CONWAY,
Ark. (March 15, 2022)—The Committee on Engaged Learning has awarded $54,422.31 in
Odyssey funding to 11 projects which will allow Hendrix students to study
topics ranging from the art of pastry baking and the historical and
contemporary importance of cafés to the contraction speeds of the locomotor
muscles of spinner dolphins and beluga whales and the role of histone proteins
in the DNA repair of tiny aquatic animals, and more.
Since
2005, the Committee on Engaged Learning has awarded $4,670,720.02 in
competitive Odyssey grants to support 1,457 projects by Hendrix students and
faculty.
ODYSSEY CATEGORY: Artistic Creativity
Keeley Ausburn ’24
Beautiful
Bakes: The Artistry of Pastry
Supervised
by Jennifer Penner & Dawn Hearne
Through
an online course from the Kiev International
Culinary Academy, Keeley will explore a passion for and expand skills in pastry
baking over the course of the summer. The student will share learnings from the
experience and edible artistic creations in a presentation to the Hendrix
community upon return to campus in the fall.
ODYSSEY CATEGORY: Global Awareness
Keira Boop ’23 & Jacob
Newland ’23
Sequoia-Kings
Canyon Backpacking
Supervised
by Peter Gess
In a two-week,
210-mile hike in the southern Sierra Nevada Mountains, Keira and Jacob will
immerse themselves in an unfamiliar natural environment, test their
self-reliance and problem-solving skills, and reflect on the daily obstacles
and opportunities of the adventure, the relationship between people and nature,
and their own personal growth.
ODYSSEY CATEGORY: Professional &
Leadership Development
Rebecca Burks ’23 &
Jaclyn Reifeiss ’23
Children's
Eternal Rainforest Professional Field Experience
Supervised
by Matthew Moran
Working
with the Children's Eternal Rainforest in Costa Rica this summer, Rebecca and
Jaclyn will gain professional experience in conservation and ecology by
studying the effects of chytrid fungus on amphibians and assisting in the
maintenance and daily activities of the preserve and its facilities. The
students will live with host families and will use Spanish as their primary
language. They expect to learn more about biodiversity, ecology, and disease
impacts on wildlife as well as to better understand the role of conservation
organizations in preserving biodiversity and mitigating anthropogenic
influences while also exploring potential career paths as conservation
biologists.
Cassandra McLaughlan ’23
HEALS
Lab Research Assistantship
Supervised
by Carmen Merrick
Cassandra
will serve as a research assistant in UAMS’ Health and the Legal System (HEALS)
Lab, which will allow her to broaden her research experience and explore career
interests as a psychological researcher. She also anticipates learning more
about how she operates as part of a research team, which she hopes will make her
a better researcher.
Noura Musallam ’23
Internship:
Research Assistant at the HEALS (Health and Legal System) Lab at UAMS
Supervised
by Lindsay Kennedy
As a research
assistant, Noura will work as a member of a team on a number of research
projects and will have the opportunity to conduct participant assessments,
analyze and enter data into software programs, conduct literature summaries,
and finish administrative tasks. The student expects the internship will
further her vocational interest in scientific research, allow her to explore
her values, interests, strengths, and abilities, and grow her critical
thinking, problem solving, communication, collaboration, professional and
advanced statistical skills.
ODYSSEY CATEGORY: Special Projects
Olivia Larson ’23, Josh
Thomeczek ’23, Raven Johnson ’23, & Gideon Drake ’23
Fuel
for Thought: A Documentary of Historical and Contemporary Cafés in
Europe
Supervised
by Sasha Pfau
These
four students will research a number of historic cafés in preparation for a
two-week trip to England, France, Italy, and Austria where they will visit a
number of coffee shops in an exploration of the modern-day and historical roles
of coffee shops. The project will culminate in the presentation of an original
documentary that compares their research with their in-person observations.
ODYSSEY CATEGORY: Undergraduate Research
Jennifer Dearolf
Development
of the locomotor muscles of spinner dolphins and beluga whales
Dr.
Dearolf and two Hendrix students will determine the fiber-type profiles of the
locomotor muscles of neonatal, juvenile, and adult spinner dolphins and beluga
whales. These profiles will be used to estimate the contraction speeds of the
cetacean (dolphin, whale, and porpoise) muscles and investigate why calves are
frequently at risk of being separated from their mothers. Both students will
present their summer research at either the Society for Integrative and
Comparative Biology meeting next winter or the Southeast and Mid-Atlantic
Marine Mammal Symposium next spring.
Regina Delgadillo Galaviz ’23
Exploring
the role of proline in peptide folding through ion mobility spectrometry and mass
spectrometry
Supervised
by David Hales
This
summer, Regina will study a particular peptide decomposition process in labs at
Hendrix College and Indiana University. Through this research experience,
Regina expects to become a better scientist, gain insight into working in a
graduate-level research lab, and confront her fear of failure.
Rod Miller
Residency
in Florence
Students Grace
Capooth ’22, Ayden Huckelberry ’25, Hannah Samuel ’22, and Ashley Warrick ’24 will
expand on their spring semester Renaissance and Baroque Art History course with
a six-day visit to Florence, Italy, in May where they will experience the
architecture and art in person, better grasp the historicity of the works, use
those experiences/knowledge in their research projects, and apply their
intellectual inquisitiveness in a different culture. Findings from students’
individual research projects will be presented publicly in the 2022-2023
academic year.
Taylor Aishman ’24
Undergraduate
Research in the Modeling and Refinement of the Human Mu-Opioid Receptor
Supervised
by Caitlin Scott
In
this summer research project, Taylor will explore the mu-opioid receptor’s role
in opioid addiction. Building on the findings of previous students’ research,
Taylor will use software to test and refine the computational model of the
receptor’s bonding reactions. Findings from this research will be presented at
the MERCURY Conference for Undergraduate Computational Chemistry and could lead
to the development of alternatives to highly addictive opioid pain-relieving
pharmaceuticals.
Kendal Rainey ’24
Using
CRISPR to Determine the Role of Histone H2A Proteins in Bdelloid Rotifers
Supervised
by Andrew Schurko
Using a genome
editing system called CRISPR, Kendal will spend the summer studying the role of
histone proteins in the remarkable DNA repair of bdelloid rotifers,
microscopic, aquatic animals which are resistant to ionizing radiation at
levels that are 100 times higher than the lethal dose to humans. Findings will
be presented at the Arkansas INBRE (Idea Network of Biomedical Research
Excellence) Conference and the American Society of Biochemistry and Molecular
Biology Conference.