Approximately 50 West Virginia University students took their research projects to the state Capitol this month and learned that Gov. Joe Manchin and other state lawmakers appreciate what they do.

The students, participating in the third annual West Virginia Undergraduate Research Day at the state Capitol, offered findings ranging from the long-term effects of credit card debt among college students to the use of fiber analysis by forensic investigators in police work.

The governor said research that undergraduate students conduct could lead to breakthroughs and advancements in health care, homeland security, technology and other fields in the years to come.

He also stressed the importance of research in science and engineering to the economy of the state and discussed the state’s plans for the development of a research park in the Kanawha Valley . He noted that one of the most important things this state can do is to make it possible for students with the talents and skills in research to be able to find appropriate employment and stay in West Virginia .

Working alone or in teams, students submitted abstracts describing the particulars of their research and its importance to science and society. Abstracts were selected based on the quality of the project, the geographical distribution and diversity of the project, diversity of student backgrounds among the researchers and the readability of the abstract.

Presenters also created accompanying posters for display at the Capitol Rotunda during the day. Over 100 students from nine of the state’s public and private colleges and universities participated with their research mentors.

The students and their research by WVU college and school are:

College of Engineering and Mineral Resources

Raymond Claus, Boston , Va. , Compression After Impact Testing of Self-Healing Composite Minerals

Zachary Elkins, Morgantown , The Industrial Engineer’s Role in Homeland Security

Steven Epifano, Morgantown , Pool Boiling in Microgravity

Kimberly Griffith, Morgantown , A Programable Mind by Direct Retinal Image Projection

Jason Gross, Morgantown , Circular Hydraulic Jump in Microgravity

Rod Jaraiedi, Morgantown , Improvement Rates in Computer Game Playing

Adam Kabulski, Fairmont , High Temperature Stability of Aluminum Nitride MEMS Devices

Jennifer Kosker, Morgantown , The Direct Carbon Fuel Cell

Kevin McCrea, Pittsburgh , Pa. , Circular Hydraulic Jump in Microgravity

Tiffany Newcomb, Beckley , Pool Boiling in Microgravity

Jennifer Nyce, Morgantown , Free to Move

Vincent Pagan, Star City , High Temperature Stability of Aluminum Nitride MEMS Devices

Brad Palmer, Walkersville. Md. , Pool Boiling in Microgravity

Kerri Phillips, Morgantown , Circular Hydraulic Jump in Microgravity

George Shoukry, Morgantown , High Temperature Stability of Aluminum Nitride MEMS Devices

Evan Stajduhar, Morgantown , Recyclability of Flame Retarded Polycarbonate

Davis College of Agriculture, Forestry, and Consumer Sciences

Colin Dougherty, Westchester , Pa. , Rapid Identification of Wood-Inhabiting Fungi

Paul Filson, Accra , Ghana , Rapid Identification of Wood-Inhabiting Fungi

Briana Leatherman, Bethany , Identification and Characterization of a Triple Homozygous Mutant for UBC 4 , 5,&6 in Arabidopsis

Robert Loar, Waverly, The Effects of Choice-Feeding and Grain Type on the Performance of Organically-Reared Broiler Chickens

Brian McMillan, Morgantown , Freese Tolerance of Transgenic Arabidopsis Constitutively Expressing the Human Inositol Polyphosphate 5-Phosphate

Amanda Rack, Fairview , The Effects of Choice-Feeding and Grain Type on the Performance of Organically-Reared Broiler Chickens

Lyndsay Shaffer, Morgantown , The Effects of Transforming Growth Factor-1 (TGF-1) and Seminal Plasma (SP) on Conception Rates in Beef Cattle

Jennifer Thayer, Morgantown , Rapid Identification of Wood-Inhabiting Fungi

Eberly College of Arts and Sciences

Jonas Anderson, Morgantown , Nearest Neighbor Analysis of Silicon/Silicon Nitride

Stephanie Archer, Morgantown , Reality Test: Using Cyber- Infrastructure to Build Sophisticated Instrumentation and Apply it Scientific Research

Jennifer Beach, Morgantown , Stability of Forensic Test Color Reagents

Ashley Bialek, Elkins, Comprehensive Fiber Analysis and Classification

Leilani Browning, Morgantown , Oral Health in West Virginia ; The Canary in the Coal Mine

T. Lindsey Burrell, Morgantown , Comparing Maternal and Paternal Reports of Child Behavior Problems and Parenting Stress

Lynnsey Carrell, Morgantown , Characterization of Olfactory Detection an Detection in Spinx Moth

Dan Carrier, Morgantown ,”Ultrasound Extraction and Speciation of Selenium from Coal Associated Rock Samples Taken from the Dorothy Quadrangle in Kanawha County

Michael Ehrhart, Bridgeport , The Prevalence and Effects of Credit Card Debt Among College Students (more)

Rebecca Grate, Morgantown , Comparison of Mothers’and Fathers’Opinions of Parent-Child Interaction Therapy

Zane Harvey, Morgantown , Laser Induced Flourescence of Nitrogen Plasma

Thomas Hill, Morgantown , The Effects of Ideal Body Images Presented in Advertisements on Male Body Esteem

Michael Hushion, Morgantown , Extracting Steroid Hormones from Plasma Samples: A Systematice Study Based on Capillary Electrophoresis

Allison Lastinger, Morgantown , ARE Endothelin-2 and Endothelin-3 Expressed in the Bovine Corpus Luteum

Robert Leonard, Morgantown , Bond Angles in the Crystalline Silicon/Silicon Nitride Interface

Sarah Moore, St. Albans , The Prevalence and Effects of Credit Card Debt Among College Students

Ryan Murphy, Philippi, Absorpyion Spectroscopy of Helium Ions in a Helicon Plasma Source

Eli Owens, Fairmont , Displacement Analyses of Silicon/Silicon Nitride

Darcey Powell, Morgantown , The Prevalence and Effects of Credit Card Debt Among College Students

Donna Radice, Morgantown , Comprehensive Fiber Analysis and Classification

Ben Saunders, Morgantown , Analysis of Genetic Diversity of American Ginseng (Panax quinquefolius) Populations

Emily Selby, Morgantown , Cleft Palate/Lip: Implications for Social Anxiety

Renee Stasko, Morgantown ,”Examining Posttraumatic Stress, Anxiety, and Depression in Foster Children

Stacey Velkovich, Wheeling , Development of Autoimmune Disease in NZB /W F1 Mice Exposed to Propanil

School of Physical Education

Holly Dudash, Wheeling , Oxidative Stress and Antioxidant Treatment in Tibialis Anterior Muscle of Aged Rats

For more information on the program, contact WVU ’s Dr. Keith Garbutt, Research Day Steering Committee Co-Chair, at kgarbutt@mail.wvu.edu or 304-293-2100.