SCSU Students Present at the SC Academy of Science

Two undergraduates from SCSU and one high school student who conducted research at SCSU presented at the annual meeting of the South Carolina Academy of Science, held at Whinthrop University on March 16, 2005. NASA provided travel funds for the undergraduates and research support for the high school student through its MUCERPI-2003 award. The students and the abstracts from their talks are:

Computational Materials Science: From Chemical Reactions to Drug Design
Kara Beharry
Mentor: James E. Payne
Department of Biological and Physical Sciences, South Carolina State University

The significance of computer simulations has become more recognizable in the fields of Physics, Chemistry and Biology. Ab-Initio calculations that are based on Density Functional Theory (DFT) have provided useful simulations and the ability for scientists to calculate accurately a number of physical and chemical properties, some of which can either be compared directly to experiment or are complementary to it. DFT is a relatively new form of applied mathematics which previously was not widely used to simulate molecules, but is now considered to be the backbone of drug research. It is considerably computational inexpensive and can be used for large complex molecules. The use of computer aided drug design came about when a quantitative relationship between structure and biological activity was established and since then the capabilities of the computer have allowed scientists to store and retrieve information, visualize molecules, observe the similarities/differences between drugs and receptors, and calculate interaction strengths as well as the dynamics of the drug formed. In this work we will demonstrate the power of this methodology using some paradigmatic examples: the dissociation of the Hydrogen molecule, the isomerization reaction of Butane and the electronic and geometrical structure of Ibuprofen, commonly known as Advil.

Comparison Study of the Sun at Various Frequencies
Kayla Harward
South Carolina Governors School for Science & Mathematics
Mentor: Dr. James E. Payne
Department of Biological and Physical Sciences, South Carolina State University

I spent six weeks during the summer of 2004 collecting solar data from various telescopes at various frequencies. I compared the data from the four radio telescopes and from the two x-ray telescopes and looked for correlations in the graphs. When I observed a correlation, I confirmed that it was caused by solar activity by viewing the optical pictures of the solar disk and by checking the solar activity levels on www.spaceweather.com.

Contrast Comparison Experiments
Keisha McCall
Mentor: James E. Payne
Department of Biological and Physical Sciences, South Carolina State University

A two alternative forced choice (2AFC) observer study of contrast discrimination for lesion detection in anatomic noise using comparison of stereoscopic imaging versus monoscopic (conventional) imaging techniques. In the experiments, observers sit in front of a computer screen and view two randomly selected images of the lesion and clutter. In one image the lesion is at a higher contrast representing the presence of cancer.

 

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