Kent State University at Salem held its fall Undergraduate Research Conference, an event that recognizes students for their research and allows them to share what they learned through discussions with the academic staff.
The conference is open to all undergraduates in any discipline and in any for-credit course on any Kent State campus. Faculty judges evaluate the presentations based on originality; significance; evidence of learning about the research and information gathering process; and overall quality.
Dr. Paul E. DiCorleto, vice president for research and sponsored programs at Kent State University, was the keynote speaker. He shared information about his ongoing research with the role of the endothelium in maintaining healthy blood vessels and in inflammatory diseases such as atherosclerosis.
Before his position at Kent State, DiCorleto was the Sherwin-Page chair of the Lerner Research Institute at the Cleveland Clinic and chair of the Department of Molecular Medicine in the Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine.
The winners of the 2017 Undergraduate Research Conference are:
Paper competition -
- First place: Becky Little for Predicting Personality, Self-esteem and GPA.
- Second place: Hayley Shasteen for Meaningless Conversation: Finding the Meaning in a Mentoring Relationship That Builds Young Adults’ Self-Identity.
- Third place: Martha Raley for The Effects of Communication Technologies on Interpersonal Relationships.
Poster competition –
- First place: Steven Baker for Effects of Essential Oils on Working Memory and Attention
- Second place: Alexa Bruderly for Gender and Personality Differences in Memory
- Third place (a four-way tie):
- Mackenzie Kiko for Speech Writing and Executive Function
- Michelle Santini for Antibiotic Resistance
- Katelin Knapp, Jen Lawrence and Tommy Woolf for X-ray Phase-Contrast Imaging (XPCI)
- Taylor Whitworth, Erica Gruszecki and Hannah Gray for Total Hip Replacement with Anterior Approach.
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Photo A: In the winners’ circle following the 2017 Undergraduate Research Conference at Kent State Salem were (front, from left) Dr. David Dees, dean; Erica Gruszecki, Taylor Whitworth, Rebecca Little, Steven Baker, Hayley Shasteen, Jen Lawrence, Tommy Woolf, Martha Raley, Hannah Gray and Katelin Knapp.
Photo B: Dr. Paul E. DiCorleto
Photo C: Mackenzie Kiko outlines her research project, Speech Writing and Executive Function, to judge Kelly Dragomir.
Photo D: Undergraduate Research Conference committee included Dr. Tsung-Hui Tu; Dr. Rachael Blasiman, chair; Dr. Omid Bagheri; Dr. Andy Pfrenger; Dr. Steve Toepfer; and Cyndi Peterson