Preservation of the Japanese Paper Films

My summer research project had two parts. The first was a two-week trip to Japan, where we traveled Japan with the showcase of our project, scanned 50 paper films and made six new film discoveries.. We also visited cultural sites and met with many collectors and researchers who work with paper films. After returning to the USA, I worked on the preservation of the films we scanned, using DaVinci Resolve and Fusion, the video editing and visual effects softwares.

The preservation process has several steps:

1. I process each film through our project’s custom software. The code detects each frame by its perforations and frame lines, creating a pre-stabilized version.

2. I create a 6K timeline in the Color tab and make a highly saturated version of the film with bright pink perforations.

3. Using the tracking tool, I stabilize the film by detecting the black-pink-black pattern of the saturated perforations, stabilizing the film.

4. I divide the entire film into individual shots. In each shot, I find a stationary element and track the shot.

5. Finally, frame-by-frame stabilization. I use a reference frame to refine the image stabilization and align it with the frames before and after it.

Throughout my summer research project, I learned a lot about Japanese art and culture. I also found new ways to make the stabilization process faster. The biggest outcome of my project was the more than 20 films I finished that are now preserved in our new project database funded by Yanai initiative.

Continue reading Iaroslava Polusmak »

BatLog: open-source passive integrated transponder (PIT) tag logger for wildlife behavioral studies
Automated monitoring of individually marked animals enables the collection of high-resolution activity data, yet commercial systems capable of continuous individual organism tracking remain inaccessible to many research programs. BatLog is a modular, open-source passive integrated transponder (PIT) tag logging system built on Arduino-compatible hardware, costing ~3.5% of average commercial systems. BatLog is designed to extend the application of existing PIT tag infrastructure by incorporating individual identification data into continuous behavioral datasets, without requiring additional animal handling or marking. A dual-antenna configuration enables directional detection, allowing each tracking interaction to be classified as an animal entry or exit event. Deployed in a controlled laboratory setup at Bucknell University, USA, the BatLog system recorded 40,653 paired directional events across 20 individually identified organisms. The Arduino-compatible architecture supports integration with additional sensors, including temperature, humidity, accelerometers, and acoustic monitors, making BatLog broadly applicable to behavioral and ecological studies across taxa.

Continue reading Angel Eunisse Yanga »

Is KBAABB a good proxy of TRUE FIA data?

The Forest Inventory and Analysis (FIA) program aims to provide comprehensive data on national forest resources. However, challenges in accessing all forest areas necessitate estimating forest attributes from sampled data. Determining which estimator to use requires assessing estimator properties on a synthetic population of forest attributes. These synthetic forest populations are only useful if they accurately reflect the variability of the actual forest characteristics. This project evaluates the fidelity of KBAABB (k-Nearest-Neighbors approximated to Bayesian bootstrap) synthetic forest populations, which were generated to emulate the true distribution of forest attributes in the United States.

Our team approached this multifaceted project from various perspectives, each focusing on different states, yet all contributing to the overarching objective of validating these synthetic datasets. The analysis suggests that KBAABB synthetic populations do indeed serve as effective proxies for the true FIA data. This efficacy is supported by several key findings: the alignment of the synthetic data points population and spatial structures with well-known ecological zones, the close replication of FIA distributions, and the approximate preservation of important spatial patterns and underlying relationships within the data. These characteristics collectively indicate that the KBAABB artificial populations are credible and suitable for use in simulations where a representative forest population is required.

Continue reading Fayrene Nguyen »

Privacy Done Differentially
The Forest Inventory and Analysis (FIA) program of the USDA reaps several benefits from publishing its plot data. For instance, disclosure allows third-party researchers to help further its mission of monitoring forest trends in the U.S. However, privacy obligations complicate data sharing. To protect the location of its plots, the FIA must first randomly jitter plot coordinates before mapping plots to important auxiliary information. This procedure alters the statistical patterns of the data, which has implications for small area estimation. The goal of this project was to help the FIA determine whether a novel technique, Differential Privacy (DP), enhances both data privacy and accuracy. Of particular interest to the team was whether we could achieve these benefits by adding random noise to each plot coordinate and its corresponding auxiliary data. Our findings indicate that while we can theoretically design a DP mechanism to compute microdata, such a method is taxing in terms of utility. Therefore, we recommend that the FIA conduct research into DP computations that generate synthetic microdata that preserve trends in the original data.

Continue reading Austin Carroll »

Torsion, Tensile, and Impact Performance of Additively Manufactured PA6 Carbon Fiber and Glass Fiber Composites

Additive manufacturing (AM) using fused deposition modeling (FDM) is increasingly applied to fiber-reinforced polymers, yet comprehensive experimental evaluation of their mechanical behavior remains limited. This study expands prior work on carbon-fiber (CF) and glass-fiber (GF) reinforced nylon by investigating the influence of print parameters, annealing conditions, and filament type on the tensile, fatigue, and torsional performance of reinforced and pure nylon specimens. Test coupons were iteratively fabricated using a dual-nozzle FDM system, with process refinements implemented to address support-material adhesion, filament moisture, and print variability. Mechanical properties, including tensile strength, Young’s modulus, ductility, and torsional resistance, were extracted through standardized testing and custom data-analysis methods. Results indicate that appropriate annealing improves consistency in CF and GF composites, though GF specimens exhibited higher print failure rates. Pure nylon demonstrated high ductility and irregular fracture behavior, likely influenced by moisture absorption and thermal history. Measured elastic moduli were generally lower than manufacturer specifications, suggesting sensitivity to testing conditions and strain measurement methods. Torsional testing showed the greatest reproducibility in pure nylon, while chopped carbon-fiber reinforcement provided the strongest resistance to torsional deformation and fracture. Overall, significant variability across all materials highlights the strong dependence of mechanical performance on processing conditions. These findings contribute to improved understanding and optimization of FDM-printed nylon composites for structural applications.

Continue reading Oren Bukowski »

Investigating microbial nutrient sharing based on amino acid sharing and population densities

Within microbial communities, many microbes rely on cooperation with each other to survive. One relationship is cross-feeding, where one species provides nutrients for the other. This study investigates the sharing of the amino acid methionine between Priestia megaterium QMB1551, a natural producer of methionine, and methionine auxotrophic mutant strains of Escherichia coli (MG1655 ΔmetE and MG1655 ΔmetEmetH). This project explores the presence and dynamics of the cross-feeding interaction between P. megaterium and E. coli. Additionally, we will study how population densities impacts their relationship to help uncover if it is altruistic, mutualistic, or parasitic. The findings from this project will provide insight into the ecological drivers behind microbial relationships and cooperation.

Continue reading Delaney Gordan »

Impacts of Acid Rain on Microbial Community Composition Along a pH Gradient

Acid rain has been a critical issue impacting water sources and ecosystems in central Pennsylvania for decades. Several streams in Union County and surrounding areas have been affected, including a stream in the Buffalo Creek watershed that has undergone remediation to restore its natural pH. Despite acid rain’s known impacts on aquatic flora and fauna, few studies have addressed the effects of acid rain on microbes. Microorganisms are essential for soil health, carbon and nutrient cycling, and are crucial components of the food chain in many ecosystems. We collected triplicate sediment samples from a total of seven various inlet and outlet points at the remediation site to assess the impact of the acid remediation treatment on Buffalo Creek, and compare the microbial state of the treated waters to an untreated control. We extracted DNA using the DNeasy PowerSoil Pro Kit and performed metagenomic sequencing to identify the differential composition of the microbial community across the natural pH gradients in the watershed, as well as extract information about specific microbial functions and biogeochemical cycles that might be disrupted by acid rain disturbances. We hope to find microbes that can serve as “indicator taxa” of ecosystem health and recovery levels, and whether we could someday build microbial solutions to aid stream remediation and recovery.

Continue reading Jasleen Dhillon »

Comparative Validation of Gel-Based and Gel-Less Electroencephalography Systems for Future Neurophysiological Studies

This study compares gel-based and gel-free electroencephalography (EEG) systems
using the OpenBCI Cyton + Daisy board, a low-cost, open-source platform increasingly utilized in neurotechnology research. While gel electrodes are known for superior signal quality, they require extensive setup and can cause user discomfort. Gel-free systems offer greater convenience, but may introduce higher noise and signal instability. Prior studies have assessed these trade-offs using clinical-grade hardware, but few have evaluated performance specifically within OpenBCI systems.

Five healthy participants completed EEG tasks including resting-state (eyes-open/closed) and motor tasks (finger tapping, spiral drawing) using both caps. Signal quality was evaluated through alpha-to-beta (A:B) ratios, signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), impedance levels, and independent component analysis (ICA) -derived artifact proportions. Usability was assessed through setup time, impedance stability, and a user comfort survey.

The gel-based system showed stronger and more consistent A:B elevation during eyes-closed conditions, though group differences were not statistically significant. SNR values were similar between systems (gel: 13.63 ± 22.46 dB; gel-free: 19.22 ± 17.55 dB), with one gel outlier likely due to setup error. Artifact proportions were higher in gel data, while impedance was lower and more stable compared to gel-free. Survey results indicated similar comfort, with minimal post-use discomfort or cleanup issues.

Despite a small sample size, both systems effectively captured relevant neural signals.
Gel-based systems showed marginally greater consistency, while gel-free systems offered setup advantages. These findings provide early insights for selecting EEG systems based on specific research needs. Future work will explore additional metrics such as spectral stability and topographical reliability across broader populations.

Continue reading ODDOMNEATH LY »

The Ethics of Cell Lines as Human Remains

Some objects are inarguably human remains (e.g. skeletons, brains), while some are debatably human remains (e.g. fetuses, blood smears, cell lines). We have been thinking of the status of cell lines as human remains in the context of Henrietta Lacks, and our ethical obligations as we use cell lines in research and teaching. Join us in our journey as we define human remains and justify whether cell lines should be included in our definition.

Continue reading Amalia Benenati »

Numerical Analysis of Vane Shear Test
The Vane Shear Test (VST) is widely used in geotechnical engineering to determine the undrained shear strength of soft and sensitive clays due to its simplicity, low cost, and suitability for in situ conditions where high-quality sampling is challenging. Despite its extensive application in foundation design and stability analyses, its traditional interpretation is limited to the determination of undrained shear strength. However, there is potential for the test to provide further insights into the soil’s constitutive behavior. Hence, this research explores the use of numerical models validated using experimental results to extract more information from the VST. To do so, we used the Smoothed Particle Hydrodynamics (SPH) method, to model the VST. To validate and calibrate the numerical framework, an experimental program including field VSTs, Cone Penetration Tests (CPT), and triaxial tests was conducted to characterize soil behavior at a local site, and obtain constitutive parameters for the numerical model. The model calibration was then achieved by tuning input numerical parameters to match simulated VST torque–rotation curves with experimental results. Subsequently, a parametric study was conducted to evaluate the influence of a set of constitutive parameters on simulation behavior to extract further information from the test, such as stress-strain relationships with torque and rotation, and in situ lateral earth pressure coefficient (K0). The work contributes to the improvement of the interpretation of VST data and proposes new procedures and correlations to obtain additional constitutive parameters of the soil from the test.

Continue reading Gustavo Oliveira »