The 2013 USF Program  contains the titles of presentations and names of the presenters and faculty sponsors. 

This year, there are 53 poster presentations, 67 oral paper presentations, 4 business case studies, 2 performances, and 18 student art exhibits. Every college is represented, with presentations across many disciplines. 

Please come support the students as they present their work and see the contributions they're making in their fields!

7:30 a.m. | Registration Begins 

8:00–9:20 a.m. | Oral Presentations
Various rooms, HUB
Five concurrent sessions, each with three or four presentations on one theme.

9:30–10:50 a.m. | Oral Presentations
Various rooms, HUB
Four concurrent sessions, each with three or four presentations on one theme.

9:30–10:10 a.m. | Percussion Performances and Presentations
Room 126, Cogswell Hall 
Two students presenting and performing. 

9:30 a.m.–12:20 p.m. | Business Case Competition 

11:00 a.m–12:20 p.m. | Oral Presentations
Various rooms, HUB
Four concurrent sessions, each with three or four presentations on one theme.

12:30–1:50 p.m. | Poster Presentations
Various rooms, HUB
Presenters will be available next to their posters to discuss their work.
However, you can view posters all day from 8:00 a.m. to 3:20 p.m.

2:00–3:20 p.m. | Oral Presentations 
Various rooms, HUB
Four concurrent sessions, each with three or four presentations on one theme.

4:30 p.m. | Reception for Student Presenters and Faculty Mentors
HUB Ohio Room

5:00 p.m. | Awards Ceremony
HUB Ohio Room

6:00–8:00 p.m. | Juried Undergraduate Art Exhibit 
Kipp Gallery, Sprowls Hall 
Artwork created by undergraduate students. The exhibit will be remain open April 3–12, Tuesday–Friday, from noon to 4 p.m. See the Kipp Gallery website.

USF: Tuesday, April 2, from 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.

GSF: Wednesday, April 3, from 8:00 a.m. to noon.

Why should you go?

• See scholarly work in your discipline and get ideas for the kinds of work you could do in the future.
• Learn about how to present your work at conferences.
• See what a scholarly conference looks like.
• Support your friends who are presenting!
• Satisify a class requirement (attendance vouchers will be available).

Take a look at the USF presentation titles and times by discipline or department.

You can also access the USF schedule, or the GSF schedule.

So mark your calendars for Tuesday, April 2, and Wednesday, April 3. See you there!

If you are an IUP faculty member, attending the USF will give you the opportunity to:

• See the high-quality work that undergraduate students are doing on our campus across a variety of disciplines.
• Support students in their efforts to produce scholarly work.
• Give students an audience. Ask them questions that will help them learn to verbally discuss their work.
• Help students think more deeply about their work by offering ideas from within or outside of their discipline.
• Get ideas for the kinds of scholarship that your students could engage in.
• Support your faculty colleagues who have mentored students to present their work.

If you are an IUP student, attending the USF will give you the opportunity to:

• See scholarly work in your own discipline.
• Learn about how to present your work at conferences.
• See what a scholarly conference looks like.
• Support your friends who are presenting.
• Get ideas for the kinds of scholarly work you could do in the future.
• Satisify a class requirement (attendance vouchers will be available).

There are a few ways to see what is available at the USF. You can view titles and times for presentations from your discipline or department. You can also access the USF 2013 program document, which outlines the entire day.

Mark your calendars for Tuesday, April 2, 2013! We look forward to seeing you there.

Here is the basic schedule of activities and locations:

• 7:30 a.m. - Registration begins
• 8:00–9:20 a.m. - Oral presentation concurrent sessions
• 9:30–10:50 a.m. - Oral presentation concurrent sessions
• 11:00 a.m.–12:20 p.m. - Oral presentation concurrent sessions
• 12:30–1:50 p.m. - Poster presentations - Presenters available to discuss their work
• 2:00–3:20 p.m. - Oral presentation concurrent sessions
• 4:30 p.m. - Reception for student presenters and faculty mentors, HUB Ohio Room
• 5:00 p.m. - Awards Ceremony in the HUB Ohio Room
• 6:00–8:00 p.m. - Juried Undergraduate Art Exhibit in Kipp Gallery (Sprowls Hall)

View titles and times for presentations from your discipline or department.

This year’s Undergraduate Scholars Forum will include 53 poster presentations, 67 oral paper presentations, four business case studies, and two performances. There are 132 students presenting sponsored by 80 different faculty members. A reception for all students and faculty sponsors will take place in the HUB at 4:30, with the awards ceremony at 5:00 and the Juried Undergraduate Art Exhibit in Kipp Gallery at 6:00.

Mark your calendars to come see the variety of scholarship being conducted by undergraduate students at IUP!

All proposals must have a faculty sponsor, so discuss your ideas with a faculty member to prepare your submission. See the USF website for additional details and the link to the submission system.

The USF is an excellent way to gain experience presenting your work, and it adds to your resume. In addition, over $1,000 in cash prizes, awards, and gift cards will be given to students whose work is judged to be of the highest quality.

The eighth annual USF will be held on April 2.

There are many forms of undergraduate scholarship. The USF includes more than just traditional research studies. There are a number of formats that students can use to present their work so that every discipline can participate. Students can do oral presentations, poster presentations, or media presentations. Students could present a literature review, a research study that is in progress, a consulting project for a community group, Web pages designed for a business, a comparison of two approaches to aging services, or a media essay. Consider what your students are doing that is of high quality, and be the faculty sponsor for their submission to the Forum.

The submission system can be accessed here.

The Undergraduate Scholars Forum is cosponsored by the Office of the President and the School of Graduate Studies and Research.

All proposals must have a faculty sponsor, so discuss your ideas with a faculty member and prepare your submission. See the USF website for additional details and the link to the submission system.

The USF is an excellent way to gain experience presenting your work, and it adds to your resume. In addition, over $1,000 in cash prizes, awards, and gift cards will be given to students whose work is judged to be of the highest quality. 

Submissions from all disciplines will be accepted. This includes a wide variety of scholarly work, such as:

• oral paper presentations
• poster presentations
• business cases
• music or dance performances
• art installations
• literary readings
• critical literary analysis
• literature reviews
• completed research studies
• multimedia presentations including web pages, photography

The eighth annual USF will be held on April 2. The USF gives undergraduate students in all disciplines an opportunity to present their original research, scholarly activities, teacher work samples, business cases, or creative works in a variety of presentation formats.

We invite faculty to think broadly about student scholarship. The USF accepts more than just traditional research studies. There are oral presentations and poster presentations, an art exhibit, dance and music performances, multimedia presentations, photography, web designs, and teacher work samples. Presentations must represent high-quality work that goes beyond the typical classroom assignment, and submissions must have a faculty sponsor who will attest to the quality of the work.

The forum gives undergraduate students in all disciplines an opportunity to present their original research, scholarly activities, teacher work samples, business cases, or creative works in a variety of presentation formats.

Submissions are accepted from ALL undergraduate students who demonstrate outstanding scholarly accomplishment within their discipline. Presentations must represent high-quality work that goes beyond the typical classroom assignment, and must have a faculty sponsor who will attest to the quality of the work.

Students graduating from undergraduate programs in December are eligible to submit a proposal to the forum as long as they're able to attend the event and present their work.

Submissions are due by 5:00 p.m., Friday, February 22, 2013.

The Undergraduate Scholars Forum is co-sponsored by the Office of the President and the School of Graduate Studies and Research. Find more information at Undergraduate Scholars Forum.

Here is the basic schedule of activities and locations:

8:00 a.m.–Noon

• Business Case Competition – HUB

8:30 a.m.–4:30 p.m.

• Oral presentation sessions and performances
  HUB and Cogswell Hall

11:20 a.m.–1:30 p.m.

• Poster discussions – HUB

4:30–6:30 p.m.

• Undergraduate Juried Art Exhibition
  Kipp Art Gallery, Sprowls Hall

4:30–5:15 p.m.

• Reception for students and faculty sponsors
  Sprowls Hall

5:15–6:30 p.m.

• Awards Ceremony and Program
  McVitty Auditorium, Sprowls Hall

This year’s Undergraduate Scholars Forum (USF) will include 55 posters, 63 oral presentations, four performances, five Business Case Competition entries, and an Undergraduate Juried Art Exhibition. A reception for all students and faculty sponsors will take place in the lobby of Sprowls Hall, and the Juried Art Exhibit will be open for browsing.

Awards for the USF are sponsored by Aramark, the Co-op Store, the IUP Research Institute, S-Comm Program, Sigma Xi, College of Education and Educational Technology, College of Fine Arts, and IUP Libraries. Attendance vouchers will be provided for students.

Please come help us celebrate the various forms of scholarship in which undergraduates are engaging on our campus!

The program and additional information on the forum can be found at the Undergraduate Scholars Forum website.

This is an excellent way to gain experience presenting your work and it adds to your resume. In addition, over $1,000 in cash prizes, awards, and gift cards will be given to students whose work is judged to be of the highest quality.

The USF will be held on Tuesday, April 3, 2012. Scholarly work from all disciplines will be accepted. This includes a wide variety of scholarly work such as:

• oral paper presentations
• poster presentations
• business cases
• music or dance performances
• art installations
• literary readings
• critical literary analysis
• literature reviews
• completed research studies

Students are encouraged to submit a proposal to present at the forum. All student proposals must have a faculty sponsor, so discuss your ideas with a faculty member as you prepare your submission. See the USF website for additional details and the link to the submission system.

The USF will be held on Tuesday, April 3, 2012. Scholarly work from all disciplines will be accepted. This includes a wide variety of scholarly work such as:

• oral paper presentations
• poster presentations 
• business cases
• music or dance performances
• art installations
• literary readings
• critical literary analysis
• literature reviews
• completed research studies

Faculty are asked to think broadly about what would be considered scholarly work in your discipline and to encourage students to submit their proposals. If work completed for a class project is appropriate, please select only those of the highest quality for submission to the forum. Also, remember that research using either animals or human participants must have IRB approval.

Students are encouraged to consider submitting a proposal to present at the forum. This is an excellent way to build your presentation skills and your resume. All student proposals must have a faculty sponsor, so discuss your ideas with a faculty member as you prepare your submission.

The purpose of this forum is to provide IUP undergraduate students across disciplines with an opportunity for professional development by presenting their original research, scholarly activities, teacher work samples, or creative works. Presentations must represent high-quality work that goes beyond the typical classroom assignment, and must have a faculty sponsor who will attest to the quality of the work.

Please visit the Undergraduate Scholars Forum website to read the call for papers and learn more about the forum. Also, be sure to mark your schedules now to be part of this exciting event!

The purpose of this forum is to provide IUP undergraduate students across disciplines with an opportunity for professional development by presenting their original research, scholarly activities, teacher work samples, or creative works. Presentations must represent high-quality work that goes beyond the typical classroom assignment, and must have a faculty sponsor who will attest to the quality of the work.

Please visit the Undergraduate Scholars Forum website to read the call for papers and learn more about the forum. Also, be sure to mark your schedules now to be part of this exciting event!

See the list of student award winners.

The purpose of this forum is to provide IUP undergraduate students across disciplines with an opportunity for professional development by presenting their original research, scholarly activities, teacher work samples, or creative works. Presentations must represent high-quality work that goes beyond the typical classroom assignment, and must have a faculty sponsor who will attest to the quality of the work. Faculty members are urged to encourage students who are engaging in high-quality work to submit a proposal.

Please visit the Undergraduate Scholars Forum website to read the call for papers and learn more about the forum. Also, be sure to mark your schedules now to be part of this exciting event!

The purpose of this forum is to provide IUP undergraduate students across disciplines with an opportunity for professional development by presenting their original research, scholarly activities, teacher work samples, or creative works. Presentations must represent high-quality work that goes beyond the typical classroom assignment and must have a faculty sponsor who will attest to the quality of the work.

Please visit the Undergraduate Scholars Forum website to read the call for papers and learn more about the forum. Also, be sure to mark your schedules now to be part of this exciting event!

See the list of 2010 Undergraduate Scholars Forum Award Winners. 

This year’s forum will include over sixty poster sessions, fifty oral presentations, two musical performances, eight entries in the Business Case Competition, and sixteen entries in the Undergraduate Juried Art Exhibition.

The schedule is as follows:

• 8:00 a.m.–noon — Business Case Competition (HUB)
• 8:30 a.m.–4:30 p.m. — Concurrent sessions of oral presentations and performances (HUB)
• 11:20 a.m.–1:30 p.m. — Poster sessions (HUB Ohio Room)
• 4:30–6:30 p.m. — Student Juried Art Exhibition (Kipp Art Gallery, Sprowls Hall)
• 5:30 p.m. — Awards ceremony (McVitty Auditorium, Sprowls Hall)

A reception for all students and faculty sponsors will take place in the lobby of Sprowls Hall immediately preceding the awards ceremony, where the Juried Art Exhibit will remain open for browsing.

Speakers at the awards ceremony will include President Tony Atwater and Dr. Gian Pagnucci, the 2009–2010 University Professor. Awards for best posters, oral presentations, performances, business cases, art entries, and teacher work samples will be presented by Dr. Pagnucci and Dr. Gerald W. Intemann, provost and vice president for Academic Affairs. Awards for the Undergraduate Scholars Forum are sponsored by Aramark, the Co-op Store, the IUP Research Institute, IUP Libraries, IUP chapter of Sigma Xi, the College of Fine Arts, and the College of Education and Educational Technology.

Further information on the forum can be found at the Undergraduate Scholars Forum website.

This year’s forum will include over sixty poster sessions, fifty oral presentations, two musical performances, eight entries in the Business Case Competition, and sixteen entries in the Undergraduate Juried Art Exhibition.

The schedule is as follows:

• 8:30 a.m.–4:30 p.m.
  Oral Presentations, Poster Session, Business Case Competition and Music Performances—HUB
• 4:30 p.m.–6:30 p.m.
  Student Juried Art Exhibition, Kipp Art Gallery, Sprowls Hall (continuing through April 9, Tuesday–Friday, noon–4:00 p.m.)
• 5:30 p.m.
  Awards Ceremony—McVitty Auditorium, Sprowls Hall

A reception for all students and faculty sponsors will take place in the lobby of Sprowls Hall immediately preceding the awards ceremony, where the Juried Art Exhibit will remain open for browsing. President Tony Atwater will present awards for the best posters, oral presentations, performances, business cases, art entries, and teacher work samples at the awards ceremony.

Awards for the Undergraduate Scholars Forum are sponsored by Aramark, the Co-op Store, the IUP Research Institute, IUP Libraries, IUP chapter of Sigma Xi, the College of Fine Arts, and the College of Education and Educational Technology.

Further information on the forum can be found at the Undergraduate Scholars Forum website.

The deadline for submissions to IUP’s fifth annual Undergraduate Scholars Forum is fast approaching! Submissions are due by February 22, 2010, and require faculty sponsorship.

Student submissions will be accepted electronically on the USF webpage. A variety of presentation formats are available, including:

• individual and group oral presentations
• discussion panels
• poster presentations
• business case competition
• arts presentations and performances including a juried art exhibit

There are a number of resources available at the USF website to help students, including:

• How to submit
• Sample submissions 
• Information about IRB approval 
• Helpful ideas for preparing presentations and posters

We also hope to see you at the event itself, which will be held on Thursday, April 1, 2010, at the Hadley Union Building, Kipp Art Gallery, and Sprowls Hall.

Dr. Timothy Mack, dean, School of Graduate Studies and Research 

Dr. Edward Donley, Dr. Beth Mabry, Dr. Lisa Hammett Price, USF 2010 cochairs

Submissions are being accepted from all undergraduate students at IUP who demonstrate outstanding accomplishment in scholarly activity within their discipline. Students who graduated from undergraduate programs in December are eligible to submit a proposal to the forum as long as they are able to attend the event and present their work.

A variety of presentation formats are available, including individual and group oral presentations, discussion panels, poster sessions, and arts presentations. Types of presentations include:

• A review of the literature
• Teacher work samples
• A research study (in progress or completed)
• A work of art or musical composition
• A play or creative work
• A business case competition

Faculty members are encouraged to bring this opportunity to the attention of students who might be interested in presenting their work. Students are encouraged to consider submitting projects they are currently working on. All submissions must have a faculty sponsor.

For further details about the forum, go to the Undergraduate Scholars Forum homepage. You can find examples of previous submissions and other helpful information at the About the USF webpage.

Dr. Timothy Mack, Dean, School of Graduate Studies and Research

Dr. Edward Donley, Dr. Beth Mabry, Dr. Lisa Hammett Price, USF 2010 Cochairs

Submissions are accepted from all undergraduate students at IUP who demonstrate outstanding accomplishment in scholarly activity within their discipline. A variety of presentation formats are available, including individual and group oral presentations, discussion panels, poster sessions, and arts presentations. Types of presentations include:

Faculty are encouraged to bring this opportunity to the attention of students who might be interested in presenting their work. Students are encouraged to consider submitting projects they are currently working on. All submissions must have a faculty sponsor. Be sure to mark your calendars now to be part of this exciting event.

Submissions are DUE by February 22, 2010.

For further details about the forum, go to the Undergraduate Scholars Forum homepage. You can find examples of previous submissions and other helpful information at the About the USF webpage.

Dr. Timothy Mack, Dean, School of Graduate Studies and Research

Dr. Edward Donley, Dr. Beth Mabry, Dr. Lisa Hammett Price, USF 2010 Co-Chairs

The Undergraduate Scholars Forum provides all undergraduate students with an opportunity for scholarly development by presenting their original research, scholarly activities or creative endeavors.

Forum participation is designed to foster scholarship and collegiality among undergraduate students and faculty members and to provide a forum for undergraduate students to discuss their academic work with a community of scholars. The forum will be held on Tuesday, April 7, 2009.

More information about the Undergraduate Scholars Forum

The Undergraduate Scholars Forum provides all undergraduate students with an opportunity for scholarly development by presenting their original research, scholarly activities or creative endeavors. Conference participation is designed to foster scholarship and collegiality among undergraduate students and faculty and to provide a forum for undergraduate students to discuss their academic work with a community of scholars.

Best Presentation Awards

Awards were presented for Best Presentation from each of the nineteen concurrent sessions at the forum. The Best Presentation in Session winners were as follows:

• Thomas Melvin and Angelo Manifest
  Department of Biology
  “Science Where Students Develop Their Own Labs: A Model of Inquiry”
• Lauren Venturino
  Department of Economics
  “The Practiced and the Preached: An Analysis of State Divorce Rates and Religious Participation”
• Lindy Kopicki
  Department of Sociology
  “Gender Differences in Preference for Community Pull Factors”
• Jeremy DeLuca
  Department of Music
  “The Evolution of the Marching Arts”
• Janelle Porter
  Department of Food and Nutrition
  “Local Determinants of Malnutrition in Bolivian Children”
• Beth Leverett
  Department of Chemistry
  “A Crystallographic Detective Story: Solving the Li2ZnSnS4 Structure”
• Raymond Elliott
  Department of History
  “Seeking Social Change: The Role of African-American Churches During the Civil Rights Movement”
• Sonya Seitz
  Department of Art
  “Disability Awareness and Documentation Through Art”
• Julianne Gillespie
  Department of Health and Physical Education
  “Physical Activity and Depression/Anxiety Levels”
• Sean Olson
  Department of Computer Science
  “Measuring Digital Image Similarity Using a New Histogram-Based Approach”
• Loni Yatsko
  Department of Sociology
  “Buzz Cuts and Poly-Blends: How Lesbian Self-Concepts are Affected by Lesbians in the Media”
• Aaron Treher
  Department of Art
  “Evolutionary Understanding”
• Alicia Rich
  Department of Anthropology
  “Who’s the Boss: Female Competition, Conflict, and Alliances During Transfer of Western Lowland Gorilla Females”
• Natalia Kaniasty
  Department of Theater and Dance
  “Dramatizing Interview Material: Strategies of Documentary Drama”
• Courtney Cullen
  Department of Art
  “The Critique”
• Mara Iverson
  Department of History
  “Hues of Heresy: A Contextual Analysis of the Galileo Affair”
• Mandy Moser
  Department of Criminology
  “Juvenile Justice: A review of Juvenile Transfer”
• Laura Heiman
  Department of History
  “Buying History: A Historical Analysis of Museum Funding”
• Charles Stanavich
  Department of Political Science
  “Private Military Companies: A Question of Integration”

Best Poster Awards

Awards were presented for Best Poster from each college.

College of Education and Educational Technology

Stephanie Fitzpatrick
Department of Special Education and Clinical Services
“School Counseling Needs of the Deaf and Hard of Hearing”

College of Health and Human Services

Ginger Lucas, Kevin Martincic, and Robert Ritenour
Department of Criminology
“Community Re-entry after Imprisonment”

College of Natural Sciences and Mathematics

Kenneth Glassford
Department of Biology
“Roles of p53 and BCL-2 as Localized Prostate Cancer Indicators, Using Immunohistochemical Analysis”

College of Humanities and Social Sciences

Kasie Pletcher
Department of Sociology
“I Can Do Anything You Can Do Better: Gender and Perceptions of Leadership Effectiveness”

College of Fine Arts

Jessica Sabol
Department of Theater and Dance
“The Beauty Queen of Leenane”: Unearthing a Culture, Cultivating a Story”

Eberly College of Business and Information Technology

Mallory Blaniar, Anthony Almond, and Paul Valdiserri
Department of Management
“The Economic Effects of Mardi Gras on New Orleans Business Structure”

Interdisciplinary/Synthesis

Robert Roche, Pierino Delli Bovi, Craig Peterson, and Hansen Wijaya
“Making a Great City Better”

Best Performance Award

Michael Dooley
Department of Music
“Ilijas: Odd Meter and Odd Technique”

Best Bibliography Awards

The IUP Libraries presented awards for the Best Bibliography for a Submitted Paper or Presentation. 

First Place, Best Overall Sources

Sasha M. King

First Runner-Up, Best Scientific Sources

Kalin Trevor McDannell

First Runner-Up, Best History Sources

Gina Anne Russo

Honorable Mention, Best Innovative Sources

Lauren Bazala
Sylvia Choi
Sean Riffle

Honorable Mention, Best Visual Arts Sources

Alisha McCurdy

Honorable Mention, Best Music Sources

Tracey Baker

Undergraduate Juried Art Exhibit Awards

The College of Fine Arts sponsored the Juried Art Exhibit awards.

First Place

Jason Brown, “Child in Play”

Second Place

Matt Madonna, “Reverse Evolution”

Third Place

Melissa Clutz, “Chestnut”

Fourth Place

Kyla Groat, “Silhouette”

Honorable Mentions

• Stephen Nachreiner, “Wood Stool”
• Joshua Kosker, “The Dreaming”
• Joshua Kosker, “Use Me”
• Stephanie Zini, “The Dance of the Twisted Souls”
• Nicole Adams, “00925457”

Dean’s Award

Jason Brown, “Child in Play”

Sigma Xi Best Science Poster Awards

Sigma Xi presented awards for the Best Science Poster.

First Place

Antonio Scatena
Polymerase Chain Reaction: Amplification of RNA from Tomato Mosaic Virus

Second Place

Jason Wallach
Social Modulation of HVc auditory response in Taeniopygia guttata, Zebra finch

Third Place

Caitlin Williamson
Homology Modeling of Influenza A Virus Polymerase Basic 2 Subuint

Common Freshman Reader Awards

Common Freshman Reader Essay Winners

First-Year Student Essay Winner

Nicholas Haynos

First-Place Upper Class Student Essay Winner

Ian Duckworth

Second-Place Upper Class Student Essay Winner

Christina Roberts

Honorable Mention Essay Winners

• Anthony Blair
• Marianne Gumbosky
• Jordan Pacific
• Lauren Venturino

Creative Works Creativity Award

Monika Hofmann

Creative Works Content Award

• Allyson Hale
• Jill Barker

Paper Presentation Matrix

Poster Session Diagram

8½-by-11 Flier

All presentations, performances, and exhibits are open to the public so please come and support the IUP student researchers.  See the Forum Program, which includes times, locations, presentation titles and names of presenters.