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Vessels of Spirituality: Merging Faith and Form
Full text linkAccording to traditional Islamic teachings, natural materials like frankincense, black sesame seeds, and sidr (jujube) leaves are valuable both physically and spiritually. Historically, they have been used for healing and purification. Nowadays, influenced by contemporary science, people tend to overlook their metaphysical value, focusing on their medicinal uses. Similarly, Muslims assign spiritual qualities to the Muqatta’at, the disconnected letters that preface several surahs of the Holy Quran, believing them to contain sacred power. In both of these cases, the material leads to the spiritual.
Through material experimentation, informed by religious texts, my thesis combines revered materials with sacred letter forms in unconventional ways, offering a conceptual design framework where material spirituality inspires poetic physicality. By bridging the ancient and the modern, the spiritual and the physical, this work inspires a renewed appreciation of Islamic teachings and material culture
Junior Recital, Danny Dupes, trombone
Full text linkJunior RecitalDanny Dupes, jazz trombonewith Minjee Jang, piano; Thomas Windley, guitar;Jack Byrnes, bass; Charles Brown, drumsTuesday, April 29, 2025 at 3:30 p.m.Recital HallJames W. Black Music Center1015 Grove Avenue | Richmond, VirginiaThe presentation of this junior recital will fulfill in part the requirements for the Bachelor of Music degree in Jazz Studies. Danny Dupes studies jazz trombone with Shannon Gunn
Multiphysics Modeling of Material Response to High-Intensity X-ray and Laser Pulses: Heating, Ablation, and Plasma Expansion
Full text linkThis dissertation presents a computational framework to investigate material response under high-intensity X-ray fluxes produced by an exo-atmospheric nuclear detonation and laser-material irradiations, with a focus on heating, ablation, and plasma expansion phenomena relevant to satellite vulnerability and high-energy-density environments. A hybrid Monte Carlo and Two-Temperature Model (MC-TTM) was developed to simulate X-ray and laser energy deposition and thermal relaxation in metals and semiconductors across a range of X-ray and laser pulse durations from femtoseconds to nanoseconds. Results demonstrate distinct thermal behavior between materials, with ablation thresholds and phase transitions captured in good agreement with experimental data.
In parallel, a multiphase Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) model was implemented to study the hydrodynamic expansion of femtosecond laser-induced plasma plumes. The CFD model accounts for interfacial momentum exchange, viscous effects, and ambient gas composition. This enables a detailed analysis of plume morphology and shockwave dynamics. Simulations highlight the sensitivity of plasma evolution to thermophysical properties, crater geometry, and turbulence. A comparative analysis also shows how optical laser parameters can be tuned to mimic X-ray-induced ablation, offering practical insights for experimental design.
Collectively, the tools and results developed in this work enhance the understanding of radiation–matter interactions in extreme environments. They also provide a predictive foundation for evaluating the resilience of relevant systems
Investigating the Temperature Effects on Aedes Aegypti and Dengue Virus in Central Argentina: Perspectives from Mathematical Modeling
No full textDengue virus (DENV) causes over 390 million infections and around 40,000 deaths worldwide each year. DENV is primarily transmitted by the mosquito Aedes aegypti, and both the life cycle of these mosquitoes and DENV transmission are significantly impacted by temperature. In the temperate region of Central Argentina, where dengue outbreaks first began in 2009, outbreaks only occur following new introductions of DENV from other regions. Due to the relationships between temperature and DENV and temperature and Ae. aegypti, the risk of an outbreak changes throughout the year. Here, we develop and analyze mathematical models for both mosquito population dynamics and dengue fever spread. First, we present a non-autonomous ordinary differential equation model that includes temperature-dependent parameters associated with three mosquito life history traits to explore which temperature-dependent traits are most important for capturing mosquito egg count data. We expand our model by developing a stochastic continuous- time Markov chain model with temperature-dependent mosquito life history traits and DENV transmission-related parameters. With this model, we investigate the role of temperature—and increases therein—on seasonal variation in DENV transmission and outbreak risk. Lastly, we expand a deterministic analog of this model to include the effects of human movement on DENV transmission. For all three projects, we integrate climate, mosquito population survey, demographic, and/or dengue incidence data collected in the city of Córdoba, Argentina, which currently lies near the southernmost extremes of DENV transmission in the Western Hemisphere. We discuss the results of our work in the context of improving mosquito population and dengue epidemiological models to better understand drivers of DENV transmission and to inform mosquito control and dengue mitigation strategies in emerging regions
Inherited Wounds: Navigating Intergenerational Trauma through Cooperative Play
Full text link\u27Strength\u27 for Pakistani women is often defined as compromise, sacrifice, and silence. This definition has shaped intergenerational struggles in which women\u27s self-narratives are constructed through suppression. Inherited Wounds seeks to address the trauma of suppression by creating a safe space for expression that fosters reflective and emotion-driven dialogue between Pakistani mothers and daughters.
Using interactive storytelling and embodied play, I developed a choice-based, narrative-driven video game and accompanying gesture-based controller. The game unfolds across childhood, marriage, and motherhood, mirroring the cycle of intergenerational struggle. Navigating choices in the game requires physical, intimate cooperation. The game uses the protagonist’s life as a lens for mothers and daughters to reflect on their own.
Engaging in this reflective play helps Pakistani women reclaim their agency by unpacking and deconstructing the cycle of intergenerational trauma. Inherited Wounds is an invitation to transform silence into dialogue, endurance into change, and suppression into expression
VCU Opera Gala, video disc two
Full text linkVideo disc two of twoVCU OperapresentsA Toast To Opera, video disc two75th AnniversaryGala Celebrationwith the VCU SymphonySaturday, April 26, 2025 at 7:00 p.m.Sonia Vlahcevic Concert HallW.E. Singleton Center for the Performing Arts922 Park Avenue | Richmond, Virgini
String Area Recital, video
Full text linkString Area Recital, videoWednesday, April 23, 2025 at 3:15 p.m.Recital HallJames W. Black Music Center1015 Grove Avenue | Richmond, Virgini
Senior Recital, Amelia Rose Sheppard, bassoon, video
Full text linkSenior Recital, videoAmelia Rose Sheppard, bassoonDaniel Stipe, pianoTuesday, April 15, 2025 at 5:00 p.m.Recital HallJames W. Black Music Center1015 Grove Avenue | Richmond, VirginiaThe presentation of this senior recital will fulfill in part the requirements for the Bachelor of Music degree in Performance. Amelia Rose Sheppard studies bassoon with Dr. Bruce Hammel
Trumpet Studio Recital, video
Full text linkTrumpet Studio Recital, videostudents from the studio of Professor Sam HusswithDaniel Stipe, pianoSunday, April 6, 2025 at 7:00 p.m.Sonia Vlahcevic Concert HallW.E. Singleton Center for the Performing Arts922 Park Avenue | Richmond, Virgini
Transcriptional Control of Brain Transposable Elements Contributes to Social Behaviors and Major Depression
No full textNeuropsychiatric disorders, such as major depressive disorder (MDD), represent a significant public health burden, with social withdrawal emerging as a core symptom across many of these conditions. Understanding the brain molecular mechanisms underlying social behavior is therefore critical for developing targeted therapeutic interventions to improve social functioning in affected individuals. This dissertation investigates the role of ZFP189, a KRAB zinc finger protein (KZFP), in governing social behavior by controlling immune gene expression and transposable element (TE) regulation in the prefrontal cortex (PFC). TEs, also known as “jumping genes,” are repetitive DNA sequences capable of mobilization and genomic re-integration, and are also capable of influencing gene expression and regulatory networks. Using synthetic biology approaches, we demonstrate that ZFP189-mediated transcriptional control in PFC is essential for the maintenance of social behaviors, with dysregulation leading to deficits in social interaction, motivation, and awareness of social hierarchy. RNA sequencing of virally manipulated PFC tissues reveals that ZFP189 transcription factors (TFs) with opposing regulatory functions exert opposing effects on the expression of TEs and immune-related genes. This work demonstrates that ZFP189 in the PFC governs structural and molecular adaptations essential for social behavior, with its regulation of TE-driven immune gene expression potentially reflecting an evolutionary mechanism to support social group functioning. We further validate this social-immune interaction by showing that co-delivery of ZFP189VPR and TNFα to the PFC partially rescues social deficits. Additionally, we show that ZFP189 over expression (ZFP189WT) promotes stress resilience, whereas reversing ZFP189-mediated transcription (ZFP189VPR) enhances stress vulnerability. Extending our investigation to human neuropsychiatric disorders, we identify a robust downregulation of TE transcripts in the cortical brain regions of individuals with MDD, suggesting that TE dysregulation may be a previously underappreciated molecular signature of MDD. Collectively, this work positions ZFP189 as a key molecular regulator of social behavior and stress resilience, with broader implications for neuropsychiatric disorders. Future research should explore the therapeutic potential of targeting ZFP189-TE interactions to modulate social and stress-related behaviors in neuropsychiatric conditions