2020 Top Scholars and Finalists

Undergraduate Research Conference

Nelson Rusche College of Business

Top Scholar

Karina Weathers
"Do Bilinguals Earn More in Texas?"
Faculty sponsor: Rebecca Davis, Economics and Finance

Finalists

  • Aryauna Barnes, Miguel Esquivel and Juan Garcia
    "Mickey’s Mustard Awareness Campaign"
    Faculty sponsor: Marlene Kahla, Management and Marketing
     
  • Johanna Bruhn and Lillian N Yarbrough
    "What Comes To Mind When You Hear 'Great Value'"
    Faculty sponsor: Wenjing Li, Management and Marketing
     
  • Helena Collmorgen
    "Sector Correlations and Rotational Investing"
    Faculty sponsor: Emiliano Giudici, Economics and Finance
     
  • Krystal Kilway
    "'Got Vaccinations?'"
    Faculty sponsor: Joe Ballenger, Management and Marketing
     
  • Grant Knight, Monica Martinez and Taylor Perry
    "Male Gender Roles in the Eyes of Female SFA Students"
    Faculty sponsor: Joe Ballenger, Management and Marketing
     
  • Rachel Lederer
    "The Opinion of SFA Housing According to SFA Students, Fall 2019"
    Faculty sponsor: Joe Ballenger, Management and Marketing
     
  • Hannah Percell
    "Using Power BI Reports to Support Stakeholder Relations for a Regional Non-Profit Mental Health Care Provider"
    Faculty sponsor: Ryan Phelps, Economics and Finance
     

James I. Perkins College of Education

Top Scholar

Lauren Pate
"A Comparison of High-Intensity Interval Running and TABATA on Post-Exercise Metabolism"
Faculty sponsor: James Rowe, Kinesiology and Health Science

Finalists

College of Fine Arts

Top Scholar

Samantha Altamirano
"'Fractured'"
Faculty sponsor: Eden Collins, School of Art

Finalists

  • Rachel Blakelock
    "The Infusion of Art and Science"
    Faculty sponsor: Margaret Leysath, School of Art
     
  • Jacob Cantu, Valentin Ceballos, Cristian Gutierrez and Cody Mussett
    "The Use of Low Brass in Cinema Scores"
    Faculty sponsor: J.D. Salas, School of Music
     
  • Kaitlyn Etie and Rhett Gregory
    "Commercial Composition"
    Faculty sponsor: James Adams, School of Music
     
  • Veronica Guerra
    "The Pursuit of Historical Accuracy in Vivaldi's 'La Folia'"
    Faculty sponsor: Jamie Weaver, School of Music
     
  • Audrey Owens
    "Female Empowerment in Pop Art"
    Faculty sponsor: William Nieberding, School of Art
     
  • Caleb Perkins
    "Building a 3D Printed Camera"
    Faculty sponsor: Amanda Breitbach, School of Art
     
  • Annemarie Price
    "Naranjo Museum"
    Faculty sponsor: Peter Andrew, School of Art
     

Arthur Temple College of Forestry and Agriculture

Top Scholar

Kasey Jobe, Nick Schiwitz and Krista Ward
"Does Installation Method Affect Snake Entanglement in Erosion Control Blankets?"
Faculty sponsor: Christopher Schalk, Forestry

Finalists

  • Connor Adams and Dylan W. Thompson
    "Increased Management Frequency Decreases Lizard Abundance in Forest Ecosystems"
    Faculty sponsor: Christopher Schalk, Forestry
     
  • John Michael Arnett
    "Mediterranean House Geckos Exploit Novel Resources in a Recipient Lizard Assemblage"
    Faculty sponsor: Christopher Schalk, Forestry
     
  • Hannah Bays and Sarah Hall
    "Toxicological Effects of Household Chemicals on 'Artemia Salina' Development and Survival"
    Faculty sponsor: Kenneth Farrish, Environmental Science
     
  • Karlen Cantu, Melanie Dehnisch, Faith Dolan, Sophie Fielder, Julia Thomas and Liliana Zapata
    "Mission Tejas State Park: A Preliminary Study on the Effects of Recreational Activity Upon Abiotic Factors"
    Faculty sponsor: Sheryll Jerez, Environmental Science
     
  • Joseph Gerland and Reid Viegut
    "3D Preservation of Koo-Hoot Kiwat, Caddo Mound State Historic Site"
    Faculty sponsors: Dr. David Kulhavy and Dr. Yanli Zhang, Forestry
     
  • Kasey Jobe, Nick Schiwitz and Krista Ward
    "On the Diversity of Erosion Control Products: Implications for Snake Entanglement"
    Faculty sponsor: Christopher Schalk, Forestry
     
  • Eamonn Alasdair Thurmond
    "Avian Communities Respond to Restoration Treatments in East Texas Pine Forests"
    Faculty sponsor: Kathryn R. Kidd, Forestry
     

College of Liberal and Applied Arts

Top Scholar

Charlie Davis
"The Jan Zhuo Language"
Faculty sponsor: Jessie Sams, Languages, Cultures, and Communication

Finalists

  • Jack Bryant
    "Barriers to Childhood Bullying"
    Faculty sponsor: Steven Estrada, Psychology
     
  • Cullen Edwards
    "Earthly Inspiration for Dune’s Ecology"
    Faculty sponsor: Michael Given, English and Creative Writing
     
  • Haley Garrelts
    "Drugs as a Means for Social Control in Twentieth-Century Dystopias"
    Faculty sponsor: Michael Given, English and Creative Writing
     
  • Daniel Greco
    "Foreign Policy and Executive Approval: Presidential Use of Executive Agreements and the Effect of Public Opinion"
    Faculty sponsor: Steven E. Galatas, Government
     
  • Shannon R. Groce
    "The Things We Don’t See: Oppressive Mental Health Language in 1940’s East Texas"
    Faculty sponsor: Jessie Sams, Languages, Cultures, and Communication
     
  • Jocelyn Moore
    "Best Practices in the Administration of Environmental Education: An Interdisciplinary Approach to Sustaining University-Based EE Programs"
    Faculty sponsor: Joyce Johnston, Multidisciplinary Studies
     
  • Cynthia Palomino
    "LGBTQ Discrimination and Policy Analysis"
    Faculty sponsor: Kristin Bailey-Wallace, Social Work
     

College of Sciences and Mathematics

Top Scholar

Xander Haynes
"Resilience of the Beetle Families Scarabaeidae and Cerambycidae to a Rare Flooding Event in Southeastern Texas"
Faculty sponsor: Daniel Bennett, Biology

Finalists

  • Juan Barron (Best Freshman Paper)
    "Three Dimensional Molecule Visualization"
    Faculty sponsor: Christopher Ivancic, Computer Science
     
  • Naidelyn Chicas
    "Synthesis and Characterization of Biodiesel Fuels via Base-Catalyzed Transesterification of Hickory Kernel Oil"
    Faculty sponsor: Russell J. Franks, Chemistry and Biochemistry
     
  • Melanie Ertons
    "Geochemical Analyses of Base Metals in Sediments and Stream Water Black Cypress Bayou, Marion County, Texas"
    Faculty sponsor: Mindy Faulkner, Geology
     
  • Valerie Flores and Lacey Lee
    "A New Pollinator of the Grass Pink Orchid, Calopogon tuberosus, Discovered from the Watson Rare Native Plant Preserve, Texas"
    Faculty sponsors: Dan Bennett and Josephine Taylor, Biology
     
  • Lee Henslee
    "Mathematical Methods for Approximating the Van der Pol Equation"
    Faculty sponsor: Jonathan Mitchell, Mathematics and Statistics
     
  • Marlinda Ariel Inman
    "FindOurMissing Mobile Application"
    Faculty sponsor: Dae Glendowne, Computer Science
     
  • Bailey Jameson
    "Designing a Simple Catalytic System for C-H Bond Oxidation"
    Faculty sponsor: J. Brannon Gary, Chemistry and Biochemistry
     
  • Matthew Trikosko
    "Square and Triangular"
    Faculty sponsor: Jane Long, Mathematics and Statistics
     

Regional Colleges

Top Scholar

Morgan Gray (general studies)
"Makeup and its Effects on the Perception of Economic Status in the Work Place"
Faculty sponsor: Ryan Button, Tyler Junior College

Finalists

  • Regan Doss (biology)
    "The Correlation Between Perceptions of Nuclear Energy and the Education of Nuclear Programs"
    Faculty sponsor: Ryan Button, Tyler Junior College
     
  • Chloe Duvak (biology)
    "Exploratory Study of the Demographics of Supplemental Vitamin Users"
    Faculty sponsor: Ryan Button, Tyler Junior College
     
  • John Wofford (chemistry)
    "The Psychological Effects of Helicopter Parenting on Non-student Emerging Adults"
    Faculty sponsor: Ryan Button, Tyler Junior College
     
  • Tommy Crow (psychology)
    "The Effects of Childhood Trauma that Determine Negative or Positive Outcomes in Adulthood"
    Faculty sponsor: Ryan Button, Tyler Junior College
     
  • Jessica Mothershed (social behavioral sciences)
    "Andrea Yates Postpartum Depression/Psychosis and a Failed Mental Health System"
    Faculty sponsor: Benetha Jackson, Angelina College
     
  • Michelle Reyes (business administration)
    "Parental Financial Conditions as A Source of Stress on First-Generation TJC Honors Students"
    Faculty sponsor: Ryan Button, Tyler Junior College
     
  • Elizabeth Mitchell (general studies)
    "Death in Popular Music from 2009 to 2019"
    Faculty sponsor: Ryan Button, Tyler Junior College