Congratulations to every student who presented research at the 93^rd annual meeting of the Pacific Division. The presentations were of consistantly high quality and a pleasure to listen to or view.

Special congratulations go to those students who won Awards of Excellence. Their names and awards are listed below.

LAURENCE M. KLAUBER AWARD
David J. Hoekema (Department of Biological and Agricultural Engineering, University of Idaho, Boise, ID), Calculator: Optimized Surface Water Allocation in Drought (OSWAD).


GERALDINE K. LINDSAY AWARD IN THE NATURAL SCIENCES
Yan Wang (Department of Biological Sciences, Boise State University, Boise, ID) Testing Monophyly and Phylogenetic Relationships of Smittium (Harpellales) using a Five-Gene Molecular Phylogenetic Analysis.


BEST POSTER AWARD
Benjamin D. Hobson (Department of Psychology and Neuroscience and Center for Neuroscience, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO) Stimulation of Adenosine A1 Receptors in the Nucleus Accumbens Reduces Dopamine D1 Receptor-induced Reinstatement by Antagonizing D1-mediated Enhancements in Glutamate Transmission.


PRESIDENTS AWARD
Lu Xu (Department of Pharmaceutics and Medicinal Chemistry, University of the Pacific, Stockton, CA) Molecular Docking, Synthesis of Novel Quinazolin Analogues as Inhibitors of Transcription Factors NF-kB Activation and Their Anti-Cancer Activities.


AAAS: ROBERT I. LARUS TRAVEL AWARD
Benjamin D. Hobson (Department of Psychology and Neuroscience and Center for Neuroscience, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO) Stimulation of Adenosine A1 Receptors in the Nucleus Accumbens Reduces Dopamine D1 Receptor-induced Reinstatement by Antagonizing D1-mediated Enhancements in Glutamate Transmission.

Clickable list of sections represented:

Cell and Molecular Biology
Chemistry and Biochemistry
Earth Sciences
Ecology, Organismal Biology, and Environmental Sciences
Engineering, Technology, and Applied Sciences
General and Interdisciplinary Studies
Health Sciences
History and Philosophy of Science
Mathematics
Oral Biology and Dental Medicine
Physics and Materials Science
Psychology
Social, Economic and Political Sciences


Combined Sections of
HEALTH SCIENCES
ORAL BIOLOGY and DENTAL MEDICINE
First Place: Nicholas M. Anderson (Department of Medicine, University of California, Los Angeles, CA), Development of a New Approach to Kill Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer with Resistance to Standard Chemotherapy.

Second Place: Eric S. Donahue (College of Health Science, Boise State University, Boise, ID), Delta Dental of Idaho School-Based Dental Sealant Program: An Evaluation of Sealant Retention and Dental Carries Prevention.

Third Place (tie): Valeria Ursu (Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics, Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR), Tooth Micro-hardness Changes after Applying Bioactive Glass-containing, Anti-microbial Sealants.

Third Place (tie): Imani Smith and Cecilia Reyes (HHMI Pre-College Science Education Program, University of California, Los Angeles, CA) The Mitigation Effects of Bio-Radioprotectors Pentoxifylline and Norfloxacin on Radiated Bone Marrow Mesenchymal Stem Cells In-Vitro.



Combined Sections of
ENGINEERING, TECHNOLOGY, and APPLIED SCIENCES
PHYSICS and MATERIALS SCIENCE
First Place: Kimo Wilson (Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Boise State University, Boise, ID), Growth and Magnetic Properties of Co-deposition Ni=Mn-Ga via Radio Frequency and Direct Current Physical Vapor Deposition.

Second Place: Marcus Pearlman and Tyler Rowe (Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Boise State University, Boise, ID), Current Transmission Hysteresis in Electron Hop Funnels.

Honorable Mention: Phillip Witham (Department of Physics, Portland State University, Portland, OR), Pushing the Neutral Atom Microscope Past Conventional Optical Resolution.

Honorable Mention: Rukmini A. Ravi (Claremont High School, Claremont, CA) Can Light be Used as a Sensor to Detect and Monitor the Corrosion of Metals?



Combined Sections of
GENERAL and INTERDISCIPLINARY STUDIES
HISTORY and PHILOSOPHY of SCIENCE
SOCIAL, ECONOMIC AND POLITICAL SCIENCES
First Place: David J. Hoekema (Department of Biological and Agricultural Engineering, University of Idaho, Boise, ID), Calculator: Optimized Surface Water Allocation in Drought (OSWAD).

Second Place: Ramsey Larson and Mikael Ferm (Department of Psychology, University of Puget Sound, Tacoma, WA), Psychostimulant Use Among College Students During Periods of High and Low Stress: An Interdisciplinary Approach Utilizing Both Self-Report and Unobtrusive Chemical Sample Data.

Honorable Mention: Nichole Snyder (Department of History, Boise State University, Boise, ID), Rediscovering Emilie du Chatelet: A Scientist and Pholosophe of the French Enlightenment.



CELL and MOLECULAR BIOLOGY
First Place: Benjamin D. Hobson (Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO) Stimulation of Adenosine A1 Receptors in the Nucleus Accumbens Reduces Dopamine D1 Receptor-induced Reinstatement by Antagonizing D1-mediated Enhancements in Glutamate Transmission.

Second Place: Stephanie Wyler (Department of Biological Sciences, Boise State University, Boise, ID) Inflammatory Monocyte Populations During Liver Regeneration.

Third Place (tie): Wendy A. Harvey (Department of Biology, Boise State University, Boise, ID) TCDD Treatment Suppresses Vitamin A Storage and Activates LX-2 Human Hepatic Stellate Cells.

Third Place (tie): Sheenah Bryant (Department of Physics, Boise State University, Boise, ID) Modulation of Ionic Transport through Lysenin Channels by Charged Nanoparticles.

Honorable Mention: Nicole Ankenbrandt (Department of Biology, Boise State University, Boise, ID) Does Oncostatin M Induce Morphological Changes in Human Breast Cancer Cells?

Honorable Mention: Hunter Covert (Department of Biology, Boise State University, Boise, ID) A Role for Inflammatory Cytokines in Breast Cancer Cell EMT.



CHEMISTRY and BIOCHEMISTRY
First Place: Lu Xu (Department of Pharmaceutics and Medicinal Chemistry, University of the Pacific, Stockton, CA) Molecular Docking, Synthesis of Novel Quinazolin Analogues as Inhibitors of Transcription Factors NF-kB Activation and Their Anti-Cancer Activities.

Second Place: Ken Weekes (Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Boise State University, Boise, ID) The Effect of Ginkgo biloba on the Mouse Hippocampous.



EARTH SCIENCES
First Place: Andrea M. Wolfowicz (Department of Geosciences, Boise State University, Boise, ID), Evaluating the Ti-in-Quartz Deformation Temperatures in the Scandinavian Caledonides.



ECOLOGY, ORGANISMAL BIOLOGY and ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES
First Place: Yan Wang (Department of Biological Sciences, Boise State University, Boise, ID) Testing Monophyly and Phylogenetic Relationships of Smittium (Harpellales) using a Five-Gene Molecular Phylogenetic Analysis.

Second Place: Kerrie Weppner (Department of Geosciences, Boise State University, Boise, ID) Identifying Holocene Relationships among Climate, Vegetation, Fire and Fire-related Erosion using Alluvial Charcoal and Fossilized Woodrat (Neotoma) Middens at City of Rocks National Reserve, Idaho.

Third Place: Lily Maxine Tarjan (Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of California, Santa Cruz, CA) Determinants of Territory Quality and Male Reproductive Success in Southern Sea Otters (Enhydra lutris nereis).

Honorable Mention: Deirdre McAteer (Department of Microbiology, Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR) A Reconnaissance Study of Microbiota as Environmental Monitors.



MATHEMATICS
First Place: Jia Wan (Department of Mathematics, University of Idaho, Moscow, ID) On the Secant Defectivity of Classically Studied Varieties.

Second Place: Anna Nelson (Department of Mathematics, Boise State University, Boise, ID) Exploring Phylogenetic Relationships in Drosophila with Ciliate Operations.

Third Place (tie): Kevin Bombardier (Department of Mathematics, Witchita State University) Computability and Complexity in Elliptic Curves and Cryptography.

Third Place (tie): Kameryn Williams (Department of Mathematics, Boise State University, Boise, ID) Symmetric Key Cryptography Over Non-binary Algebraic Structures.

Honorable Mention: Douglas A. Torrance (Department of Mathematics, University of Idaho, Moscow, ID) Nondefective Secant Varieties of Split Varieties.



PSYCHOLOGY
First Place: Kristen Greider (Clinical Mental Health Counseling Program, University of San Diego, San Diego, CA) Can a Forensic Psychological Report be Crafted in the Most Recent Women Death Penalty Cases of Lynda Lyon Block and Aileen Wuornos?

Second Place: Chris Wehrle (Clinical Mental Health Counseling Program, University of San Diego, San Diego, CA) Forensic Psychology in Select Female Death Penalty Cases II: Black Widows.

Third Place (tie): Nick Boyd (Clinical Mental Health Counseling Program, University of San Diego, San Diego, CA) Opposing Psychological Reports on the Norway Killer Case.

Honorable Mention: Linh Tran (Clinical Mental Health Counseling Program, University of San Diego, San Diego, CA) Forensic Psychology in Select Female Death Penalty Cases III: Other Mental Health Issues.

Honorable Mention: Erica Bessen (Clinical Mental Health Counseling Program, University of San Diego, San Diego, CA) Motive and Aggravating Factors in Select Female Death Penalty Cases.