(9:00-9:15)
[25 - 180-330]: Assessing Availability and Awareness of Nicotine Replacement Therapy in Pharmacies in San Luis Obispo County
Pamela Estrada1★, Tyler Gee1†, Jenelle Merzon2, Julia Alber1, Adrienne Lent11 Department of Kinesiology and Public Health, 2 SLO County Health Agency, †Frost Support, ★Speaker
Accessing nicotine replacement therapy (NRT) to quit tobacco can be challenging due to the cost and time needed to visit a healthcare provider for a prescription. As of 2013, California pharmacists can furnish NRT after completing required online training. However, little is known about how many pharmacists have this training or how many tobacco users seek to use it. The purpose of this study was to assess pharmacist NRT furnishing practices and awareness across San Luis Obispo County pharmacies. Research assistants conducted in-person interviews and environmental scans within all pharmacies in SLO County. Of 39 pharmacies, 21 agreed to participate in an interview. Many pharmacies (n=14) reported that pharmacists had completed the training to furnish NRT, while only 3 pharmacies showed signage promoting NRT availability. Most pharmacies reported low engagement in cessation assistants with many reporting fewer than 10 weekly customers talking to them about quitting tobacco, and many others reporting 0 weekly requests to prescribe NRT.? Results suggest that although many pharmacies can provide NRT, limited public knowledge and promotion may prevent utilization of NRT. Increasing pharmacist-led cessation service awareness and patient knowledge may promote tobacco cessation efforts locally. |
(9:15-9:30)
[26 - 180-330]: Student Perceptions of Medication Abortion On Campus: Qualitative Results and Implications
Cassidy Serino★, Julia Sofianek★, Sara Cohn★, Olivia Kaciak★, Ella Andersen★, Kara Samaniego, Christine HackmanDepartment of Kinesiology and Public Health, ★Speaker
A qualitative study of student perspectives and experiences with medication abortion on a California public university
Background: Since January of 2023, medication abortion has been available through campus health centers at all four-year public colleges in California. However, there is little understanding of students’ experiences and opinions about medication abortion on their campus.
Purpose: To explore perceptions and experiences of college students regarding the provision of medication abortion at one public California university.
Methods: Between April and June 2024, undergraduate students were recruited via email or snowball sampling to participate in individual interviews to investigate their beliefs and experiences of medication abortion being offered at the university. Thematic analysis was utilized to make meaning of the qualitative data.
Results: 34 students, including 22 biological females and 12 biological males, were interviewed. Two participants had previously received MA off campus, and very few students knew that medication abortion was currently being offered on campus. Six major themes were identified: Stigma; Knowledge and Misconceptions; Beliefs and Values Shaping Acceptibility; Facilitators and Barriers to On-Campus Care; Role of Important Others; and, Student Suggestions for Campus Health Centers.
Discussion: Participants were overwhelmingly supportive of medication abortion being offered on campus, but the general lack of understanding of medication abortion, lack of awareness of the service being provided on campus, and the amount of misinformation about MA uncovered during interviews was concerning. Recommendations to better support access to and experience with this service for college students will be discussed.
Learning Objective: Discuss the perceptions and experiences of college students regarding medication abortion offered on their college campus. |
(9:30-9:45)
[27 - 180-330]: Implementation of Cryogenic Bolometers and Scintillation Detectors in the Search for Neutrinoless Double Beta Decay with the CUORE and CUPID Experiments
Reese Cormier★, Thomas GutierrezDepartment of Physics, ★Speaker
CUORE (Cryogenic Underground Observatory for Rare Events) is an experiment at the Gran Sasso National Laboratory in Assergi, Italy, currently searching for an answer to the matter-antimatter asymmetry problem; the question: why do we exist? One proposed explanation is neutrinoless double beta decay (0$\nu\beta\beta$), a theorized exotic decay that would prove that neutrinos are their own antiparticle, violating the current Standard Model for particle physics. However, current detection methods do not distinguish different types of particle interactions, resulting in alpha decays contributing to the background. Therefore, the experimental sensitivity is too limited to make confident determinations about the data. For this reason, CUORE is receiving an upgrade named CUPID (CUORE Upgrade with Particle Identification). In addition to the cryogenic bolometer, CUPID incorporates scintillation detectors, which enable the detection of light signals for each event. The correlation between thermal and optical signatures of each event allows us to confidently distinguish between decay types. Discriminating alpha decays from $\beta$/$\gamma$ decays allows us to reduce background and improve sensitivity in order to further investigate the possibility of neutrinoless double beta decay. Cal Poly is an active member of the CUORE and CUPID collaborations, and this talk will outline the physics and future of these projects. This work is made possible with support from NSF-1913374 and NSF-2412377. |
(9:45-10)
[28 - 180-330]: GPU accelerated application of Trotterized operators in symmetry-preserving state-vector emulation
Zachary Gonzales★, Nicholas StairDepartment of Physics, ★Speaker
We present a fully in-place GPU-accelerated approach for the application of Fermionic Trotter product unitaries, aimed at accelerating emulated end-to-end quantum algorithm benchmarking for quantum chemistry. The approach makes use of the particle-number and spin symmetry preserving data structure, common in modern full configuration interaction (FCI) implementations, avoiding storage and manipulation of $2^n$ state-vector coefficients. Together, the GPU implementation and symmetry-preserving data structure afford end-to-end emulated quantum eigensolver, and quantum Krylov, calculations (free from rank reduction error) for up to 32 qubits on a desktop workstation. We compare wall-times between our approach, the Fermionic Quantum Emulator (FQE), and CuStateVec (CuSV) for end-to-end algorithm execution as well as subroutine benchmarks and find that our approach is between 46.1 and 59.4 times faster than FQE and between 174 and 627 times faster than CuSV. We also use our method to benchmark various Trotterized unitary coupled cluster (tUCC) eigensover ansats for large-scale strongly correlated systems up to 16 electrons in 16 orbitals (16e, 16o) and compare with classical methods. |
(10-10:15)
[29 - 180-330]: Development of a Near-Infrared Laser
Hannah Bauer★, James Mauck, Isinsu TokerDepartment of Physics, ★Speaker
High-power lasers are becoming essential tools across many branches of science for applications such as spectroscopy to ultrafast optics. This presentation focuses on the construction and optimization of a continuous-wave (CW) Ti:Sapphire laser, which will be used to produce femtosecond pulses. This is a solid-state laser system in which a titanium-doped sapphire gain medium is optically pumped at 532 nm, exciting the Ti$^{3+}$ ions, enabling stimulated emission across a wide spectral range in the near-infrared.
The system was constructed with a KMLabs kit, which provided a tunable cavity and optical components. The x-cavity was aligned and characterized as a function of mirror distance from crystal, where two stability regions were determined with the second stability range producing higher output power.
Once optimized, laser performance was evaluated using output couplers of 2%, 10%, and 12% transmission. Efficiency curves were obtained from output versus pump power, with the 10% output coupler yielding the highest efficiency. A loss analysis based on threshold measurements as a function of output coupler gave a cavity loss of approximately 0.75-1.18% per round trip. This system provides a foundation for future experiments, including mode-locked operation to generate pulses and the development of non-kit-based laser systems. |
(10:15-10:30)
[30 - 180-330]: Development of a Near-Infrared Femtosecond Laser
James Mauck★, Hannah Bauer, Isinsu TokerDepartment of Physics, ★Speaker
Ultrafast pulsed lasers offer unique benefits over continuous wave (CW) lasers due to intrinsic properties of laser pulses. Importantly, ultrafast lasers can deliver more peak power to a target, and short laser pulses can be used to measure other ultrafast phenomena. This presentation aims to briefly discuss the theory behind mode-locked ultrafast lasers and describe the development of the first femtosecond laser at Cal Poly.
There are several methods for generating ultrafast laser pulses; this project used Kerr-lens mode-locking technique (KLM) and utilized a prism pair to balance the intracavity dispersion. This was accomplished by modifying a green pumped CW Ti:Sapphire solid-state laser built from a KMLabs kit. After constructing the CW laser, the system was modified, allowing the generation of mode-locked femtosecond pulses with a sub-50 femtoseconds pulse duration. Data was recorded with multiple techniques, including spectrum analysis using a spectrometer and a pulse train observation with an oscilloscope.
This project opens the door to many future experiments that require femtosecond pulses. Examples include multiphoton microscopy, pump-probe spectroscopy, and many other cross-disciplinary applications. Additionally, this project provides a unique opportunity for undergraduate students to run experiments with ultrafast lasers. |
(10:30-10:45)
[31 - 180-330]: Development of a Nanosecond Transient Absorption Spectrometer for Time-Resolved Materials Studies
Lilly Ahmadi★, Fletcher Smith★, Isinsu TokerDepartment of Physics, ★Speaker
This senior project presents the development of a nanosecond transient absorption spectrometer at Cal Poly, which is designed for time-resolved studies of materials. Transient absorption spectroscopy allows for the observation of transient absorption, which measures the changes in a sample’s absorption following excitation by a short pump laser pulse. The system was assembled to achieve a time resolution on the order of nanoseconds, which allows for the investigation of excited-state decay lifetimes in materials such as quantum dots.
The instrument setup was assembled entirely by undergraduate students. This incorporates optical alignment, optical instrumentation, and data acquisition into one platform. Experimental validation was collected using zinc tetraphenylporphyrin (ZnTPP), where consistent transient absorption signals and decay lifetimes were measured. These results demonstrate that the optical system produces consistent, reproducible data that is consistent with expected nanosecond-scale values.
Beyond its research capabilities, the nanosecond pump-probe spectrometer also serves as an educational tool, providing hands-on experience in optics, instrumentation, and data analysis for undergraduate students. This spectrometer is modular in design, which allows for future alterations and expansions to different wavelengths and experimental configurations. Overall, this work establishes a cost-effective and accessible platform for both advanced materials and undergraduate physics research in time-resolved spectroscopy.
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(10:45-11:15)
[33 - 180-330]: Supermassive Black Holes in a New Light: A View of the Broad Line Region in the Infrared
Sky O'Donnell1★, Jada Young1★, Matilde Signorini2, Vardha Bennert1, Lizvette Villafana11 Department of Physics, 2 European Space Agency, ★Speaker
At the center of most galaxies, there is a supermassive black hole with a mass millions to billions of times that of the Sun. In some of these galaxies, so-called Active Galactic Nuclei (AGNs), the supermassive black hole is converting the gas that falls toward it into radiation energy, creating incredible amounts of luminosity. AGNs are composed of the central supermassive black hole, its accretion disk, and a region just outside, composed of fast-moving ionized gas clouds called the Broad Line Region (BLR). Using spectra obtained with NASA's Infrared Telescope Facility, we use a technique known as reverberation mapping to study the BLR structure and photoionization of two AGNs, Mrk 509 and Mrk 1239. Most importantly, reverberation mapping results in a measurement of the black hole mass. Previous reverberation mapping studies were done in the optical – our study is uniquely in the near infrared. This allows for a direct comparison to measurements of the BLR completed by the GRAVITY/VLTI instrument using the same lines, minimizing systematic uncertainties. Such a comparison will put stronger constraints on the properties of the AGNs and may even open the door to measuring the Hubble constant, one of the most important values in cosmology. |