49 students receive Undergraduate Research Awards for spring


LAWRENCE — This spring, 49 University of Kansas students will receive Undergraduate Research Awards (UGRAs). UGRA recipients are awarded $1,000 to support them as they work on mentored research and creative projects. 

“Students who earn an Undergraduate Research Award are learning the various aspects of the research and creative process,” said John Augusto, director of the Center for Undergraduate Research. “Each of these students is gaining expertise on a particular question or focus.”

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 proposal and the student’s preparation to undertake the project.

The UGRA competition is coordinated by the Center for Undergraduate Research and funded collaboratively by the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, the Office of Research, Undergraduate Studies and the Office of the Provost. The UGRA program has funded more than 1,450 student projects since it was started in 1986.

Students interested in applying for summer or fall 2016 UGRAs can find more information and apply on the Center for Undergraduate Research’s website. Applications will be due March 24, 2016.

Students receiving awards for the spring of 2016 are listed below in alphabetical order:

Sarah Anderson, a sophomore from Lowell, Arkansas, majoring in environmental studies and English; “Periodical Cicadas in a Fragmented Landscape,” mentored by Robert Hagen, environmental studies.

Cornelius Baker, a senior from Wichita majoring in psychology; “Self-Reports of the Effects of Race/Ethnicity on Diagnosis of Clinical Depression,” mentored by Stephen Ilardi, psychology.

Emma Bean, a junior from Colorado Springs, Colorado, majoring in English; “A Hard Way To Go,” mentored by Tom Lorenz, English.

Eric Becker, a senior from Lenora majoring in organismal biology; “Spiders at Different Successional Stages in Prairies and Forests in Eastern Kansas,” mentored by Deborah Smith, ecology and evolutionary biology.

Emily Binshtok, a junior from Overland Park majoring in biochemistry; “Restoration of the Anti-Metastatic microRNA miR-29b to Breast Cancer Cells,” mentored by Rebecca Marquez, molecular biosciences.

Sydney Bolin, a senior from Wichita majoring in ecology and evolutionary biology; “Removal and Quantification of Microplastic Concentrations in Invertebrate Tissues,” mentored by James Thorp, ecology and evolutionary biology.

Helen Bontrager, a junior from Overland Park majoring in ecology and evolutionary biology; “Investigating Diversity of Madeiran Tolpis succulenta,” mentored by Mark Mort, ecology and evolutionary biology.

Monique Brigham, a senior from Naperville, Illinois, majoring in sociology and political science; “Social Factors and their Impact on Perceptions of Various Organ Donation Policies,” mentored by Tracey LaPierre, sociology.

Margaret Brophy, a senior from Lenexa majoring in biology and Spanish; “Role of APC Nuclear Localization Signal on Mucosal Layer Structure,” mentored by Kristi Neufeld, molecular biosciences.

Matthew Buehler, a senior from De Soto majoring in ecology and evolutionary biology; “Colonization of the South Pacific by Deadly Serpents (Elapidae),” mentored by Rafe Brown, ecology and evolutionary biology.

Jesse Burbank, a junior from Quinter majoring in history and political science; “Space, Sex, and Race: Public Space as the Setting of Social Conflict in the Desegregation of Kansas City’s Swope Park Pool, 1951-1955,” mentored by Sheyda Jahanbani, history.

Erin Calhoun, a senior from Naperville, Illinois, majoring in behavioral neuroscience; “The Effects of tDCS and Temporality on Medical Ethical Decision Making: Not all Dilemmas are Created Equally,” mentored by Christopher Ramey, psychology.

Trinity Carpenter, a junior from Ottawa majoring in social work; “The Disempowerment of Incarcerated Mothers in Relation to the Adopt and Safe Families Act,” mentored by Andrew Zinn, social welfare.

Emily Donovan, a senior from Westwood majoring in English; “Be Cool,” mentored by Tom Lorenz, English.

Jeffery Durbin, a senior from Fort Scott majoring in behavioral neuroscience; “Are We Our Brains? An Investigation of the Role of Meta-Scientific Beliefs in the Moral Consideration of Neuroethical Dilemmas,” mentored by Christopher Ramey, psychology.

Julia Dury, a senior from Blue Springs, Missouri, majoring in civil engineering; “Experimental Testing and Finite Element Modeling of Dovetail HSS Connections,” mentored by Matthew Fadden, civil engineering.

Eric Eisenbarth, a senior from Lenexa majoring in chemical engineering; “Analysis of a Novel Platinum Free Catalyst for Use in a Simulated Lean NOx Trap,” mentored by Susan Williams, chemical engineering.

Austin Flohrschutz, a senior from Berryton majoring in behavioral neuroscience; “The Effects of Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation over the Prefrontal Cortex on a Flexibile Object Use Task,” mentored by Evangelia Chrysikou, psychology.

Alexandra Fowler, a senior from Millville, Massachusetts, majoring in behavioral neuroscience; “The Impact of Depression on Emotion Regulation Flexibility,” mentored by Evangelia Chrysikou, Psychology.

Jamie Gadd-Nelson, a senior from Kansas City majoring in social welfare and women, gender, and sexuality studies; “Examining Community Support for Rural Sexual and Gender Minority Youth,” mentored by Megan Paceley, Social Welfare.

Elise Gao, a junior from Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, majoring in biochemistry; “The Synthesis of Electrophilic Sultams as Potential Modifiers of HuR-mRNA Binding,” mentored by Paul Hanson, chemistry.

Matthew Gibson, a senior from Kansas City, Missouri, majoring in genetics; “Connecting the Breeding System to Mating Patterns in the Island Species Tolpis Succulenta and Tolpis Macrorhiza,” mentored by Mark Mort, ecology and evolutionary biology.

Abigail Hartzell, a senior from Baldwin City majoring in speech-language-hearing; “Sound Localization in Bilateral Cochlear Implants,” mentored by Kostas Kokkinakis, speech-language-hearing.

Nicole Humphrey, a senior from Lawrence majoring in public administration and political science; “Who and What Matters: Conceptions of Social Equity from Local Elected Officials,” mentored by Shannon Portillo, public affairs and administration.

Cori Jones, a senior from Cheney majoring in biological chemistry; “The Role of Early Developmental Inflammatory Cytokines in Aggression,” mentored by Marco Bortolato, pharmacology and toxicology.

Brandon Keenan, a senior from Lenexa majoring in visual art and history of art; “Mokuhanga Printmaking with Natural Foraged Dyestuffs,” mentored by Yoonmi Nam, visual art.

John Kelsh, a senior from Overland Park majoring in organismal biology; “Probing the Senescence Associated Secretory Phenotype (SASP) in Human Follicular Fluid: A Potential Marker of Reproductive Aging,” mentored by Francesca Duncan, anatomy and cell biology at KU Medical Center.

Ashlie Koehn, a senior from Burns majoring in economics and global and international studies; “Environmental Regulation, Profitability, and States in Transition: the Porter Hypothesis in the Transition of Central and Eastern European States,” mentored by Dietrich Earnhart, economics.

Emmaline Lorenzo, a sophomore from Leawood majoring in chemistry; “The Methodology of Two-Photon Excitation and Its Application to Photoactivated Compounds,” mentored by Christopher Elles, chemistry.

Dina Lyne, a senior from Minneapolis majoring in chemical engineering; “Calcium-Based Microspheres Containing PLGA for Sintering into 3D Scaffolds,” mentored by Michael Detamore, chemical engineering.

Duncan MacLachlan, a junior from Prairie Village majoring in civil engineering; “Evaluating Fatigue Behavior of Steel Dovetail Style Connections for Use in Rapid Construction Systems,” mentored by Matthew Fadden, civil engineering.

Austen McGuire, a senior from Overland Park majoring in psychology; “Attachment Security Priming as an Intervention to Reduce Symptomology and Externalizing Problems among Children with Histories of Maltreatment and Neglect,” mentored by Omri Gillath, psychology.

Joshua Mendoza, a senior from Hutchinson majoring in music composition; “Making Music Speak: An Account of the Speech-to-Song Illusion Using Sounds that Simulate Those Heard by Cochlear Implant Users,” mentored by Michael Vitevitch, psychology.

Ellen Nasseri, a sophomore from Topeka majoring in microbiology and English; “Evaluating the Role of Bacterial Communication in Antibiotic Resistance and Interspecies Competition,” mentored by Josephine Chandler, molecular biosciences.

Cameron Pratte, a junior from Lawrence majoring in visual art; “Exploring Our Everyday Objects,” mentored by Yoonmi Nam, printmaking.

Adrian Rivera-Rodriguez, a senior from Lawrence majoring in behavioral neuroscience; “Implicit Perceptions of Police Brutality as Moderated by Race,” mentored by Monica Biernat, psychology.

Shelby Rowley, a senior from Topeka majoring in behavioral neuroscience; “Subjective Informant Reports on Cognitive Decline in Older Adult MS Patients,” mentored by Michael Vitevitch, psychology.

Addison Schile, a senior from Topeka majoring in chemical engineering; “Nonlinear Dynamics of Charged Push-Pull Polyenes Through the Lens of Gaussian Statistics,” mentored by Ward Thompson, chemistry.

Marah Schlingensiepen, a senior from Topeka majoring in public administration; “Prisoners’ Perceptions of Justice,” mentored by Shannon Portillo, pubic affairs and administration.

Victoria Snitsar, a freshman from Sunnyvale, California, majoring in strategic communications and global and international studies; “American Themes in Russian Rap Music: A Cultural Content Analysis,” mentored by Peter Bobkowski, journalism.

Shaina Stasi, a junior from Overland Park majoring in speech-language-hearing; “Effect of Glottal Source Characteristics on Speech Perception,” mentored by Jonathan Brumberg, speech-language-hearing.

Jennifer Stern, a senior from Lawrence majoring in ecology and evolutionary biology; “Recurrent Evolution of Venomous Spines in Cartilaginous Fishes,” mentored by W. Leo Smith, ecology and evolutionary biology.

Austin Svancara, a senior from Overland Park majoring in behavioral neuroscience; “Distracted Driving Habits Among Self-Reported ADHD Groups,” mentored by Ruth Ann Atchley, psychology.

Claire Tracy, a junior from Overland Park majoring in ecology and evolutionary biology; “Identification of Tadpoles from the Philippines,” mentored by Rafe Brown, ecology and evolutionary biology.

Nadia Vossoughi, a senior from Lawrence majoring in psychology and sociology; “The Negative Implications of Racial Biases in Age Perception of Black Adolescent Females,” mentored by Christian Crandall, psychology.

Brett Wagner, a senior from Overland Park majoring in civil engineering; “Granular Sludge Treatment in Wastewater Sequencing Batch Reactors,” mentored by Belinda Sturm, civil, environmental, and architectural engineering.

Kayla Wegley, a sophomore from Ozark, Missouri, majoring in dance; “Alterity,” mentored by James Moreno, dance.

Colin White, a senior majoring in chemical engineering; “Effects of Hydroxide and Product Catalysis on the Formation of Crude Oil from Hydrothermal Liquefaction of Algal Biomass,” mentored by Susan Williams, chemical and petroleum engineering.

Erin Wilson, a senior from Milwaukee, Wisconsin, majoring in English; “Between North Woods and Bridget's Lake,” mentored by Tom Lorenz, English.

Wed, 02/10/2016

author

Nicole Perry

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Nicole Perry

Center for Undergraduate Research

785-864-3391