(9:00-9:15)
[17 - 180-273]: Designed For Impact: The Statistical Collaborator's Workflow
Jett Palmer★, Heather SmithDepartment of Statistics, ★Speaker
Statisticians and data scientists have traditionally been positioned as technical experts within interdisciplinary collaborations. With the advent of artificial intelligence, there is a growing opportunity and need for statisticians to play more central, decision-oriented roles in business. Existing frameworks, such as ASCCR (Vance & Smith, 2019), support this goal but were not designed to assess project outcomes. To address this gap, we argue that statistical practitioners should routinely plan for, evaluate, and communicate the impact of their work. This paper proposes an extension of the ASCCR framework that embeds impact assessment into the statistical collaborator’s workflow. Specifically, we introduce a novel tool that supports both prospective impact planning and retrospective evaluation. The instrument has been validated by experts from industry and academia and tested with students in undergraduate and graduate statistical collaboration courses. By making impact an explicit component of collaborative practice, this paper seeks to strengthen statisticians’ ability to translate evidence into action and achieve meaningful, real-world outcomes. |
(9:15-9:30)
[18 - 180-273]: Modeling Plasma Wakefield Acceleration Through Laser Wavefront Control
Abby Bradbury†★, Robert HoltzappleDepartment of Physics, †Frost Support, ★Speaker
Radio-frequency particle accelerators are central to high-energy physics, but their large size and limited accelerating gradients constrain their scalability. Plasma wakefield accelerators provide a promising compact, high-gradient alternative, though optimizing their operating conditions remains an active area of research. This presentation examines how the geometric shape of the plasma bubble in plasma wakefield acceleration depends on laser wavefront structure by simulating ionization probabilities for a range of wavefront profiles. In experiments, these wavefronts can be tuned with a deformable mirror and are modeled in simulation using Zernike polynomials. To validate the approach, simulation results were compared with data from FACET-II at SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory under matched conditions. The model showed strong agreement with experimental observations in hydrogen plasmas, while discrepancies in helium highlighted the limitations of the simplifying assumptions used. Overall, these results show that modeling laser wavefront shape can help explain and improve plasma wakefield acceleration. |
(9:30-9:45)
[19 - 180-273]: Community metabolism drives extreme carbonate chemistry in the intertidal zone
Riley Cash1★, David Long2, Emily Bockmon21 Department of Biological Sciences, 2 Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, ★Speaker
Tidepools experience rapid and extreme fluctuations in carbonate chemistry largely driven by biologically mediated processes including photosynthesis, respiration, and calcification. The relatively high biomass compared to a small water volume of tidepools amplify these chemical fluctuations, generating divergence from the adjacent coastal ocean. Calcifying organisms, such as coral and molluscs, are sensitive to alterations in environmental pH, which increase the energetic cost of depositing their calcium carbonate shells and skeletons. This study examined diurnal variability in dissolved inorganic carbon, total alkalinity, pH, and aragonite saturation state in a temperate tidepool in the high-intertidal zone. During a 7-hour daytime low-tide period, pH increased markedly from 8.10 to 8.54, corresponding to a ~250 µatm (75% decrease) in pCO? and strong photosynthetic production. Net ecosystem calcification was initially positive during late morning but declined to near zero by evening despite elevated aragonite saturation state. These results indicate that photosynthesis-driven CO? uptake dominates daytime carbonate dynamics, while calcification is not solely controlled by thermodynamic favorability of calcium carbonate deposition.
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(9:45-10)
[20 - 180-273]: Optimizing the Mono-Functionalization of Polyethylene Glycol for Stimuli-Responsive Hydrogel Coatings
Evelyn Jaminet†★, Sabrina Swartz†, Sandra Ward†Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, †Frost Support, ★Speaker
This research aims to support the synthesis of an acid-sensitive crosslinker used in dual stimuli-responsive hydrogel systems for biomedical device coatings. The project specifically focuses on optimizing a critical step in the synthesis of the crosslinker: the selective mono-functionalization of symmetric dihydroxy polyethylene glycol (PEG). A major challenge in this step is the formation of mixed products, including mono-substituted, di-substituted, and unreacted PEG, which reduces yield and complicates downstream reactions. To favor mono-substitution, a method adapted from literature employs Silver (I) Oxide and Potassium Iodide as a catalyst to promote selective activation of a single terminal hydroxyl group using tosyl chloride. While this approach has shown high yields of mono-tosylated PEG at low molecular weights, its efficiency decreases for higher molecular weight polymers – which are required for hydrogel formation. To address this limitation, mesyl chloride has been investigated as a more reactive alternative, with preliminary results indicating improved mono-substitution even at higher molecular weights. In order to quantify the degree of substitution of PEG species following the mesylation step, a method using high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) in combination with complementary spectroscopic techniques is being developed, and will allow for the systematic optimization of reaction conditions to maximize mono-substituted products. Improved control over dihydroxy PEG functionalization will help to improve the yield and reproducibility of the crosslinker, and ultimately contributes to the broader development of dual stimuli-responsive hydrogels for biomedical applications. |
(10-10:15)
[21 - 180-273]: Analysis of carbonate chemistry at the Morro Bay North T-Pier to understand seasonal variability and the potential for long term climate change resilience
Emma Kurata†★§, Emily Bockmon§, David LongDepartment of Chemistry and Biochemistry, †Frost Support, §Santa Rosa Creek Foundation Support, ★Speaker
Morro Bay is a tidal estuary with highly variable chemistry due to seasonal freshwater runoff, long residence times, and intense biological processes. From August 2025 to March 2026 we collected seawater samples weekly at the Morro Bay North T-Pier to understand the relationship of dissolved inorganic carbon, total alkalinity (buffering capacity of seawater), and pH across three water depths. Our observations indicate organisms such as eel grass and oysters experience widely variable chemistry on a weekly and sometimes hourly timescale. To understand how the influence of freshwater alters the carbonate chemistry of this bay, we explored the relationship between total alkalinity to salinity. In the open ocean, the relationship between total alkalinity and salinity is linear and positively correlated. Data collected at the T-Pier show this relationship is not maintained in Morro Bay, and instead, low salinity is associated with high seawater carbonate chemistry in the bay. These findings suggest freshwater runoff in Morro Bay is buffering the estuarine waters, stabilizing the pH and increasing the resilience of wildlife and oyster farms that inhabit the estuary. This data tells the story of Morro Bay, establishing how this estuary’s carbonate chemistry changes weekly and contributing to understanding of how it is likely to respond to increased ocean acidification in the future. |
(10:15-10:30)
[22 - 180-273]: Mechanochemical Polymerization of Polylactic Acid via Ball Mill Grinding
Christian Robles†★, Sarah Zeitler†Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, †Frost Support, ★Speaker
Polymeric materials, often referred to as plastics, are versatile materials used in a wide variety of commercial and industrial applications. However, the large-scale production and disposal of these polymeric materials contribute significantly to environmental pollution. Although biodegradable and renewable polymers such as poly(caprolactone) (PCL) and poly(lactic acid) (PLA) represent promising sustainable alternatives to conventional plastics, their synthesis can be environmentally taxing due to high energy costs and potential of harmful chemical byproducts. Traditional means of polymer synthesis relies on solution-based methods, which can require a large amount of energy to maintain high reaction temperatures as well as large quantities of toxic organic solvents waste. To address this challenge, we have explored the mechanochemical synthesis of PLA by utilizing ball milling as a more sustainable alternative to conventional solution-based methods. Mechanochemical polymerization via ball milling can provide a much more environmentally friendly route to synthesize sustainable polymers, as kinetic energy is utilized to facilitate polymerization rather than conventional sources of energy such as heat, light, or electricity, which circumvents the need for large amounts of solvent or energy. Thus, mechanochemical polymerization via ball milling can be a promising alternative to traditional polymerization techniques to ensure sustainability throughout the entirety of a renewable polymer’s lifespan. Although consistent PLA polymerization has yet to be fully achieved under mechanochemical conditions, systematic variation of milling and reactant parameters established a strong foundation for future work. |
(10:30-10:45)
[23 - 180-273]: Theoretical Analysis of Regioselectivity in Thiolate Conjugate Additions
Shawn Larson†★, Daniel BercoviciDepartment of Chemistry and Biochemistry, †Frost Support, ★Speaker
Conjugate additions to activated alkynes and alkenes are widely used, yet regioselectivity between competing electrophilic sites is not well understood. Here, density functional theory (DFT) thermodynamic and kinetic analyses, post-DFT reactivity descriptors, and experimental studies are combined to elucidate regioselectivity in thiolate additions to aryl propiolate and ylidenenorbornadiene (YND) derivatives. Fukui functions and orbital analyses show that the relative electrophilicity of ester versus aryl sites scales with aryl substituent electronic effects. These trends are supported by calculated kinetic and thermodynamic data and experimental product ratios, with strong electron-withdrawing groups favoring aryl conjugation. |
(10:45-11:00)
[24 - 180-273]: Mechanochemical depolymerization of poly(methyl methacrylate)
Zane Fink1†★, James Sondgroth2†, Sierra Sanchez1†, Sarah Zeitler1†1 Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, 2 Materials Engineering, †Frost Support, ★Speaker
The buildup of plastic waste is a global crisis which is harming animals, damaging the environment, and may be causing negative health effects in humans. Recycling offers a way to reuse plastic to prevent it from becoming waste in landfills and ecosystems. Current common recycling techniques typically either melt down and reshape plastic, which degrades the quality of the plastic, or heat the polymer to depolymerize it, which is very energy intensive. Ball-mill grinding uses mechanochemistry to offer a low energy and easily accessible alternative to current recycling techniques. Mechanochemistry uses mechanical force to cleave bonds in the carbon backbone of polymers, which initiates depolymerization. Through this project, methods for mechanochemically depolymerizing poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) and poly(?-methylstyrene) (PMS) have been explored, and key variables affecting depolymerization were determined, such as temperature and ball size. Under optimal conditions, PMS achieved depolymerization of 49.8%, while PMMA achieved depolymerization of 7.77%. Future work will determine structure-property relationships between polymers and optimal depolymerization conditions as well as expand the number of polymers that can be depolymerized with mechanochemistry. |