Undergraduate Research Support Award (URSA) Recipients
2015-2016 Awardees
- Gabrielle Lehmann: to compensate participants in a study on color and physical attractiveness
- Jenna Greiner, Cathleen Fulmer, Sidney Montano, Saul Medina: to compensate participants in a study on how different types of music affect reading comprehension
- Evelyn Arreola, Analisa Concepcion, Carlos Monrroy-Tinoco: to compensate participants in a study testing the effectiveness of 3 different study approaches: re-reading, generating questions, and answering questions
- Adilene Osnaya and Mayra Gaona: to attend the Midwestern Psychological Association Conference (May 2016, Chicago IL)
Summer 2014
Breanna Watral received funding to attend the International Congress on Medieval Studies at Western Michigan University in Kalamazoo, Michigan, May 8-11, 2014, to inform her research for her distinction project in medieval literature. Breanna was sponsored by David Perry, History.
Spring 2014
T’Lyn Candella received funding for costs associated with attending the Joint Mathematics Meetings held January 15-18, 2014, in Baltimore, Maryland. T’Lyn was sponsored by Jeanette Olli, Mathematics.
Lisa Gullo received funding to present her Honors project, “Optimal Paths in Graphs with Variable Weights,” at the Joint Mathematics Meetings held January 15-18, 2014 in Baltimore, Maryland. Her poster was accepted for the MAA Undergraduate Student poster session on Friday, January 17, 2014. Lisa was sponsored by Marion Weedermann, Mathematics.
Joanna Sasara received funding to present her Honors project, “Understanding the Dynamics of Drug-Related Crimes in Chicago Across Time and Space Using Differential Equations,” at the Joint Mathematics Meetings held January 15-18, 2014 in Baltimore, Maryland. Her poster was accepted for an MAA Undergraduate Student poster session. Lisa was sponsored by Marion Weedermann, Mathematics.
Fall 2013
Rachel Hunter, a Clinical Psychology major, received a grant to pay for incentives to recruit subjects for her research project which focuses on how objectification seen in the media impacts female cognition. She intends to submit the results for publication to add new information to the existing research regarding objectification and gender studies. Rachel was sponsored by Tracy Caldwell, Psychology.
Spring 2013
Karina Cisneros attended the Joint Mathematics Meeting in San Diego, January 9-12, 2013. In the summer of 2012, Karina was part of an undergraduate research experience at Worcester Polytechnic Institute in Worcester, Massachusetts. This was a 9-week program wherein Karina worked with four other students from different universities across the U.S. to understand the growth dynamics of cancer stem cell and non-stem cancer cell populations to develop better understanding of the treatment options for cancer patients through mathematical modeling. The abstract to “Modeling Cancer Stem Cell and Non-Stem Cancer Cell Population Growth” was accepted for the MAA Undergraduate Poster Session. This research project was sponsored by the National Science Foundation and the Center of Cancer Systems Biology located in Boston, Massachusetts. Karina was sponsored by Marion Weedermann, Mathematics.
David Gayes attended the 2013 Catholic Social Ministry Gathering, February 10-13, in Washington, D.C. David shared his essay “No Beauty or Truth Excluded” which was published in the Journal of Religion, Disability, & Health. David hoped to develop a greater understanding of social justice ministry, as well as network with professionals for possible internships or careers. David was sponsored by Kathy Heskin, Theology and Pastoral Ministry.
Erwin Kehrt used his award to help defray the costs of software he needed for his honors project to build a robot with wheels that is drivable solely by the movements of a user through an interface between a Kinect and Lego Mindstorm. Erwin will share his project and what he learned at the 2014 URSCI Expo. Erwin was sponsored by Cyrus Grant, Department of Computer Science.
Tyehimba Turner was the first Dominican student to be accepted to present at the prestigious National Council for Undergraduate Research (NCUR) meetings in LaCrosse, WI in April, 2013. His presentation was entitled “Identifying Novel Genes involved in Rebaudioside A Transport & Metabolism in Environmentally-Isolated Microbes.” Tye was sponsored by Margaret Jonah, Biology, Natural Sciences Department.
Spring 2012
Ashley Burkhart used her grant to travel to the Consilience Conference April 26-28, 2012 in St. Louis. Ashely was interested in exploring the connections between literary critics and cognitive scientists and what they can teach us about nature in memory in narrative fiction. The conference brought together top researchers in biology, the social sciences, and the humanities to discuss connections among these discipline. Ashley was sponsored by Ellen McManus, English.
Sandra Garcia, a Psychology major, was provided with the funds necessary to attend and participate in the 2012 APS (Association for Psychological Science) Annual Convention in Chicago. Sandra will be presenting an undergraduate research poster presentation on the work that she completed for her degree with distinction project. Her research investigated whether individuals primed with empathy would intervene more quickly in a staged, helping situation compared to those that were primed with apathy. The study also looked into whether women were helped more quickly than men in the simulations. Sandra showed that women were helped more quickly than men in a simulation when the participant was primed with apathy. Sandra will be presenting her poster at the conference on May 27, 2012. Sandra was sponsored by Professor Tracy Caldwell.
Kelly Gavin, a Psychology major, was compensated for the cost of registering and participating in the 24th Annual APS (Association for Psychological Science) Convention, being held in Chicago on May 27, 2012. Kelly will have the chance to share the work that she completed with other students and professionals in the field of Psychology. This will also give Kelly the opportunity to learn about other important research currently being conducted, and important topics of study in Psychology. Kelly's research focused on participants' beliefs in whether or not their particular learning style was being accomodated for during a short video, and a subsequent questionnaire. Kelly found that her results supported her hypothesis, that if a person believed their learning style was being accommodated for, they would perform better on the multiple-choice questionnaire. Kelly was sponsored by Professor Tracy Caldwell.
Monika Magierski was awarded funds to attend the Mood Disorders Conference at Johns Hopkins University, being held on April 24, 2012. The Mood Disorders Conference covers research on the prevention and treatment of conditions such as depression, bi-polar disorder and suicidality. Along with research on these disorders, the conference will also be featuring suicide case studies, including analysis of the attempter and the family of the attempter. The case studies will have a special focus on suicidality and andolescents/young adults, particularly college students. Dr. Kay Redfield Jamison, an expert on suicidality, will be speaking at the conference. Monika was sponsored by Professor Jacqueline Elder.
Summer 2011
Carly Connelly, a Sculpture major, was awarded an URSA to hone her talents in mold making. She hopes to use the funds to make a silicone mold of her piece Convoy that will be long lasting and durable so she can pour a variety of materials into it. She hopes to strengthen her knowledge of mold-making possibilities. Carly was sponsored by Professor Noelle Allen-Wright.
Summer 2010
Rose Beausoleil, a psychology major, was awarded $500 toward her travel expenses in May, 2010. She was a co-presenter, along with her faculty sponsor Dr. Tracy Caldwell, of a poster entitled “ An Examination of Sex Differences in Humor Preferences Among Match.ComUsers ” at the annual conference of the Association for Psychological Science in Boston, Massachusetts.
Angelina Meyer, a senior Math major, was awarded $500 toward her travel expenses to present her Honors Project at Math Fest 2010 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Her sponsor was Marion Weedermann. Angelina will be presenting her project entitled “ Exploring Fractal Dimension Through the Analysis of Common Fractals.”
Nancy Gullo, a senior Math major, was awarded $500 toward her travel expenses to present her Honors Project at Math Fest 2010 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Her sponsors were Dr. Marion Weedermann and Dr. Aliza Steurer. Nancy presented her project entitled “ Exploring Semigroups.
Fall 2009
Matt Earle, a Psychology major, was awarded $500 toward his travel expenses. He co-authored a poster with his faculty mentor, Dr. Alisa Beyer, at the International Society for the Scholarship of Teaching & Learning (ISSOTL) conference in Bloomington, Indiana in October, 2009. Their poster was entitled “ Pecha Kucha (PK) as an Activity for Exam Preparation.”
Yoshio Piediscalzi, a senior Mathematics major, was awarded $500 toward his travel expenses. His sponsor was Dr. Marion Weedermann. Yoshio presented a poster on his summer REU project completed at the University of Nebraska, entitled “A Direct Lyapunov Approach for Designing Stabilizing Control Laws” at the Joint Mathematics Meeting in San Francisco in January 2010
Karl Rickert, a senior in Chemistry, was awarded $500 towards his travel expenses to present a poster at the annual Meeting of the American Chemical Society in April, 2010. His faculty sponsor was Dr. Daniela Andrei.
Robert Schretzman, a senior in Chemistry, was awarded $500 towards his travel expenses to present a poster at the annual Meeting of the American Chemical Society in April, 2010. His faculty sponsor was Dr. Daniela Andrei.
Spring 2009
Bobby Schretzman, a senior in Chemistry and Biology, was awarded $500 for materials for his research project entitled “ The Dehydration of 2-Methylcyclohexanol Revisited: Using Alternate Protocols and Advanced Analytical Tools and Techniques on the Reactant Product Distributions.” Bobby’s faculty sponsor for this project was Dr. Brent Friesen. Bobby also wrote a paper based on the results of his experimental research.
Caroline Borucki, a senior in Apparel Design, was awarded $500 for materials for her creative investigation of the question “ Is Fashion Art?” Caroline’s faculty sponsor for this project was Dr. Tracy Jennings. Caroline also created two artistic garments, and wrote a paper that discussed how her research influenced her creative projects.
Adelyn Curphey, Cecilia Tobias, Ashley Watkins, Samuel Perez Ferrero, and Ashley Martinez were each awarded $100 towards their travel expenses. This request was submitted by Dr. Christina Perez on behalf of her students who presented papers at a symposium she organized at the Midwestern Sociological Association Meetings in Des Moines, Iowa.
Spring 2010
Kim Crawford, an English writing major, was awarded $500 for production costs related to her original play Women of Rochester: a Readers Theatre presented as the closing ceremony of the URSCI Expo. Kim’s reader- mentors were Mary Scott Simpson and Germaine Goetz Sota. Kim staged and produced highlights from her play, incorporating lighting, sound, costumes, and stage furnishings as part of her creative investigation, bringing the text to life.
Ruxandra Rusz, an Art History major, was awarded $500 toward her travel expenses to attend the College Art Association 2010 98 th Annual Conference in Chicago. Her faculty sponsor was Dr. Kim Theriault.
Brigitte Bell, an English and Art History major, was awarded $500 toward her travel expenses to attend the College Art Association 2010 98 th Annual Conference in Chicago. Her faculty sponsor was Dr. Kim Theriault.
Whitney O’Laughlin, an Art History major, was awarded $500 toward her travel expenses to attend the College Art Association 2010 98 th Annual Conference in Chicago. Her faculty sponsor was Dr. Kim Theriault.
Summer 2013
Sana Ahmed was funded to present her research, “Guess Mix Evaluation of Halogenated Solvents for Countercurrent Chromatography,” at the American Chemical Society (ACS), at its 40th annual Great Lakes Regional Meeting in La Crosse, Wisconsin, June 5-8, 2013. Sana was sponsored by J. Brent Friesen, Chemistry, Natural Sciences Department.
David Gayes received URSA funds to attend the fourth annual Summer Institute on Theology and Disability in Toronto, Canada, July, 2013. David was sponsored by Kathy Heskin, Theology and Pastoral Ministry.
Megan Knape received funds for transportation and materials to develop a collection of digital designs and five unique digitally printed fabrics. She plans to enter her series of designs into The Dominican University Annual Juried Art Exhibition and the printed fabrics will be incorporated into her senior collection. Megan also plans on entering one of her designs into the annual Future of Chicago Fashion Competition put on by the Chicago Fashion Foundation. Megan was sponsored by Tracy Jennings, Apparel Design and Merchandising.
Tyehimba Turner received funds for chemicals and equipment for his Summer Scholar research into the South American Stevia rebaudiana plant which contains many diterpene glycosides, collectively known as rebaudiosides and commonly used as a zero calorie sweetener. This purpose of the project was to isolate environmental microbes that can utilize stevia and identify the gene systems responsible using a reverse genetic screen. While doing this, organisms with novel characteristics were catalogued in a library for future use. Margaret Jonah, Biology, Natural Sciences Department, was Tye’s sponsor.
Fall 2012
Jonathan Cabai received URSA funds to register for the Argonne Symposium, October 26th, 2012, at the Argonne National Lab, Argonne, Illinois, where he presented his research in organic chemistry with fellow classmate Theodore Weyna. Jonathan was sponsored by Daniela Andrei, Chemistry.
Jacqueline Glosniak, a double major in Journalism and Political Science, attended the ACP/CMA National College Media Convention in Chicago, October 31-November 4, 2012, to learn different skills to bring to Dominican and to network with journalism professionals. Jackie was sponsored by John Jenks, Communication Arts and Sciences.
Rene Howard Paez attended the ACP/CMA National College Media Convention in Chicago, October 31-November 4, 2012. Rene was sponsored by John Jenks, Communication Arts and Sciences.
Theodore Weyna received URSA funds to register for the Argonne Symposium, October 26th, 2012, at the Argonne National Lab, Argonne , Illinois, where he presented his research in organic chemistry with fellow classmate Jonathan Cabai. Ted was sponsored by Daniela Andrei, Chemistry.
Fall 2011
Andrea Body, Amanda Klopp, Paulina Kumala, Andrea Monsivais, Meagan Morales and Alexandra Sifuentes were provided with funds to attend the 2011 Regional Ethics Bowl Competition at Oakland University in Michigan. The Ethics Bowl Competition involves an ethics team being presented with cases or scenarios that introduce tough ethical questions that each team must respond to. The teams are then evaluated by judges on their responses to the questions brought before them. Attending the Ethics Bowl allowed these students to expose themselves to deep ethical questions, and to investigate the numerous perspectives and ethical issues raised when making a tough moral decision. The students also gained experience in the realms of public speaking and academic debate, which will benefit them later in their academic careers. The aforementioned students were sponsored by Professor Tama Weisman.
Adriel Lopez, a graphic design major, was awarded funds to acquire the materials necessary to perform screen printing. Screen printing is an art process carried out by hand that involves placing an ink-proof stencil over paper, fabric or some other material, and pressing ink through the stencil openings to create an image on the chosen substrate. Adriel completed prints depicting Spanish idioms via illustrations and text on both posters and T-shirts. Adriel posted the finished prints publicly, throughout various Chicago neighborhoods, and will also present his work at the 2012 URSCI Expo. Adriel was sponsored by Professor Bill Kerr.
John Pontikis and Theodore Weyna, Chemistry majors, were awarded funds to attend the American Chemical Society National Meeting, August 28-September 1, in Denver, Colorado. Both students had posters accepted for presentation at the conference. The posters focused on Diazeniumdiolate ions, which are used in biochemical, physiological and pharmacological studies for controlled release of nitric oxide and/or their congeneric nitroxyl at physiological pH. The students are sponsored by Professor Daniela Andrei.
Spring 2011
Bryan Deziel, a current student of both History and Computer Science at Dominican, was awarded the costs of registration and travel to attend the 28 th Annual Conference of the Illinois Medieval Association at DePaul University, with the especial intent of attending the session, “Medieval Texts and Modern Technologies.” Bryan is a prospective graduate student of Library Science, with a particular eye towards archiving, the importance of the Digital Humanities in the future of archiving and libraries. Bryan was sponsored by Dr. David Perry.
Kaitlin Kimont, Kate Kulpa, Angela Romano and Mary Stroka, Journalism majors, were each awarded $500 toward attendance and travel fees to attend the annual conference of the College Media Advisers, Inc. (CMA) in New York, March 13-15. The CMA is the primary national organization representing student media, their advisers and staff around the country. The Dominican Star is closely associated with the Journalism Discipline of the CAS Department and a vital learning tool for journalism students. Kaitlin, Kate, Angela and Mary were sponsored by Dr. John Jenks.
David Kucher, a Chemistry major, was awarded $500 toward the costs of materials to study the anti-depressive characteristics of St. John’s Wort, a flowering plant that grows abundantly in many parts of the world. David is studying the active component, hyperforin, and hypericin and other minor constituents that may play a role in the plant’s anti-depressive properties. Dr. J Brent Friesen sponsored David.
Marissa Martin, a Corporate Communications major, was awarded $500 towards travel and registrations costs for the 2011 Central States Communication Association Undergraduate Research Honors Conference in Milwaukee, WI. Marissa will submit and present her academic paper, " Sister Wives: A Different View of Polygamy?" in addition to attending the conference, and will be able to share her work with other students and experts in the field. Marissa will gain valuable feedback on her work, and will have exposure to other research that can provide valuable insight into other topics in communications. Marissa was sponsored by Prof. Jennifer C. Dunn.
Mari Pyle, a Clinical Psychology major, was awarded $500 to purchase gift cards which will be used as incentives in a study about seasonal depression and possible cognitive deficits. The incentives will be used to ensure the subjects’ participation in the second part of her study, as a critical part of the study is to examine individual differences across two time points (January and April). Mari was sponsored by Dr. Alisa Beyer.
Samantha Sanchez, a double major in Photography and Journalism, was awarded $500 toward the costs for attending The Society of Photographic Education 2011 conference entitled “ Science, Poetry and the Photographic image.” Samantha plans on going into an MFA program following her graduation from Dominican this spring. Samantha was sponsored by Dr. Javier Carmona.
Christopher Swasko, a Communications major, was awarded $500 towards travel and registration costs for the 2011 Central States Communication Association Undergraduate Research Honors Conference in Milwaukee, WI. Christopher will submit and present his academic paper, "No Country for Heroes," at the conference, and will be able to gain valuable feedback on his paper from other undergraduate students and experts in the communications field. In addition, Christopher will be able to learn about other research in the field, and may gain insight as to where to apply for graduate school. Christopher was sponsored by Prof. Jennifer C. Dunn.
Anna Walenski, a Theology major with Communication Arts and Sciences and Theater minors, was awarded $500 towards travel and registration costs for the 2011 Central States Communication Association Undergraduate Research Honors Conference in Milwaukee, WI. Anna will submit and present her academic paper, "The Sons of Anarchy Narrative: Blazing through our Stereotypes of Outlaws," at the conference, and will be able to gain valuable feedback on her paper from other students and experts in the communications field. In addition, Anna will have the opportunity to learn about other research projects and initiatives in the field, and to investigate potential students for continuing her education at the graduate level. Anna was sponsored by Prof. Jennifer C. Dunn.
Summer 2009
Caitlyn Kamm, a rising senior in Apparel Design, was awarded $500 for supplies for her interdisciplinary research project on Integrated Textiles and Culture. Her faculty sponsor was Dr. Susan Strawn. Caitlyn summarized her research in her Honors Project.
Drew Carson, a rising senior in English, was awarded $500 toward her travel expenses. She presented a paper “ Good Girls, Bad Girls, and Independent Girls: How Jane Austen Uses Walks and Travels to Distinguish between Conventionality, Impropriety, and Independence” at the New Directions in Austen Studies conference, July 9-11, at the Chawton House Library, near Alton, Hampshire, UK. Drew’s faculty sponsor was Dr. Ellen McManus.
Deidra Eberwein, a senior psychology major, was awarded $500 toward her travel expenses. She was a co-presenter, along with her faculty sponsor Dr. Tracy Caldwell, of a poster entitled “ Toward an understanding of why men don't like funny women” at the annual conference of the Association for Psych