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2009 Penn State Behrend-Sigma Xi Undergraduate
Student Research and Creative Accomplishment Conference

The eighteenth annual conference, held on April 18, 2009, included 224 students and 127 faculty members.

Students presented their research and creative accomplishments in the form of oral presentations or as poster displays. The quality and sophistication of the student work increases every year. Unless noted, students are from Penn State Behrend. To view the abstract book, click here.

Awards were given to the following students:

BEST ORAL PRESENTATION – BIOLOGY AND ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE

Nathan Moore with faculty member Marlene Cross (Mercyhurst College)
A Comparative Study of the Mycorrhizal Communities of the Lake Erie Bluff Sediments

BEST ORAL PRESENTATION – BIOLOGY AND ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE

Christopher Wahlmark with faculty members Ann Kleinschmidt and Jennifer Dearden (Allegheny College)
The Music of Proteins: A Unique Analysis of Class III Peroxidase Proteins

TWO RUNNER-UP ORAL PRESENTATIONS – BIOLOGY AND ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE

Isis Kuczaj with faculty members Cynthia Rebar and David Fulford (Edinboro University of Pennsylvania)
Determining Rates of Infection of Peromyscus leucopus with Borrelia burgdorferi on Presque Isle State Park
Meaghan Ropski and Brian Wojtkielewicz with faculty member Greg Andraso (Gannon University)
Size Distributions of Dreissenid Mussels on Benthic and Vertical Substrates in Presque Isle Bay

BEST ORAL PRESENTATION – CHEMISTRY AND BIOCHEMISTRY

Lesley Sevcik with faculty member Alice Deckert (Allegheny College)
Temperature Dependence of DNA and RNA Duplex Formation

RUNNER-UP ORAL PRESENTATION – CHEMISTRY AND BIOCHEMISTRY

William Dillen¹, Jill Clodfelter², Samrat Dutta⁴, Ryan Topping², and Aksana Vasilyeva² with faculty members Karin Scarpinato^{2, 3} and Lisa Unico¹ (¹Edinboro University of Pennsylvania, ²Department of Cancer Biology and ³Comprehensive Cancer Center, Wake Forest University School of Medicine, ⁴Wake Forest University)
Development of Assays and Systems to Test the Functionality or Presence of Mismatch Repair Proteins

BEST ORAL PRESENTATION – BUSINESS AND ECONOMICS

Michael Halapy with faculty member James Kurre
The Fort Lauderdale Forecast: Can Metro Areas Lead the Nation?

TWO RUNNER-UP ORAL PRESENTATIONS – BUSINESS AND ECONOMICS

Andrew Friedle with faculty member Todd Nesbit
Gasoline Prices and Consumer Expenditures: How Rising Gasoline Prices Affect per capita Consumer Expenditures Less Expenditures on Energy Goods and Services
Renee Staul with faculty member Saad Andaleeb
The Impact of Culture on Software Piracy

BEST ORAL PRESENTATION – COMPUTER INFORMATION SYSTEMS AND COMPUTER SCIENCE

Pete Lukich with faculty members John Bonomo and C. David Shaffer (Westminster College)
TD Sorry! - A Look at Temporal Difference Learning Applied to a Popular Board Game

BEST ORAL PRESENTATION – ENGINEERING

Timothy McNeal and Jeffrey Beers with faculty member John Roth
Effects on Magnesium Microstructure Due to Electrically Assisted Manufacturing

RUNNER-UP ORAL PRESENTATION – ENGINEERING

Wesley Salandro and Joshua Jones with faculty member John Roth
Tensile Formability Enhancement of Magnesium AZ31B-O Alloy Using Electrical Pulsing

BEST ORAL PRESENTATION – ENGINEERING TECHNOLOGY AND PHYSICS

Joe Spess with faculty members Bob Edwards and Kathy Holliday-Darr
Pulley Power - Mechanical Advantage

BEST ORAL PRESENTATION – ENGLISH LITERATURE, GLOBAL STUDIES, HISTORY, AND POLITICAL SCIENCE

Patrick Jenks with faculty member John Rossi
Dire Diplomacy: The Birth of Foreign Diplomacy during the American Civil War between the United States and Great Britain, 1860-1862 and Economic Factors

TWO RUNNER-UP ORAL PRESENTATIONS – ENGLISH LITERATURE, GLOBAL STUDIES, HISTORY, AND POLITICAL SCIENCE

Chrysanthemum Mattison with faculty member Melissa Comber (Allegheny College)
A Question for the Contemporary Public Education System: How Do We Know If We Are on the Right Path to Solutions If We Cannot Agree on the Origins of Our Problems?
Frank Rand with faculty member John Rossi
The Spanish American War: The Arrival of the United States as a World Power

BEST ORAL PRESENTATION – MATHEMATICS

Landon Chambers with faculty member Paul Olson
Infinite Hackenbush Stacks

RUNNER-UP ORAL PRESENTATION – MATHEMATICS

Benjamin Wilson with faculty member Michael Rutter
The Effect of the “Steroid Era” on National Baseball Hall of Fame Voting

BEST ORAL PRESENTATION – PSYCHOLOGY I

Jessica Schubert with faculty member Dawn Blasko
The Effects of Anxiety on Working Memory and Schema-Based Object Recognition

RUNNER-UP ORAL PRESENTATION – PSYCHOLOGY I

Brittany Bennett, Erin Dyne, and Thomas Sanner with faculty member Dawn Blasko
Ways To Improve Your Grade: Can Color Help You Get An A?

BEST ORAL PRESENTATION – PSYCHOLOGY II AND SOCIOLOGY

James Hodge and Neil Rufenacht with faculty member Dawn Blasko
All People (But Not Stereotypes) Are Created Equal: The Role of Stereotype Threat on Spatial and Mathematical Cognition

TWO RUNNER-UP ORAL PRESENTATIONS – PSYCHOLOGY II AND SOCIOLOGY

Katherine Eriksen and Amelia Conte with faculty member Rodney Clark (Allegheny College)
Training a Rat to Spell Using an FR1 Chain Schedule of Reinforcement
Jennifer Moczulski, Kandyss Moir, and Kaitlin Schafer with faculty member Dawn Blasko
Does Parental Attachment Influence Our Eating Habits?

BEST POSTER PRESENTATION – BIOLOGY I - ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE AND GEOSCIENCES

Asya Ayrapetov with faculty member Michael Ganger (Gannon University)
Do Nutrient Levels Affect Male Gametophyte Induction by Antheridiogen in Ceratopteris richardii?

FOUR RUNNER-UP POSTER PRESENTATIONS – BIOLOGY I - ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE AND GEOSCIENCES

Amy Caroline with faculty member Beth Potter
Identification of Bacterial Isolates from Nests of Three Native American Songbirds
Rachel Cleary with faculty member Margaret Voss
Monitoring the Spread of the Emerald Ash Borer, Agrilus planipennis Fairmaire, in Erie County
Michael Duffy with faculty member Susan Rehorek (Slippery Rock University)
Taste Bud Distribution in the Hatchling Alligator (Alligator missisippiensis)
Daniel Ranayhossaini with faculty members Margaret Voss and Michael Campbell
An Investigation of the Hemotoxicity of the Secretion of the Duvernoy’s Gland of the Northern Water Snake (Nerodia sipedon)

BEST POSTER PRESENTATION – BIOLOGY II - MOLECULAR BIOLOGY

Meredith Hanlon with faculty member Catharina Coenen (Allegheny College)
Auxin Effects on Defense Responses during Establishment of the Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Symbiosis in Tomato

TWO RUNNER-UP POSTER PRESENTATIONS – BIOLOGY II - MOLECULAR BIOLOGY

Jessica Burnett with faculty member Beth Potter
Determining the Role of N-Glycans in Apical Sorting within Polarized Epithelial Cells
Stephen Shinsky with faculty member Catharina Coenen (Allegheny College)
Use of a Strongly Acidic Analog of the Plant Hormone Auxin Demonstrates an Intracellular Location of the Auxin Receptor

BEST POSTER PRESENTATION – BIOLOGY III - NEUROSCIENCE

Marina Rezk with faculty member E. Lee Coates (Allegheny College)
The Effects of Nicotine on the Ventilatory Response to CO2 in Neonatal Mice: Implications for Sudden Infant Death Syndrome

TWO RUNNER-UP POSTER PRESENTATIONS – BIOLOGY III - NEUROSCIENCE

Lucas Glover with faculty members Jeffrey Cross and Amy Wiseman (Allegheny College)
Dissociation of Function in the Dorsal Hippocampus: Spatial Working and Reference Memory
Ashleigh Welko with faculty members Lauren French and E. Lee Coates (Allegheny College)
Unearthing a Conotoxin that Targets the T-Type Calcium Channel Cav3.2

TWO BEST POSTER PRESENTATIONS – CHEMISTRY, BIOCHEMISTRY, AND PHYSICS

Kimberly Clarke with faculty member Clinton Jones (Mercyhurst College)
The Design of SPME Fibers Using Thermoresponsive Polymer Nanoparticles
Sara Driscoll with faculty member Clinton Jones (Mercyhurst College)
Determining the Size of Casein Micelles under Acidic Conditions Using Dynamic Light Scattering: A Laboratory Experiment

TWO RUNNER-UP POSTER PRESENTATIONS – CHEMISTRY, BIOCHEMISTRY, AND PHYSICS

Michelle Robinson with faculty member Naod Kebede (Edinboro University of Pennsylvania)
The Photochemical Properties of Acetylfuroin
Katy Sherlach with faculty member Caroline Pharr (Mercyhurst College)
Synthesis and Study of the Photophysical Properties of Dendron-Containing Molecules for Potential Use in Organic Light-Emitting Diodes

BEST POSTER PRESENTATION – COMPUTER SCIENCE, ENGINEERING, AND ENGINEERING TECHNOLOGY

Diana Tinlin with faculty member William Lasher
Determining the Stability of the Pride of Baltimore II

RUNNER-UP POSTER PRESENTATION – COMPUTER SCIENCE, ENGINEERING, AND ENGINEERING TECHNOLOGY

Timothy Demetrio with faculty member Bob Edwards
Two-Dimensional Heat Conduction Simulated through Electrical Potential to Illustrate Principles of Heat Transfer

BEST POSTER PRESENTATION – PHILOSOPHY

Nicole Weisenbach, Joe Johnson, Mike Johnson, and Breanna Williams with faculty member Joshua Shaw
Cutting Costs for Medical Expenses

TWO RUNNER-UP POSTER PRESENTATIONS – PHILOSOPHY

Neil Rufenacht, Leah Benjamin, and Kyle Molloy with faculty member Joshua Shaw
The Ethics of Smoking and Practical Implementation of a Campuswide Smoking Ban
Katie Shrock and Adam Nero with faculty member Joshua Shaw
Raising Awareness of Sexually Transmitted Diseases and Providing Contraceptives

BEST POSTER PRESENTATION – PSYCHOLOGY AND SOCIOLOGY

Kaylee Curilla, Jessica Schubert, James Hodge, Danielle Wilson, Janice Jerome, Neil Rufenacht, Ashley Martin, Terra Carrier, Erin Bliley, Aurora Blasko Drabik, Jon Alquist, Sid Carson, and Marika Whiting with faculty members Dawn Blasko, Kathryn Holliday-Darr, and Jennifer Trich Kremer
The Visualization Project: Game Development and Outreach

THREE RUNNER-UP POSTER PRESENTATIONS – PSYCHOLOGY AND SOCIOLOGY

Todd Dunlap with faculty member Kathleen Mastrian (Penn State Shenango)
Children’s Influence on Parental Spending
Janice Jerome and Danielle Wilson with faculty member Victoria Kazmerski
School Features and their Influence on Learning: Taking a Look at Green Kids
Derek McKay, Jillian Mrozowski, and Amanda Tyler with faculty member Eric Corty
Making Silk Purses Out of Sows’ Ears: An Investigation of Inattention by Undergraduate Research Pool Participants

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Research & Outreach Undergraduate Research For More Information	2009 Penn State Behrend-Sigma Xi Undergraduate Student Research and Creative Accomplishment Conference The eighteenth annual conference, held on April 18, 2009, included 224 students and 127 faculty members. Students presented their research and creative accomplishments in the form of oral presentations or as poster displays. The quality and sophistication of the student work increases every year. Unless noted, students are from Penn State Behrend. To view the abstract book, click here. Awards were given to the following students: BEST ORAL PRESENTATION – BIOLOGY AND ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE Nathan Moore with faculty member Marlene Cross (Mercyhurst College) A Comparative Study of the Mycorrhizal Communities of the Lake Erie Bluff Sediments BEST ORAL PRESENTATION – BIOLOGY AND ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE Christopher Wahlmark with faculty members Ann Kleinschmidt and Jennifer Dearden (Allegheny College) The Music of Proteins: A Unique Analysis of Class III Peroxidase Proteins TWO RUNNER-UP ORAL PRESENTATIONS – BIOLOGY AND ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE Isis Kuczaj with faculty members Cynthia Rebar and David Fulford (Edinboro University of Pennsylvania) Determining Rates of Infection of Peromyscus leucopus with Borrelia burgdorferi on Presque Isle State Park Meaghan Ropski and Brian Wojtkielewicz with faculty member Greg Andraso (Gannon University) Size Distributions of Dreissenid Mussels on Benthic and Vertical Substrates in Presque Isle Bay BEST ORAL PRESENTATION – CHEMISTRY AND BIOCHEMISTRY Lesley Sevcik with faculty member Alice Deckert (Allegheny College) Temperature Dependence of DNA and RNA Duplex Formation RUNNER-UP ORAL PRESENTATION – CHEMISTRY AND BIOCHEMISTRY William Dillen¹, Jill Clodfelter², Samrat Dutta⁴, Ryan Topping², and Aksana Vasilyeva² with faculty members Karin Scarpinato^{2, 3} and Lisa Unico¹ (¹Edinboro University of Pennsylvania, ²Department of Cancer Biology and ³Comprehensive Cancer Center, Wake Forest University School of Medicine, ⁴Wake Forest University) Development of Assays and Systems to Test the Functionality or Presence of Mismatch Repair Proteins BEST ORAL PRESENTATION – BUSINESS AND ECONOMICS Michael Halapy with faculty member James Kurre The Fort Lauderdale Forecast: Can Metro Areas Lead the Nation? TWO RUNNER-UP ORAL PRESENTATIONS – BUSINESS AND ECONOMICS Andrew Friedle with faculty member Todd Nesbit Gasoline Prices and Consumer Expenditures: How Rising Gasoline Prices Affect per capita Consumer Expenditures Less Expenditures on Energy Goods and Services Renee Staul with faculty member Saad Andaleeb The Impact of Culture on Software Piracy BEST ORAL PRESENTATION – COMPUTER INFORMATION SYSTEMS AND COMPUTER SCIENCE Pete Lukich with faculty members John Bonomo and C. David Shaffer (Westminster College) TD Sorry! - A Look at Temporal Difference Learning Applied to a Popular Board Game BEST ORAL PRESENTATION – ENGINEERING Timothy McNeal and Jeffrey Beers with faculty member John Roth Effects on Magnesium Microstructure Due to Electrically Assisted Manufacturing RUNNER-UP ORAL PRESENTATION – ENGINEERING Wesley Salandro and Joshua Jones with faculty member John Roth Tensile Formability Enhancement of Magnesium AZ31B-O Alloy Using Electrical Pulsing BEST ORAL PRESENTATION – ENGINEERING TECHNOLOGY AND PHYSICS Joe Spess with faculty members Bob Edwards and Kathy Holliday-Darr Pulley Power - Mechanical Advantage BEST ORAL PRESENTATION – ENGLISH LITERATURE, GLOBAL STUDIES, HISTORY, AND POLITICAL SCIENCE Patrick Jenks with faculty member John Rossi Dire Diplomacy: The Birth of Foreign Diplomacy during the American Civil War between the United States and Great Britain, 1860-1862 and Economic Factors TWO RUNNER-UP ORAL PRESENTATIONS – ENGLISH LITERATURE, GLOBAL STUDIES, HISTORY, AND POLITICAL SCIENCE Chrysanthemum Mattison with faculty member Melissa Comber (Allegheny College) A Question for the Contemporary Public Education System: How Do We Know If We Are on the Right Path to Solutions If We Cannot Agree on the Origins of Our Problems? Frank Rand with faculty member John Rossi The Spanish American War: The Arrival of the United States as a World Power BEST ORAL PRESENTATION – MATHEMATICS Landon Chambers with faculty member Paul Olson Infinite Hackenbush Stacks RUNNER-UP ORAL PRESENTATION – MATHEMATICS Benjamin Wilson with faculty member Michael Rutter The Effect of the “Steroid Era” on National Baseball Hall of Fame Voting BEST ORAL PRESENTATION – PSYCHOLOGY I Jessica Schubert with faculty member Dawn Blasko The Effects of Anxiety on Working Memory and Schema-Based Object Recognition RUNNER-UP ORAL PRESENTATION – PSYCHOLOGY I Brittany Bennett, Erin Dyne, and Thomas Sanner with faculty member Dawn Blasko Ways To Improve Your Grade: Can Color Help You Get An A? BEST ORAL PRESENTATION – PSYCHOLOGY II AND SOCIOLOGY James Hodge and Neil Rufenacht with faculty member Dawn Blasko All People (But Not Stereotypes) Are Created Equal: The Role of Stereotype Threat on Spatial and Mathematical Cognition TWO RUNNER-UP ORAL PRESENTATIONS – PSYCHOLOGY II AND SOCIOLOGY Katherine Eriksen and Amelia Conte with faculty member Rodney Clark (Allegheny College) Training a Rat to Spell Using an FR1 Chain Schedule of Reinforcement Jennifer Moczulski, Kandyss Moir, and Kaitlin Schafer with faculty member Dawn Blasko Does Parental Attachment Influence Our Eating Habits? BEST POSTER PRESENTATION – BIOLOGY I - ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE AND GEOSCIENCES Asya Ayrapetov with faculty member Michael Ganger (Gannon University) Do Nutrient Levels Affect Male Gametophyte Induction by Antheridiogen in Ceratopteris richardii? FOUR RUNNER-UP POSTER PRESENTATIONS – BIOLOGY I - ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE AND GEOSCIENCES Amy Caroline with faculty member Beth Potter Identification of Bacterial Isolates from Nests of Three Native American Songbirds Rachel Cleary with faculty member Margaret Voss Monitoring the Spread of the Emerald Ash Borer, Agrilus planipennis Fairmaire, in Erie County Michael Duffy with faculty member Susan Rehorek (Slippery Rock University) Taste Bud Distribution in the Hatchling Alligator (Alligator missisippiensis) Daniel Ranayhossaini with faculty members Margaret Voss and Michael Campbell An Investigation of the Hemotoxicity of the Secretion of the Duvernoy’s Gland of the Northern Water Snake (Nerodia sipedon) BEST POSTER PRESENTATION – BIOLOGY II - MOLECULAR BIOLOGY Meredith Hanlon with faculty member Catharina Coenen (Allegheny College) Auxin Effects on Defense Responses during Establishment of the Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Symbiosis in Tomato TWO RUNNER-UP POSTER PRESENTATIONS – BIOLOGY II - MOLECULAR BIOLOGY Jessica Burnett with faculty member Beth Potter Determining the Role of N-Glycans in Apical Sorting within Polarized Epithelial Cells Stephen Shinsky with faculty member Catharina Coenen (Allegheny College) Use of a Strongly Acidic Analog of the Plant Hormone Auxin Demonstrates an Intracellular Location of the Auxin Receptor BEST POSTER PRESENTATION – BIOLOGY III - NEUROSCIENCE Marina Rezk with faculty member E. Lee Coates (Allegheny College) The Effects of Nicotine on the Ventilatory Response to CO2 in Neonatal Mice: Implications for Sudden Infant Death Syndrome TWO RUNNER-UP POSTER PRESENTATIONS – BIOLOGY III - NEUROSCIENCE Lucas Glover with faculty members Jeffrey Cross and Amy Wiseman (Allegheny College) Dissociation of Function in the Dorsal Hippocampus: Spatial Working and Reference Memory Ashleigh Welko with faculty members Lauren French and E. Lee Coates (Allegheny College) Unearthing a Conotoxin that Targets the T-Type Calcium Channel Cav3.2 TWO BEST POSTER PRESENTATIONS – CHEMISTRY, BIOCHEMISTRY, AND PHYSICS Kimberly Clarke with faculty member Clinton Jones (Mercyhurst College) The Design of SPME Fibers Using Thermoresponsive Polymer Nanoparticles Sara Driscoll with faculty member Clinton Jones (Mercyhurst College) Determining the Size of Casein Micelles under Acidic Conditions Using Dynamic Light Scattering: A Laboratory Experiment TWO RUNNER-UP POSTER PRESENTATIONS – CHEMISTRY, BIOCHEMISTRY, AND PHYSICS Michelle Robinson with faculty member Naod Kebede (Edinboro University of Pennsylvania) The Photochemical Properties of Acetylfuroin Katy Sherlach with faculty member Caroline Pharr (Mercyhurst College) Synthesis and Study of the Photophysical Properties of Dendron-Containing Molecules for Potential Use in Organic Light-Emitting Diodes BEST POSTER PRESENTATION – COMPUTER SCIENCE, ENGINEERING, AND ENGINEERING TECHNOLOGY Diana Tinlin with faculty member William Lasher Determining the Stability of the Pride of Baltimore II RUNNER-UP POSTER PRESENTATION – COMPUTER SCIENCE, ENGINEERING, AND ENGINEERING TECHNOLOGY Timothy Demetrio with faculty member Bob Edwards Two-Dimensional Heat Conduction Simulated through Electrical Potential to Illustrate Principles of Heat Transfer BEST POSTER PRESENTATION – PHILOSOPHY Nicole Weisenbach, Joe Johnson, Mike Johnson, and Breanna Williams with faculty member Joshua Shaw Cutting Costs for Medical Expenses TWO RUNNER-UP POSTER PRESENTATIONS – PHILOSOPHY Neil Rufenacht, Leah Benjamin, and Kyle Molloy with faculty member Joshua Shaw The Ethics of Smoking and Practical Implementation of a Campuswide Smoking Ban Katie Shrock and Adam Nero with faculty member Joshua Shaw Raising Awareness of Sexually Transmitted Diseases and Providing Contraceptives BEST POSTER PRESENTATION – PSYCHOLOGY AND SOCIOLOGY Kaylee Curilla, Jessica Schubert, James Hodge, Danielle Wilson, Janice Jerome, Neil Rufenacht, Ashley Martin, Terra Carrier, Erin Bliley, Aurora Blasko Drabik, Jon Alquist, Sid Carson, and Marika Whiting with faculty members Dawn Blasko, Kathryn Holliday-Darr, and Jennifer Trich Kremer The Visualization Project: Game Development and Outreach THREE RUNNER-UP POSTER PRESENTATIONS – PSYCHOLOGY AND SOCIOLOGY Todd Dunlap with faculty member Kathleen Mastrian (Penn State Shenango) Children’s Influence on Parental Spending Janice Jerome and Danielle Wilson with faculty member Victoria Kazmerski School Features and their Influence on Learning: Taking a Look at Green Kids Derek McKay, Jillian Mrozowski, and Amanda Tyler with faculty member Eric Corty Making Silk Purses Out of Sows’ Ears: An Investigation of Inattention by Undergraduate Research Pool Participants Behrend Home \| About the College \| News & Calendars \| Academic Programs \| Admissions & Financial Aid \| Student Life \| Alumni \| Research & Outreach \| Athletics \| Technology Services \| About Erie \| Administrative Offices \| Popular Sites \| Text-only Penn State Home \| Other Campuses & Colleges \| Privacy & Legal Statements \| Copyright \| Web site contact: industryhelp@psu.edu Updated April 20, 2009 © 2005 The Pennsylvania State University