Category: Office of Engaged Learning – Research

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Office of Engaged Learning Office of Engaged Learning – Research

Research Spotlight: Poster Session Winners!

by Hannah Green ’26

As this year’s poster session quickly approaches, we decided that it would be a great idea to reach out to last year’s poster session winners Faith Fang and Melanie Wright! For those who don’t know, the Research and Innovation Week Undergraduate Poster Session is an event where research from various departments are displayed on posters created by students. Now seniors, Faith and Melanie were able to give us a student’s perspective on the event.

Dark Matter Detection:

Faith Fang ’23

Studying Mechanical Engineering and Violin, Faith Fang was the first-place winner of the poster session last year! As a Grand Challenge Scholar, she has been conducting research with the SuperCDMS Lab under Dr. Jodi Cooley and Dr. Robert Calkins of the Physics department for two years and was excited to share her research. Her research focuses on reducing the amount of radon that sticks to dark matter detectors. Radon interferes with the precision of detecting dark matter particles, due to their identical emittance of energy. Leading up to the presentation, Faith identified three main steps. Step One was working with her research team to collect suitable data from the experiment. Step Two involved making the poster, which took a lot of work considering the amount of information that needed to be summarized and how the results applied to the overall experiment. Finally, Step Three involved the finishing touches which included ensuring presentability and approachability. Faith wanted to “make it as accessible as I could because I knew that there were people of all different fields [attending].” One important thing that Faith addressed is making sure you have an in-depth understanding of what you are presenting in order to answer questions with accurate information. 

Faith’s Tips: 

  • Have your research professor or mentor test your presentation readiness by having them ask you challenging questions.
  • Make sure your poster is visually pleasing and easy to follow. That way, even if you’re not present at the poster stand, attendees can still read and understand it.
  • Be honest when you’re not entirely sure about how to most accurately answer a question.

 New Mexican Archeology:

Melanie Wright ’23

Studying Anthropology with an emphasis on Archeology, Melanie Wright placed second in the poster session! Her research from last year focused on a pottery assemblage from New Mexico. Melanie decided to participate in the poster session because she felt it would be a great opportunity to frequently communicate her research. The overall new experience of making a poster as well as seeing what other students were researching across campus also sold her. She started preparing for the session one month in advance and recalled having to overcome logistical hurdles due to her relatively “out of the box” poster design. On the day of the event Melanie “started off pretty nervous, especially when the judges came around,” but everything worked out! People were very receptive to Melanie’s poster, which she attributes to the included visuals. She would describe the environment of the event as positively engaged amongst both the students presenting and attendees.  

Melanie’s Tips: 

  • Wear comfortable shoes as you could find yourself standing for a couple of hours.
  • Add attractive visuals to your poster, for example adding a colorful and creative picture.
  • Have a 1-minute, 3-minute, and 5-minute version of your presentation so you can interchange between them to “gauge people’s interest when they are coming up to you,” determining which version communicates most effectively.

If you are interested in participating and potentially winning this year’s poster session, registration closes on March 10th! Prizes will be awarded to the top three posters overall, as well as recognition for the best poster in each department. The event will be held in the Hughes-Trigg Student Center Ballroom on March 21st from 2-5pm. 

Info & Registration

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Office of Engaged Learning Office of Engaged Learning – Research

Summer Research Fellow Interview: Joshua Ange

by Hannah Green ’26

Joshua Ange, Class Of ’25, is a 2022-23 Summer Research Fellow.

Tell me about yourself! 

Sure! My name is Joshua Ange, I’m a Sophomore (Class of 2025) studying Physics and English with minors in mathematics and computer science. In regards to fun facts, I was born in New York, really enjoy theatre (I did it a lot in high school, but haven’t been able to do much since), and like rock climbing.

What did you do during your summer research? Who did you work with and overall, how was it?

During my summer research, I worked with Dr. Robert Calkins. I was continuing research I began in the Spring semester in Professor Jodi Cooley’s lab as part of the SuperCDMS SNOLAB collaboration, which mainly deals with dark matter detectors.

Dark matter detectors are placed deep underground to be isolated from background and other noise. But underground, there is radon present in the air that can cause “plate-out,” essentially meaning it decays into lead and accumulates on nearby surfaces, which leads to the production of alpha particles. And these alpha particles can act a bit like “false positives” for dark matter detectors. So my research concerned the readings of these alpha particles.

Essentially, an SMU grad student went down and measured pieces of polyethylene plastic (which are used as shielding within the detectors) and found that the rate of accumulation of lead wildly varied between pieces, even if they were in the same location. It was hypothesized that this may be due to the charge embedded within the plastic, so that was the phenomenon we were attempting to find and quantify. Overall, we found some pretty solid relationships and were able to (somewhat) simulate the effects, but there’s still more analysis needed in order to fully be able to correct for the embedded charge.

What was your favorite part during your research? What was the most memorable part for you?

I think one of my favorite parts of the research was just that it was a collaborative, real process. Unlike in class, where you’re learning from the professor trying to find the right (pre-determined) answer, I really loved the collaborative and “working-together” problem-solving aspect of the work we were doing. As we came towards the end of the research and began assembling a paper and presentations, it was very nice to be able to show results and findings that were “ours,” if that makes sense. And then a highlight, as well, was being able to present at the Fall 2022 Texas Section American Physical Society conference. I loved meeting other students and being able to share the work I was doing with people outside of SMU!

What would you say to anyone wanting to start getting involved with research? How would you advise them to go about it?

Honestly, the biggest thing I would say is to just go for it! I think a lot of the time, people are a bit afraid of starting research because they don’t know where to start / how to begin, but I don’t think that gets resolved until you actually start. For me, I just got involved by emailing my professor, learning about the project, and getting started from there. It was of course a bit scary to enter a new environment like this, but also so exciting to be in the research world!

Joshua was lead author on the article “Characterization of XIA UltraLo-1800 response to measuring charged samples,” which was recently published in Journal of Instrumentation 18 P01027. Congrats to Joshua, Dr. Robert Calkins, and Andrew Posada ’17!

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Office of Engaged Learning Office of Engaged Learning – Research

Summer Research Fellow Interview: Brynn Price

by Hannah Green ’26

Brynn Price, Class of  ’23, is a 2022-23 Summer Research Fellow.

Tell me about yourself! 

My name is Brynn Price, and I’m from Dallas and will be graduating next fall. At SMU, I am on the SMU Libraries Student Advisory Board (and have done so since my first year) and love serving the Mustang community in this role. I am also a 2022-23 Summer Research Fellow and am especially grateful for Engaged Learning’s support as I have pursued research on campus (shoutout Dr. Neal and Dr. Ebinger!). This semester, I am excited to continue to serve Dr. Wieselmann and her NSF-funded research project (which is described here!).

What did you do during your summer research? Who did you work with-overall, how was it?

Last summer, I worked with Dr. Jeanna Wieselmann and Marc Sager (a PhD student at Simmons). We undertook a study that examined how well teacher-developed curriculum units incorporated integrated STEM instruction and PBI (project-based instruction). After completing the study, we wrote the manuscript, then submitted it to Education Sciences (where it was published here!). And while I have always loved writing, I had never written anything for a manuscript that would be submitted to an academic journal—but even so, Dr. Wieselmann and Marc were so encouraging during the process. I learned a lot and am appreciative of all they taught me.

What was your favorite part during your research? What was the most memorable part for you?

Actually, my favorite part ended up being the writing of the findings. I do love to write, and it was rewarding to be able to articulate new knowledge from the study in a format that is now shared with others—and hopefully, it will prove useful to those who read on it. Also, likely a result of my love for libraries, I enjoyed locating literature that was used in our manuscript (e.g., in the lit. review/discussion sections). It was cool to see the full research process and see how pre-existing knowledge can facilitate the creation of new knowledge. And lastly, I absolutely loved working with Dr. Wieselmann and Marc. They are amazing, intelligent people! From this experience, I will of course remember how interesting it was to experience the research process from start to finish—but even more, I will remember my time learning from and working with my research team. I am so thankful for them and for Engaged Learning, as well.

What would you say to someone wanting to pursue this program and research? What are things you think people should know before going into this program?

Even if you’re not sure that you want to pursue research, I highly recommend checking out the Summer Research Intensive. The program offers students a unique insight into the world of research and scholarship (and into the professional lives of professors)—it’s an experience that cannot be fully replicated in the university classroom. For me, the program helped me to better understand the value of research/scholarship, as well as how—and why—to engage with it; it was immensely helpful to experience the research process myself. Consequently, I have been able to transfer these skills and understandings to my courses, reaffirming that this program is truly characterized by “engaged learning.” But even if you are not interested in academic research, the lessons learned from the SRI can be transferred to other settings, as the research process is used all the time and all around. It is always important to know how to ask good questions; how to engage with the abundance of information that surrounds us; and, notably, how to work with a team to find answers to questions. The Research Intensive helped me develop myself in a number of ways, but it most importantly taught me that there’s so much that I can learn from and with the people around me. Engaged Learning works hard to not only support individual students, but also to connect them to the knowledgeable community around them—I am grateful for this support.

 

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Office of Engaged Learning Office of Engaged Learning – Research

Summer Research at SMU

SMU Summer Research Intensive

The Office of Engaged Learning is looking forward to a busy summer. Read about OEL’s opportunities and activities below.

Summer Research Intensive

This program provides match funding to faculty members hiring Undergraduate Research Assistants during the summer. The student work closely with faculty mentors (up to 30 hours per week), and attend weekly professional development workshops. This culminates in a research presentation competition.

Faculty applications are OPEN through March 10, 2023.

Summer Research Symposium

This weekly lunch series features research presentations by SMU faculty and guests. Students in our programs attend, and everyone is welcome. Tentatively scheduled for Wednesdays at noon.

Research Experiences for Undergraduates

These programs are funded by the National Science Foundation and allow students from SMU and around the country to have an immersive research experience and mentorship from our faculty. The two programs this summer are Data Science for Social Good (applications closed) and Modeling and Computations for Complex Systems (applications due March 27).

Engaged Learning Starter Award

This $500 award goes to first-years who identify as a first-generation or underrepresented minority student. The funding allows students to pursue a research or creative project. Students will have coaching sessions with faculty members and Office of Engaged Learning staff through the process. They will present their work on the Fall Research Symposium. Applications are due April 15.

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Office of Engaged Learning Office of Engaged Learning – Research

What are SMU undergraduates researching and creating?

ELF Film spotlight - Piper Hadley

What are SMU undergraduate students researching and creating? Find out through these recent stories on The Office of Engaged Learning’s YouTube channel and blog.

[Video] Engaged Learning Fellows spotlight – “I Want a Body of My Own” with film students Piper Hadley, Anna Butcher, and Kaytlyn Bunting

[Article] Cox Behavioral Lab Spotlight – Sexual Harassment, Vaccines, and Conspiracy Theories

[Article ] Lab Hopping Highlights

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Office of Engaged Learning Office of Engaged Learning – Research

Sign-ups open for 3/21 Poster Session

Research & Innovation Week undergraduate poster session

Research & Innovation Week is coming the week of March 20!

All undergraduate students are invited to present research posters on March 21, from 2-5pm in the Hughes-Trigg Ballroom.

Prizes will be awarded to the best posters!

Please visit the Research & Innovation Week site for guidelines, and sign up by Friday, March 10.

Dr. Adam Neal will be hosting drop-in workshops to work on poster design and your “elevator pitch.” These will be held in the Scholars’ Den (Clements basement) on Feb 22 & 23, 3-5pm and March 8 & 9, 3-5pm.

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Office of Engaged Learning Office of Engaged Learning – Research Student Academic Engagement & Success

Engaged Learning Fellowship applications due Feb 15

Engaged Learning Fellowship - apply for $2500 for capstone projects

Undergraduate students can apply for up to $2500 to fund their capstone research, service, or creative projects! See smu.edu/ELF for more details.

Need help writing your proposal? Come see Dr. Adam Neal, Assistant Director of the Office of Engaged Learning, during his drop-in workshops, Wednesday and Thursday, Feb 1 and 2, 3-5pm. The workshops are in the Scholars’ Den “fishbowl” (glass classroom) in Clements Hall.

ELF proposal office hours Feb 1 & 2, 3-5pm

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Office of Engaged Learning Office of Engaged Learning – Research

ELF Spotlight: Chancellor Smith ’23

Chancellor Smith YouTube screenshot

Engaged Learning Fellow Chancellor Smith is a senior majoring in biochemistry. He works as an Undergraduate Research Assistant in Dr. Alex Lippert’s lab. Hear what Chancellor has to say about his work and the ELF program on our ELF Spotlight video above.

The Engaged Learning Fellowship awards up to $2500 for students pursuing capstone projects. These include research, service, and creative activities. Our Regular Decision deadline is February 15, and Dr. Adam Neal will be holding a drop-in ELF Proposal Workshop on February 1 & 2, 3-5pm in the Scholars’ Den.

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Office of Engaged Learning Office of Engaged Learning – Research

Cox Behavioral Lab Spotlight! – Sexual Harassment, Vaccines, and Conspiracy Theories

Dr. Benjamin Dow

by Hannah Green ’26

The Cox Behavioral Lab “exists to support the research of the management department in our endeavors to better understand organizations and the people who work in them.”

Those are the words of Professor of Practice in Management and Organizations, Dr. Benjamin Dow. The research lab is part of the Management and Organizations department in the Cox School of Business and specializes in the areas of leadership, culture and conspiracy theories.

For those unaware of what the Cox Behavioral Lab does, the professor provides a quick summary:

According to Dr. Dow, “We study people and organizations, and our goal is something along the lines of how we can make organizational life better for people and make organizations function better. . . the Behavioral Lab supports our research on that by allowing us to ask questions or have activities with students, letting us learn how people operate in organizational environments.”

Researching Vaccine Intentions

Current projects involve vaccine intentions and negotiations. The goal is understanding how “the ways we see ourselves in relationship to others affects the relationship between the belief in conspiracy theories and the actions that we take.”

Many of the processes and methods conducted by the lab are online and survey-based due to the renovation of the Cox School of Business. Online activities may include game participation and interacting with people through online chats. One-on-one interactions such as mock negotiations or small group activities, where people are placed in a group to talk to each other and accomplish tasks such as creating a list of creative ideas, also aid in data collection.

Researching Sexual Harassment in the Workplace

Sarah Millett ’23

“The more we can understand about how people react to sexual harassment in the workplace, the better that we can prepare people to continue to make work places a safe space for women and bolster equality in a greater sense.”

Those are the words of Undergraduate Research Assistant Sarah Millet ’23. She spoke about her experience working in the lab now and during the height of the pandemic. She has seen an increase of trust for online data collected from surveys and connections with research institutions.

Sarah is interested to see how people react to witnessing a case of sexual harassment. To study this, she uses a simple game in which all players are assumed to be real people.

To Sarah, this research project is important because “so much progress has been made in women’s rights in the office space, but I think that sexual harassment is something that still acutely impacts women more than men.” She emphasizes that workplaces can be improved for women when we understand not only about the person who harasses, but also those around them. Co-workers can step in and cultivate change.

The Lab Environment

We were also given a statement by Undergraduate Research Assistant Kathryn Romano ’23 regarding the lab’s work environment:

Kathryn ‘Kat’ Romano ’23

“Working with Dr. Dow has been incredibly enriching. Not only is he understanding and encouraging, he also wants to include all of the assistants in the research he’s doing. I think I can speak for all of my fellow research assistants when I say working in the lab has been interesting and not in the least bit boring.”

In the future, Dr. Dow hopes to make the process of researching a more engaging experience by allowing assistants to design their own studies and learn the ins and outs of conducting it.

If you would like to get involved with the lab as an undergraduate researcher, please contact Dr. Dow at bdow@mail.smu.edu.

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Office of Engaged Learning – Research

Engaged Learning Fellowship Early Decision

The Early Decision deadline for the Engaged Learning Fellowship is next Thursday, 12/15! This fellowship is open to all SMU undergrads and has funded a variety of projects in all disciplines.

Students need to submit a proposal with funding request (up to $2500) and have a faculty mentor submit a letter of recommendation. More details can be found at smu.edu/elf