Students, professors collaborate on research

Collaboration is the key word with the Faculty Undergraduate Summer Engagement (FUSE) program. The two-month summer program has University of North Georgia (UNG) students working on collaborative research projects with a faculty mentor in their field.  

Dr. Erin Bush, associate professor of history, is partnering with students Sergio Ortega and Sophia Smith on "Atlanta’s “Competent” and “Honest” Warden: Examining the Atlanta Penitentiary under Warden William H. Moyer’s term, 1903-1915."

"FUSE gave Sophia and Sergio sustained time with primary sources, significant time that most history students don't encounter until graduate school. They spent time in the archives with complete inmate files and then used the documents they contained to ask sharper questions about the experience of federal incarceration in the early twentieth century, " Bush said. "Watching them evolve from what the dominant historical narrative says to analyzing how this warden’s administration actually reflected the strained relationships between the federal government and Native communities was the program's whole point. That's original scholarship. It was incredibly satisfying to watch. "

Ortega is a senior from Rome, Georgia, pursuing a degree in  history. His research has provided him with several options for his future.

"I've thought about working archaeology in cultural resources management," he said. "I've also considered furthering my education and working in a university setting."

Smith is a junior from Cumming, Georgia, pursuing a degree in criminal justice.

Robyn Hicks, assistant professor of film and digital media, and Zahra Irannezhad, lecturer in communication, film and theatre, along with students Daxton Douglas and Grace Helton, are producing "Sybil — a short documentary on one woman's passion for art & nature."

Helton is a junior from Newnan, Georgia, pursuing a degree in theatre arts. She was excited by the prospect of working on the documentary and learning more about Sybil Rosen — an award-winning novelist, short story writer and playwright — and the focus of the film.

"I would say that FUSE has really helped me to examine what opportunities I have as a student and how many resources I have going forward into my graduate career, and eventually into whatever profession I end up in," Helton said. "It's been an extremely helpful and rewarding experience working with FUSE."

Douglas is a senior from Gainesville, Georgia, pursuing a degree in film and digital media with a production concentration.

Dr. Connie Ringger, professor of psychological science, along with students Saud Alsubaiei and Emma Howerton, is researching the project “Does victim identity matter? Race and gender in juror decisions.”

Alsubaiei, a senior from Athens, Georgia, is pursuing a degree in psychology and a minor in gerontology. The intriguing research has prompted him to consider further education and additional research.

"I've thought about earning a master in environmental psychology and probably going as far as a doctoral degree in cross-cultural psychology," he said. "I love the university setting and would love to work in it."

Howerton hopes to use this research experience to further her education and ultimately work as a forensic psychologist with the FBI in the agency's profiling unit.

"This keeps widening my experience in the field by doing research in it," Howerton said. "I'm learning how to present to different disciplines, too. I know how to present to psychologists, but it's a little bit of a different experience to present to somebody who doesn't know anybody or anything in the field that you're talking about."

Howerton is a senior from Hoschton, Georgia, also pursuing a degree in psychology.

Other FUSE projects include:

• Zachary Elison, assistant professor of psychological science, along with student Magdalena Villalobos, "Weight stigma and informal workplace evaluations: Experimental insights for competence and collaboration."
• Evan Lampert, professor of biology, along with students Dylan Bryant and Caleb Ferguson, "Comparative caterpillar chemical defense and parasites: Does sequestration make safe havens?"
• Lisa Myers, assistant professor of biology; Dr. Natalie Hyslop, professor of biology; and Dr. Jennifer Mook, professor of biology; along with students Sara Palmer and Heather Powell, "Reproductive ecology and nesting behavior of a long-lived imperiled vertebrate species in the Piedmont region of the Southeastern U.S."
• Jeremy Olson, associate professor of chemistry, and Rahul Shahni, assistant professor of chemistry, along with students Paxton Byars and Aurora Shuster, "Studying the effect temperature plays on The Polymeric Structure of Pickleballs."
• Wei-Lun Sun, assistant professor of psychological science, along with students Olivia Grantham, Hannah Ogunyemi and Laurel Reese, "Acute effects of SRI-32743 on anxiety- and depression-like behaviors in mice."
• Candice Wilson, associate professor of communication, film and theatre, along with student William Gunderson, "The Demon Mother Archival Project and the Age of Digital Disappearance." Gunderson is a junior from Flowery Branch, Georgia, pursuing a degree in film and digital media with a production concentration.

Sponsored by the Center for Undergraduate Research and Creative Activities, FUSE is a two-month summer program that immerses students in a collaborative project with a faculty mentor in their field. The projects are designed to be accessible to all disciplinary backgrounds by being an initial pilot project or by being a manageable segment of a larger ongoing project.