Frontiers in Education Technology Vol. 6, No.2, 2023 www.scholink.org/ojs/index.php/fet ISSN 2576-1846 (Print) ISSN 2576-1854 (Online) 1 Original Paper US Presidential Awards: An Outcomes Analysis Steven Oppenheimer1*, Dominique Evans-Bye1, Mindy Berman1, Helen Chun1, Alvalyn Lundgren1, Terri Miller1, & Orenda Tuason1 1 Department of Biology and Center for Cancer and Developmental Biology, California State University, Northridge, Northridge, CA 91330-8303 Received: March 7, 2023 Accepted: March 22, 2023 Online Published: April 5, 2023 doi:10.22158/fet.v6n2p1 URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.22158/fet.v6n2p1 Abstract Around 99% of U.S. Presidential Awards for mentored student research in science go to college level mentors like Steve Oppenheimer. We have an opportunity here to describe the research and mentorship outcomes of two US Presidential Awardees. One is Steve and the other is a high school teacher, Dominique Evans-Bye, who also achieved a US Presidential Award for mentored student research in science. Dominique is one of only about two at the high school level, of hundreds in decades given at the college level. Because of the rarity of high school Presidential award winners, we show here what can be done at the high school level. And we show how vastly different, yet similar, university and high school programs can be. We believe that this paper is the only one ever to explore university and high school mentored student research in one place. We also review high school student research from the New Journal of Student Research Abstracts and show that it is sometimes every bit as good as university level research and should be considered an important part of the U.S. research effort. This may be the first time such a statement has been made. This review from our lab should help others understand what goes into a U.S. Presidential Award, the highest White House mentoring award in the nation, administered by the National Science Foundation. The important accomplishments of Dominique will help high school and middle school teachers enhance their student research programs if they choose to do so. Motivation is key. 1. Introduction A recent paper in this journal (Note 1) focused on Dominique Evans-Bye’s Presidential Award and Terri Miller’s and Orenda Tuason’s student research abstracts. Dominique’s project examined the possibility of past water on Mars with collaboration with experts and funding, as done at the college level. Here we continue exploration of Dominique’s program and other high school level student research as well as college level research. We examine the nuts and bolts of the logistics of Presidential Awards at both www.scholink.org/ojs/index.php/fet Frontiers in Education Technology Vol. 6, No. 2, 2023 2 Published by SCHOLINK INC. the high school and college levels. 2. Main Body We show exciting research by Dominique’s, Terri’s and Orenda’s students, as examples of the hundreds of students at the high school and middle school levels who publish in the New Journal of Student Research Abstracts (Notes 2-29). But motivation, in addition to collaboration and funding, is key in having students do a level of mentored research of high enough quality to earn a US Presidential Award. Motivation is essential at both the high school and college levels. Most instructors do not have the motivation to do what Dominque, Terri and Orenda have, as it takes a lot to do the collaboration, obtain funding and use their background. While we do not have a paper from this lab on high school motivation, we do have one on college level motivation (Note 30). Steve owns the copyright. Here it is. (#s) refer to references for this motivation paper and not for overall paper. Higher Education Research 2019; 4(2): 42-45 doi: 10.11648/j.her.20190402.14 ISSN: 2578-9341 (Print); ISSN: 2578-935X (Online) Motivating College Students: Evidence from 20 Years of Anonymous Student Evaluations Steven B. Oppenheimer Department of Biology and Center for Cancer and Developmental Biology, California State University, Northridge, U.S.A Email address: To cite this article: Steven B. Oppenheimer. Motivating College Students: Evidence from 20 Years of Anonymous Student Evaluations. Higher Education Research. Vol. 4, No. 2, 2019, pp. 42-45. doi: 10.11648/j.her.20190402.14 Received: May 12, 2019; Accepted: June 15, 2019; Published: June 26, 2019 Abstract: The career outcomes of hundreds of college students, mostly biology majors, mentored by U.S. Presidential Awardee (PAESMEM) Steven Oppenheimer, over a 47 year period, at California State University, Northridge, were tracked and recorded. The motivational strategies that putatively helped lead to these career outcomes were gleaned from 20 years of anonymous student evaluations. In addition, evidence is presented that the motivational strategies, in some cases, were a likely cause of student career success and not just correlated with it. The student evaluations suggest that boundless energy, enthusiasm, clarity and organization keep students excited and engaged, helping to motivate them to succeed. Motivation at the pre-college level is also discussed, as by the time students enter college their career www.scholink.org/ojs/index.php/fet Frontiers in Education Technology Vol. 6, No. 2, 2023 3 Published by SCHOLINK INC. choices are often already made. These programs helped win a U.S. Presidential Award, the highest U.S. Award for student mentoring. 1. Introduction Steven Oppenheimer, received a U.S. Presidential Award for science student mentoring presented by President Obama at the White House [1-7]. This award is the highest U.S. award for science student mentoring. The award was primarily based on hundreds of documented distinguished career outcomes of Steve Oppenheimer’s mentees, summarized by Herstein (2016) [1]. In this paper the specific student evaluations from 20 years of anonymous student comments are reviewed and the specific motivational strategies to help students succeed are summarized. These strategies are discussed in the context of global thoughts on motivation and how individual faculty motivation fits into other factors that keep students motivated and engaged [8-9]. The relationship between faculty motivational strategies as being causal versus being correlated with student success is discussed [Note 8], as is motivation at the pre-college level, perhaps most important of all [10-11]. 2. Methods This paper gleans from about 20 years of required anonymous student evaluations of California State University, Northridge biology professor Steven Oppenheimer, how the motivational approaches used affected the students in their own words. An abbreviated version of student evaluations can be found using Google (at Rate My Professor, Steven Oppenheimer, California State University Northridge). Most of the evaluations concern the upper division majors biology course Embryology, Biology 441, and some are about the lower division mixed majors, non-majors course Biology of Cancer, Biology 285. The actual 20 years of evaluations can be obtained by contacting steven.oppenheimer@csun.edu. www.scholink.org/ojs/index.php/fet Frontiers in Education Technology Vol. 6, No. 2, 2023 4 Published by SCHOLINK INC. 3. Results and Discussion Motivational strategies from student evaluations. While the quantitative evaluations were all at the top of a 5 point scale, they do not capture the flavor of the motivational strategies used. Some of the verbatim (some shortened) comments by the students over the 20 year period were as follows: fun and interactive, offers research opportunities, passionate, inspirational, patient, motivating, clear, interesting, organized, treats students with respect, positive vibe, very approachable, easy to understand, cares about 43 Steven B. Oppenheimer: Motivating College Students: Evidence from 20 Years of Anonymous Student Evaluations student success, straightforward, enjoys teaching, great sense of humor, understand more in other classes because of Dr. Oppenheimer’s teaching, engages students, best professor ever, very clear, makes sure students understand, keeps us focused, I always enjoy coming to class, optimistic, very good communicator, excellent knowledge of the topic, definitely keeps us awake, intriguing and engaging, encourages questions, love his energy, the best class I ever had. Some additional flavor of Steve Oppenheimer’s philosophy of motivation was presented at the White House on Jan 6, 2010, when Oppenheimer was recognized by President Obama, NSF and the White House. The official White House/NSF brochure produced for the Presidential Award ceremony said of Oppenheimer: Putting into practice his belief that laboratory research experiences should be available to all interested students, he has developed an open door model that encourages students of all economic strata and ethnic groups to participate in his research. His record has proven true his often-stated expectation that any interested student can succeed in scientific research and can go far into the professional career ranks of science, including the Ph.D. and M.D. (a copy of this NSF/White House produced brochure can be obtained by contacting www.scholink.org/ojs/index.php/fet Frontiers in Education Technology Vol. 6, No. 2, 2023 5 Published by SCHOLINK INC. steven.oppenheimer@csun.edu). Specific example of motivation putatively causing a specific career outcome. The documented career success of so many hundreds of students mentored by Steve Oppenheimer played a key role in the U.S. Presidential Award as noted by the NSF Presidential Award peer review panel. The evidence presented is mostly correlation and does not provide any clarity on causal relationships. Serendipity has provided an example that gets more into possible causal relationships. This is about one student, of several, who made a donation to the university of student scholarship (s) in honor of Steve Oppenheimer. But in this case an astute reporter unraveled how motivation by Steve Oppenheimer led to her acceptance to Stanford University Medical School (and is now a co-director of emergency medicine at a large Los Angeles Hospital). Here is some of her story in her own words [8]. Her daughters asked, Mom, how did you become a doctor...In unraveling 20 years worth of layers she remembered Dr. Oppenheimer. She decided to make the gift to the university because she said Dr. Oppenheimer changed the trajectory of her life. It began when she took Oppenheimer’s undergraduate embryology course Biology 441, the main subject of the anonymous student evaluations presented above. After that she worked in Oppenheimer’s research lab. [7]. She said being in Dr. O’s lab as an undergraduate was awesome. He encouraged every person that walked into the lab to do everything they wanted to do and helped them find ways to do it. She said Oppenheimer’s encouragement made a profound impact on her life...He gave me the confidence to apply to medical school. He gave me the study skills, research skills and knowledge base to succeed. He said you’re the best and you can become a doctor if you want to be one. He gave me the confidence to apply to medical school He changed the trajectory of my life. See the great article about this student that is provided here (Camacho, www.scholink.org/ojs/index.php/fet Frontiers in Education Technology Vol. 6, No. 2, 2023 6 Published by SCHOLINK INC. 2018) [8]. It’s hard to assign causality to motivational strategies. But this story comes close. Here follows the Camacho (2018) [8] article. It is important to present it in its entirety to truly provide the details of how Steve Oppenheimer’s motivation does the job. In emergency rooms across the United States, nurses, doctors and hospital staff know never to say the “Q” word. The dreaded word isn’t “question,” “quarrel” or “quick” — it’s “quiet.” It’s a rare time for an emergency room when the phones aren’t ringing and patients aren’t arriving, but that can all change in minutes, according to an ER superstition. As soon as someone remarks, “It’s going to be a quiet night, isn’t it?,” everything changes: Ambulances flood the ER with patients until it’s bursting. As a doctor of emergency medicine and Co-Medical Director of Burbank Emergency Medical Group at Providence Saint Joseph Medical Center in Burbank, it’s a situation that Celina Barba-Simic ’92 (Cell and Molecular Biology) knows all too well. Barba-Simic’s only access to medical care as a child was the busy county emergency department, which “normalized” long waits, chaos and language barriers for the alumna. When she decided to pursue a career in medicine, emergency medicine was the only specialty she considered. “Attending to people at times of crisis represents the greatest privilege of medicine,” Barba-Simic said. “I am most grateful to be able to alleviate anxiety and have an impact on patients’ acute medical needs...” Barba-Simic always knew she wanted to work in medicine, but she never imagined that learning not to say the “Q” word would be such a valuable lesson — nor did she know that she would be drawn to the fast-paced world of emergency medicine. Her path became clearer when she took a human embryology course with — and later joined the Center for Cancer and Developmental Biology of — esteemed biology www.scholink.org/ojs/index.php/fet Frontiers in Education Technology Vol. 6, No. 2, 2023 7 Published by SCHOLINK INC. professor Steven Oppenheimer at California State University, Northridge. His influence on her was so profound that Barba-Simic recently made a gift to the CSUN College of Science and Mathematics to create the Dr. Celina Barba-Simic Biology Scholarship in Honor of Dr. Steven Oppenheimer. The annual scholarship will provide one award for an undergraduate student with demonstrated financial need who is also conducting laboratory research in the College of Science and Mathematics’ Department of Biology. She decided to make the gift, she said, after her daughters asked her a tough question: “Mom, how did you become a doctor?” “One day they just asked me how I did it,” Barba-Simic said. “And I really tried to unravel all of those layers of skills and education.” Higher Education Research 2019; 4(2): 42-45 44 In unraveling 20 years’ worth of layers, Barba-Simic remembered her inspiring professor of human embryology. “Dr. Oppenheimer at CSUN gave me the comfortable, accessible starting point where I could really start building those skills and seeing that there are possibilities,” she said. “He was absolutely essential.” Her Time at CSUN Oppenheimer, who has mentored thousands of students during his 40-year tenure as a CSUN professor, said that Barba-Simic stood out when she was an undergraduate. “Celina had sparkle, spark and enthusiasm seldom seen in students,” Oppenheimer said. “The combination of her enthusiasm and my enthusiasm made for great success. Celina’s spark was inspirational.” After getting to know the professor — now emeritus — Barba-Simic joined the famed Oppenheimer lab. “Being in Dr. O’s lab was awesome. He made it approachable and hands-on,” she said. “Everything was accessible. He encouraged every person that walked in there to do everything they wanted to do and helped them find ways to do it.” In the lab, Barba-Simic helped research cell surface www.scholink.org/ojs/index.php/fet Frontiers in Education Technology Vol. 6, No. 2, 2023 8 Published by SCHOLINK INC. carbohydrates in adhesion and migration, to explore how cells’ surface sugar-containing receptor sites change during development. The study aimed to determine the function of those carbohydrates in order to find causes of cancer-cell spread. Barba-Simic said the professor’s encouragement made a profound impact on her life. “You walk in and he’s saying, ‘You’re wonderful and you’re the best!’ It was life-changing, his teaching and his classes,” she said. “It prepared me for medical school. I knew I had the study skills, the research skills and the knowledge base [to succeed].” Although she learned many things from him, the most important idea the professor instilled in Barba-Simic was this: You can be a doctor if you want to be. “I reflected on the impact my time in Dr. Oppenheimer’s lab had on my career,” Barba-Simic said. “He gave me the confidence to apply to [medical school]. Dr. Oppenheimer changed the trajectory of my life.” MOTIVATION! Overcoming Barriers A first-generation college student born in Mexico and raised in Pacoima, Barba-Simic and her parents came to the U.S. when she was three months old. She started working at the age of 15 and had two jobs by the time she was 16. She used her wages to pay for essentials. “When I was graduating high school, I brought the UC application to my mom and was like, ‘How many of these boxes can I check off?’ I think the applications were around $50 each,” Barba-Simic said. “And she said, ‘Oh, honey, we can’t afford that and you can’t move away from home.’” Financial and cultural constraints led Barba-Simic to CSUN, where she initially enrolled as a physical therapy major. Once at CSUN, she encountered cultural barriers to her education from well-meaning family and friends. “I knew I wanted to be a physician, but everybody told me, ‘Oh, don’t be a doctor. It takes too long and you’re going to get married anyway,’” Barba-Simic said. Despite the financial and cultural barriers, Barba-Simic paved her way to medical school by volunteering at the www.scholink.org/ojs/index.php/fet Frontiers in Education Technology Vol. 6, No. 2, 2023 9 Published by SCHOLINK INC. Veterans Affairs Sepulveda Ambulatory Care Center, just a few miles east of campus, doing research and participating in on-campus organizations such as Chicanos for Community Medicine. At the end of her undergraduate time at CSUN, Barba- Simic received multiple awards including Graduating Student of the Year Award from the Department of Biology and the Minority Achievers in Science Student of the Year Award. She also received multiple scholarships, fostering her appreciation of the financial needs of low-income students and later inspiring her to make a gift to aid those in need. Barba-Simic made the gift to her alma mater in hopes of supporting “CSUN students that share similar challenges and career goals.” As an involved undergraduate, Barba-Simic applied for — and later received — the National Institutes of Health Minorities Access to Energy Related Careers grant, with Oppenheimer’s encouragement, she said. “The grant paid for two years [of undergrad], so I was able to stop working,” she said. “In the summer, the grant allowed me to conduct research in a Department of Energy lab and use the skills that Dr. O taught me. “I was lucky to be at Lawrence-Berkeley National Laboratory working under Dr. Levy ... where my job was to irradiate mice brain cell cultures, subjecting them to different levels of radiation and testing Bragg peaks using the linear accelerator. This was but a small part of the research that Dr. Levy used to perfect proton therapy for high-precision treatment of brain tumors and vascular malformations,” she added. Perseverance After graduating from Stanford Medical School, Barba- Simic completed a three-year emergency medicine residency at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center, where she started work as early as 4 a.m. and ended as late as 7 p.m. — the following day. This meant Barba-Simic often worked 38-hour shifts and 120-hour weeks. www.scholink.org/ojs/index.php/fet Frontiers in Education Technology Vol. 6, No. 2, 2023 10 Published by SCHOLINK INC. On top of extremely long hours, in the first three months of her residency, Barba-Simic became pregnant with her first child. She went to her fellow residents and asked to switch schedules around so that her vacation was at the end of her first year. “Once I switched it all, I went to my residency director and said, ‘I have a plan.’ I did not miss a day,” Barba-Simic said. “I actually went into labor my last day. I guess you’re so used to, as a minority, working harder and trying to prove yourself that it’s just part of you.” At the start of her residency, she was one of two women in a class of 12, but she didn’t let that disparity discourage her from accomplishing her goals and realizing her full potential. “You make it happen,” she said. “I’m kind of tough — I think that’s the Pacoima in me.” MOTIVATION! Steve’s NSF Presidential Award committee evaluated data on student co-authored publications and student career outcomes. SOME OF STEVE’S STUDENT CO-AUTHORED PUBLICATIONS (1). Steven Oppenheimer, Mindy Berman, Helen Chun, Alvalyn Lundgren, Stacy Tanaka, Aphrodite Antoniou, Terri Miller, Greg Zem, Applied Science Research for All Part 1 Pre-College Level, American Journal of Applied Scientific Research 6: 72-75 (2020). Doi:10.11648/j.ajasr.20200606.11. (2). R. Dou, Z. Hazari, K. Dabney, G. Sonnert, P. Sadler, Early Informal STEM Experiences Identity: The Importance of Talking Science, Sci. Edu. 10.1002/sce.21499 (2019). The only one that is not a Steve co-authored pub. (3). S.Oppenheimer, Covid-19 Pandemic, Glycobiology, Glycan Shields, Vaccine Strategies, Heparin Sulfate: A Mini Review, American Journal of Applied Scientific Research 6(2): 46-48 (2020). (4). S.Oppenheimer, Cell Clusters in Cancer Metastasis: A Mini Review, American Journal of Applied Scientific Research 6(2): 43-45 (2020). Doi: 10.11648//j.ajasr.20200602.13. (5). Smith, T., Oppenheimer, S.B., Involvement of L-rhamnose in Sea Urchin Gastrulation: A Live Embryo Assay, Zygote, doi:10.1017/S0967199413000452 (2013) (6). Singh, S., Karabidian, E., Kandel, A., Metzenberg, S., Carroll, Jr.E., Oppenheimer, S.B., A Role for Polyglucans in a Model Sea Urchin Embryo Cellular Interaction, Zygote doi:10.1017/S0967199413000038 (2013) (7). Ghazarian, H, B.Idoni, S.Oppenheimer. A Glycobiology Review: Carbohydrates, Lectins, and Implications in Cancer Therapeutics). Acta Histochemica, vol. 113, pages 236-247 (2011) PMCID PMC3027850. On the order of 10,000 downloads. One of the most of all time. www.scholink.org/ojs/index.php/fet Frontiers in Education Technology Vol. 6, No. 2, 2023 11 Published by SCHOLINK INC. (8). Dreyfuss, J. and S. Oppenheimer. Cyclodextrins and cellular interactions in E. Bilensoy, ed., Cyclodextrins in Pharmaceutics, Cosmetics, and Biomedicine, Current and Future Industrial Applications, John Wiley and Sons, Hoboken, N.J., Chapter 15, pp. 287-295. (2010). (9). Idoni, B. H.Ghazarian, S.Metzenberg, V.Hutchins-Carroll, S.Oppenheimer, and E.Carroll Jr. Use of Specific Glycosidases to Probe Cellular Interactions in the Sea Urchin Embryo. Experimental Cell Research, vol. 316, pp. 2204-2211 (2010) PMCID PMC2921930 (10). Alvarez, M., Nnoli, J., Carroll, E.J., Jr., Hutchins-Carroll, V., Razinia, Z., Oppenheimer, S.B., Exogenous Hyalin and Sea Urchin Gastrulation, Part II: Hyalin, An Interspecies Cell Adhesion Molecule, Zygote 16: 73-78 (2008). PMCID PMC2557437 (11). Carroll, E.J., Jr., Hutchins-Carroll, V., Coyle-Thompson, C., Oppenheimer, S.B., Hyalin is a Cell Adhesion Molecule Involved in Mediating Archenteron-Blastocoel Roof Attachment, Acta Histochemica 110: 265-275 (2008). PMID 18262230 (12). Contreras, A., Vitale, J., Hutchins-Carroll, V., Carroll, E.J., Oppenheimer, S.B., Exogenous Hyalin and Sea Urchin Gastrulation. Part III: Biological Activity of Hyalin Isolated from Lytechinus pictus embryos, Zygote 16: 355-361 (2008). PMCID PMC2586997 (13). Oppenheimer, S.B., Alvarez, M., Nnoli, J., Carbohydrate-Based Experimental Therapeutics for Cancer, HIV/AIDS and Other Diseases, Acta Histochemica 110: 6-13 (2008). PMCID PMC2278011 (14). Oppenheimer, S.B., Cellular Basis of Cancer Metastasis: A Review of Fundamentals and New Advances, Acta Histochemica, 108:327-334 (2007). This paper garnered the most downloads of all papers in this Elsevier journal, August 06-March 07 (813 downloads). PMID16730054 (15). Petrossian, K., Banner, L., Oppenheimer, S.B., Lectin Binding and Lectin Effects on Human Cancer and Non-Cancer Cell Lines: Examination of Issues of Interest in Drug Design Strategies, Acta Histochemica 109: 491-500 (2007). (16). Razinia, Z., Carroll, Jr., E.J., Oppenheimer, S.B., Microplate Assay for Quantifying Developmental Morphologies: Effects of Exogenous Hyalin on Sea Urchin Gastrulation, Zygote 15: 1-6 (2007). (17). Sajadi, S., Rojas, P., Oppenheimer, S.B., Cyclodextrin, A Probe for Studying Adhesive Interactions, Acta Histochemica 109: 338-342 (2007). PMCID PMC 1988679 (18). Zem, G.C., Badali, O., Gaytan, M. Hekmatjou, H., Alvarez, M., Nnoli, J., Katus, E., Oppenheimer, S.B., Microbead Analysis of Cell Binding to Immobilized Lectin: An Alternative to Microarrays in the Development of Carbohydrate Drugs and Diagnostic Tests, Acta Histochemica 108: 311-317 (2006). (19). Ghazarian, H.,Coyle-Thompson, C., Dalrymple, W., Hutchins-Carroll, V., Metzenberg, S., Razinia, Z., Carroll, Jr., E.J., Oppenheimer, S.B., Exogenous Hyalin and Sea Urchin Gastrulation, Part IV: a Direct Adhesion Assay- Progress in Identifying Hyalin’s Active Sites, Zygote 18: 17-26 (2010). PMCID PMC2817981 (20). Oppenheimer, S. & Meyer, J. (1982). Carbohydrate specificity of sea urchin blastula adhesion component, Experimental Cell Research, 139, 451-456. www.scholink.org/ojs/index.php/fet Frontiers in Education Technology Vol. 6, No. 2, 2023 12 Published by SCHOLINK INC. (21). Idoni, B., Ghazarian, H., Metzenberg, S., Hutchins-Carroll, V, Carroll, Jr., E., & Oppenheimer, S. (2010). Use of specific glycosidases to probe cellular interactions in the sea urchin embryo. Experimental Cell Research, 316, 2204-2211. (22). Liang, J., Aleksanyan, H., Metzenberg, S., & Oppenheimer, S. (2016). Involvement of L-rhamnose in sea urchin gastrulation. Part II: alpha rhamnosidase, Zygote 24, 37-377. (23). K. Crocker, J. Deleon, L. Telliyan, K.Aprelian, A. Rosenberg, N. Pouri, G. Beltran, V. Ramirez, D. Kaufman, A. Petrosyan, D. Nazarian, M. Magistrado, S. Matinian, D. Hanna, S. Eskandari, F. Atanante, A. Nerses, G. Zem, S. Oppenheimer A Kinetic Assay for Drug Discovery: Part 2, Sodium Sulfate American Journal of Applied Scientific Research 2020; 6(2): 39-42 http://www.sciencepublishinggroup.com/j/ajasr
doi: 10.11648/j.ajasr.20200602.12
ISSN: 2471-9722 (Print); ISSN: 2471-9730 (Online) (24). V. Nahapetyan, S. Delos Santos, K. Crocker, D.Tobar, D.Nazarian, H. Chirishyan, G.Beltran, R. Dubin, L. Reque, P. Singh, B. Cardona, G. Royce Bachinela, L. Sarkisyan, G. Zem, S. Oppenheimer A manual kinetic assay in a fixed yeast model for drug discovery American Journal of Applied Scientific Research 5, No1: 28-35. Doi 10.11648/j.ajasr.20190501.15 (2019). (25). Aleksanyan, H., Liang, J., Metzenberg, S., Oppenheimer, S.B., Terminal alpha-D-mannosides are critical during sea urchin gastrulation, Zygote doi: 10.1017/SO967199416000113 (2016). (26). A. Ghazarian, Oppenheimer, S Microbead analysis of cell binding to immobilized lectin. Part II: quantitative kinetic profile assay for possible identification of anti-infectivity and anti-cancer reagents http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.acthis.2014.07.015, Acta Histochemica 116 (2014) 1514-1518. (27). Singh, E. Karabidian, A. Kandel, S. Metzenberg, E. Carroll, Jr,. S. Oppenheimer, A role for polyglucans in a model sea urchin embryo cellular interaction, Zygote (Cambridge University Press), (2013), doi.10.1017/S096719943000038 (2013). (28). H. Ghazarian, C. Coyle-Thompson, Dalrymple, V. Hutchins-Carroll, S. Metzenberg, Z. Razinia, E. Carroll, Jr., S. Oppenheimer Exogenous Hyalin and Sea Urchin Gastrulation, Part IV: a Direct Adhesion Assay – Progress in Identifying Hyalin’s Active Sites Zygote 18: 17-26 (2010). (29). A. Contreras, Vitale, V. Hutchins-Carroll, E. Carroll, Jr, S.Oppenheimer. Exogenous Hyalin and Sea Urchin Gastrulation, Part III: Biological Activity of Hyalin Extracted from Lytechinus pictus embryos Zygote, vol. 16, pp. 355-361 (2008). (30). E. Carroll, Jr., V. Hutchins-Carroll, C. Coyle Thompson, S. Oppenheimer Hyalin is a Cell Adhesion Molecule Involved in Mediating Archenteron Blastocoel Roof Attachment, Acta Histochemica, vol. 110, pp. 265-275 (2008). (31). M. Alvarez, J. Nnoli, E. Carroll, Jr., V. Hutchins-Carroll, Z. Razinia, S. Oppenheimer Exogenous Hyalin and Sea Urchin Gastrulation, Part II: Hyalin, An Interspecies Cell Adhesion Molecule, Zygote, vol. 16, pp. 73-78 (2008). (32). M. Alvarez, J. Nnoli, S. Oppenheimer Carbohydrate-Based Experimental Therapeutics for Cancer, HIV/AIDS and Other Diseases, Acta Histochemica, vol. 110, pp. 6-13 (2008). http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.acthis.2014.07.015 www.scholink.org/ojs/index.php/fet Frontiers in Education Technology Vol. 6, No. 2, 2023 13 Published by SCHOLINK INC. (33). K. Petrossian, L. Banner, S. Oppenheimer Lectin Binding and Effects in Culture on Human Cancer and Non-Cancer Cell Lines: Examination of Issues of Interest in Drug Design Strategies, Acta Histochemica, vol 109, pp. 491-500 (2007). (34). Z. Razinia, E. Carroll, Jr, S. Oppenheimer Microplate Assay for Quantifying Developmental Morphologies: Effects of Exogenous Hyalin on Sea Urchin Gastrulation, Zygote, vol 15, pp. 1-6 (2007). (35). S. Sajadi, Rojas, S. Oppenheimer Cyclodextrin, A Probe for Studying Adhesive Interactions, Acta Histochemica, vol. 109, pp. 338-342 (2007). (36). S. Oppenheimer Cellular Basis of Cancer Metastasis: A Review of Fundamentals and New Advances Acta Histochemica, vol. 108, pp. 327-334 (2006). (37). G. Zem, O. Badali, Gaytan, Hekmatjou, M. Alvarez, J. Nnoli, Katus, S. Oppenheimer Microbead Analysis of Cell Binding to Immobilized Lectin: An Alternative to Microarrays in the Development of Carbohydrate Drugs and Diagnostic Tests, Acta Histochemica, vol. 108, pp. 311-317 (2006). (38). L. Welty, E. Heinrich, C. Garcia, L. Banner, M. Summers, L. Baresi, S. Metzenberg, C Coyle-Thompson, S.Oppenheimer Analysis of Unconventional Approaches for the Rapid Detection of Surface Lectin Binding Ligands on Human Cell Lines Acta Histochemica, vol. 107, pp. 411-420 (2006). (39). C. Coyle-Thompson, S. Oppenheimer A Novel Approach to Study Adhesion Mechanisms by Isolation of the Interacting System, Acta Histochemica, vol. 107, pp. 243-251 (2005). (40). E.Heinrich, L. Welty, L. Banner, S. Oppenheimer Direct Targeting of Cancer Cells: A Multiparameter Approach, Acta Histochemica, vol. 107, pp. 335-344 (2005). (41). M. Khurrum, Hernandez, Eskalaei, O. Badali, C. Coyle-Thompson, S. Oppenheimer Carbohydrate Involvement in Sea Urchin Gastrula Cellular Interactions Acta Histochemica, vol. 106, pp. 97-106 (2004). (42). M.Maldonado, G. Weerasinghe, F.Ambroise, Yamoah, M. Londono, J. Pelayo, Grigorian, S. Oppenheimer, The Charged Milieu: A Major Player in Fertilization Reactions, Acta Histochemica, vol. 106, pp. 3-10 (2004). (43). L. Ngo, M. Barajas, G. Weerasinghe, G. Zem, S. Oppenheimer A New Histochemical Approach for Studying Sperm Cell Surfaces, Acta Histochemica, vol. 105, pp. 21-28 (2003). (44). M. Khurrum, G. Weerasinghe, E. Soriano, R. Riman, O. Badali, S. Gipson, Medina, Alfaro, V. Navarro, C. Harieg, L. Ngo, T. Sakhakorn, L. Kirszenbaum, Khatibi, Abedi, M. Barajas, G. Zem, A. Kirszenbaum, Razi, S. Oppenheimer. Analysis of Surface Properties of Human Cancer Cells Using Derivatized Beads, Acta Histochemica, vol. 104, pp. 217-223 (2002). (45). V. Navarro, S. Walker, O. Badali, Abundis L. Ngo, G. Weerasinghe, M. Barajas, G. Zem, S. Oppenheimer. Analysis of Surface Properties of Fixed and Live Cells Using Derivatized Agarose Beads, Acta Histochemica, vol. 104, pp. 99-106 (2002). (46). B. Salbilla, H. Vaghefi, Chhabra, Hall, Bworn, Sadoughi, E. Francisco, L. Attas, S. Walker, www.scholink.org/ojs/index.php/fet Frontiers in Education Technology Vol. 6, No. 2, 2023 14 Published by SCHOLINK INC. Nguyen, S. Oppenheimer. Analysis of Cell Surface Properties Using Derivatized Agarose Beads Acta histochemica, Vol. 101, pp. 271-279 (1999). (47). V. Latham, S. Oppenheimer. A Simple Image Analysis Method for Evaluating Cell Binding to Derivatized Beads Acta histochemica, Vol. 101, pp. 263-270 (1999). (48). V. Latham, M. Tully, S. Oppenheimer. A Putative Role for Carbohydrates in Sea Urchin Gastrulation Acta histochemica, Vol. 101, pp. 293-303 (1999). (49). V. Latham, L. Latham, S. Oppenheimer Desktop Computer-Based Image Analysis of Cell Surface Fluorescence Patterning from a Photographic Source Acta histochemica, vol. 98, pp. 295-300 (1996). (50). J. Philip, Rodriguez, R. Bada, F. Ambroise and Hernandez, S. Oppenheimer. Charge Interactions in Sperm-Egg Recognition, Acta histochemica, Vol. 99, pp. 401-410 (1997). (51). Ghoneum, Vojdani, A. Banionis, Lagos and Gill, S. Oppenheimer The Effects of Carcinogenic Methylcholanthrene on Carbohydrate Residues of NK cells Toxicology and Industrial Health, Vol. 13, No. 6, pp. 727-741, 1997. (52). V. Latham, Martinez, L. Cazares, Hamburger M. Tully, S. Oppenheimer. Accessing the Embryo Interior Without Microinjection, Acta histochemica, Vol. 100, pp. 193-200 (1998). (53). R. Roque, S. Herrera, Yeh,. J. Philip, T. Borisavljevic, L. Brunick, Miles, Haritunians, C. Addy, R. Bada, H. Vaghfi, S. Matsumoto, G. Picionelli and Rodriquez, S.Oppenheimer Cell Adhesion Mechanisms: Modeling Using Derivatized Beads and Sea Urchin Cell Systems, Acta histochemica, Vol. 98, pp. 441-451 (1996). (54). M. Daily,V. Latham,C. Garcia, C. Hockman, H. Chun, M. Oppenheimer, S. West, K. Rostamiani, R.Chao, E. Pollock,S. Oppenheimer Producing Exposed Coat-Free Embryos, Zygote, Vol. 2, pp. 221-225 (1994). (55). M. Spiegler, S. Oppenheimer. Extending the Viability of Sea Urchin Gametes, Cryobiology, Vol. 32, pp. 168-174 (1995). (56). V. Latham, J. Ducut, K. Rostamiani, H. Chun, Lopez, S. Herrera, S. Oppenheimer. A Rapid Lectin Receptor Binding Assay: Comparative Evaluation of Sea Urchin Embryo Cell Surface Lectin Receptors, Acta histochemica, Vol. 97, pp. 89-97 (1995). (57). V. Latham, S. Herrera, K. Rostamiani, H. Chun, S. Oppenheimer. Rapid Identification of Lectin Receptors and Their Possible Function in Sea Urchin Cell Systems, Acta histochemica, Vol. 97, pp. 373-382 (1995). (58). M. Ghoneum, A. Banionis, Gill and Romero, S. Oppenheimer Demonstration of Involvement of Mannose Residues on NK Cell Cytotoxicity using Lectin - Coupled Beads, Natural Immunity and Cell Growth Regulation, 10:132 (1991). (59). S. Oppenheimer, Biology and Cultivation of Teratoma Cells, in Tests of Teratogenicity in Vitro, North Holland, Amsterdam, pp. 261-274. (60). S. Oppenheimer, Human Made Carcinogens vs. Natural Food Carcinogens: Which Post the Greatest Cancer Risk? American Clinical Products Review, Vol. 4, No. 2, pp. 16-19, February 1985. www.scholink.org/ojs/index.php/fet Frontiers in Education Technology Vol. 6, No. 2, 2023 15 Published by SCHOLINK INC. (61). S. Oppenheimer Cancer and Stress, Longevity Letter, 2(6): 3, 1984. (62). S. Oppenheimer, Carcinogens in Food and Water, Longevity Letter, 2(9): 2-3, 1984. (63). S. Oppenheimer Carcinogens in the Home, Longevity Letter, 3(5): 2-4, May 1985. (64). S. Oppenheimer Preventing Cancer, American Longevity 1 (no.1), pp. 1-5, 1983. (65). Meyer, P. Thompson, R. Behringer, R. Steiner, Saxton, S. Oppenheimer. Protease Activity Associated with Loss of Adhesiveness in Mouse Teratocarcinoma. Exp. Cell Res., 143, pp. 63-70, 1983. (66). Meyer, S. Oppenheimer. Carbohydrate Specificity of Sea Urchin Blastula Adhesion Component, Exp. Cell. Res., 139, pp. 451-456. 1982. (67). S. Oppenheimer Causes of Cancer: Gene Alteration Versus Gene Activation, Amer. Lab., pp. 40-46, November 1982. (68). J. Meyer, S. Oppenheimer Isolation of Species-specific and Stage-specific Adhesion Promoting Component by Disaggregation of Intact Sea Urchin Embryo Cells, Exp. Cell Res., 137, pp. 471-476, 1982. (69). C. Capelle, J. Meyer, S. Sorensen, S. Oppenheimer Isolation of Aggregation Inhibitory Factor from Non-Adhesive Mouse Teratoma Cells, Exp. Cell Res., 131, pp. 470-476, 1981. (70). W. Childress, Freedman, C. Koprowski, Doolittle and P. Sheeler, S. Oppenheiimer, Surface Characteristics of Separated Subpopulations of Mouse Teratocarcinoma Cells, Exp. Cell Res., 122, pp. 39-45, 1979. (71). M. Grodin, Nystrom, J. Scordato, M. Cantor, S. Oppenheimer. Relationship of Adhesiveness of Cells in Culture with Specific Enzyme Activity, Exp. Cell Res., 122, pp. 149-157, 1979. (72). M. Asao, S. Oppenheimer. Inhibitor of Cell Aggregation by Specific Carbohydrates, Exp. Cell. Res., 120, pp. 149-157, 1979. (73). S. Oppenheimer Introduction to the Symposium and Studies on the Surfaces of Separated and Synchronized Tumor and Embryonic Cell Populations. American Zoologist, 19, pp. 801-808, 1979. (74). S. Oppenheimer, Cell Surface Carbohydrates in Adhesion and Migration. American Zoologist, 18, pp. 12-23, 1978. (75). B. Bales, Brenneman, L. Knapp, Lesin, A. Neri, E.Pollock, S. Oppenheimer. Modulation of Agglutinability by Alteration of the Surface Topography in Mouse Ascites Tumor Cells. Exp. Cell Res., 105, pp. 291-300, 1977. (76). B. Bales, Lesin, S. Oppenheimer On Cell Membrane Lipid Fluidity and Plant Lectin Agglutinability: A Spin Label Study of Mouse Ascites Tumor Cells, Biochemica et Biophysica Acta, 465, pp. 400-407, 1977. (77). J. Meyer, S. Oppenheimer The Multicomponent Nature of Teratoma Cell Adhesion Factor, Exp. Cell Res., 102, pp. 359-364, 1976. (78). A. Neri, M. Roberson, D. Connolly, S. Oppenheimer Quantitative Evaluation of Concanavalin A Receptor Site Distributions on the Surfaces of Specific Populations of Embryonic Cells, Nature, 258, www.scholink.org/ojs/index.php/fet Frontiers in Education Technology Vol. 6, No. 2, 2023 16 Published by SCHOLINK INC. pp. 342-344, 1975. (79). D. Connolly, S. Oppenheimer Cell Density-Dependent Stimulation of Glutamine Synthetase Activity in Cultured Mouse Teratoma Cells, Exp. Cell Res., 94, pp. 459-464, 1975. (80). M. Roberson, A. Neri, S. Oppenheimer, Distribution of Concanavalin A Receptor Sites on Specific Populations of Embryonic Cells, Science, 189, pp. 639-640, 1975. (81). S. Oppenheimer. Functional Involvement of Specific Carbohydrates in Teratoma Cell Adhesion Factor, Exp. Cell Res., 92, pp. 122-126, 1975. (82). M. Roberson, S. Oppenheimer. Quantitative Agglutination of Specific Populations of Sea Urchin Embryo Cells with Concanavalin A Exp. Cell Res. 91, pp. 263-268, 1975. (83). K. Krach, A. Green G. Nicolson, S. Oppenheimer. Cell Surface Changes Occurring During Sea Urchin Embryonic Development Monitored by Quantitative Agglutination with Plant Lectins, Exp. Cell Res., 84, pp. 191-198, 1974. (84). S. Oppenheimer Utilization of L-Glutamine in Intercellular Adhesion: Ascites Tumor and Embryonic Cells, Exp. Cell. Res., 77, pp. 175-182, 1983. (85). R. Potter, M. Barber, S. Oppenheimer. Alteration of Sea Urchin Embryo Cell Surface Properties by Mycostatin, a Sterol Binding Antibiotic, Developmental Biology, 33, pp. 218-223, (86). S. Oppenheimer J. Odencrantz, A Quantitative Assay for Measuring Cell Agglutination: Agglutination of Sea Urchin Embryo and Mouse Teratoma Cells by Concanavalin A, Exp. Cell Res., 73, pp. 475-480, 1972. (87). S. Oppenheimer, T.Humphreys Isolation of Specific Macromolecules Required for Adhesion of Mouse Tumor Cells , Nature, 232, pp. 125-127, 1971. (88). S. Oppenheimer M. Edidin, C. Orr and S. Roseman. An L-Glutamine Requirement for Intercellular Adhesion, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences USA, 63, pp. 1395-1402, 1969. (89). S. Oppenheimer, Motivating College Students: Evidence from 20 years of Anonymous Student Evaluations, Higher Education Reseach, doi: 10.11648 (2019). Please Note: Most of the co-authors on these papers are students. These are only the full length peer-reviewed papers from the Oppenheimer lab. Published abstracts and national presentations are not included. Here are some of Steve’s student career outcomes. UPDATED LIST 2020/SOME MOSTLY LONG TERM RESEARCH MENTEES AND OTHER MENTEES OF STEVE OPPENHEIMER AND WHAT HAS BECOME OF THEM (many completed Masters (*) and have published with Steve). Most are accurate. Best guesses or past positions for some. Some inadvertent duplications may be included. Tim Jordan, D.M.D., Dentist * www.scholink.org/ojs/index.php/fet Frontiers in Education Technology Vol. 6, No. 2, 2023 17 Published by SCHOLINK INC. Loren Knapp, Ph.D., U Chicago * Wayne Shepard, Dentist * Dan Connolly, Ph.D. Johns Hopkins, Scientist, Monsanto * Marie Roberson, Ph.D., UC Davis * Dorothy Haskett, Research Associate * Jim Meyer, Senior Scientist, Amgen * Tony Neri, Ph.D. UC Irvine, Vice President Preclinical Division, Miikana Therapeutics * Robin Hale, retired, was Director of Special Applications Research, Rockwell * Gary Toedter, Ph.D., UC Davis, Senior Scientist, Manager, Coulter Electronics * Bob Nystrom, Ph.D. UC Davis or Colorado State * Chuck Sternburg, Ph.D., UC Irvine, Professor, Riverside Community College * Carol Koprowski, Ph.D. USC, Professor or Adjunct Professor USC * Bob Freeman, Ph.D., UCLA(?) * Martin Grodin, Research Associate * John Scordato, Ph.D. USC * Paul Aunchman, Environmental Pollution , Health Inspector * Bill Childress, ran computer firm * Chris Capelle, M.D. * Richard Behringer, Ph.D., Professor * Steve Sorenson, D.D.S. * Bill Saxton, Ph.D. U Colorado, Professor * Peter Thompson, M.D. *. R. Clay Steiner, M.D. * Mina Alikani, Lead Specialist, Cornell In vitro fertilization program * Stanley Liang, Ph.D., Harvard * Karen Simpson, USC Dental School * Julie Gorchynski. M.D., Clinical Medicine Director, UC Irvine now Texas, Professor, BIG CSUN DONOR * Elias Azzam, Research Associate * Susan Crowther, Professor, College of the Canyons * Larry Tawa, M.D. * Sheryl Fulop, D.V.M. * Heber Becker, UCLA Medical School * Karen Berg, M.D. * Dana Nojima, Ph.D., U Minnesota * Phil Patenaude, K-12 teacher * www.scholink.org/ojs/index.php/fet Frontiers in Education Technology Vol. 6, No. 2, 2023 18 Published by SCHOLINK INC. Arunas Banionis, M.D. * Pradnya Kuwwadekar, Research Scientist * Miriam Golbert, Professor, Community College * Debra Kowal, Forensic Technologist, Community College Instructor * Helen Fredell, K-12 teacher * Jerome Puttler, K-12 teacher * Linda Esmaili, Research Scientist * Marci Spiegler, Community College Instructor * Mohsen Saidinejad, Ph.D. pgm * Greg Bentley, Research Associate * Alice Stanboli, Biotechnology Research Scientist * Mehrnoosh Saghizadeh, Biotechnology Research Scientist * Tanya Borisavljevic, M.D. * Sandra Matsumoto, Ph.D., U Utah, Industry Scientist * Ani Issaian, Cal Tech Electron Microscopy Facility Director * Ron Roque, Pollution Inspector, City of Los Angeles * Pat Krueger, U.S. Forest Service Scientist * Valerie Dunn, Research Scientist, Industry * Michael Daily, M.D. * Brian Salbilla, Research Associate? * Norman Lautsch, Research Associate? * John Slack, was in med school * Majid Heydarizadeh, Ph.D. pgm * Ana Garcia-Flack? * Mary Keens, Criminologist * Miguel Rocha, Research Associate * Bibi Aguero, Research Scientist, Industry * Tun-yin Joseph Yeh, Ph.D., U Utah * Cynthia Hochman, D.V.M. * Vern Traxler, Criminologist * Jessy Philip, Criminologist * Virginia Latham, Senior Research Associate * Pavanjit Chhabra, D.D.S. * Audra McKenzie, Research Associate * Paul Narguizan, Ed.D. or Ph.D. USC Professor or Adjunct Professor * Houman Vaghefi, M.D./Ph.D. Chicago Med? * Tharenee Sakhakorn, D.D.S.? * www.scholink.org/ojs/index.php/fet Frontiers in Education Technology Vol. 6, No. 2, 2023 19 Published by SCHOLINK INC. Bernard Hunwick, Ph.D. pgm? * Vanessa Navarro, M.D. * Sheri Walker, M.D. David Khatibi, M.D. * Lital Kirszenbaum, D.V.M. pgm UC Davis * Lyla Ngo, Medical School * Evelyn Soriano, was in Ph.D. pgm Lily Welty, Ph.D. or Masters pgr UCSB * Eileen Heinrich, Ph.D. UCLA, postdoc * Ziba Razinia, Ph.D. pgm Yale, post doc. U Penn * Hesam Hekmatjou, was in Harvard Dental School Astrid Hernandez, K-12 teacher Anna Martinez, Stanford Medical School Luis Rodriguez, Ph.D. Cornell, Senior Scientist NIH Monica Tully, K-12 teacher * Maria Abundis, UCSD Medical School Juan Carlos Pelayo, UCSF, M.D. Edward Yamoah, UCSF M.D. Gayanee Weerasinghe, Johns Hopkins/NIH Ph.D. pgm Marcella Barajas, U Minnesota Ph.D. pgm Arash Razi, NYU Dental School * Karina Garcia, West Virginia U Masters pgm Nasim Monajemi, M.D. pgm Claudia Garcia, Ph.D. Harvard, Senior Scientist Sabino Herrera, D.V.M. UC Davis Karen Brannon, M.D./Ph.D. pgm U Kansas Celina Barba, M.D. Stanford Medical School, Emergency Room Physician, co-direct, Emergency Department Rhodelio Cruz, Ph.D. UC Berkeley * Jeanette Ducut, Ph.D., UCSD, postdoc Karolin Abedi, Pharmacy School Rashad Riman, Dental School Stephanie Gipson, Criminologist Juan Sosa, Medical School Melena Grigorian, Phg.D. pgm Edna Francisco, Science Writer Liat Attas, Medical School www.scholink.org/ojs/index.php/fet Frontiers in Education Technology Vol. 6, No. 2, 2023 20 Published by SCHOLINK INC. Talin Haritunians, Ph.D. pgm Cecil Addy, M.D. Krystal Jarvis, Laboratory technician * Linda Brunick, Ph.D. pgm Monica Londono, Research Associate Mike Kaliko, Chiropractic pgm * Maribel Alvarez, Ph.D. pgm UC Irvine Karineh Petrossian, Ph.D. pgm City of Hope * Jennifer Nnoli, Ph.D. pgm, Sloan Kettering Rashad Riman. Dental School Christine Le, Dental School * Arjang Naminik, Dental School * Arbi Keshishian, Dental School * Evelin Adamian, Dental School Rabin Ebrahimi, Pharmacy School Souren Basmadjian, Pharmacy School Mike Astete, Dental School Jehan Murugaser, M.D. Stacy Tanaka, K-12 Teacher Ignacio Saldain, K-12 Teacher* Oliver Badali, Cosmetics Scientist Rowena Bada, Nurse Azalia Contreras, Community College Instructor* Pouria Parsa, M.D. Massoud Agahi, M.D. Mary Haghi, M.D., Pediatric Endocrinologist Neema Oroomchi, Medical School Ardy Khou, Dental School Sina Samie, Medical School Anush Margarian, Pharmacy School Marie Gonzalez, Pharmacy School Allen Tabibian, M.D., FACC, Cardiologist Ralph Buoncristiani, D.D.S. Stephen E. Jones, M.D. Andy Solkovits, M.D., Assoc. Professor UC Davis Erica Dent, Master of Health Administration pgm USC Jenieke Allen, admit.Ph.D. pgm* www.scholink.org/ojs/index.php/fet Frontiers in Education Technology Vol. 6, No. 2, 2023 21 Published by SCHOLINK INC. Justin Dreyfuss, Ph.D. pgm, USC* Diana Naderi, admit MD pgm Brian Idoni, Research Tech II USC* Margaret Lemell (Aranda), M.D. Richard Karout, Pharmacy school Arbi Keshishian, Dental School*, Tiffany Smith, PA program Christine Le, Dental School* Arjang Naminik, Dental School* William Dalrymple, Osteopathic School of Medicine Ziba Razinia, Ph.D. Yale, Postodc U Penn* Earl Sandroff, D.M.D. Susan Wensel, Monsanto R&D* Kim Krach, M.D.* Sokuntheavy So, Research technician Oliver Badali, Cosmetics industry chemist Collete Bibayan, admitted 2 pharmacy schools Vanessa Navarro, M.D., Family Practice San Diego* Mark Sussman, Ph.D., DISTINGUISHED PROFESSOR SAN DIEGO STATE Herry Budiyono, Hospital patient analyst* Claudine Bulan, Cytology Training Program, Wisconsin Houman Vaghefi, MD, Ph.D, Radiation Oncologist* Poria Edalat, Dental School Lauren Michaels, Veterinary School Basmah Akhter, Pharmacy School Nareeneh Zadori, Pharmacy School Eileen Heinrich, Ph.D. UCLA, now staff scientist at City of Hope* Jordan Vallejo, h.s. summer res 2yrs, Purdue University, mechanical engineering Niosha Edalat, USC Dental School and Admissions Ambassador Forooze Rashidi, Instructor College of the Canyons* Odette Arman, In vitro fertilization clinic embryologist* Mark Colgin, Clinical laboratory technologist Drew Edelberg, high school research student, B.S. Berkeley, Ph.D. Program, solid state physics, Columbia University Maria Atikyan, Masters in nursing program Alexandra Mokh, Instructor/Professor, LA Valley College* Pam Klein, M.D., Vice President Clinical Development at Genentech www.scholink.org/ojs/index.php/fet Frontiers in Education Technology Vol. 6, No. 2, 2023 22 Published by SCHOLINK INC. Tina Askari, research associate* Hurig Katchikian, medical school* Marianna Muradyan, pharmacy school USC Lana Darghali, pharmacy school Lusineh Mirzakhani, admitted to pharmacy school Evelyn Adamian, dentist Ofelya Tonyan, accepted Western University of Health Sciences Jigar Patel, medical school Jenieke Allen, Ph.D. program Cedars Sinai* Krystal Jarvis, teacher* Hamid Davoudi, college teacher, PA program* Forooze Rashidi, teacher* Odette Arman, In vitro fertilization embryologist,* Ronik Khachatoorian, Ph.D. UCLA, postdoc UCLA Mirey Qubrosi, Technical Associate, product testing research Oryla Wiedoeft, EdD, Teacher, Asst. Principal, Jouliana Davoudi, Dental school USC* Debrin Yahya-Kashani, CSUN Nutrition Masters program Yukiko Kanda, Masters program in social work John Sobhani, research associate UCLA Tiffany Smith, PA program* USC Keck School of Medicine Suprita Singh, Ph.D. program Penn State* Hye Na Kim, research assistant Ignacio Saldain, HS teacher* Jung Suh, Amgen quality control analyst Krystal Jarvis, Research associate* Careen Khatchitorian, Ph. D pgm, UC Riverside Marina Hernandez Vergara, K-12 teacher Ravneet Gill, MD pgm Hamid Allatabakhsh, dentist- periodontist Anita Aloian, Optometry pgm, Western University Eddie Karabidian, USC Dental School* Hamid Davoudi, PA program* Pam Klein, M.D., Oncologist, Head Biotechnology company Noreen Warner, PA program Lenny Mayorga, Lenny, USC Dental School Edmund Petrossian, Med School www.scholink.org/ojs/index.php/fet Frontiers in Education Technology Vol. 6, No. 2, 2023 23 Published by SCHOLINK INC. Nomiki Kolettis, Ph.D. pgm UC Riverside, now research associate Yukiko Kanda Petrus, Masters of Social Work pgm CSUN Anasheh Ghazarian, research technician Sokunttheavy So, research technician Hiensen Hiesmantjaja, Med School Armin Sarkissian, Med School Ivette Ramos Ortega, med school, 9-19-14, remarkable testimonial sent Virginia Hutchins Carroll, laboratory manager College of the Canyons* Samantha Arvizu, technical associate Mai Phan, csun M.S.pgm, research associate Gayani Weerasinghe, passed bar, patent attorney Miriam Golbert, Chair, Biology Department, College of the Cabnyons* Heghush Aleksanyan, csun M.S. pgm, teaching assoc, medical school Alex Kandel, law school-Berkeley Helen Chun, Ph.D. and postdoc UCLA, Assoc.Prof., Chair Biology, CSU Dominguez Hills Karina Garcia, Ph.D. program, history Rod Blourtchi, admitted medical school /PA program Brandon Wallace, medical school Samantha Arvizu, technical associate ThermoFisher Jing Liang, research associate Weizmann Institute* Shabnam Sorooshiani, dental school Elizabeth Aquije, UCLA School of Medicine Carol Chavez, UCSF dental postbac pgm Magy Eskander, admitted to pharmacy school Haike Ghazarian, Ph.D. pgm, City of Hope* Heghush Aleksanyan, medical school* Ralph Buoncristiani, D.D.S. Mona Kelvani, admitted to pharmacy school Carol Chavez, accepted Roseman Dental School, Utah Nomiki Kolettis, Research Associate Genentech Anasheh Ghazarian, Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Crime Lab technologist program Destinney Cox, accepted CSUN Biology Masters M. Larijani, emergency room physician Alice Chalikian Kouyoumdjian, Chiropractor Sayeh Behnia, admitted to pharmacy school www.scholink.org/ojs/index.php/fet Frontiers in Education Technology Vol. 6, No. 2, 2023 24 Published by SCHOLINK INC. Mai Phan, Career Protein Chemist* Jim Bollinger, Dentist Christina Irikyan, clinical laboratory scientist Jouliana Davoudi, Dentist, graduated from USC Dental School* Bermans Iskandar, pediatric neurosurgeon, University of Wisconsin John Sobhani, admitted USC Dental School Haike Ghazarian, Ph.D. City of Hope, Postdoctoral Fellow* Salmeen Andkhoy, registered nurse Stacy Tanaka, teacher, Magnet Coordinator, new Medical Magnet at Northridge Middle School. Jasper Chang, Loma Linda University School of Pharmacy Karen Pastrano, accepted UC San Francisco and Pittsburgh Schools of Dentistry and Pittsburgh Ph.D. program Jenieke Allen, Ph.D. * Justin Dreyfuss admitted Rosalind Franklin, Medical School* Massoud Agahi, M.D. Vascular Surgeon Maribel Alvarez, Ph.D Celina Barba, M.D., Stanford, Co-director Emergency Medicine, Providence St. Joseph Medical Center Burbank, Scholarship donor to CSUN in honor of Dr. Oppenheimer Raff Khechoumian, accepted Masters pgm Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine and Science Dayana Tobar, Ventura County Medical Center Residency Program Karoline Rostamiani, tenure track community college professor Yun Lee, accepted to pharmacy school Karoline Rostamiani, tenure track community college professor Carol Chavez, DMD, Roseman University College of Dental Medicine Kristel Crocker, Accepted into Clinical Laboratory Scientist Training Program Byron Aquino, Accepted into Clinical Laboratory Scientist Training Program Regie Canta, Accepted into Clinical Laboratory Science Program Dominique Evans-Bye, U.S. Presidential Award recipient, high school teacher and superb student research mentor Arya Saleh, M.D., Internal medicine Peyman Saadat, M.D., reproductive endocrinologist It all started… In 1969 at Johns Hopkins, Steve Oppenheimer’s research career began with a paper published in www.scholink.org/ojs/index.php/fet Frontiers in Education Technology Vol. 6, No. 2, 2023 25 Published by SCHOLINK INC. The Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, U.S. (PNAS) that was considered by many to be the first strong evidence implicating cell surface carbohydrates in intercellular adhesion done in a cancer cell system (Oppenheimer, et al., PNAS Vol 63,1395-1402 (1969)). Now, we will present some of Dominique’s, Terri’s and Orenda’s mentored student research projects. For those interested in viewing what can be done at the pre-college level, you might look at the published student research (2-29). Dominique’s, Terri’s and Orenda’s work are examples of what can be done at the pre-college level. Surveying High-Risk Fire Areas: Mapping Homelessness Via Infrared Sensors Daniel Bet Sarghez, Matthew Keshishian, Gabriela Marcucci, Vahe Haleblian, and D. Evans-Bye (teacher) Anderson W. Clark Magnet High School 4747 New York Ave., La Crescenta, CA 91214 ABSTRACT Our CubeSat (small cube satellite) mission was to document homeless encampments within a high-wildfire-risk area and to determine if they are occupied or not by using infrared remote sensing. First, we evaluated a FLIR infrared sensor on a Parrot ANAFI unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) to show proof of concept. Our evaluation proved that IR could identify homeless camps. Next, we built a CubeSat from the XinaBox XK90 and Arduino IoT Bundle Kits. However, our CubeSat went through numerous revisions to fix problems, including removal of the XinaBox. The flight-ready version of our CubeSat used an Adafruit MLX90640 infrared sensor in it to determine where people have set up residence within the high-vegetation region of Hansen Dam Recreation Area. Since this area is Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS)-controlled airspace, we used a tethered weather balloon to fly our CubeSat. We imported our data into ArcGIS Online for analysis to determine where camps have been established. Frequent fires are common in this area due to heavy dry brush and a large homeless population that often starts fires for cooking and warmth. The risk is intensified during the fall, when Santa Ana winds are common. The purpose of this mission was to evaluate the use of an infrared sensor to identify homeless camps in high-fire-risk areas in order to save lives and nearby property. Our research question was: Can an aerial IR sensor be used to document homeless encampments in wildfire-prone areas? Our hypothesis — an IR sensor in our CubeSat would be able to identify homeless encampments — was accepted. INTRODUCTION The U.S. Department of Education developed the Career and Technical Education (CTE) Mission: CubeSat as a national challenge “to build technical skills for careers in space and beyond” (CTE Mission: CubeSat). As part of our Honors GIS and Remote Sensing class, we submitted a proposal to build a CubeSat with an infrared sensor to identify homeless encamp- ments within high-fire-risk areas. www.scholink.org/ojs/index.php/fet Frontiers in Education Technology Vol. 6, No. 2, 2023 26 Published by SCHOLINK INC. Homelessness has been a persistent problem in the Los Angeles area, with L.A. County seeing a 13% increase in homelessness from 2019 to 2020 (L.A. Homeless Services Authority). COVID-19 exacerbated this issue, as costs for common goods rose and many jobs were lost (L.A. Controller). Another incessant problem the region faces is wildfires. California is plagued by frequent droughts, causing extremely dry vegetation in many areas. Arid areas, combined with a growing homeless population and strong Santa Ana winds, make L.A. County a hotspot for wildfires (CAL FIRE). The confluence of these issues occurs when homeless people settle in high-fire-risk areas in L.A., such as the Hansen Dam Recreation Area. This creates a twofold problem: frequent fires caused by people residing in homeless encampments, and risk to those in the area who may be unaware a fire has started. This is due to the homeless either lighting fires to stay warm or cook food, or discarding materials such as lit cigarettes, which endangers themselves and others. Our proposal was chosen as one of five national finalists, and we were provided a $5,000 budget to fulfill our mission. Our research question was: Can an aerial infrared sensor be used to document homeless encampments in wildfire-prone areas? Our hypothesis was that an infrared sensor in our CubeSat could identify homeless encampments in the Hansen Dam area. Our group initially intended to fly a drone over our survey area, but after conducting a site suitability analysis we found that our survey area overlapped with FAA UAS-controlled airspace, which is a no-fly zone for drones. This is because there are three airports in close proximity to our study area. To overcome this, our group changed our launch method to a weather balloon that remained tethered to avoid air traffic. The purpose of this mission was to evaluate the use of an infrared sensor to identify homeless camps in high-fire-risk areas in order to save lives and nearby property. Our research question was: Can an aerial IR sensor be used to document homeless encampments in wildfire-prone areas? Our hypothesis was: If we used an IR sensor in our CubeSat, then we would be able to identify homeless encampments. MATERIALS AND METHODS Before starting our project, we evaluated an infrared FLIR sensor by flying a Parrot ANAFI UAV over the Willoughby Preserve in Ventura in an effort to obtain a proof of concept of our mission. After obtaining a proof of concept, we chose to study the Hansen Dam area because it fit best within our parameters (Figure 1). This area is an open space, has a lot of dry brush, is within a high-fire-risk zone, and is known to harbor camps of homeless people. To determine areas that could be imaged with a drone, we used a site suitability analysis that was created in ArcGIS Online (Figures 2 and 3). To begin with, we wanted our study area to be within a 15-mile radius of Clark Magnet High School to keep commuting distances short. This was achieved by adding a 15-mile buffer radius around the school. Since our data had to be collected from the air, we needed to take into consideration and map any FAA UAS-controlled airspaces in our 15-mile buffer zone. Next, we mapped open spaces (green areas) in which a drone or payload- carrying device could fly, and ruled out the open spaces that reside in controlled airspaces for drones, but kept them on our list for a weather balloon. After determining the www.scholink.org/ojs/index.php/fet Frontiers in Education Technology Vol. 6, No. 2, 2023 27 Published by SCHOLINK INC. open spaces in which we could fly, we ascertained which areas are considered to be moderate to high-risk fire areas (orange hexagons), and defined any intersecting open spaces within wildfire-risk areas (Figure 2). Running these geoprocesses identified the open spaces that met all of our criteria, shown in purple (Figure 3). Figure 1: Map of our study area that displays the fire risk present there www.scholink.org/ojs/index.php/fet Frontiers in Education Technology Vol. 6, No. 2, 2023 28 Published by SCHOLINK INC. Figure 2: This is the site suitability analysis we ran to determine sites that met our criteria and could be surveyed with a UAV. Figure 3: The purple squares are the locations that were pos- sible study areas, as they met our parameters. www.scholink.org/ojs/index.php/fet Frontiers in Education Technology Vol. 6, No. 2, 2023 29 Published by SCHOLINK INC. With the $5,000 budget, and the study area in mind, our team began to design and build our flight-ready CubeSat. The follow- ing components were used: an aluminum frame that contained the hardware of our CubeSat; an external power bank that supplied our Arduino with power; an 8238 meteorological balloon with an inflated diameter of 9 feet to carry our payload; and an Arduino MLX90640 Lite, which ran our GPS, thermal imaging, and data storage. This Arduino was accompanied by an Arduino MLX90640 thermal camera that captured all of the thermal imaging data used for our results, and by a device running Strava, an app that recorded the elevation of the flight. These two devices were the major components of our subsystems. Our original subsystems sketch can be seen in Figure 4, but it underwent a near-complete overhaul before our flight to match the guidelines of the competition. The structure remained rela- tively similar, but the XinaBox had to be removed for reasons that are expanded upon in the computing section. The solar panel and power bank ended up being a singular item, and our team logo was excluded from the final flight, as mounting it reduced the structural integrity of the payload. www.scholink.org/ojs/index.php/fet Frontiers in Education Technology Vol. 6, No. 2, 2023 30 Published by SCHOLINK INC. Figure 4: Our subsystems sketch For power, our team used the onboard battery with the Arduino IoT Carrier Board. However, in case this proved insuf- ficient, we included a redundant system, which was a 30,000 mAh power bank that had a solar panel on the top. The battery was replaced and the power bank fully charged before the flight to ensure that power would not be a concern. Tests with the power bank and battery yielded a minimum of 10 hours of use before depletion, which was far beyond what was necessary for the flight. To launch our CubeSat, we used a weather balloon filled with just enough helium to carry the payload. The amount of helium needed was calculated by using the lifting capacity of helium, www.scholink.org/ojs/index.php/fet Frontiers in Education Technology Vol. 6, No. 2, 2023 31 Published by SCHOLINK INC. 30.34 g/ft3, and multiplying that by the weight of our CubeSat, which was 0.88 kilograms. As a result, we needed a minimum of 30 cubic feet of helium to lift it. The CubeSat frame with the components mounted inside was subjected to a heavy shake test before launch to ensure that wind would not dislodge any critical components. Once the frame was mounted to the balloon with zip ties, we attached the balloon to a 120-foot-long nylon line on a cave diving reel and filled it with helium. Since our study area was near three airports, we could not risk losing the balloon, so we put redundant safety protocols in place. We tied our nylon line to the balloon, then folded and secured it with duct tape. Two students held the line during the operation, one held the reel, and one held the line itself a few feet up from the reel. Our weather balloon remained tethered during the entire flight. Our teacher advisor kept a pellet gun on hand to immediately deflate the balloon in case of emergency. Our project had three main computing components: thermal imaging, GPS, and communication. While we originally planned to use XinaBox for the latter two, a problem with the XinaBox software prevented us from flashing the firmware onto our chips and using them. We thus had to improvise and use the Arduino as an all-in-one solution. Our thermal camera, the MLX90640 (Figure 5), took a 24x32 image with a 55˚ field of view, with each individual pixel reporting a thermal read- ing. The Arduino MKR IoT Carrier also included an ambient temperature sensor. To find where thermal readings were present, we programmed the Arduino MKR WIFI 1010 Board to compare these two readings. If any pixel of the MLX90640’s image was more than 15% hotter than the ambient temperature, a thermal reading was reported and the GPS coordinates at the time of the picture being taken were reported. We used BLE (Bluetooth® Low Energy) to communicate with our ground team. We also had to calculate the height we needed to fly our CubeSat using field of view (FOV), which can be seen in Figure 6. Figure 5: MLX90640 camera www.scholink.org/ojs/index.php/fet Frontiers in Education Technology Vol. 6, No. 2, 2023 32 Published by SCHOLINK INC. Figure 6: Field of view (FOV) calculations Figure 7: Thermal readings (https://bit.ly/3umcrvN) from a FLIR sensor are shown in bright yellow. Image taken in Ventura with a Parrot ANAFI Thermal UAV as proof of concept. www.scholink.org/ojs/index.php/fet Frontiers in Education Technology Vol. 6, No. 2, 2023 33 Published by SCHOLINK INC. To secure our components to our payload, we used a combination of zip ties and VELCRO® tape. VELCRO tape was used to secure our largest component, which was the solar power bank, as the zip ties were unable to support its bulky size. However, we opted for zip ties to secure our Arduino (Figure 8), GPS module (Figure 9), and thermal camera. By crisscrossing the zip ties, we were able to secure these smaller parts and prevent them from breaking off. The removal of the XinaBox kit resulted in a challenge when it came to balancing the weight of the CubeSat payload; however, doing so was necessary to ensure our thermal camera at the bottom of the payload would get a clean shot of the area below it. We secured the GPS module and Arduino Carrier Board on opposite sides of the CubeSat, and the rest of the components were either secured on the top or bottom as identified in our original subsystem sketch (Figure 10). We tested the balance of the payload by holding the balloon attached to it close to the ground, and we found that it was able to stay perpendicular to the ground. Figure 8: Arduino MKR Board, including an ambient tempera- ture sensor and an MKR WIFI 1010 Board www.scholink.org/ojs/index.php/fet Frontiers in Education Technology Vol. 6, No. 2, 2023 34 Published by SCHOLINK INC. Figure 9: Grove GPS module Figure 10. Final CubeSat model and mounting system www.scholink.org/ojs/index.php/fet Frontiers in Education Technology Vol. 6, No. 2, 2023 35 Published by SCHOLINK INC. For communication and data storage, we used a twofold approach in case of equipment failure. Our primary method of communication was BLE, which is a low-energy variation of Bluetooth capable of communication up to 300 feet away with line of sight. However, due to the unreliability of such wireless communication methods, we also included an SD card on an Arduino LAN Board that would store any data recorded before it attempted to communicate with our ground station. Our data was stored in the form of a CSV file to allow the creation of a story map on ArcGIS. The data points were recorded in four columns: latitude, longitude, elevation, and thermal reading. All four of these points were collected by the sensors mentioned above. For our ground component, we had to find an alternative to the XinaBox ground station to receive data from our satellite. As noted, we opted for BLE as our communication method. To receive this data, we used an application called nRF Connect that is available on Android and iOS devices. This allowed us to connect to the MKR WIFI 1010 Board (Figure 8) remotely and provided an output console log that reported the four elements described in the communication and data storage section. Figure 11: Photo showing a homeless encampment in natural color to prove the accuracy of the IR sensor www.scholink.org/ojs/index.php/fet Frontiers in Education Technology Vol. 6, No. 2, 2023 36 Published by SCHOLINK INC. Figure 12: Location and elevation (https://bit.ly/3GsgBF1) of CubeSat Flight 1 from Strava app Figure 13: Map of Flight Path and Elevation of the CubeSat (https://bit.ly/3nAXqkS) during Flight 2, with the darker the color, the higher the elevation. The elevation changed due to a wildfire and the need to lower the balloon to keep it away from Fire Department helicopters. Figure 14: Overview (https://bit.ly/3bkRp6h) of second flight over Hansen Dam https://bit.ly/3nAXqkS www.scholink.org/ojs/index.php/fet Frontiers in Education Technology Vol. 6, No. 2, 2023 37 Published by SCHOLINK INC. Figure 15: Second flight over Hansen Dam zoomed to the tes- sellations on FOV IR sensor (https://bit.ly/3vYgpJN) positive readings Figure 16: Our final flight After obtaining the results from our flights, we utilized ArcGIS Online to analyze our results. We began by adding the GPX file from the Strava app that had the location coordinates and elevation data. We buffered the flight path to 60 feet on either side of the CubeSat and used that as an FOV boundary. Then we created a tessellation analysis of 5x5 bins and set it to the boundary of 60 feet. The visibility range of the map was set to show IR data when zoomed in to the “Buildings” level. The 5x5 bins that were marked red indicated thermal readings that were 15% or higher than the total ambient temperature of the area, and represented possible homeless encampments. The total ambient temperature of the area was determined by our Arduino’s infrared sensor. The elevation data was used to create a 3D ArcScene that displayed the elevation change during the CubeSat’s flight and aided in determining the view distance of the thermal camera. www.scholink.org/ojs/index.php/fet Frontiers in Education Technology Vol. 6, No. 2, 2023 38 Published by SCHOLINK INC. RESULTS Our team was able to conduct one flight with a Parrot UAV equipped with a FLIR infrared sensor over a dry riverbed in Ventura. The readings of the FLIR sensor (https://bit.ly/3BfRJxy) are shown in bright yellow (Figure 7). Our initial exploration proved that an IR sensor was capable of identifying homeless camps in heavy brush. Two subsequent flights with our CubeSat using the Arduino IR sensor were conducted in the Hansen Dam area to identify the locations of homeless encampments. We created an overview (https://bit.ly/2Y1tvJY) of the second flight over Hansen Dam where trackpoints are shown in yellow (Figure 14). Using an MLX90640 thermal camera, we were able to find the coordinates of homeless encampments in a high-fire-risk area. Pixel readings that were 15% higher than ambient temperatures were recorded and designated as positive for the presence of home- less camps (Figure 15). Symbology of the data was classified with ambient readings as light green, and thermal readings over 15% ambient as light red. We identified five camps within a 13,300-square-foot area. We ground-truthed our data with visual confirmation (Figure 11). We created a Strava Walk activity map to display the locations and elevations of the CubeSat flights (Figure 12). A Map of Flight Path and Elevation (https://bit.ly/3nE5XU5) of the CubeSat during the second flight is shown in Figure 13, with the darker the color, the higher the elevation. We used an ArcGIS story map (https://bit.ly/3EzzDc5) to communicate our results with the City of Los Angeles Fire Department. DISCUSSION/CONCLUSION Our CubeSat design process involved a series of failures that culminated in a success; without these roadblocks, we would not have had such a successful flight (Figure 16). Problems first began to rear their head as soon as we attempted to upload firmware to our XinaBox Flight Stations, as neither of our students responsible was able to get the program running. After postponing working on our subsystems for two weeks in hopes of a software update, we ended up opting to move all of the functionality our XinaBox was responsible for to our Arduino. This also signified our first success, as we were able to put together a configuration for our Arduino that included all of the necessary components for a flight station: wireless connectivity and communication, sensors, thermal cameras, power, and onboard storage. However, as we dipped our feet in the waters of success, a wave of new challenges rose to meet us. We had many problems with developing code on the Arduino. Our first and most persistent issue was our Arduino failing to connect to a COM port on Windows devices. Thankfully, our student software developer was able to borrow a laptop running macOS to be able to upload his code. Once our code was successfully uploaded to our Arduino board, all that remained was to ensure our hardware was able to function properly. This is where we faced the majority of the roadblocks in our project. Our team attempted to use four different thermal cameras before finding one that gave us readings accurate enough at a long distance, with some being poorly calibrated and others lacking the resolution to take accurate thermal measurements. However, our fifth attempt, with the MLX90640 camera, proved to be successful. Another component that gave us grief was the GPS module. Because https://bit.ly/3BfRJxy https://bit.ly/2Y1tvJY https://bit.ly/3EzzDc5 www.scholink.org/ojs/index.php/fet Frontiers in Education Technology Vol. 6, No. 2, 2023 39 Published by SCHOLINK INC. we were surveying a heavily wooded area in L.A. County, we had problems getting our original GPS to connect before launching through the trees. We decided to swap out our MKR GPS Shield for a Grove GPS module, which is specifically designed to pick up a weak signal in areas with high-rise buildings that would obstruct it. Although our project was not its intended use case, it ended up working and we got a GPS signal despite the dense vegetation. However, any time a hardware component was changed, it required the software to be changed. This ended up becoming a major time sink, but we managed to get a working final prototype in time for flight week. Upon our flight, we were faced with both a failure and a success. After allowing our balloon to gain some altitude, we found that our BLE connection was extremely unstable. We were very rarely able to receive any data at our ground station. However, this also proved the success of our onboard storage system. Despite the failure to record data during the flight, after the flight we were able to recover all flight data from our SD card as a CSV file. This proved the success of our redundant data recording system. Another interesting event during our second flight was the outbreak of a wildfire. Our ArcScene map (Figure 13), showing elevation, had a sudden drop in elevation near the homeless camps. The reason was that a fire broke out, and helicopters flew in overhead to reach the scene quickly. The balloon needed to be lowered to avoid interfering with them, despite it restricting our data range. Our biggest achievement over the course of this project was our adaptability. Our team ran into problems at about every step of the development process, but we were able to overcome them by being flexible and dividing work among team members. While our student software developer worked on rewriting code for a new component, our design team worked on a way to integrate it into our CubeSat frame. By the end of the project, our CubeSat only contained the original Arduino baseboard from the first prototype, and it ended up working better than we had expected from our original subsystems sketch. Another major success of our project was the implementation of redundant systems. As discussed previously, by using two methods to record data we were able to ensure that we had all of our measurements by the end of the flight. Even though our wireless communication between the flight and ground stations failed, our onboard storage system was a success. Another example of a successful redundant system was the power. While the onboard battery was sufficient according to the specifications provided by Arduino, after our flight we found that it had been depleted and the board had fallen back to our power bank for energy. Without having this backup battery system, our Arduino would have died halfway through the flight and failed to record or communicate any data. One thing we would do differently given the chance to do this project again would be not waiting for a XinaBox software update. If we had begun moving our functionality to the Arduino instantly instead of waiting for two weeks, we would have had much more flexibility in our scheduling before flight week. In a best-case scenario, we might have been able to create two prototypes, one with Arduino for www.scholink.org/ojs/index.php/fet Frontiers in Education Technology Vol. 6, No. 2, 2023 40 Published by SCHOLINK INC. subsystems and one with XinaBox. However, this proved not to be a major roadblock, as our Arduino prototype was functional. Another mistake our team made was testing components one at a time. A more prudent approach would have been to buy a batch of components for each function: multiple thermal cameras, computing boards, GPS modules, and wireless communication modules. This would have eliminated the time we had to wait between trying and returning parts, as this involved a minimum two-day wait from Amazon. This alteration to our procedure would have given us more time to polish our prototype before our first flight. The biggest success and differentiating factor in our project was the integration of our data into a story map (https://bit.ly/2XRpGHb). This representation of our data is much more interactive than a table with coordinates, and it combines our knowledge from activities throughout the year in class with what we learned from completing the project. The biggest lesson we learned from this experience is the importance of having redundancy in your systems, along with having a backup plan. In both cases where redundancy was implemented in our final CubeSat prototype, it ended up being necessary and saving our flight. We also would not have been able to overcome many of the challenges discussed earlier in this report if we had not prepared alternative approaches for certain components. Conducting this project without these precautions would have resulted in a comprehensive failure. Our project ended up being a success due to the iterative approach we used, and this method is not something we would change if we were to participate in this competition again. It gave us the chance to refine our subsystems and payload design while also learning more about troubleshooting hardware and software. We were able to contact Captain Steve Marotta from the City of Los Angeles Fire Department and share our CTE Mission: CubeSat story map with him. He provided us with his thoughts and suggestions regarding the project. Marotta agreed that homeless camps are especially dangerous in the creation and spread of wildfires in the L.A. area. He also agreed that mapping the Hansen Dam Recreation Area was a good idea due to the high amount of vegetation and homeless people who reside there. He added that “this type of intelligence will help us to focus rescue and evacuation of homeless people during vegetation fires. The other benefit is that it will help us to locate patients during EMS incidents.” Marotta suggested that we share our data with the Police Department to help them locate suspects more efficiently. Our research question was: Can an aerial infrared sensor be used to document homeless encampments in wildfire-prone areas? After analyzing our data we came to the conclusion that it is possible to document homeless camps using an IR sensor. Our hypothesis — an infrared sensor in our CubeSat would be able to identify homeless encampments — was accepted. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS https://bit.ly/2XRpGHb www.scholink.org/ojs/index.php/fet Frontiers in Education Technology Vol. 6, No. 2, 2023 41 Published by SCHOLINK INC. First, we would like to thank the U.S. Department of Education for giving us the opportunity to create this project. We also would like to recognize the help from Luminary Labs, which managed the CTE Mission: CubeSat. Thank you to Captain Steve Marotta from the City of Los Angeles Fire Department for taking the time to communicate with us and provide his thoughts on the CubeSat project. Thank you to Kyle and Larry Fuller, who helped with thermal imaging of the Willoughby Preserve in Ventura with their Parrot ANAFI drone and shared their data with us. Special acknowledgements to the parents who helped. Special thanks to Lauris Bye for help with the helium, teacher David Black for equipment, and Dino’s Party Supply for not charging us for extra time with the helium cylinder. Thank you to everyone who stood by us while we worked on this tough, yet rewarding project. Literature Cited for Note 29. CAL FIRE. “Stats and Events.” California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CAL FIRE), State of California, 3 Dec. 2021, https://www.fire.ca.gov/stats-events CTE Mission: CubeSat. “The Challenge.” CubeSat, 16 June 2021, https://www.ctemissioncubesat.com/the-challenge/ Galperin, Ron. “COVID-19 Job Losses in L.A.” Los Angeles City Controller Ron Galperin, 10 Nov. 2020, https://bit.ly/3omEPtS The Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority. “2020 Greater Los Angeles Homeless Count Results,” 3 6961 Simple yet important Is a Seed Floating Test a Good Indication of Seed Viability? Annabelle Bilbray, Payton Bilbray, Emily Coplan, Naomii Donovan, Landen Gutierrez, Jameson Hernandez, Angelica Pacheco Leora, Dustin Minnicks, Eli Zaccardo, Emma Zaccardo, Shayden Monroe (staff), Sarah Pryor (staff), and T. Miller (teacher, retired) Boys & Girls Club of the Colorado River, Laughlin Unit 1975 Arie Dr., Laughlin, NV 89029 The purpose of the experiment was to see if a floating water test is a good way to determine if a seed will germinate. The hypothesis was that the test would be a good one for nastur- tium seed viability. We believed the seeds that sank would be denser, and so more of them would germinate. Nasturtium seeds were dropped into a container with water and soaked for 15 minutes. After this time, the seeds were separated into those that floated and those that sank. Two large plastic con- tainers with holes in the bottom were filled with potting soil. Fifty seeds that floated were planted in one container and 50 seeds that sank were planted in the other container. The seeds were watered every day. At the end of two weeks, 33 seeds (66%) that floated germinated, and 28 seeds (56%) that sank germinated. The hypothesis seemed incorrect because more seeds that floated germinated. 6962 http://www.fire.ca.gov/stats-events http://www.ctemissioncubesat.com/the-challenge/ https://bit.ly/3omEPtS https://bit.ly/3omEPtS www.scholink.org/ojs/index.php/fet Frontiers in Education Technology Vol. 6, No. 2, 2023 42 Published by SCHOLINK INC. Leachate-Filtering Efficacy of Varied Liners Marta Pambukhchyan and O. Tuason (teacher) Crescenta Valley High School 2900 Community Ave., La Crescenta, CA 91214 To prevent the leaching of contaminated water (leachate) into the surrounding environment, current landfills utilize a system of liners that often contain bentonite powder, a material intended to filter acidic leachate and release clean water. This research aimed to test different powders’ neutralizing abilities to find a better alternative to the currently used bentonite. It was hypothesized that if the basic powders kaolin (KL), diatomaceous earth (DE), and activated charcoal (AC) were used to filter acidic leachates, then the most basic powder would shift the pH closer to neutral than bentonite. This was tested through gravitational filtration by placing each clay into holed cups and running them through with lemon juice (pH of 4.8) or vinegar (pH of 4.5). The filtered samples were collected and the average pH changes for each powder were recorded. As shown from the means, DE and AC displayed higher pH increases than bentonite, while KL clay failed to filter any leachate. The data were analyzed by conducting one-tailed (directional) t-tests. The final comparisons of DE (avg. pH=6.57, SD=0.11, n=5, p=0.023) and AC (avg. pH=6.54, SD=0.15, n=5, p=0.068) with bentonite (avg. pH=6.45, SD=0.3, n=5) revealed that DE had the highest pH increase. The t-test results gave sufficient evidence (p=0.023) to conclude that DE powder is a better filtering alternative to bentonite. Future research will investigate other factors that contribute to the finest landfill powder. (Editor’s Note: For the work summarized in this abstract, Marta was selected as a finalist in the Earth and Environmental Sciences category at the Virtual Regeneron International Science and Engineering Fair 2021. See more project details at https://bit.ly/3hlA1RB. Congratulations Marta and great work!) 3. Conclusions This paper presents a look at a Presidential Award at the high school level and college level, with motivation being instrumental in achieving this honor. The high school research is as good or better than some university level work and should be considered as an important contribution to the U.S. research effort. We present a how-to-do-it look at the factors that have resulted in Presidential Awards and feel that many other individuals can benefit from this exploration if they are interested in doing so. Steve’s and Dominique’s programs are very different, yet similar, as can be seen. Student success in quality research is seen in both. Motivation is a key for success. As John Kennedy once said, we don’t do what is easy. We do what is hard. You can do it, if you want to. It can be fun rather than work. That’s the attitude of Steve and Dominique and many of the others who mentor student research. Terri Miller, for example, loves it so much that she still mentors student research in retirement at boys and girls clubs. www.scholink.org/ojs/index.php/fet Frontiers in Education Technology Vol. 6, No. 2, 2023 43 Published by SCHOLINK INC. Acknowledgements Thanks to Carolyn Oppenheimer for a massive amount of formatting time and CSUN leadership for over 50 years of support. Notes Note 1. Evans-Bye, D., Berman, M., Chun H., Lundgren, A., Oppenheimer, S. NSF Presidential Award Webinar, Frontiers in Education Technology, vol 5 #1, 2022. Note 2. Oppenheimer, S., Ed., New Journal of Student Research Abstracts, Volumes 1-27. http://scholarworks.csun.edu/handle/10211.3/125029 This collection contains volumes I - XXVII of The New Journal of Student Research Abstracts. 27 volumes (1995-2022). Published in conjunction with CSUN and several publishing partners, and edited by CSUN biology faculty member Steven Oppenheimer, the journal contains abstracts of K-12 student science experiments and some full length papers. Note 3. Volume I (1995) Note 4. Volume II (1996) Note 5. Volume III (1997) Note 6.Volume IV (1998) Note 7.Volume V (2000) Note 8. Volume VI (2001) Note 9. Volume VII (2002) Note 10. Volume VIII (2003) Note 11. Volume IX (2004) Note 12. Volume X (2005) Note 13. Volume XI (2006) Note 14. Volume XII (2007) Note 15. Volume XIII (2008) Note 16. Volume XIV (2009) Note 17. Volume XV (2010) Note 18. Volume XVI (2011) Note 19. Volume XVII (2012) Note 20. Volume XVIII (2013) Note 21. Volume XIX (2014) Note 22. Volume XX (2015) Note 23. Volume XXI (2016) Note 24. Volume XXII (2017) Note 25. Volume XXIII (2018) Note 26. Volume XXIV (2019) http://scholarworks.csun.edu/handle/10211.2/1786 http://scholarworks.csun.edu/handle/10211.2/1787 http://scholarworks.csun.edu/handle/10211.2/1789 http://scholarworks.csun.edu/handle/10211.2/1793 http://scholarworks.csun.edu/handle/10211.2/1806 http://scholarworks.csun.edu/handle/10211.2/2145 http://scholarworks.csun.edu/handle/10211.2/2146 http://scholarworks.csun.edu/handle/10211.2/2147 http://scholarworks.csun.edu/handle/10211.2/2148 http://scholarworks.csun.edu/handle/10211.2/2149 http://scholarworks.csun.edu/handle/10211.2/1970 http://scholarworks.csun.edu/handle/10211.2/1973 http://scholarworks.csun.edu/handle/10211.3/127948 http://scholarworks.csun.edu/handle/10211.2/1982 http://scholarworks.csun.edu/handle/10211.2/1983 http://scholarworks.csun.edu/handle/10211.2/1974 http://scholarworks.csun.edu/handle/10211.2/1984 http://scholarworks.csun.edu/handle/10211.2/4442 http://scholarworks.csun.edu/handle/10211.3/127954 http://scholarworks.csun.edu/handle/10211.3/161024 http://scholarworks.csun.edu/handle/10211.3/179857 http://scholarworks.csun.edu/handle/10211.3/198965 http://scholarworks.csun.edu/handle/10211.3/206671 http://scholarworks.csun.edu/handle/10211.3/214658 www.scholink.org/ojs/index.php/fet Frontiers in Education Technology Vol. 6, No. 2, 2023 44 Published by SCHOLINK INC. Note 27. Volume XXV (2020) Note 28.Volume XXVI (2021) Note 29. Volume XXVII (2022) Note 30. Oppenheimer, S.B., Motivating College Students: Evidence from 20 Years of Anonymous Student Evaluations, Higher Education Research 4 (#2), pp. 42-45 (2019). http://scholarworks.csun.edu/handle/10211.3/218138 https://scholarworks.csun.edu/handle/10211.3/222646