Twenty Syracuse University students from across the disciplines have each won a $2,000 stipend to conduct research and other creative projects this summer under the guidance of a faculty mentor. The competitive research opportunity was made possible through a partnership among the Office of Research, the Provost’s Office and the Student Association.
Launched in 2015, the undergraduate research program is designed to provide student scholars with the financial and academic support to sharpen their research skills by delving into a subject of their own choosing over a 10-week period during the summer break.
The selected students will each receive $2,000 to perform summer research.
“I’m delighted that we could again partner with the Student Association to provide support to undergraduates for summer research and creative work,” says Interim Vice President for Research Peter Vanable, who also serves as associate provost for graduate studies and dean of the Graduate School. “The summer provides an ideal time for mentored experiences with our faculty. Often, such experiences are instrumental in inspiring career direction and plans for graduate training.”
Students are required to devote 20 hours per week to the research project and will have full access to the University’s libraries and its science and computing laboratories during their time on campus.
Following are the names of the students selected to receive the stipend, their major and school/college, and the topic of their research project.
Basil Adams, health and exercise science (School of Education): barriers to exercise in breast cancer survivors
David Adams, earth science (College of Arts and Sciences): thermobarometry—rock crystallization
Zachary Barlow, writing and rhetorical studies (College of Arts and Sciences): further development of an international archive of working-class writing in London
Casey Bell, biology and psychology (College of Arts and Sciences): tactile stimulation in children with autism spectrum disorder
Rafaela Evans, writing studies, rhetoric and composition (College of Arts and Sciences): cultural programming to blunt recruitment strategies of ISIS in Southern Tunisia
Emily Greer, architecture (School of Architecture): cognitive implications to occupants of a room with window glazing and façade
Abigail Hamilton, marketing, retail management, and political science (Whitman School, Maxwell School/College of Arts and Sciences): Documentary on political action of millennials
Claudia Heritage, biochemistry (College of Arts and Sciences; Renée Crown Honors Program): detecting hepatocellular carcinoma via PET scans
Austin Kriews, biochemistry (College of Arts and Sciences; Renée Crown Honors Program): detecting hepatocellular carcinoma via PET scans
Stephanie Velazquez Lopez, psychology, neuroscience (College of Arts and Sciences): research experience in the Stress, Use, and Personality Lab
Jennith Lucas, sociology, citizenship and civic engagement (College of Arts and Sciences/Maxwell School; Renée Crown Honors Program): cognitive and universal access of knowledge to people with intellectual disabilities
Alaine Marji, biochemistry, neuroscience (College of Arts and Sciences): effects of different substances on the formation of liquid crystals
Attila Melegh, aerospace engineering (College of Engineering and Computer Science): variable wing airfoil design
Josué Muñoz, television, radio, and film (Newhouse): exploration of the intergenerational gaps and disconnection within Mexican-American families and communities
Sabrina Rambaran, linguistics and psychology (College of Arts and Sciences): data analysis relating to productivity of using native or other languages in the teaching of a foreign or second language
Josephine Ryder, physics, secondary science education (College of Arts and Sciences, School of Education): next generation science standards and understanding how future teachers’ ideas change over time
Kelsey Scott, anthropology (College of Arts and Sciences/Maxwell School; Renée Crown Honors Program): study of proteins that affect the expression of lupus in the peripheral blood lymphocytes of patients with Systemic Lupus Erythematosus
Abby Rose Sugnet, magazine journalism (Newhouse): liberal transformation among millennial Christians
Emma Walen, biology and forensic science (College of Arts and Sciences; Renée Crown Honors Program): mutations in C. elegans neurons and phenotypic effects
Caitlin White, biochemistry, neuroscience (College of Arts and Sciences; Renée Crown Honors Program): biochemical properties related to the effects of the estrogen estradiol on memory
Student applications for the research stipend were reviewed by a faculty panel in April, and the final recipients were selected by Vanable.
