Companies are aware of the growing importance of online orders and with it, new opportunities for efficient distribution models. Using the data from a large scale retailer, this paper describes an optimization model for a last mile delivery system using drones to bring packages to customers in Minnesota. The model identifies the optimal location for a mobile drone hive or a truck equipped with drone delivery systems. This location allows for the maximum deliveries to be made within the flight capability of the drones.

Wolbachia is a commonly found bacterium in arthropods and nematodes and can induce Cytoplasmic Incompatibility (CI) in mosquitoes' embryos. With the recent outbreak of Zika and malaria, CI is being reinvestigated as a tool to control the transmission of mosquito-transmitted diseases (Hoffmann et al., 2011; Walker et al., 2011). With the time when Wolbachia peaks in mosquitoes’ ovaries remains unknown, we hypothesized that unfed mosquitoes’ ovaries have the lowest Wolbachia number compared to those fed with bloodmeal.

Garlic mustard (Alliaria petiolata) is a shade-tolerant biennial plant native to Europe that has been invading forest understories and decimating biodiversity, especially through high seed production. This study investigated the efficacy of using plant viruses (Tobacco Mosaic Virus, TMV, and Turnip Mosaic Virus, TuMV) as a biocontrol of Garlic mustard in order to reduce growth and seed production. Inoculating Garlic mustard with one or both of these viruses will have a negative effect on the growth of the plants.

Fluoroquinolones are a widely prescribed antibacterial drug that act through a mechanism known as ‘topoisomerase poisoning’. In this mechanism, the formation of a topoisomerase-fluoroquinolone-DNA ternary complex triggers cytotoxic events. Clinically successful anticancer drugs also utilize the topoisomerase poisoning mechanism. Our laboratory discovered that N1-biphenyl fluoroquinolone 217 inhibits human topoisomerases I and II without poisoning them.

The use of high tunnels-- structures made of polyethylene film covering agricultural fields-- has been increasing in the United States as demand increases for local and organical produce. Thus, it is important to assess long-term effects of high tunnels on soil health. High tunnels will likely affect soil microbial activity as they strongly affect soil moisture and temperature. Microbial activity is essential to nutrient cycling and overall soil health, which in turn supports crop yields.

The catalytic cycle faces a unique challenge with single bonded carbons. C(sp2)=C(sp2) bonds have been research extensively and are much easier to synthesize in a laboratory setting. Specifically, in cross-coupling reactions, the research for forming alkyl-alkyl bonds still needs to overcome numerous barriers.

Autonomous Underwater Vehicles (AUVs) have been in development in recent decades to address the difficulties and high costs of oceanic exploration, with a myriad of applications including marine life monitoring and search and rescue operations. An underwater robot in development by the Interactive Robotics and Vision (IRV) Laboratory at the University of Minnesota is LoCO, a Low Cost Open-Source AUV aiming to reduce the current high cost of entry into underwater robotics.

Understand the efficacy of climate change agreements is critical because without international action earth’s natural systems and the environment will severely degrade. Climate change is primarily driven by anthropogenic natural gas emissions that trap heat in the atmosphere. Without effective mitigation of emissions, countries around the world will face the threat of water and food insecurity. The purpose of my research is to fill a gap in existing research about how the Paris Agreement impacts the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) in order to determine its efficacy.

Directional drilling is used to install conduits for sewage, irrigation, and electrical applications.  This process has many downsides including cost, destruction to soil surfaces, and the need for a human operator.  A soft burrowing robot with a traction (radially expanding) and extension (axially expanding) segments allows for many degrees of freedom and for a locomotive worm like movement.

The Drosophila melanogaster Trus is an ortholog to the human PDCD2L and is believed to similarly play a role in the biogenesis and nuclear export of the 40S ribosomal subunit, therefore influencing protein translation and the cell cycle. trus mutant in Drosophila shows a significant developmental delay and lethality during larval stage, however, the mechanism that causes the defects is not understood. Human PDCD2L protein was shown to shuttle between the nucleus and cytoplasm in a CRM1-dependent manner.