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Students Chosen as spring 2017 Eagle SPUR Scholars

Fri, 01/13/2017 - 05:56pm | By: David Tisdale

The Drapeau Center for Undergraduate Research at The University of Southern Mississippi has awarded funding for research project proposals made by 18 students through the Eagle Scholar Program for Undergraduate Research (Eagle SPUR).

The program is supported by the Office of the Vice President for Research and Drapeau Center and awards up to $1,000 for approved scholarly or creative projects in collaboration with a faculty mentor. Proposals are approved by a Drapeau Center steering committee, and recipients have up to one year to present their findings in a scholarly context, such as a conference paper or publication.

The newest Eagle SPUR scholars, their major, hometown, mentors and research projects include:

*Paige Allen, biological sciences, Carriere, Miss. (Shahid Karim), ‘Switching of sialome gene Ehrlichia chaffeensis infected ticks.'
*Lauren Barrois, psychology/art and design, Gretna, La. (Allen Chen) “Gas Kiln Construction.'
*Ryan Campbell, chemistry/biochemistry, Alpharetta, Ga. (Vijay Rangachari) ‘Mechanisms of Amyloid-β Aggregation in Alzheimer Disease.'
*Jessica B. Clark, biological sciences, Sumrall, Miss. (Hao Xu), ‘Cloning rat Munch13-4 for expression.'
*Catherine Dean, biological sciences, Hattiesburg (Donald Yee), ‘Ecological Comparisons of Culex pipiens and Culex quinquefasciatus mosquitos.'
*John Marshall Diffey, biological sciences, Long Beach, Miss. (Mac Alford), ‘Phylogenetic Relationships and Character Evolution in the Closest Relatives of Willows (Salix) and Cottonwoods (Populus), Salicaceae.'
*Addy Falqoust, geography, Madisonville, La. (Mark Miller), ‘Young People's Perceptions of Nature and Interactions with National Parks.'
*Corai Jackson, psychology, Hattiesburg, (Lawrence Pathis), ‘Appraisal and Memory of Felt Emotion for Mothers.”
*Rachael Kunz (USM Gulf Park), English literature with licensure, Gulfport (Rebecca Powell) ‘Teaching Literature in Mississippi: Who Decides and Why?'
*Rebecca Lietz, psychology, Germany (Lucas Keefer) ‘The Body: Metaphorical Representations and Physical Value.'
*William Jackson McFarland, biological sciences, Laurel, Miss. (Micheal Davis), ‘Restoring the Herbaceous Layer in a Longleaf Pine (Pinus palustris) Woodland after invasion by cogongrass (Imperata cylindrical) Using Herbicides.'
*Christine Miller, psychology, Pascagoula, Miss. (Elena Stepanova) ‘The Effect of Alcohol Priming and Aggression toward Children.'
*LaQuanda Moffett, hotel and restaurant tourism, Hattiesburg (Sungsoo Kim), ‘The Influence and of Overall Food Experience and Customer Satisfaction on Intention to (Re) Visit Cruise Ships.'
*Anastasia Peach, psychology, Hattiesburg (Mark Huff), ‘Reducing False Memories in Older Adults: Contrasting Item-Specific and Relational Processing Study Tasks'
*Destiny Reynolds, psychology, Biloxi, Miss. (Daniel Capron), ‘An Exploration of the Effects of Pronoun Usage in Questionnaires on the Measurement of Anxiety Sensitivity.'
*Michael R. Smith (USM Gulf Park), management/human resources, Gulfport (Jacob Breland), ‘The Public Opinion of Violence in the Mississippi Gulf Coast Region.'
*James Valentine, biological sciences, Hattiesburg (Donald Yee) Aedes albopictus Nutrient Analysis Across Life History Stages.'
*Shannon Walker, environmental biology, Mobile, Ala. (Mac Alford), ‘Anatomical Ecological, Karyological, Morphological, and Genetic Characterization of a Population of Coastal Plain Isoetes (Lycopodiophyta), a Potential New Species.'

The Drapeau Center for Undergraduate Research was established in 2011. Its mission is the enhancement of the undergraduate experience through the promotion and support of student-faculty collaborations in research, creative projects and scholarship. For more information, visit http://www.usm.edu/research/center-undergraduate-research.