Wooster students present I.S. research in 2021 Virtual Senior Research Symposium
The College of Wooster celebrates Independent Study as part of the 2021 Virtual Senior Research Symposium, launching online Friday, April 16, and giving students the opportunity to answer questions about their research from the Wooster community. Nearly 200 seniors—more than double the number that participated in last year’s first, virtual version of the event honoring Wooster’s recently-recognized mentored research program—will share digital presentations of their work on personal webpages. Students will answer questions live about their research in two-hour blocks between 8 a.m. and 6 p.m. Fellow students, faculty, alumni, as well as family and friends can participate and search the program directory by the student’s name, advisor’s name, major, minor, chat time, or award winners.
“Although we miss the opportunity to gather together physically, it has been a joy to see the creativity of our students in digital formats, and to share this opportunity with seniors studying both remotely and on campus, as well as with friends, family, and supporters from all over the world,” said Christa Craven, dean for faculty development and professor of anthropology and women’s, gender, and sexuality studies in an address celebrating the event.
A total of 6,704 visitors from more than 96 countries made their way to wooster.edu/symposium-2021/ throughout the day on Friday, April 16. They logged 33,538 unique page views and left 7,910 comments and questions on individual student’s pages.
The digital celebration included a congratulatory message to seniors from College President Sarah Bolton and several alumni who shared what I.S. meant to them and how their experience propelled them in their career achievements. The presentation also honored this year’s symposium award winners. Staff and faculty judges from across the College selected 20 Award winners based on themes, presentation format, and special categories selected by the judges.
The Critical Digital Engagement awards honor projects that use digital technologies to critically engage with their topic in innovative ways. This year’s honorees included:
- Devon Matson (History & Archaeology) We’re All A Little Bit Gay: Female Homoeroticism in Greek Art
- Delaney Zuver (Communication Studies) 2020 Summer Stories: Personal Narrative, Sensemaking, and Memory during the COVID-19 Pandemic
- Alayt Issak (Mathematics) Visualizing Concepts
The Dr. Josephine Wright Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Awards are named for Josephine Wright, Josephine Lincoln Morris Professor of Africana Studies and Music. Wright’s research on African American music has received prestigious awards and has taken center stage in recent controversies about racism in sports. These awards recognize outstanding student scholarship that centers around issues related to diversity, equity, and inclusion and were awarded to:
- Angela Danso Gyane (History and Political Science – International Relations) The Nana Yaa Asantewaa War: Analysis of the Political Institutions of the Asante during The War of The Golden Stool and the Existing Narratives
- Stephanie Pokras (History) Whose Line is it Anyway? Rhetoric, Pathology, and the Jewish Race in Late Victorian England
- Maresa Taté (Cognitive & Behavioral Neuroscience) Now You See Me — Now You Don’t: An Investigation of Hair Alterations Effects on Face Identification in Own- and Other-race Faces
The third category is the Dr. Melissa M. Schultz Sustainability and the Environment Awards, named to honor the memory of Melissa M. Schultz, an associate professor of chemistry at the College. Schultz, who died tragically in an automobile accident in 2015, is fondly remembered as a beloved teacher and mentor, and the award recognizes excellence in student research that contributes to an understanding of environmental sustainability and contributes to the ongoing quest to achieve a more sustainable world. This year’s recipients include:
- Brittany Leyda (Biology) The Bees’ Needs: Dietary Additives as a Method to Reduce Pesticide Toxicity in Honey Bees
- Claire Davidson (Sociology & English) Can Climate Fiction Novels Inspire Social Change? A Literary and Empirical Ecocritical Analysis
- An Tran (Chemistry) Attempted Copolymerization of Epoxides Synthesized from Oleic and Linoleic Acids
- Honorable Mention in the category also went to: Camryn Rosenstein (Communication Studies) Breaking News: Sustainable Fashion is In & Fast Fashion is Out; Constructions of Sustainable Consumption in Fast Fashion Advertising.
Finally, several awards were made based on format of the presentation (posters, slideshows, and videos), and some emerged from the judges review in unique categories. Below is a list of these award winners for this year:
- Most Engaging Poster: Rachel Greer (Neurobiology) How Do You Like Your Science?: A Comparison of Infographic and Text Based Approaches
- Most Creative Slideshow: Sophia Pellar (Communication Studies) Turning Conceptions of Family ‘Upside Down’: Non-Familial Families Provide Social Support and Communal Coping as a Form of Social Support in Stranger Things
- Honorable Mention for Most Creative Slideshow: Bryce Knopp (Biology) Developmental Fluoxetine Exposure Affects Offspring Anxiety-Like Behavior and Hormonal Response to an Acute Stressor
- Most Creative Video: Indigo Adobea Abenda Joy Quashie (Studio Art) As The Looking Glass: An Introspection at Minority and Traumatized Identities
- Most Timely: Zhen Guo (Computer Science & Sociology) Defeating the COVID-19 Infodemic on Twitter: A SIP Agent-Based Model of Rumor Propagation and Truth Bot Intervention
- Most Socially & Emotionally Connected: Zoie Bills (Communication Studies) Black Outside: A Film Exploring Black People’s Relationships With Outdoor Spaces
- Most Applicable in the Current Moment: Morgan Fields (English & Education) A Re-evaluation of Texts Taught in High School English Classrooms: Why a Need for a Curriculum Reboot is Necessary
- Best Animation: Abigail Fisk (Studio Art) A Moment in Italy
- Best Use of Genre: Holly Engel (English & French) Sinister Cinema: Depictions of Evil in the WWII and Postwar Thrillers of Alfred Hitchcock and Henri-Georges Clouzot
- Most Joyful: Tiago Garcia Ferrer (Religious Studies) Paradoxical Descriptions of Divine Beings
- Best Critique: Oria Daugherty (Biology) If a Tree Falls in a Forest: The Impacts of Coarse Woody Debris on Biodiversity and Species Abundance in Areas of Ongoing Reforestation
- Best Creative Exploration: Yuqi (Amanda) Han (Chinese Studies & Biology) Bright Moon in Mountain Wind
Thank you to all of our Symposium Awards Judges:
Critical Digital Engagement Award:
- Jacob Heil (Director of CoRE & the Digital Studio)
- Nii Nikoi (Global Media & Digital Studies)
- Heather Fitz Gibbon (Sociology & Urban Studies)
Dr. Josephine Wright Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Awards:
- Ibra Sene (History)
- Ashley Benson (Senior Class Dean)
- Christa Craven (Dean for Faculty Development, Anthropology and WGSS)
Dr. Melissa M. Schultz Sustainability and the Environment Awards
- Rick Lehtinen (Biology)
- Iemanja Brown (Environmental Studies)
- Erum Haider (Environmental Studies & Political Science)
Most Engaging Poster:
- Alicia Brazeau (Director of the Writing Center)
- Emily Armour (Educational Technologist)
- Jen Bowen (Dean for Curriculum and Academic Engagement, Mathematics)
Most Creative Slideshow:
- Candace Chenoweth (Director of the Global Engagement Office)
- Pam Frese (Anthropology)
- Marianne Wardle (Art Museum Director)
Most Creative Video:
- Shirley Huston-Findley (Theatre)
- Jenni Griffin (Dean of APEX)
- Jon Breitenbucher (Director of Educational Technology)
Posted in News on April 16, 2021.
