Cole Pearson, a Wood Honors College student and chemistry major, Mady Bihun, a mathematics major, recently showcased their research at the Gulf Coast Undergraduate Research Symposium (GCURS), hosted by Rice University.
Pearson presented an ongoing research project that he has been working on for over a year, ‘Development of a Computational Tool for Kombucha Titration Analysis’.
“This project has involved the incorporation of analytical chemistry, mathematical modeling and chemical thermodynamics,” he said.
Furthermore, Pearson shared how his studies at Ship prepared him to communicate complex research. “My 3+ years of education at Shippensburg University and the College of Arts and Sciences, and particularly the Chemistry Department, have been instrumental in teaching me how to speak about science and research to a general audience.”
While at GCURS, Pearson was inspired by the keynote speaker, Dr. Pernilla Wittung-Stafshede, who spoke about her lifelong career in biophysical chemistry and what to expect of the field in the future. “Her work is especially exciting to me, as I hope to pursue a career applying an interdisciplinary physics-biochemistrt approach to solve pertinent problems,” he said.
Pearson also acknowledged the faculty at Ship who helped guide him and the SU Foundation, which funded his summer SURE grant. “I want to thank my research advisors, Dr. Jeb Kegerreis, Dr. Luis Melara and Dr. John Richardson, for their guidance. I want to also thank the SU Foundation for funding the summer SURE grant that supported my research.”
Bihun, who presented in the applied mathematics section, focused her research on the connection between math and human biology. “I presented on The Decay of Botox Within the Human Body,” she said. “Which was a beginner’s mathematical study on how Botox interacts with human nerve cells.”
To assist her research, Bihun frequently met with her advisor, Dr. Luis Melara. “We wanted to guarantee that no matter the person’s mathematical background, they could fully understand the concepts,” she said.
One particular presentation stood out to her for its innovative approach. “I really enjoyed the presentation by Josh Ebbert, who automated the assignment of glycemic index (GI) values to food in national nutrition datasets using natural language processing and machine learning,” Bihun shared.
For Bihun, GCURS enabled her to build upon her confidence and look forward to graduate school. “Having the opportunity to present my research at Rice University has helped me gain a better understanding of graduate school and how I will fit into that world after undergrad,” she said.
Pearson and Bihun’s achievements demonstrate how undergraduate research and mentorship enable students to take on challenging opportunities and pursue their passions.
