Mount SURE student Oluwadolabomi Adesanya of North East, Md. works on her project, “Discovering and Isolating Bacteriophages which Infect Erwinia Amylovora, Microbacterium foliorum, Gordonia Terrae, and Arthrobacter Bacterial Hosts.”
Following ten weeks of summer research, nearly two dozen Mount Saint Mary College student scholars presented their own diverse research projects at the culmination of this year’s Summer Undergraduate Research Experience (SURE).
Coordinated by James Moran, associate Biology professor at the Mount, SURE is an opportunity for students to work alongside Mount professors as they explore a research topic of their choosing.
SURE students presented their research to the Mount campus over the course of two sessions, one in June and one in July. These presentations featured research projects in areas such as Education, Information Technology, Math, and Natural Sciences.
Allison Espana of Elmhurst, N.Y.; Stephanie Montano of Newburgh, N.Y.; Dennis Rodriguez of New Windsor, N.Y.; and their faculty mentor Micah Modell, assistant professor of Information Technology, presented “Worldwide CoLaboration.”
Colab is a website that is used to integrate collaboration into education, helping students and teachers understand the issues students are having in terms of teamwork with other students.
“Getting this hands-on experience has allowed me to experiment with the interface and see the different files that make Colab work,” Espana explained. “I get to also see and experience with Dr. Modell the different problems that come up with designing a software and see how these problems get resolved. It is amazing to see how Dr. Modell has resolved the different failing tests within the software.”
As a continuation of last year’s research, the group has been translating files using coding and setting up the structure to localize these files. In addition, they have introduced a new component: looking at 100 different articles about team dynamics and integrating various components from these articles into the software.
Other SURE projects include “Academic Language & Adolescents: in Their Own Words” by Addison Parker of Newburgh, N.Y. and Emily Irish of Warwick, N.Y. with faculty mentor Alexis McBride, assistant professor of Education; “Incarceration Through Statistics in New York State” by Thomas Sullivan of Monroe, N.Y. with faculty mentor Christina Alvey, assistant professor of Mathematics and Chair of the Division of Math & IT; and “The effects of diet on the growth and development of Gray Treefrog (Hyla versicolor) tadpoles” by Jasmine Queen-O’Connell of Gardiner, N.Y. with faculty mentor Doug Robinson, associate professor of Biology.