From Lolita fashion to robotic prosthetics, sexual assault prevention to chemical risk exposure, and fair trade to race relations within sacred harp music, a wide array of research and creative activities were featured during Southern Illinois University Edwardsville’s Undergraduate Scholars Showcase.
The event, held Thursday, April 26 in the Morris University Center, highlighted the depth and variety of learning experiences offered through SIUE’s Senior Assignment and Undergraduate Research and Creative Activities (URCA) programs.
More than 180 students, representing 28 different programs, presented their work through live performances and displays, readings, and multimedia and poster presentations.
“This event offers a great opportunity for students to showcase the projects they’ve been working on through the semester, year, and in many instances, for several years,” said Erin Behnen, assistant provost for academic innovation and effectiveness. “The Senior Assignment and URCA programs are high-impact practices that allow students to use their foundational academic knowledge to conduct active, applicable research projects and engage in creative activities. 
I am in awe of what our students have accomplished.”
Dressed in Lolita fashion, senior Haley Andrews presented her research on the “Cultural Diffusion of Lolita Fashion in the United States.” The Collinsville native is double majoring in geography and social science education.
“Human geographers study fashion,” Andrews explained. “They study how it travels throughout the world. That’s basically what I did, but with street fashion rather than traditional fashion. I tracked the number of Lolita’s in nine cities and how they got into it, whether it was online, through conventions or traveling to Japan.”
Across the room, URCA Associate Logan Sherrill, a senior mechatronics and robotics student from Edwardsville, drew crowds of interested visitors as he demonstrated his work on the “Construction of Robotic Prosthetic Hand Through Upper and Lower Arm Muscle Pattern Recognition.”
“I’ve worked on this since last summer,” Sherrill said. “As an engineering student, I’ve had to conduct a lot of anatomical research. The most challenging part for me has been the human/machine integration. I want to make a robotic prosthetic that is affordable and more functional than many I’ve seen.”
Sherrill conducted his research as an URCA Associate, with faculty mentorship from Mingshao Zhang, PhD, assistant professor in the Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering. Next, he wants to actuate the elbow joint movement by moving electrodes to his bicep and triceps for extension and contraction of the arm, and his pectoral muscle for hand grip.
Also presenting at the Undergraduate Scholars Showcase were public health students Alice Munoz-Cook, Monde Nyambe, Claire Jenniches, Alexis Ruether and Alicia Skiles. Their Senior Assignment was entitled, “Be a Better Bystander: Public Health Senior Project.”
“We partnered with SIUE’s Health Services to create a sexual assault intervention program,” Munoz-Cook explained. “Public health professionals focus on prevention. For this project, we educated college students on sexual assault, services provided on campus for reporting, and guidance on counseling. We gave them the tools needed to increase their confidence to step in and help deter sexual assault.”
URCA Assistants Darzanae Crite and Daria Whitted, both studying forensic chemistry, educated individuals on their project, “Me and Fluorescein: Evaluating the Risk of Exposure.” They have worked under faculty mentor Susan Wiediger, professor of chemistry.
“Through URCA, we’ve been enlightened on the value of research,” Whitted said. “In this field, research is what we’ll do every day. We’ll be trying to figure out why and how a certain crime happened through quantitative and analytical chemistry.”
Each participant in the Undergraduate Scholars Showcase received a certificate of achievement.
Photos: Dressed in Lolita fashion, senior Haley Andrews presented her research on the “Cultural Diffusion of Lolita Fashion in the United States.”
SIUE’s Haley Mason, a senior in the Department of Art and Design, shared information on her project, “Art Works Produced in Faculty Mentor’s Studio.”
URCA Associate Logan Sherrill demonstrated his work in the creation of a robotic prosthetic hand.
URCA Assistants Daria Whitted (front) and Darzanae Crite describe their research to College of Arts and Sciences’ Dean Greg Budzban.