2024-25

Wentz Research Scholars

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Samia Aguilar

Psychology || Criminology

College of Arts and Sciences

Faculty Mentor: Dr. Sayuri Hayakawa

“Does Subliminal Messaging Influence Violent Behavior”

 

Carsten Beets

Biochemistry and Microbiology || Chemistry; Neuroscience

College of Arts and Sciences

Faculty Mentor: Dr. Veronique Lacombe

“The Role of Insulin Signaling During Influenza Infection”

 

Brody Bouher

Biosystems Engineering || Environmental Science

College of Engineering, Architecture and Technology

Faculty Mentor: Dr. Jeff Sadler

“Examining the Effect of Temperatures and Drought on Bacteria in Wastewater”

 

Elise Braggs

Studio Art; Art History

College of Arts and Sciences

Faculty Mentor: Dr. Jennifer Borland

“How The Open-Access Model Impacts Viewer Relationship and Interaction: A Close Investigation of Different Visions: New Perspectives on Medieval Art”

 

Madeline Bryan

Communication Sciences and Disorders || Religious Studies

College of Arts and Sciences

Faculty Mentor: Dr. Roha Kaipa

“Effect of napping and night sleep on word retention in children with DLD”

 

Savannah Caldwell

Zoology

College of Arts and Sciences

Faculty Mentor: Dr. Ciaran Shaughnessy

“Identifying GCPRs for Activating CFTR”

 

Beckett Carroll

History

College of Arts and Sciences

Faculty Mentor: Dr. Keith Peiffer

“An investigation into Cove Base”

 

Kinley De Leon

Microbiology; Cell and Molecular Biology

College of Arts and Sciences

Faculty Mentor: Dr. Glenn Zhang

“Synergistic Enhancement of Host Defense Peptide Synthesis by Butyrate and Imatinib”

 

Abigail Decker

Biology || Microbiology/ Cell and Molecular Biology

College of Arts and Sciences

Faculty Mentor: Dr. Marianna Patrauchan

“Discovering the Function of the Novel Protein CarP in a Human Pathogen”

 

Carlin Denney

Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering

College of Engineering, Architecture and Technology

Faculty Mentor: Dr. Chitrarth Prasad

“Sonic fatigue in closely-spaced rectangular nozzle exhausts under realistic conditions”

 

Trey Dorrell

Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering || Spanish

College of Engineering, Architecture and Technology

Faculty Mentor: Dr. Kurt Rouser

“Optimization of a Pre-detonation Rig for Reliable Initiation of Rotating Detonation Engines”

 

Grant Emerson

Physiology

College of Arts and Sciences

Faculty Mentor: Dr. Elizabeth Mccullagh

“Hearing Development in Mice with Fragile X Syndrome”

 

Sean Fetters

Chemical Engineering

College of Engineering, Architecture and Technology

Faculty Mentor: Dr. Mari Chinn

“Camelina Cultivation Potential in Oklahoma: Assessing Impacts of Variable Soils and Precipitation on Crop Productivity and Use as a Biofuel Feedstock”

 

Owen Fleming

Biochemistry and Molecular Biology

Ferguson College of Agriculture

Faculty Mentor: Dr. Yong Cheng

“Characterizing Microvesicles Isolated from Senescent Macrophages”

 

Rienna Franks

Animal Science

Ferguson College of Agriculture

Faculty Mentor: Dr. Yoo Kim

“The Protective Effect of L-theanine via Cannabinoid 1 Receptor (CB1R) on Age-Associated Diseases”

 

Olivia Fulkerson

Mechanical Engineering

College of Engineering, Architecture and Technology

Faculty Mentor: Dr. Aurelie Azoung

“Biomechanical models to prevent falls during pregnancy”

 

Kennedy Funa

Natural Resource Ecology and Management

Ferguson College of Agriculture

Faculty Mentor: Dr. Michael Reichert

“Does Experience in Multiple Contests Affect Cricket Exploration Behavior?”

 

Sam Glenn

Mechanical Engineering; Mathematics

College of Engineering, Architecture and Technology

Faculty Mentor: Dr. Arvind Santhanakrishnan

“The effect of porosity on passive dispersal of tiny insects”

 

Jacie Gray

Music Industry || Japanese

College of Arts and Sciences

Faculty Mentor: Dr. Sarah Milligan

“Timeless Connections: Revitalizing the Past and Strengthening the Future in the Kameoka-Stillwater Sister City Relationship with Deeper Oral History Interviews”

 

Colin Green

Physiology

College of Arts and Sciences

Faculty Mentor: Dr. Breanne Baker

“Musculoskeletal, Torque, and Biomechanical Characteristics of Army Combat Fitness Test Performance”

 

Emylie Guthrie

Chemistry || Statistics

College of Arts and Sciences

Faculty Mentor: Dr. Laleh Tahsini

“Cu(I)-C^N^C Pincer Catalyzed Decarboxylative Cross-Coupling with Aryl Halide”

 

Kylie Hammack

Economics; Political Science || French

College of Arts and Sciences

Faculty Mentor: Dr. Holley Hansen

“A Not So Helping Hand: The Role of Foreign Aid in Development in Post-Conflict Sub-Saharan Africa”

 

Lena James

Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering

College of Engineering, Architecture and Technology

Faculty Mentor: Dr. Chitrarth Prasad

“Noise Radiation from Supersonic Plug Nozzles for Commercial Supersonic Transport”

 

Charley Johnson

Philosophy; Computer Science || Ethics

College of Arts and Sciences

Faculty Mentor: Dr. Shannon Spaulding

“AI Consciousness: Reevaluating Through Embodied Cognition”

 

Brenden Kienholz

Economics; Finance; Accounting

Spears School of Business

Faculty Mentor: Dr. Amit Bansal

“Examining and Remedying Financial Illiteracy Among College Students”

 

James Lee

Biosystems Engineering || Environmental Science

College of Engineering, Architecture and Technology

Faculty Mentor: Dr. Jeff Sadler

“Water Quality of OSU’s Buildings Determined by Age of Building and Distance from Treatment Plant”

 

Cody Loganbill

Agribusiness

Ferguson College of Agriculture

Faculty Mentor: Dr. Amy Hagerman

“A Cost-Benefit Analysis of Common Conservation Practices in the Southern Plains”

 

Kaitlyn Luster

Chemical Engineering

College of Engineering, Architecture and Technology

Faculty Mentor: Dr. Hong Je Cho

“Spent Coffee Grounds – Derived Carbon Adsorbents for Microplastic Capture in Water”

 

Gracie Maschmeier

Nutritional Sciences || Spanish; Neuroscience; General Business

College of Education and Human Sciences

Faculty Mentor: Dr. Winyoo Chowanadisai

“Association of Schizophrenia Risk Gene SLC39A8 with Brain Structures Detected by MRI”

 

Olivia Musslewhite

Animal Science || Wildlife Ecology

Ferguson College of Agriculture

Faculty Mentor: Dr. Janeen Johnson

“The Effect of Stress on The Procurement of Passive Immunity”

 

Ethan O'Connor

Industrial Engineering and Management || Data Analytics for Engineers; Mathematics

College of Engineering, Architecture and Technology

Faculty Mentor: Dr. Chenang Liu

“Towards Personalized Inhalation Therapy: Furthering Chest CT Image and Pulmonary Function Test Correlation Using Nonlinear Machine Learning”

 

Katie Rupert

Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering || Mathematics

College of Engineering, Architecture and Technology

Faculty Mentor: Dr. Kurt Rouser

“Evaluating the Pitch of Additively Manufactured Hybrid Rocket Fuel Grains”

 

Luke Sanders

Animal Science

Ferguson College of Agriculture

Faculty Mentor: Dr. Riley Messman

“Fungus Among Us: Unraveling Mycotoxin Mysteries in Bovine Respiratory Disease”

 

Sarah Schindall

Human Nutrition

College of Education and Human Sciences

Faculty Mentor: Dr. Sam Emerson

“Does Following a Vegetarian Diet Affect Metabolic Health and Aerobic Capacity?”

 

Kyra Shellhammer

Psychology || Neuroscience

College of Arts and Sciences

Faculty Mentor: Dr. DeMond Grant

“Heartbeat Evoked Potential Differences Between Anxiety Disorders”

 

Avery Snethen

Nutritional Sciences || Microbiology

College of Education and Human Sciences

Faculty Mentor: Dr. Edralin Lucas

“Effects of Pinto Bean and Resistant Starch Supplementation on Bone Metabolism in Mouse Model of Estrogen Deficiency”

 

Griffyn Stoodley

Physiology || Neuroscience

College of Arts and Sciences

Faculty Mentor: Dr. Sundar Madihally

“The Effects of Galvanotaxis on 3D Bioprinted Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells”

 

Elizabeth Struble

Environmental Science; Plant and Soil Science

Ferguson College of Agriculture

Faculty Mentor: Dr. Benedicte Bachelot

“Invasion of the Ecosystem Snatchers: The Effect of Plant Invasion on Arbuscular Mycorrhizae Composition”

 

Bailey Sweeney

Biochemistry and Molecular Biology

Ferguson College of Agriculture

Faculty Mentor: Dr. Donald Ruhl

“Using Chromatin Remodeling to Understand the role of INI-1 in the SWI/SNF Protein Complex”

 

Courtney Taylor

Biology

College of Arts and Sciences

Faculty Mentor: Dr. Joshua Butcher

“Severity of Organophosphate Toxicity Across Body Compositions and Sex”

 

Laynee Wessel

English; Spanish

College of Arts and Sciences

Faculty Mentor: Dr. Corinne Schwarz

“Demons to Some, Angels to Others: Clive Barker, Horror, and the Monstruous Queer”

 

Samuel Wiesepape

Horticulture

Ferguson College of Agriculture

Faculty Mentor: Dr. Charles Fontanier

“Use of Different Watering Techniques and Their Benefits to Water Conservation and Speed of the Rooting Process”

 

Max Wolfley

Secondary Education: Foreign Languages

College of Education and Human Sciences

Faculty Mentor: Dr. Richard Neels

“A Comparison Between Stoicism and the Christian Doctrine of Renewing of the Mind”