Celebrating Student Research And Scholarship

Press release from Kennesaw State University:

Celebrating Student Research and Scholarship

Kennesaw State really is the best of all worlds for students interested in participating
in research opportunities while in school. KSU does an excellent job threading the
needle of being both student-centered and research-driven. Amy Buddie, director of
undergraduate research within the Office of Research, and her team have been instrumental
in providing experiential learning opportunities across the University. This includes an
annual public forum in which undergraduate and graduate students can share their research
and scholarship.

Held every spring, the Symposium of Student Scholars quickly pivoted last April to
a virtual conference due to the pandemic in order to ensure that students would not
miss out on this valuable experience. The conference was a resounding success as 343
students presented more than 160 projects through a virtual format.

Now for the first time in its 24-year history, the Symposium of Student Scholars has
expanded to include a fall virtual edition to accommodate the growing University enrollment
and increased student engagement in research at KSU. The symposium will be held on
Thursday, Dec. 3 from 1-5 p.m. via Microsoft® Teams.

Presenters will be assigned unique access codes and designated times for their virtual
presentations that will take place in different “rooms.” The symposium also is publicly
accessible, so visitors can use the access codes found on the symposium website to
join the presentations of their choice.

Nearly 100 projects will be shared during the symposium ranging in disciplines from
music and electrical engineering to nursing, geography and anthropology. A sampling
of our undergraduate and graduate student presenters includes:

• Dorothy Corbett, senior public relations major, is examining the effects of social media on the extreme
  behavior of fans engaging in celebrity worship online. (Faculty mentor: Laura Beth Daws)

• Christopher Focht, senior mechanical engineering major, conducts research which focuses on the construction
  and testing of a UV-C light box that could be used in sterilizing face masks. (Faculty mentor: Andrew Hummel)

• Songqiao Yu, master’s student in computer science, is presenting two projects studying the psychological
  applications of virtual reality gamification. One project aims to enhance medical
  students’ empathy level toward patients with uncommon diseases by engaging them in
  a simulated environment in which they experience the daily challenges of a person
  with a diagnosis such as Parkinson’s Disease. (Faculty mentor: Joy Li)

• Courtney Linkous, master’s student in integrative biology, is delving into the adaptability of animals
  when faced with unpredictable environmental challenges – in this case, how urbanization
  can affect food sources and habitats. (Faculty mentor: Sarah Guindre-Parker)

This Thursday, take an hour or two out of your busy day if you can to sit in on one
of the student presentations. The full schedule and list of research presentations
can be found online at: https://research.kennesaw.edu/our/symposium-student-scholars/fall-edition.php

Pamela Whitten

President

Past Blog Posts

This press release was produced by Kennesaw State University. The views expressed here are the author’s own.