WKU News

Twenty-four WKU students, including 10 from The Gatton Academy of Mathematics and Science, will present their research at the 2018 Posters-at-the-Capitol event Feb. 8 in Frankfort.

With unique research projects on display, Posters-at-the-Capitol helps to increase understanding of the important role undergraduate research plays in the education of students among those responsible for higher education funding in Kentucky.

The program, now in its 17^th year, runs from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. (Eastern time) with special remarks in the Capitol Rotunda at 10:45 a.m. (Eastern time).

WKU and Gatton Academy students presenting their research include the following:

• Gatton Academy seniors Wren Jenkins of Ashland and Daniela Zieba of Lexington will present Shovelware: Providing An Archaeological Field Research Management System Through A Function-As-A-Service Cloud. Faculty mentors: Dr. Michael Galloway and Dr. Guangming Xing, Computer Science; Dr. Jean-Luc Houle, Folk Studies and Anthropology
• Gatton Academy senior Nikitha Rajendran of Frankfort and faculty members Karen Furgal, Keri Esslinger and Rachel Tinius will present Correlation Between Maternal Physical Exercises During Late Pregnancy And Infant Motor Development. Faculty mentor: Dr. Rachel Tinius, Kinesiology, Recreation and Sport
• Senior Alexander Banaszak of Crestwood will present Graphene-mediated Surface Enhanced Raman Spectroscopy and Detection of Biomolecules. Faculty mentor: Dr. Sanju Gupta, Physics and Astronomy
• Juniors Brendan Evans of Burlington and Alex Henson of Sparta will present Synthesis and Extensive Characterization of Mesoporous Graphene-based Nanomaterials for Renewable Energy and Environmental Applications. Faculty mentor: Dr. Sanju Gupta, Physics and Astronomy
• Gatton Academy senior John Nickell of Morehead will present The Effect of Financial Literacy on Preventive Health Care Usage. Faculty mentors: Dr. Jean Snavely and Dr. Kam “Johnny” Chan, Finance
• Gatton Academy senior Margaret Cook of Union will present Influence of Arsenic on Lanthanide Bioaccumulation in Nephrolepis exaltata and Related Effects. Faculty mentor: Dr. Yan Cao, Chemistry
• Gatton Academy senior Deeya Patel of Hopkinsville will present Cellular Mechanisms Underlying Cardiotoxicities of Cancer Therapies. Faculty mentor: Dr. Dylan Burnette, Cell and Developmental Biology at Vanderbilt University
• Gatton Academy senior Samuel C. Kessler of Campbellsville will present Utilization of Black Soldier Fly Larvae (Hermetia illucens) in Aquaculture Feed for Nile Tilapia (Oreochromus niloticus) and Bio-waste Recycling. Faculty mentors: Dr. Vikas Kumar and Dr. Waldemar Rossi, Aquaculture Research Center at Kentucky State University
• Gatton Academy senior Skyler Hornback of Sonora will present Theoretical Calculation of the Electron Density Distribution of 1-Methyl-2-Mercaptoimidazole (MMI). Faculty mentor: Dr. Edwin D. Stevens, Chemistry
• Seniors Carter Jackson of Bowling Green and Kattie McFarland of Bowling Green will present Adaptive Reuse: Is it Really Necessary? Faculty mentor: Shahnaz Aly, Engineering and Applied Sciences
• Gatton Academy senior Wendy Cecil of Bardstown will present A Study of Mercury in Bald Eagle Feathers and Quills. Faculty mentor: Dr. Cathleen Webb, Chemistry
• Senior Lauren Cooper of Louisville will present The Effects of Photo-Activated Graphene Quantum Dots on Bacterial Deactivation. Faculty mentor: Dr. Ali Er, Physics and Astronomy
• Senior Zachary Thomas of Bowling Green, graduate student Dovletgeldi Seyitliyev of Istanbul, Turkey, graduate student Khomidkhodzha Kholikov of Isfara, Tajikistan, and senior Byron Grant of Nashville, Tennessee, will present Laser-Induced Hydrogen Generation From Coal. Faculty mentor: Dr. Ali Er, Physics and Astronomy
• Gatton Academy senior Austin Gabhart of Lawrenceburg will present A Perturbation Method for Determination of an Approximate Analytical Solution of a Nonlinear System of ODEs. Faculty mentor: Dr. Mikhail Khenner, Mathematics
• Senior Ashley Gilliam of Clarksville, Tennessee, will present A Comparative Study of How White-Identifying Populations View Muslims in the US and UK. Faculty mentor: Dr. Ashley Stinnett, Folk Studies and Anthropology
• Seniors Vanessa Brown of Bowling Green, Kristina Hapney of Glasgow and Tiffany Sexton of Horse Cave will present The Use of Platelet-Rich Growth Factors in Dentistry. Faculty mentor: Dr. Joseph W. Evans, Allied Health

Read more about the WKU projects at http://digitalcommons.murraystate.edu/postersatthecapitol/2018/WKU/

Contact: Office of Research, (270) 745-6733