An important part of Marian University's mission is focused on providing all undergraduates with personal attention from faculty mentors and opportunities to engage in scientifically robust activities before graduation.
Each fall, the College of Arts and Sciences hosts a research symposium to showcase the breadth and depth of achievement among its students.
During the 2019 Undergraduate Research Symposium in Alumni Hall, faculty and staff judges evaluated nearly 120 students on the quality of their research and poster presentations.
Participants include students earning degrees in fields like biology, chemistry, genetics, the humanities (which typically include languages, literature, history, and philosophy, among others), mathematics, microbiology, psychology, sociology, and similar subjects.
Projects and participants
This year, there were a total of 51 unique research projects which are listed here by category.
Advanced biology
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Analyzing Animal Intake at Indianapolis Animal Care and Control
Whitney Zuercher, Allie Timmerman, Cassandra Vance, and Kennedy Adams -
Influence of Predator Scent in Shaping Beaver Foraging Habits
Logan Clonce and Bradley Mullings -
Selective Inhibition of Aspartate Aminotransferase by L-Cycloserine in the Presence of Vitamin B6
Leah Noe, Jansen Nicole, and Tretter Bryson -
The Effects of Sexual Dimorphism on Toxic Prey Avoidance in the Chinese Praying Mantis, Tenodera sinensis
Emma Swartz, Sophie Podgorski, and Tisa Steinmeyer -
Determining the Impact of Biological Scale on the General Public’s Understanding of Cancer Metastis
Hagar Weinstein, Danielle Schroeder, and Ruthann Gorrell -
Investigating the Impact of Amur Honeysuckle (Lonicera maackii) on the Growth and Mortality of Dragonfly Larvae (Anisoptera)
Jessica Sobers and Logan English -
Changes in Glucocorticoid Metabolites in White-Tailed Ptarmigan Following Artificial Stress Stimuli
Allison Bryant -
Exploring the Education of Cancer Metastasis: Development and Evaluation of Informative Text
Abigail Burnett and Emma Carlton
Cell biology
- SF9 Cell Metabolism of Nicotine with Varying Sugar Diets
Julia Robson, Kennedy Adams, and Siera Stuart
- Analyzing the Efficacy of Natural Baby Soaps for the Elimination of Bacterial Colonization on Bath Toys
Abigail Rost, Jacqueline Benitez, Mira Nicpon, and Katelyn McLaughlin
- Vitamin E: A Possible Preventative Measure for CTE
Dylan Roth and Cameron Dargis
- The Effects of Mitochondrial Biogenesis in Yeast-Absorbing Creatine in Varying Concentrations of Salinity
Kadin Abegg, Devin Humes, and Joe Happe
- The Effect that Docosahexaenoic Omega-3 Fatty Acid has on Intestinal Microbiome and its Relationship to Age-Related Macular Degeneration
Andrea Nunez, Macy Willoughby, and Sydney Mathias
- Clostridium Butyricum: The Effect of Catalase Concentration in a Normoxic Environment
Catherine Schmidt, Luke Sartino, Luisa Luttmann, and Morgan Raines
- The Effects of Sugars on Lactobacillus casei Growth
Alexis Felty, Sidney Gerkin, Taylor Kowalski, and Parker Williams
- Analysis of Leaf Economic Spectrum Differences in Native and Invasive EcoLab Species
Sarah Downing, Adam Brinkman, Claire Bossert, and Randell Bruns
Genetics and microbiology
- Cloning CCA1 in Yeast to Understand Sideroblastic Anemia
Hali Shaffer, Brooke Spencer, and Brandi Williams
- Enhanced Surveillance of Staphylococcus spp. to Identify Targets for Infection Prevention
Ryleigh Schwein, Journey Fischbeck, and Jacqueline Benitez
- Personal Hygiene and Occurrence of Staphylococcus spp. in our Environment
Aidan Washer, Laura Haunert, Deena Miller, and Rayna Onate
- Using Yeast SPS1/X-Men As A Model to Study Human Immunodeficiency
Jon Waldron, Inga VanMeter, and Monica Dudley
- Occurrence and Distribution of Bacterial Indicators and Pathogens in Our Environment
Sydney Mahias, Kaylee Carpenter, and Devin Humes
- Changes in Glucocorticoid Metabolites in White-Tailed Ptarmigan Following Artificial Stress Stimuli
Ariyanna Casey
- Enabling studies of Human Immune Disfunction using Yeast Gene OTS3/UNGI
Mary Dulu and Bindiya Pandya
- Antibiotic Resistance Coming Soon to a Pathogen Near You
Mackenzie Altman, Catherine Stone, Tamia Mills, and Lindsey Layman
Humanities
- Dramaturgy Poster
Thomas O'Neil
- Civil Rights History Program: Birmingham, Selma, & Montgomery: The Role of Franciscan Values
Abby Fralich
- Community Centers' Effects on the Determinants of Health: Improving Community Mental Health
Allisandra Potts-Kummer
- Seeming and Scheming: Machiavelli’s Fox in Macbeth
Sarah Meer
- Thomas Malthus' Theories of Unsustainabilty
Grace Von Lehman
- Examining the Civil Rights History Field Trip
Elizabeth Poynton and Abigail Spitler
Independent research
- Development of a Novel Laboratory Approach for the Colorimetric Detection of Vitamin C
Paula Angarita, Devan Gabbard, Kegan Main, and Katherine Timmerman
- Thermosensitive Hydrogels Physically Linked with Chitosan-β-cyclodextrin Loaded with Curcumin Nanoparticles for Drug Delivery to Treat Rheumatoid Arthritis
Nathan Dimmit
- Effects of Cationic, Anionic, and Non-Ionic Surfactants on Oil-in-Water Microemulsions: Studies Using Turbidimetry and PFG-NMR
Daniela Alaniz and Tuong Thai
- What Natural Soil Type Produces a High Yield for Crop Growth
Inga VanMeter
- Studies of Radiation Damping Effects in NMR Relaxometr
Anders Nystrom
Mathematics and internships
- Geometrical Investigations of Pythagorean Triples
Cierra Carney
- Internship in Chemistry
Derek Lewis
- Mathematical Investigations of Titrations in Chemistry
Marta Morris
- Internship in Chemistry
Melissa Sturgill
Psychology and sociology
- Winning the Lottery: How Family Background Shapes Where Kids Go to School
Shelby Robertson
- How Police Interactions Impact the Communities They Serve
Maverick Bacon
- On the Impact of Academic Performance by Semester: Student Mood & Academic Self-Efficacy
Katja Barnes and Anna Chrzanowski
- Navigating Gendered Selves in the Twitterverse: The Constructs That Bind Us
Milo Sonntag