News and Notes About Windsor Locks, East Windsor College Students

WINDSOR LOCKS-EAST WINDSOR, CT - Here are some recent awards and honors received by college students from Windsor Locks and East Windsor, as provided by readMedia Newswire.

Top Prizes for Entrepreneurial Start-Up Concept

The Grinspoon Entrepreneurship Initiative supports businesses from the ground up, offering monetary awards at its annual ceremony and banquet. Western New England University was well represented at the Grinspoon Entrepreneurship Initiative Awards Banquet, which took place on April 27 at the Log Cabin in Holyoke, MA.

Western New England University students Nicolette LaPierre, a senior Biomedical Engineering major from Windsor Locks,and Joseph Baurys, a senior Biomedical Engineering major from Pittston, PA, were 1 of 3 first place winning teams to take home $600 for Hemoflux, their pre-natal genetic testing start-up company.

Broad Brook Student Recognized by ECSU Communication Department

Outstanding students in the Communication Department at Eastern Connecticut State University were recently recognized at the department's annual "Celebration of Excellence, " concluding the 2015-16 academic year. Students received awards for their work in radio, television, journalism, research and public relations.

Erin Fitzsimonds '16 of Broad Brook, who majors in Communication, received an award for participation with Eastern TV.

Professor John Hale, chair of the Communication Department, said of the event: "The 'Celebration of Excellence' allows the department to formally recognize those students whose contribution in communication clubs and professional organizations exemplifies the highest standards of excellence, as well as offering a forum for formal induction ceremonies into national honor societies in the field."

Eastern Students Present Research Posters at CREATE Conference

More than 250 talented students at Eastern Connecticut State University presented research and creative work at the university's second annual CREATE conference this past April. CREATE stands for Celebrating Research Excellence and Artistic Talent at Eastern, and is the university's premier, academic year-end showcase. At the culminating event, students of all majors presented professional posters, live music, dance performances, artwork, photography, documentaries and panel discussions.

Melanie Byrne '17 of Broad Brook, who majors in Psychology, presented a research poster at the event. Byrne's presentation, co-presented alongside classmate Royce Manifold, was titled "The Effect of Melatonin on the Sleep Problems of Young Children Diagnosed with Autism."

"Melatonin is an endogenous hormone secreted by the pineal gland," said the students in a joint statement. "The secretion of melatonin is moderated by the amount of light and its release typically peaks at bedtime, making it a powerful synchronizer of circadian rhythm. Recently, there has been an increasing trend of prescribing melatonin for the treatment pediatric sleep problems. Sleep problems are prevalent and persistent in children of both typical and atypical development. A number of studies evaluating the efficacy of melatonin suggest that its administration at bedtime is associated with a statistically significant reduction in sleep latency. The purpose of our study is to review and evaluate the efficacy and social acceptability of melatonin for treating sleep problems in children diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder. Results of the study will be discussed in terms of its short?term and long?term efficacy, the specific types of sleep problems that are effectively addressed with its administration, measurement systems that are used in the published studies, social acceptability, possible negative side effects, and questions that remain unanswered."

Kevin Veilleux '16 of East Windsor, who majors in Environmental Earth Science, presented a research poster at the event. Veilleux's poster presentation was titled "Using Vibracoring to Control Interpretations of Ground Penetrating Radar Records from Church Farm Pond, Ashford, CT."

"Field research in July 2015 and follow?up laboratory work has utilized ground penetrating radar (GPR) and sediment vibracoring techniques to investigate geological records beneath the Church Farm pond in Ashford, CT," said Veilleux. "GPR is a powerful near?surface geophysical technology that images materials to depths of ? 10 m. The Church Farm pond was formed in ? ca. 1913 by damming a small stream that flowed through. Radar data were collected along 15 transects across the pond, totaling ? 1.7 km, while 2 sediment cores, 1.5 - 4 m long, were collected to constrain radar interpretations. We used a Pulse Ekko Pro GPR and Norvell global positioning system for radar data collection and 3 inch aluminum pipes and a cementvibrator for coring. Radar data were processed using Ekko Project software, while sediment cores were split, described, and subsampled to define change in dry bulk density, moisture content, visible texture, and organic/inorganic carbon with depth. These cores, and others collected previously reveal 4 sediment units beneath the pond. From the top down this includes organic pond mud (gyttja), silty?sand soils that pre?date the pond, finely bedded sandy river sediments, and coarse sand and gravel, perhaps deposited by glacial meltwater. GPR records penetrate ? 7.5 m beneath the pond bed revealing at least 4 strong radar reflectors that can be traced continuously beneath the pond and relate to sedimentary changes in the cores. Radar reflector 1 (R1) corresponds to the bottom of the pond, while R2 identifies the boundary between pond gyttja and underlying silty?sandy soils that pre?date the pond. R3 seems to identify the top of stratified silty?sands that are interpreted as floodplain deposits. Finally, the deepest reflector corresponds to a transition to coarse sand and gravel unit at the bottom of our cores."

Elmira College Dean's List for Term II, Winter 2016

Elmira College released its Dean's List for Academic Achievement for Term II, Winter 2016. The Dean's List recognizes students that have a grade point average of 3.6 or higher. Among the honorees are Madison Carolus and Makinsey Carolus of Broad Brook.