The office of Undergraduate Research and Scholarly Activity (URSA) at Murray State has selected the recipients of its 2012-13 Research Scholar Fellowships. Each fellowship will provide the student-faculty team with a $1,500 student stipend and a $500 supply budget.
“As we announce our seventh cohort in the Research Scholar Fellowship program, I continue to be impressed with the work being done by our student scholars,” siad Bonnie Higginson, vice president for academic affairs. “Faculty-mentored research or creative projects are one of the many ways Murray State is working to empower students. These experiences teach vital skill sets ranging from conducting high-quality literature reviews to analyzing findings to present before specific types of audiences to collaborating with others studying and working in their discipline. These skills and abilities prepare undergraduate students for success in graduate study and competitive careers.”
This year’s fellowship recipients are:
• Mark (Jordan) Althoff, a senior biological sciences major in the college of science, engineering and technology. He was awarded for his proposal, “Identification of Aminopeptidases that Influence Fertility.” Dr. Chris Trzepacz, assistant professor, will serve as his faculty mentor. Althoff is from Goshen, Ky.
• Benjamin Ray Linzy, a senior double major in criminal justice and history in the college of health sciences and human services and the college of humanities and fine arts, for his proposal, “Mussolini’s Shadow War: The Struggle Against Organized Crime in Fascist Italy.” Dr. David Pizzo, assistant professor, will serve as the faculty mentor. The project will also receive support from Dr. Paul Lucko, associate professor. Linzy is from Salem, Ky.
• Bradley Michael Richardson, senior biological sciences major in the college of science, engineering and technology, for his proposal, “A Search for Species Identifiers between Alligator Gar (Actractosteus spatula), Longnose Gar (Lepisosteus platostomus), and Spotted Gar (Lepisosteus occulatus) Using Morphological Metrics.” Dr. Michael B. Flinn, assistant professor, will serve as faculty mentor. Richardson is from Cobden, Ill.
• Samantha Thomas, sophomore biological sciences major in the college of science, engineering and technology, awarded for her proposal, “A Phylogenetic Analysis of Hosta with New Molecular Markers.” Thomas will be assisted by co-investigator Nhan Huynh, also a sophomore biological sciences major in the college of science, engineering and technology. Dr. Dayle Saar, associate professor, will serve as faculty mentor. Thomas is from Murray and Huynh is from Dalat City, Lam Dong Province, Vietnam
Research Scholar Fellowships are reviewed through a competitive proposal process and have, since the inception of the fellowships, funded projects in disciplines spanning across the academic spectrum.
Staff Report.