Aaron Barrett and Nicole Johnson Receive Undergraduate Research Awards for Spring

LAWRENCE — This spring, 50 KU students will receive Undergraduate Research Awards (UGRAs). The recipients are awarded a $1,000 scholarship as they work on mentored research and creative projects.

“We are excited by all of the innovative research these students will be doing and are pleased that we are able to help fund this step in their path to success at KU and beyond,” said Alison Olcott, director of the Center for Undergraduate Research and associate professor of geology.

Students apply for UGRAs by writing a four-page research proposal under the guidance of a mentor. Faculty reviewers evaluate the applications based on the merit of the applicant's proposal and a recommendation from the mentor.

Students interested in applying for summer or fall 2019 UGRAs can find more information and apply on the Center for Undergraduate Research website. The student proposal deadline for summer and fall awards will be March 28.

Students receiving awards for the spring of 2019 are listed below in alphabetical order along with hometown, project title, mentor, and mentor’s department:

Rose Argent, senior from Olathe: “Species Delimitation in the Widespread Northern Philippine Bent-toed Gecko, (Cyrtodactylus philippinicus),” mentored by Rafe Brown, professor of ecology & evolutionary biology

Jacob Asherman, senior from Kansas City, Kansas: “Investigating the Impacts of Hail Parameterizations in Idealized Supercells in the WRF Model,” mentored by Justin Stachnik, assistant professor of geography & atmospheric science

Aaron Barrett, senior from Lawrence: “Randomized Conjugate Gradient Algorithm to Solve Large Linear Systems for Exascale Computing,” mentored by Agnieszka Miedlar, assistant professor of mathematics

D'Arlyn Bell, senior from Shawnee: “Political Organizing of the Poor by Nonprofit Social Service Agencies,” mentored by Charles Epp, University Distinguished Professor of public affairs & administration

Sara Carlsen, junior from Prairie Village: “Parents as Participants: Social Media Use Through a Dual Lens,” mentored by Germaine Halegoua, associate professor of film & media studies

Sofia Chana, junior from Lawrence: “Discrepancies Between Teacher- and Child- Reports on Proactive and Reactive Dggression: Does Prosocial Behavior Matter?” mentored by Paula Fite, professor of psychology and applied behavioral science

Ali Ciersdorff, senior from Overland Park: “fMRI Connectome: Reexamining the Correlations Between Attachment and Brain Functioning and Structure,” mentored by Omri Gillath, professor of psychology

Sarah Cluff, senior from Lawrence: “A Study of Population Structure and Migration in Giant Honey Bees Apis dorsata and Apis laboriosa,” mentored by Deborah Smith, professor of ecology & evolutionary biology

Maisie Conrad, senior from Leavenworth: “Using EEG Data to Further Investigate the Dual Process of Attention Among Avoidantly-Attached Individuals,” mentored by Omri Gillath, professor of psychology

Adrienne Cox, senior from Topeka: “The Qipao: How the Manchu Dress Became Chinese,” mentored by Megan Greene, associate professor of history

Chantelle Davis, senior from Lawrence: “Effects of Ephemeral Flow on Bank Storage, Aquifer Recharge, and Water Chemistry in Western Kansas Streams,” mentored by Randy Stotler, associate professor of geology

Julia Davis, senior from Shawnee: “Quality of Life Parameters for Three Medically Complex Infants in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit,” mentored by Deanna Hanson-Abromeit, associate professor of music education and music therapy

Joseph Denning, senior from Overland Park: “Drop the Base: Omission MMN Sensitivity to Morphological Status, Predictability, and Their Interaction,” mentored by Robert Fiorentino, associate professor of linguistics

Samantha Ellis, senior from Wichita: “Interactions of Stress Levels, Sleep Quality, and Alcohol Intake in University Students,” mentored by Nancy Hamilton, associate professor of psychology

Natalie Eppler, senior from Paola: “The Importance of Gene, BTH_II1576 to Antibiotic Production in the Bacterium Burkholderia thailandensis,” mentored by Josephine Chandler, assistant professor of molecular biosciences

Erica Flores, sophomore from Omaha, Nebraska: “Heightened Emotional Qualities of Isolated Musical Chords in a Population with Elevated Depressed Symptomatology,” mentored by Steve Ilardi, associate professor of psychology

Ryan Gallagher, junior from Park Ridge, Illinois: “Effects of Behavioral Coaching on Competitive Rowing Behaviors,” mentored by Florence DiGennaro Reed, associate professor of applied behavioral science

Hannah Glatter, senior from Lawrence: “Operant Demand for SafeRide Services in Undergraduate Students,” mentored by Derek Reed, associate professor of applied behavioral science

Anna Goddard, senior from Lincoln, Nebraska: “Effects of Partial Clonality on Phenotypic Evolution and Evolutionary Lag,” mentored by Maria Orive, associate professor of ecology & evolutionary biology

John Higgins, junior from Olathe: “An Assessment of the Supply of Affordable Rental Housing and the Experiences of Residents in Low-Income Housing Tax Credit Properties in Douglas County,” mentored by Kirk McClure, professor of urban planning

Jake Hill, senior from Home: “HAF-8 Dimerization Partners,” mentored by Lisa Timmons, associate professor of molecular biosciences

Nicole Johnson, senior from Toronto, Ontario: “Baton Twirling into the Fourth Dimension,” mentored by Estela Gavosto, associate professor of mathematics.

Amanda Karas, senior from Shawnee: “The Correlation Between (Task, Ego, or Caring) Climate and Level of Body Dissatisfaction Among Collegiate Athletes,” mentored by Mary Fry, associate professor of health, sport & exercise science

Nila Khan, sophomore from Dodge City: “Effects of Elevated Carbon Dioxide Levels on Leaf Hair Initiation and Density Across Arabidopsis thaliana Lines,” mentored by Joy Ward, Dean’s Professor of ecology & evolutionary biology, and James Fischer, doctoral candidate in ecology & evolutionary biology

Elise Klaske, senior from Lawrence: “Nativism and Maria Montessori: the Montessori Method in the United States, 1911-1920,” mentored by Jonathan Hagel, assistant teaching professor of history

Payton Leiker, junior from Topeka: “The Fsr Quorum Sensing System Contribution to Enterococcus faecalis Biofilm Development,” mentored by Lynn Hancock, associate professor of molecular biosciences

Trevor Lies, senior from Cheney: “The Effect of Construal Level on Perceptions of a School Shooter,” mentored by Monica Biernat, University Distinguished Professor of social psychology

Elizabeth Liu, senior from Overland Park: “Effects of age on foraging shovel-snouted lizards (Meroles anchietae) in the Namib Desert,” mentored by Maria Eifler, collection manager at Biodiversity Institute

Brian Locascio, senior from Independence, Missouri: “Potential for Harm with Music and the NICU,” mentored by Deanna Hanson-Abromeit, associate professor of music education and music therapy

Brianna Marsh, senior from Wildwood, Missouri: “Decoding the Neural Substrates of Speech Intention,” mentored by Jonathan Brumberg, assistant professor of speech-language-hearing

Corey Monley, senior from Lenexa: “Internet Gaming Focus Groups,” mentored by Bruce Liese, clinical director at Cofrin Logan Center for Addiction Research and Treatment

Sierra Mortimer, senior from Milford: “Identifying Genes Responsible for the Proper Migration of Neuroblasts in C. elegans,” mentored by Erik Lundquist, professor of molecular biosciences

Jennifer Nguyen, junior from Olathe: “Optimization of Decellularization of Meniscus for Potential Use as a Scaffold,” mentored by Jennifer Robinson, assistant professor of chemical engineering

Michelle Oboro, junior from Olathe: “Stigma and Attitudes Surrounding the Intersection of African American Women, Domestic Violence, and Substance Abuse,” mentored by Carl Lejuez, professor of psychology

Shih-Yen Pan, senior from Zhubei City, Taiwan: “An Assessment of the Supply of Affordable Rental Housing and the Experiences of Residents in Low-Income Housing Tax Credit Properties in Douglas County,” mentored by Kirk McClure, professor of urban planning

Samiyah Para-Cremer, senior from Mukwonago, Wisconsin: “Working Together: A Comparison of Midwestern Human Trafficking Task Forces Perceptions on Collaboration,” mentored by Shannon Portillo, associate professor of public affairs & administration

Grayson Petter, senior from Lawrence: “Unveiling Star Formation and Its Demise in Ultra-Compact Galaxies Using VLA Measurements,” mentored by Gregory Rudnick, professor of physics & astronomy

Catherine Pham, senior from Overland Park: “Investigating the Relationship Between Island Sensitivity and Working-Memory Capacity,” mentored by Robert Fiorentino, associate professor of linguistics

Skylar Pryor, senior from De Soto: “ACT UP: Protests, Rituals, and the Call for Humanity,” mentored by Sandra Zimdars-Swartz, professor of religious studies

Preetkamal Punia, senior from Olathe: “Analyzing Factors Affecting Pre-Medical Students Cultural Competency,” mentored by Tracey LaPierre, associate professor of sociology

Jordan Rodriguez, senior from Rogers, Arkansas: “Testing the Interaction of Personal Control and External Structure on Workplace Self-Efficacy,” mentored by Mark Landau, assistant professor of social psychology

Kaitlyn Rohde, senior from Omaha, Nebraska: “Numerical Definition of Hyper Palatable Foods in Humans,” mentored by Tera Fazzino, assistant professor of psychology

Sarah Rooney, senior from Hays: “Assessing the Role of Parental Psychological Control in the Relationship Between Alexithymia and Depressive Symptoms in Adolescents in Juvenile Detention,” mentored by Paula Fite, professor of psychology and applied behavioral science

Sharyn Serbet, sophomore from Lawrence: “A Chytrid Community on a Land Before Time: The Diversity and Interactions of ~407 Million-Yr.-Old Fungi with the Earliest Land Plants,” mentored by Carla Harper, postdoctoral researcher at Biodiversity Institute

Dylan Sims-West, senior from Paola: “Analysis of Novel OPY Mutation in Danaus plexippus Through Pigment, Proteomic, and Genetic Analysis,” mentored by James Walters, assistant professor of ecology & evolutionary biology

Lauren Soehlke, junior from La Grange Highlands, Illinois: “Speech-to-Song Illusion,” mentored by Michael Vitevitch, professor of psychology

Eleanor Stewart-Jones, junior from Mission: “Understanding the Factors Governing Oxygen Atom Transfer of Manganese-oxo Complexes,” mentored by Timothy Jackson, professor of chemistry

Tyler Thornton, junior from Overland Park: “Interrelations Between Polysubstance Use and Temporal Discounting in Undergraduate Students: Implications for the Reinforcer Pathologies Model of Addiction,” mentored by Derek Reed, associate professor of applied behavioral sciences, and Gideon Naudé, doctoral candidate in applied behavioral sciences

Anna Trofimoff, junior from Overland Park: “Effect of Relative Humidity on Internal Fiber Architecture in Emulsion Electrospun Fibrous Scaffolds for Targeted Release of Estrogen Receptor Agonist,” mentored by Jennifer Robinson, assistant professor of chemical engineering

Sydney Weese, senior from Lawrence: “Anatomy and Art: Antonyms or Analogous?” mentored by Mary Anne Jordan, professor of visual art.

 

 

Updated on: 03/07/2019