2015 Top Scholars and Finalists

Undergraduate Research Conference

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Top Scholar

Vanessa Arasin, Quinton Nunn and Cody Ressler
"Nacogdoches Livability Project: Image of University Mall"
Faculty sponsor: Joe K. Ballenger, Management, Marketing, and International Business

Finalists

  • Oluwadarasimi Adebayo
    "Does the Ultra-DOW (DDM) Accurately Perform According to The Objective Stated in its Prospectus?"
    Faculty sponsors: Emiliano Giudici and Ryan Phelps, Economics and Finance
     
  • Vanessa Arasin, Caitlin Frazier, Eric Nambo, Joanna Temple and Henry Wilson
    ""
    Faculty sponsor: Marlene Kahla, Management, Marketing, & International Business
     
  • Donna Bledsoe, Detrick Jones and Ashley Lasater
    "Access 2013 Database Designed for Dad Property Management"
    Faculty sponsor: Marsha L. Bayless, Business Communication & Legal Studies
     
  • April Broomfield
    "Perceptions of Campus Safety at Stephen F. Austin State University"
    Faculty sponsor: Ryan Phelps, Economics and Finance
     
  • Daniel Canterbury, Jamie Graham and Amy Murphy
    ""
    Faculty sponsor: Judith Biss, Business Communication & Legal Studies
     
  • Patty Collins, Gerald Davis, Drew Hurst and Kathryn Taylor
    ""
    Faculty sponsor: Judith Biss, Business Communication & Legal Studies
     
  • Halee Morehead
    ""
    Faculty sponsor: Ryan Phelps, Economics and Finance
     

James I. Perkins College of Education

Top Scholar

Kasey Acosta
"Creative Computations: A Case Study Regarding Mathematics Pedagogy"
Faculty sponsor: Jane Long, Mathematics and Statistics

Finalists

  • Umeki I. Earl
    "Treehouse Design"
    Faculty sponsors: Leisha Bridwell and Mitzi. R. Perritt, School of Human Sciences
     
  • Katherine Fraser
    "Exploring Reading Attitudes of College Students"
    Faculty sponsor: Deborah J. Williams, Elementary Education
     
  • Kerry Mourning
    ""
    Faculty sponsor: Paula Griffin, Elementary Education
     
  • Kara Sandford and Brinda Villarreal
    ""
    Faculty sponsor: Kenneth R. Austin, Secondary Education and Educational Leadership
     
  • Lindsay Shipley
    "Elementary Students’ Visual Representations of Text"
    Faculty sponsor: Carolyn Stufft, Elementary Education
     
  • Savanna Tutt
    "Investigating the Impact of Webquests on Middle Level Social Studies Learning: An Action Research Study"
    Faculty sponsor: Carolyn Stufft, Elementary Education
     
  • Loriann Whitman
    ""
    Faculty sponsors: Alan Sowards, Vicki Thomas and Tingting Xu, Elementary Education
     

College of Fine Arts

Top Scholar

Samantha Donnell
"Piccolo Masterclass Preparation: A Musical Perspective"
Faculty sponsor: Christina Guenther, School of Music

Finalists

  • Robert Joshua Coe
    ""
    Faculty sponsor: Jamie Weaver, School of Music
     
  • Kaylea Fleming
    ""
    Faculty sponsor: Staci Spring, School of Music
     
  • Shelby Gilliam
    ""
    Faculty sponsor: Rick Jones, School of Theatre
     
  • Lauren Ella Kylberg
    "The Music of Taizé: Its Effect on Young People"
    Faculty sponsor: Jamie Weaver, School of Music
     
  • Caitlin Spence
    ""
    Faculty sponsor: Rick Jones, School of Theatre
     
  • Kaydee Wolter
    ""
    Faculty sponsor: Johanna Warwick, School of Art
     

Arthur Temple College of Forestry and Agriculture

Top Scholar

R. Brad Henley
"Hickory Creek Orchard Feasibility Study"
Faculty sponsor: I-Kuai Hung, Forestry and Agriculture

Finalists

  • Connor Audesirk, Chance Collins, Katie Hudgens, Brandon McBride and Krista Rouse
    "Environmental Quality Assessment of the Neches River, Cherokee County, TX: Ernest Anderson Crossing"
    Faculty sponsor: Sheryll B. Jerez, Environmental Science
     
  • Sarah Bohlen, Nicole Fernung, Ashley Johnson, Tyler Slovaceh and Emma Wilson
    "Monitoring Visitor Experience and Compliance in Yellowstone National Park"
    Faculty sponsors: Ray Darville and Pat Stephens Williams, Anthropology, Geography, and Sociology
     
  • Nate Casebeer, Jared Gregory, Ryan Grisham, Conor McInnerney and Sam Rhodes
    "Monitoring Visitor Impact in Bridger-Teton National Forest Designated Wilderness"
    Faculty sponsors: Ray Darville and Pat Stephens Williams, Anthropology, Geography, and Sociology
     
  • Victor Chavez, James McMullen, Cheryl Scott and Quentin Silva
    ""
    Faculty sponsor: Sheryll B. Jerez, Environmental Science
     
  • Andrew Coty, Josh Harris and Zach Jones
    "Partnerships in Service Learning: Port of Jefferson History and Nature Center"
    Faculty sponsors: Dean Coble and David Kulhavy, Forestry and Agriculture
     
  • Whitney Johnson
    "Effects of Aerobic Sewage Treatment Systems on Soil Chemical and Physical Properties"
    Faculty sponsor: Kenneth Farrish, Environmental Science
     
  • Jill Pickett
    "Soil Contamination with E. coli Bacteria at the Nacogdoches Dog Park"
    Faculty sponsor: Kenneth Farrish, Environmental Science
     

College of Liberal and Applied Arts

Top Scholar

Bethanie Sterling
"Inverted: The Reversal of the Master-Slave Relationship in Benito Cereno"
Faculty sponsor: Steve Marsden, English

Finalists

  • Erika Bazaldua, Alex Bellini, Ryan Carrathus, Preston Dendy, Khakie Holland and Kaley Masters
    "Ä¢¹½ÊÓÆµ TV’s JackTalk"
    Faculty sponsor: Sherry Williford, Mass Communication
     
  • Kristina Brooks
    ""
    Faculty sponsor: Kristin Bailey-Wallace, Social Work
     
  • Chad Huckaby
    ""
    Faculty sponsor: Lee W. Payne, Government
     
  • Bethany Krawietz
    ""
    Faculty sponsor: Lauren E. Brewer, Psychology
     
  • Caitlin Lee
    ""
    Faculty sponsor: Carolyn White, History
     
  • Melissa Smoot
    ""
    Faculty sponsor: Thomas Segady, Anthropology, Geography, and Sociology
     
  • Zak Tharp
    ""
    Faculty sponsor: R. Tyler Spradley, Languages, Cultures, & Communication
     

College of Sciences and Mathematics

Top Scholar

Megan Jenkins
"The Origin of Sulfur Content in the Mineral Springs of Lampasas Texas"
Faculty sponsor: Alyx S. Frantzen, Chemistry and Biochemistry

Finalists

  • Amanda Raley
    "The Use of Microwave Heating for Biodiesel Synthesis via Potassium Carbonate- Catalyzed Transesterification"
    Faculty sponsor: Russell J. Franks, Chemistry and Biochemistry
     
  • Tania Benavides, Greg Hanson and Phillip Sharp
    ""
    Faculty sponsor: Michael Janusa, Chemistry and Biochemistry
     
  • Emily Benton
    "Bees of the Stephen F. Austin State University Gardens (Hymenoptera: Apoidea: Apiformes)"
    Faculty sponsor: Dan Bennett, Biology
     
  • Marianne Burnett, Amey Gonzalez and Jasmine Moreland
    ""
    Faculty sponsor: Michele R. Harris, Chemistry and Biochemistry
     
  • Jeffrey Downs
    ""
    Faculty sponsor: Kalanka Jayalath, Mathematics and Statistics
     
  • Chelsey Price
    "The Genetics of the Visual System of Pupfish"
    Faculty sponsor: Jennifer Gumm, Biology
     
  • Stephen E. Scribner
    ""
    Faculty sponsor: D. Brent Burt, Biology
     

Regional Colleges

Finalists

  • Amanda Tucker
    "Social Media and Its Relation to Increasing Suicide Rates in American Youth"
    Faculty sponsor: Clint Selman, Tyler Junior College - Psychology
     
  • Cole Beckham
    "A Conceptualization and Analysis for the Aesthetic Design of the Zero Reel"
    Faculty sponsor: Chris Stewart, Tyler Junior College - Art
     
  • Carlos Cordero
    "The Evolution of Supermassive Black Hole Formation Theory: Collapse, Accretion & Merging"
    Faculty sponsor: Tom Hooten, Tyler Junior College - Physics
     
  • Gavin Dass
    "The Bacchanalia: How Wine Set the Stage"
    Faculty sponsor: T. J. McLemore, Tyler Junior College - English
     
  • Mikenna Denton
    "Religion and Premarital Sex"
    Faculty sponsor: Clint Selman, Tyler Junior College - Psychology
     
  • Mariah Martin
    "Visualization in Mathematics on High-Stakes High School End-Of-Course Exams"
    Faculty sponsor: Chris Chappa, Tyler Junior College - Mathematics