsuccessful and the starting material was recovered, showing that no
reaction occurred. A second type of polymerization was tried, a method which
keeps the temperature constant at -78~ C. The reaction was not successful in
that only small chain polymer, oligomer, was obtained. However, this was
more than the result of the first polymerization. The most likely reason for
the lack of reactivity in both cases is that the monomer is incompatible
with the nickel catalyst that is used in the polymerization reaction. A
possible solution to the problem is to use a zinc coupling reaction instead,
and the project could be a success in the future.

Maya Mohan (Senior, Chemistry)
Advisor: Jonathan Lindsey (Chemistry)
"Search for Prebiotic Autocatalytic Reactions"
Although the origin SURG proposal was entitled The Photochemical Synthesis
of Carbohydrates, the focus of expanded and became the prebiotic,
autocatalytic synthesis of pyrroles, carbohydrates, and amino acids.
Experiments were designed to be carried out under prebiotic (mild,
near-neutral) conditions, a set of conditions which has not been very well
explored in these syntheses. This project is relevant to the origin of life
since the products of these reactions may have played a key role in chemical
evolution.

Different reactions were investigated to synthesize alpha-functionalized
pyrroles, which can readily condense into porphyrins compounds under known
conditions. The purpose of these experiments were to mimic the biosynthetic
pathway. In addition, the formose reaction which has previously been
examined by Butlerow and Moore, was studied at low concentrations and under
mild conditions in the synthesis of carbohydrates. The synthesis of amino
acids involved variations on the well-established Strecker synthesis
established in the 1850s, to form proteins.

During the course of this project, numerous experiments showed promising
results. Both thermal and photochemical reactions have been performed.
Different additives have been used to attempt to sensitize or initiate the
reaction. Being that this project is very exploratory in nature, many of the
results have yet to be further examined. From continuing such experiments, a
plausible mechanism for the synthesis of porphyrins, carbohydrates, and
proteins can be formulated in the future.

Melissa Petruska (Senior, Chemistry)
Advisor: Richard McCullough (Chemistry)
"Synthesis and Characterization of Metallic Macrocyclic Tetrathiafulvalenes"
Tetrathiafulvalene (TTF, R=R'=H) and its derivatives (1) have received
considerable attention for their ability to give up one electron and form
crystals with metal-like conductivities when exposed to electron acceptors
such as tetracyanoquinonedimethane (TCNQ). These exciting, new, electronic
materials have also been shown to form organic crystalline superconductors.
Homobimetallic TTF tetrathiolates (2, e.g. M=Ti, Pt) represent a new class
of materials with potentially interesting electronic, magnetic, and optical
properties. Our group has recently prepared the first homobimetallic TTFs,
the culmination of which was a crystal structure of 3. Preliminary data
shows the ability of these complexes to also form charge transfer stacks
with TCNQ. Potential spin interactions between the metal centers may lead to
new molecular based magnets and magnetic materials. Investigation into the
electronic properties of the stacks of TTFs with metal chains may also be
undertaken.

Based on these advances and developments, it is advantageous to examine
similar materials. With this in mind, research into metallic macrocyclic
TTFs was pursued. Compounds such as 4 and 5 (e.g. M=Hg, Ni) were desired in
order to explore their ability to form new molecular based electronic and
magnetic materials. As precedence for this work, macrocyclic TTF-based
systems have been proposed as molecular devices, sensors, switches, and
shuttles. In addition, the metal-sulfur compounds here are close models to
many metalloenzymes.

The synthetic pathway explored can be seen in Scheme I. This procedure had
been adapted from a literature preparation, which made a compound very
similar to 11. However, contrary to their reported yield of 100%, our yields
for 11 have been less than 5%. Altering reaction conditions, including
concentration, solvents, leaving groups, and reaction times, was to no
avail, and yields reached their peak with the pathway shown in Scheme I.
Needless to say, the low amount of product produced hampered the route to
compounds 4 and 5.

Scheme I
Coupling of 11 to produce 5 can be done via triethyl phospite in a
straightforward manner. However, preparation of the unsymmetrical TTF (1,
RÐR') is more difficult due to the competing side reactions. Our research in
this area has led us to an improved synthesis of unsymmetrical TTFs, where
higher yields of the unsymmetrical product are achieved than those obtained
via the literature preparation. Examination of an unsymmetrical TTF, as
shown in 4, may be interesting because the side groups of the TTF may
provide materials with improved properties. While symmetrical TTFs have
electrical properties sensitive to small changes, these side group
interactions on unsymmetrical TTFs add stability.

Compound 4 (minus the metal (M)) was prepared; however, yields were
extremely low. The reason for this is believed to be the fact that the
reaction was done on an extremely small scale (it was difficult to acquire a
sizable amount of 11). Compound 4 was obtained in analytical purity.
However, the small amount of 4 synthesized was not enough to prepare the
metal complexes after obtaining characterization data. Future goals, which
will unfortunately be left in the hands of another, include improving the
synthesis of 11, preparing 5 and more 4, and then continuing on to make
metal complexes.

John Tyhonas (Senior, Chemistry)
Advisor: Jonathan Lindsey (Chemistry)
"A Refined Aerobic Synthesis of Meso-Porphyrins"
Improvement of synthetic strategies for the porphyrin class of molecules is
a keystone for the development of biological model systems. Traditionally,
these molecules have been produced in very dilute systems with the use of
stoichiometric quantities of harsh oxidants. Because of this, large volumes
of chlorinated solvents and oxidants are wasted in order to produce
preparative scale quantities of porphyrins. A great deal of interest has
been generated on how to improve this synthetic strategy by eliminating
these two deficiencies.

In the first part of my project, I found that the addition of inorganic
salts to 10-1 M porphyrin condensations gave yield enhancements of up to
2.5-fold compared with those reactions proceeding without added salt. The
salts investigated included most group I chlorides as well as CaCl2, MgCl2,
NH4Cl, methyl viologen chloride hydrate, KI, KBr, KCN, and KF. Of these
salts, those containing chloride anions gave the optimal improvements; and
the maximum improvement was achieved with 1-3 equiv. salt per aldehyde. This
effect was specific to the acid catalyst used during the condensation. Yield
enhancements with salt addition were observed with BF3.OEt2 as the acid
catalyst but not with trifluoroacetic acid, BCl3, or methanesulfonic acid.
Improvements in yield were only seen with aldehydes bearing electron
releasing substituents and no effect was observed with sterically hindered
aldehydes. By adding salts to porphyrin forming reactions, yield
enhancements at higher reactant concentrations were achieved. Consequently,
this made it possible to produce more porphyrin without using more solvent.

The second project that I had was to refine a previously developed aerobic
oxidation catalyst. This catalyst, an unsubstituted iron phthalocyanine
macrocycle, was able to catalytically oxidize porphyrinogen, produced in a
pyrrole-aldehyde condensation, to porphyrin. This catalyst, however, had a
number of problems associated with its use. It's catalytic activity varied
from batch to batch, it was extremely insoluble in organic solvents, and it
was needed in greater quantities for the aerobic oxidation. By synthesizing
an iron phthalocyanine macrocycle bearing four n-hexoxy groups and using
this compound as the catalyst, many of the problems associated with using
the unsubstituted iron phthalocyanine were eliminated. This new catalyst had
enhanced solubility in organic solvents, making it possible to use less of
the material in the aerobic oxidation. In eight preparations of this
compound, the activity remained constant, eliminating the need for a tedious
activation procedure which was a major problem when working with the
unsubstituted iron phthalocyanine. Further investigation of an additional
organic-soluble iron phthalocyanine catalyst was completed. This catalyst,
an iron phthalocyanine macrocycle bearing four t-butyl groups instead of
four n-hexoxy groups, was active in the aerobic oxidation but failed to
completely convert all the porphyrinogen in the condensation to porphyrin.
Because of this, the iron phthalocyanine with n-hexoxy groups was determined
to be the better catalyst for the aerobic oxidation. By using this catalyst,
large amounts of quinone oxidants were not needed, reducing the amount of
harmful by-products produced in a porphyrin-forming reaction.

Mathematics

Alan Horn (Junior, Mathematics)
Jarrod Kallberg (Senior, Mathematics)
Advisor: William Eddy (Statistics)
"Analysis of Reported Salmonellosis and Amebiasis Data in the United States:
1962-1992"
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) requests that all
states report cases of forty-six communicable diseases which the CDC
considers important. We are studying the data collected for two of these
diseases: amebiasis and salmonellosis. Our study of these data is the first
such study of these two diseases outside the CDC. Such research is very
important for determining significant differences in incidence between
states over time periods, and for recognizing epidemics. Diesase analysis
can help answer questions about geographical and seasonal factors, or
possibly point to effects of variations in public health policies and
reporting methods. We have created animated maps, time series plots, and
other graphical representations to aid the analysis of these data. Although
our analysis is as yet incomplete, it appears, based on our maps and time
series plots, that both diseases have regional and seasonal influences.

Caroline Kanet (Senior, Mathematics)
Advisor: William Eddy (Statistics)
"Time Series Analysis of Magnetic Resonance Images"
Knowing the correspondence between human functions and their locations in
the brain gives surgeons and psychologists an amazing resource in helping
diagnose and treat patients. In recent years magnetic resonance imaging has
developed into a tool for scientists to create a map of such
correspondences. The goal of this project is to assist in creating this map
by examining a time series analysis of magnetic resonance images.
Determining periodicity of the data at different frequencies provides
valuable information as to location of brain activation as well as to the
presence of unwanted periodic factors, such as cardiac rhythm. This project
develops a tool in which, for each frequency, the experimenter
simultaneously views the periodicity of all pixels. The result is an image
for each frequency. Flipping through the images gives the experimenter a
visual tool to determine which pixels are of interest, then ultimately which
pixels represent brain activation.

Caroline Kanet (Senior, Mathematics)
Bethany Knapp (Senior, Mathematics)
Advisor: Russel Walker (Mathematics)
"An Evaluation of the Carnegie Mellon Shuttle System"
In recent years, the demands on Carnegie Mellon University's shuttle service
have changed. However, despite these changes, the Shuttle routes have
remained unaltered. Furthermore, on campus and university sponsored
off-campus housing are filled to capacity holding 2,745 undergraduate
students. This leaves no room in campus housing for the approximately 1,767
undergraduates, who are now living in non-sponsored off-campus housing.
Therefore, the transportation needs of these students should be addressed by
the university. This should be addressed by incorporating areas with a high
density of students into the Shuttle routes. The objective of this study is
to find a shuttle rerouting that will service more students while
considering only alterations that will stay within the current shuttle
budget and resources available.

Mathematically the problem was approached as a traveling salesman problem.
Based upon this, the problem was then broken down into the following sub
problems.

I. Data collection
II. Determining zones and vertices
III. Determining shortest paths

It was concluded that there is indeed a route that would better services the
students of CMU. The results have been given to the Shuttle coordinators.

Shelley Anna (Senior, Physics)
Scott Kirkpatrick (Senior, Materials Science and Engineering)
Advisor: Sara Majetich (Physics)
"Magnetic and Structural Characterization of Cobalt-Based Amorphous
Nanoparticles"
We have synthesized amorphous nanoparticles with low anisotropy, and
characterized their structural and magnetic properties. We used the Huffman
Kratschmer carbon arc process and cobalt-based Metglas 2714A tape as a
precursor to prepare the nanoparticles. Amorphous materials have little
magnetocrystalline anisotropy, and the nominally spherical nanoparticles
have minimal shape anisotropy. The structure was investigated using X-ray
diffraction and Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM). The stability of the
amorphous phase was investigated through annealing experiments. Hysteretic,
temperature-, and frequency-dependent responses of magnetic properties were
measured using AC- and DC- SQUID Magnetometry. Since low anisotropy
materials are useful in high-frequency switching applications including
transformers, magnetic switches, transducers, and sensors, we investigated
power losses in our material due to eddy currents and hysteresis, and
compared its performance to that of more conventional materials.

Sarah E. Blecksmith (Sophomore, Physics)
Advisor: Sara Majetich (Physics)
"The CMU Buckeyball Project"
My partner and I devised a method of heat-treatment to improve the
crystallinity of nanocrystallites, clusters of metal atoms covered by layers
of carbon. We sealed the samples in an atmosphere of argon inside a quartz
tube. The ampule was then placed in a furnace overnight at 900 degrees
Celsius to anneal. Phase diagrams for our materials showed that this
temperature was more than sufficient for crystallization. We took X-ray
diffraction patterns before and after annealing and found that
heat-treatmentdid increase the crystallinity.

Dana Moudry (Senior, Physics)
Advisor: Robert Serkerka (Physics)
"Fingering in a Hele-Shaw Cell" Using a standard radial (non-longitudinal)
Hele-Shaw cell, I have found that both the area and the perimeter of the
figure increase nearly linearly with time. This is what is expected from
simple analysis of the theory. From a plot showing area vs. perimeter, it
was found that the length l, defined to be the slope of the graph, was
approximately 6 units (in this case 1 unit = 1 pixel on the computer
screen), which corresponds to approximately one half the diameter of a thin
finger.

Nearly a hundred years ago, a Hele-Shaw cell was used for the first time in
the study of fluid dynamics. In the past several decades, when it was
realized that viscous finger growth is governed by similar processes as
dendritic crystallization, the cell became a useful and practical instrument
once more. Among fluid dynamics, the cell can also be used to study a
simplified, two-dimensional model of oil withdrawal from the ground.

My experiment has shown that as expected from a simple model of the
situation, area and perimeter increase linearly in time. The wavelength l,
also known as the rate of change of area with respect to perimeter, stays
constant also, and is of the magnitude of the fingers seen in the Hele Shaw
cell. Despite the various sources of errors, the measurement gave good
enough data to see this general trend.

The School of Computer Science

Jeff Ho (Senior, Computer Science)
Advisor: Marlene Behrmann (Psychology)
"Drawing Performance of Normals and Left-Neglect"
In drawing a figure, hemispatial neglect patients typically produce an
adequate representation of parts on the right of the figure while omitting
significant features on the left. This contralateral neglect is influenced
by multiple spatial reference frames and by the hierarchical structure of
the object(s) in the figure. The current work presents a computational
characterization of the interaction among these influences to account for
the way in which neglect manifests in drawing. Neglect is simulated by a
"lesion" (monotonic drop-off from right to left) that can affect performance
in both object-centered and viewer-centered reference frames. The joint
effects of neglect in both these frames provide a coherent account of the
drawing performance of a patient, JM, and may be extended to account for the
copying performance of other patients across a range of objects and scenes.

Bridgette Landers (Sophomore, Computer Science)
Haw Juin Lin (Junior, Electrical and Computer Engineering)
Advisor: Mark Stehlik (Computer Science)
"Self Guided Robot"
In the field of robotics and controls, robot vision is an important way of
importing information into the robot's controls system. Although previous
research and todayÍs robotic vision is far ahead of our project, our goal is
specifically defined: to follow a non-linear white line, or a course. To
accomplish this, the input device must be color sensitive, or light
sensitive. The sensors which were most responsive to our tests covered a
range from visible light to infrared. The controls system must do the
following: move the robot forward, if the white line is skew in relation to
the robot, turn to adjust. Also, there must be a programmable aspect to the
controls system since there are multiple decision points at the end of the
course. After extensive testing, the robot was divided into 2 controls
systems, one controlling the decisions and one controlling the robots
forward movement along the course. The best design for keeping the robot on
the course was a BiCMOS differential amplifier, built using the 3096 BJT
transistor array and MOSFET transistors. The differential amplifier was
built out of BJT transistors and MOSFET differential pair for a higher, less
variable gain and infinite input resistance, due to the gate of the MOSFET.
With the sensors connected to the differential pair and placed on both sides
of the white line, the design will amplify only the difference between the
sensors, and it neglects all ambient light, so the amount of sun or lack of
sun will have no effect on the operation. The decisions are all programmed
into 3 Programmable Array Logic chips with 4 sensors as inputs. The course
and proper operation of the servo unit (steering unit) are mapped into logic
and minimized before programming. The programmable control unit acts as a
back up to the analog differential amplifier. When a decision needs to be
made, the programmable unit will override the analog unit and steer the
robot in the correct direction. The working robot runs at a variable speed
controlled by a potentiometer and the steering is controlled by a servo with
3 inputs. The speed can be increased if the sensors were placed further out
from in front of the robot. A total of 6 sensors were used, other designs
incorporated as much as 10.

Graduate School of Industrial Administration

Industrial Management

Anne Dalpiaz (Senior, Industrial Management)
Advisor: David Lamont (Industrial Management)
"Disaster Recovery Planning in New York City"
Disaster recovery planning is a safety measure many companies have decided
is critical so that if a disaster should occur, the company and its
employees will be prepared to minimize the economic impact. There are many
ways that a company can prepare for disasters. One of the first tasks a
company has to undertake to begin planning is a thorough evaluation of all
departments that will be affected by disaster. For financial institutions in
NYC, the critical areas are the money-makers of the company: in many cases,
trading floors. In order for production not to be drastically affected,
companies have established contingency sites with technology similar to what
is used in production that allows employees to continue work.

We set out to characterize typical disaster recovery plans as well as the
planning process that creates and maintains these plans. It is important to
understand what defines normal or average disaster recovery planning; what
defines a good plan/planning process; and what managers need to do to assure
that their plans will function as expected.

In order to address these issues, a questionnaire was developed. A company
must be able to develop a high quality plan to ensure the safety of the
business during disaster. A normal disaster recovery plan will consist of
the following: technology, backup facilities, vital records, testing, plan
maintenance and employeesÍparticipation. The contents of a disaster recovery
plan will determine the quality of the plan and how successful the company
will recover during disaster.

There are many keys to success in disaster recovery planning for financial
institutions. The most important aspect of this strategic planning is
whether the plans are completed. The company must have recovery plans for
the technology they use in production and an alternate trading site so that
operations may be continued with very little interruption during disaster.
The plan must be tested, updated and maintained at least annually according
to the needs of the company. In addition to the replication of technology,
the companyÍs vital records must also be accounted for and protected.
Employees are often the most integral part of a high-quality disaster
recovery plan, for without their knowledge of how the plans function, there
may as well be no plan at all.

Daryl Davis (Senior, Industrial Management)
Advisor: Margaret Brindle (Industrial Management) "The Power of Subject
Positions"
This thesis examines the interactions between the maverick culture of inner
city youth gangs and the hegemonic societal culture which gang culture
exists within. Extensive research has been done examining how organizational
cultures are effected by societal culture. This project adopts the reverse
perspective. The primary hypothesis which drives the study, is that despite
the extensive resistance that society perpetrates against gangs, elements of
gang culture are infiltrating or changing societal culture. The very
presence of the resistance is a change in the culture due to the presence of
gangs. Two specific secondary hypotheses were developed as a means of
directly examining the validity of the primary hypothesis.

   * Respect for authority is a primary element of the American societal
     culture. Gang culture defies structure and authority, as defined by
     society. Methods of insuring authority and structure are being devised
     to combat the influence of gang culture.
   * Current gang culture is a relatively new situation, and no successful
     means of resistance it has been established. As such, multiple methods
     of maintaining structure and authority will be devised until an
     universally successful approach is developed.

No attempt is made to identify the causes of examined effects, or to offer a
judgment upon them. Rather, the purpose is to show that the presence of gang
culture could be changing societal perceptions, which are an intricate part
of social culture, which is a definitive influence in the social
construction of the individual.

Edward J. Hoffman (Senior, Industrial Management)
Advisor: Chester Spatt (Graduate School of Industrial Administration)
"Options Valuation Discrepancies due to Issues of Discreteness"
This paper looks at the Black-Scholes options pricing model through the use
of simulation. Specifically, the simulations seek to analyze pricing
discrepancies in the Black-Scholes pricing model that could be due to issues
of discreteness. Stock prices that are used in the pricing model may contain
rounding errors from the one-eighth pricing grid inherent in market
conditions. When these rounded values are used in options pricing models, it
is possible that the options price may be significantly mis-valued.

To analyze this problem, stochastic pricing paths are simulated through
computer generation for stocks with various combinations of starting price
and volatility. The paths are then used to calculate European call options
with various maturities. Each individual model seeks to determine
differences between three different pricing paths and the Black-Scholes
theoretical value. First, the Black-Scholes value is calculated and compared
to a continuous pricing path constructed with a geometric Brownian motion
pricing stochastic. This comparison shows differences between the simulation
and the theoretical values. Next, the continuous pricing path is rounded off
at each period to detect differences in pricing due to discreteness inherent
in market conditions. Finally, a separate rounded path is created. This path
takes each periodÍs value, rounds it off to the nearest eighth, and then
calculates the next periodÍs value based on this rounded-off figure. This is
a separate way to detect pricing discrepancies due to discreteness issues
inherent in the markets. The various models are used to perform sensitivity
analysis among the different pricing parameters.

Joanne D. Klevan (Senior, Industrial Management)
Advisor: Susan G. Straus (Graduate School of Industrial Administration)
"The Effects of Individual Differences and Situational Variables on Risk
Taking"
This research was conducted to examine the extent to which risk taking
propensity is determined by individual differences, situational variables,
or a combination of the two. The individual difference I address is gender,
and the situational variables I explore consist of five domains: financial,
adventurous sports, health and safety, academic, and social contexts. 119
undergraduate students enrolled in Organizational Behavior I or Marketing I
filled out surveys asking about their likelihood of engaging in risky
behavior in each of the five domains; They also read a series of scenarios
and indicated the minimum odds (of success or failure, depending on the
framing) they would require before recommending that someone else choose a
selected alternative in four of the domains.

Based on multivariate analyses of variance, results show that males are more
likely than females to report that they would take risks across all domains.
There was also a main effect for domain, such that males and females were
more likely to take risks in the adventurous sports category than in all
other domains and in the academic domain versus the health and safety
domain. There was no significant interaction between the two variables,
which means that the propensity to take risks across domains does not depend
on sex. Interscale correlations also suggest that there may be an underlying
attribute for people to take risks across domains. In contrast, responses to
the scenarios show that males and females did not differ in their advice to
others regarding risk taking; However, there was an effect for domain. Both
males and females were more likely to advise others to take risks in the
social domain than in either the financial or physical domains, as well as
the academic domain versus the financial domain. There was also a framing
effect, in that respondents were risk seeking for gains and risk averse for
losses. Reasons for the differences in reporting oneÍs own propensities
versus what one would advise others to do are discussed.

Julia Yu-Chia Kuo (Senior, Industrial Management)
Advisor: Praveen Kumar (Graduate School of Industrial Administration)
"Predicting Market Volatility in the Nekkei 225 Index Option Market"
This paper analyzes the call implied volatility of Osaka Nikkei Average
index options. Volatility is the most important underlying parameter in
option pricing. Therefore, the main issue for many investors of options in
the ability to predict the option prices and movements of the index market.
The dynamic behavior of market volatility in this paper is assessed by
forecasting the volatility implied in the transaction prices of Nikkei
Average index options traded in Osaka Security Exchange. This is an ex ante
volatiltiy. The results of the implied volatility is obtained by using
Black-Scholes option pricing model. It is then characterized by time series.

I test and reject the hypothesis that volatility changes are unpredictable.
The results indicate a statistical significance in the predictability of the
volatility. Both Nikkei Average index option volatility and the results of S
& P 100 index option volatility, published in the article "Market Volatility
Prediction and the Efficiency of the S & P 100 Index Option Market" written
by Campbell Harvey and Robert E. Whaley, indicate predictability in the
implied volatility.

Edward J. Meier (Senior, Industrial Management)
Advisor: Peter Madsen (Graduate School of Industrial Administration)
"Business Ethics in Pittsburgh"
The purpose of this study is to better understand the extent to which one of
the major corporations in Pittsburgh utilizes written codes of conduct and
to develop a more in-depth perspective of the efficacy of such codes as they
are perceived by the company's managers.

As more and more companies begin to seek the benefits of formal ethics
programs and written codes of conduct, the means by which to evaluate
whether or not a program is ïeffectiveÍ are often evading. While such formal
programs offer a wide range of benefits to the company that implements them,
including public relations and legal defense, the extent to which such
programs and codes actually deter potential unethical behavior is difficult
to measure. This research project focused on surveying a cross section of
managers in one of PittsburghÍs largest corporations to determine how
effective the managers perceive their company's written code of conduct to
be and the effect it has on company culture.

By developing a better understanding of how formal ethics programs and
written codes of conduct are perceived by those who use them, I believe
executive managers and outside consultants who develop such programs will be
able to focus their efforts on those areas which employees believe to be
most useful.

Brian Douglas Smith (Senior, Industrial Management)
Advisor: Uday Rao (Graduate School of Industrial Administration)
"An Examination of the Present Status and Future Barriers to Robotics
Technology Implementation by Small Manufacturers in the Pittsburgh Metal
Processing Industry"
The plight of United States economic competitiveness has been a commonly
told story over the past decade. Much of the concern revolves around the
slow productivity gains made in the United States manufacturing sector. Over
the years, many solutions have been offered to reverse current trends. One
such solution, heavily promoted in the mid 1980Ís, was the implementation of
industrial robotics in manufacturing facilities. This study examined the
environment for robotics technology implementation, with specific focus on
the metal processing industry in the Pittsburgh area. However, the study was
limited to surveying small manufacturing companies, with the belief that
future productivity gains are heavily dependent on the transfer of
technology from large scale implementations, such as occurred in the auto
industry, to small manufacturers who oftentimes supply, perhaps indirectly,
large manufacturers. The metalworking industry was chosen both for its long
time economic importance to Western Pennsylvania, as well as having possible
applications for robotics, chiefly welding automation.

This research project has confirmed some of my beliefs about the existing
level of robotics implementation at small manufacturing companies in
PittsburghÍs metalworking industry. However, robotics have been implemented
at two locations surveyed. Their positive experiences indicate that robotics
implementation is not only possible, but can be rewarding. However, they
both indicated the importance of involving employees in the implementation
process.

Among the remaining companies, there was a wide variety of exposures to
robotics technology. However, half of the respondents have seen a robotics
demonstration or have access to journal literature which contains robotics
information. This exposure, if nothing else, helps to make the robotics
technology more accessible and familiar to the small manufacturer.

As expected, there were no surprises in the area of employee management
relations. Mediocre best describes the characterizations given by the
respondents. Training levels were extremely varied, as one might expect in
the small manufacturing sector.

In summary, the level of robotics implementation in the local metal
processing industry is low and the environment, training and
employee-management relations, for future manufacturing technology
implementation can be described as average at best.

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