SDR Deposit of the Month: Undergraduate theses shine bright

It’s back to school time! As students return to campus for the new academic year, we look back at the stream of undergraduate theses and other capstone works published in the Stanford Digital Repository (SDR) by graduating students last year. As usual, it was a healthy crop! The 2019 year is particularly noteworthy due to the high number of deposited works distinguished with prizes and medals.

As reported in Stanford News in June, a total of 38 graduating seniors were honored with awards for their thesis work. Twelve of those theses are archived in the SDR for long-term access via persistent URLs. The list of titles, authors, and their departments is included here. 

David M. Kennedy Honors Thesis Prizes

Physical Modeling of Chromatin with Heterogeneous Nucleosome Spacings, by Deepti Kannan (Engineering Physics): https://purl.stanford.edu/fq175hg9693 

Tumor establishment requires tumor autonomous and non-autonomous decoupling of EGF signaling from apoptosis, by Sang Ngo (Biology): https://purl.stanford.edu/jv911yr1661 

Firestone Medal for Excellence in Undergraduate Research

More than Medical Records: Uncovering how Childhood Cancer Survivors learn about and interact with their Cancer Histories, by Elle Billman (Science, Technology & Society): https://purl.stanford.edu/vp198gc8085 

Optical Control of the Motion and Spin of Cold Atoms for Quantum Simulations with Long-Range Interactions, by Simon Evered (Physics): https://purl.stanford.edu/sv678qd2560

Elucidating the Molecular Basis of Plexin B Level-Dependent Signaling in Neural Circuit Assembly, by Ricardo Guajardo (Biology): https://purl.stanford.edu/qt069ts7453

The Behavioral Economics of Social Media: A Study of Self Commitment Devices and the Facebook Privacy Paradox, by Ruru “Juan Ru” Hoong (Economics): https://purl.stanford.edu/qt999vz1100

Ethno-religious diversity and recovery after conflict in post-ISIL Iraq: a geospatial approach, by Lloyd Lyall (International Relations): https://purl.stanford.edu/qb151vz4409

Amino Acid Withdrawal Engages ATF4-mediated Transsulfuration and Protects Cancer Cells from Oxidative Death, by Carson Poltorack (Biology): https://purl.stanford.edu/wy495bb1751 

It Motivated Me More Than It Crushed Me: Children of Incarcerated Parents in a Highly Selective University, by Lauren Seabrooks (Education): https://purl.stanford.edu/tm788rs7984

Thwarting Electoral Revolution: The Communal State and Authoritarian Consolidation in Venezuela, by Alex Trivella (Center on Democracy, Development and the Rule of Law): https://purl.stanford.edu/xr216rc9013

Can You, and Should You, Buy an Innovation Hub?, by Vicky Yeung (Economics): https://purl.stanford.edu/fb996my0191 

Robert M. Golden Medal for Excellence in the Humanities and Creative Arts

Poetry as Decreation: Impersonality and Grace in T.S. Eliot and Simone Weil, by Emily Ming King (English): https://purl.stanford.edu/zn778zs6599

All told, 253 works were deposited across 33 collections this past spring and summer, creating an overall total of 58 collections and 1942 items. Three new collections join the fold: Masters Theses in Russian, East European and Eurasian Studies; Stanford University, Department of Mathematics, Honors Theses; and Community Health and Prevention Research (CHPR) Master of Science Theses.

Thanks to all the hardworking Stanford staff who make it possible for students to publish and archive their work in the SDR: Josh Capitano, Jenae Druckman Cohn, Karin Forsell, Erica Gould, Adan Griego, Teri Hankes, Daniel Hartwig, Amy Hodge, Sasha Jason, Ashley Jester, Michale Kahan, Kris Kasianovitz, Kathy Kerns, Ali Krogman, Kristin Kutella, Marisa Makaskill, Joseph Makokha, Misty Mazzara, Alesia Montgomery, Ron Nakao, Margarita Nafpaktitis, Stella Ota, Regina Roberts, Bridget Thrasher, Emily Van Poetsch, Caroline Stasulat, Kathy Wheeler, Rebecca Wingfield, Glen Worthey, Maile Yee, and anyone else I may have inadvertently missed. Your work is worthy and appreciated!