Students and Faculty Receive Awards for Research at UNK’s Seventh Annual Student Research Day

Dr. Ken Nikels
308.865.8843

University of Nebraska Kearney students received awards for their research, which they presented at the seventh annual Student Research Day held earlier this month, and Faculty Research Mentor Awards were presented.

“The Faculty Research Mentor Awards recognize contributions faculty have made to directing student research at both the undergraduate and graduate levels,” said Dr. Ken Nikels, dean of the Office of Graduate Studies. “To be considered for the award, faculty must have worked with at least three different students over at least a three-year period, and the student research projects must be disseminated beyond the UNK community.”

2005 Student Awards
Arts/Humanities
1st Place
Micah Torgrimson (Omaha ) and Naomi Schemm (Scottsbluff )
Faculty Adviser: Dr. Martha Kruse, English
Grammatical Anarchy?

Student Choice
Julia Stumkat (Rostock, Germany) , Scott Barry (Kearney) , Katrina Campuzano (Elm Creek) , Jennifer Epley (Pleasanton ), Robert Hankins (Atwood ), Kelly O’Connor (Kearney ), Casey Paine (Kearney ), Kelli Parmenter (Omaha ), Asa Poole (Denver, CO ), Robyn Sanders (Sidney ), Clint Strand (Dunning ), and Derek Wakefield (Wakefield )
Faculty Adviser: Dr. Ruth Brown, communication
“Nebraska 4-H Foundation – Support Our Youth” Creating a New Identity for and
Awareness of the Nebraska 4-H Foundation

Behavioral/Social Sciences
1st  Place
Susan Ewton (Shelton )
Faculty Adviser: Dr Krista Forrest, psychology
“I Confess….I Hit the ‘ALT’ Key”

2nd  Place
Jennifer Ann Bienhoff (Kensington )
Faculty Adviser: Dr. William Wozniak, psychology
Are Attractiveness Judgments a Cross-Species Phenomenon?

Honorable Mention
Robert J. Bechtol (Fallbrook, CA )
Faculty Adviser: Dr. Jean Mandernach, psychology
Homosexism as a Function of Environment, Attitudes and Values

Honorable Mention
Cynthia Waskowiak (Ravenna )
Faculty Adviser: Dr. Peter Longo, political science
The Impact of the Drought on Voting Behavior: The Case of the Platte River Valley
Corridor

Student Choice
Bradley J. Stastny (David City ) and Lindsey Petermann (Grand Island )
Faculty Adviser: Dr. Richard Miller, psychology
Cognitive Averaging: Attraction, Similarity, and Likeability

Natural/Physical Sciences
1st  Place
Cole Spresser (Atwood, KS )
Faculty Adviser: Dr. Kimberly Carlson, biology
Characterization of the Human Gene OTK18 using Drosophila melanogaster as a Model
System

2nd  Place
Kevin Vogel (Howells )
Faculty Adviser: Dr. Mark Markes, physics and physical science
Thermodynamics of Dust Particle Interactions in Plasma

Honorable Mention
Ruth N. Udey (Columbus )
Faculty Adviser: Dr. Christopher Exstrom, chemistry
Solid-State Phase Properties of Thin-Film GeC Fabricated by a Hollow-Cathode Plasma
Jet Deposition Method

Student Choice
Tasia C. Johnson (Holdrege )
Faculty Adviser: Dr. Julie Shaffer, biology
Identification of Antibiotic Resistance in Solvent Tolerant Bacteria

Professional/Applied Sciences
1st  Place
Kate Semin (Bellwood )
Faculty Adviser: Dr. Greg Brown, health, physical education and recreation
Divergence Between Training, Competition, and Laboratory Measures of Maximum
Heart Rate

2nd  Place
Bryce M. Abbey (Kearney ) and Michael Ray (Blair )
Faculty Adviser: Dr. Kate Heelan, health, physical education and recreation
The Validation of HydraTrend Reagent Strips for the Assessment of Hydration Levels

Honorable Mention
Andrea Herndon (Lincoln ) and Julie Boukal (Papillion )
Faculty Adviser: Dr. Srivatsa Seshadri, marketing and MIS
IT Service Needs in Rural Markets

Honorable Mention
Kristina Jegel (Topeka, KS )
Faculty Adviser: Dr. David Palmer, management
Sit, Stay, Roll-over: Workplace Pets Improve Employee and Customer Morale

Student Choice
Ashley Scantling (Kearney ) and Bryce Abbey (Kearney )
Faculty Adviser: Dr. Kate Heelan, health, physical education and recreation
Association Between Physical Activity and Adiposity in Preschool aged Children

Graduate Studies
1st  Place
Stephanie L. Bogers (Gothenburg )
Faculty Adviser: Dr. Kimberly Carlson, biology
Characterization of OTK18 on Neural Cell Survival

Honorable Mention
Anne E. Potts (Arlington, TX )
Faculty Adviser: Dr. Kenya Taylor, communication disorders
Hearing Loss and Hearing Conservation Among Miners

Faculty Mentor Awards
College of Business and Technology
Dr. Srivatsa Seshadri, associate professor of management/marketing
College of Education
Dr. Kenya Taylor, associate professor of communication disorders
College of Fine Arts and Humanities
Dr. Ruth Brown, associate professor of communication
College of Natural and Social Sciences
Steele Becker, associate professor of sociology, geography and earth sciences
Graduate Studies
Dr. Julie Shaffer, assistant professor of biology
University Wide Faculty Mentor Award
Steele Becker, associate professor of sociology, geography and earth sciences