Summer research takes center stage at annual Susquehanna Valley Undergraduate Research Symposium

DANVILLE — Twelve weeks of research stemming from three local universities and the Geisinger Health System recently culminated with the 14th annual Susquehanna Valley Undergraduate Research Symposium (SVURS) at Geisinger’s Henry Hood Center for Health Research.

The annual symposium provides an opportunity for college students in central Pennsylvania to showcase their research activities, learn about other methods and disciplines, and present their work in a professional setting. More than 55 projects were presented this year by student researchers from Bucknell, Commonwealth, and Susquehanna universities and Geisinger, showcasing a blend of research launched this summer along with projects in continuation from previous stages of work.

Commonwealth University SVURS Presenters

• Corben Conklin, geography major at CU-Bloomsburg, mentored by Jennifer Haney, associate professor of geography and planning — aimed to identify the historical trends and spatial patterns of natural hazards and their impacts in Pennsylvania.
• Leana Cuzzocrea, biology major at CU-Lock Haven, mentored by Jennifer Deitloff, professor of biological sciences — research centered around the Eastern Red-backed Salamander commonly found in the eastern United States to see how their skin color changes when temperature treatments are manipulated over a longer period than her first experiment, which she conducted last summer.
• Katlyn Folmar, biology major at CU-Bloomsburg, mentored by Abby Hare, associate professor of biology — created an educational tabletop board game to inform people (notably children) about genomic topics and the genetic testing process in an easy-to-understand but also palatable manner.
• Alex Pigos, chemistry major at CU-Lock Haven, mentored by Kyle Root, associate professor of chemistry — researched the use of the LCP to investigate full-length Cav1 oligomerization and the analysis of Cav1 oligomerization at high surface densities with no other molecular.
• Giovanni Rhys, biology major at CU-Lock Haven, mentored by Jennifer Deitloff, professor of biological sciences — project aimed to compare morphological head shape between two different species of salamanders to observe what character differences, specifically head shape, taking place that allows both species to coexist in a shared area.

CU’s student research was done through the Undergraduate Research, Scholarly, and Creative Activities (URSCA) Program, which provides grant funding for summer research falling into one of two categories:

• Research and Scholarship projects with field, laboratory, library, or records research in science (behavioral, life, physical, social), engineering, technology, math, and the humanities.
• Creative Activities that produce creative writing, art, or performance.

URSCA participants also attend select meetings, workshops, presentations, and forums with a culminating experience at SVURS, if they so choose.

Additional URSCA Participants

• Jack Curran, music major at CU-Bloomsburg, mentored by Charisse Baldoria, associate professor of music — composition and creation of a musical.
• Kai Feldhaus, English major at CU-Bloomsburg, mentored by James Brown, professor of English — created a role-playing game that forces the player to take up a position of authority and wield it thoughtfully.
• Hannah Harvey, English major at CU-Bloomsburg, mentored by Claire Lawrence, professor of English — through drafting, editing, research, and revision, produced a publication-ready manuscript of a novel in the genre of magical realism.
• Jack Holcombe, English major at CU-Bloomsburg, mentored by Claire Lawrence, professor of English — created a fantasy novel where the main premise revolves around a set of clashing nations flashing their military prowess.
• Karissa Martin, psychology major at CU-Bloomsburg, mentored by Brooke Hansen, assistant professor of psychology — developed content to be implemented in a “flipped” classroom model.
• Leah Ruiz-Velasco, audiology major at CU-Bloomsburg, mentored by Mohsin Ahmed Shaikh, associate professor of audiology — investigated the predictive relationships between and within various vestibular diagnostic tests, including videonystagmography, rotational chair, computerized dynamic posturography, and the Dizziness Handicap Inventory.
• Ava Tomko, biology major at CU-Lock Haven, mentored by Heather Bechtold, professor of biology — explored how early landscape paintings and photographs compared to current forest conditions to gain a deeper understanding of how landscapes evolve and how they might respond to future disturbances.

SVURS Photo Gallery