More than $46,500 in funding for summer research projects has been awarded to Bridgewater College students who will conduct research under the mentorship of a faculty member throughout the summer.
Funding was provided by the Dr. John Martin Summer Science Research Institute and The Research Experience @ Bridgewater (TREB). The awards enable students to devote their summers to research and exploration on a wide variety of projects. The award also enables students to travel to professional state and national conferences in their discipline to present their research.
“The Martin and TREB awardees are given the chance to conduct an original research project with the guidance of a faculty member. It is a wonderful opportunity for our students to grow as scholars as they have the chance to work with a faculty member as a colleague. In the past, students have cited this experience as extremely valuable in deciding to continue their education in graduate school,” said Dr. Jeffrey Pierson, dean for graduate and special programs at BC.
The Dr. John Martin Summer Science Research Institute is named for a beloved professor at Bridgewater, who taught in the chemistry department from 1961 until his retirement in 1985.
Dr. John W. Martin Summer Science Research Institute awards were given for the following projects:
- Rheannon Fultz (with Timothy Kreps), a sophomore biology major from Weyers Cave, Va., “Search for an Effective Trap Attractant for Cucurbit Pets Acalymma vittatum and Diabrotica undecimpunctata.”
- Alexander Hulleman (with Moshe Khurgel), a junior health and exercise science major from Harrisonburg, Va., “Will Increased Locomotion Influence the Rate of Limb Regeneration in Axolotls?”
- Alison Keister (with Kim Bolyard), a junior biology major from Penn Laird, Va., “Impact of Environmental Pollution in the Shenandoah Valley on Habitat Use of Longnose dace (Rhinichthys cataractae): An Investigation of Substrate Preference.”
- Ethan Moses (with Kim Bolyard), a sophomore environmental science major from Newport News, Va., “Do Environmental Pollutants Effect Habitat Selection of Longnose dace? A Test of Water Flow/Current Preference.”
- Andrew Rodriguez (with Stephen Baron), a sophomore biochemistry major from Rockingham, Va., “Cloning and Overexpression of a Leucine-Responsive Regulator Gene from Streptomyces nymphaeiformis.”
In addition to funding provided by the Dr. John W. Martin Summer Science Research Institute, the Virginia Foundation for Independent Colleges (VFIC) awarded Rodriguez $2,000 under its Undergraduate Science Research Fellowship.
TREB is a donor-funded initiative providing support for teams of Bridgewater faculty and undergraduate students to spend the summer in collaborative research and creative, scholarly work in any discipline.
Research Experience @ Bridgewater fully funded the following projects:
- Grace Clem (with Bobbi Gentry), a junior political science and English double major from Staunton, Va., “State Spending on Infrastructure Through Time.”
- Rachel Cubbage (with Sam Hamilton), a junior professional writing and computer science double major from Stanley, Va., “Worldbuilding & Adventure Design in Table-Top Role-Playing Games.”
- Diamond Hawkins (with Verne Leininger), a junior mathematics and data science and analytics double major from Nokesville, Va., “A Database to Analyze Chicken Depictions in European Painting.”
- Kiersten Haynes (with Elizabeth MacDougall), a junior psychology major from Gerrardstown, W.Va., “Religious Beliefs, Stress Overload and Mental Health.”
- Aidan Keller (with B. Michael Ray), a sophomore health and exercise science and Spanish double major from Strasburg, Va., “A Cross-Cultural Review of the Effectiveness of Pain Neuroscience Education Techniques with Chronic Pain Patients in United States and Latin American Communities.”
- Anton Kopti (with Verne Leininger), a junior computer science major from McLean, Va., “A Compendium of Exact Sums of Infinite Series.”
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