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WKU Home -> News -> Release
 Students presented their research topics to members of the state House and Senate. The Feb. 2 event was designed to raise the awareness of legislators about the role that comprehensive universities play in undergraduate research. Eight schools from across the state were equally represented at the event: Eastern Kentucky University, Kentucky State University, Morehead State University, Murray State University, Northern Kentucky University, University of Kentucky, University of Louisville and Western Kentucky University. Students from each school were selected by the Posters-at-the-Capitol Organizing Committee after submitting research abstracts. Once selected, students had to design posters on their research topic. The posters were on display from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. WKU student representatives in attendance included: Leslie Beavin of Louisville, Lindsay Clark of Knob Lick, Kevin Dick of Bowling Green, Jessica Hancock of Morganfield, Dara Hardin of Bardstown, Daniel Hawkins of Hanson, Ben Hughes of Louisville, Amy Kaczynski of Bowling Green, Andrew Lindsey of Bowling Green, Hajara Mahmood of Prospect Heights, Ill., Courtney Miles of Sanders, Tim Morgan of Lawrenceburg, Ian Rice of Fort Campbell, Bradley Smith of Louisville, Shelly Smith of Princeton, Richard Walters of Lexington and Ashley Williams of Leitchfield. The student representatives this year were enrolled in either the Ogden College of Science and Engineering or the College of Health and Human Services. One representative from each school was selected to give an oral presentation during the opening ceremonies. Leitchfield senior Ashley Williams was selected by WKU. Dr. Bruce Kessler, assistant dean of Ogden College, said that showing legislators how learning is taking place beyond the classroom setting will play a vital part in future support and progress. “The excellence of our students’ posters really made a strong case for applied learning,” he said. “The support of our legislators can help us get more students involved in research.” Dr. Blaine Ferrell, dean of Ogden College, said: “Data shows that students engaged in undergraduate research develop further intellectually, and are more likely to attend graduate/professional school.” Dr. Ferrell serves as the university coordinator for WKU’s Posters-at-the-Capitol trip. Dr. Ferrell and Dr. Kessler were among many faculty members who gave support and accompanied the students to Frankfort. Others supporters included Dr. Heather Johnson, assistant professor of biology; Dr. Keith Andrew, physics and astronomy department head; and Dr. Cathleen Webb, chemistry department head. Poster titles for WKU student representatives are as follows: Leslie Beavin and Bradley Smith: “Molecular Identification of Illegal Game Meat Utilization in Commercial Outlets in East Africa - Nairobi Case Study” Lindsay Clark: “Limestone-Based Material for Arsenic Removal from Drinking Water” Kevin Dick and Andrew Lindsey: “Imaginary Numbers in Real-World Applications” Jessica Hancock: “Characterization of the Human PHKG2 Promoter” Dara Hardin: “Biometric Fingerprint Access System for Critical Infrastructure Protection” Daniel Hawkins: “Database for Volcanic Edifices with Emphasis on Symmetry/Asymmetry Using Shuttle Radar Topography Mission Imagery” Ben Hughes: “Cave Surveying for Rural Land use Planning in Western Kentucky” Amy Kaczynski and Ian Rice: “Acoustic Agglomeration of Fly Ash” Hajara Mahmood: “Bridging the Gap: Bringing STEM Role Models to Every Classroom in Kentucky” Courtney Miles: “The Immunity Region of Bacteriophage HK639 Encodes an Antiterminator RNA” Tim Morgan: “Beam Line Optics for 2.5 MeV Van de Graaff Particle Accelerator” Shelly Smith: “The Relationship between Nuclear Activity and Galaxy-Galaxy Interactions for Seyfert Galaxies” Richard Walters: “The Effect on Light Observed from Relativistic Beaming of Active Galactic Nuclei Jets” Ashley Williams: “Interpreting Trace-element and Stable Isotopic Results Recorded in a Holocene Stalagmite from Buckeye Creek Cave, West Virginia” More WKU news is available at www.wku.edu. If you’d like to receive WKU news via e-mail, send a message to WKUNews@wku.edu. For information, contact Bruce Kessler at (270) 745-4449.
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