This edition of The UCI Undergraduate Research Journal is dedicated to two outstanding individuals. Dr. Richard T. Robertson, Professor and former Chair of the Department of Anatomy & Neurobiology, served on the UROP Faculty Advisory Board from 1997–2006, as a representative from the School of Medicine. He is an accomplished scholar who is committed to excellence in faculty-mentored undergraduate research at UCI, and we are grateful for his guidance, dedication, and the many hours he spent evaluating proposals, abstracts and manuscripts. Dr. Fawzi H. Hermes, Assistant Dean of the Division of Undergraduate Education, will retire in June, 2006. He has helped launch and support numerous successful programs within the division and at UCI, including UROP. He has served as president of the Staff Assembly and Chair of the Council of UC Staff Assemblies, and received the 1997 Lauds & Laurels Award for Staff Achievement and many other awards for his contributions to UCI. It is with gratitude for their support of the undergraduate research culture at UCI that we dedicate Volume VIII of The UCI Undergraduate Research Journal to Professor Robertson and Dr. Hermes.


The UCI Undergraduate Research Journal publishes outstanding research papers written by undergraduates from all disciplines who have completed faculty-mentored research projects. The Journal is published annually by the Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program (UROP) in the Division of Undergraduate Education. It is published in hard copy and on the UROP Web site (www.urop.uci.edu). The Call for Papers is announced to all faculty and undergraduates early in the Spring Quarter. Submissions are initially reviewed by the UROP Student Editorial Board. Guided by this review, the UROP Faculty Advisory Board selects the papers to be published in the Journal. The Student Board and the UROP Journal Assistants handle the final editing and publication process for the selected papers.