In celebration and recognition of the Indiana University-Purdue University Columbus (IUPUC) Office of Student Research grant winners, an exhibition was held on Tuesday, April 25 in the Student Commons at the Columbus Learning Center.
This is the seventh year for the Student Research Exhibition. This year, more than 100 IUPUC students, faculty, staff, and community members, including Columbus Mayor James D. Lienhoop, attended the exhibition. The exhibition featured 12 students and 11 projects, spanning disciplines and divisions across campus.
Dr. Julie Goodspeed-Chadwick, Director of the Office of Student Research at IUPUC shares, "Each year, the OSR students deliver projects in which creativity, innovation, and quality are the hallmarks. IUPUC students who are part of the OSR work with faculty mentors to design and carry out research that is disseminated at the annual exhibition at IUPUC but also at professional conferences and through co-authored peer-reviewed publications. What IUPUC students achieve is impressive and truly remarkable."
Student Research Award Winners
Jessica Caldwell North Vernon
Student major and/or minor: Biology with a Chemistry minor
Faculty mentor: Dr. James Mendez
The Differential Impact of Chitin and Chitosan on Heavy Metal Pollution in Water Samples
This project focused on utilizing differing ratios of chitin and chitosan to attempt to lower the amount of heavy metals, such as nickel and lead, in water samples collected locally. The end goal of this project is to create a water filter that purifies water in a more environmentally friendly manner.
Jessica presented this research at the Indiana Academy of Science in Indianapolis in March and at the national meeting of the American Chemical Society in San Francisco, California in April. She is also the recipient of the Robert Baird and Albert Kagel Science Education Travel Fund. Jessica co-authored a paper with Dr. Mendez that will be published in the Proceeding of Indiana Academy of Science later this year.
Emily Edwards Greensburg
Student major and/or minor: Psychology
Faculty mentor: Dr. Kimdy Le
Attachment and Resilience
The goal of this study is to further investigate the importance of attachment throughout the lifespan in the area of resilience, specifically stress in college. The student will invite IUPUC psychology students to complete a mood questionnaire several times throughout the semester. Students will also be invited to complete questionnaires that measure attachment styles.
Emily will present this research at the Midwestern Psychological Association Conference in Chicago, Illinois in April 2017.
Michael Foist Seymour
Students’ majors and/or minor: Communication Studies major and Psychology minor
Faculty mentor: Dr. Kristen Cole
If It Bleeds We Can Kill It: Conservative Responses to Gender Through Predator
This project discusses the expansion of feminism in the 1980s and uses the 1987 film Predator as a lens through which one can analyze politically conservative attitudes toward feminism. In addition, the conservative response illustrated in Predator is applied to the modern “alt-right” movement in American politics, specifically the anger directed towards feminists and Donald Trump’s sexist statements.
Michael presented this project at the Western States Communication Association conference in Salt Lake City, Utah in February 2017.
Madison Giles Indianapolis
Student major and/or minor: Mental Health Counseling [graduate program]
Faculty mentor: Dr. Anibal Torres Bernal
Gender Wage Discrimination among Marriage and Family Therapy Academics
This research project analyzes the wages of men and women academics in the Marriage and Family Therapy field. Though the data shows that gender is not a discriminatory factor when it comes to wage, years of experience in the academic field and number of publications is. We speculate that there may not be gender wage discrimination, but a pathway problem for women in the Marriage and Family Therapy field.
Teresea Higham and Samantha Kohlman Teresea & Samantha Columbus
Student major and/or minor:
Teresea = Master of Arts in Mental Health Counseling
Samantha = Master of Arts in Mental Health Counseling
Faculty mentor: Dr. Cheryl Warner
Self-Identification of Ethnic Heritage vs. Genetic Ethnic Heritage: Does Knowing One’s Genetic Ethnic Heritage Impact Perception of Self, Others, and Community?
This research project investigates the identification of ethnic heritage vs. genetic ethnic heritage: Does knowing one’s genetic Ethnic heritage impact perception of self, others, and community? This research will use DNA testing to attempt to answer these questions.
Jordan Jones Seymour
Student major and/or minor: Business
Faculty mentor: Dr. J. K. Lee
University Marketing: How to Increase Enrollment at IUPUC
Enrollment is a key indicator of how a university is performing. The purpose of this study is to develop a marketing strategy that will allow IUPUC to increase enrollment.
Brittany Layman Butlerville
Student major and/or minor: Elementary Education with Special Education Concentration
Faculty mentor: Dr. Allisha Beerwart
An Examination of Pre-Service Teachers’ Beliefs about Classroom Management
Classroom management is an important skill for any pre-service teacher to have; therefore, it is equally important to examine the common misconceptions of classroom management and understand what pre-service teachers think is most important with regard to classroom management. The information from this research can best assist higher education instructors who present content regarding classroom management, so training programs can best bridge the gap between these misconceptions and the foundations of the classroom management training in pre-service teachers’ undergraduate educational programs.
Brittany and Dr. Beerwart have submitted a proposal for the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning Conference at IU-South Bend to present this research.
Brandon Million Greensburg
Student major and/or minor: Sociology
Faculty mentor: Dr. Joan Poulsen
Social Rejection and Ostracism Within the Gay and Bisexual Male Community
This project will look at social rejection and ostracism within an already marginalized community. The project will look at the level of social rejection and ostracism and any possible ramifications from the social rejection and ostracism.
Brandon presented at the Indiana University Undergraduate Research Conference in Indianapolis in December 2016. He was a semi-finalist for the Best Presentation Award. In addition to his OSR grant, he is a recipient of an Undergraduate Research Opportunities grant from IUPUI. He presented at the North Central Sociological Association Annual Conference on April 1; at the Butler University Undergraduate Research Conference on April 7; and at the UI Women and Gender Studies Undergraduate Conference on April 8.
Sabrina Schipper Columbus
Student major and/or minor: Biology major with Pre-Veterinary and a Chemistry minor
Faculty mentor: Dr. Luke Jacobus
Exploring the geographical range and morphological diversity of the brown small minnow mayfly, Baetis brunneicolor
Description/abstract of project (2-3 sentences): This research will add to our knowledge of this species, specifically confirming or refuting reports of its presence in more northern ecosystems, discovering a more robust suite of characters for identifying the species and creating a geographic map of the locations that the species is found throughout North America. The research will explore diversity in the coloration, body shapes and other features used to identify the species and use what we find to help us determine if the specimens from the Yukon belong to this species or a different species.
Sabrina presented her research at the Indiana Academy of Science Meeting in March 2017.
Karen Smiar Nineveh
Student major: Biology major with Chemistry minor
Faculty mentor: Dr. J. D. Mendez
Using 3D Printing and Magnets to Model Chemical Reactions
We use 3D printing atoms, such as Hydrogen and Oxygen, with our printers in the chemistry lab to create models that represent the atoms linking together to create molecules, such as water. We plan to use these in the chemistry courses at IUPUC to retrieve feedback.
Karen presented at the Indiana Academy of Science in Indianapolis on March 25 and at the national meeting of the American Chemical Society in San Francisco, California on April 3. She is also the recipient of the Robert Baird and Albert Kagel Science Education Travel Fund. Karen co-authored a paper with Dr. Mendez that was published in the Journal of Chemical Education last year.
Holly Stockhover Columbus
Student major: Nursing
Faculty mentor: Dr. Cheryl Crisp
Literature Review: Efficacy of Medicinal Marijuana in Children with Dravet Syndrome
For this project, Holly is conducting a literature review over the efficacy of medicinal marijuana in treating children under the age of 18 with Dravet syndrome.
This work has been submitted for presentation at the Sigma Theta Tau International Conference being held in Indianapolis October 28-November 1, 2017.
Carissa Walls Columbus
Student major and/or minor: Psychology major, Sociology minor
Faculty mentor: Dr. Kimdy Le
Behaviors Preceding Ostracism in Established Play Groups of Children
Researchers will have gathered data on observable behaviors from children ages 5-11 years in their natural formed play groups. The goal of this research is to find an association between certain behaviors and ostracism within this age group.
Carissa presented this research at the Midwestern Psychological Association Conference in Chicago, Illinois on April 24, 2017.