BELTON, Texas — University of Mary Hardin-Baylor (UMHB) students unveiled their undergraduate and graduate research projects on April 11 during the 2023 Watson Scholars’ Day.
Sponsored by the UMHB Office of Research, Watson Scholars’ Day requires students to complete all the steps necessary to present at a conference, including identifying a topic, conducting research, and ultimately explaining their findings publicly.
“Scholars’ Day showcased the research conducted across all disciplines at UMHB and highlighted the skills our students gain when they research and present meaningful projects in their field,” said UMHB’s Director of Undergraduate Research, Dr. Jodi Pilgrim.
Participants included 112 students and 20 faculty sponsors. Award recipients are as follows:
Quantitative Category, Graduate Students
1st place
Scholar: Christine Flores
Sponsor: Dr. Lem Taylor
Title: Agreement Between Body Mass Index and Percent Body Fat in Resistance-Trained Men and Women
2nd place
Scholars: Santos Sarabia, Summer Megli, Eric Pfister
Sponsor: Dr. Wendi Stewart
Title: Associations Between Hallucinogen Use and Depression-Related Outcomes Among US Adults
3rd place
Scholar: Erica Hummel
Sponsor: Dr. Kevin Barlow
Title: Factor Analysis: Manual Extraction vs. SPSS Extraction
Quantitative Category, Undergraduate Students
1st place
Scholars: Catherine Porfirio, Emily Kinney, Jason Samuel, Alexis Stokes, and Angela Valdez
Sponsor: Dr. Jodi Pilgrim
Title: Readability: A Study of STAAR Reading Levels for 2019, 2021, and 2022
2nd place
Scholars: Jadon Sitton
Sponsor: Dr. Andrew Woodward
Title: Investigating Dry-Heat Sensitivity in Seeds using Arabidopsis thaliana
3rd place
Scholars: Rebecca Reeves, Christine Willett, and Julia DeWitt
Sponsor: Dr. Jodi Pilgrim and Dr. Amy Millsap
Title: Analysis of Public Water Lead Contamination and its Effects on Public Health and Juvenile Delinquency
Qualitative Category
1st place
Scholars: Kayla Abshire
Sponsor: Dr. Jodi Pilgrim
Title: A Study of Elementary Teachers’ Perceptions of Technology Support at Private Texas Schools During the Onset of the Global Pandemic
2nd place
Scholars: Emerald Houston, Ashley Claypool, Ashlyn Gordon, Russell Vadala, and
Alex Palczewski
Sponsor: Dr. Nicole Poritsanos
Title: The Urgent Need for Preventative Measures Against Tuberculosis in Bangladesh
3rd place
Scholars: Katy Melton
Sponsor: Dr. Karla Gonzalez
Title: Bell County Bilingual Resources for Medical and Social Services
Literature Review Category
1st Place Tie
Scholars: Amber Dickey
Sponsor: Dr. Ruth Ann Murphy
Title: The Shelf Life of Besremi. A Polycythemia Treatment: A Literature Analysis
1st Place Tie
Scholars: Kristine Meyer, Madison Miranda, Sierra Romero, and Hayden Lourcey
Sponsor: Dr. Nicole Poritsanos
Title: Causes and Risk Factors of Infant Mortality: Diarrheal Diseases and Neonatal Disorders in Angola
2nd place
Scholars: Justin Johnson
Sponsor: Dr. Amy Millsap
Title: Testing the In Vitro Antimicrobial Properties of Various Crude Mycelia Extracts
