By TYLER ELLYSON
UNK Communications
KEARNEY – Experiential learning is part of the University of Nebraska at Kearney’s mission.
At UNK, every student has the opportunity to participate in hands-on activities outside the classroom that enhance their educational experience.
These opportunities were on full display during UNK’s annual Research Week celebration, a four-day event that highlights the scholarly and creative work produced by students and faculty.
“Research is the linchpin of the UNK student experience, and we are thrilled to see so many students participating in this year’s Research Week,” said Mark Ellis, dean of graduate studies. “We tip our hats to these student participants and their faculty mentors for all the work they put into these fine research projects.”
Sponsored by the Office of Undergraduate Research and Creative Activity, Office of Graduate Studies and Division of Research, the event gave both undergraduate and graduate students a chance to promote their projects, with academic programs from across campus represented.
Nearly 150 students showcased their work during this year’s Research Week activities, which included oral presentations livestreamed on Zoom, virtual posters and videos shared online and a traditional poster gallery inside the Nebraskan Student Union Ponderosa Room.
Although the COVID-19 pandemic forced organizers to modify the in-person format for the second straight year, the goal of Research Week remained unchanged.
“Research Week is a celebration of accomplishments. During this unique environment, these accomplishments mean a little more because of all the challenges and limitations both students and faculty continue to face,” said Director of Undergraduate Research and Creative Activity Matt Bice, who also serves as associate dean of graduate studies and director of research compliance.
“The projects may have been slowed down,” Bice added, “but the quality is ever so high.”
POSITIVE IMPACT
UNK senior Lauren Rezac, a communication disorders major from Brainard, got involved with undergraduate research through the Summer Student Research Program.
“Research is something I was interested in, but I never really knew what to do with it,” said Rezac, who is president of the Kearney Student Speech Language Hearing Association.
Her mentor, assistant professor Ladan Ghazi Saidi, introduced her to a project that studies the psychological, cognitive and communicative effects of a social interaction program that pairs UNK students with adults ages 60 and older.
“As we have probably all figured out from this past year, social isolation and loneliness can have a huge effect on our physical and psychological well-being,” Rezac said during her presentation. “That lack of social interaction can increase the risk of depression and anxiety in older adults and younger adults, as well.”
Rezac, Ghazi Saidi and co-author Miechelle McKelvey, chair of the department of communication disorders, launched the Intergenerational Bonding Program to explore the benefits of increased social interaction.
Their pilot study paired UNK students ages 19-29 with older adults, and the participants were required to meet for 30 minutes, twice a week, on Zoom.
After six weeks, the researchers will use survey data collected before and after the meetings to determine whether these interactions had a positive impact on participants’ mental well-being. They’re also looking at whether social interaction can help older adults maintain their cognitive and communication skills.
“I feel like it’s preventative research,” said Rezac, noting that the results could demonstrate the importance of remaining socially active in your golden years.
The Intergenerational Bonding Program is ongoing, and Rezac hopes the study can expand through partnerships with area nursing homes, assisted living facilities or organizations that offer services for older adults.
However, she won’t be here to see the progress. Rezac graduates from UNK in May and she’ll attend the University of Nebraska-Lincoln to pursue a master’s degree in speech-language pathology.
“Being involved in undergraduate research has opened new doors for me in my future career,” she said. “One question we’ve been asked a lot this past semester is, ‘Where do you see yourself working in the future?’ This gives me more experience in the speech-language pathology field.”
NEW FRONTIERS
Students weren’t the only scholars recognized during Research Week.
The event also honored faculty featured in the 2020 and 2021 editions of New Frontiers, an annual magazine that focuses on research and creative activity at UNK.
This year’s edition of the magazine was unveiled Wednesday during a ceremony livestreamed on Zoom. It features seven faculty members and one UNK graduate, with projects ranging from physical education to fisheries management and creative writing to rural broadband.
“Often, research and creative activities are overlooked as a vital aspect of the university mission, with the focus exclusively on the teaching aspects of our mission. However, the research and creative activities that our faculty conduct are the foundation on which engaged learning and teaching are built,” said Assistant Vice Chancellor for Research Richard Mocarski, who directs the offices of Sponsored Programs and Research Development.
“Research Week allows us to highlight innovative research and creative activity, celebrating its importance to the knowledge commons that is the academy,” Mocarski added.
RESEARCH WEEK AWARD WINNERS
Wagner Family Writing Award Endowment
First place – Ashly Helfrich – “Generating Followers: The Effects of Social Media on Modern-Day Political Activism”
Second place – Lena Janssen – “Building Mass Functions and Estimating Merger Rates for Calculations of Cosmic Confusion Noise”
Dr. Kenneth W. Nikels Scholarship
Andrea Werner
Undergraduate Student Virtual Poster Presentations
Behavioral and social sciences
First place – Daniel Vargas Castano – “Do International Students Increase the Cost of Universities in the United States of America?”
Second place – Caleb Hendrickson – “Two Weeks to Flatten the Curve to Most Deadly Pandemic in a Century: How COVID-19 Shaped the 2020 Election”
Natural and physical sciences
First place – Reagan TeKolste – “Effects of Food Deprivation on Anxiety-Like Behavior in Mice”
Second place – Jack Linders – “Dissolution of BAC-crosslinked polyacrylamide gel utilizing Urea and tris(2-carboxyethyl) phosphine (TCEP)”
Professional and applied sciences
First place – Jiarui Han – “Impact of COVID-19 on Nebraska Agriculture in 2020”
Second place – Charlotte Griffith – “Management of Depression and Anxiety in Patients with Aphasia by Speech-Language Pathologists”
Fine arts and humanities
First place – Terran Homburg – “The Goddess Isis in Song”
Second place – Emma Newman – “Intimacy Practices for Collegiate Theatre”
Undergraduate Student Poster Gallery
Behavioral and social sciences
First place – Steven Hinze – “How Long Can North Korea Remain Isolated?”
Second place – Austin Glause – “Using GIScience to Understand Service Area Accessibility of Pediatric Weight Management Programs in Nebraska’s Rural and Micropolitan Communities”
Second place – Justin Vrooman – “Market Area Delineation of a Pediatric Weight Management Program in Kearney, Nebraska, Through GIScience”
Natural and physical sciences
First place – Wuilian Martinez – “Synthesizing Analogs of Incarvillateine for Anticancer Properties”
Second place – Tyler Shaner – “Dendritic cells display sex-specific differences in ability to mount immune response to peanut”
Professional and applied sciences
First place – Kelly Robb – “Effects of repetitive head microtrauma on psychomotor and neuromuscular function of the collegiate women’s soccer players during COVID-19 pandemic”
Second place – Regan Taubenheim and Sami Mauch – “Do Apple watches report accurate daily physical fitness measurements?”
Fine arts and humanities
First place – Rochelle Hazelton – “Trouser Roles in Nineteenth Century French Opera”
Graduate Student Oral Presentation
First place – Braydon Conell – “Community Activation: Response to AIDS in Chicago”
Graduate Student Virtual Poster Presentation
First place – Stefanie Neal – “Understanding the Impact of COVID-19 on Students at the University of Nebraska at Kearney”
Second place – Shelby Glaser – “The Effect of Social Media Use on Self-Esteem”
Outstanding Thesis Award 2019-20
First place – Gail Blankenau – “Journey to Freedom from Nebraska Territory”
Honorable mention – Erica Brandow – “The Relationship Between Communication and Temperament When Completing Tasks Varying on Difficulty”
Faculty Mentoring of Student Research Award
College of Arts and Sciences – Megan Strain, associate professor, psychology
College of Business and Technology – Angela Hollman, associate professor, cyber systems
College of Education – Ladan Ghazi Saidi, assistant professor, communication disorders
Graduate College – Megan Adkins-Bollwitt, associate professor, kinesiology and sport sciences
Graduate Student Diversity Award
Valerie Owens – “Rethinking ‘Inspiration Porn’: A Deconstruction of Disability Representation”
Undergraduate Student Diversity Award
Luis Cordova – “Exploring the experiences of minority students at UNK: Cultural capital and student perspective”
Dylan Lemke – “The Number of Gay-Straight Alliance Student Organizations in Nebraska Public High Schools and its Support for LGBTQ+ Students”
Calvin T. Ryan Award for Undergraduate Research
Wynn Cannon – “Online Interactions During a Pandemic”
