All Articles

AMES, Iowa — Iowa State University undergraduate researchers are taking their findings to the Statehouse.

The 14th annual Research in the Capitol event will be held 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Monday, April 1, in the State Capitol rotunda in Des Moines. Sixty projects (20 from each Regent university) were selected for this event. The presentations are open to the public.

This year, 25 Iowa State students will present Iowa State’s 20 research posters. Research ranges from efforts to improve Iowa water quality through cost-effective conservation planning to examining the effects of natural disasters on renter and immigrant households to understanding what kind of support is needed for parents of children with complex medical needs.

Research in the Capitol highlights the important research being conducted by undergraduate students across the state. Students will interact with elected officials, university administrators and news media, discussing the impact their research could have on Iowa, the nation and the world.

“Research in the Capitol is designed to highlight the importance of undergraduate research to legislators and other state officials, with students serving as ambassadors to convey the depth and variety of research being done at Iowa State,” said Svitlana Zbarska, ISU’s undergraduate research program coordinator. “The event is a great opportunity for undergraduates to present their research projects, learn about student research being conducted at Iowa’s other public universities, and share their experiences with legislators, media and the general public.”

The following Iowa State students will present their research at the event (hometowns, majors and research titles are noted):

*Indicates student has a major within the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences

• Sabrina Ash*, psychology, Des Moines: “Exploring Relations between Dark Personality Traits, Media Violence Exposure, and Finding Humor in Media Violence”
• Brandon Beecham, accounting and finance, Ankeny: “Analysis of Iowa Public Universities’ Financials’ Impact on Tuition Prices from 1990-2017”
• Stuart Burzette*, community and regional planning and environmental science, Des Moines: “Examination of Economic Resilience and Regional Capacity in the Midwest”
• Philip Cordova*, computer science, Overland Park, Kansas; and Jacob Shedenhelm*, software engineering, Grimes: “TIMELI: Using Data Analysis to Improve Traffic Safety”
• Bre Dykstra, biological systems engineering, Cedar Rapids; and Alyssa Iverson, biological systems engineering, Springfield, Nebraska: “Emerging Markets for Switchgrass in the Midwest: Challenges and Opportunities”
• Scarlett Eagle, genetics, Johnston: “Examining the Functional Role of microRNAs Implicated in Hypermobile Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome in Maintaining Connective Tissue Morphology”
• Sydney Ellis*, Spanish and psychology, Pleasant Hill; and Nicole Miller*, communication studies, Springville: “Helping Health Care Professionals Understand Social Support Communication Needs for Parents of Children Living With Complex Chronic Conditions”
• Lucas Goodman, animal ecology and environmental studies, Montezuma: “Balancing Conservation and Economics to Improve Water Quality in Iowa and Beyond”
• Ruben Hernandez Jr., community and regional planning, Creston; and Emily Vanek, community and regional planning, Dubuque: “Damage, Dislocation, and Displacement of Renter and Immigrant Households after Low Attention Disasters”
• Zoey Mauck, landscape architecture and community and regional planning, Des Moines: “The Case for Car-Free Communities”
• Brennan McBride*, chemistry, Altoona: “Synthesis and Structure of Ternary Rare Earth Silicon Pnictides”
• Christina Meadows*, environmental science and geology, Bettendorf: “Investigation of Discrepancies between Methods of Quantifying Soil Nitrogen in Agricultural Fields”
• Ellen Meis, biology and environmental science, Le Mars: “Optimizing CRISPR interference for Conditional Gene Regulation in Malaria Parasites”
• Jenna Oftedal, industrial engineering, Dubuque; and Shibani Raje, industrial engineering, Naperville, Illinois: “Developing a TRIZ-based Design for Flexibility Tool for Manufacturing Facilities”
• Delaney Ridgway, animal science, Eldon: “The Effects of Glyphosate Exposure on Liver Protein Abundance”
• Marissa Roghair*, genetics and microbiology, Ankeny: “Investigation of Cell-Seeded Gelatin Implants as a Novel Cell Transplantation Strategy Using Zebrafish as a Model System”
• Allyse Shoeman, nutritional science, Johnston: “The Impact of Ethanol Consumption on Gut and Brain Neurochemicals”
• Megan Slattery, nutritional science, Calamus: “Monocyte Response to Influenza A Virus is Altered in Pre-diabetics”
• Madison Thomas*, chemistry, Cedar Rapids: “Use of Image Quality Scores to Determine Fingerprint Age in MALDI imaging”
• Brandon Vance, chemical engineering, Des Moines: “Fueling Space Exploration: Engineering Materials to Produce Rocket Fuel on Mars”

This story originally appeared as “Undergraduates will showcase research April 1 at Iowa State Capitol” on the Iowa State University News Service.