Leah Thompson

Leah Thompson

Biography

Leah Thompson is a first-year Honors Economics major at Howard University with minors in French and Mathematics. A member of the Howard Humanities and Social Sciences Scholars Program, she is dedicated to using research, quantitative analysis, and policy reform to address global inequality. Her academic interests lie at the intersection of international trade, econometric analysis, and economic development. Through culturally informed, data-driven research, she aims to promote financial inclusion and help decolonize global economic structures. Outside the classroom, Leah serves as Vice-Chair of Howard’s Study AbroadCouncil, where she helps expand global learning opportunities for underrepresented students.She also represented Howard at the United Nations Summit of the Future, where she worked with delegates and youth leaders to revise strategies for implementing the SustainableDevelopment Goals. Through continued academic study, Leah hopes to strengthen her skills in policy analysis and quantitative research as she prepares for a Ph.D. in economics.

Abstract

The Post-Pandemic Transit Crisis and Its Disportportionate Impact on Socially Vulnerable Communities in U.S. Cities: A Seattle Case Study

LCST (Lower Critical Solution Temperature) polymers are polymers that precipitate upon a heating in temperature due to a weakening of hydrogen bonding. With a wide array of applications in industry including water purification systems, temperature-sensitive drug release, and some packaging and cosmetics there is a high demand for LCST polymers. Recently, there has been a garnered interest in LCST polymers for the capture of environmental analytes from wastewater due to their toxicity and harmful impact on the environment as well as the human body. While LCST polymers have been developed for the capture of environmental analytes, limited studies have explored the impact of the hydrophobicity and hydrophilic functionalization of LCST polymers for the selective capture of environmental analytes. This work aims to employ an increase in hydrophilic functionality in LCST polymers to evaluate the selective PFAS capture. In order to detect environmental analytes, this work aims to employ conductive polymers, such as polyethylene dioxythiophene (PEDOT), which encourages facile oxidation and an increase in conductivity, upon introduction to an environmental analyte. An evaluation of the impact of non-polar groups on environmental analyte capture and detection will be explored to offer, insight on the selective PFAS detection and capture.