College of Education and Behavioral Sciences News

A dozen Western Kentucky University students ranked among the top scorers for research presentations given at the Kentucky Academy of Science’s 2023 Annual Meeting in November.

“The presentations at this year’s meeting prove that students in Kentucky are adding to the world’s body of scientific knowledge in meaningful ways,” said Amanda Fuller, Executive Director of the Kentucky Academy of Science. “The breadth of topics explored and the exceptional quality of the students’ work highlight the limitless potential of our state’s future science leaders.”

More than 600 students and professional scientists from across the state attended the Annual Meeting, which was held Nov. 3-4 at Northern Kentucky University. Panels of scientists judged students’ research presentations and offered special recognition to top-scorers who earned 25 or more points on a scoring rubric.

WKU students whose presentations were among the top-scorers selected for special recognition are:

• Drake Calhoon, "The Effect of Sulforaphane on Chromium-Induced Toxicity in Human Lung Fibroblasts"
• Callie Stempa, "Cell morphogenesis controlled by genetic interaction between a septin kinase and MAP kinase"
• Natalie Heath, "Influence of prescribed burns on populations of small mammals in the South African bushveld"
• Adjete Tekoe, "Precipitation Variability across Kentucky"
• Vivian Rivera, "Effect of dietary flavonoids on growth in Saccharomyces cerevisiae"
• Hannah Kramer, "Helping students successfully integrate physics thinking with coding in Visual Python"
• Jackson Powers, "Climatological Trends of Nocturnal and Out-of-Season Tornadoes"
• Robert Purvis, "Reaction of carboplatin analogs with guanine and methionine derivatives"
• Harmony Guercio, "Snowfall Processes in the Ohio River Basin"
• Lynnsey Cole, "Age-Related Differences in Dynamic Emotion Perception"
• Kellen Patterson, "Polystyrene Beads with Incorporated Photocatalyst"
• Grace Salloum, "Media influences and societal perceptions: The impact of stigmatizing portrayals of mental illness"

The full list of students whose research presentations received special recognition can be viewed at https://kyscience.org/top_scoring_students.php

For information about the Annual Meeting – including abstracts of research presentations, photos, and video – go online to kyscience.org.

The Kentucky Academy of Science is a nonprofit organization, founded in 1914. Its mission is to catalyze scientific communication and collaboration that will improve research, education, and evidence-based public engagement within the Commonwealth of Kentucky.

Contact: Rob Weber, (859) 227-2837

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Western Kentucky University prides itself on positioning its students, faculty and staff for long term success. As a student-centered, applied research university, WKU helps students expand on classroom learning by integrating education with real-world applications in the communities we serve. Our hilltop campus is located in Bowling Green, Kentucky, which was recently named by Reader’s Digest as one of the nicest towns in America, just an hour’s drive from Nashville, Tennessee.