2016 Erickson Discovery Grant Recipients

Funded through the Office of Undergraduate Education and support from Colleges.

Alexandra Alfonso Castro
Penn State Erie
Constructing Variants of Human Serum Albumin Reconstituted with Heme and Testing for Nitrite Reductase Activity

Ricardo Braga Nogueira Branco
College of Engineering
Plasma Shielding for Micrometeoroid Protection on Spacecraft

Stephanie Brown
Eberly College of Science
Direct Measurement of Gravity on Antihydrogen Atoms

Natalie Cope
College of Information Sciences and Technology
Creating Guidelines for Visualizations in a Mobile Environment

Jennifer Curtis
Eberly College of Science
Selenoprotein Effect on Francisella Infection and Replication in Macrophage Cells

Katherine Dent
College of Health and Human Development
Fluctuating Neural States in Face Processing- Predicting Who They Are vs. How They Feel

Aviva Doery
College of the Liberal Arts
The Lives of Women in the Berlin LGBT Community Before and During the Holocaust: 1933-1945

Lina Duiker
College of the Liberal Arts
The Effect of Formal Education on Palenquero Heritage Speakers

Adam Fenton
Eberly College of Science
Identifying the Molecular Mechanism of Adenylosuccinate Lyase Deficiency, An Inborn Error of Purine Metabolism

Andrea Frank
College of the Liberal Arts
The Role of Global Processing in Perceived Attractiveness

Mark Frederick
College of Engineering
Investigation of Instability Suppression in Low-Emission Combustors

Jordan Gibby
College of Health and Human Development
Quality of Interparental Interactions and Adolescent Well-being in India: A Family Systems Perspective

Caroline Gooch
College of the Liberal Arts
Predictors of Suicidality in Outpatients with Childhood Trauma History: Does Context Matter?

Steven Griffin
Eberly College of Science
Determining Regulatory Proteins of the P25 Transcript in Plasmodium Yoelii

Alyssa Gurklis
College of Agricultural Sciences
Examining the Role of Arts Spaces in Fostering Democracy

Joseph Hall
College of Engineering
Surface Display Biocatalyst Enzyme for Waste Water Decontamination

Timothy Hay
College of the Liberal Arts
New Approaches to Understanding Old Landscapes

Hayly Hoch
College of Agricultural Sciences
Implementing an Integrated Pest Management Outline for the Student Farm's Sustainable Agroecosystem

Nicholas Hugo
College of Agricultural Sciences
Invasive Species Abundance in Hartley Wood Over Time

Nicole Hume
College of Agricultural Sciences
Influence of the Gut Microbiota on Inflammation-promoting Ceramide Synthesis

Haley Janowitz
Eberly College of Science
Elucidation of the Metabolic Function of Adenylosuccinate lyase in Oogenesis and Reproductive Development

Morgan Kauffman
College of Arts and Architecture
Performance in the Digital Age: A Study of the Physical Effects of Digital Archiving

Matthew Keebaugh
Eberly College of Science
Functional Study of S-Locus F-Box Proteins in Self-Incompatibility in Petunia

Joshua Kessler
College of Engineering
Pulsatile Assessment of the FDA Benchmark Model for Simulation Validation

Samantha Kirk
College of Engineering
Development and Characterization of Citrate/Xylitol Biodegradable Composites for Orthopedic Tissue Engineering

Zachary Klueber
College of Engineering
Spatial and Temporal Variations of Soil Hydraulic Functions in Warm Conditions

Ben Kupp
Eberly College of Science
Investigation of the Impacts of Substrate Properties on 2D Materials

Paige Laughlin
Eberly College of Science
The Investigation of Antibiotic Resistance to Beta-Lactam Antibiotic meropenem

Cody Lebo
College of Engineering
Hierarchical Architecture of 1D-2D systems for High Performance Supercapacitors

Emily Luteran
Eberly College of Science
Investigating the Folding of PreQ1 Riboswitch Classes in Cellular Conditions

Kaylie Maines
College of the Liberal Arts
Make it Do, or Do Without: A Collection of Poems and Folk Memoirs

Eric Moyer
Penn State Abington
The Effect of Aging on Macrophage Phenotype in Spleen and Kidney

Hansa Nawani
Eberly College of Science
Study of the Effects of R-loops and G-quartets on Replication Forks Progression

Luiza Neddermeyer Van Krimpen Lodder
College of the Liberal Arts
The Effect of Words and the Influence of Literature on Western Perceptions of Madness and the Mental Health Establishment

Nolan O'Connor
College of Engineering
Quantifying and Maximizing Greenhouse Water Savings

Tanmay Patel
Eberly College of Science
Characterization of Genes Required by Francisella tularensis for Growth at Cytosolic pH

Alexander Patin
College of Engineering
Leveraging Wearable Technology for Music Therapy Practices with Alzheimer's Disease

Laura Post
Penn State Berks
Distinguishing Between Specialism and Opportunism in the Diet of Herring Gulls: Evolutionary Implications for Waterbird Conservation and Management

Joseph Pry
Penn State Beaver
Energy Efficient Encryption for Mobile Medical Data

Josh Riley
College of Engineering
Understanding Proteolysis of von Willebrand Factor Due to Shear Rate and Presence of ADAMTS13

Katie Ringler
Penn State Berks
Ecological Succession of Colonial Waterbirds

Alison Roby
College of Engineering
Acute and Chronic Neural Changes in Response to Nicotine Administration in Rats

Roger Salguero
Penn State Berks
Attitude Estimation of a Quadcopter using Multiple Range Sensors

Kaitlin Saloky
College of Health and Human Development
Studying the Effects of Shear Stress on Platelet Adhesion in Ventricular Assist Devices

Dorothy Schaadt
College of the Liberal Arts
The Efficiency Of Clause-Final Negation: A Look at Lengua Palenquera

Samantha Seils
Eberly College of Science
Determination of Initial and Acquired Viromes of Free-Ranging Blacklegged Ticks

Erin Servey
College of the Liberal Arts
Disorder: Poems on Mental Illness and Autoimmune Disorders

Alexander Smith
Eberly College of Science
Genome-wide Screen for Induction of Phosphoethanolamine Modifications on Lipopolysaccharide

Michael Spencer
College of Earth and Mineral Sciences
High Performance Interdigitated Carbon Nanotube Based Micro-Capacitors

Abagayle Stock
College of the Liberal Arts
Cardiometabolic Risk and Sleep Duration: Should College Students be Concerned?

Cody Stubbs
College of Agricultural Sciences
Perceived Variety and Food Consumption

Rhea Sullivan
Eberly College of Science
Characterizing Autism Spectrum Disorder 16p11.2 Deletion in C. elegans

Jacob Thomas
Eberly College of Science
The Effects of Chronic Variable Social Stress during Adolescence on Adult Ethanol Consumption in Mice

Ray Watkins
College of Engineering
The Production of a Micro-Endoscopes:  For Imaging of the Choroid Plexus in the Awake Mouse Brain

Alexis Weaver
College of Health and Human Development
Impact of Age and Vitamin A Supplementation on Thermogenic Factors in a Rat Model of Childhood Obesity Risk

Zhiyu Zhao
College of Earth and Mineral Sciences
Synthesis of Metal Oxide Nanowires by Metal Substrate Oxidation