135

Parallax - A Virtual Reality Tool for Teaching Astronomy Concepts

May 11, 2020 by Grand Challenges Initiative | Student presentations

Parallax seeks to be a learning experience that combines traditional teaching methods with virtual reality supplements to enhance student understanding of traditionally taught astronomy concepts. Lecture order and content is based upon the California Department of Education’s standards for 8th graders’ knowledge of astronomy. Lectures are followed by virtual reality sessions which aim to grant

126

Martian Alfalfa Experiment

May 11, 2020 by Grand Challenges Initiative | Student presentations

We have conducted an experiment that directly compares the growth of alfalfa plants in Terran soil, No Nutrient sand, and Martian soil, both with and without the presence of inoculant. These six soil types were given a few weeks to grow and then were harvested to be analyzed. An R program was written to analyze

117

Detecting Microplastics in the Environment with Fluorescence Spectroscopy

May 9, 2020 by Grand Challenges Initiative | Student presentations

Our grand challenge is to solve the problem of microplastic pollution in the ocean. We sought to find an efficient method to identify microplastics in natural seawater samples as current sampling methods are costly and time-consuming. Fluorescence spectroscopy was explored and showed promising results as a quick way to differentiate between and identify specific plastic

90

Police Duty: A Drunk Driving Detection Simulation

May 8, 2020 by Grand Challenges Initiative | Student presentations

Our project aims to reduce the number of fatal car accidents caused by drunk driving. To do this, we created a simulation that detects whether a person is driving safely or unsafely based on changes in vehicle-based driving measures. We found that this simulation could be implemented into a car’s CAN bus system in the

78

2019 GCI Showcase Highlights

May 7, 2020 by | Student presentations

This team began their project in their Freshmen Foundations Course of the Grand Challenges Initiative in Fall 2017. At the time, the team was made up of students majoring in biological sciences and biochemistry who had never written a line of code. By the end of their experience, they had learned how to create a

67

2019 GCI Showcase Highlights

May 4, 2020 by | Student presentations

As our students put the final touches on this year’s posters, let’s take a look back at the work done by last year’s cohort. First up, a team who took on the grand challenge of providing clean water to the world. Take a look at their poster below! CleanWaterPoster.pdf

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