By Melyssa Allen

Meredith College’s Undergraduate Research Program has provided nearly $40,000 to support in-depth research projects this summer.

The Undergraduate Research Program funded summer stipends for 20 students to work with faculty outside the classroom. A group of 14 students representing six disciplines received full awards, and five received partial awards. (Click here to view full list of stipend recipients.)

A substantial portion of the funding for the stipend program is provided by an endowment gift from Shepard Kimbrell Halsch, ’85.

“Research prepares students to compete for the best opportunities in the workplace and in graduate school,” Undergraduate Research Director Rebecca Duncan said. “These days it’s not enough to graduate from college with a only body of knowledge or limited set of skills.”

This summer program builds upon Meredith’s strong student/faculty relationships.

“Our program differs from the traditional graduate research institution model in that the students work as partners with faculty—not as research assistants carrying out the faculty's project,” Duncan said.

Preparation for graduate school is what inspired Nichole Ecklund to apply for the program.

“I thought it would be a great learning experience because I want to go on to graduate school and also because I could learn about how Wake County uses technology in the classroom,” said Ecklund, who identified learning research methods as an additional benefit.

A record number of applications were received for this year’s summer stipend program. The Undergraduate Research Advisory Committee reviewed the applicants and selected those whose projects indicated a productive partnership between a Meredith faculty member and a student. Summer research projects must also involve original research or research-based creative work.

According to Duncan, this year’s summer research projects represent a variety of academic areas. Art student Alyssa Miller’s project used art to build support systems with children who must undergo craniofacial surgery while biology student Sierra Ellison studied research methods that contribute to the study of the AIDS virus. Topics in child development, political science, and exercise and sports science were also researched this year.

Duncan said because research is more clearly defined in the sciences and the social sciences, there are naturally more research projects from those areas.

“We’re working to define research in other fields as well and to encourage involvement across the disciplines,” she noted.

Psychology students Samantha Cibelli and Kelty-Brooke Bailey each worked with Professor of Psychology Jack Huber on projects that expand his research into body image.

Meredith’s emphasis on research was attractive to Cibelli when she was choosing a college.

“Research was one of the reasons that I decided to attend Meredith College,” Cibelli said. “When I heard about the opportunity to do summer research it seemed to fit with my career objectives.”

Although they’ve worked on individual projects, Cibelli said that her interaction with fellow student researcher Kelty-Brooke Bailey and Huber has been a highlight of the experience.

“The most important resource of research is your team,” Cibelli said. They have different skills and knowledge and have worked with me so that I might learn what they know and have listened to my opinions, suggestions and perspective with my own skills and knowledge.”

The summer research experience is beneficial for faculty as well.

“More important than the topic studied is the process of meeting with the students and using the skills I learned in graduate school,” Huber said. “It keeps me alive, vibrant and connected with my field.”

Student researchers will share their work with the campus during “A Taste of Research,” which will be held this fall.

Summer Stipend Recipients 2007

CJ Barefoot
Changing the Learning Sensory Enviroment Using Auditory Stimulus to Reduce Problematic Self-Stimulation in Children with Autism
Faculty Sponsor: Kathryn Cole, psychology

Alyssa Miller
Building Systems of Support for Craniofacial Patients Via Collage Creation
Faculty Sponsor: Jack Huber, psychology

Brittany Sloan
Micro(fine) Structure Observations of Cotton Fibers Using a Scanning Electron Microscope in Regards to Identification and Differences in Use and Quality
Faculty Sponsor: Larry Grimes, biology

Samantha Cibelli
What’s Hot and What’s Not: A Cross-Cultural Investigation
Faculty Sponsor: Jack Huber, psychology

Emily Kale
Stress-induced Gene Expression in Corbicula Clams Exposed to Acetaminophen
Faculty Sponsor: Karthik Aghoram, biology

Sandra Utile
The Diversity and Abundance of Spiders in the Meredith Woods
Faculty Sponsor: Larry Grimes, biology

Amber Littesy
Optimization and Validation of a Yeast-based Estrogen Screen to Assess the Presence of Estrogenic Substances in Local Drinking Water Supplies
Faculty Sponsor: Karthik Aghoram, biology

Marie LaHaye
Motivating Factors for Use of Language Based Skills in Children with Autism
Faculty Sponsor: Kathryn Cole, psychology

Nichole Ecklund
Computer Integration in Early Childhood Classrooms
Faculty Sponsor: Diane Strangis, child development

Jessica Loehman
Developing Strategies to Enhance Memory
Faculty Sponsor: Rosemary Hornak, psychology

Emily Bomar
The Malleability of Memory: Can Flashbulb Memories Be Distorted By Planting False Memories
Faculty Sponsor: Mark O’Dekirk, psychology

Calley Jones
The Distribution of Small Mammals Relative to Available Ground Cover in the Meredith College Forest: Do Hurricanes Augment Small Mammal Populations?
Faculty Sponsor: Erin Lindquist, biology

Nateisha Jackson
Bettas in Biotechnology
Faculty Sponsor: Robert Reid, biology

Kathleen Angermeier
The Effects of Heat on [Lactate] and Heart Rate in Trained Athletes
Faculty Sponsor: Chris Eschbach, health, exercise and sports science

Partial Funding Recipients were:
Lauryn Dupree
Longitudinal Correlates and Predictors of Social Network Affiliation and Retention Among Female College Students
Faculty Sponsor: Cindy Edwards, psychology

Jessica Agee
Good Citizenship and Participatory Democracy at Meredith: An Analysis of Competing Causal Relations Among Factors
Faculty Sponsor: Jeff Martinson, political science

Preethi Sriram
Fluoride in Surface Water and its Effects on Corbicula
Faculty Sponsor: Francie Cuffney, biology

Sierra Ellison
Studying the Effects of Curcumin on CD4 Cell Counts in Mice
Faculty Sponsor: John Mecham/ Karthik Agoram, biology

Kelty-Brooke Bailey
It’s More than Black and White: An Inter-Ethnic Study of Body Image
Faculty Sponsor: Jack Huber, psychology