Oral & Performance Presentations

This year, graduate and undergraduate students join group discussions in the UC on Wednesday, March 20. These discussions are moderated by a WCU faculty member and facilitate positive and collaborative conversations amongst peers and faculty. We will also hold performance presentations in the UC and Coulter Recital Hall. 

Session 1
9:00 am – 11:00 am
UC 212 – Dogwood Room
Technology
Moderator: Paul Yanik

Session 2
9:00 am – 12:00 pm
UC 226 – Raleigh Room
Science
Moderators: Katherine Matthews, Rangika Koralege, and Joe Pechmann

Session 3
10:00 am – 12:00 pm
UC 215 – Catamount Room
English
Moderator: Jonathan Bradshaw

Session 4
10:00 am – 12:00 pm
UC 214 – Cardinal Room
Psychology
Moderators: Alleyne Broomell and Annie Wilson

Session 5
10:30 am – 11:30 am
Coulter Recital Hall
“Little Magics” by Emma O’Halloran
Moderator: Adam Groh

Session 6
12:30 pm – 1:30 pm
UC 226 – Raleigh Room
The Fraction Quartet
Moderator: Andrew Adams

Session 7
1:00 pm – 3:00 pm
UC 215 – Catamount Room
Social Sciences
Moderator: Ben Steere

Session 8
1:00 pm – 3:00 pm
UC 212 – Dogwood Room
History
Moderator: Jessie Swigger

Session 9
1:00 pm – 3:00 pm
UC 214 – Cardinal Room
Experiential and Outdoor Education, Human Resources, Art, Accounting, and School of Teaching and Learning
Moderator: Callie Schultz

Session 10
1:30 pm – 2:30 pm
Coulter Recital Hall
The Percussion Music of John Cage
Moderator: Christina L. Reitz

Presentations By Session

Session 1
Engineering and Technology

Evaluating the Potential Benefits of Converting to Model-Based Definition Methods in Engineering
Graduate Student: Carson Pardue
Degree Program: Engineering Technology

Using Instrument Mouthgaurds to Correlate Brain Strain to Congnitive Impairment
Graduate Student: Clayton Bardall
Degree Program: Engineering Technology

Abrasive Waterjet Process Paramater Optimization
Graduate Student: Frederick Malm
Degree Program: Engineering Technology

Maximum Permeate Flow Tracking in a Wave Energy Converter (WEC) Powered Desalination System
Graduate Student: Irfanul Hasan
Degree Program: Engineering Technology

Using Instrument Mouthgaurds to Correlate Brain Strain to Congnitive Impairment
Graduate Student: Uzzal Basu
Degree Program: Engineering Technology 

Session 2
Science

Genetic and phenotypic diversity within and among isolated populations of the Erigeron strigosus (Asteraceae) species complex in North Carolina and Arkansas
Graduate Student: Anastasia Wilson
Degree Program: Biology

Microwave assisted synthesis of strontium fluoride nanoparticles.
Undergraduate Student: Elvis Perez Galarza
Secondary Authors: Ava Greene and Peyton Price
Presenting Department/Program: Chemistry & Physics
Faculty Sponsor: Channa De Silva

Investigating the effects of urban noise on communication in birds: ​ an experimental approach​
Undergraduate Student: Emily Francis
Secondary Author: Karen Inouye
Presenting Department/Program: Biology
Faculty Sponsor: Barbara Ballentine

Computational studies of uranium terpyridine derivatives for potential nuclear waste treatment applications
Undergraduate Student: Hayden Privette
Secondary Authors: Andrew Zink, Cameron Patterson, Ariel Colón Rodriguez, and Joaquin Gabriel Layno
Presenting Department/Program: Chemistry & Physics
Faculty Sponsor: Channa De Silva 

Quantification and characterization of Larva64 primpol activity and endogenous protein-protein interactions
Graduate Student: Hunter Bishop
Degree Program: Chemistry

Chronic Stress and Waterborne Hormone Analysis in Desmognathus monticola (Seal Salamanders) at the Buck Creek Serpentine Barrens
Graduate Student: Matthew Zimmerman
Degree Program: Biology

Overcoming knowledge shortfalls in South American fireflies: the case of a diurnal Photinus species from the Amazon rainforest
Undergraduate Student: Nicole Carrillo Corujo
Presenting Department/Program: Biology
Faculty Sponsor: Luiz Felipe Lima Da Silveira

Evaluating the Effect of Co-polymer Composition on the Esterolytic Activity of Encapsulated Proteins
Graduate Student: Reginald Hines
Degree Program: Chemistry

The Diffusion of Limonene through Paraffin Wax Using FT-IR
Undergraduate Student: Taylor Gregory
Secondary Authors: Morgan Higgins and Clarissa Mitchell
Presenting Department/Program: Chemistry & Physics
Faculty Sponsor: Scott Huffman 

Session 3
English

A Retrospective of Shirley Jackson: A Legacy of Repression in a Queer Present
Graduate Student: Daniel Acocella
Degree Program: English

Dualism, Not Dichotomy: Applying Cherokee War and Beloved Dualism to Linda Hogan’s Power and LeAnne Howe’s Shellshaker
Graduate Student: Johnny Holloway
Degree Program: English

Communicating Queerness through Set Design in 1990s Cinema
Undergraduate Student: Molly Mayfield
Presenting Department/Program: English Studies
Faculty Sponsor: Emily Naser-Hall

A Lesson on Sexism: Saunder’s Unintentional Gender Discrimination in Liberation Day: Stories
Undergraduate Student: Taleigh Verrault
Presenting Department/Program: English Studies
Faculty Sponsor: Brian Railsback

An Ethnographic-Sociolinguistic Approach to Vowel Breaking in Smalltown, NC
Undergraduate Student: Wyatt Wilson
Presenting Department/Program: English Studies
Faculty Sponsor: Erin Callahan

Session 4
Psychology

Direct Intervention to Reduce Imposterism in Graduate Students
Graduate Student: Carla Burdette
Degree Program: Psychology

Student Reactions to Recent School Shootings and Connections to Empathy
Undergraduate Student: Faith Robinson
Secondary Author: Vae Jutte
Presenting Department/Program: Psychology
Faculty Sponsor: Ellen Sigler

The Impact of Child Personality on Parenting and Self-Regulation
Graduate Student: James Fox
Degree Program: Clinical Psychology

The Impact of Weight Stigma on Pelvic Floor Health in Emerging Adult Females
Undergraduate Student: Krysta Perez
Presenting Department/Program: Psychology
Faculty Sponsor: Meghan Gangel

The Effect of Pubertal Timing and Sexual Education on Late Adolescent Well-Being.
Undergraduate Student: Lyndsey Conway
Presenting Department/Program: Psychology
Faculty Sponsor: Meghan Gangel

Personality Factors as Predictors of Problematic Internet Usage
Undergraduate Student: Memphis Griggs
Presenting Department/Program: Psychology
Faculty Sponsor: Annie Wilson and David Scales

Associations between Physical Activity and Executive Functioning in Preschool Children
Graduate Student: Nina Glawe
Degree Program: Clinical Psychology

 

Session 5

“Little Magics” by Emma O’Halloran
Presented by Undergraduate Student: Connor Butler, Zack Heller, Trinity Leger, Daniel Noonan, JammyLee Saintons, and Russell Wallace
Presenting Department/Program: School of Music
Faculty Sponsor: Adam Groh

Session 6

The Fraction Quartet
Presented by Undergraduate Students: Sean Ohmann, Sterling Clauter, Gabriel Szcinski, and Danny Strother
Presenting Department/Program: School of Music
Faculty Sponsor: Ian Jeffress

Session 7
Anthropology, Criminal Justice, Sociology, and Philosophy and Religion

Contributing Factors to Natural Human Mummification
Undergraduate Student: Alex Vacca
Presenting Department/Program: Anthropology & Sociology
Faculty Sponsor: Kaleigh Best 

Rising Phoenix: Renewed Hope for Reentry
Undergraduate Student: Daniel Farquharson
Presenting Department/Program: Criminology and Criminal Justice
Faculty Sponsor: Maggie Skiscim

Definition Through Distance: Animals as the Sartrean Other
Undergraduate Student: Jared Ross
Presenting Department/Program: Philosophy & Religion
Faculty Sponsor: Katharine Mershon

Cultural Preservation in the Appalachian Region: A Focus on Ethnobotanical Knowledge
Undergraduate Student: JJ Frid
Presenting Department/Program: Anthropology & Sociology
Faculty Sponsor: Ben Steere

Human Trafficking: A Discussion of How Removing the Economic Advantage Can End Modern-Day Slavery
Undergraduate Student: Joseph Smart
Presenting Department/Program: Criminology and Criminal Justice
Faculty Sponsor: Regina Cline and Maggie Skiscim

Domestic Violence and Police Response
Undergraduate Student: Taylor Godwin
Presenting Department/Program: Criminology and Criminal Justice
Faculty Sponsor: Regina Cline

Session 8
History

Examining the Bracero Program: Exploitation, Negligence, and the Shadow of Genocide
Graduate Student: Ashley Balderas
Degree Program: Latinx/History

Cowee 19: Incarcerated Labor and Place, a public history project
Graduate Student: Danielle Duffy
Degree Program: History

Only Murders in the Paper: How Publications Enthralled Chicago, Elevated America’s First Serial Killer, and Evaporated Public Interest
Undergraduate Student: Emma Roy
Presenting Department/Program: History
Faculty Sponsor: Alexander Macaulay

Today’s Nostalgic Resurrection of ’80s Pop Culture
Undergraduate Student: Rilee Conard
Presenting Department/Program: History
Faculty Sponsor: Rob Ferguson

Session 9
Experiential and Outdoor Education, Human Resources, Art, Accounting, and School of Teaching and Learning

The Parts I’ve Lost: An Autoethnographic Study of a Transition Program Designed to Aid Former Wilderness Therapy Field Instructors
Graduate Student: Connor Mathias
Degree Program: Experiential and Outdoor Education

Picture This: Taking Science Class Outside
Graduate Student: Evelyn Warner
Degree Program: Experiential and Outdoor Education

Designing a Multisensory Museum: Changing the Paradigm for people with and without Autism
Undergraduate Student: Jackson Carter
Presenting Department/Program: School of Art & Design
Faculty Sponsor: Shelby Hicks

Calling all influencers: (Re)presenting your next #microadventure on social media
Graduate Student: Kayler DeBrew
Degree Program: Experiential and Outdoor Education

Building Resilient Workforces: Recovery Friendly Workplaces as a Strategy for Public and Behavioral Health
Graduate Student: Lindsey Humphreys
Degree Program: Human Resources

Repetition Disfluency – Stutters
Undergraduate Student: Mackenzie Villarreal
Presenting Department/Program: School of Teaching and Learning
Faculty Sponsor: Erin Callahan

The Association Between Online Payments Using Different Payment Types and Six Consumer Assessment Characteristics
Undergraduate Student: Steven Hudspeth
Presenting Department/Program: School of Accounting, Finance, Information Systems and Business Law
Faculty Sponsor: Gary Curnutt

Session 10

The Percussion Music of John Cage: A Study of Simplistic Complexity
Presented by Undergraduate Student: Connor Butler
Presenting Department/Program: School of Music
Faculty Sponsor: Christina L. Reitz