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Faculty Advisory Council Meeting Minutes, May 15, 2025
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Coming of Age(ncy) on the Migrant Trail: Adolescent Journeys in Contemporary Latinx Young Adult Literature
No full textIntroduction: A road map and chronology of Latinx YA literature on the migrant trail -- Defying death : fleeing Salvadoran and Guatemalan political violence in Latinx YA coming-of-age(ncy) narratives -- The adolescent migrant journey through Mexico : neoliberal disposability in Latinx YA -- Fleeing Mexican narcoviolence : coming of age(ncy) in Latinx YA -- Cross-racial solidarity in the coming-of-age(ncy) journey : navigating undocumented teen romance in Latinx YA -- "All cages must break!" : Latinx YA finds its quetzal voice and tells its own story -- Conclusion: A long time coming : from the coming-of-age journey to Latinx YA(gency).Item embargoed for five year
Ultrasonic Pore Formation in Harmful Algal Blooms
No full textA presentation about this thesis was awarded third place in the One Water Fresh Ideas Conference, One Water Ohio, August 2025.Harmful Algal Blooms (HABs) are an emerging problem in drinking water treatment, recreation, and marine ecosystem health. One proposed control method for HABs is the use of low power ultrasound. However, we do not yet understand whether this treatment method works, or by what mechanism. A potential mechanism is temporary pore formation in algae due to ultrasound exposure, or sonoporation. Sonoporation could facilitate algae treatment by allowing chemical algaecides or stressors to enter cells. The objective of this project was to determine whether sonoporation occurs in algal cells and could reasonably occur under low power ultrasound. To test this, we exposed nontoxic Anabaena and Microcystis sp. to ultrasound at four different frequencies and several power levels. Sonoporation was observed in Microcystis sp. at a frequency corresponding to medical literature above the cavitation threshold. No sonoporation was observed below the cavitation threshold or in filamentous Anabaena sp. Sonoporation can occur in algae, but is not a feasible mechanism for controlling algae with low power ultrasound.The US Army Corps of EngineersDepartment of Civil, Environmental, and Geodetic Engineering Summer Undergraduate Research FellowshipA three-year embargo was granted for this item.Academic Major: Environmental Engineerin
Engaging Generation Z: A Sustainability Marketing Proposal
No full textCourse Code: ENR/AEDE 4567In Autumn 2025, as part of The Ohio State University’s Environment, Economy, Development, and Sustainability (EEDS) capstone course, our team partnered with Eva NYC to explore how Generation Z (Gen Z) perceives and responds to sustainability messaging. Eva NYC, a B-Corp certified hair care company, has engaged in meaningful initiatives, including third-party certifications, ingredient transparency, and a partnership with Pact Collective for beauty product recycling. Our project focused on identifying barriers that prevent Gen Z from translating sustainability values into action, while providing creative recommendations for how Eva NYC can communicate its sustainability commitments in ways that inspire product purchase
and responsible product use, building on similar efforts at its sister brands, amika and Ethique. To understand Gen Z preferences, we analyzed literature on U.S recycling trends, sustainable packaging, and Gen Z purchasing behavior, drawing on peer-reviewed studies, national surveys, and EPA data relevant to beauty and personal care, given limited hair-care-
specific research. Upon completing the literature review, our team also conducted a survey of Ohio State students, primarily between the ages of 18–24. Results revealed that Gen Z prioritizes a brand’s overall sustainability identity, credibility, and transparency over individual product claims. The results also indicated that social media is the primary source of product information for this consumer group, with TikTok and Instagram cited most frequently. Finally, survey responses revealed strong consumer interest in product take-back programs, underscoring their value for responsible disposal and positive engagement. We used these findings to understand how Gen Z interprets sustainable packaging within the larger context of brand credibility and long-term environmental commitment.
Based on these insights, following upon Eva NYC’s current practices, our creative recommendations focus on three key areas: enhancing visibility and participation in the PACT recycling program through improved packaging instructions and digital educational content, adding incentives to encourage recycling, and building social media collaborations with credible sustainability-focused platforms. Collectively, these actions position Eva NYC to strengthen its brand-wide sustainability identity, increase consumer trust, and meaningfully engage Gen Z audiences.Academic Major: Environment, Economy, Development, and SustainabilityAcademic Major: Film Studie
The Over-Complication Anomaly: Quantitative Evaluation of the Dynamic Hierarchical Multi-Agent Framework for Large Language Models
No full textCurrent AI frameworks struggle with scalability, validation, and accuracy, as most rely on single-model execution, lack structured verification, and use global context memory, leading to error propagation. This thesis implements and quantifies the performance vs. cost trade-off of the Dynamic Hierarchical Multi-Agent Framework (DHMAF), a system employing a hierarchy of Prime Meta Agent, Meta Agents, and Checker Agents to recursively instantiate, execute, and validate sub-tasks. The framework was benchmarked against established AI tests using the Gemini 1.5 Flash model, an evaluation covering 14,725 questions that consumed approximately 2.5 million API requests and cost $253. The results reveal a significant “over-complication anomaly”. While the framework improved scores on multi-step reasoning tasks (GSM8K +4.7%, MMLU-Pro +7.28%), it caused a severe performance decrease of -12.19% on the MMLU benchmark, focusing more on simple fact recall. These findings demonstrate that hierarchical validation frameworks, while providing modest benefits for multi-step reasoning tasks, can be actively detrimental and cost-prohibitive for generalist applications, providing a quantitative analysis of this critical trade-off.No embargoAcademic Major: Computer Science and Engineerin
Evaluating the interaction between saliva and anthocyanins as affected by the presence of residual water and quercetin
No full textEstradiol (E2) is an important female sex hormone, vital to many reproductive and endocrine functions. Dysregulated E2 levels may contribute to the pathogenesis of certain reproductive, endocrine, and autoimmune diseases. Abnormal E2 levels may also serve as biomarkers for these conditions. Although the concentration of hormones such as E2 are typically measured in the blood, there is growing interest in salivary measurement due to saliva’s ability to reflect the free, unbound hormone fraction in circulation and it’s non-invasive, easily repeatable collection. These qualities make salivary hormones suitable for applications in diagnosis, disease monitoring, and treatment evaluation.
At the Giusti Phytochemicals Laboratory, we are working on a method to monitor saliva-phenolic interactions. Our preliminary data suggests these interactions may be related to estrogenic hormone fluctuations in the saliva. The goal of this experiment is to develop a method for the qualitative and quantitative detection of salivary estradiol of healthy women in their reproductive age using ultra high-pressure liquid chromatography with photodiode array and tandem mass spectrometric detection (uHPLC-PDA-MS/MS). To achieve this goal, the uHPLC-PDA-MS/MS limit of detection (LOD) and limit of quantitation (LOQ) for salivary E2 must be established. To determine LOD and LOQ, increasing concentrations of pure E2 standards will be run through the uHPLC-PDA-MS/MS, as will saliva spiked with increasing concentrations of E2. This information allows us to discern whether E2 concentrations in follicular phase and pre-ovulatory saliva samples fall within the instrument’s reliable detection range. LOD and LOQ results permitting, endogenous salivary E2 from the early follicular phase and pre-ovulatory phase of the menstrual cycle will be analyzed using the uHPLC-PDA-MS/MS. Resulting spectra will be compared to determine if the method developed can accurately detect differences in salivary E2 levels between early follicular and pre-ovulatory samples. Successfully determining salivary E2 pattern changes throughout the menstrual cycle could establish saliva as a practical, non-invasive alternative to blood sampling for hormone monitoring. This advancement holds significant potential for improving diagnostic accessibility and expanding clinical and research applications in reproductive health.FoodSURE program sourced by the College of Food, Agriculture, and Engineering ScienceGR133997, Oratel DiagnosticsUSDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture, Hatch Project OHO01423No embargoAcademic Major: Pharmaceutical Science
Guided Debugging with Natural Language Processing: Building an Adaptive and Context-Aware Intelligent Tutoring System for Novice Programmers
No full textNovice programmers often struggle to debug and understand their code, especially in the absence of instructors or teaching assistants. Many students turn to generative AI tools like ChatGPT for help, but these systems are not by default designed for pedagogy purposes. These conventional AI tools tend to give away answers too easily, which weakens the learning process and encourages overreliance. This project aims to address that problem by developing an intelligent tutoring system that focuses on guided learning rather than solution-giving. The tutor is integrated into an online IDE and interacts with student through context-aware, conversational feedback based on their code, error messages, and questions.
Built on smaller, locally deployable language models, the system emphasizes accessibility, privacy, and pedagogical control. It mimics the behavior of human TAs by asking guiding questions, giving structured hints, and prompting reflection to help students think through problems independently. The tutor also leverages an error classification system to provide targeted, course-aligned feedback tied to common error patterns. Together, these components create a learning-centered environment that promotes productive struggle, reduces frustration, and fosters problem-solving skills without compromising the integrity of the learning process.No embargoAcademic Major: Computer and Information Scienc