STEPHENVILLE (November 1, 2016) — Tarleton State University is observing its 2nd annual Research and Scholarship Appreciation Week and, yesterday announced awards and recognitions following a showcase of research activities of undergraduate and graduate students in oral and poster presentations.
Tarleton’s Research and Scholarship Appreciation Week, observed Oct. 27 through Nov. 4, is a highlights faculty and student engagement in research, scholarly and creative activities. The week contains three events: Student Research & Creative Symposium, Tarleton Faculty Research and Scholarship Showcase, and the 13th annual Texas A&M University System Pathways Student Research Symposium hosted this year by Prairie View A&M.
This year’s symposium included more than 70 research poster and visual art presentations, and 50 First-Year Research Experience (FYRE), undergraduate and graduate oral presentations and visual art exhibits. In addition, five group research and creative presentations were given, including those by the Tarleton Aeronautical Team, feral hog research group, particle modeling group, and representatives of the university’s Trumpet Ensemble and theater department.
Held in the Barry B. Thompson Student Center and Clyde H. Wells Fine Arts Center, the symposium concluded with the presentation of awards in several categories, including FYRE, Creative Presentations, and awards for undergraduate- and graduate-level oral and poster presentations.
Creative Presentations were again added to this year’s symposium, attracting more than 20 student entries in areas such as dance, music, art and digital media, and theater arts.
Award winners at this year’s Tarleton State University Student Research and Creative Symposium. Plaques were presented to first place winners while 2nd and 3rd place presentations were given certificates during a Monday afternoon ceremony at the university’s Barry B. Thompson Student Center ballrooms.
“Students were excited about presenting and receiving feedback about their research and scholarship, and faculty advisors were attentive, engaged and supportive,” said Dr. Jennifer Blevins-McNaughton, associate professor and director of Tarleton’s Office of Student Research and Creative Activities. “Many students were thankful for the event and glad they participated. It gave them a chance to present for the first time ever to an audience, judge or fellow-student.”
Many across campus were involved in making this year’s Student Research Symposium a success, said Blevins-McNaughton. Faculty judges and coordinators from all colleges were involved and were key in organization and providing feedback and encouragement to student researchers.
Students received feedback and were scored by an impartial judging process, and top performers from each category are as follows:
First Year Research Experience (FYRE)
Winner: Mayela Morantes; Mentor: Dr. Rajani Srinivasan
Investigating Green Polymer for Treatment of Wastewater
Runner-Up: Julia Wood; Mentor: Dr. Tom Faulkenberry
Operator Preview Effects in Mental Arithmetic
Third Place: Aser Garcia; Mentor: Dr. Shakaut Goderya
Data Mining for Unknown Variable Celestial Objects from the Tarleton Observatory Archived Data
Creative Activities
Winner: Elizabeth Ross; Mentor: Ms. Meghan Ehrhart
Animation Process
Runner-Up: Shelby Culberson; Mentor: Mr. Tim Harding
“Rain”
Third Place: Meghan Dahlke; Mentor: Mr. Chris Ireland
Steady Mending: Contours of Art Therapy
Creative Activities – Performance Art
Winner: Danielle Montemayor; Mentor: Ms. Leticia Carr
“Brave”
Runners-Up:
Madison Jordan; Mentor: Ms. Leticia Carr
“Romance”
Emily Sine; Mentor: Ms. Leticia Carr
“Rise”
Undergraduate Poster
Winner: Kassie Marble; Mentor: Dr. Daniel Marble
Assembling, Cleaning, and Testing a Unique Prototype Open-ended Cylindrical Penning Trap
Runner-Up: Callie Bland; Mentor: Dr. Amber Harris-Bozer
Low-Frequency EEG Brain Activity During Alterations in the Approach-Avoidance Decision-Making System Due to Chronic Pain
Third Place: Caroline Furrh; Mentor: Dr. Michele McAfee
Study of Donnan Equilibrium and Specific Ion Effect on Osmometry Measurements in Synthetic Urine
Graduate Poster
Winners:
Taylor Hutyra; Mentor: Dr. Bryant Wyatt
N-Body Simulation of Binary Star Mass Transfer
Sarah Shawver; Mentors: Drs. Donald McGahan and Jeff Brady
Variation of Soil Bacterial Communities across a Vegetative Transect of Live Oak and Ashe Juniper
Runner-Up: Richard Harvel; Mentor: Dr. Bryant Wyatt
Improving Comprehension of Integer Operations with Virtual Reality
Undergraduate Oral
Winner: Kelton Mote; Mentor: Dr. Heather Mathewson
Factors Influencing Nest Survival in Mourning Doves in Lower Rio Grande Texas
Runner-Up: Camille Trautman; Mentor: Dr. Dustin Edwards
Serological Survey of Reticuloendotheliosis Virus in Wild Turkeys in Texas
Third Place: Brooke Hughes; Mentor: Dr. Ebony Hall
Shared Responsibility: Reducing Disparities in Service Outcomes
Graduate Oral
Winner: Christina Morgan; Mentor: Dr. Kristin Herrmann
Thermally Mediated Variation in Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis Infection in a North Central Texas Population of Acris blanchardi
Runner-Up: Chelsea Matlock; Mentor: Dr. Kimberly Guay
Sub-dermal, 72-MG Slow-Release Melatonin Effects on Mare Estrous Induction
Third Place: Amy Okichich; Mentor: Dr. T. Wayne Schwertner
Acute Toxicity of Gossypol on Northern Bobwhites
For more information about Tarleton’s Student Research Symposium, visit http://www.tarleton.edu/studentresearch/symposium/index.html.
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