On April 22, Shippensburg University will celebrate the annual Minds@Work Conference, where undergraduate and graduate students can highlight their research. The event will showcase 71 poster presentations (4:00 – 6:00 p.m., CUB MPR) and 16 department and oral presentations (3:30-8:00 p.m., CUB 1st and 2nd floors).
From literary and cultural critiques to new findings in chemistry, artificial intelligence, mathematics and more, this year’s conference is supported by faculty mentorship and research across Shippensburg University.
To name a few of the arts and humanities presentations that will be featured, student researchers mentored by professors Laurie Cella, Thomas Crochunis, Mathew Ramsey and Michael Lyman will be showcased at the conference.
Cella’s students will share deeply personal and reflective work through different media. In “Community through the Lens of the Photo Essay,” students Shanely Casimiro, Jeremiah Clawson and David Dorsey tell the stories of unique communities through photography and writing. Students Cynthia Dodd, Emmett O’Bell, Atlee Riordan and Cooper Hendrick’s panel, “Exploring Identity through Creative Nonfiction and Poetry,” use poetry and creative nonfiction to discuss identity, the trans experience, nature and coping with personal loss.
Students of Crochunis will provide literary critiques of Shakespeare’s work. In “Shakespeare Everywhere: Creative Hacks of Plays,” students from Foundations in Cultural Studies explore literary classics such as Romeo and Juliet and Othello through creative writing, performance and art. The project explores how Shakespeare’s themes transcend throughout history and geography.
Ramsey’s Communication Studies students in his Senior Seminar course are presenting notable research on relational communication, conspiracy beliefs and trolling behavior in the digital age. One of the groups examines the parallels between ghosting, identity gaps and emotional guilt, while another group explores how tolerance for disagreement impacts the intentions of trolling on social media.
From the Social Work and Gerontology Department, the work of Dr. Lyman and students focuses on issues of identity, advocacy and human resilience through field experiences and reflective analysis.
Among the dozens of compelling STEM research at this year’s Minds@Work conference are studies from students mentored by professors John Richardson, Luis Melara, Charles Girard and Carol Wellington.
Abbie Morgan, who recently tied in first place at the national American Chemical Society conference, will be presented her honors capstone project on benchtop techniques for kombucha analysis. Alongside Richardson, Morgan’s research offers a cost-effective and time-saving alternative to traditional kombucha testing methods and has the potential to reshape how brewers monitor quality and composition.
In the mathematics department, Madison Bihun is delivering a project titled “Decay of Botox Within the Human Body: A Mathematical Study.” Mentored by Melara, Bihun created a model that simulates how botulinum toxin moves through the nervous system. This research can help optimize dosing intervals and the understanding of pharmaceutical efficacy.
Computer science student Christian Honicker’s engineering project under the guidance of Professor Girard explores the potential of AI in video gaming through a neural network trained to play Puyo Puyo. Honicker’s research offers insights into algorithm design and the limitations of machine learning.
Professor Wellington mentored computer science student Noah Hays, who is presenting research comparing MySQL and ElasticSearch database speeds for large datasets. Hays found that ElasticSearch outperformed MySQL when handling datasets above 12.5 million entries. His discoveries offer solutions for developers working with large datasets.
These are only a few of the nearly one hundred presentations that will be showcased at Minds@Work. Students will not only display academic research but also build upon their confidence in presenting research for their future graduate studies, professional research and beyond.
“Engaging in research not only advances academic knowledge but also fosters the development of academic resilience in our students,” said Dr. Kimberly Presser in a faculty message included in the Minds@Work program. “Students gain firsthand experience in proposing and exploring complex questions, applying research methods and contributing to the body of knowledge in their chosen fields.”
The 2025 Minds@Work is open to Shippensburg University students interested in research across the humanities, social sciences, STEM and beyond. To learn more about the conference and view the program, visit here.
