Sewanee Research

As we move toward a new academic year, here are some of the successes of the past year, thanks to the support of so many of you!

Congratulations to Graham Nystrom, C’26, who received a Ledford Scholarship from the Appalachian College Association for his research to assess the status of diamondback terrapins in South Carolina. Graham will be surveying estuaries for their presence relative to sea level rise and coastal erosion and will be mentored by Kristen Cecala with support from Max Dahlquist and Chris Van de Ven.

Yesterday's SURF Research Frenzy was a rousing success! Although not all of the 51 summer research fellows presented their work yesterday, many of them did, in the form of either posters or oral presentations. These students provided much to think and talk about on a lovely mid-summer day.

Don't forget to attend the SURF Research Frenzy tomorrow!

This summer, 51 students participated in the Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship program. Come to the SURF Research Frenzy next Wednesday to learn about what they have been up to!

Reid Calhoun, C’22, lead-authored a paper with Dr. Eric Ezell in the Journal of Coastal Research on the burden of plastics and other anthropogenic debris on the beaches of St. Catherine’s Island, a barrier island in Georgia. The data were collected by Sewanee’s Island Ecology Program students in 2021. Reid began this work as a capstone project for the Environment & Sustainability major, and he is now a MSc student at the Virginia Institute of Marine Science.

Chloe Sims, C’27, has completed a research project with Dr. Martin Knoll investigating shark teeth in the local Mississippian (circa 320 my) strata. Chloe discovered 23 teeth within various layers of the Pennington Formation at Depot Branch on campus. Among the teeth were samples from the extinct shark Saivodus striatus. These are the first finds of their kind on this part of the Cumberland Plateau and shed new light on the shallow marine ecosystem in which the limestones of the Pennington Formation were deposited.

Eric Holt Stewart (C'25) published this paper recently in Trends in Physical Chemistry along with Dr. Douglas Barlow (Physics). Congratulations to both of them!

Marley Barton, C'24, and Dr. Grady Wells (Biology) finished a project that was focused on comparing sampling methods (electrofishing vs. kick seining) for crayfish in four headwater streams on the Domain. Results from their project found 1) more individuals were captured with electrofishing compared with kick seining across all streams, and 2) captured individuals were of similar sizes using both methods. Barton and Wells plan to submit a manuscript to the journal, Freshwater Crayfish.

Elizabeth Fisher and Olivia Stafford, both C'24, and Heyward Bost and Leah McBain, both C'26, presented their research at the ASIANetwork conference in Atlanta in April. They are shown here with their mentor, Dr. Alison Miller (Art History).

Thanks to all the students, staff, and faculty who helped to make Scholarship Sewanee such a successful showcase for the quality and quantity of undergraduate research that takes place at Sewanee. And a special shoutout to the Order of the Gown for their co-sponsorship!

Friday (April 26) is the day that 320 undergraduate students will be participating in Scholarship Sewanee, presenting 65 talks and 134 posters reflecting months or years of work on a research project, whatever form that might take in their departments. It is also the day that we will have the pleasure of hearing Dr. Anne Gulick speak about her research on Students, Global Literature, and the Idea of the University. Don’t miss this research extravaganza!

Twelve of these smiling students presented their research projects at the Mid-South Psychology conference in Memphis recently. They were accompanied by their faculty mentors, Dr. Katy Morgan and Dr. Chris Silver.

Today is ! Please help to support students who want a summer research experience (https://www.givecampus.com/campaigns/43082/donations/new?designation=summerundergraduateresearchfellowship&tc=13941) or who need travel support to present their research at a conference (https://www.givecampus.com/campaigns/43082/donations/new?designation=studentconferencetravel&tc=13941).

Grace Brown, C'25, had a Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship last year. Tonight she and her mentor, Marcus Murphy (Office of Global Citizenship), will be discussing Sewanee's early Asian connections. Come hear about their research tonight (April 9) from 6 p.m. to 7 p.m. in the McClurg ABC rooms!

The Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship program supports Sewanee students while they spend their summer doing research in a variety of fields. It looks like we will have a record number of participants this year. Help us support these students tomorrow on !

This year, 54 of our researching students have had the opportunity to present their work at professional conferences. The Office of Undergraduate Research helps to support the students' travel expenses. On , *you* can help support student conference travel!

Students can share the joy of discovery by engaging in mentored research. Help Sewanee make more of this happen by supporting the Office of Undergraduate Research and Scholarship on .

Sewanee students receive intensive research mentoring from faculty. A week from today, on Tiger Tuesday, you will be able to help this high-impact practice continue and expand by supporting the Office of Undergraduate Research and Scholarship!

Oleksii Pedlypenets, C'26, Channita Keuk, C'24, Rayna Nemcek C'25, and Yulia Humeniuk, C'24, each presented their research projects at the recent meeting of the American Chemical Society in New Orleans. Their mentors are Drs. Rob Bachman, Evan Joslin, and Deon Miles. This kind of personalized mentoring is one of the benefits of a Sewanee education!

During spring break, five student dancers, Clara Allen, Talia de la Cruz, Izzie Grass, Gracie Moore, and Kate White, attended the American College Dance Association's South Regional Conference at Belhaven University in Jackson, MS. Kate White's dance, Reprieve, was performed by Allen, de la Cruz, and White in an adjudicated concert. A panel of three adjudicators gave feedback on the choreography and performance, describing it as, "fascinating, extraordinary, authentic, and precise." Talia de la Cruz's dance, Time and Space, performed by all five dancers was a crowd-pleaser in an informal concert. The dancers attended four full days of concerts, workshops and classes in a diverse range of styles. Additionally, Clara Allen, ACDA Student Representative for Sewanee, and Kate White (alternate) participated in a meeting of Student Representatives for the South Region, facilitated by Associate Professor Courtney World, ACDA Board Member and Chair of ACDA's Student Engagement Committee.

Molly Almon, C'24, and Kostas Andriotis, C'25, presented their research at the Association of Southeastern Biologists in Chattanooga recently!

Congratulations to Rob Sullivan, C' 25, who just found out that the poster he presented at the Tennessee Academy of Science meeting in November was awarded first place among all the Health and Medical Science student poster presentations! His proud mentor is Dr. Kate Cammack (Neuroscience and Psychology).

An amazing research experience, made possible in part by funding from the Office of Undergraduate Research and scholarship!

Bearing Witness A two-year odyssey takes a Sewanee history and German major from Tennessee to Berlin to navigate a web of archives and emotional revelations as she uncovers the lost stories of Holocaust victims.

Congratulations to Rebecca Liles, C'27, whose play will be performed at the Barter Theatre's College Play Festival!

A huge congratulations to freshman, Rebecca Liles, whose 10 min play was selected for the Barter Theatre's College Play Festival. Rebecca, who wrote the play in Introduction to Playwriting with Professor Wilder, will have a chance to travel to the Barter Theatre, rehearse her play, attend a master class in playwriting, and watch a public performance of all the winning plays.

Four students (Heyward Bost, C'26, Maddy Donnelly, C'24, Elizabeth Fisher, C'24, & Kate Shackelford C'25) in Alison Miller's Chinese Contemporary Art class have developed podcasts reporting their research on Japanese Prints housed at our very own University Archives. Listen to them now on Spotify!

Sewanee Art History Podcast Listen to Sewanee Art History Podcast on Spotify. Exploring art and visual culture at the University of the South

Dr. Elise Kikis (Biology) and her students (McNoriel Baldonado, C'26, Jeremiah Studivant, '24, Hannah Talbott, '25, & Hannah Womble, C'25) presented their research on the effects of environmental stress on proteostasis at the 29th annual Midwest Stress Response and Molecular Chaperone Conference recently.

Congratulations to Dr. Chris Shelley, who just received an Undergraduate Research Mentor Grant to enable him to buy 8 Luidia clathrata sea stars for his research project with Debbie (Yi Voon) Lim, Jackson Deneka, Jadon Fetrow, and Ellie Vincent (all C'24), entitled Injection and Movement Tracking of Gray Sea Stars!