Thirty-one students from Marshall University will be among approximately 100 student researchers from across West Virginia who will present their discoveries at the 10th annual Undergraduate Research Day at the Capitol in Charleston Thursday, Feb. 28.
The event, which will take place from 9 a.m. to noon in the rotunda of the State Capitol, is intended to showcase the importance of student research by giving policymakers and the general public the opportunity to talk directly with the students who conducted the research projects, which range from cancer to bridge construction to cloud computing. The students’ projects are original research and they will be sharing posters they have prepared to help illustrate their work.
“This is a fun event for our students and for the members of the state legislature,” said Dr. Charles Somerville, dean of Marshall’s College of Science and a member of the event’s organizing committee. “Students work on these original research projects for as long as four years and this event provides them an opportunity to share their work with the senators and delegates.”
The research projects Marshall students will be highlighting are in the disciplines of biochemistry, biology, engineering, chemistry, computer science/information technology and psychology.
Dr. John Maher, Marshall vice president for research, said, “The work these students are doing is on par with that done at the best universities in the country. This event provides a unique opportunity for members of the legislature to see an aspect of higher education normally hidden from public view, but that is one of the most important tools for developing students for entry into the workplace or postgraduate education.”
The following is a list of Marshall University’s participants, along with their hometown, disciplines, project titles and advisers:
- Kristen Bobuk, Belle Vernon, Pa., engineering, “Design and Construction of a Model Steel Bridge to Meet Specifications for Competition” (Jeffrey Huffman, advisor)
- Rebekkah Brown, Cross Lanes, biochemistry, “Resveratrol Reduces Kidney Injury induced by Hydrogen Peroxide” (Dr. Monica Valentovic, advisor)
- Luke Brumfield, Barboursville, computer science/information technology, “Expert System for Reverse Mathematics” (Dr. Carl Mummert, advisor)
- James Caldwell, Hurricane, computer science/information technology, “Creation of the Inventory College of Information Technology and Engineering (IN-CITE) Project for Real-Time Management of Laboratory Equipment” (Jeffrey Huffman, advisor)
- Erin Fankhanel, Hurricane, biology, “Use of cerium oxide nanoparticles for the treatment of pulmonary and cardiac remodeling during pulmonary arterial hypertension in Sprague Dawley rats” (Dr. Eric Blough, advisor)
- Matthew Ferguson, Barboursville, computer science/information technology, “Calculating PageRank in Cloud Computing” (Dr. Hyoil Han, advisor)
- Heather Fry, Kenova, psychology, “Obesity Objectives” (Dr. Marc Lindberg, advisor)
- Robert Gaum, Charleston, computer science/information technology, “Creation of the Inventory College of Information Technology and Engineering (IN-CITE) Project for Real-Time Management of Laboratory Equipment” (Jeffrey Huffman, advisor)
- Joseph Hall, Lawrence, Ohio, computer science/information technology, “MarcOS” (Jonathan Thompson, advisor)
- Bradley Hammond, Huntington, computer science/information technology, “Building inverted indexing in Cloud Computing” (Dr. Hyoil Han, advisor)
- Finley Hammond, Huntington, computer science/information technology, “Marshall University Cybersecurity Research and Education System (CRES) version 3” (Dr. Paulus Wahjudi, advisor)
- Courtney Hatten, Wayne, chemistry, “Pyrolysis Products from the Thermal Decomposition of Butyraldehyde” (Dr. Laura McCunn, advisor)
- William Hice, Oak Hill, psychology, “Tests of resiliency models of women’s criminal behavior” (Dr. Marc Lindberg, advisor)
- Alex King, Fairmont, computer science/information technology, “LockoutII” (Dr. Paulus Wahjudi, advisor)
- Cameron Loader, Sugar Land, Texas, computer science/information technology, “Data Mining for Diabetes Medical Data” (Dr. Hyoil Han, advisor)
- Kyle Merritt, Lesage, engineering, “Design and Evaluation of a Canoe Constructed of Concrete” (Jeffrey Huffman, advisor)
- Rikki Miller, Ripley, biochemistry, “Kidney Damage by Cisplatin is Protected by Resveratrol in a Human Kidney Cell Line” (Dr. Monica Valentovic, advisor)
- James Moore, Barboursville, computer science/information technology, “Web Application for the Search Committee on Recognizing Excellent Students (SCORES)” (Dr. Paulus Wahjudi, advisor)
- Emmanuel Pittore, Wayne, computer science/information technology, “Marshall University Cybersecurity Research and Education System (CRES) version 3” (Dr. Paulus Wahjudi, advisor)
- Travis Rainey, Fraziers Bottom, computer science/information technology, “Grade Tracker” (Jonathan Thompson, advisor)
- Derek Ramsey, Caldwell, biochemistry, “Resveratrol Reduces Kidney Injury induced by Hydrogen Peroxide” (Dr. Monica Valentovic, advisor)
- Nicholas Riggleman, Evans, computer science/information technology, “Quality Control for a Non-Profit Organization” (Dr. Paulus Wahjudi, advisor)
- Michelle Schaller, Morgantown, psychology, “Tests of resiliency models of women’s criminal behavior” (Dr. Marc Lindberg, advisor)
- Sean Sovine, Huntington, computer science/information technology, “MIDAS: Multiple-Inferencing Document Automatic Summarization” (Dr. Hyoil Han, advisor)
- Caleb Spencer, Huntington, computer science/information technology, “Expert System for Reverse Mathematics” (Dr. Carl Mummert, advisor) and “Calculating PageRank in Cloud Computing” (Dr. Hyoil Han, advisor)
- Anthony Stephenson, Ironton, Ohio, biochemistry, “The effect of glycerol availability on the production of triacylglycerols in Chlorella vulgaris” (Dr. Derrick Kolling, advisor)
- Ericka Staples, Beckley, psychology, “Obesity Objectives” (Dr. Marc Lindberg, advisor)
- Kasey Stickler, Huntington, biochemistry, “Comparison of Lipid Accumulation in Photomixotrophically and Heterotrophically Grown Chlorella vulgaris Cultures under Nitrogen and Nitrogen-Starved Conditions” (Dr. Derrick Kolling, advisor)
- Morgan Stickler, Huntington, biochemistry, “Comparison of Lipid Accumulation in Photomixotrophically and Heterotrophically Grown Chlorella vulgaris Cultures under Nitrogen and Nitrogen-Starved Conditions” (Dr. Derrick Kolling, advisor)
- Brian Warner, Lawrence, Ohio, chemistry, “Pyrolysis Products from the Thermal Decomposition of Pivaldehyde” (Dr. Laura McCunn, advisor)
- Emily Wright, Beckley, chemistry, “Pyrolysis Products from the Thermal Decomposition of Pivaldehyde” (Dr. Laura McCunn, advisor)
In addition to Marshall, 14 other universities and colleges will be represented at the event, including Alderson-Broaddus College; Bluefield State College; Concord University; Fairmont State University; Glenville State College; Ohio Valley University; Shepherd University; University of Charleston; West Liberty University; West Virginia State University; West Virginia University; West Virginia Wesleyan College, Wheeling Jesuit University and WVU Institute of Technology.
For more information about Undergraduate Research Day at the Capitol, contact Somerville at 304-696-2424.
