About

Katherine Davis is an Assistant Professor and the Marjorie M. Fisher Professor of Egyptology of the Pharaonic Period at the University of Michigan. She works on the writing and culture of Ancient Egypt, particularly from the New Kingdom through the Greco-Roman Period. Her research examines scribal culture, scribal education, the production and preservation of knowledge, and the development of Egyptian scripts and language stages. Her current book project is a monograph titled Writing Knowledge: Egyptian Grammar and Scholarship in the Late Period, which explores how Egyptian scribes produced and transmitted knowledge about language and writing. Davis is also interested in translation, scribal commentary, metalanguage, the reuse of material in scribal education, the history of papyrology collections, and sexual violence in Egyptian stories. Her teaching interests include Egyptian language and scripts such as Middle Egyptian, Late Egyptian, Demotic, Old Egyptian, hieroglyphs, and hieratic, as well as Egyptian history, religion, and the broader intellectual history of Egypt and the ancient Middle East, including science and math. Additionally, she studies the reception of ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia in modern popular culture, from books to video games.

Research topics

• Materials science
• Chemistry
• Optics
• Computer science
• Information retrieval

Selected publications

• Structure of the cuniculus nectary in Brassavola flagellaris Barb. Rodr. (Laeliinae Benth., Orchidaceae)

  Acta Agrobotanica · 2012-01-01 · 8 citations

  articleOpen access

  To date, the structure of the cuniculus nectary has not been studied in detail. Furthermore, the secretory mechanism of such nectaries has not been investigated. The present paper describes, for the first time, the structural organization and ultrastructure of the cuniculus nectary in the moth-pollinated orchid <i>Brassavola flagellaris</i> Barb. Rodr. This tubular structure is situated between the perianth tube and ovary and, in its possession of thick, cellulose cell walls, resembles the nectary of ornithophilous taxa. The presence of large secretory vesicles that fuse with the plasmalemma indicate that granulocrine nectar secretion occurs in this species. The lumen of the cuniculus is lined with unicellular hairs. However, the cuticle overlying the whole epidermal surface lining the lumen (both glabrous and pubescent regions) was coated with nectar residues and became distended and cracked, indicating that this entire tissue is probably involved in nectar secretion.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Nectary structure of Ornithidium sophronitis Rchb.F. (Orchidaceae: Maxillariinae)

  Acta Agrobotanica · 2012-01-01 · 17 citations

  articleOpen access

  Most orchids do not produce floral food-rewards. Instead, they attract pollinators by mimicry or deceit. When present, the most common floral food-reward is nectar. To date, nectary structure has been described for only two species of <i>Maxillaria sensu lato</i>, namely <i>Maxillariella anceps</i> and <i>Ornithidium coccineum</i> (formerly <i>Maxillaria anceps</i> and <i>M. coccinea</i>, respectively). Here, we describe that of a third species, <i>Ornithidium sophronitis</i> (formerly <i>Maxillaria sophronitis</i>). This species possesses floral characters concomitant with ornithophily. A 'faucet and sink' arrangement is present, with nectar secreted by a protuberance on the ventral surface of the column, collecting between column and tepal bases. The nectary of <i>O. sophronitis</i> shares many features with that of <i>O. coccineum</i>. It has a single-layered epidermis and 3- 5 layers of small, subepidermal, collenchymatous, secretory cells. Beneath these occur 2-3 layers of larger, subsecretory, parenchymatous cells supplied by phloem. Nectary cell vacuoles contain osmiophilic material and proteinaceous intravacuolar bodies. Moreover, distension of the nectary cuticle occurs as nectar accumulates between it and the secretory epidermis. Subsecretory cells, however, have thinner walls and contain flocculent, intravacuolar precipitates that may be related to the presence of flavonoids. Since the floral and nectary structure of <i>O. sophronitis</i> is very similar to that of closely related <i>Ornithidium coccineum</i>, it may have evolved in like manner in response to similar pollinator pressures.

  PublisherDOI

• Measurement of Spatial Resolution and Sensitivity in Transmission and Backscattering Raman Spectroscopy of Opaque Samples: Impact on Pharmaceutical Quality Control and Raman Tomography

  Applied Spectroscopy · 2010-05-01 · 38 citations

  article

  A practical methodology is described that allows measurement of spatial resolution and sensitivity of Raman spectroscopy in backscatter and transmission modes under conditions where photon migration dominates, i.e., with turbid or opaque samples. For the first time under such conditions the width and intensity of the point spread function (PSF) has been accurately measured as a function of sample thickness and depth below the surface. In transmission mode, the lateral resolution for objects in the bulk degraded linearly with sample thickness, but the resolution was much better for objects near either surface, being determined by the diameter of the probe beam and collection aperture irrespective of sample thickness. In other words, buried objects appear to be larger than ones near either surface. The absolute transmitted signal decreased significantly with sample thickness, but objects in the bulk yielded higher signals than those at either surface. In transmission, materials are sampled preferentially in the bulk, which has ramifications for quantitative analysis. In backscattering mode, objects near the probed surface were detected much more effectively than in the bulk, and the resolution worsened linearly with depth below the surface. These results are highly relevant in circumstances in which one is trying to detect or image buried objects in opaque media, for example Raman tomography of biological tissues or compositional and structural analysis of pharmaceutical tablets. Finally, the observations were in good agreement with Monte Carlo simulations and, provided one is in the diffusion regime, were insensitive to the choice of transport length, which shows that a simple model can be used to predict instrument performance for a given excitation and collection geometry.

  PublisherDOI

• The Application of Raman Spectroscopy for Pharmaceutical Secondary Manufacturing

  AIP conference proceedings · 2010-01-01

  article

  Views Icon Views Article contents Figures & tables Video Audio Supplementary Data Peer Review Share Icon Share Twitter Facebook Reddit LinkedIn Tools Icon Tools Reprints and Permissions Cite Icon Cite Search Site Citation Ian R. Lewis, Kevin L. Davis, Sean Gilliam, Herve Lucas, Carsten Uerpmann; The Application of Raman Spectroscopy for Pharmaceutical Secondary Manufacturing. AIP Conf. Proc. 6 August 2010; 1267 (1): 157–158. https://doi.org/10.1063/1.3482439 Download citation file: Ris (Zotero) Reference Manager EasyBib Bookends Mendeley Papers EndNote RefWorks BibTex toolbar search Search Dropdown Menu toolbar search search input Search input auto suggest filter your search All ContentAIP Publishing PortfolioAIP Conference Proceedings Search Advanced Search |Citation Search

  PublisherDOI

• Characterization of Sparse Samples with Morphologically Directed Raman Microscopy

  AIP conference proceedings · 2010-01-01

  article

  Views Icon Views Article contents Figures & tables Video Audio Supplementary Data Peer Review Share Icon Share Twitter Facebook Reddit LinkedIn Tools Icon Tools Reprints and Permissions Cite Icon Cite Search Site Citation Linda H. Kidder, E. Neil Lewis, Kenneth S. Haber, Kevin L. Davis, Ian R. Lewis; Characterization of Sparse Samples with Morphologically Directed Raman Microscopy. AIP Conference Proceedings 6 August 2010; 1267 (1): 568–569. https://doi.org/10.1063/1.3482681 Download citation file: Ris (Zotero) Reference Manager EasyBib Bookends Mendeley Papers EndNote RefWorks BibTex toolbar search Search Dropdown Menu toolbar search search input Search input auto suggest filter your search All ContentAIP Publishing PortfolioAIP Conference Proceedings Search Advanced Search |Citation Search

  PublisherDOI

• Raman Spectroscopy for Monitoring Real‐Time Processes in the Pharmaceutical Industry

  2007-06-08 · 7 citations

  other1st author

  This chapter contains sections titled: Introduction A Brief History of Raman Spectroscopy Basic Theory of Raman Spectroscopy General Instrumentation for Raman Spectroscopy The Choice—Dispersive or FT? Process Analysis and PAT Why Choose Raman as a PAT Tool? The Need for Raman Data Analysis Applications Conclusions References

  PublisherDOI

• Optimal observability of sustained stochastic competitive inhibition oscillations at organellar volumes

  FEBS Journal · 2005-11-28 · 14 citations

  articleOpen access1st authorCorresponding

  When molecules are present in small numbers, such as is frequently the case in cells, the usual assumptions leading to differential rate equations are invalid and it is necessary to use a stochastic description which takes into account the randomness of reactive encounters in solution. We display a very simple biochemical model, ordinary competitive inhibition with substrate inflow, which is only capable of damped oscillations in the deterministic mass-action rate equation limit, but which displays sustained oscillations in stochastic simulations. We define an observability parameter, which is essentially just the ratio of the amplitude of the oscillations to the mean value of the concentration. A maximum in the observability is seen as the volume is varied, a phenomenon we name system-size observability resonance by analogy with other types of stochastic resonance. For the parameters of this study, the maximum in the observability occurs at volumes similar to those of bacterial cells or of eukaryotic organelles.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• <title>Advances in fiber optic Raman instrumentation</title>

  Proceedings of SPIE, the International Society for Optical Engineering/Proceedings of SPIE · 1999-04-09 · 3 citations

  article1st authorCorresponding

  The analytical potential for routine Raman analyses has promoted the development of class 1 instruments configured for analytical laboratory use. A particular topic of interest regarding these systems for the biomedical and pharmaceutical fields is calibration standardization. Widespread acceptance of Raman spectroscopy in regulated industries requires automated, reliable, traceable instrument calibration. Key dispersive Raman analyzer elements that require calibration include excitation laser wavelength, Raman emission wavelengths, and the spectral response profile of the instrument. In this paper we will detail recent developments in fiber optically coupled Raman instruments. Hardware approaches to calibration issues will be the primary focus of this discussion. Candidate wavelength and intensity calibration references are evaluated. Potential system calibration/qualification protocols are discussed.

  PublisherDOI

• <title>Calibration of dispersive Raman process analyzers</title>

  Proceedings of SPIE, the International Society for Optical Engineering/Proceedings of SPIE · 1999-02-26 · 18 citations

  articleSenior author

  Widespread acceptance of Raman spectroscopy in chemical process monitoring requires instrument calibration, which is automated, repeatable, reliable, verifiable, and transferable from instrument to instrument. Key elements to be calibrated in a dispersive Raman analyzer are Raman emission wavelengths, the spectral response of the instrument, and the excitation laser wavelength. Modern Raman instruments are capable of simultaneously monitoring multiple sample points in a process pipeline. In a typical industrial installation, multiple remote probe heads are coupled to a central instrument (laser source, spectrograph, CCD detector and control/software) via fiber optic cables up to hundreds of meters in length. Instruments must self- calibrate and validate without direct access to remote probe head installations. The presence of a holographic laser notch filter in the system presents unique calibration challenges. The implications of these issues on instrument configuration and calibration/ validation protocol are discussed. Candidate wavelength and intensity calibration references are compared. Examples of industrial Raman applications and their requirements on calibration accuracy and precision are given.

  PublisherDOI

• Quantitative Analysis of Raman Spectra from Diamond Like Carbon: Calibration Transfer

  MRS Proceedings · 1998-01-01

  article
  PublisherDOI

Frequent coauthors

• Ian R. Lewis

  Optica

  12 shared

• Michael D. Morris

  Columbia University

  10 shared

• Harry Owen

  University of Cambridge

  10 shared

• Neil Everall

  Intertek (Canada)

  10 shared

• Paul Dallin

  9 shared

• Ian M. Priestnall

  Optica

  9 shared

• John Andrews

  University of Nottingham

  9 shared

• Michael W. George

  9 shared