Quincy University Academic Symposium 2021 by Quincy University

Academic Symposium

April 6-28, 2021 1

About the QU Academic Symposium

The Quincy University Academic Symposium is a showcase for student achievement across our liberal arts curriculum. On this day, student presenters will engage in professional performance and discourse with experts in their field of study, as well as the greater community, to disseminate their work. The symposium also provides a public forum for academic competition with prizes awarded to a student and their faculty mentor from each department, including graduate studies programs.

Alignment with QU Mission

Participation in the QU Academic Symposium honors the pursuit of wisdom through education and rewards scholarly leadership.

Schedule Tuesday, April 6th 9:30am–10:45 am Brunch & Learn – MacHugh Theatre, Francis Hall • 9:30-10:05 Developing Standardized Written and Video Protocols for Aplysia californica Research. Presenters: Baylee Arnold, Makaela Hampton, Madalyn Tegeler Mentor: Dr. Kimberly Hale • 10:10-10:45 Investigating the Antimicrobial Properties of Aplysia californica Ink. Presenters: Kylee Schanbacher, MacKenzie Collier, and Rachel Hennegan Mentor: Dr. Kimberly Hale Muffins and water served. Gluten free and vegan options are provided.

Wednesday, April 7th 11:20am–11:55 am Lunch & Learn – Connie Niemann South Auditorium, North Campus • 11:20 am–11:55 am Food Dood. Presenters: Conner Buckner, Kayla Mellon Mentor: Dr. Husam Ghazaleh Boxed lunch and water served. Gluten free and vegan options are provided.

Monday, April 12th 11:20 am–12:35 pm Lunch & Learn – Connie Niemann South Auditorium North Campus • 11:20 am–11:55 am Klezmer Clarinet Performance Practice in Fishel Pustilnik’s Gypsy Dance. Performer: Christopher Barrett Mentor: Dr. Christine Damm • 12:00 pm–12:35 pm VGA 111: Composition of Video Games. Presenter: Jeremiah Baselice Mentor: Dr. Michael Keller Boxed lunch and water served. Gluten free and vegan options are provided. 3

3:00pm–4:00 pm Snack & Learn Live Demo – Cyber Futures Wing (FRH 241), Francis Hall • 3:00 pm–4:00 pm The VR Football Experience. Presenters: Marcell Ellis, Alan Wilson, Marcel Scott Mentor: Dr. Husam Ghazaleh Cookies, candy and water served. Gluten free and vegan options are provided. 4:10 pm–4:45 pm Snack & Learn – FRH 234, Francis Hall • 4:00 pm–4:45 pm How Startups are Built: Important Lessons from Successful Startups. Presenter: Gregory Phillips Mentor: Dr. Vicky Eidson Cookies, candy and water served. Gluten free and vegan options are provided.

Tuesday, April 13th 9:30 am–10:05 am Brunch & Learn – MacHugh Theatre Francis Hall • 9:30 am–10:05 am Household Spices as Anti-Inflammatory Agents. Presenter: Charlie Stuart Mentor: Dr. Caitlin Deskins Muffins and water served. Gluten free and vegan options are provided. 3:30 pm–5:00 pm Snack & Learn – Hall of Fame Room, Health & Fitness Center Multiple sessions. Stop in any time. • Robotics Demo & Poster: Face Recognition for Nao Robot. Presenter: Carrie Hert Mentor: Dr. Husam Ghazaleh Cookies, candy and water served. Gluten free and vegan options are provided.

Wednesday, April 14th 11:20 am–1:15 pm Lunch & Learn – Connie Niemann South Auditorium, North Campus • 11:20 am–11:55 am CRYPTO, NFTs, BLOCK CHAIN. Presenters: Samuele Contestabile, Daniel Sanchez, Ettore Pavesi Mentor: Jennifer Breeden, MBA • 12:00 pm–12:35 pm Effectiveness of Various Face Coverings. • Presenters: Sarah Nelson, Delaney Lantz • Mentor: Dr. Kimberly Hale • 12:40 pm–1:15 pm Best Ways to Market Education. Presenter: Samuele Contestabile Mentor: Jennifer Breeden, MBA Boxed lunch and water served. Gluten free and vegan options are provided. 3:00 pm–4:30 pm Snack & Learn – Hall of Fame Room, Health & Fitness Center Multiple, concurrent sessions. Stop in any time. • Biology Poster: Developing a Protocol for Collecting Ink from Aplysia californica. Presenters: Katelyn Dixon, Rachel Hennegan, Madeline Meyer Mentor: Dr. Kimberly Hale • Computer Science Presentation & Demo: Teaching Kids Programming By Games. Presenter: Meshawn Marshall Mentor: Dr. Husam Ghazaleh Cookies, candy and water served. Gluten free and vegan options are provided.

Friday, April 16th – Academic Symposium Website GO LIVE Judging begins - Submit your feedback to presenters https://www.quincy.edu/academic-symposium/

Wednesday, April 28th 12:20-1:20pm Awards Presentation & Reception - Connie Niemann South Auditorium, North Campus • Meet the researchers and mentors • All are welcome

Abstracts 2021 Presenters 6

Biology Developing Standardized Written and Video Protocols for Aplysia californica Research Researchers: Baylee Arnold, Makaela Hampton, Madalyn Tegeler Mentor: Kimberly Hale, Ph.D., Professor of Biological Sciences A common challenge new research students experience when joining a research group is becoming properly trained on how to perform the various protocols and techniques utilized in the research specific to that lab. It is also significant to ensure that every member of the group is performing indistinguishable protocols, and if improvements are made to protocols, everyone is aware. This is essential for obtaining consistent, reproducible results. The goal of this project is to ensure that lab protocols, written and video, are stored in an accessible folder to everyone in the group and for future groups. We feel that uniform protocols have improved the care and performance of the Aplysia californica to yield more consistent results during this semester of research. It is our goal that this practice will be continued and will improve the experience of future research students, and a few of the protocol videos may be useful when teaching future introductory level science courses.

Investigating the Antimicrobial Properties of Aplysia californica Ink Researchers: Kylee Schanbacher, Mac Kenzie Collier, Rachel Hennegan Mentor: Kimberly Hale, Ph.D., Professor of Biological Sciences Aplysia californica, commonly known as sea hares, secrete a dark purple ink when threatened or injured as a defense. Over the past three years, our research group has consistently shown that ink collected from Aplysia californica has antimicrobial activity. However, we have also observed that there is variation in the amount of antimicrobial activity of ink collected from different organisms. The focus of this research is to examine the ink collected from various Aplysia californica and attempt to identify the substances that account for variations in antimicrobial activity. This research employed various scientific techniques, including zone of inhibition studies, agarose gels, western gels, centrifugation to separate ink, and infrared spectroscopy (IR). We have discovered some significant differences between Aplysia californica inks that have different degrees of antimicrobial activities.

Effectiveness of Various Face Coverings Researchers: Sarah Nelson, Delaney Lantz Mentor: Kimberly Hale, Ph.D., Professor of Biological Sciences This research is a continuation of a Microbiology class project (Fall 2020). Our goal is to demonstrate how well various facecoverings prevent the spread of microorganisms. It is significant to note that our studies will demonstrate the ability of face coverings to stop the spread of bacteria and fungi but will not specifically show the effect on viruses. Our research specifically focused on cloth masks, disposable masks, and face shields. The results demonstrated that all of these were quite effective at preventing the spread of microorganisms when coughing.

Developing a Protocol for Collecting Ink from Aplysia californica Researchers: Katelyn Dixon, Rachel Hennegan, Madeline Meyer Mentor: Kimberly Hale, Ph.D., Professor of Biological Sciences As the focus of our research group shifted to studying the ink of Aplysia californica, we needed to be able to collect ink when it was needed. Inking is a protective mechanism used by these organisms to provide a screen-like decoy in order to escape from their prey. This means that inking usually occurs when the Aplysia feel threatened. QU researchers decided to use this to their benefit and developed a protocol to humanely collect ink on demand for Aplysia californica. The developed protocol is humane, easy effective (93.75%), and has allowed QU researchers to obtain needed ink which allows them to further their findings on both the antimicrobial properties of the ink itself and the behaviors of these organisms. We believe that other researchers studying the ink of Aplysia californica could also benefit from this protocol.

Business How Startups are Built: Important Lessons from Successful Startups Researcher: Gregory Phillips Mentor: Vicky Eidson, D.Mgt., Professor of Accounting A large volume of thought is given to today’s large companies; however, less mind is given to their origins. Innovation and greatness happen step by step to the creator but appear to be in leaps and bounds to the viewer. Therefore, to learn how great companies become great, we peel back the curtain on successful startups. The results of this research are the distilled teachings of these companies and the similarities that they share. I compiled the reasons businesses succeed and provide examples of how these choices improve their offerings and set them apart from competitors. 9

CRYPTO, NFTs, BLOCKCHAIN Researchers: Samuele Contestabile, Daniel Sanchez, Ettore Pavesi Mentor: Jennifer Breeden, M.B.A, Assistant Professor of Business The future of transactions happens through the new blockchain technology. We want to inform you what this new technology is as well as how blockchain and cryptocurrencies will revolutionize monetary transactions. Our project is about the revolutions that blockchain can create and how it will possibly impact the future. As of today, the use of blockchain technology is limited to Cryptocurrencies and NFT’s. These two creations have already started to revolutionize the world and brought people to see new horizons.

Best Ways to Market Education Researchers: Samuele Contestabile, Noam Hannoun Mentor: Jennifer Breeden, M.B.A, Assistant Professor of Business Working with an Italian company that promotes master programs in Italy has helped me understand the best ways to market education. Indeed, on the many social media ways of communication available today, I have made researches to understand: what is the best way to market education opportunities, how big this market is, and how well people perceive these kinds of opportunities. Through the researches, I have made and the data I have collected, I have found that people are willing to take education opportunities and that the best way to communicate them is through the social media platform Linked-in.

Chemistry Household Herbs and Spices as Anti-Inflammatory Agents Researcher: Charlie Stuart Mentor: Caitlin Deskins, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Chemistry One of the most important scientific discoveries in recent years is that inflammation is involved not only in immune responses but also in many other diseases that can cause serious morbidity and mortality. It is involved in many psychiatric conditions such as bipolar, unipolar depression, schizophrenia, etc..., as well as many physical diseases such as Alzheimer’s disease, cancers, and cardiovascular disease. In the top ten leading causes of death in the U.S., eight involve inflammation. The inflammatory process is a response to tissue damage due to mechanical or bacterial causatives or an immune response. The mechanisms of inflammation involve a series of reactions and molecules. One of the major cellular mechanisms involves the Cyclooxygenase (COX) enzyme. Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs or NSAIDS were developed to inhibit the COX enzyme. However, a majority of NSAIDS exhibit serious adverse effects, so research has been ongoing to find other compounds with anti-inflammatory properties. A literature review showed that a number of herbs and spices were investigated for their biological properties. Based on this, our research group decided to test the effectiveness of household herbs and spices to act as anti-inflammatory remedies. First, we extracted eight different herbs and spices with ethyl alcohol. Then, three different assays were used to identify if any of the eight had anti-inflammatory capabilities and which method of inhibition they used. The assays included a COX (ovine) colorimetric inhibitor screening assay, a nitric oxide production by Griess Assay, and a protein denaturation assay. This research shows that household herbs and spices can be more than just flavor.

Computer Science Food Dood Researchers: Kayla Mellon, Conner Buckner Mentor: Husam Ghazaleh, Ph.D., Instructor of Computer Science We are designing a website that will allow restaurants in Quincy to display their menus and their specials. There is not a central website that shows customers places to eat in Quincy and also displays their menus. Moreover, due to the pandemic, many people are resorting to ordering take-out. This process can be hard to do without first checking Google or Facebook for specials or restaurant information. Not everyone is active on every social media platform on the Internet. Furthermore, Quincy University brings in a number of students not from this area. This website would help people who are not familiar with Quincy to gain easy access to many local and franchise restaurants. We plan to accomplish this by using a series of web pages that will link to each other, a login page, and a database provided by a cloud database such as Firebase.

The VR Football Experience Researchers: Marcell Ellis, Alan Wilson, Marcel Scott Mentor: Husam Ghazaleh, Ph.D., Instructor of Computer Science The VR Football Experience will be a virtual reality football simulation that involves a user operating as a quarterback on the football field. The motivation for this game was the cancellation of the Fall-2020 football season. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, fall sports, including football, had their seasons postponed and consequently were not able to practice or play. The VR Football Experience is a counter-action to the pandemic at hand. With this system, the user will be able to play as the quarterback and read defensive coverage in order to make the correct read or passing play. This allows the user to receive virtual practice repetitions without being in contact with other players. The defense in the simulation will be controlled by artificial intelligence, which will provide randomness for the user. This system is targeted toward Quincy University football players, specifically quarterbacks. Quarterbacks have the most daunting task, as the fate of the team lies within their hands. This system allows for the quarterback to get live virtual repetitions even in the case of quarantine.

Face Recognition for Nao Robot Researcher: Carrie Hert Mentor: Husam Ghazaleh, Ph.D., Instructor of Computer Science I will be teaching the humanoid robot NAO to deal with facial recognition under different circumstances and environments. This is a key element to improving robots in general. There are many applications for face identification, such as security, checking for masks, greeting people by name when seeing them, or many other applications. Python will be used to implement this feature into NAO.

Teaching Kids Programming By Games Researcher: Meshawn Marshall Mentor: Husam Ghazaleh, Ph.D., Instructor of Computer Science My project is to build a 3D game from scratch. This game will use many computer languages and skills to create a fun and interactive environment to teach kids the basics of coding. They will learn mainly key terms in order to gain the knowledge needed to begin programming. To add, the game will have entertaining tasks and obstacles that you must conquer in order to proceed to the next level. As the levels get harder, you will have to go through more difficult obstacles and will be asked more difficult questions. These tasks include racing to the next computer in order to answer the questions given and conquering the obstacles that stand in between you and the computer. The tool I have chosen to complete the prototype for this game is the Unity Game Engine. This game uses many skills used in the computer science world today and has made me test my boundaries with using artistic design and modeling.

English VGA 111: Composition of Video Games Researchers: Jeremiah Baselice Mentor: Michael Keller, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of English The Narratives of Video Games have always fascinated me, from the simplistic tales of Super Mario saving the princess to the complex and emotionally intense stories of The Last of Us. I find it interesting how games, through their gameplay, words, sounds, and visuals are able to convey these stories to players and how this impacts them and influences them. Whether that be information or emotions, they invoke reactions and teach people through experiences. They have long been studied, the great works of authors, for their meanings. What they can tell us about the culture of the time, the people of the time, how they affect different people in different times. In modern times, the majority of people no longer get this from books. They get it from movies and games. Movies are something that has begun to have serious study towards them as an art form of expression and storytelling, and I feel it is vital to have Video Games start being treated with the same inspection. For this project, I wanted to do just that. First, to learn about where and how this is currently being done, finding people that have written about this, and see what they have found so far. Then to help myself understand, I will think back to my life. How I’ve felt with the many times I’ve experienced games. What impacts they left on me, versus what I knew of the impact left on friends. Finally, I want to take a close look at a singular game, exploring its impact on the time and how it was able to accomplish that.

Music Klezmer Clarinet Performance Practice in Fishel Pustilnik’s Gypsy Dance Researchers: Christopher Barrett Mentor: Christine Damm, D.M.A Klezmer music is a genre spun from the Jewish faith and eastern European tradition. Dating back to the 18th century, Jewish musicians traveled and performed music for celebrations, events, holidays, and private parties. The clarinet soon became an integral instrument in the development of this music. The clarinet’s capabilities to produce a wide range of tone and emotion made it an ideal instrument to share this lively and passionate music. As Eastern Europeans immigrated to the United States, they brought their music with them. Performing Klezmer music on the clarinet is very different from performing the western European traditional music that is most often performed in the United States today. Performers are required to incorporate vibrato, pitch bends, growling, and imitate the human voice. Fishel Pustilnik’s Gypsy Dance is written for clarinet and piano. Composed in 2018, Gypsy Dance is an example of modern-day Klezmer music. With its use of extended technique for clarinet and improvisational feel, this piece displays the exciting tonal capabilities of the clarinet. This presentation will be a lecture/performance. I will discuss the historical background of Klezmer music, extended techniques required of the performer, and demonstrate examples on my clarinet. I will then perform the work in its entirety.

Research at QU A collaborative process of learning through experience, reflection, and original thought in which skills are acquired, implemented, and knowledge is disseminated. Students: QU supports faculty-mentored research for all students across the liberal arts spectrum. Contact our Coordinator of Undergraduate Research to find a mentor and begin your research experience. Michelle Combs (combsmi@quincy.edu) or (217)228-5432 ext. 3274 QU Community Members: Support Undergraduate Research Experiences by joining the Undergraduate Research Board (URB) We make research a SURE thing at QU! Contact: Michelle Combs (combsmi@quincy.edu) or (217)2285432 ext. 3274

Additional support for undergraduate research provided by:

NSF Grant

The NSF S-STEM Grant is a scholarship opportunity for incoming students for $5,250 a year for up to 4 years. This grant assists a student to participate in academic, career, and personal development activities such as student research and field trips to graduate schools. A student is paired with a faculty mentor or a success coach and is chosen based on financial need, academic ability and rural origin. The student must major in a non-clinical science field, such as: Chemistry, Biology (Environmental or no concentration). Academic performance level must be maintained in order to continue.

Title III

In October of 2018, The U.S. Department of Education announced that Quincy University is the recipient of a $2.25 million dollar Title III-A Strengthening Institutions grant focusing on expanding student access to science, technology, engineering and math (STEM). This is the largest grant in school history. The Title III grant has allowed QU to start two new majors: Cybersecurity and Business Analytics. In addition, two new hands-on learning educational labs were constructed, with a third on the way, on campus to meet the demands of these new majors. Expanded undergraduate research opportunities and a math success program are also included in the grant. A portion of this grant will go to endowment each year and must be matched by local donors. “Quincy University has recognized the need to create access and remove barriers to high demand, high paying jobs through the creation of new STEM programs,” said Dr. Barb Schleppenbach, Title III program director. To read more about Title III visit quincy.edu/titleiii Thank you for attending the QU Academic Symposium. For more information about this and other QU events please contact Matt Bergman at 217-228-5432 x3454 or by e-mail at bergmma@quincy.edu. We welcome and invite you to share our spirit and life. 18