Student Research and Creativity Institute awards funding

February 6, 2006 —

Courtesy Tim Inman

Ten of the students that received funding for their projects pose on the day the Student Research and Creativity Institute held its press conference. In all, eleven students received funding.

The SVSU Student Research and Creativity Institute has awarded nearly $35,000 to seven proposals representing 11 students, announcing its inaugural class of student honorees at a press conference on Friday.

SVSU has committed $50,000 in funding in the 2005-06 academic year for the Institute, which was created in September to provide funding opportunities for all SVSU students.

To receive funding for his or her research or creative endeavors, a student must first submit a proposal to the SRCI. Each project, which may include more than one student, is eligible for up to $10,000.

Students wishing to apply must be sponsored by an SVSU faculty or staff member, encouraging students to collaborate with faculty and staff.

The seven winning proposals were chosen through a competitive selection process. The selection committee, coordinated by Executive Assistant to the President Carlos Ramet, consisted of one representative from each SVSU college: Brooks Byam, associate professor of mechanical engineering; Frank Dane, the James V. Finkbeiner Endowed Chair in Ethics and Public Policy; Sally Decker, professor of nursing; Diana Lawson, the Harvey Randall Wickes Endowed Chair in International Business; and Cindy Sager, assistant dean of the College of Education.

History major Eric Connon was awarded $2,200 for his travel to London for archival research of the Napoleonic-era British Royal Navy and a comparative analysis with the modern United States Navy. Connon served as an intern at the Naval Historical Center in Washington, D.C. and has studied abroad at Edge Hill College in England.

Shana A. Hiser and Dale Huggard, both music education majors, were awarded to finance their travel to New York City to perform with the 2006 National Wind Ensemble from May 25 to 30. Hiser was awarded $1,683 while Huggard received $1,620. The two will play at Carnegie Hall.

Two electrical engineering majors and a nursing major have joined together to develop a prototype wheelchair pressure sensor. Brian D. Luptowski and Adam Tennant, the engineering students, and Debbie Sippert have the goal to prevent pressure sores in wheelchair patients by measuring the pressure applied to tissue in contact with the seat of a wheelchair. The project, a collaborative effort by the colleges of Nursing & Health Sciences and Science, Engineering, and Technology, was awarded $5,232.

Vietnam native and math and physics major Khai Nguyen was awarded $1,860 to support his research of eccentric digraphs. The money will also pay for his travel to the 82nd annual meeting of the Michigan section of the Mathematical Association of America at Calvin College on May 5 and 6.

Fine arts major Paolo Pedini was awarded the full $10,000 for the creation of four large community murals in Saginaw. The murals will be inspired by stories from within the community, Pedini says, and will inform and brighten areas of the city.

Jennifer Watson, a biology major, was awarded $9,923 to study the genetics of freshwater mussels in the Great Lakes and expand upon research done by faculty and students in previous SVSU biology classes. In her research, Watson will look at the sex ratio of zebra mussels in the Great Lakes to examine ways to control the invasive species.

Finally, chemistry majors Staci Wegener and Ann Woys were awarded $2,150 to support their research of cerium compounds used in catalytic converters. The money will also finance their trip to the 231st National Meeting and Exposition of the American Chemical Society from March 26 through 30 in Atlanta.

For more information on the SRCI, including application guidelines, visit its Web site at www.svsu.edu/srci.