The Office of Undergraduate Research and Scholarly Activity (URSA) has selected the recipients of its 2011-2012 Research Scholar Fellowships. Each fellowship will provide the student-faculty team with a $2000 student stipend, a $500 supply budget, and a $500 faculty stipend.
“The Research Scholar Fellowships provide support to undergraduate students engaged in faculty-mentored research and creative projects,” stated Dr. Bonnie Higginson, Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs. “These experiences help to develop analytical skills necessary for graduate study and competitive career opportunities. This year marks the sixth year for us to offer our Research Scholar Fellowships and I continue to be very impressed by the accomplishments of these student scholars.”
The 2011-2012 Fellowship recipients are:
Kaitlin Cary, senior elementary education major in the College of Education, for her proposal entitled “Opening Communication Between Parents of Silent Victims and Educators.”Dr. Lynn Patterson, Assistant Professor, will serve as faculty mentor. “The merit of this project has the potential to be far-reaching in its efforts to provide tools for elementary school teachers to identify students who are “silent victims” of domestic violence,” Patterson stated about the project.
Kari L. Koester, senior psychology major in the College of Humanities and Fine Arts, for her proposal entitled “Environmental Memory.” Dr. Paula Waddill, Professor, will serve as faculty mentor. “The topic of olfactory memory is of interest in both cognitive and educational psychology and has potential practical applications beyond the laboratory,” Waddill stated about the project.
Jennifer Lambert-Martin, senior geosciences major in the College of Science, Engineering and Technology, for her proposal entitled “Reconstructing the Fluvial Paleogeography of Cretaceous-aged Sediments in Western Kentucky and Tennessee.”Dr. Lara Homsey, Associate Professor, will serve as faculty mentor. “The project will investigate sediments that have been poorly studied in our region and that have traditionally been overlooked in favor of those with greater antiquity and/or economic value,” Homsey stated about the project.
Ruojing “Audrey” Wang, junior organizational communication major in the College of Business, for her proposal entitled “Comparing and Contrasting Relational Closeness and Distance between Americans and Chinese.” Dr. Tina Coffelt, Assistant Professor, will serve as faculty mentor. “The topic is positioned within interpersonal communication literature, yet the project pulls in the cultural piece. The cultural perspective is frequently cited as a limitation within relationship research,” Coffelt stated about the project.
Read the full announcement here.
2010-2011 Research Scholar Fellowships
Caleb Roberts (Biology and Creative Writing), Kristen Tinch (Secondary English Education), and Vincent Waniel (Telecommunications Systems Management). Read the full announcement here.
2009-10 Fellowship recipients:
Dylan Benningfield (Chemistry), Sarah Hargis (Biology), and Stacey Reason (Art). Read the release here.
2008-09 Fellowship recipients:
Ashley Fannin |
Ashley Fannin, senior psychology major in the College of Humanities and Fine Arts from Murray, Ky., for her proposal entitled “The Effects of Delay and an Intervening Task on the Retention of Implicit and Explicit Memory.” Fannin plans to present her research at the annual meeting of the Psychonomic Society and/or the annual Association for Psychological Science conference. |
Angela Hatton and Angela Walther |
Angela Hatton, senior English major in the College of Humanities and Fine Arts from Murray, Ky., for her proposal entitled “Mary Peach Collier Research.” Hatton will be assisted by co-investigator Angela Walther, senior English major from Eminence, Ky. Hatton and Walther plan to submit their research findings to Women’s Writing, an international journal focused on nineteenth century women’s writing. |
Joshua Woehlke |
Joshua Woehlke, junior secondary English education major in the College of Education from Grand Rivers, Ky., for his proposal entitled “The Content and Usage Revision Engine: A New Approach to Grading English Compositions.” Woehlke plans to present his research at the Kentucky Education Association annual meeting. |
The 2007-08 Fellowship recipients were:
Zachary Brian |
College of Science, Engineering and Technology, for his proposal entitled “A Comparative Study of Photosynthetic Capacity and Leaf Construction of Exotic (Lonicera japonica) and Native (Lonicera sempervirens) Honeysuckle Species.” Brian will be assisted by co-investigators Courtney Harris and Kelly Harris. Kate He, Assistant Professor of Biological Sciences, is serving as faculty mentor. Read Zachary's finished paper here. |
Rebecca Feldhaus |
College of Humanities and Fine Arts, for her proposal entitled “Marian Anderson: A Voice for the Seemingly Silent.” Sonya Baker, Associate Professor of Music, is serving as faculty mentor. Read Rebecca's finished paper here. |
Brian Robertson |
College of Business and Public Affairs, for his proposal entitled “Diagnosing Retirement.” David Eaton, Professor of Economics and Finance, is serving as faculty mentor. |
Molly Williams |
College of Science, Engineering and Technology, for her proposal entitled “Neuroblastoma.” Renee Fister, Professor of Mathematics and Statistics, is serving as faculty mentor. Read Molly's finished paper here. |
View 2006-2007 Research Scholar Fellowship Recipients