Recent Graduate Student Research Grant Award recipients and their projects:
| Name | Dept/Program | Project Title | Award |
|---|---|---|---|
| Leigh Campetti | Applied Archaeology, MA | A Predictive Model for the Archaic/Woodland Transition in Isle Royale National Park, Michigan | $1,000 |
| Thomas Firneno | Biology, MS | Species Delimitation in Sympatric and Parapatric Distributions of Mesoamerican Toads Utilizing nDNA and Electrophoretic Protein Profiling | $1,000 |
| Jennifer Follett | English, PhD, Composition and TESOL | How Writing Center Tutors Respond Cognitively, Emotionally and Behaviorally to Student Writers' Expressions of Negative Emotions Associated with Academic Writing | $1,000 |
| Kevin Gubbels | Applied Archaeology, MA | Investigating Fire-Cracked Rock at Monongahela Sites: An Experimental Approach | $515 |
| Timothy Hummel | Biology, MS | Molecular Detection of the Eastern Hellbender in Pennsylvania Streams | $971 |
| Adam Matz | Criminology, PhD | Enhancing Community Supervision: A Unified Voice for Community | $1,000 |
| Amanda Rasmussen | Applied Archaeology, MA | An Analysis of the Archaeological Remains at Fort Halifax Park | $950 |
| Adam Wassel | English, PhD, Literature and Criticism | More than Murderers: Confronting Perpetrators in Holocaust Fiction | $1,000 |
| Name | Dept/Program | Project Title | Award |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kayla Bennett | Art, MFA | Relationship Series | $497 |
| Laura Ellis | Applied Archaeology, MA | Investigating the Orchard Site: A Protohistoric Fort Ancient Site in West Virginia | $1,000 |
| Laura Gilman | Psychology, PsyD | Common Profiles and Clinical Utility of the MMPI-2RF in Competency to Stand Trial Evaluation | $900 |
| Michael Itgen | Biology, MS | Integrative Taxonomic Reassessment of Salamanders of the Lenca Highlands of Honduras | $1,000 |
| Vishal Keshari | Biology, MS | Molecular Function of the lhx 1 a Transcription Factor | $970 |
| Catherine Krygeris | Biology, MS | Conservation and Management for Two Critically Endangered Anurans from the Cordillera de Celaque, Honduras | $1,000 |
| Janelle Newman | English, PhD, Composition and TESOL | Discourse Analysis of the Recontextualization of Educational Discourse Affecting the Parent Involvement of Families of Linguistic and Cultural Diversity | $570 |
| Daniel Peles | Biology, MS | Determining Mycobacterium avium Host Immune Response Evasion: Serovar 8 and its Significance in Phagosome-Lysosome Fusion | $1,000 |
| Jessica Showalter | English, PhD, Literature and Criticism | Archival Research for the Lowell Biglow Papers Digital Edition | $730 |
| Name | Dept/Program | Project Title | Award |
|---|---|---|---|
| Thomas Firneno | Biology, MS | Species Delimitation in Mesoamerican Toads: Phylogenetic Systematics and Electrophoretic Protein Profiling of Paratoid Venom | $1,000 |
| Jennifer Rinkevich | Curriculum and Instruction, EdD | The Relationship Among Student Creativity, Curiosity, and Academic Intrinsic Motivation: A Mixed Methods Phenomenological Study of Sixth Grade Students | $808 |
| Galen Smith | Applied Archaeology, MA | An Experimental Approach to Identifying Prehistoric Netting Technologies in the Delaware River Valley | $886 |
| Katie Turner | Applied Archaeology, MA | An Examination of Late 18th Century Forts: A Pennsylvania Typology | $767 |
| Alexander Wiredu | Biology, MS | Biomarkers in the Chemotaxonomy of Rhizoctonia solani species complex performing LC/MS metabolite profiling | $1,000 |
| Name | Dept/Program | Project Title | Award |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hopeton Bailey | Biology, MS | A Multigenerational Study of the Effect of Stressors on the Golden Shiner (Notemigonus crysoleucas) | $1,000 |
| Tyler Kulp | Music, MA | Six-Mallet Marimba | $780 |
| Ashlee Long | Biology, MS | Development of Nucleic-acid Probe to Detect Novel Viral Sequences from select Isolate of Rhizoctonia solani | $1,000 |
| Darin McNeil | Biology, MS | A Comparison of Golden-winged Warbler Use and Nesting Success in Forested Wetlands and Upland Timber Harvests | $1,000 |
| Danna Rzecznik | Art, MFA | Glaze Development with Mason Stains and Gold Lustre | $982 |
| Erika Stearly | Art, MFA | Take A Painting | $891 |
| Chiao-thong Yong | Psychology, PsyD | The Psychological Screening of Chinese-Speaking International Students | $324 |
| Name | Dept/Program | Project Title | Award |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jessica Showalter | English PhD | American Minstrelsies: Passing and Performance | $1,000 |
| Tobechukwa Ukah | Biology MS | Generation of a Transgenic Zebrafish Line to Characterise Kidney Injury and Regeneration | $982 |
| Justin Gross | Biology MS | Monitoring the Response of Allegheny Woodrat (neotoma magister) Population to Habitat Management in Pennsylvania | $585 |
| Lydia DeHaven | Archaeology MA | The Squirrel Hill Site: A Geophysical Investigation and Reevaluation of a Monongahela Site | $1,000 |
| Courney Nicks | Biology MS | The Use of Landscape Genetics to Determine Factors Facilitating Fisher Recolonization | $1,000 |
| Linda Herrera | Criminology MA | When Men Leave Al Otro Lado (to the Other Side) of the Border: Voices of Mexican Women | $800 |
| Emily Sciulli | Art MFA | The One Good Thing Project: Socially Engaged Art as Community Outreach | $338 |
| Erika Farester | Administrative and Leadership Studies PhD | Assessing Stress and Coping among Federal Probation Officers | $1,000 |
| Paul Kelly | Biology MS | Generation of a Zebrafish Transgenic Line that can be used as a Genetic Tool to Fate Map Kidney Stem Cells in the Zebrafish (Danio rerio) | $839 |
| Erika Stearly | Art MFA | Properties of Encaustic Paint and Strategies for Integration with Other Materials | $546 |
| Victoria Westin Harding | Archaeology MA | A Spatial Analysis of the Ripley Archaeological Site | $1,000 |
| Iman Abubaker | Criminology MA | Adapting to Stress in Alexandria, Egypt: Case Studies of Women during the Islamic Spring | $500 |
| Matthew Dovey | Biology MS | Photoperiod Regulation of Mammalian Circadian Rhythms through Social Interactions and Aggression | $500 |
| Nicolette Bell | Administrative and Leadership Studies PhD | Motivation to Run: Using Fishbein and Aizen's Theory of Reasoned Action to Predict Participation in 5K Races | $1,000 |
| Name | Dept/Program | Project Title | Award |
|---|---|---|---|
| Erin Knisely | Art MFA | Traditional Jewelry Fabrication Techniques: Non-Traditional Materials | $993 |
| Travis Ferry | Biology MS | The Effects of Parasitism by Larval Arrenurus danbyensis Water Mites on Adult Couillettidia perturbans Mosquito parity and Dispersal | $995 |
| Tomoko Oda | English PhD Comp and TESOL | Imagined Communities, Participation and Identities in Study Abroad Experiences of College Students | $1,000 |
| Sarah Ryan | Psychology PsyD | Accuracy and Confidence in Competency to Stand Trial Evaluations: A Comparison of Clinical and Legal Decision Making | $873 |
| Emily Sciulli | Art MFA | The One Good Thing Project | $43 |
| Garick Tai-Lee | Art MFA | Crystalline Glazes | $844 |
| Lisa Weddell | English MA Literature | A Sailor's Life is (not) for Me: Literature from the Seas and the Rise of National Identity | $850 |
| Name | Dept/Program | Project Title | Award |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ethan Cullen | Biology MS | Nutrient composition of Lepidoptera larvae in relation to host-plant: implications for insectivorous forest songbirds | $900 |
| Carly Dunn | English PhD Literature and Crit | Deirdre Madden and the Expanding Traditions in Irish Women's Literature | $1,000 |
| Travis Ferry | Biology MS | The Effects of parasitism by Larval Arrenurus danbyensis Water Mites on Adult Coquillettidia perturbans Mosquito Parity and Dispersal | $995 |
| Brian Farester | Sociology PhD Admin and Leadrshp | Growing Up Working Class in Armstrong County, Pennsylvania: How Class Impacts Career and Educational Decisions | $1,000 |
| Erin Knisley | Art MFA | Traditional Jewelry Fabrication Techniques: Non-Traditional Materials | $993 |
| Callista Holmes | Anthropology Archaeology MS | Modeling Magnetic Signatures of Sunken Ships: 1750-1900 | $940 |
| Rebecca McDougall | Biology MS | Assessing the influence of habitat management on forest composition and population demographics of the Allegheny woodrat (neotoma magister) in Pennsylvania | $815 |
| Amber Nolder | Biology MS | Effects of Logging Practices on Bats in a Managed Hardwood Forest | $889 |
| Zachary Rhone | English PhD Literature and Crit | Mythopoeic Worldviews: The Writings of George MacDonald, G.K. Chesterton, and the Inklings | $1,000 |
| Lindsay Sabatino | English PhD Comp and TESOL | Interactions of the Online Writing Center: A Student's Perspective | $225 |
| Cheryl Sheridan | English PhD Comp and TESOL | The Development of a Local Journal and its Role in a Discourse Community on the Periphery | $618 |
| Christopher Weiss | Student Affairs in Higher Ed MA | Correlation Between Undergraduate College Students' Facebook Use and Co-Curriculum Involvement | $105 |
| Name | Dept/Program | Project Title | Award |
|---|---|---|---|
| Andrea Boon | Anthropology Archaeology MS | A Faunal Analysis of the Eleventh Horizon of the Koster Site | $640 |
| Laura Kaufman | Anthropology Archaeology MS | What Difference Does 50 Years Make? An Examination of Faunal Remains from the Monongahela Johnston Village Site | $969 |
| Laura King | Criminology PhD | The Simplicity and Complexity of Public Attitudes toward Sex Crimes | $1,000 |
| David Kroskie | Anthropology Archaeology MS | The Role of Small Habitation Sites in Monongahela Subsistence Settlement Patterns | $1,000 |
| James McNabb | Art MFA | Exploring Creative Applications of Digital Manufacturing Technology | $1,000 |
| Dana Poole | English PhD Comp and TESOL | Assessing the Impact of an Increased Knowledge of Student Writing Anxiety on Professors' Pedagogical Practices | $328 |
| Emily Sciulli | Art MFA | The Craft of Handmade Paper in Contemporary Sculpture | $895 |
| Name | Dept/Program | Project Title | Award |
|---|---|---|---|
| Abdullah Al-Dagamseh | English PhD Lit and Crit | Geopolitical Fractures: Representation and Resistance in the Literary Narratives of World Bank Literature | $1,000 |
| Laura D'Acunto | Biology MS | Bat Activity and Species Composition of Pennsylvania Landscapes Infected with White-Nose Syndrome | $1,000 |
| Mack Frantz | Biology MS | Breeding Habitat Use of Golden-winged Warblers in Pennsylvania | $1,000 |
| Rebekah Keating | Biology MS | Lepidoptera Host Preference in a Temperate Forest Ecosystem | $1,000 |
| Constance Kramer | Counseling MA | Cyberbullying: A Pilot Study | $535 |
| Michael Muder | Geography MS | Spatial and Temporal Variations of Bacterial Densities in the Receiving Waters of Combined Sewer Overflows: The Allegheny River in Downtown Pittsburgh | $1,000 |
| Michelle Myers-Claypole | Biology MS | Isolation of Fusobacterium necrophorum: Associate Etiological Agent of Equine Hoof Abscess | $1,000 |
| Kyle Nuske, Hiromi Kobata and Tomoko Oda | English PhD, Comp and TESOL | An Examination of Japanese and English Written Language Proficiency in Japanese Native-Speaking Adolescents in Japan and the U.S. | $1,000 |
| Rebecca Rosemeier | Biology MS | The Effects of Cyclic AMP on the Regulation of Biological Rhythms in Paramecium tetraurelia | $887 |
| Kiel Shaley | Chemistry, MS | Structural Characterization of the SRS2 Protein | $1,000 |
| Phillip Sharrow | Chemistry, MS | Preparation of Carbocycles by Intramolecular Cyclizations of Acyllithium Equivalents | $981 |
| Chin Hong Siew | Biology MS | Strategic Approaches to cDNA Synthesis and Comparative Proteomics of Double-Stranded (ds) RNA infecting Rhizoctonia solani isolates | $1,000 |
| Amy Swingle | Psychology, PsyD | Undergraduate Student Parents: Stress, Role Conflict, and Coping | $250 |
| Name | Dept/Program | Project Title | Award |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ibrahim Ashour | English PhD Comp and TESOL | The EFL Enterprise in Syria: An Examination of Teachers' and Inspectors' Interactive Relationships, Beliefs, and Attitudes | $1,000 |
| Jennifer Huck | Criminology PhD | Blue Ribbon Sentencing: Judicial Decision-Making and Situated Identities | $1,000 |
| Angela Jalliet | Anthropology MA | Understanding Panenarium in the Present: Proposal for Research at Site 35ME235 and the Subsequent Presentation to the Public | $1,000 |
| David Kroskie | Anthropology MA | The Role of Small Habitation Sites in Monongahela Subsistence-Settlement Patterns | $1,000 |
| Seth Mitchell | Anthropology MA | Chronology of the Late Woodland Monongahela Tradition Johnston Village Site | $1,000 |
| Kristin Swanton | Anthropology MA | Sacred Landscapes of the Pequot War: How Social Memory ahs Influenced Archaeological Research at the Battle of Mystic Fort | $1,000 |
| Shannon Tanghe | English PhD Comp and TESOL | Transnational Teaching Development Collaboration | $1,000 |
| Benjamin Tost | Biology MS | Kin recognition at the spiderling level in the common house spider Achaeraranea tepidariorum | $334 |
| Name | Dept/Program | Project Title | Award |
|---|---|---|---|
| Faith Bellinger and Stephanie Marczuk | Food and Nutrition MS | The Relationship between Regular Breakfast Consumption and Academic Performance, Attendance and Alertness among College Students | $425 |
| Bifei Cao | Art MFA | Experimental Painting Methods in the Enamel Field | $951 |
| Rebecca Chamberlin, Kathryn Jenney and Leah Zeman | Food and Nutrition MS | The Power of Nutrition Information | $215 |
| Joseph Grata | Biology MS | A Comparison of Golden-Winged Warbler Breeding Habitats in Northcentral Pennsylvania | $210 |
| Melissa Jakubcak | Biology MS | The Feeding Habits of Red-Eyed Vireos as Discerned through CNB Barcoding | $400 |
| Jonathan Libbon | Anthropology MA | Roosevelt's Forest Army: A Study of Consumer Behavior at a Civilian Conservation Corp | $1,000 |
| Melissa Lingle-Martin | English PhD Lit and Crit | Disfiguring Lady Justice: 19th Century American Women Writers' Visions of Justice | $1,000 |
| Julie Mibroda | Biology MS | Understanding Factors that Influence the Distribution of the Endemic Shorthead Garter Snake in Northwestern Pennsylvania | $1,000 |
| Tina Madison Peschock | English PhD Lit and Crit | A Well-Hidden Secret: Harper Lee's Contribution to Truman Capote's In Cold Blood | $976 |
| Katy Ringbloom | Biology MS | The Physical and Chemical Effects of Wolf Spiders on Pest Insects | $342 |
| Heather Rininger | Biology MS | The Effects of Guanylate Cyclase (GC) on the Biological Rhythms of Paramecium tetrurelia | $923 |
| Michael Romagano | Art MFA | Emergence | $498 |
| Tina Rose | Psychology PsyD | Clinical Utility of Dialectical Behavior Therapy: A Practitioner's Perspective | $163 |
| Name | Dept/Program | Project Title | Award |
|---|---|---|---|
| Elizabeth Campbell | English PhD Comp. and TESOL | Being and Writing with Others: On the Possibilities of an Ethnographic Composition Pedagogy | $500 |
| Carly Dunn | English PhD Lit and Crit | The Irish Language: An Intensive Study | $1,000 |
| Rachel Hagar | Music MA History/Lit | An Overview of Sergei Rachmaninoff's Operatic Works, with Emphasis on Monna Vanna | $500 |
| Yuan Hu | Chemistry MS | Na2(Zn,Co)Si04, A Promising Dilute Magnetic Semiconductor | $1,000 |
| Jennifer James | Criminology PhD | Attitudes and Reality: The Impact of Perceptions of Police on Students' Victimization Reporting Behaviors | $248 |
| Erica Kempler | Art MFA | Crystalline Glazes | $881 |
| Emmanuelle Maryse Wambach | Art MFA | A Dreamlike Installation | $500 |
| Erica Meyers | Biology MS | Identification of the Floal Scent Compounds Emitted bySymplocarpus foetidus | $373 |
| Mickey Moffe | Biology MS | Influence of Metal Concentrations, Percent Salinity, and Length of Exposure on the Metabolic Rate of Golden Shiners | $992 |
| James Nestor | Art MFA | Environmental Phenomenology | $480 |
| Mike Stofiel | Art MFA | Sustainability in Furniture Design: Materials and Finishing | $1,000 |
| Lauren Wheatall | Biology MS | The Effects of White-Tailed Deer Browing on Insect Diversity in the Allegheny Hardwood Forests | $1,000 |
| Chad Whitaker | Art MFA | The New Pittsburgh Daguerreotypes | $1,000 |