FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

March 26, 2009

Contact: K.E. Schwab 

724.738.2199

 karl.schwab@sru.edu

Annual SRU research symposium showcases student, faculty work

SLIPPERY ROCK, Pa. – Twenty-six oral research presentations and 15 poster presentations will make up this year’s Symposium for Student Research, Scholarship and Creative Activity at Slippery Rock University. The symposium showcases undergraduate and graduate research work.

    The symposium will run 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. April 2 and 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. April 3 in the Multi-Purpose Room of the University Union. Several students will give 20-minute presentations of their work. In addition, posters will be on display throughout the two-day symposium.

            A complete list of presentations is available at: http://academics.sru.edu/library/index.htm

             “All academic fields at the University were invited to participate,” said Philip Tramdack, director of SRU’s Bailey Library and symposium organizer. “To qualify for the symposium, students worked with a faculty sponsor on projects ranging from hard science to dance experimentation. Students submitted abstracts that were then reviewed by a faculty panel. Those accepted for the symposium will be published in the symposium’s proceeding, which are to be issued at the end of the semester.”

            Student presenters have the choice of creating a poster for display or offering a 20-minute oral presentation of their project. This year, procedures were put in place to accommodate more presentations about “work in progress” during the current semester, Tramdack said. “The result is a symposium that includes a wide variety of interesting project reports,” he said. “The variety is impressive.” 

A sampling of the research includes, a “Survey of the Patients’ Perceptions of the Quality of the Services of the Student Health Services at Slippery Rock University,” prepared by Ryan Earley, Derek Rusbarsky, Kelsey Miller and Dilanjan Askew in SRU’s College of College of Business, Information and Social Sciences; “Center for Excellence and Teaching Educational Technology,” by Mark Aloisio, Bryan Rhodes, Matt Schaefer and Lisa Suhrie, in SRU’s College of Business, Information and Social Sciences; “Teen Date Violence and Young Adult Literature,” by Kimberly Galvin in the College of Humanities, Fine and Performing Arts; and “Investigation of the Relationships of Buds, Leaves, Bark/Cambium, and Roots during Stem Cutting Regeneration for Biomass Accumulation,” by Shari Mastalski in the College of Health, Environment and Science.

A presentation titled “Disinterested Contemplation: A Philosopher’s Way of Looking at Art” will be offered by Beau Smith representing the College of Humanities, Fine and Performing; along with “Birefringence Measurements of Spherulites formed in a-Lactoglobulin,” by Jazmine Loman from the College of Health, Environment and Science; “Soil Composting: Biomass Pre-Treatment for Bio-Fuel Production,” by Joshua McGinnis in the College of Health, Environment and Science; “Correlation Between Fifth Graders’ Benchmark 4Sight Mathematics Scores and their PSSA Scores,” by Christina Kelly in SRU’s College of Education; “Cajun/Zydeco Dance Meets the Two Step: A Study of the Transference and Transformation of Cajun and Zydeco Dancing from Louisiana to Los Angeles,” by Teresa DeBacco from the College of Humanities, Fine and Performing Arts, and “Histological Study of Taste Buds in the Adult Alligator Mississpiensis,” by Janelle Zacherl in the College of Health, Environment and Science are also planned.

            Among the poster presentations planned are: “Electrochemistry of Ferritin Adsorbed on 8-Mercaptooctanoic Acid-Modified Gold Electrodes,” by Nicole Ritzert in the College of Health, Environment and Science; “Inhibiting Effects of Catechin Gallate on a-Amylase According to Michaelis-Menten Kinetics,” by Cory Smith and Amanda McKenna from the College of Health, Environment and Science; “Arthrofibrosis in a Collegiate Soccer Player Following ACL Reconstruction; Five Surgeries in Sixteen Months” by Ashley Winkelspecht in the College of Business, Information and Social Sciences; 

“Examining Fitness Levels of Physical Education and Exercise Science Students at Slippery Rock University,” by Brian Johns in the College of Health, Environment and Science; and “Gut Histology of the Feeding Woolly Bear Caterpillar (Pyrrharctia Isabella)” by Edward Fuchs from the College of Health, Environment and Science.

            Additional posters include “Dancing Without Pain: The Dancer’s Handbook for Injury Care and Prevention,” by Colleen McBee from the College of Humanities, Fine and Performing Arts; “Investigating Dark Energy,” by Andrew Ryan, and Emily Gamble, College of Health, Environment and Science; and “Theories of Galazy Formation,” by Jesse Jennings in the College of Health, Environment and Science.

Slippery Rock University is Pennsylvania’s premier public residential university. Slippery Rock University provides students with a comprehensive learning experience that intentionally combines academic instruction with enhanced educational and learning opportunities that make a positive difference in their lives.