Drapeau Center for Undergraduate Research Names Spring 2018 Eagle Scholars

Some of The University of Southern Mississippi's top undergraduates have earned the title of Eagle Scholar and will be able to further advance their academic goals, after securing funding through the Southern Miss Drapeau Center for Undergraduate Research's Eagle Scholar Program for Undergraduate Research (Eagle SPUR).

Of more than 30 proposals submitted by USM students in the most recent Eagle SPUR competition, 16 projects were chosen to receive up to $1,000 each to support independent research or creative activity under the guidance of a faculty mentor. 

The topics of the projects range from an investigation of how popular media shapes societal views toward physical disabilities, using Frankenstein as a case study, to a study of larval activity in mosquito strains known to carry viruses such as Zika and West Nile. The students will conduct their work in the spring semester and present their findings at the Undergraduate Symposium in late April.  

Eagle SPUR is supported by the USM Office of the Vice President for Research. 

"I congratulate all of our undergraduate research award winners,” said Vice President for Research Dr. Gordon Cannon. “I am delighted by the depth and strength of the projects this year, as well as the diversity of subject areas.”

The spring 2018 Eagle Scholars, their major, hometown, and mentors are as follows:

*Hayley Allen, chemistry, Smithdale, Miss. (Matthew Donahue)
*Nathan Breland, art, Ellisville, Miss. (Allen Chen)
*Jonathan Bridenbaker, communication studies, Gulfport, Miss. (Laura Stengrim)
*Amber Coats, biological sciences, Gulfport, Miss. (Janet Donaldson)
*Caroline DeGraw, chemistry/biochemistry, Harvey, La. (Julie Pigza)
*Jonathan Diaz, psychology, Biloxi, Miss. (Lawrence Pathihis)
*Jaclyn Everly, biological sciences, Conway, Ark. (Donald Yee)
*Ashlely Funkhouser, psychology, Gulfport, Miss. (David Echevarria)
*Crystal Hermann (USM Gulf Park), psychology, Long Beach, Miss. (Hans Stadthagen)
*Ashley Hobson, English, Hattiesburg (Emily Stanback)
*Corie Lee, geography, Hattiesburg (Thomas Patterson)
*Sanchirmaa Namjilsuren, biological sciences, Erdenet, Mongolia (Dmitri Mavrodi)
*Lindsay Patorno, English, Slidell, La. (Jonathan Barron)
*Shelby Reeves, psycholotgy, Lumberton, Miss. (Lawrence Pathihis)
*John Robinson, computing, Biloxi, Miss. (Zhaoxian Zhou)
*Benjamin Schreck, kinesiology, Southaven, Miss. (Daniel Credeur)

For information about the Southern Miss Drapeau Center for Undergraduate Research, visit https://www.usm.edu/research/center-overview.