Community Flood Risk Assessment from Rising/Surging Seas Project
Kevin Kupietz, Elizabeth City State University
Globally 634 million people, 10% of the world's population, live in coastal areas less than 10 meters above sea level. According to 2010 census data, 123 million people, 39% of the United States population, live in coastal counties with an estimated increase to this number by 8% in the 2020 census. As natural disasters have been seen to increase in frequency and severity in the past five years coupled with expected sea rises from climate change it is important that anyone involved with the safety and resiliency planning of their organization/community have an understanding of how to scientifically assess risk from flooding in order to mitigate and recover from the effects. This project allows students the ability to develop skills to utilize computer modeling systems and to apply the data to real world communities in examining risk to structures as well as different groups in the community.

Design2Data
Ashley Vater, University of California-Davis
The D2D program is centered around an undergraduate-friendly protocol workflow that follows the design-build-test-learn engineering framework. This protocol has served as the scaffold for a successful undergraduate training program and has been further developed into courses that range from a 10-week freshman seminar to a year-long, upper-division molecular biology course. The overarching research goal of this CURE probes the current predictive limitations of protein-modeling software by functionally characterizing single amino acid mutants in a robust model system. The most interesting outcomes of this project are dependent on large datasets, and, as such, the project is optimal for multi-institutional collaborations.

Laser spectroscopy of atmospherically relevant molecules and clusters in helium nanodroplets
Paul Raston, James Madison University
Superfluid helium nanodroplets present an ideal medium for the study of chemical dynamics at the molecular level. Their low temperature, enormous heat conductivity, and weakly interacting nature allow for the investigation of various things, such as how molecular rotation is effected by a solvent, and how molecules interact with each other. These two topics will be addressed in the lab by (1) measuring the spectra of unexplored molecules in helium nanodroplets and determining their rotational constants; this data will then be used to test known models describing the interaction between the molecule and helium solvent, and (2) synthesizing and characterizing unexplored molecular clusters in an effort to better understand molecular solvation; students will solvate the "unexplored molecule" with an atmospherically relevant species (O2, N2, H2O), and investigate the resulting clusters with laser Stark spectroscopy.

Designing Authentic Undergraduate Experiences in Research (DAUER)
Joseph Ross, California State University-Fresno
In this research experience, students will learn about how inheritance of diverse genetic material from their parents can impact the health (fecundity) of offspring. Students will design experiments to mate pairs of populations from a diverse global collection of microscopic worms and measure and compare the fecundities of their hybrid offspring.

Using R to Build Powerful Predictive Models for Kaggle Competitions
Earvin Balderama, California State University-Fresno

Chemical Analysis of Coffee Beans in Collaboration with a Local Roaster
Susan Oxley, St. Marys University
This CURE will take place in an Analytical Chemistry course. Students in the CURE course will collaborate with a local coffee roaster to develop a research question related to quantifying components of coffee beans. Using standard methods of analysis, students will work in groups to perform the analysis and validate their results. The outcome of the research will be a report to the coffee roaster.

Understanding Noncovalent Interactions and Binding through PRRSM
Amanda Hargrove, Duke University
This CURE was designed to increase instruction on noncovalent interactions and intermolecular forces, provide laboratory experiences in biochemistry and chemical biology, and deliver a more consistent chemistry research experience to undergraduates at Duke University while staying within the existing curriculum. First, the concept of noncovalent interactions is visualized in an applied setting by examining 3D structures of small molecule:RNA interactions through a portable virtual reality (VR) environment. Next, using knowledge gained in the Hargrove lab regarding small molecule:RNA interactions along with the literature examples, teams of students evaluate known small molecule:RNA interactions, pose original scientific questions, and design a hypothesis-driven experiment that can be readily tested with commercially available materials using a standard fluorimeter or plate reader. These experiments directly contribute to research that examines patterns in the recognition of RNA structure by small molecules, and the students are able to assess their contribution to this ongoing interdisciplinary project.

Emerging Contaminants in Arizona
Frank Marfai, Phoenix College

Kinetics of bioorthogonal reactions
Jen Heemstra, Emory University
Bioorthogonal reactions such as strain-promoted azide-alkyne cycloaddition (SPAAC) and inverse electron demand Diels–Alder (IEDDA) are widely used for labeling of biomolecules, which in turn enables numerous applications in basic science and biotechnology. The key characteristic of these reactions is the ability of the functional groups involved to react with each other while remaining inert to the other functional groups found in nature. Despite the wide use of these chemistries, relatively few studies have evaluated the effect of reaction conditions on the kinetics of the reaction, and it would be of value to the scientific community to know how factors such as buffer identity, pH, ionic strength, and temperature impact reaction rate. In this CURE, students synthesize reagents or biomolecules and utilize UV spectrophotometry to measure the reaction rate under varying conditions. Students communicate their results in a final report written in the format of a peer-reviewed publication, and this CURE has yielded peer-reviewed research publications to share the data with the scientific community.

What's in your water?
Robin Cotter, Phoenix College
Water quality is an issue that impacts everyone, but do we really know what is in the water we drink? Water quality is an issue that impacts everyone, but do we really know what is the water we drink? Chemical and bacteriological contamination of water has serious implications for human health. For example, in agricultural areas, pesticides and fertilizers can lead to contamination of groundwater. High levels of nitrate can lead to methaemoglobinaemia (blue baby syndrome). Solvents and heavy metals generated during mining can lead to toxicosis. As witnessed in Flint, Michigan, the use of lead pipes in plumbing can lead to elevated levels of lead in drinking water which can impact the mental development in children. Perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA or C8) is a man-made chemical used in the process of making Teflon. PFOA's pose global health concerns as they persist in the environment and human body for extended periods of time and can now be detected in almost everyone's blood. To address this issue, introductory biology, microbiology and chemistry students at our 2-year community college will work together to test water from local water treatment plants for the presence of chemical and biological contaminants. Students will learn about the scientific process as they perform background research on EPA water standards, potential sources of water contaminants, and the water treatment process. Students will hold virtual meetings with community, university, and industry partners to identify relevant research questions related to water treatment. Students will then do a site visit to a local water treatment plant where they will collect and analyze water samples from different stages of the water treatment process. Students will test the water samples for the presence of organic pollutants and microbial pathogens. This data will be entered into a regional database and compared to water quality reports posted on the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality (ADEQ) website. Students will then present their findings at community meetings, STEM outreach events, and via virtual poster sessions.