Celebration of Student Scholarship observed

Morehead State University hosted its 13th Annual Celebration of Student Scholarship on Wednesday, April 25.  Once again, the event spotlighted MSU as a premier destination for all who desire the world-class education that is catalyzed by the dedicated mentorship of a world-class faculty.

“Our students did a great job. I firmly believe that the faculty who mentor students in research and other creative activities provide the stimulus that challenges imaginative minds in new and innovative ways that would be impossible within the confines of the conventional classroom,” said Dr. Joseph A. (Jay) Morgan, president.

The 2018 Celebration featured 199 presentations (81 oral and 118 poster) highlighting the exceptional efforts of 299 undergraduate and graduate student authors and their 86 faculty mentors. Awards were made for presentations of Merit and Exceptional Merit, as recommended by a panel of 93 faculty, staff and guest judges.

“Morehead State University has a long history of support for student research that has resulted in an environment that embraces the mentorship of a world-class faculty to enhance student engagement, retention, and critical thinking skills. Our annual Celebration is the ideal showcase for this time-honored dedication to student success,” said Dr. Michael Henson, associate vice president for research and dean of the graduate school.

Although most awards at the Celebration are decided by faculty/staff/guest judges in accordance with an official judging rubric, the Peoples’ Choice Awards for oral presentations and posters are chosen by the vote of all participants (students, faculty, staff and visitors) on the basis of perceived scholarly impact and overall quality of presentation.  Those two awards and those presentations receiving awards of Exceptional Merit for both oral presentation and poster in each college and for the Graduate School received a $150 cash award to be shared by the student presenters.

Additional information about this event and opportunities for undergraduate research at MSU is available by calling 606-783-2010.

Awards for the13th Annual Celebration of Student Scholarship were as follows:

Peoples’ Choice Awards

Oral Presentations:

• Ground operations support for the JPL ASTERIA Mission – Toby Gedenk, Chloe Hart and Alex Roberts. Mentor – Drs. Robert Kroll and Benjamin Malphrus – College of Science, Department of Earth and Space Science.

Posters:

• Comfort women: The forgotten victims of World War II – Tessa Collins, Anthony Albrecht, Hunter Boyd, Jake Jones, and Kourtney Salyer. Mentor – Dr. John Ernst – Caudill College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences, Department of History, Philosophy, Politics, International and Legal Studies.

Graduate School

Oral Presentations – Certificates of Merit:

• Are schools increasing the digital divide? Stacie Slusher. Mentor – Dr. Jeannie Justice – College of Education, Department of Foundational and Graduate Studies in Education: 
• An evaluation of expansion and depth of travel of the 9mm Lugar and 40. caliber Smith and Wesson ammunition – Jarred Hunt. Mentor – Dr. Kouroush Jenab – College of Business and Technology, School of Engineering and Information Systems.

Oral Presentations – Certificate of Exceptional Merit:

• Growth, reproduction, and habitat use in a clear-stream minnow, the Bigeye Shiner – Matthew Fossett and Jon Eisenhour. Mentor – Dr. David Eisenhour – College of Science, Department of Biology and Chemistry.

Poster Presentations – Certificates of Merit:

• Interpersonal correlates of narcissism – Kory Phelps and Vanessa Tirabassi. Mentor - Dr. David Olson – College of Science, Department of Psychology.   
• The vulnerability of homeless males to sex trafficking – Mason Stamm, McKinley Flint, Patrick Carlisle, Chelsea Dyer. Mentor – Dr. Elizabeth Perkins – Caudill College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences, Department of Sociology, Social Work, and Criminology.

Poster Presentations - Certificate of Exceptional Merit:

• Evaluation of value consistent behavior in response to life events – Isabella R. Gearhart. Mentor –Dr. J.T. Blackledge – College of Science, Department of Psychology.

Caudill College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences 

Oral Presentations - Certificates of Merit:

• Down the Rabbit Hole: A graphic novel – James Davidson. Mentor – Elizabeth Mesa-Gaido, Department of Art and Design.
• Identifying and addressing barriers to self-representation in court in probate matters – Michala Jones. Mentor – Dr. Dianna Murphy, Department of History, Philosophy, Politics, International and Legal Studies.
• Penzu online journaling: Benefits of the social integration for the International Peer Mentoring Program at Morehead State University – Hannah Day and Joseph Brock Finley. Mentor – Dr. Donell Murray, Department of Communication, Media and Languages.
• Off with their headscarves: The social, political, and legal ramifications of French Laicite – Brandon Bryer. Mentor - Dr. William Green, Department of History, Philosophy, Politics, International and Legal Studies.

Oral Presentations - Certificate of Exceptional Merit:

• The art of cultural advocacy – Dustyn Alexander Pruitt. Mentor – Jennifer Reis, Department of Art and Design.

Poster Presentations – Certificates of Merit

• An integrated heavy-lift unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) and remote sensing platform – Garrett Jones – Mentor - Dr. Timothy Hare, Department of Sociology, Social Work and Criminology.
• The implications and causes of the Cambodian genocide – Jennifer Roberts, Abby Coomes, Emily Simpson, Jonathan Dean, Makinsey Perkins, and Tyler Schroeder. Mentor – Dr. John Ernst and Ray Bailey, Department of History, Philosophy, Politics, International and Legal Studies.
• Movement in the elementary general music classroom: Developmentally appropriate practice –Austin J. Wood. Mentor – Dr. Michele Paynter Paise, Department of Music, Theatre and Dance.

Poster Presentations - Certificate of Exceptional Merit:

• The map results of an integrated UAV-based remote sensing platform in the Northern Yucatán –Sean Daugherty and Alex Vermillion. Mentor – Dr. Timothy Hare, Department of Sociology, Social Work and Criminology.

College of Business and Technology 

Oral Presentations - Certificate of Merit:

• Content-based image retrieval – Binamrata Sharma. Mentor – Heba Elgazzar, School of Engineering and Information Systems.

Oral Presentations - Certificate of Exceptional Merit:

• Design and production of autonomous tractor controller – Justin VanHoose. Mentor – Dr. Jorge Ortega – Moody, School of Engineering and Information Systems.

Poster Presentations – Certificates of Merit:

• The utilization of mobile application technology – Brooke Hall and Cameron Arthur. Mentor – Ms. Connie Grimes, School of Engineering and Information Systems. 
• An investigation of the mechanical properties of concrete with microfibers – Jonathan Bowling. Mentor – Dr. Sahar Ghanem, School of Engineering and Information Systems.

Poster Presentations - Certificate of Exceptional Merit:

• The Facebook companies and data sharing: a violation of American’s privacy – Sarah Fink. Mentor – Dr. Michael W. Hail, Department of Regional Analysis.

College of Education

Oral Presentations - Certificate of Merit:

• The incorporation of Waldorf into public schools – Mallory Aronhalt. Mentor - Dr. Lola Aagaard, Department of Foundational and Graduate Studies in Education.

Oral Presentations - Certificate of Exceptional Merit:

• Girls only: Creating a mentoring group for elementary students in an after-school program – Kristen Carpenter and Madison Stachler. Mentor – Dr. Jeannie Justice, Department of Foundational and Graduate Studies in Education.

Poster Presentations – Certificates of Merit:

• Student behavior’s impact on transition time – Rachel Victory. Mentor – Dr. Kimberely Nettleton, Department of Early Childhood, Elementary and Special Education.
• Behavior based on cooler vs. warmer temperatures in a special education setting – Kennedy Blakeman. Mentor – Dr. Kimberely Nettleton, Department of Early Childhood, Elementary and Special Education.
• Letter learners: Teaching letter recognition to students with moderate and severe disabilities using constant time delay – Christina Clarkson. Mentor – Ms. Suzannah Chapman-Johnson, Department of Early Childhood, Elementary and Special Education.

Poster Presentations - Certificate of Exceptional Merit:

• Elementary teachers’ experiences using informational texts to teach social studies in eastern Kentucky – Kelsey Purdum. Mentor – Dr. Kimberlee Sharp, Department of Middle Grades and Secondary Education.

College of Science

Oral Presentations - Certificates of Merit: 

• Swift observations of the narrow line Seyfert 1 galaxy RX J0134.2-4258 – Sierra Hauck. Mentor –Dr. Dirk Grupe, Department of Earth and Space Science.
• Development of a simple method to detect Cesium 137 in soil – Clayton Gullett. Mentor – Dr. Steven Reid, Department of Earth and Space Science.
• A spatially-resolved x-ray spectroscopic analysis of the luminous northeastern rim of the Galactic Supernova Remnant W28 (G6.4-0.1) – Sarah Norris. Mentor – Dr. Thomas Pannuti, Department of Earth and Space Science. 
• Estimating orbital lifetime – Ian Ray. Mentor – Dr. Michael Dobranski, Department of Mathematics and Physics.

Oral Presentations - Certificate of Exceptional Merit:

• Holistic review of developing a cell culture system to investigate the effects of microgravity on

Cytoskeletal remodeling in smooth muscle – Danielle N. Gibson. Mentor – Dr. Michael Fultz, Department of Biology and Chemistry.

Poster Presentations – Certificates of Merit:

• Volcanic ash in the Paleocene Hooper Formation, Wilcox Group, Texas: A preliminary report – Kala M. Brown and Eli C. Martin III. Mentors - Drs. Jen O’Keefe and W. Marshall Chapman, Department of Earth and Space Science.
• Palynology of the Hooper Formation, Wilcox Group, Bastrop County, Texas: A Preliminary Study –Ashton A. Killen, Nicholas Cowey, Christopher N. Denison and Thomas D. Demchuk. Mentor – Dr. Jen O’Keefe, Department of Earth and Space Science.
• Can a dual task video game assess attention? Vanessa Jones, Mark Morris and Stephani Prince. Mentor – Dr. Gregory M. Corso, Department of Psychology.
• Effect of calcium supplementation on gestation length, number born live, and number of stillborns – Courtney K. Moore, Audrey L. Emery and Dillon Q. Siefert. Mentors – Drs. Flint W. Harrelson and Patricia L. Harrelson, Department of Agricultural Sciences. 
• Resolving under-managed pain in infant population – Kansas Greenwell, Taylor Jones, Caitlin King, Heather Quesinberry, and Abigail Wright. Mentor – Shelley Sadler, Department of Nursing.
• Examination of radiation levels in Rowan County using dosimeters – Robert Grigsby and Mitchell Grothaus. Mentors – Drs. Charles Mason and Timothy Hare, Department of Biology and Chemistry.

Poster Presentations - Certificate of Exceptional Merit:

• Mouse or touch screen, which one whacks a better mole? Mark Morris, Stephani Prince and Vanessa  Jones. Mentor – Dr. Gregory M. Corso, Department of Psychology

Student, Employer, and Faculty Internship Awards – MSU Career Center:

• Intern of the Year – Victoria Pang
• Internship Employer of the Year – Regal Beloit
• Faculty Supervisor of the Year – Dr. Gregory Russell
• Molly McBride Tutoring Excellence Award – MSU Tutoring and Learning Center-Taylor Cash