Saturday, April 14, 2018
Check-In: 8:00 a.m.-1:15 p.m.
Presenter and Faculty Moderator check-in opens at 8:00 a.m. and remains open through 1:15 p.m
Look for the check-in table in the Grey Area
Oral Session I: 9:00-10:30 a.m.
Identity in Global Contexts
Faculty Moderator:
Nancy Simpson-Younger, English
| Time | Student Presenter(s) | Faculty Mentor(s) | Title | Description |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 9:00-9:20 | Riley Dolan | Carmiña Palerm Hispanic Studies | Analyzing and Documenting Guatemala's Civil War Monuments | This project is focused on the monuments constructed following Guatemala’s civil war and is two-part: Dr. Palerm and I are creating a digital map in order to make viewing of Guatemala’s monuments accessible worldwide, and we are theoretically analyzing how these monuments portray the conflict and why. |
| 9:20-9:40 | Aminda Cheney-Irgens | Bridgette O'Brien Religion | A Privileged Response To A Global Issue: The United States Rejection Of The Paris Agreement | Using Willis Jenkins' models of economic, political, and ecological sustainability, the tendency of the United States government to prioritize economic concerns can be illustrated within the context of the Paris Agreement, emphasizing the need to expand this lens to include environmental care. |
| 9:40-10:00 | Richard Frohock | Nancy Simpson-Younger English | Individuality versus State: An Examination of Identity in Anthony Burgess’s A Clockwork Orange & The Wanting Seed | In this essay, I analyzed two novels by Anthony Burgess in order to gain a better understanding of the role that identity plays within dystopian societies. Through this analysis, I was able to determine that, due to its uncontrollable nature, identity can be a powerful tool of rebellion. |
| 10:00-10:20 | Tegan Mitchell | Jenny James English | Living Out of Bounds: The Queered Crucifixion of Matthew, The Good Shepherd | Matthew Shepard, particularly through his death, is often likened to Jesus. Moises Kaufman’s The Laramie Project envokes a juxtaposition between the Jesus manifested by the western conformist Christian church and the Jesus who actually lived, who was queer-allied and nonconformist. This piece explores how Matthew Shepard mirrors the latter. |
Improvements in Science and Health
Faculty Moderator:
Harry Papadopoulos, Kinesiology
| Time | Student Presenter(s) | Faculty Mentor(s) | Title | Description |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 9:00-9:20 | Emily Ness & Gabrielle Kamm | Justin Lytle Chemistry | Decorating Carbon Electrodes with Gold Nanoparticles to Study the Kinetics of Redox Reactions | Gold nanoparticles allow carbon electrodes to store more energy and recharge and discharge more quickly. |
| 9:20-9:40 | Sean Murphy | Gregory Youtz Music | The Impact and Implications of the Use of Pitch Correction Programs in the Music Industry | This project investigates how pitch correction programs and technologies have impacted the music industry, and what implications its use will cause for the future of the music industry. |
| 9:40-10:00 | Melody Elam & Emily Stoen | Harry Papadopoulos Kinesiology | Effect of Age on Balance After Fatigue | The aim of this study was to determine if age influenced balance after lower body fatigue. Balance of eight participants was measured three times: before, between, and after two 30-second Wingate tests. Age had no effect on balance between the age ranges of 19-23 compared to 28-32. |
| 10:00-10:20 | Toriana Vigil | Andrea Munro Chemistry | Improving Luminescent Solar Concentrator Efficiency Using Doped Nanocrystals and Ligand Exchange | This research focuses on synthesizing novel dyes for luminescent solar concentrators (LSCs), an innovative solar technology. Nanocrystal quantum dots are a promising dye for LSCs because they have the potential for increasing efficiency and decreasing re-absorption losses. |
From a Child's Perspective
Faculty Moderator:
Marianne Taylor, Psychology
| Time | Student Presenter(s) | Faculty Mentor(s) | Title | Description |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 9:00-9:20 | Madeline Marello & Samantha Simundson | Marianne Taylor & Heidi McLaughlin Psychology | Children's biological and expertise-based explanations regarding trust in others' testimony about food safety | Research in developmental psychology has looked at how children trust testimonies that are accurate and from expert informants. We investigated children’s preferences for domain-specific expertise testimony concerning food contamination. Our results demonstrates that children as young as five-years-old are able to understand contamination concepts, but can also rely on expertise. |
| 9:20-9:40 | Courtney Olsen | Beth Griech-Polelle History | Stolen Children: Abduction, "Germanization", and Adoption of Children from Nazi-Occupied Eastern Europe | This project investigates the abduction of hundreds of thousands of "racially valuable" children from the eastern occupied territories of the Nazi Regime. |
| 9:40-10:00 | Trisha Glover | Marianne Taylor & Heidi McLaughlin Psychology | Influences of Informants’ Age and Expertise: Trust of Testimony by Adults Regarding Food Contamination | Previous work examined children’s trust in testimony from various experts, regarding the contamination of food with a known object, allowing children to use prior knowledge to determine if something is safe to consume. Current work investigates children’s and adult’s trust in testimony when the identity of a contaminant is unknown. |
| 10:00-10:20 | Jana-Alicia Schmidt | Kirsten Christensen German | Children’s Literature on the Syrian Refugee Crisis: Disrupted Attachment in "Akim rennt" | The children's book “Akim rennt” depicts refugee trauma using vivid illustrations and text. The focus of this project is to analyze the implications of the traumatic experiences of Akim, a young Syrian boy who is on the search for his family in the midst of the Syrian civil war. |
Oral Session II: 10:45 a.m.-12:15 p.m.
Imagery, Memory, and Performance
Faculty Moderator:
Charlie Katica, Kinesiology
| Time | Student Presenter(s) | Faculty Mentor(s) | Title | Description |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10:45-11:05 | Faith Heimlich & Elizabeth Parkhurst | Colleen Hacker Kinesiology | Mental Skills Tool- Self Talk | Self talk can be an incredibly effective mental skill for athletes when they know how to use it effectively. This video was created to be a mental skills tool for all athletes and coaches by explaining self talk, how it can be used, and why it is beneficial for performance. |
| 11:05-11:25 | Athena Gordon | Wendy Call English | “album”: A Braided Memoir | Throughout the memoir titled “album,” I meditate on several salient moments during my childhood and the emotional tone of my memories. The piece’s structural form of multiple interwoven thematic braids exemplifies the tangled nature of memory and social relationships, highlighting convoluted human experiences. |
| 11:25-11:45 | Kaitlin Gardiner | Nancy Simpson-Younger English | Macbeth’s Inability to Perceive and Expel Evil and the Functioning of the Eye | Macbeth draws influence from Galenic emission theory. These state that witnessing evil inhibits one’s ability to perceive it. Because Macbeth actively pursues evil, he’s lost his kingly ability, defined by the Bible, to dispel evil with his gaze. Thus, Macbeth isn’t divinely mandated to rule, allowing him to be dethroned. |
| 11:45-12:05 | Sarah Stafford | Charlie Katica Kinesiology | Impact Of Static Versus Dynamic Stretching On Power Output In Recreational Wheelchair Basketball Players | The purpose of this project was to investigate the possible impact of a static or dynamic stretching warm-up on peak power output in recreational wheelchair basketball players. There were no significant differences seen in power output but there was a significant difference in participants' RPE scores between dynamic and static. |
Perspectives on Health and Wellness
Faculty Moderator:
Karen Travis, Economics
| Time | Student Presenter(s) | Faculty Mentor(s) | Title | Description |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10:45-11:05 | Xinhui (Sunny) Huang | Tina Saxowsky Chemistry | Elucidating the Role of Transcription in Adaptive Mutagenesis with rad26KO Cell Lines of Saccharomyces cerevisiae | The main purpose of this undergraduate research is on DNA damage and repair. DNA damage as a result of environmental stress can potentially lead to mutations in the cell. We hypothesize that the process of transcription potentially plays a role in initiating the process of adaptive mutations. |
| 11:05-11:25 | Eldon Sorensen | Brian J. Smith University of Iowa | The Impact of Chronic Graft vs. Host Disease on Survival in Bone Marrow Transplant Patients | My project was researching Graft vs. Host Disease (GvHD) in bone marrow transplant patients. From data received from the University of Iowa Hospitals, we employed survival analysis methods to understand the impact of GvHD on survival in patients and the impact of certain stem cell treatments on patient outlook. |
| 11:25-11:45 | Joel Earlywine | Karen Travis Economics | The Relationship Between Opioid Prescriptions and the Opioid Epidemic: Insight from California Counties | Recently we've seen a transition of opiate abuse shift from prescription drugs to illicit drugs. I used econometric methods, such as fixed effects and negative binomial regressions, to look at the tie between opioid prescriptions and the opioid epidemic in order to evaluate whether prescriptions are still fueling this epidemic. |
| 11:45-12:05 | Blakely Sanders | Harry Papadopoulos Kinesiology | The Acute Effect Of An Exercise Class On Sensory-Deprived Static Balance In Older Adults | The purpose of this project was to determine the acute effect of the SAIL exercise class on center of pressure and static balance in older adults. The results showed no significant difference in balance after one bout of a SAIL class in older adults. |
Break: 12:15 – 12:45 p.m.
Poster Session: 12:45-1:30 p.m.
| Poster # | Student Presenter(s) | Faculty Mentor(s) | Title | Brief Description |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Courtney Hartman & Miranda Martens | Shannon Seidel Biology | Another Look at What Instructors Say: Analyzing Emergent Categories of Non-Content Instructor Talk in an Introductory Biology Course | Our research aims to investigate Instructor Talk, or any language used by professors that is non-content related, used in higher-education biology courses. Our team has developed a rubric of Instructor Talk that can be used as a resource to categorize professor's language and to help them better their student's learning. |
| 2 | Jessica Johnson | Heidi McLaughlin & Marianne Taylor Psychology | Children and Adults Rely on Prior Knowledge and Informant Accuracy when Evaluating Testimony About Contamination | The present study observes the development of food contamination knowledge in children ages 4 through 12 comparatively to an adult sample. Conflicting testimonies of food safety allude to participant's trust of domain-specific experts and neutral informants compared with their own prior knowledge. |
| 3 | Rebecca Crust | Chris Smart Cornell University | Exploration of Diversity in Melampsora Willow Rust Populations in Northeastern America | This was a scientific research study in which we preformed DNA extractions and sequencing on willow rust spores to determine field diversity of the pathogen. Shrub willow is grown as a bio-fuel crop in New York and leaf rust is a fungal disease that decreases yield in severe infections. |
| 4 | Katherine Enyeart | Vanessa Tucker Education | The Effect of Noncontingent Reinforcement (NCR) used for Treatment of Problem Behaviors | This study analyzes the pre-existing research of using Noncontingent Reinforcement in different educational settings. The research found NCR to be a useful treatment for decreasing the occurrence of problem behaviors. This was a literature review for a PLU special education class assignment focusing on students with Autism Spectrum Disorder and evidence-based practices. |
| 5 | Jennifer Delegard | Jon Freeman & Neal Yakelis Chemistry | Synthesis of a cavitand for use in eight-helix template assembled synthetic protein systems | The synthesis of a methylene bridged cavitand with functionalized bromobenzene feet is described. This cavitand can be thiolated to yield a thiophenol footed cavitand. These octathiol cavitands can then be coupled to peptides to generate template assembled synthetic proteins for use in protein design and protein folding studies. |
| 6 | David Redman | Heidi McLaughlin Psychology | Replication of--A Bad Taste in the Mouth: Gustatory Disgust Influences Moral Judgment (Eskine, K. J., Kacinik, N. A., & Prinz, J. J. (2011).) | This is a replication study of how taste affects moral judgement with an added Islamoprejudice measure. The first purpose is to solidify or refute prior findings. The secondary purpose with the added measure is intended to measure Islamoprejudice within a given population. |
| 7 | Jenise Cavness | Andrea Munro Chemistry | Improving Luminescent Solar Concentrator Efficiency Using Doped Nanocrystals and Ligand Exchange | Luminescent Solar Concentrators (LSCs) are a promising technology for collecting sunlight and producing concentrated light for photovoltaic solar cells or photocatalysis. We are examining improvements in LSC efficiency by using elongated Mn-doped ZnSe/ZnS nanocrystals and performing an exchange of native ligands with novel methacrylate ligands. |
Oral Session III: 1:30-3:00 p.m.
Understanding Community Spaces
Faculty Moderator:
Peter Grosvenor, Sociology and Global Studies
| Time | Student Presenter(s) | Faculty Mentor(s) | Title | Description |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1:30-1:50 | Emma Loest | Jenny James English | Paris Nights: Queering Time and Space in Giovanni's Room | This paper looks at how characters in Giovanni’s Room subvert normative definitions of space and time and create for themselves a queer reality that is disengaged from hetero-capitalist society. Although expatriation is a central element in this novel, the redefinition of time and space drives the novel's queer plot. |
| 1:50-2:10 | Michael Diambri | Beth Kraig History | Queer Spaces, Gay Places: Gay Bars and Seattle’s LGBT Community in the 1970s | I completed this project on the history of lesbian and gay bars in Seattle during the 1970s during my time as a Benson Fellow in Business and Economic History. My presentation will cover three stories of queer space and sociality which enabled the development of Seattle's LGBT culture and community. |
| 2:10-2:30 | Alex Lund | Rebekah Mergenthal History | “’To salvage something of the Scobey line!’: Grain Elevators and Community in Northeastern Montana, 1917-2017” | 2017 summer research completed in association with the PLU Benson Fellowship in economic history. Worked under the mentor-ship of Professor Mergenthal. Allowed me the opportunity to preform a historical case study of a topic that is close to me and my family. |
| 2:30-2:50 | Susan Schowalter | Peter Grosvenor Sociology & Global Studies | Television’s Lasting Impact: A Case Study of Marshall McLuhan’s Theory of the Global Village in the 1960s | This is a case study of Marshall McLuhan’s theory of the global village and its ability to accurately describe the influence of television on the events of the 1960s, as well as a broad look at the role of media in the 1960s and today. |
Marginalized Populations: Local and Global Perspectives
Faculty Moderator:
Scott Rogers, English
| Time | Student Presenter(s) | Faculty Mentor(s) | Title | Description |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1:30-1:50 | Hilary Vo | Scott Rogers English | “the collective:” A Counterpublic Working to Increase Sense of Belonging for Students of Color at Pacific Lutheran University | This research project discusses the student activist group, "the collective," as a counter-public, discourse community that advocates for increased sense of belonging for students of color on a predominantly white campus, specifically Pacific Lutheran University. |
| 1:50-2:10 | Breanna Wiersma | Carmina Palerm Hispanic Studies | Life, Health, and Oppression in De Amor y de Sombra | While systemic oppression may be founded on authoritarianism and corruption, seemingly benevolent structures reinforce it. This work explores how hospitals implicitly uphold the dictatorship in Isabel Allende’s novel De Amor y de Sombra (Of Love and Shadows) by examining the use, misuse, and lack of use of systemic medical care. |
| 2:10-2:30 | Maddie Titelbaum | Bradford Andrews & Akiko Nosaka Anthropology | Female Participation in Community Forestry Practices, Kotra Block, Rajasthan | This is an anthropological study of the factors that impacted the level of female participation in community forestry management in a tribal region of the semi-arid desert of Rajasthan, India. The results of this study suggest policy implications for the government and NGOs to further improve female leadership in forestry. |
| 2:30-2:50 | Aminda Cheney-Irgens | James Albrecht English | A State of Disgrace: An Ecofeminist Critique of the Interpretation of Women and Animals in Coetzee's Post-Apartheid South Africa | When reading the novel Disgrace by J. M. Coetzee about post-Apartheid South Africa, the intersection between female and animal oppression became glaringly obvious. I could not help but draw connections between the way women and animals are disrespected, and how their primarily male aggressors cannot seem to realize their crimes. |
Effectiveness through Performance: Examples from Science and Community
Faculty Moderator:
Solveig Robinson, English
| Time | Student Presenter(s) | Faculty Mentor(s) | Title | Description |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1:30-1:50 | Olivia Egejuru | Tina Saxowsky Chemistry | Investigating the effects of oxidative DNA damage in Saccharomyces cerevisiae on survivability and mutagenesis | My research goal is to investigate oxidative stress in yeast cells and how it affects survivability and mutagenesis. I used UV-A and hydrogen peroxide as sources that leads to increased oxidative stress on yeast cell lines in particular dst1 knockout because studies show it is sensitive to oxidative stress. |
| 1:50-2:10 | Kyle Drugge | Colleen Hacker Kinesiology | Mental Skills Techniques for Building Self-Confidence in Golf | This project is a media project that explains how to build self-confidence for high-performing golfers. It includes common misconceptions about self-confidence, definitions, and the process for building golf-specific self-confidence. |
| 2:10-2:30 | Claire Pahlmeyer | Karen Travis & Lynn Hunnicutt Economics | The Effect of a Trade School Education on Lifetime Earnings | Four-year university degrees have often been touted as a go-to path after high school, but alternatives exist that may better serve certain students. In this study I explore the lifetime earnings differences between students with different post-high school education levels. |
| 2:30-2:50 | Hannah Soltis | Solveig Robinson English | An Open Book?: University Libraries and their Roles in Society | Although a fundamental purpose of libraries is to disperse knowledge, many university libraries have inbuilt privilege that precludes this. Through their policies and stated missions, the Bodleian Libraries, the Biblioteca Central at UNAM, and the Suzzallo Libraries demonstrate whether and how they are working toward inclusivity in their local communities. |