2019-2020

2019-2020 Office of Student Research Exhibition

TITLE: Cytotoxicity of Chitin from Diverse Sources
STUDENT: Nicole Bodi
MAJOR: Biology major, Chemistry minor
FACULTY MENTOR: Dr. James Mendez
ABSTRACT: Mouse fibroblast cells were grown and sub-cultured. Different sources and concentrations of chitin were applied to the cells to test cellular effects. Using a hemocytometer and automated cell counter, the number of cells were counted after chitin incubation. These numbers were compared to the control plates to look for changes in cell viability after introduction of chitin.

This project was accepted as a poster for presentation at the American Chemical Spring Conference in Philadelphia, PA from March 22-26, 2020.

TITLE: Comparing Cockroach Species’ Efficiency at Food Recycling
STUDENT: Nicole Bodi
MAJOR: Biology major, Chemistry minor
FACULTY MENTOR: Dr. Luke Jacobus
ABSTRACT: Food scraps, like fruits and vegetables, were collected and distributed evenly among the cockroach species. Food waste was weighed and recorded before entering the cockroach habitats, each species received an equal amount of food. Later, mass of produce consumed was calculated by removing uneaten food or collecting cockroach waste.

TITLE: Experiences of Teachers Teaching in a Dual-Language Immersion School
STUDENT: Sari Brodey
MAJOR: Elementary Education
FACULTY MENTOR: Dr. Laura Liu
ABSTRACT: This study examines the perspectives of teachers working in immersion schools. It seeks to surface cultural and linguistic knowledge and insights the teachers are gaining in their roles, as well as their views on what students and families are gaining from their participation in an immersion school. Insights may include intercultural challenges met and approaches for working through these challenges toward greater insights.

Title: Social Judgments of Point-Light Displays

STUDENT: Victoria Ewing
MAJOR: Psychology major, Sociology minor
FACULTY MENTORS: Dr. Elizabeth daSilva and Dr. Mark Jaime
ABSTRACT: The high prevalence rate of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) warrants research on the development of social perception in typical and atypical populations. Participants from IUPUC’s campus will first complete two questionnaires examining their potential place on the autism spectrum, and then they will watch a series of 75 videos displaying several emotions and body movements and will make social judgments of emotionality, personality, and gender for each video. The impact of this study will influence future research examining the development of social perception in children with and without ASD, or at risk of developing ASD.

This project was presented at the Indiana University Undergraduate Research Conference in Bloomington on November 22.

TITLE: Bending Stress Analysis of a Wooden Beam with the Construction of the Mohr’s Circle
STUDENT: Ryan Gahimer
MAJOR: Mechanical Engineering
STUDENT: Zachary Groves
MAJOR: Mechanical Engineering
STUDENT: Spencer Stephens
MAJOR: Mechanical Engineering
FACULTY MENTOR: Dr. Noor-A-Alam
ABSTRACT: This project seeks to analyze and demonstrate bending stress in a wooden beam of uniform cross-section and to relate those stresses to principal stresses using Mohr’s Circle. To accomplish this, the beam will first be modelled using computer software, then a simply supported wooden beam will be outfitted with strain gages and a load will be applied by a hydraulic press. Finally, the experimental data will be used to relate bending stress to the Mohr’s circle.

TITLE: Fourth Graders’ Historical Understanding of Diverse Civil War Narratives
STUDENT: Sydney Grieger
MAJOR: Elementary Education
FACULTY MENTOR: Dr. Stephanie Serriere
ABSTRACT: This project seeks to better understand children’s ability to engage in interpreting sources in a “journey box” and children’s literature for historical understanding. As a result of this teaching, fourth grade students will be able to demonstrate historical understanding of the Civil War by interpreting primary and secondary sources to showcase life experiences in-depth from a particular perspective.

TITLE: Importance of Social Media in Marketing for Businesses
STUDENT: Alyssa Henning
MAJOR: Business with a concentration in Marketing
FACULTY MENTORS: Dr. JK Lee and Dr. Lauren Burch
ABSTRACT: This project highlights the importance and impact of the use of social media for marketing. The goal is to communicate that social media has the power to help promote a business and that it is a necessary tool for all businesses.

TITLE: Characterization of a Key Acinetobacter baumannii Iron Scavenging Protein
STUDENT: Ciara Phares
MAJOR: Biology major, Chemistry minor
FACULTY MENTOR: Dr. Michael Rowse
ABSTRACT: The purpose of this Institutional Biosafety Committee (IBC) approved project is to characterize the EntA protein from A. baumannii. This will provide a greater understanding of A. baumanniii’s ability to scavenge iron and to assess the potential of targeting the EntA protein with antibiotics.

TITLE: Social Perceptions in Hiring Ex-Offenders
STUDENT: Shana Pierson
MAJOR: Psychology
FACULTY MENTORS: Dr. Elizabeth daSilva and Dr. Joan Poulsen
ABSTRACT: The study explores societal perceptions of redeemability and how they affect the willingness to hire ex-offenders looking for employment. This study measures Belief in a Just World and forgiveness to attempt to determine predictors of willingness to hire ex-offenders through a vignette survey design.

This project was presented at the Indiana Undergraduate Research Conference in Bloomington on November 22, and it was accepted for presentation at the Midwestern Psychological Association Conference in Chicago in April 2020.

TITLE: A Mechanically Robust and Conductive Fiber Material Based on Chitin
STUDENT: Adrienne Shea
MAJOR: Mechanical Engineering major, Chemistry and Math minors
FACULTY MENTOR: Dr. James Mendez
ABSTRACT: This project uses the electrospinner in the chemistry lab to create a flexible electroconductive polymer material. The electrospinner uses high voltages to draw out tiny fibers and produce a matting of these tiny fibers. Cicadas collected by the biology department are used to extract chitin.

TITLE: Engaging Paper and Digital Children’s Books to Support Student Understanding
STUDENT: Payten Ewing
MAJOR: Elementary Education
STUDENT: Kayla Pride
MAJOR: Elementary Education
STUDENT: Maycie Asher
MAJOR: Elementary Education
FACULTY MENTOR: Dr. Laura Liu
ABSTRACT: This project explores how first grade students comprehended digital and paper texts. It also explored suggestions in connection with teaching early elementary students when utilizing paper and digital texts.

This project was accepted for presentation at the American Education Research Association in San Francisco, CA in April 2020 and will be published in Chapter 7 of the Handbook of Research on Literacy and Digital Technology Integration in Teacher Education.

TITLE: Concept Mapping Ted Hughes’s Birthday Letters
STUDENT: Sydney Berman
MAJOR: Business major, Literature minor
STUDENT: Hanna Hodnett
MAJOR: General Studies major, Psychology and Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies minors
STUDENT: Jessica Hurley
MAJOR: Sociology major, Literature and Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies minors
STUDENT: Natasha Kever
MAJOR: English major with a concentration in Literature, Women’s Gender, and Sexuality Studies minor
STUDENT: Madeline Robb
MAJOR: Business major, Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies minor
FACULTY MENTOR: Dr. Julie Goodspeed-Chadwick
ABSTRACT: This presentation is the result of a culminating assignment in a unit on Ted Hughes’s poetry collection Birthday Letters in an undergraduate capstone English and Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies seminar. The presentation will introduce the context of a signature assignment that intermixes national identities and what have become archetypal themes in Plath and Hughes studies, and it will showcase the products of the assignments: concept maps, essentially tools of creative inquiry that promote critical thinking and assessment.

This project was presented at the Louisville Conference on Literature and Culture Since 1900 on February 22.

TITLE: Qualitative Analysis Healthcare Facilitation in Diagnosed Joint Disease Patients
STUDENT: McKenna Whipker
MAJOR: Business Management major
FACULTY MENTOR: Dr. Kevin Jones
ABSTRACT: This project understands that communities around the globe have healthcare facilities that offer various services. For example, facilitators referenced as doctors, nurse practitioners, and practice managers have continued paving a road map to provide exceptional patient care. Patient-centered delivery takes coordination, patience, and management capabilities.

TITLE: Does the Medicalization of Childbirth and Pregnancy Impact Women’s Experiences?
STUDENT: Logyn Naylor
MAJOR: Sociology and Criminal Justice majors
FACULTY MENTOR: Aimee Zoeller
ABSTRACT: This research will focus on the research question “Does the medicalization of childbirth and pregnancy impact what women expected to occur and what actually occurred during childbirth and pregnancy?” One-one-one interviews were used to collect women’s narratives and identify primary themes.

This project was accepted for presentation at the IU Women’s and Gender Studies Conference at IU East in April 2020.

TITLE: Never Settling: A Digital Memoir of the Peripatetic History of Volga Germans in America
STUDENT: Stevie Jarrett
MAJOR: Creative Writing
FACULTY MENTOR: Dr. Katherine Wills
ABSTRACT: Digital memoirist Stevie Jarrett explores her deep legacy as a descendant of Volga Germans living in the United States in the 21st century. She unpacks cultural and historical secrets that have affected her life as an artist, grandchild, and citizen of the world. She captures the stories of a family of multicultural vagabonds, artists, writers, and entrepreneurs. Her poster informs readers of ethnic American ideas beyond the hyphenated German-American.