Spring 2016
What’s news in undergraduate RSCA
Research, Scholarship, and Creative Activities
Spring 2016
Five Spring 2016 AYURE Awards Funded
The Academic Year Undergraduate Research Experience program supports collaborative efforts on a great variety of projects. (newpaltz.edu/research/usr_ayure.html).
Faculty mentors direct and provide guidance to participating students as they work on a project. Funds are provided for supplies and other activities related to the project. The student spring 2016 awardees and faculty mentors (in parentheses) are:
· Joseph Dunstan, Chemistry, ’17 (Mentor: Frantz Folmer-Anderson, Chemistry) Investigation of Molecular Recognition by Novel Macrocycles
· Elizabeth Levy, Psychology/Sociology, ’17
(Mentor: Glenn Geher, Psychology)
Behavioral Correlates of Neanderthal Genetic Overlap
· Tobin Mathew, Biology/Physics, ’17
(Mentor: Spencer Mass, Biology) Comparative Kinematics of Gait in Ambystomoid Salamanders
· Jaclyn Greco, Secondary Education, ‘18
(Mentor: Kate McCoy, Educational Studies) Understanding the Impact of Charter Schools: A Preliminary Study
· Steven Roberts, Contemporary Music Studies, ’17 (Mentor: Alex Peh, Music) Karl Heinz Stockhausen’s Tierkreis Arranged for Piano Duet
RSCA offers Student Travel Awards
In an effort to expand the dissemination of student research and creative activities, the RSCA program is offering a limited number of travel awards to students who have not been awarded SURE or AYURE funding. The Student Travel Award (STA) applications will be accepted on a rolling basis. See the conference travel link at the RSCA web site:
www.newpaltz.edu/research/travelfunds.html
Student Travel Award (STA) News
· Amy Glazer, Biology, ’16, traveled to Portland, OR, to present her research at the Society for Integrative & Comparative Biology (SICB) conference.
· Caitlin Kennedy ‘16, and Joanna Herron ‘16, both Mathematics, presented their research at the Joint Mathematics Meeting in Seattle, WA.
· Jaclyn Swiderski, English/Linguistics, ’16, traveled to the 2016 Sigma Tau Delta Convention in Minneapolis, MN, to present her research.
· Sara Shameem, Communications, ’15, presented the results of her research at the Eastern Communications Association 6th Annual Undergraduate Scholars Conference in Baltimore, MD.
Presidential Scholar
We asked Meredith Eldridge to reflect on her experiences as an undergraduate researcher, and she commented:
"When you study as an undergraduate science major, you don't necessarily get the opportunity to apply what you learn outside of the classroom to a tangible experience. Such opportunities are crucial to developing the problem-solving skills and practical knowledge necessary for engaging in future studies, pursuing science-focused careers, and communicating with other professionals in the discipline. With the generosity of the RSCA program and the Donald P. and Sandra K. Christian Presidential Scholarship Endowment, I was able to explore the applications of science to real-world scenarios, develop a productive teacher-student relationship, and become confident in my skills as a scientific researcher. President Donald P. Christian and his wife Sandy are two shining individuals that I have had the pleasure and privilege of knowing personally, and that their scholarship has allowed me to pursue my summer research experience is inspiring, to me, to help others in the future, through research or other means. As a biology major with minors in psychology and creative writing, I appreciate that SUNY New Paltz has an RSCA program, which supports students from all disciplines with the means to benefit from their own academic experience and develop the skills necessary for success.”
Seven Students Accepted to NCUR
The National Conference on Undergraduate Research (NCUR)
(http://www.ncur.org), which annually hosts ~2,000 students to present their research through posters, oral presentations, visual arts and performances, was held at the University of North Carolina--Asheville. The New Paltz students selected for this competitive conference are: Bethany O’Hara (Biology), Jessica Mortensen (Anthropology/Biochemistry), Jared Flagler (Geography), Rachel Marra (Physics), Kyle Law (Psychology/Economics), Jaclyn Greco (Secondary Education), and Anthony Albanese (Sociology/Religious Studies).
Student Research Presentations
· Sarah Sansone ’16, and Sawyer McFadden ’18, both EGS, presented the results of their research at the Geological Society of America conference in Baltimore, MD. (pictured below)
· Ann O’Brien, Physics, ’16, traveled to San Jose, CA to present her research at the Frontiers in Optics/Laser Science conference.
· Meredith Eldridge, Biology, ’16, traveled to the Society for Integrative & Comparative Biology (SICB) conference in Portland, OR.
· Megan Doty, Graphic Design, ’16, presented the results of her research at the Undergraduate Network for Research in the Humanities meeting in Davidson, NC.
· Rachel Marra, Astronomy/Physics, ’16, traveled to Durham, NC to present her research at the Dynamic Days Conference.
SUNY Undgergraduate Research Conference
Seven New Paltz students were accepted to present the results of their faculty-mentored research projects at the second annual SUNY Undergraduate Research Conference (SURC) at SUNY Cobleskill on April 15, 2016. The students that were selected are: Ari Pignatelli (Engineering), Julie Plake (Psychology), Sam Lacovara (Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies), Jessica Mortensen (Anthropology/Biochemistry), Coreyann Spence (Psychology), Madalena Spero (Psychology), and Elizabeth Wittman (Sociology). http://blog.cobleskill.edu/SURC/surc.html
RSCA alumni news
· Hannah Miller (Biology, ’14, AYURE fall 2013) is currently working on her Phd at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, OH.
· David Charifson (Biology, ’13, SURE 2012) was published in the Northeasern Naturalist Journal in 2015 as lead author for his research of fish in Lake Minnewaska.
· Hannah Powers (Chemistry, ’14, SURE 2013) is currently employed as a synthetic chemist at a pharmaceutical company in San Francisco.
· Sean Hill (Mathematics, ’15, AYURE spring 2015), along with his mentor, wrote a publication (Darboux Transformations) that was accepted by Russian Mathematical Surveys.
· Rachel Townsend (Theatre Arts, ’12, AYURE spring 2012) is currently working in NYC as a professional design assistant. She was also the Wardrobe Supervisor at The Glimmerlass Opera last summer in Cooperstown, NY.
Minds at Work event
This student achievement celebration will be held on Friday, April 29th (1p-7:30pm). Minds at Work will include the 22nd annual Student Research Symposium (SRS), CAPs Art Exhibition, Honors Thesis Presentations, the Writing Board's Celebration of Writing (COW), Student Documentaries, and a Baroque Art Exhibition. Last year, approximately 250 students participated in Minds at Work.
www.newpaltz.edu/research/srs/
2015 SRS
Enhanced CUR membership
New Paltz is an enhanced institutional member of the Council on Undergraduate Research (CUR). CUR supports and promotes undergraduate research and scholarships. This membership provides free individual membership for all students, faculty, and staff. Membership includes a subscription to the CUR Quarterly plus access to special information on funding to support undergraduate research.
The mission of the RSCA program is to encourage and support student- faculty collaboration on scholarly and artistic activities that generate new knowledge or works. The RSCA program is supported by the Office of Academic Affairs.
www.newpaltz.edu/research/usr.html
The RSCA Advisory Board:
Kara Belinsky (Biology), Michael Chuang (Business), Gregory Bynum (Educational Studies), Vicki Tromanhauser (English), Heather Shimon (Library), Ekatarine Shemyakova (Math), Maria Montserrat Gimeno (Music), Roberto Velez-Velez (Sociology), Maureen Morrow (RSCA Director, Biology) Meredith Eldridge (student member) Newsletter editor: Michelle Pielli