CI Projects Selected for the 2015 CSU Student Research Competition

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The Student Research Steering Committee selected ten undergraduate research projects to compete in the CSU Student Research Competition. Each campus is allowed to send up to 10 teams to the competition. The 10 projects were selected by an interdisciplinary committee of CI faculty. A total of 17 total entries were received.

Students submitted a 5 page research summary that was evaluated by two anonymous outside faculty reviewers, and the members of the selection committee. Papers were judged based on the quality of the research, and the ability of the author(s) to communicate their work to an interdisciplinary audience.

This year’s competition will be held at CSU San Bernardino, May 1st and 2nd. Students compete based on their written research summary, and an oral presentation to an interdisciplinary panel of judges. Travel for students is supported through funds from the State Lottery, student fees through the Instructionally Related Activities committee, and funding from the CI Foundation.

The 10 projects are:

  • Amanda Dellacort and Ashley Genovese (Business): “MAMMU and Social Business Fashion: Scarves as Symbols of Innovation for Latvian Mothers” Faculty Mentor: Maria Ballesteros-Sola
  • Cameron Embree, Gradon Faulkner, Kevin Scrivnor, and Fred Contrata (Computer Science): “CI Rainbow: An Infrastructure for Environmental and Wildlife Monitoring” Faculty Mentor: Andrzej Bieszczad
  • Gradon Faulkner (Physics) “Optimization of Associative Memory” Faculty Mentor: Geoff Dougherty
  • Shane Kennedy, Joshua Mytych, Katlynn Carter, and Stephanie Soriano (Biology): “Targeting Growth and Invasiveness in Cancer Cells” Faculty Mentor: Nitika Parmar
  • Jiovana Hermosillo (Chemistry): “The Effects of Coacervation on Polyelectrolyte Complexes” Faculty Mentor: Erin Lamb
  • Robert Camin and Lisa Marie Clark (Political Science): “Birds of a Feather: Congressional Foreign Travel and the Decline of Bipartisanship” Faculty Mentor: Sean Kelly
  • Cassandra Ludwig (Sociology): “The Relationship Between Ventura County Commission for Women and Ventura County Board of Supervisors” Faculty Mentor: Matthew Cook
  • Jason Amurao, Cesar Rivera, and Miguel Velazquez (Nursing): “The Effect of Using Mobile Technology for Patient Education on Nursing Student Self-Efficacy” Faculty Mentor: Jaime Hannans
  • Corie Hill and Amber Kramer (Chemistry): “Determination of Total Mercury in the Top Three Consumed Seafood Products in the United States” Faculty Mentor: Simone Aloisio
  • Andrew Carrillo and Grant Crater (Political Science): “You’ve Got to Support the Team: Partisan Fund-Raising and Assignments to the House Appropriations Committee” Faculty Mentor: Sean Kelly

The ad hoc selection committee was composed of: Matt Cook, Nitika Parmar, Mary McThomas, Luis Sanchez, Cindy Wyels, Jason Miller, Colleen Harris-Keith, Colleen Nevins, and Sean Kelly. Please direct questions about the competition to matthew.cook@csuci.edu.

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CI student is one of 60 chosen nationwide to present research in Washington D.C.

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danacochranCamarillo, Calif., Feb. 10, 2015— Research she conducted as an undergraduate has earned CSU Channel Islands (CI) graduate student Dana Cochran a coveted spot in the 2015 “Posters on the Hill” event in Washington D.C.

“Posters on the Hill” is sponsored each spring by the Council on Undergraduate Research in Washington, D.C.

Cochran, 24, is among 60 chosen from more than 500 applicants from colleges and universities around the nation who will present their research to members of the U.S. Congress on April 22 and 23.

“This event is intended to help members of Congress understand the importance of undergraduate research by talking directly with the students whom these programs impact,” reads a passage on the Council’s web site.

Cochran, of Simi Valley, used her mathematical skills to begin developing an automated diagnostic tool for physicians using brain scans to detect schizophrenia.

“Studies have shown that the shape of a part of the brain called the ‘corpus callosum’ will vary according to whether you have a disease,” Cochran explained.

Cochran said her goal was to build a database that would allow doctors to input the scans and find out whether the mathematical coordinates on the shape of the corpus callosum indicate the possibility of schizophrenia.

Cochran’s mentor, CI Associate Professor of Mathematics, Kathryn Leonard, Ph.D., said she saw potential in Cochran after watching Cochran ease through linear algebra classes during her sophomore year.

“That’s when students transition from computation to abstract thought,” Leonard said. “It’s something most students struggle with, so I asked her to join my research group the following year.”
Cochran had always been fascinated with anatomy and physiology, so she was a good fit for Leonard’s research into applying mathematics to brain imagery.

Cochran is currently working toward her master’s degree in mathematics at CI with hopes of someday teaching.
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