EDWARDSVILLE - Southern Illinois University Edwardsville’s Morris University Center was abuzz on Wednesday, April 4 as some of the University’s finest research and creative activities were showcased during the Graduate School Spring Symposium.
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The annual event celebrates the research efforts and accomplishments of students and faculty, featuring research poster displays, creative exhibits and oral presentations. It began with a presentation by 2016-18 Hoppe Research Award recipient Jeremy Jewell, PhD, on his research that considers the effectiveness of compassion meditation with kids.
“Compassion is love and hope for the well-being of others and the self,” Jewell explained. “Through our research, we provide psychoeducation regarding stress and anxiety, anger and physical and psychological consequences. I want to give these kids some basic tools to help them cope with life problems.”
Jewell is a professor and director of the clinical child and school psychology program. He created the Compassion Approach to Learning Meditation (CALM) program, and has used it in juvenile detention and school settings. He is currently studying its use with foster children in East St. Louis. Graduate student and research assistant Taylor Herriman presented alongside Jewell.
In the Goshen Lounge, approximately 43 graduate students from myriad programs had the opportunity to receive feedback from faculty and experience presenting their research publically.
“My project is a proactive approach to eliminating the issue of mechanical bearings going bad in electric motors,” said Alex White, an electrical engineering master’s candidate from O’Fallon, Ill. “When this problem occurs, machines go down and employers lose time and money. There are solutions to deal with the problem, but we want to stop it from happening in the first place.”
During the symposium, White demonstrated a scaled-down model of a typical variable frequency drive and a motor, illustrating the problem, and a variety of solutions to the problem. He says his hands-on research experience has fueled his passion for electrical engineering.
“Electricity has always wowed me,” he said. “My undergraduate studies in electrical engineering at SIUE were eye-opening and left me wanting to learn more. As a graduate student, I’ve become much more aware of the industry behind power generation, and have had the opportunity to dive in and conduct this important research.”
Stepping from technology to art therapy, Theresa Hitchcock, of St. Louis, hosted an interactive table that described the “SIUE/STL Art Hives: Little Free Art Hive” project that she is helping come to realization.
In collaboration with her research advisor Shelly Goebl-Parker, Hitchcock is helping develop an SIUE/STL Art Hives program to launch locally, based on the open-source Concordia University model pioneered by Janis Timm-Bottos.
“Art Hives create opportunities for anybody to come into a space, have access to materials and be honored as an artist,” Hitchcock explained. “We want to create a therapeutic opportunity, without pressure. Artmaking is a human behavior and we want to make it possible for everyone to find it within themselves.”
Other research projects considered topics of salivary gland cancer, Alzheimer’s disease, family structure and differences in parenting style, the influence of anticipation, anxiety and avoidance on the stuttering experience, cholera in nineteenth century St. Louis and more.
The Graduate School welcomed prospective students who attended the symposium to gain a sense of the research opportunities available at SIUE and speak with current graduate students about their academic experience.
“Our graduate students make significant contributions to their fields of study that is presented in national and international conferences, published in peer-review journals, and contributes to patented discoveries,” said Jerry Weinberg, PhD, associate provost for research and dean of the SIUE Graduate School. “The Symposium is an opportunity to showcase their scholarship, recognize achievement and inspire future scholars.”
The symposium concluded with The Chancellor’s 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.
Three prestigious honors were also acknowledged:
- Distinguished Research Professor: Gregory Fields, PhD, professor in the College of Arts and Sciences’ Department of Philosophy
- 2018-19 Vaughnie Lindsay New Investigator Award: Brianne Guilford, PhD, assistant professor in the School of Education, Health and Human Behavior’s Department of Applied Health, and exercise physiology program director
- 2018-20 Hoppe Research Professor Award: Johanna Schwartz, PhD, professor of theater history in the College of Arts and Sciences
By preparing the next generation of leaders in a knowledge-based economy, SIUE’s Graduate School fulfills the region’s demand for highly trained professionals. Graduate School offerings include arts and sciences, business, education, health, human behavior, engineering, nursing and interdisciplinary opportunities. SIUE professors provide students with a unique integration of theoretical education and hands-on research experiences. Students can obtain graduate certificates or pursue master’s degrees, and be part of a supportive learning and rich intellectual environment that is tailored to the needs of adult learners. The Graduate School raises the visibility of research at SIUE, which ranks highest among its Illinois Board of Higher Education peers in total research and development expenditures according to the National Science Foundation. Doctoral programs are available in the Schools of Education, Health and Human Behavior (EdD) and Nursing (DNP). The School of Engineering and the Department of Historical Studies feature cooperative doctoral programs (PhD), and the College of Arts and Sciences features an environmental resources and policy cooperative PhD.
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