Scientia, Volume 10 (2019)

Letter from the Editors *Scientia*, Latin for knowledge, has always been a student-run publication of high-quality undergraduate research in the College of Science. Founded in 2009 with the goals of celebrating and encouraging research, we are proud to say that *Scientia* has now been contributing to the scientific community of Notre Dame for a decade. The 2018-2019 academic year has been one of great growth for *Scientia*. The 'Talk Science' seminar series has garnered greater attendance this year than ever before, featuring presentations by students and faculty from a diverse array of departments. Included in this edition of the journal is a new section -- the Student Spotlight -- showcasing individual undergraduates who have had their research published in other journals in the hopes of spreading awareness and encouraging other students to follow in their footsteps. Strides have been made in updating *Scientia*'s image, from our first-ever T-shirt design competition to the debut of our new 10th-edition cover. It truly has been a wonderful year, and we are grateful to have been a part of it. The publication of this journal would not have been possible without the dedication of more than a few people here at Notre Dame. We would like to thank all of our editors and reviewers for their tireless effort in putting this journal together, and the undergraduates and their advisors who contributed their work to *Scientia*. We so appreciate our advisor, Dr. Xuemin Lu, for her advocacy, vision, and mentorship. We wish to formally acknowledge Dean Galvin and the College of Science for the continued support we have received over the years, with special thanks to Ms. Tammi Freehling, Ms. Lotta Barnes, Ms. Deanna McCool, and Ms. Elise Brady. Looking to the future, we arc honored to pass the torch on to Rosie Crisman and Vaisbali Nayak as Co-Editors in Chief. We have full confidence that they will take *Scientia* to new heights in the 2019- 2020 year. In Notre Dame, Ruby Hollinger & Eric Sah Editors in Chief