Summer 2013 – Spring 2014
The University of Kansas prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, ethnicity, religion, sex, national origin, age, ancestry, disability, status as a veteran, sexual orientation, marital status, 
parental status, gender identity, gender expression, and genetic information in the University’s programs and activities. The following person has been designated to handle inquiries regarding the 
non-discrimination policies: Director of the Office of Institutional Opportunity and Access, ioa@ku.edu, 1246 West Campus Road, Room 153A, Lawrence, KS 66045, 785-864-6414, TTY 711.
COVER 
Erin Dvorak, “Figure 14,” Senior in Photo Media; 
Mentor: Bryon Darby, Assistant Professor of Photo Media
Photography has changed the public’s perception of various social and political issues since the medium’s conception. By exploring a 
topical subject, the photographer makes the issue accessible on a personal level and promotes awareness of said topic. Photography is 
significant in this sense as it fosters an understanding accessible by all viewers. By creating work centered on energy production and 
consumption, viewers have the opportunity to connect with our current state of energy in order to create a higher level of cognizance 
of this complex subject. Most consumers are disconnected with the environmental, political, and social issues that our source of 
livelihood creates, and spending time with the various layers of energy production will educate the community about these realities. 
After touring the Westar Energy Center in Lawrence, KS, I was inspired to create images that reflected the complex process of coal 
energy production. This image was created using strictly documentary photography as well as excerpts from research conducted in the 
1970’s about the various emissions released with coal fired energy production. Juxtaposing these various mediums of research from the 
past and present gives viewers a new perspective and an outlet to pursue their own curiosities. 
The Journal of Undergraduate Research is an 
annual publication by the Center for Undergraduate 
Research that features the scholarship of 
undergraduates at the University of Kansas. 
Contents
UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCH
Evaluating body dissatisfaction as a moderator between physical self-concept 
and physical activity  ............................................................................................................................. 1
Stephanie Chen
Breaking ground in Canaan: African-American community in Lawrence, 1870–1920  ......... 9
Paul E. Fowler III
Quantifying CO2 removal by living walls: a case study of the Center for 
Design Research  .................................................................................................................................. 20
Eric Rivera
An analysis of electromyography as an input method for resilient and affordable systems: 
human-computer interfacing using the body’s electrical activity  ............................................ 30
Seth Polsley
Man of Tomorrow: a film on Jacque Fresco  ........................................................................................ 38
Nathanael Dinwiddie
Performance study of supertree methods  ...................................................................................... 41
Patrick Niehaus
Community health club and its application for health promotion and community building 
in Matazano, Guatemala  ................................................................................................................... 46
Karen S. Lewis
Isolation and crystallization of PvdJp2, a non-ribosomal peptide synthetase domain in 
Pseudomonas aeruginosa  ......................................................................................................................... 58
Betsy Ramirez
The potential of milkweed floss as a natural fiber in the textile industry  ............................. 64
Julia Nehring
Optimum protein-excipient interactions using molecular docking simulations  ................. 69
Haider Sulaiman Tarar