Paulson Student Research Award winners will present findings at April 11 symposium

April 5, 2007

The 2006-2007 winners of the Paulson Student Research Awards at Georgia Southern University will present their findings at an on-campus symposium on Wednesday, April 11.

The 15 students were awarded a total of $25,000 in research funding from the College Office of Undergraduate Research (COUR), which is part of the Allen E. Paulson College of Science and Technology (COST).

Free and open to the public, the symposium will begin at 4 p.m. in the Professional Development Center of the College of Information Technology Building.

‘The faculty of COST has always put a great of emphasis on research, and the Paulson awards are a great way to encourage our students to get involved,” COUR Director Bruce Schulte said. ‘These funds will help deserving undergraduate students obtain hands-on knowledge of the research process, such as reading the literature, acquiring data, and writing and presenting their findings.”

The winners of the Paulson Student Research Awards are announced each spring. To be eligible for an award, a student must be enrolled as an undergraduate major in one of the units of COST, which includes the departments of biology; chemistry; construction management and civil engineering technology; geology and geography; mathematical sciences; mechanical and electrical engineering technology; and physics.

In addition, the student must be mentored by a member of the COST faculty. The student had to submit an application hat included a description of the proposed research project, an explanation of how the experience would benefit both the student and the mentor’s research program, and a proposed budget of up to $2,500.

All applicants were interviewed by the COUR committee, which is composed of one member from each department of COST. The committee also conferred with Schulte before determining the winners and the amounts of the awards.

‘The students went through a very rigorous application process,” Schulte said. ‘The ones who emerged should be very proud of their accomplishments.”

The awards are divided into two categories: one for the math and science departments, and one for the technology departments.

The Math and Science awards were presented to the following students:

• Rebekah Baskin for her chemistry project titled ‘Bile Salt/Phospholipid Aggregation Below Critical Micelle Concentrations.” Her mentor is Associate Professor Laura Frost.
• Steven Crocker for his biology project titled ‘Echinoderm Development From Gamete to Juvenile: A Study on Ideal Growing Conditions and Gender Divergence.” His mentor is Associate Professor Sophie George.

•  James Davis for his chemistry project titled ‘Synthesis of Hexa-substituted Cyclopropanes.” His mentor is Instructor W. Rucks Winkeljohn.

• Perry Hampton Harbin for his biology project titled ‘Recruitment and Growth of Fishes Along a Mangrove Habitat Gradient.” His mentor is COST Dean Bret Danilowicz.

•  Melissa B. Mobley for her biology project titled ‘Characterization of Novel Spiroplasma Species Using the Transmission Electron Microscope.” Her mentor is Associate Professor Laura Regassa.

• Katalin Patonai for her biology project titled ‘Morphometric Analysis of Periwinkles (Littoria irrorata) Driven by Predation Risk in the Salt Marshes of Coastal Georgia. George is her mentor.

• Kartik M. Reddy for his project titled ‘Prevalence of the Q-fever Agent in Ticks Collected from Southeast Georgia.” His mentor is Associate Professor Quentin Fang.

• Michael A. Sapp for his biology project titled ‘Differential Expression of the Antimicrobial Gene Attacin in Male and Female Houseflies.” His mentor is Assistant Professor Dana Nayduch.

The Technology awards were presented to following students:

•  Ryan Bridges for his mechanical engineering technology project titled ‘The Implementation of Feedback Control Systems.” His mentor is Assistant Professor Aniruddha Mitra.

• Parker Bussey for his mechanical engineering technology project titled ‘The Design, Analysis, Production and Performance Testing of a Mini Baja Vehicle.” His mentor is Associate Professor Brian Vlcek.

• Dustin Gaddis for his mechanical engineering technology project titled ‘The Design, Analysis and Fabrication of a Formula SAE Race Car.” Vlcek is his mentor.

• Heidi Glisson for her mechanical engineering technology project titled ‘Experimental Determination of the Minimum Population or Sample Size to Characterize Fatigue Life.” Vlcek is her mentor.