Research teams, projects chosen for FUSE program
1/2/2012 7:54:43 PM
(Jan.
2, 2012)
The research teams chosen for the 2012 Faculty-Undergraduate Summer Engagement
(FUSE) program represent a cross-section of departments from across North Georgia College & State University.
FUSE,
a campus-wide program that seeks to engage teams of faculty and undergraduate
students in focused and meaningful research, is sponsored through the
university's Center for Undergraduate
Research and Creative Activities (CURCA).
"I
am particularly proud of the diversity of disciplines exemplified by the FUSE
participants. We will have teams of faculty and students from biology,
chemistry, performing arts, psychology and sociology, teacher education, and
visual arts involved in the FUSE program,"
said Dr. Miriam Segura-Totten, CURCA director and an associate professor of biology.
One
FUSE project will be funded through the university's James A. and Louise Eaton
Stinson Educational and Research Trust Fund. Patrick Pickens has been chosen as
the "Stinson Scholar" as the student collaborator on the
highest-ranked proposal among submissions from North Georgia's biology and chemistry
departments. Pickens will be studying BioPaints:
The biochemistry and characterization of color in nature, with faculty mentor
Dr. Holly Carpenter Desai, assistant professor of chemistry.
The Stinson fund provides scholarship/loan assistance to students
pursuing a baccalaureate degree oriented toward pre-medicine and supports
faculty and undergraduate research in biology and chemistry.
This
summer's other FUSE teams include:
- Department of Biology: Monitoring of the Golden-winged Warbler Restoration Project
in Georgia.
Faculty mentor: Dr. Janice Crook-Hill. Student collaborator: Geoff
Nelson.
- Departments of Biology
and Psychology and Sociology (interdepartmental collaboration): Are prescription ADHD medications a gateway to future drug abuse? A
cross-disciplinary approach to undergraduate research and student development. Faculty
mentors: Drs. Steven Lloyd and Ryan Shanks. Student collaborators: Amanda
Helton, biology, and Jordan Ross, psychology.
- Department of Performing
Arts: Creation and presentation of a new extended
musical composition. Faculty Mentor: Dr. Lee G. Barrow.
Student Collaborator: Sean O’Keeffe.
- Department of Psychology and Sociology:Understanding the Lumpkin County Drug
Court’s Approach to Rehabilitation: An Exploratory Study. Faculty mentors: Drs.
Tony Zschau and Danny Hatch. Student collaborators: Kayleigh Faulkner, Rachel
Smudde, and Rachel Busic.
- Department of Teacher
Education:An investigation of the impact of
single-sex schooling at a predominantly Hispanic elementary school. Faculty
mentor: Joseph Covert. Student collaborator: Danielle Carver.
- Department of Visual
Arts: Viewing Traditional Georgia Folk Pottery
Through a Contemporary Lens. Faculty mentor: Jorie Berman. Student
collaborator: Abigail Thomas.
In
addition, Dr. Chuck Robertson, associate professor and head of the Department of
Psychology and Sociology, and student Jordyn Schulz will
pursue a project called Integrating
tablets into the classroom: How can they improve learning? The project is funded by the university's Cognition
and Gerotechnology Lab. They will be joining FUSE teams during group activities
and discussions.
The
purpose of the FUSE program is to facilitate a research immersion experience
for students, during which they collaborate directly with a faculty mentor on a
continual basis, as appropriate for the particular academic discipline. FUSE
research teams will be awarded a faculty stipend of $4,000, a student stipend
of $2,500, and up to $500 for materials necessary to complete the scholarly
project.