Columbia Research Symposium The Columbia Undergraduate Science Journal takes great pride in having the honor of hosting the annual Columbia Spring Research Symposium. This year, the 2021 Sympo- sium was held virtually for the first time, and we are happy to have celebrated undergrad- uate research and retained the lively spirit of the event despite the unprecented circum- stances. Below are the winning presentations selected by our esteemed faculty judges! First Place: "Can we use next-generation gravitational wave detectors for terrestrial precision measurements of Shapiro time delay?" by Andrew Sullivan Abstract: Shapiro time delay is an effect predicted by Einstein's theory of general relativity where- by the travel time of light is delayed as light passes by massive objects. Shapiro time delay is related to the parameterized post-Newtonian formalism parameter γ, which quantifies spacetime curvature produced by a unit mass. Consequently, the measurement of Shapiro time delay can be used as a method of measuring the accuracy of the theory of general relativity. To date, all measurements of Shapiro time delay have been conducted in space over astronomical scales. We propose an experiment that will allow Shapiro time delay measurements to be conducted on Earth, in which we use a rotating mass unit and a next-generation gravitational wave detector. With this scheme, we find that Shapiro time delay and γ may be measured with sub-percent precision. This is the most precise scheme proposed for measuring Shapiro time delay on Earth to date. About the Author: "Andrew is a junior physics major at Columbia University from Yon- kers, New York. Andrew has performed research with Columbia's Experimental Grav- ity group for the last two years and his research interests lie in the field of gravitation- al physics and gravitational wave astronomy. Andrew hopes to obtain a PhD in physics and become a professional researcher. For fun, Andrew enjoys watching baseball and running." 62 Second Place: "Neural oscillations as predictors of second language learning" by Victoria Ogunniyi The full body of this work can be found on page 39 of this issue of the Columbia Undergraduate Science Journal. About the Author: "Victoria Ogunniyi is a third-year undergraduate student majoring in Neuro- science with a minor in Professional Writing at the University of Illinois at Chicago. After college, she plans to apply to medical school and pursue a residency in psychiatry. In her free time, she enjoys improving her fictional writing skills and hopes to one day become a published novelist." 63 Third Place: "Probing the Statistical Relationship Between Binary Black Hole Mergers and Active Galactic Nuclei Hosts" by Amanda Beck About the Author: "My name is Amanda Beck, and I am a Brazilian Junior at Columbia University, Columbia College, majoring in Astrophysics. I am mainly interested in high energy astrophysics, and anything that deals with relativity and statistical analysis, as well as STEM education, but am open to any field of research. I plan on obtaining a PhD in Astronomy or Astrophysics, and engage in research and teaching. My favorite pastime is reading, specially fantasy or sci-fi!" Abstract: Since 2015, LIGO/Virgo has detected many Binary Black Hole merger Gravitational Wave signals. Identifying the origins of these is key to discover more about these mergers. Rare host galax- ies, like AGN, present a favorable environment for these events due to the possible dynamical inter- actions in their accretion disks. In this project we will probe the statistical relationship between BBH mergers and AGN hosts by analyzing the overlap in localization, as outlined in Bartos et. al. 2017. To do that, we developed a python-based framework that can get the volume overlap between AGN catalogs and LIGO/Virgo 90% probability density volume of BBH mergers. It can be used to estab- lish the fraction of BBH GW detections that come from AGN and to inform real-time EM follow-up. Fourth Place: "The Diagnosis of Median Arcuate Ligament Syndrome and Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome and the effect upon the Presentation of Clinical Depression" by Jessica Eddy Abstract: Median Arcuate Ligament Syndrome is a rare, congenital condition where the dia- phragm sits too low and the median arcuate ligament crushes the celiac artery. Postural Ortho- static Tachycardia Syndrome often presents as a co-occurring condition. The presentation of these conditions impacts the solar plexus, celiac ganglion, autonomic nervous system dysregula- tion, and neuropathy. My research was conducted in order to see if patients with median arcuate ligament syndrome and orthostatic intolerance as a comorbidity present with higher levels of clinical depression. Furthermore, if the severity of the chronic condition increased, would clinical depression increase, as well? This research utilized methods such as peak systolic velocities from color duplex ultrasound technology, tilt table results to test for orthostatic intolerance, and the Beck Depression Inventory-II to seek to understand the connection between median arcuate ligament syndrome and orthostatic intolerance caused by dysregulation of the autonomic nervous system, which works in some level of conjugation with the solar plexus, sympathetic nervous system, dopamine and serotonin pathways, and dopamine receptor agonists and antagonists. About the Author: "My name is Jessica Eddy. I am from Grand Rapids, Michigan and am currently studying at the University of Oxford. My current research includes the impact of rare vascular/gas- trointestinal diseases and the role of endothelial cells in HIV latency. I plan to attend medical school for a joint MD/PhD and hope to research genetic biomarkers in rare vascular conditions. For fun, I love dancing and own my own dance studio, running with my puppy, and traveling the world!" 64 Figure: First place poster from Andrew Sullivan 65 Figure: Second place poster from Victoria Ogunniyi Figure: Third place poster from Amanda Beck 66 Figure: Fourth place poster from Jessica Eddy 67