Undergraduate Charlotte Research Scholars Learn By Doing

UNC Charlotte student scholars are researching diverse topics ranging from lightning strike patterns in the Southeast U.S. to the connection between Maya Angelou’s poetry and contemporary hip-hop to the impact of UNC Charlotte’s student-run food pantry.

They are among the College of Liberal Arts & Sciences’ participants in this summer’s Charlotte Research Scholars initiative. This effort offers students the opportunity to work alongside UNC Charlotte faculty members conducting original and innovative research.

The effort started in 2012 to give high-achieving undergraduate students the chance to gain experience in research and professional development in their fields of interest. These opportunities are not typically available in the undergraduate classroom. This learn-by-doing model places an emphasis on graduate education and allows the scholars to put their experiential learning into practice, preparing them to excel in their future studies and research.

In addition to mentored research activities, scholars participate in weekly professional development training to build skills critical to professional success.  Topics include: responsible conduct of research, developing a competitive research fellowship application, preparing an academic resume, professional communication tools, and a session on preparing for graduate school.

Support comes from UNC Charlotte’s Office of Academic Affairs, the Charlotte Research Institute, the Duke Endowment Special Initiatives Fund, and the Graduate School.

With the project centered on Angelou, titled “Hip-hop/Rap Poetry Production,” Africana Studies major Thomas Tillman’s research aims to capture the essence of the famous author’s historic poetry and connect her pain, struggles and emotions to young people who are part of the hip-hop culture. Africana Studies professor Charles Pinckney is mentoring Tillman.

For the food pantry research, Marketing and Management major Alexis Friesz is working with mentor Kim Buch, a Psychology professor. The project is researching the impact of the Niner Food Pantry, using quantitative and qualitative research methods.

William Ruble, an Earth and Environmental Science major, is researching lightning patterns. His mentor is Geography and Earth Sciences professor Brian Magi. The research is using satellite remote sensing data to consider trends.

Other student scholars and advisors from the College of Liberal Arts & Sciences are:

• Student Leanne Barry, Psychology and Sociology major, faculty member Lisa Walker, Sociology, “The Search for a Generous Identity”
• Student Kaitlyn Beaver, Psychology and Sociology major, faculty member Amy Canevello, Psychology, “Betrayal in Close Relationships”
• Student Mirage Berry, International Studies and Political Science major, faculty member Jason Giersch, Political Science and Public Administration, “Unforgiven: The Path to Political Redemption”
• Student Marilyn Brown, Geography, faculty member Gang Chen, Geography and Earth Sciences, “What spatial resolution of remote sensing data is sufficient for urban forest carbon mapping?”
• Student Taylor Chick, Criminal Justice, faculty member John Stogner, Criminal Justice and Criminology, “Palcohol and Deviance: An Exploratory Analysis of the Abuse Potential of Powdered Alcohol”
• Student Kamaria Clifton , Political Science major, faculty member Eric Heberlig, Political Science and Public Administration, “Monopolizing Money: Congressional Leaders Use of Fundraising Organizations”
• Student Aubrey Davis, Sociology major, faculty member Vaughn Schmutz, Sociology, “The Effects of Gender on Consecration within the Music Industry”
• Student Jacob Dixon, Physics and Mathematics major, faculty member Jimmie Miller, Mechanical Engineering, “Mathematical Modeling in Dimensional Metrology”
• Student Alexis Friesz, Marketing and Management major, faculty member Kim Buch, Psychology, “Hunger and Food Insecurity among College Students: Understanding the Problem and Identifying Solutions”
• Student Emily Grassett, Philosophy and Political Science major, faculty member Martha Kropf, Political Science and Public Administration, “Mansplaining or Candidate-Splaining: A Large Scale Text Analysis of U.S. Senate Debates”
• Student Andrea Greer, Political Science major, faculty member James Walsh, Political Science and Public Administration, “Cruise Missile Proliferation”
• Student Sara Hall, Mathematics major, faculty member Michael Walter, Chemistry, “Time-Resolved Photoluminescence Properties of Thiazolothiazole Porphyrins”
• Student Aminah Hardy, Psychology major, faculty member Virginia Gil-Rivas, Psychology, “Cultural adaptations to cognitive-behavioral therapy interventions for Latina/African-American women”
• Student Monja Johnson, Environmental Science major, faculty member Sara Gagné, Geography and Earth Sciences, “Charlotte’s Butterfly Highway”
• Student Joshua Kennedy, Physics major, faculty member Nate Fried, Physics and Optical Science, “A Novel Miniaturized and Integrated Endoscope for Laser Surgery”
• Student Molly Kinyon, History and English major, faculty member Aaron Shapiro, History, the “Planning Memory and Heritage: the Private Side of Public History”
• Student Sarah Kistler, Sociology major, faculty member Elizabeth Stearns, Sociology, “Women and STEM majors: Does a Concern for Family Flexibility Steer them away?”
• Student Margaret Kocherga, Chemistry major, faculty member Dan Rabinovich, Chemistry, “Understanding the Toxicity of Mercury in Biological Systems”
• Student Kim Litfin, Earth and Environmental Science major, faculty member Sandra Clinton, Geography and Earth Sciences, “Quantifying in-stream habitat complexity in forested urban watersheds”
• Student Evan Lupton, Political Science major, faculty member Gabriela Tarazona-Sevillano, International and Area Studies, “The Evolving Capacity of Human Rights Law: Peru’s and Argentina’s Lessons in the Accountability of Gross Human Rights Violators and the Role of National Courts”
• Student Zach Merino, Physics and Mathematics major, faculty member Irina V. Nesmelova, Physics and Optical Science, “Protein Structure Elucidation via NMR Spectroscopy”
• Student Jonathan Murphy, Chemistry and Mathematics major, faculty member Jun-tao Guo, Mathematics, “Structure-based Prediction of Transcription Factor Binding Sites”
• Student Shannon Murray, Sociology major, faculty Malin Pereira, English, “The Anatomy of Racism”
• Student Tuan Phan, Biology major, faculty member, faculty member Inna Sokolova, Biological Sciences, “Elevated Temperature and freshwater acidification effect on metabolism of Corbicula alumina”
• Student Patrick Reinbold, Physics major, faculty member Thomas Suleski, Physics, “Design and Modeling of a Biomimetic Imaging Polarimeter”
• Student Kenia Rios, Psychology major, faculty member Sara Minslow, English, “Portrayals of Child Soldiers in Popular Culture and Its Potential Impact”
• Student William Ruble, Earth and Environmental Science major, faculty member Brian Magi, Geography and Earth Sciences, “Lightning in the Southeast USA”
• Student Mohamed Saeed, Physics and Chemistry major, faculty member Marcus Jones, Chemistry, “Fabrication of Au/polyelectrolyte/CdSe films for enhancement of QD emission”
• Student Beth Scarbrough, Biology major, faculty member Jerry Troutman, Biological Sciences, “Species selective inhibitors of the antibacterial target undecaprenyl pyrophosphate synthase”
• Student Bryanna Sierra, Biology and Chemistry major, faculty member Didier Dreau, Chemistry, “Expression of two extracellular matrix proteins: Periostin and Transforming growth factor beta induced in breast cancer progression”
• Student Daniel Smith, Biology and Spanish, faculty member Amy Ringwood, Biological Sciences, “The Cytotoxic Effects of Polydot Nanoparticles on Eastern Oysters (Crassostrea virginica)”
• Student Thomas Tillman, Africana Studies major, faculty member Charles Pinckney, Africana Studies, “Hip-Hop/Rap Poetry Production Project”
• Student Sarah Walker, International Studies and History major, faculty member Jurgen Buchena, History, “Corruption and Revolution in Mexico, 1910-1940”
• Student Jennifer Tillman, faculty member Computer Science and English major, faculty member Somaly Kim Wu & Nicole Spoor, Atkins Library, “Usability Analysis and Evaluation of Business Databases”

Words: Stewart Shelton, CLAS Communications Student Assistant