Sample Research Topics
Seaver College is set apart from its peer institutions by the emphasis we place on undergraduate research. From mechanical engineering to the life sciences, the work of Seaver students has earned distinction at conferences, competitions and in journals. Below are several examples of projects our students have performed with the guidance of the faculty.
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| Fingerprinting Space Storms Using Dynamic Wave Power Spectra
| As we increasingly depend on satellite technology in our everyday lives, understanding space weather is of critical importance to our national interests. Magnetic storms in the Earth’s space environment often occur following periods of intense solar activity. Some, but not all, of these storms are accompanied by a rapid enhancement in the population of very energetic electrons that travel at near-relativistic speeds. Continue Reading
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| Shell Eco-marathon Competition Vehicle Design Project | A team of mechanical engineering students designed and manufactured a vehicle that was entered into the 2008 Shell Eco-marathon Competition. The goal of the competition is to design and build a vehicle that gets the highest fuel efficiency. The 2008 LMU team placed 15th out of 29 entries with a fuel efficiency of 313.4mpg. Continue Reading
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| Exploring the Texture of the Universe: Lacunarity analysis of cosmological large scale structure | Current research in cosmology is focused on two main issues: the cause of the observed large scale clustering of galaxies, and the nature of the underlying geometry of the Universe. Determination of the latter will answer a very important question: will the Universe continue to expand indefinitely, or will it eventually re-collapse on itself sometime in the far future? Continue Reading
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| Bone Mineral Density of the Lumbar Spine in College Rowers and Controls
| Bone mineral density (BMD) begins to develop in the womb and continues to increase into adulthood, reaching a peak around age 30. Many factors contribute to the development of BMD including dietary intake, physical activity, and genetics. The research was presented at the 2007 Southwest American College of Sports Medicine Conference in San Diego. This research was supported by the internal Rains Research Assistant program.
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| Measuring Organic Contaminants in Los Angeles’ Ballona Wetland and Creek
| Over the past two summers (June 2006, June 2007), passive samplers (polyethylene devices, PEDs) were deployed in the LA Ballona Wetlands to measure the dissolved concentrations of selected TMDL-regulated contaminants: polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), and chlorinated pesticides. These recently-developed passive samplers allow for the measurement of contaminants at trace levels.
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