Grand Prize, Upper division, Thesis
Nolan Degarlais
Advisor: Adam Warren
Multiracial Labor Organizing and Community Building in Roslyn, Washington, 1888-1907
In 1888 predominantly white mine workers in the newly established coal mining town of Roslyn formed a local affiliate of the Knights of Labor and called a strike. As a way to break the strike, the Northwestern Improvement Company recruited hundreds of Black miners from the Midwest. After a period in which racial division threatened to boil over into violence, the strike was ultimately broken and the majority of white miners left town. In the coming years, Black miners continued to migrate there along with European immigrants. By 1904, miners had organized a union across racial lines that led a successful strike. I analyze how conditions transformed in the intervening years to allow the growth of a successful multiracial union. Principally, the absence of native-born white workers created a space for Black and immigrant white workers to build a community that explicitly defined itself through its multiracial character.
Nicole Grabiel
Advisor: lleana Rodriguez-Silva
“Nadie Ganaba” / “Nobody Won”: El Salvador, Argentina, and the Transnational Roots of State Terror
This project examines the relationship between El Salvador and Argentina in the leadup to El Salvador’s civil war. I argue that the military regimes in El Salvador and Argentina took on a consultative relationship during the late 1970s and early 1980s in which Salvadoran officials looked to Argentina for a “successful” model of repression. By pairing archival research conducted at the Historical Archive of the Chancellery in Buenos Aires with existing scholarship on Argentine involvement in Central America, I trace the rise of Argentine influence in El Salvador from a few well-placed offers of aid to the minds of four of El Salvador’s top-ranking wartime officials. In doing so, I look beyond the Cold War in Latin America as a phenomenon imposed from above by the United States and instead interrogate the middle layer, in which Latin American states reproduced the Cold War along more local and regional lines.
Mia Oscarsson
Advisor: Keith Harris
Washington State Ferries: The Rider Experience
With future ferry fleet electrification, this research aims to explore user experience on Washington State Ferries (WSF) using this question: How does the design of a historically significant space like the WSF system – ferries and terminals – affect the experience for riders who heavily rely on the ferry?
I explore this through multiple user research methods. I conducted field observations of 3 ferry routes and distributed a survey. Based on survey results, I recruited participants to engage in photovoice research, prompting them to take pictures of their ferry experience and discuss in 30-minute interviews.
I uncovered a unique relationship – the commuter identity fosters opportunities for community on the ferry while also defining rider norms. There is a desire for interactive technology and education while a pain point was access to food. This work is significant in capturing the experience of riders who are reliant on the ferry as their main transportation.
Grand Prize, Upper Division, Non-thesis
Calypso Bettis
Advisor: Anna Nguyen
Caged Women and Wombs: Mistreatment of Incarcerated Pregnant Women
In this paper I explore the numerous ways incarcerated pregnant women are mistreated throughout the pregnancy. This includes the stories of women impregnated by prison guards, not given adequate prenatal care or diets, forced to work while pregnant, and the violent medical experiences they have. Additionally, I explore how these issues differ across states as the prison system is highly variable across the US. The paper also takes into account how women often become incarcerated due to vulnerable circumstances.
Naeha Geogy
Advisor: Samuel Roller
A Sidelined War, Despite Outstanding Health Security Violations
My mid-term research paper for G H 415: War and Public Health, titled “A Sidelined War, Despite Outstanding Health Security Violations”, explores various health impacts of war on civilian and combatant populations affected by the Syrian Civil War. Through analysis of studies and articles that provide insight on mental health, chronic illness, and environmental health factors of these in Syria, my paper emphasizes the concerning nature of human health violations posed by war.
Victoria Landrum
Advisor: Michelle Hickner
Nonlinear System Identification for Exoskeletons Literature Review
The submitted project encompasses a literature review and critical paper review that provides an in-depth exploration of relevant literature for a research project investigating the effects of resistive ankle exoskeletons on muscle activity and walking kinematics. This project explores relevant literature for exoskeletons, control theory, biomechanics, and nonlinear and linear system identification techniques from an engineering perspective to inform a project that explores the impact of resistive ankle exoskeletons on muscle activity and walking mechanics, aiming to personalize rehabilitation strategies. The critical paper review involved analyzing and critiquing a modern system identification technique and application from a peer-reviewed publication to inform potential future research directions and applications for using the technique. Combined, the project provides a thorough overview of related literature to exoskeleton control and system identification with an emphasis on a modern technique to be investigated in future work.
Grand Prize, Lower Division
Cissy Dai
Advisor: Sarah Ghasedi
Connections between increased daily sugar intake and mental health
When the parents catch their kids eating sugar, their initial concern often gravitates towards oral health, when in reality, it may be indicative that their kids are having some mental health issues. Sugar is a readily accessible treatment for young individuals grappling with mental health challenges, because eating the tasty food provides a seemingly simple solution. Regrettably, I found a lack of awareness and reflection among the lay public regarding the rationale behind their perceived mood enhancement. This video explores an objective perspective to the excessive amount of daily sugar that the population is taking nowadays. From addressing the gap for the influence of sugar in mental and physical health, in both short and long term, the video aims to help the audience to understand and treat sugar correctly in daily diet.
Eva Derksen
Advisor: Shirley J. Yee
Bodybuilding: The Construction of Bodies
The sport of bodybuilding is a western phenomenon that has roots in imperialistic, colonial, and gendered anxieties about the correct state of the body. The history of bodybuilding supports the idea that the sport is posed as a remedy to relevant 20th century fears about a loss of man-power in the United States. The evolution of the sport throughout the 20th century– culminating in the production of two bodybuilding docu-dramas, titled Pumping Iron and Pumping Iron II: The Women–underscores the way that attempts to enter a body and gender-inclusive discourse only further enforce gendered, racialized, classicized, and ableist ideals that are foundational to American imperialism. Analysis of historical and contemporary texts, as well as the aforementioned docu-drama films will support my conclusion that the sport of bodybuilding is inextricable from its historical function of underlining, reinforcing, and eliminating physical difference is the pursuit of a national bodily ideal.
Gabrielle Masteller
Advisor: Sarah Moore
Damage and Preservation of Ancient Egyptian Tomb Murals
The curse of the mummy has been sensationalized in the media for years, but has been proven untrue with no biological explanation. Even though bacteria and fungi found in ancient Egyptian tombs are not actively killing people, they are still causing problems, specifically to the wall murals inside of the tombs. These problems include color changes, mystery brown spots, and issues with the mural’s structure. Recently there has been increased interest in research about the types of bacteria, molds, and fungi that are present in Egyptian tombs, their effect on tomb wall art, and what can be done to protect the art so it can be enjoyed by future generations. In this review, I will analyze the actual effect of these bacteria, molds, and fungi on ancient Egyptian tomb art, how we can combat these microbial free riders, and the negative effects murals experience due to human interaction.
Honorable Mention, Upper division, Thesis
Sophie Belz
Advisor: Adam Warren
“Call Off Your Old Tired Ethics”: Sex and Work in 1970s Seattle and San Francisco
The buying and selling of sex has been a persistent element of the social, economic, and political structures of early Pacific Coast metropolises since the 1848 California Gold Rush. Despite long histories of condoning sex work, unilaterally punitive treatment of women, particularly Black, Indigenous, and Chinese women endured through the 1970s, until the synergy of the sexual revolution and civil rights movement allowed for Margo St. James, a former sex worker and social activist, to organize the country’s first sex workers reform and aid group “Call Off Your Old Tired Ethics” or COYOTE. While COYOTE was ultimately a transient political movement, its intellectual goals and concrete initiatives resulted from and furthered broader and more sustained political consciousness regarding the precarious relationship of the law to women’s sexuality and sexual labor– a relevant theme in contemporary analyses of sex work and its social, moral, and legal legitimacy.
Honorable Mention, Upper Division, Non-thesis
Mariela Hernandez
Advisor: Katarzyna Dziwirek
Emotional and Linguistic Expressions for Grief in American and Hispanic Cultures
The project I completed this Winter quarter focused on researching the impact that culture can have on language and emotional expression, as well as comparing and contrasting the language and emotional expression between Hispanic and American cultures. The main point of my project is to identify the distinctions between Spanish and English speakers, as well as their commonalities in how they feel emotions and how they verbalize their emotions. In addition, I inspected the common gender bias that both American and Hispanic cultures experience and employ. Furthermore, I emphasized the importance of the lexical grids, also known as vocabularies, that the two cultures share. All in all, my goal with my project was to unify all the aspects between culture, language, and emotions in Hispanic and American culture to give a deeper understanding of languages and the unique depth of emotion felt in each culture.
Zoe Nelles
Advisor: Adair Rounthwaite
General Idea: Performing Artifice and Circularity Through The 1984 Miss General Idea Pageant and the Imagevirus Project
General Idea was an art collective group working out of Toronto and New York City from 1967-1994. Their works were influential in terms of performance, medium specificity, and political action, and broadly impacted the art world as we know it today. In this paper, I seek to understand two artworks which bookend General Idea’s career: The 1984 Miss General Idea Pageant and its surrounding concepts, and the Imagevirus project. These pieces differ in medium and execution but through analysis of intention and historical context, reveal narratives which run through General Idea’s oeuvre.
Honorable Mention, Lower Division
Thomas William Boyd
Advisor: Purnima Dhavan
On the Historiography of Alauddin Khilji
This paper aims to establish the existence of a positive relationship between the Sultan Alauddin Khilji and his court poet Amir Khusrau. As such, the propaganda produced by Khusrau towards his boss can be understood as sincere, thus increasing its valididty as a primary source. By doing this, the varaiety of sources regarding this reign is increased, as most sources tend to see Alauddin in a negative light.
Serena Tideman
Advisor: Jeff Bowen & Mark Rodgers
In Defense of Beatrice & the Nightengale
In honor of Beatrice Harrison, who was a great cellist of 100 years ago, and the favorite cellist of one of my favorite composers, Edward Elgar, I composed a duet for cello and birdsong. I also researched about her life as a cellist, as a muse and her very popular 1924 BBC Broadcast of cello and nightingale recorded in her garden outside London, which has recently been disputed by many journalists.
Population Health
Evelyn Erickson
Advisor: Julie Rorrer
Tandem dechlorination and hydrogenolysis of waste PVC plastic into value added chemicals
Plastic waste is a serious problem with detrimental environmental impacts, within this mixed plastics pose a significant challenge in depolymerization. My project focuses on polyvinyl chloride (PVC), a particularly difficult plastic to break down due to the chlorine atom. Chlorine can poison catalysts and release harmful by products like hydrochloric acid or chlorine gas. I have been working to dechlorinate PVC and then further break down this waste plastic to form value added products. Once dechlorinated PVC becomes a hydrocarbon and can be treated similar to other waste plastics like polyethylene and polypropylene. This tandem dechlorination and depolymerization occur in a single step through a strong amine base and ruthenium catalyst helping to activate the reaction.
Lindsay Lucenko
Advisor: Katherine Beckett
Gender Dynamics in King County Drug Diversion Court: Exploring Experiences and Perspectives
This research explores the experiences of men and women in the King County Drug Diversion Court, a rehabilitative program for drug-related offenses. Participants undergo a five-phase program with the potential for charge dismissal, but concerns about coercion persist. Participants must maintain sobriety, undergo frequent tests, attend support meetings, communicate with case managers, find employment, and fulfill familial duties. The study investigates how gender influences these obligations’ fulfillment, especially considering the court’s predominantly male population. Through nine semi-structured interviews, I examined participants’ experiences with the criminal justice system, focusing on gender impacts. Findings reveal nuanced gendered experiences, informing justice system reform. By combining qualitative interviews and existing research, this study sheds light on gender dynamics within the court, contributing to policy and practice for a fairer criminal justice system.
Nede Ovbiebo
Advisor: Eddie Kasner
An Evaluation of Agricultural Safety and Health in Pesticide Application Technology
The use of pesticides in the Pacific Northwest is essential in the process of safeguarding public health, most notably by mitigating pests, protecting our food supply, and aiding in produce distribution. However, long-term exposure to pesticides can result in illness for those handling the substances as well as their families. Newer methods, such as aerial drone spraying involve the use of emerging technologies that are poised to change the landscape of the agricultural industry and health outcomes of farmworkers. This project will be assessing thoughts regarding adoption of these technologies. Through the creation of an electronic survey, I will be obtaining a variety of responses from individuals involved in the application of pesticides on farms. I will then analyze responses both quantitatively and qualitatively. The main objective of my research project is to capture the attitudes of the pesticide application technologies to inform policy, regulations, and decision-making regarding their uses.
Richer Zhao
Advisor: Sarah Ghasedi
What are the health outcomes of phytochemical supplements versus fruits and vegetables?
This research stems from concerns about the efficiency of modern diets, which increasingly rely on supplements rather than natural food sources. I analyzed data and reviewed information to compare the effectiveness of phytochemical supplements and whole fruits and vegetables. The study emphasized that while phytochemicals are used in various therapies, their individual effects cannot be compared to the combined benefits of whole foods based on current scientific developments. I have placed the results in a booklet to be printed and disseminated in the future to enable more people to plan their diets wisely and incorporate phytochemicals flexibly into their daily routines.