Eastern Connecticut State University

Displays of research and creativity filled the Student Center at Eastern Connecticut State University on April 13 for the annual CREATE conference. CREATE stands for "Celebrating Research Excellence and Artistic Talent at Eastern," and is the University's premier undergraduate conference of the academic year.

A record-breaking 41 Eastern Connecticut State University students presented their research at the 2018 National Conference on Undergraduate Research (NCUR) from April 4-7 at the University of Central Oklahoma.

Eastern Connecticut State University student Liselotte Hammer '18 recently presented her cross-cultural research study "Outsiders on a US Campus: A Qualitative Study of Scandinavian Students and Their Experiences" at the annual Eastern Sociological Society in Baltimore, MD, this past March.

History and Social Science majors Vanessa Hill and Ryan Bridges presented their undergraduate research projects on April 6 at "Making History," the annual conference of CSU History Departments. This year's event was held at Western Connecticut State University. The goal of the conference is to promote student research, further academic exchange among departments and celebrate common interest in history.

Eastern Connecticut State University students Christianne Senechal and Jonathan Rappi are assisting Eastern Biology Professor Amy Groth with a complex research project that uses microscopic worms to study genes that are important for human development and disease, including cancer.

Eastern Connecticut State University students Caroline Perry and Morgan Winship presented research at the National Coalition of Campus Children's Centers conference in Albuquerque, NM, this March 15-17. Their presentation was titled "Authentic Experiences with Families: Impact on Pre-service Teachers' Knowledge and Dispositions."

Eastern Connecticut State University student Benjamin Rumrill is the recipient of a research fellowship from the NASA Connecticut Space Grant Consortium. He is using the fellowship to support his research titled "The Effect of Microgravity on the Growth and Function of Neural Cells."

Eastern Connecticut State University student Stefanie Dominguez '18 of Glastonbury, an Early Childhood Education and Communication major, recently had her research thesis published in the Early Childhood Education Journal. The highly-ranked, refereed journal analyzes trends, policies and practices in early childhood education for children ranging from birth to age eight. Her research provides insight into social interactions of students with low English proficiency, known as Dual Language Learners (DLLs), in classrooms.

Five students from Eastern Connecticut State University went to the 2018 IMPACT National Student Engagement Conference in Dayton, Ohio, from March 1-4. The participants engaged in thoughtful discussion on topics ranging from mental health, to public schools, to community engagement.

Eastern alum Rachel Scrivano '17 of Rocky Hill recently published her research titled "The Impact of Applicants' Weight and Education About Obesity on Applicant Ratings" in the Psi Chi Journal of Psychological Research, a competetive academic journal that publishes undergraduate, graduate and faculty research.

Eastern Connecticut State University student Lauren Atkinson '17 of Harwinton is one of 28 graduate or undergraduate students across Connecticut to receive a scholarship from the NASA Connecticut Space Grant Consortium (CTSGC). Atkinson is using the scholarship to support her research titled "Evaluating the Scorpion Microbiome for Diversity and Antibiotic Production."

Eastern Connecticut State University mathematics student Catherine Falvey '18 of West Hartford presented her research on diagonalizable matrices at the Joint Mathematics Meetings in San Diego, CA, from Jan. 10-13.

Two Eastern Connecticut State University history students presented their research at the 2018 Phi Alpha Theta Biennial Convention Jan. 3-6 in New Orleans. They were accompanied by History Professor Bradley Davis.

Eastern Connecticut State University student Lynda Petrides presented her research on the usefulness of learning management systems at the Education Special Interest Group (EDSIG) Conference on Information Systems and Computing Education. The conference took place from Nov. 5-8 in Austin, TX.

Four political science majors from Eastern Connecticut State University presented original research at the Northeastern Political Science Association meeting this past November in Philadelphia.

The Center for Early Childhood Education at Eastern Connecticut State University announced this December that "Animal Kingdom Mega Pack" by Animal Planet has been named the 2017 TIMPANI (Toys that Inspire Mindful Play and Nurture Imagination) Toy. Six Eastern students fulfilled integral roles for the nationally acclaimed study.

Forty-three psychology students at Eastern Connecticut State University presented their research in a poster session on Nov. 27 at the department's annual Psychological Science Afternoon.

Mandi Charette '18 of Voluntown was one of two Eastern Connecticut State University students to present her research study as an oral presentation at Eastern's Annual Psychological Science Afternoon on Nov. 27. Charette's study is titled, "Media Influence on Mental Illness Stigma."

Jolene Potter '18 was one of two Eastern Connecticut State University students to present her research study as an oral presentation at Eastern's Annual Psychological Science Afternoon on Nov. 27. This is Potter's second research study on sexual assault; her latest study is titled, "A Comparison of the Effect of Sexual Assault Micro-Interventions on Rape Myth Acceptance and Empathy."

Eastern Connecticut State University student Adam Murphy '18, a Political Science and History and Social Science major, recently presented his research project at the New England Historical Association's (NEHA) 99th Annual Fall Conference.

Eastern Connecticut State University student Ruth Eragene '19 participated in the three-day Diversity and Explorations (DivEx) program at Harvard Divinity School (HDS) this November.

Three students from Eastern Connecticut State University presented at Qunnipiac University on Oct. 28 at the student conference for the Campus Compact of Southern New England. Accompanied by Sociology Professor Nicolas Simon, the Eastern group presented on the topic of engaging first-generation and underserved students in community service.

A group of student researchers from Eastern Connecticut State University recently presented at the annual northeast conference for the Council of Public Liberal Arts Colleges (COPLAC). From Oct. 13-14, Eastern was one of eight colleges to participate in the symposium, this year located at Mansfield University in Pennsylvania.

Eastern Connecticut State University student Michael Beckstein '18 joined Economics Professor Brendan Cunningham this summer to work on a research project titled "The Efficient Use of Space Orbit," which was funded by the NASA Connecticut Space Grant Consortium (CTSGC).

Eastern Environmental Earth Science (EES) student Bryce Mase '19 recently performed fieldwork duties related to his undergraduate research project at Block Island, RI.

Eastern Environmental Earth Science (EES) student Jeffrey Fontaine '18 recently performed fieldwork duties at Napatree Point, RI, related to his undergraduate research project.

Eastern Environmental Earth Science (EES) student Ryan Cueto '18 recently performed fieldwork duties related to his undergraduate research project at Dinosaur State Park in Rocky Hill. He also assisted another student with fieldwork on Block Island. His mentor is EES Professor Drew Hyatt.

Haley Knox '18, an Eastern Connecticut State University student from Bristol, recently returned from a Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) in Iowa funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF). For the months of June and July, Knox worked on a research project at Iowa State University titled "Ordered Multiplicity Inverse Eigenvalue Problem for Graphs on Six Vertices."

Catherine Falvey '17, an Eastern Connecticut State University student from Bristol, recently returned from a Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) in California funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF). From June to August, Falvey conducted a mathematics research project titled "Probabilities Concerning Sets of Matrices" at California State University Channel Islands.

Eastern Connecticut State University student Lauren Atkinson '17 is one of six undergraduate students across Connecticut to receive a summer research fellowship from the NASA Connecticut Space Grant Consortium (CTSGC).