The full text of Senior Independent Study Theses submitted during and after 2012 are available to download only by College of Wooster users. Unless listed as an exemplar, all other theses are restricted.

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Senior Independent Study Theses from 2023

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It’s Raining PFAS! Targeted and Non-Targeted Identification and Quantitation and Semi-Quantitation of Legacy and Emerging Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS) in the Rainwater and Groundwater of Wooster, OH, Donald M. Conley III
Department: Chemistry

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Preparation of Porphyrin-PYBOX: a Stepwise Synthesis of Functionalized Diethynyl-bridged Porphyrins for a Potential Application in Solar Energy Conversion, Ferdawss Ihiri
Department: Chemistry

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Warfarin in Natural Water: A Study of the Photochemical Decomposition and Product Formation, Colton Rambur
Department: Chemistry

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Warfarin in Natural Water: A Study of the Photochemical Decomposition and Product Formation, Colton Rambur
Department: Chemistry

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The Belousov-Zhabotinsky Reaction and its Photo-Sensitive Metal Complex Catalysts, Michael L. Scarberry
Department: Chemistry; Physics

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Investigating the Effect of Steric Bulk of Anilines in the Synthesis of Quinolinones, Eliott John Wright
Department: Chemistry

Senior Independent Study Theses from 2022

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Investigation Of The Photodegradation Kinetics Of Para-Aminobenzoic Acid Under Acidic Conditions, Andrew Baeder
Department: Chemistry

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A Year Of N-Confusion: Determining Aggregation In N-Confused Porphyrins Using Uv-Vis Spectroscopy, Nina E. Catalfo
Department: Chemistry

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What’s In The Air: Characterization Of Particulate Matter In Wooster Ohio, David Rainier DiGena-Segal
Department: Chemistry

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Protection Of Pd0 Catalysts From Sulfide Deactivation During Tce Hydrodechlorination Using Polymer-Modified Mesoporous Organosilica, Claire Hefner
Department: Chemistry

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Methamphetamine In Wastewater: A Comparison Of Product Identification Post Uv And Chlorination Disinfection, Grace Hiipakka
Department: Chemistry

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Multiphase Oxidation Of Squalene And Diphenylamine In The Presence Of Ozone Gas By Using Atr-Ftir Spectroscopy, Riya Joshi
Department: Chemistry

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Synthesis And Photophysical Evaluation Of Porphyrin-Natural Product Hybrids For Use In Photodynamic Therapy, Holly E. McAnlis
Department: Chemistry

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Using Computational Methods To Predict Induced Changes In The Fundamental And Overtone Nh Stretches Due To Solvent Effects, Sarah Mullen
Department: Chemistry

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Exploration Of The Ring-Opening Polymerization Of Epoxidized Undecenoic Acid Derivatives, Vy Nguyen
Department: Chemistry

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Why Students Struggle In General Chemistry: Understanding Open-Ended Assessment In The Chemistry 111 Classroom, Abigail M. Tarburton
Department: Chemistry; Education

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Methods Of Characterization And Quantification Of Pesticides In Precipitation In Wooster, Ohio, Aaron D. Weese
Department: Chemistry

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The Fading Of Intention: Photodegradation Studies Of Carmine Colorants And Their Implications In Art Conservation, Megan Elizabeth Zins
Department: Chemistry

Senior Independent Study Theses from 2021

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Attempted Synthesis of a Bimetallic Cerium-Cerium Catalyst for an Improved Oxidation Method of Alcohols, Alexis Katelyn Bauer
Department: Chemistry

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To Teach or Not to Teach: Identifying Skills Obtained Uniquely in Chemistry Laboratory Courses and Ways to Teach Analytical Chemistry Laboratory Remotely, Jayne E. Blinkhorn
Department: Chemistry; Education

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Self-Assembled Monolayers as a Model for Photooxidation of Plastic Waste Using ATR-FTIR and Kinetic Modelling, Jenelle C. Booker
Department: Chemistry

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Plant Based Monomer Synthesis for the Investigation of the Relationship Between Chain Length and Water Absorption, Cole Cavin Brennan
Department: Chemistry

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Development of a Passive Sampler for Detecting PFAS Using Polymer-Organosilica Hybrid Adsorbents, Heather Hartmann
Department: Chemistry; Spanish

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El concepto de autor y la originalidad en las adaptaciones de Natalia Lafourcade, Heather Hartmann
Department: Chemistry; Spanish

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Analysis of Vitamin C Products for Potency and Associated Contaminants by HPLC-UV and GC-MS, Madison M. Heller
Department: Chemistry

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Preserving Keith Haring’s Legacy of “Art for All” through the Study of the Chemical Degradation of Daylight Fluorescent Paints and their Constituent Rhodamine Dyes, Georgia L. Hopps-Weber
Department: Chemistry; Art and Art History

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Solvent Dependence and Thermodynamics of Swell Pressure Generation by Swellable Organically-Modified Silica: Progress Towards a Physical Model to Explain Swelling, Mattaeus J. Klonowski
Department: Chemistry; Physics

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The Synthesis of Bio-Based Degradable Super Absorbent Polymers Through Employment of Multimetallic Catalysts, Kamron Knowlton
Department: Chemistry

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A Breech in Time: Identifying and Dating Historical Textiles using ATR-FT-IR and HPLC-UV/Vis, Brianna M. McKeen
Department: Chemistry; History

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Effect of Concentration on Photo-oxidation of Butenedioic Acids Isomers by Hydroxyl Radicals, Xi Ning
Department: Chemistry

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Multi-Step Synthesis of Small Molecules as Potential Inhibitors for MurG, Anna K. Schroeder
Department: Chemistry

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Release Kinetics of Ibuprofen from Swellable Organically Modified Silica by Means of a Non-Active Release Modulator, Louis R. Schwartz
Department: Chemistry

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Attempted Copolymerization of Epoxides Synthesized from Oleic and Linoleic Acids, An Tran
Department: Chemistry

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Seeing Red: Investigation of the Color’s Use in Early Baroque Art and Stability Based Upon Pigment Preparation, Lilly Woerner
Department: Chemistry; Art and Art History

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Investigation of Para-Aminobenzoic Acid's Photodegradation in Different pH Environments under UVB Light, Jingyi Zhou
Department: Chemistry; Mathematics

Senior Independent Study Theses from 2020

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Determining the Effects of pH on the Kinetics of Acid-Catalyzed Reactions of α- and β-pinene oxide, Philip Carter
Department: Chemistry

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Identification of the Photoproducts of UVB Irradiated Warfarin in an Aqueous Environment, Rebecca N. Hopkins
Department: Chemistry

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The Radical World of Aerosols: Heterogeneous Oxidation of Hydrocarbons by Hydroxyl Radicals using Infrared Spectroscopy, Ethan Kahrl
Department: Chemistry

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Synthesis of Methyl oxirane-2-carboxylate from Acrylic acid for Subsequent Copolymerization of Plant-derived Epoxide Monomers, Minjoo Kang
Department: Chemistry

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Cobalt Catalyzed Hydrosilylation of Terminal Alkenes for Synthesis of Bis(trimethoxysilylethyl)benzene, Elijah Learn
Department: Chemistry

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Exploring the Three-Dimensional Structure of Calix[4]arene-capped Azobenzenes Using VT-NMR, NOESY, and Computational Methods, Chloe A. Litts
Department: Chemistry

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Effect of Heavy Metal Ions on the Photocatalytic Degradation of Methyl Orange with Various WO3 as the Photocatalysts, Yumeng Li
Department: Chemistry

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Thermodynamic Evaluation of the Relationship Between Hydrogen-π Bonding Interactions and Solvent Polarity in an N-methylacetamide and Benzene system, Nedas Matulionis
Department: Chemistry

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The Impact of Solvent Viscosity on the Cis to Trans Isomerization of Calix[4]arene Capped Azobenzene, John Patrick Nugent
Department: Chemistry

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Attempted Synthesis of Polymers Using Epoxidized Plant-Based Fatty Acid Monomers with Potential Absorbent Properties, H. Cooper Pewitt
Department: Chemistry

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Multiphase Reactions of Methylglyoxal and Gas-Phase Methylamine, Linh Pham
Department: Chemistry

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What’s in the Water? Examining Contamination by Poly- and Perfluoroalkyl Substances in Rainwater, Kyndal A. Pike
Department: Chemistry; Mathematics

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Synthesis of O-nitrobenzyl Esters and Their Host-Guest Photochemistry, Sophia Rovenko
Department: Chemistry

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Expression, Purification, and Crystallization of S. aureus MurG: Towards Structural Characterization of a Putative Antibiotic Target, Leman WI Simpson
Department: Biochemistry and Molecular Biology; Chemistry

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How Ionic Strength Affects the pKa of SOA Components: An Examination of Oxalate and Sulfate Equilibria Systems, Katherine V. Strickert
Department: Chemistry

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Synthesis of Potential Small-Molecule Inhibitors for MurG, a Glycosyltransferase Involved in Bacterial Cell Wall Biosynthesis, Regan N. Szalay
Department: Chemistry

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Investigating and Comparing the Relationship Between pH, Ionic Strength, and pKa for Atmospherically Relevant Inorganic and Organic Acid-Base Equilibrium Systems, David A. Trujillo
Department: Chemistry

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Kinetics and Products of Hydroxyl Radical Initiated Reactions with Long Chain Alkanes in the Atmosphere, Wesley J. Wagner
Department: Chemistry

Senior Independent Study Theses from 2019

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Don’t Go Chasing Water: Investigating the Role of Water on the Binding Strength of Dibenzo-24-Crown-8 and Dibenzylammonium Hexafluorophosphate, Samantha Adusumilli
Department: Chemistry

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Analysis of Brominated Flame Retardants (BFRs) by Chromatography in Precipitation Samples Collected in Northeast Ohio, Brittany M. Bowman
Department: Chemistry

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Investigation of π-Stacking in Swellable Organically Modified Silica using Novel Synthesis Strategies, Duncan Crow
Department: Chemistry

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I Am Dye-ing Here: A Kinetic and Structural Study of Carminic Acid and Its Photodegradation, Elliott D. Detrich
Department: Chemistry

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Adapting the Photocyclization Isomerization of 2-Acetylbenzaldehyde into 3-Methylphthalide to a Continuous Flow System, Colin Ford
Department: Chemistry

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Elucidating the Impact of Contaminants of Emerging Concern in Hawaii: An Interdisciplinary Study Involving Chemical Detection and Aquatic Toxicology, Christopher Good
Department: Chemistry

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Analysis of Photo-Physicochemical Properties and Stabilities of Alizarin and Purpurin, Yukun Jin
Department: Chemistry

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Modeling of a Passive Sampler Based on Swellable Organically-Modified Silica, Gabriela F. Jocas
Department: Chemistry

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The Method Development and Qualitative Characterization of Organosulfates in Rainwater by LC-MS, Zachary Lyon
Department: Chemistry

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All Aboard! The Identification of Inhibitor Candidates for the Bacterial Enzyme MurG via Molecular Docking Simulations, Ian D'Arcy Mundy
Department: Chemistry

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Degrading Diesel Fuel and WD-40®: Method Development for Characterizing Oxidation of Thin Layer Alkanes, Cody Park
Department: Chemistry

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Please, Be My Guest! Quantifying Association Constants Between Cationic Guest Species and Tetrapropoxycalix[4]arene as a Model for Calix[4]arene-Capped Azobenzene, Leah J. Scharlott
Department: Chemistry

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Go with the Flow: The Synthesis of Benzo-15-crown-5 Through the Application of Flow Chemistry, Juliette A. Shea
Department: Chemistry

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Development of Cationic Polymer-Organosilica Porous Materials for the Adsorption of Perfluoroalkyl Sulfonates and Carboxylates from Water, Eva K. Stebel
Department: Chemistry

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Investigation of the Aqueous Photodegradation of Ortho-Substituted Aminobenzoic Acid Derivatives Under UVC Light, Rose D. Taylor
Department: Chemistry; Mathematics

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Evaluating Bases for the Synthesis of Dibenzo-24-Crown-8 Ether with a Methyl Viologen Template, David Thomas
Department: Chemistry

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Enhancing Petroleum Production: Investigation of Oil/Water Separation Method for Chemical Injection Enhanced Oil Recovery Technology Using Swellable Organically Modified Silica, Hyuga Uchida
Department: Chemistry

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Investigating Reaction Conditions for the Esterification of Benzoic Acid Using Swellable Organically Modified Silica and Observed Spectrographic Shifts of Encapsulated Carbonyls, Charles Milbergs VanDenburgh
Department: Chemistry

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Production and Quantification of Brown Carbon from Multiphase Reactions of Methylglyoxal with Gas-Phase Methylamine, Erika Arlene Womack
Department: Chemistry

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Toward Inhibitors of MurG: Identifying Fragments That Could Bind to MurG as a Starting Point for Inhibitors of Bacterial Cell Wall Biosynthesis, Rada Zunich
Department: Chemistry

Senior Independent Study Theses from 2018

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Probing the Activity of [(n6-p-cymene)RuCl2(P(R)3)] Complexes for the Metal-Catalyzed Oxidative Coupling of Alcohols and Amines, Brady Bunnell
Department: Chemistry

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Investigation of Carminic Acid Photodegradation: Separation, Analysis, and Characterization of Photoproducts, Margaret F. Heller
Department: Chemistry

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Chasing the Light: Determining a Consistent Method of Device Fabrication for Single-Layered Organic Light Emitting Diodes, Austinjit S. Khara
Department: Chemistry

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Evaluation of Organosilica Sorbent Media as an Adsorbent for the Removal of Perfluoroalkyl Substances from Contaminated Groundwater, Michaela Lawrence
Department: Chemistry

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Elucidating the Mechanism of 6-Hydroxynicotinate 3-Monooxygenase, an Enzyme Involved in the Aerobic Degradation of Nicotinate, Kent Nakamoto
Department: Chemistry

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Evaluation of Fluorinated Swellable Organically-Modified Silica for the Adsorption of Perfluoroalkyl Substances, Huan Khoa Nguyen
Department: Chemistry

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Investigating the Indirect Photolysis of Warfarin and Nitrates via Hydroxyl Radical Photochemistry, Matthew J. Pech
Department: Chemistry

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The Making of a Modern Fragrance: Extending Fragrance Release From Swellable Organosilica Using Nonvolatile Co-Absorbates, Evon Petek
Department: Chemistry

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An Investigation into the Lambert-Beer Law in Incoherent Broad-Band Cavity-Enhanced Absorption Spectroscopy, Zane R. Thornburg
Department: Chemistry; Physics

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Development of a Modified 2-Picolyl Appended Triazolylidene-Ruthenium Complex for Examination of Hydrogen Bonding Effects in the Secondary Coordination Sphere for Direct Amidation Catalysis, Clark Wang
Department: Chemistry

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Raindrops, Benchtops: Method Development for the Detection of Metolachlor in Precipitation, Arielle Welch
Department: Chemistry

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Watching Paint Dry: The Solvation and Separation of Paints Containing Carmine Lake Pigment, Samantha Wigley
Department: Chemistry

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Methods Development for the Characterization of Carbonyl Compounds in Rainwater and the Evaluation of Their Multiphase Reactions to Form Brown Carbon, Kevin A. Wokosin
Department: Chemistry

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Progress Towards the Diastereoselective Synthesis of a Single Diastereomer Dipeptide Analog in the Ugi Reaction via the Use of Chiral N-acylhydrazone Auxiliaries, Xingrong Zhu
Department: Chemistry

Senior Independent Study Theses from 2017

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Development of Mesoionic Carbene Ligands Containing Hydrogen-Bonding Functionalities for the Metal-Catalyzed Oxidative Coupling of Amines and Alcohols, Diego E. Arellano
Department: Chemistry

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Improving p-XRF Capabilities for In Situ Geochemical Analysis: A Case Study of Arkansas's Magnet Cove and Stanley Shale, Elizabeth Backman
Department: Chemistry; Geology

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Increasing Diversity in Chemistry and Environmental Education: Making Outdoor, Experiential Education more Accessible to High School Chemistry Teachers, Molly Dysis Billings
Department: Chemistry

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The Effect of pH on the Direct Photolysis of Warfarin in Aqueous Solution, Bailey B. Bowers
Department: Chemistry

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Effects of Metal Salts and Anoxia on the Photodegradation of Red Food Dyes, Catherine Boyles
Department: Chemistry

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Got Light? : A Study of the Physical Properties of Single-Layer Organic Light-Emitting Diode Devices Using a Poly(p-phenylene vinylene) Derivative, Harley Brandstadter
Department: Chemistry

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Synthetic Progress Towards Regioselective Disulfide Bond Formation via Azide-Alkyne Cycloaddition, Zachary T. Buchan
Department: Chemistry

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The Evaluation of Organosilica Sorbent Media for the Removal of Perfluoroalkyl Compounds from Drinking Water, Rachel M. Collins
Department: Chemistry

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Progress Towards the Diastereoselective Synthesis of Dipeptide Analogs via the Use of Chiral N-acylhydrazone Auxiliaries in the Ugi Reaction, Anna V. Davies
Department: Chemistry

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Exploration of Palladium Catalyzed Cross-Coupling for the Synthesis of an Electroluminescent Polymer Model Compound, Leandra Forte
Department: Chemistry

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Elucidating the Mechanism of the Oxidative Decarboxylation of 6-Hydroxynicotinate by 6-Hydroxynicotinate 3-Monooxygenase (NicC) Through Kinetic Analysis, Jack H. Harrington
Department: Chemistry

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A Brief Survey of the Metallic Properties of Electric Guitar Strings and Their Effects on Sound, Stephen Hause
Department: Chemistry

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Investigation of Esterification Reactions in Swellable Organically Modified Silica Towards the Synthesis of Polyethylene Terephthalate, Kirstin M. Holm
Department: Chemistry