The Southern Illinois University Edwardsville Morris University Center’s Goshen Lounge was overflowing with scholarly excitement as students from SIUE Graduate School’s myriad programs showcased their research at the Graduate School Research Symposium on Monday, April 1.
The annual event celebrates the research efforts and accomplishments of students, featuring research poster displays, creative exhibits and oral presentations.
“SIUE and its faculty are committed to embodying the teacher-scholar model and engaging graduate students in meaningful research and creative activities,” said Susan Morgan, PhD, PE, associate dean for Research and Graduate Studies. “This event provides an opportunity to highlight the depth and breadth of those activities to the campus community, general public and prospective students.”
At the Symposium, more than 50 graduate students had the opportunity to receive feedback from faculty and experience presenting their research publicly.
“Being able to dive in and take ownership of this research project has been an incredible experience,” said Dana Lewis, of St. Charles, Mo. Lewis is pursuing a master’s in integrative studies with the cultural heritage and resources management specialization.
“I’m interested in museum studies and my background is anthropology,” explained Lewis, who aspires to work in collections management. “For my project, “Honoring a Jazz Incredible: Creating the Jean Kittrell Digital Exhibit,” I created an interactive exhibit that uses different papers, photos, physical objects, event item types of a vast variety, and audio, since Jean Kittrell was a former professor at SIUE and a jazz pianist and vocalist.”
Down the row of poster displays, Zach Anderson demonstrated his research involving a telepresence robot. The computer science master’s candidate has had the opportunity to work with psychology, mechanical engineering and computer science scholars from SIUE and Saint Louis University on the project.
“We found that when people interact with a telepresence robot, it could feel cold and distance since it usually displayed a tiny face via a small screen,” Anderson explained. “We looked at ways to improve that interaction. So, we’ve replaced the head of the telepresence robot with a bigger monitor and added a robotic arm that can move and mimic a remote user’s movements.”
Chiagozie Obuekwe’s passion for environmental policy prompted his project, “Assessing the Impact of Global Environmental Facility in World Bank Environmental Reform.”
“I’m trying to find the correlation between money spent and environmental sustainability,” said Obuekwe, a Nigeria native who is pursuing SIUE’s cooperative environmental resources and policy PhD program. “I anticipate my findings will help increase understanding of agency-level determinants of the environmental outcomes of World Bank’s implemented Global Environment Facility projects and World Bank projects.”
Demonstrating the span of disciplines represented was a neighboring poster display highlighting a study on “Sibling Rivalry: Analyzing Differences in Parenting Styles Between Number of Children.”
“We compared family’s that have different a number of children, including those with one child, two children, three children, and four or more children,” explained industrial/organizational psychology master’s candidate David Stevenson, of Breese. “We found with statistical significance that two-child families exhibited more competitive values.”
“I’ve been in Dr. Eva Dreikurs Ferguson’s research lab since my undergraduate years,” he added. “This research means a lot to me, and has helped get my foot in the door, so to speak, with psychology research. That’s what psychology is rooted in – applying research to the real world.”
Assistant researcher on the same project, Clare Bass, emphasized the value of this research experience as she studies to become a child and family therapist.
“One of the ultimate goals of Adlerian Psychology is to help everyone reach their full potential through social interest,” said Bass, of St. Louis, who is in the social work graduate program. “Our work is contributing to better family communication. This is definitely part of my studies looking at parenting styles.”
The symposium concluded with The Chancellor’s Researchers’ Reception, an event that honored student presenters and faculty and staff who submitted external grants during the year. First time principal investigators received special recognition.
Two prestigious honors were also acknowledged:
- 2019-20 Vaughnie Lindsay New Investigator Award: Andrew Greenwood, PhD, assistant professor of musicology and graduate program director in the College of Arts and Sciences
![(L-R) SIUE’s Susan Morgan, PhD, PE, Hoppe Research Award recipient Sinan Onal, PhD, and SIUE Chancellor Randy Pembrook, PhD.]()
- 2020-22 Hoppe Research Professor Award: Sinan Onal, PhD, assistant professor in the School of Engineering’s Department of Industrial Engineering
Photos: A team of social work master’s candidates discuss their research on the effect of child behavior related to parental stress during the Graduate School Research Symposium.
SIUE computer science graduate student Zach Anderson demonstrates the robotic arm on a telepresence robot that can move and mimic a remote user’s movements.
Master’s candidate Chiagozie Obuekwe shares his passion for environmental policy while explaining his research project.
(L-R) SIUE Graduate School Associate Dean for Research and Graduate Studies Susan Morgan, PhD, PE, Sandy Doreson, daughter of the late Dr. Vaughnie Lindsay, Andrew Greenwood, PhD, Vaughnie Lindsay New Investigator Awardee, and SIUE Chancellor Randy Pembrook, PhD.
(L-R) SIUE’s Susan Morgan, PhD, PE, Hoppe Research Award recipient Sinan Onal, PhD, and SIUE Chancellor Randy Pembrook, PhD.