2010 - Undergraduate Research, Scholarship and Creative Activity

Saving Riverside Chinatown: Redefining
Identity in Asian-American Communities
Chardae Chou, Media and Cultural Studies
Christina Hwee, Political Science
Kimberly Zarate, Anthropology/ Film and
Visual Culture
Teresa Tran, English
Donna Arkee, Anthropology
Mentor: Scott Fedick
Department of Anthropology
the larger Asian Pacific Islander awareness
movement forward.
Cost Reduction Techniques for Proton
Exchange Membrane Fuel Cells
Christian Contreras, Chemical and
Environmental Engineering
Mentor: Yushan Yan
Department of Chemical and Environmental
Engineering
The First Transcontinental Railroad often stands
as the ―most‖ recognized historical contribution
of the Chinese in America during the nineteenth
century. As migration by these Chinese laborers
increased, intensified ethnic discrimination of
Chinese resulted in the institution of the Chinese
Exclusion Act This act relocated thousands of
Chinese, forcing them to construct Chinatowns
that collectively concentrated small groups of
Chinese within larger communities—including
Riverside, California. Although there are
currently many educational opportunities in
Riverside dedicated to Riverside's local history,
preservation of the Chinatown site will ensure
that future generations will have a more
complete and visible perspective of early
Riverside heritage and the historical
contributions of the Chinese in Riverside. In
2008, the Save Our Chinatown Committee
(SOCC), a grassroots community organization,
formed to oppose construction of a medical
building on this local heritage site. Alongside
this community organization, five SOCC student
researchers worked in the areas of historical
research, preservation research, public relations
and community outreach. These interconnected
arenas allow student communities and public
organizations/entities to collaborate to preserve
one of the last remaining archaeological
Chinatown sites in the United States. Through
experiential research, the students witnessed
effects of community organizing among diverse
groups and addressed movements to reclaim
history and redefine identity in the Asian-
American community. This presentation will
address how community organizing among
Asian-Americans indicates a social need for
increased acknowledgment of Asian
contributions in local history in order to propel
Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cells
(PEMFCs) have proven to be an alternative
power source with little to no environmental
repercussions. Unfortunately PEMFCs are
commercially limited by the high cost of the
components needed, including the catalyst. After
implementing three separate projects, our
laboratory developed three techniques to
generate a better performing fuel cell. By
improving the fabrication techniques for
PEMFC‘s one can improve its performance and
decrease its cost. Through the use of an air brush
technique, one can reduce the amount of catalyst
on the Anode. Additionally by supporting
Platinum on Multi-walled Carbon Nanotubes,
and applying the same airbrush technique, one
can reduce the amount of catalyst on the
Cathode. Initial results show that decreasing the
amount of catalyst used on the Anode by 90
percent produces similar results to a standard
Anode, while the Carbon nanotubes increase the
Mass Activity of the Cathode by 800 percent.
Combining these two techniques with a pretreatment
of the Membrane Electrode Assembly
with an Argon feed generates Nafion tm fibers
(confirmed via SEM), increasing the
performance by 25 percent. Each technique is
aimed at improving the performance of a fuel
cell and can be used in conjunction with one
another. The results of these techniques show
that the performance of a PEM Fuel Cell is
increased while the cost of the catalyst required
is decreased by 85 percent.
Fourth Annual UCR Symposium for Undergraduate Research, Scholarship and Creative Activity
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