Dear Reader,
Welcome to the inaugural issue of The Spectra Engineering and Science
Research Journal. Recognizing the integral importance of research at the undergraduate
level, the founding editorial board has worked hard to provide you this forum in
which the best of the engineering and science research at the University of Virginia
can be featured.
The idea for The Spectra was developed by a group of undergraduate
engineering students in the autumn of 2009. The goal of our founding editorial
board was to increase the exposure of U.Va.’s undergraduate research by creating a
new University publication: The Spectra. Our hope has been to provide a
publication platform which cultivates undergraduate engineering research, applied
science research and engineering design. Over the course of this past academic year
we have created a peer review research journal which is student-led, student-driven
and student-defined. The entirety of the journal’s operation, from the competitive
selection of the featured articles, to the peer review and editing process, to the physical
layout of the journal, has been in the hands of our student editorial board. It is a
journal by students, for students.
The articles presented within this publication issue represent an array of
fascinating undergraduate research at U.Va. This research has taken our featured
authors to the high desert plains of Chile to study one of the largest engineering marvels
of modern times, to laboratory work which has helped to elucidate the healing
potential of adipose stem cells, and to research into the material science of aerospace
engineering. We believe these articles provide an informative window into some of
the best of U.Va.’s undergraduate research.
The development of this journal would not have been successful without
the incredible guidance and support of many in the University community. Upon
learning of the idea for The Spectra, James H. Aylor, dean of the School of Engineering
and Applied Science, has provided his full support for The Spectra initiative. We
have been very grateful for both Dean Aylor’s and our faculty advisory board’s guidance
in undertaking this project. I would like to give due credit to the generous financial
support of engineering alumnus Linwood A. “Chip” Lacy Jr. and the U.Va.’s
Office of the Vice President for Research, without whose funding this publication
would not have been possible. Lastly, the SEAS Communications Office has served
as an incredible resource for aiding us through the publishing process.
The University of Virginia prides itself on undergraduate research and, in
the spirit of our founder Thomas Jefferson, on student self-governance. It is here in
The Spectra that you find both. The sharing of ideas and discoveries through technical
writing is paramount to advancing our human faculty in the engineering and sciences.
The creation of The Spectra will serve to highlight and foster undergraduate
research excellence at U.Va. for years to come.
Nil sine magno labore,
Christopher M. Belyea
Founder, Editor-in-Chief
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