Eastern Michigan University students to partner with faculty members in research supported by GameAbove Faculty First Undergraduate Research Stimulus Awards

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YPSILANTI – Twenty five Eastern Michigan University students will conduct scholarly research in partnership with EMU faculty members with the support of the Winter 2020 and Fall 2020 GameAbove Faculty First Undergraduate Research Stimulus Awards.

The awards seek to facilitate research partnerships between undergraduate students and Eastern faculty. Student awardees will receive a $2,000 stipend in support of their research efforts, which will be paid in bi-weekly installments throughout the award period. The collaborating faculty member may receive $500, to be used for lab/studio supplies or equipment or other professional expenses associated with the research.

WINTER 2020: The Provost and Executive Vice President of Academic and Student Affairs has awarded a total of $6,000 to three undergraduate students and $1,500 to three EMU faculty for Winter 2020 research and creative projects.

FALL 2020: Awards for Fall 2020 total $42,000 to 22 undergraduate students and $9,672 to 21 Eastern faculty members. One project involves two students.

GameAbove is a group of EMU alumni that has over the past eight months donated more than $15 million in funding a variety of initiatives supporting EMU students, faculty and the greater community. Providing new funding for and extending the reach of the established Undergraduate Research Stimulus Awards is among those myriad efforts.

The awards were approved by the EMU Board of Regents at its regular meeting June 18, 2020.

Listed below alphabetically are the student awardees, their majors, research topics, and faculty partners for their projects.

Winter 2020 GameAbove Faculty First Undergraduate Research Stimulus Awards

Allison Giniel (majoring in Nursing). “Do Postpartum Doulas Help Women Achieve Their Breastfeeding Goals?” Faculty mentor: Holly Hopkins (School of Nursing).

Dillon Kilroy (majoring in Computer Science Curriculum). “Automating the Identification of Pumping-Induced Groundwater Fluctuations from a Large Data Set.” Faculty mentor: Chris Gellasch (Department of Geography and Geology).

Janae White (majoring in Biology). “What Factors Influence the Success of Prairie Restorations?” Faculty mentor: Emily Grman (Department of Biology).

Fall 2020 GameAbove Faculty First Undergraduate Research Stimulus Awards

Iqra Akhlaq (majoring in Biology). “Analyzing interaction between Arabidopsis VTC1 & KONJAC.” Faculty mentor: Aaron Liepman (Department of Biology).

Jacqulyne Ali (majoring in Social Work). “Securing Mental Health: Social Work Meets Police Suicide Crisis.” Faculty mentor: Peregrine Silverschanz (School of Social Work).

Autumn Brown (majoring in Biology). “Establishing Ball Pythons as a Model System for Pigmentation Genetics.” Faculty mentor: Hannah Seidel (Department of Biology).

Armando Chacon (majoring in Psychology). “Parental Executive Function Predicting Child Executive Functions Outcomes, Mediated by Parent-child Attachment.” Faculty mentor: Jamie Lawler (Department of Psychology).

Chase Chitwood (majoring in Biochemistry). “Mutated Autophagic Proteins and Their Binding Partners.” Faculty mentor: Steven Backues (Department of Chemistry).

Jack Collins (majoring in Children's Literature and Theater for the Young). “Representations in Queer Children's Literature with Applications for Local Libraries.” Faculty mentor: Ramona Caponegro (Department of English Language and Literature).

David DeLisle (majoring in Electrical and Computer Engineering). “Autonomous Golf Cart Control System Research.” Faculty mentor: Qin Hu (School of Engineering Technology).

Daniella Diaz (majoring in Nursing). “Improving Breast Cancer-Related Health Outcomes and Quality of Life for Filipina Women.” Faculty mentor: Tsu-Yin Wu (School of Nursing).

Amanda Fox (majoring in French and International Affairs). “The Presence of Terrorism Organizations in France.” Faculty mentor: Michael Foster (Department of World Languages).

Sarah Garon (majoring in Secondary Education Language, Literature and Writing) and Sara Restum, (majoring in Secondary Education Mathematic and TESOL). “Examining the Impact of a Short-Term Intensive English Program on Adult EFL Learners’ Language Learning Beliefs and Autonomous Use of English Resources.” Faculty mentor: Zuzana Tomas (Department of World Languages).

Samuel Grone (majoring in Computer Science - Applied). “Are Smart Contracts Reliable? An Expanded Agency Model Using Deterrents to Enforce Truthful Behavior.” Faculty mentor: Weitian Tong (Department of Computer Science).

Joel Harris (majoring in Environmental Science - Hydrology Concentration). “Identifying the Original Position of Glacial Erratics by Measuring Rock Surface Weathering with a Schmidt Hammer.” Faculty mentor: Eric Portenga (Department of Geography and Geology).

Emma Krietemeyer (majoring in Mathematics - Statistics). “Analysis of Diabetes Discrepancies by Levels of Education in the United States Using the CDC Data.” Faculty mentor: Khairul Islam (Department of Mathematics and Statistics).

Joanne Martinez (majoring in Engineering Physics). “A Custom Electronic Circuit to Characterize Solar Cells for Use in Instructional Labs.” Faculty mentor: Ernest Behringer (Department of Physics and Astronomy).

Brandon Paul (majoring in Information Assurance). “Investigating Vulnerabilities and Exploits in Mobile 4G/LTE Technologies.” Faculty mentor: Xiandong Che (School of Information Security and Applied Computing).

Raleigh Shimrack (majoring in Dance and Communication Sciences and Disorders). “The Effects of Phonology on Naming Response Times.” Faculty mentor: Naomi Hashimoto (Department of Special Education).

Lilly Vael (majoring in Biology and Political Science). “Promoting Antibiotic Activity from Silent Biosynthetic Gene Clusters via Polysaccharide Variation.” Faculty mentor: Paul Price (Department of Biology).

Marcus Whiters (majoring in Urban and Regional Planning). “Exploring the Relationship between Road Conditions and Municipal Finances in the Southeast Michigan Region.” Faculty mentor: William Welsh (Department of Geography and Geology).

Catherine Williams (majoring in Engineering Physics). “A Novel, Interactive Data Visualization Tool.” Faculty mentor: David Pawlowski (Department of Physics and Astronomy).

Victoria Woolnough (majoring in Music Education). “The Effect of Tonal Context and Children's Singing Accuracy.” Faculty mentor: Heather Shouldice (School of Music and Dance).

Madeleine Yaw (majoring in Mechanical Engineering). “Developing a Supercritical Batch Reactor System for the Investigation of Biomass-to-energy.” Faculty mentor: Andrew Mansfield (School of Engineering).

About Eastern Michigan University

Founded in 1849, Eastern is the second oldest public university in Michigan. It currently serves nearly 18,000 students pursuing undergraduate, graduate, specialist, doctoral and certificate degrees in the arts, sciences and professions. In all, more than 300 majors, minors and concentrations are delivered through the University's Colleges of Arts and Sciences; Business; Education; Engineering and Technology; Health and Human Services; and, its graduate school. EMU is regularly recognized by national publications for its excellence, diversity, and commitment to applied education. For more information about Eastern Michigan University, visit the University's website.

June 18, 2020

Written by:
Geoff Larcom

Media Contact:
Geoff Larcom
glarcom@emich.edu
734-487-4400