Saturday, April 26, 2025
Fryxell Humanities Center
ArthurOlsen Welcometothe StudentResearch Symposium
Acelebrationof studentachievement& academicexcellenceat AugustanaUniversity
The Symposium is a platform for the undergraduate students of Augustana University to share their research, scholarship, and creative work with the campus and surrounding community. Enjoy the opportunity to engage with student presenters and celebrate their creativity, hard work, and ingenuity evident in the diverse and outstanding presentations at this year’s event!
Today’s event wouldn’t be possible without the support & generous contributions from the Augustana community.
• Thank you to Jim & Marcia Fry for their generous gift sponsoring the student research awards, and to those who helped judge the award applications.
• Thank you to all of the faculty mentors who have guided and supported Augustana’s student researchers.
• Thank you to all the faculty & staff who have shared their time and talents to help make this event possible.
The Arthur Olsen Student Research Symposium is supported by:
The Office of Academic Affairs | Board of Trustees Civitas Honors Program | Mikkelsen Library Department of Languages, Literatures & Cultures
AboutDr.ArthurOlsen
Dr. Arthur (Art) Olsen, professor emeritus of philosophy and religion and former provost, served Augustana for more than 40 years.
Olsen earned his undergraduate degree from St. Olaf College, went on to receive a bachelor's degree in theology from Luther Theological Seminary and a doctorate in theology from Harvard Divinity School. He later served as a visiting scholar at both Harvard and Stanford universities.
He first joined Augustana in 1956. While pursuing his doctoral studies at Harvard, he took a part-time position teaching speech at MIT from 19571960. He then re-joined Augustana and served until his retirement in 1996.
Appointed by former Augustana President Dr. Bill Nelsen, from 1985-1990 Olsen served as Augustana's first Chair of Religion and Values (later named the Stanley L. Olsen Chair of Moral Values), a position made possible thanks to a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities. At the same time, Olsen also assumed the post of chief coordinator/implementer of Augustana's general education curriculum, as the new curriculum moved toward implementation.
The son of Norwegian immigrants, Olsen served as a champion for sharing the Norwegian culture and heritage, organizing Norwegian language camps for children on campus, founding the annual Nordland Festival in 1975, and preserving a number of historic Great Plains buildings dating from the late 19th to early 20th century.
Olsen was particularly active in developing and teaching courses related to questions of value. He served as director of Capstone, encouraging and supporting the development of Capstone courses as part of Augustana's General Education, and chaired the committee that helped define the University's five Core Values: Christian, Liberal Arts, Excellence, Community and Service.
Dr. Olsen passed away in May 2014.
In 2015, the Olsen family made an endowed gift to support the Augustana Symposium and student research. In honor of that gift and in tribute to Dr. Olsen's many contributions to the campus community and student research, the Augustana Symposium was renamed the Arthur Olsen Student Research Symposium.
KeynoteAddress
“The Samurai in Latin American Culture: From an Ideological Tool to Demonization”
Dr. Ignacio López-Calvo
Professor of Latin American Literature and Culture, Presidential Chair in the Humanities, Director of the Center for the Humanities University of California, Merced.
Dr. Ignacio López-Calvo is the author of several articles, book chapters, essay collections, and books including TheMexicanTranspacific:Nikkei
Writing,VisualArts,andPerformance , Japanese-BrazilianSaudades:Diasporic IdentitiesandCulturalProduction , and DragonsintheLandoftheCondor: WritingTusáninPeru . executive director of the academic journal Transmodernity:JournalofPeripheralCulturalProduction
HispanicWorld , the Palgrave-Macmillan Book Series “Historical and Cultural Interconnections between Latin America and Asia,” and the Anthem Press Book Series “Anthem Studies in Latin American Literature and Culture.” His research interests include cultural production by and about Latin American authors of Asian descent and the literary and cultural representations of the relationship between human rights, racialization, gender, migration,
ScheduleofEvents
10:00 - 11:30am
Student Research Award Ceremony
HamreHall,FryxellHumanitiesCenter
Keynote Address by Dr. Ignacio López-Calvo “The Samurai in Latin American Culture: From an Ideological Tool to Demonization”
HamreHall,FryxellHumanitiesCenter
11:35am - 12:45pm
Student Presentations
FryxellHumanitiesCenterClassrooms 12:45 - 2:00pm
Poster Presentations*
CVAAtrium&Concourse,FryxellHumanitiesCenter 2:00 - 3:10pm
Student Presentations
FryxellHumanitiesCenterClassrooms *Posterawardwinnerswillbeannounced attheendofthepostersession.
HUM 102
LindsayTwa
HUM 103
CoryConover
HUM 123
Julie Swanstrom
HUM 201
WillWright
HUM 202
RayLeach
HUM 301
BethBoyens
HUM 302
DanielPerry
HUM 325
AlexKloth
Student Presentations
11:35 - 11:55
Kenneth Lenger
Athletics and Community Interconnectedness (LindsayTwa)
Max Hovda
History of Major General Hugh L. Scott (CoryConover)
Samantha Kross
So That All May Kayak: Inclusive Kayaking & Community Engagement (JulieSwanstrom)
Catherine Banson
History of Sister Park Relations Between National Parks (WillWright)
Ashton Jensen & Noelle Gunderson
The Courage of Camp (NickJackson)
Lauren Murphy
The Effect of Economic Sanctions on Children in Targeted Countries (KelcieVercel)
Shriram Maiya
Computing Integrals Using Infinite Areas (DanielPerry)
Emily Huggins
From Mouth to Mind: The Oral Microbiome Intersection to Schizophrenia (AlexKloth)
Chilotam Okafor
HUM 331
Jennapher
Lunde
HUM 102
LindsayTwa
Student Presentations
12:00 - 12:20
Maggie Satter
Media Mosaic: Personal and Historical Influences in Contemporary Graphic Design (IziaLindsay)
Olivia Klumper
HUM 103
CoryConover
HUM 123
Julie Swanstrom
HUM 201
WillWright
HUM 202
RayLeach
HUM 226
Lucas
Hamilton
HUM 301
BethBoyens
HUM 302
DanielPerry
HUM 325
AlexKloth
The Cost of White Impunity: The Supreme Court’s Decision in Oliphant v. Suquamish Indian Tribe and the Effects of Modern Imperialism on Native Women in the U.S. (CoryConover)
Rachel Johnson
The Riparian Garden of the Viking Oasis: Enhancing a Habitat for the Mutual Flourishing of the AU Community and Nature (JulieSwanstrom)
Elijah Schipper
Originalism and the Environment: The Founding Fathers’ Case for Climate Stability (WillWright)
Lauren Hardy
AI at AU: Student’s Usage and Opinions on Artificial Intelligence (RayLeach)
Claire Egland
Perceptions of Dementia Among South Dakota Clinicians (LucasHamilton)
Kaelyn Nelson
Women’s Barriers in the American Backcountry (BethBoyens)
Ronny Lopes & Leona Coha
The Geodesics of the Universal Lipschitz Path Space of the Heisenberg Group (DanielPerry)
Alexis Dooley
Our Precious Immigrant Perspectives: Exploring Themes of Coping, Resilience, and Stressors Amongst Student Immigrants of Color at Augustana University (SpencierCiaralli)
HUM 331
Jennapher
Lunde
The Effect of Boxing Classes on Parkinson’s Disease (AlexKloth)
Rachida Mahamed
Media, Study Abroad, and the Soft Power of Nations (JennapherLundeSeefeldt&JosephPatteson)
HUM 102
LindsayTwa
HUM 103
CoryConover
HUM 123
Julie
Swanstrom
HUM 201
WillWright
HUM 202
RayLeach
HUM 226 Lucas
Hamilton
HUM 301
BethBoyens
HUM 302
DanielPerry
HUM 325
AlexKloth
HUM 331
Jennapher
Lunde
Student Presentations
12:25 - 12:45
Randi Eggum
The World in Motion: Where Art and Travel Intersect (LindsayTwa)
Jacob Paulsen
Morality on Trial in the Wild West: The Territorial Supreme Court of the Dakotas from 1861-1890 (CoryConover)
Grace Lenning
Augie Thrift’s Handbook: A Testimony and Research Related to Running a Sustainable Student Organization (JosephPatteson)
Isabel Van Veldhuizen
Representing South Dakota: Archaeology in the 1893 World’s Fair (GinaPalefsky)
Ashton Jensen
Equitable Access for All: An Analysis of AI Integration in Schools and Template for Integration (BradUhing&MichaelAmolins)
Lillian Derynck
Social Connection Moderates the Association between Memory and Neural Decline in Alzheimer’s Disease (LucasHamilton)
Sophie Parsons
True Crime: Unethical Capitalist Entertainment (AnnKolbrek)
Hongyi Irving Zhao
Surprise or Certainty?
How Social Distance Shapes Gift Choices (AihuiDing)
Anna K. Schmidt
Sculpting Consciousness: The Art of Neuroscience (AlexKloth)
Mikennah Oleson
Aftermath: The Development, Dramaturgy, and Denouement of the One-Act Play (JaynaFitzsimmons)
PosterPresentations
12:45-2:00
1. Raleigh Lunderman - Reclaiming Financial Sovereignty: A Course to Build Wealth in Native Communities (Matthew Willard)
2. Feven Admasu, Cole Berends, Denisa Ciobanu, & Megan Eilers - Effects of Animal Therapy on Hospitalized Pediatric Patients (Jill Rye)
3. Emma Driehorst & Kendra Kaiser - Aloe-lujah! Healing of Skin Ulcers with Aloe Vera (Ranae Aukerman)
4. Maddie Croshal, Angelina Chan, Abby Hamman, & Tanner SchultzYour Health at Your Fingertips: Enhancing Diabetes Management Through Patient Portal Engagement (Jill Rye)
5. Rylee Loehr, Tavian Plotz, Jolie Stecher, & Karolina Toro- Gut Instinct: Moving Beyond Gastric Residual Testing (Jill Rye)
6. Lily Sonday - Turning Up the Heat: The Impact of Sauna Bathing on Cardiovascular Outcomes (Ranae Aukerman)
7. Emma Ostwinkle - Spatial Analysis of Augustana’s Mikkelsen Library (Sarah Olimb)
8. Grace Bradley - South Dakota Indigenous Burial Grounds, Public Parks, and Military Bases (Sarah Olimb)
9. Jenna Hageman - Politics of the Fat Black Body: Antifatness as Antiblackness (Spencier Ciaralli)
10. Emma Niswander - Macbeth Costume Design (Jacee Casarella)
11. Brenna Napier - Looking Into Air and Water Quality in Native American Lands in South Dakota (Sarah Olimb)
12. Mattie Halleen - South Dakota’s Protected Parks Species Diversity Scale (Sarah Olimb)
13. Andrew Berntson - Automatic Population Estimation of Neocaridina davidi Shrimp Using a Convolutional Neural Network (Cami Fuglsby)
14. Macy Mailander - California Wildfires Over the Past 10 Years (Sarah Olimb)
15. Shannon McCormick - Microdebitage Spatial Analysis of SunWatch Indian Village (Sarah Olimb & Phyllis Johnson)
16. Cohen Burgess & Gabriela Jancikova - Connecting the Pieces of Stone Tool Breakage (Phyllis Johnson)
17. McKenna Felty - A Comparative Analysis on How Different Microscope Techniques Can Affect Our Ability to Quantify Preservation in Archaeological Bone Samples (Trent Trombley)
18. Connor Bates - Attribute Variation in Ceramic at The Lynch Site (25BD1) (Trent Trombley)
19. Erica Carmody - Current Responses to Changing National Parks Staff (Trent Trombley)
20. Hananiya Arega - Understanding the Effects of Stressful Social Environments among BIPOC Individuals with ASD and Their Families (Spencier Ciaralli)
21. Hongyi Irving Zhao - Surprise or Certainty? How Social Distance Shapes Gift Choices (Aihui Ding)
22. Harrison Patin - Utah Religious Areas (Sarah Olimb)
PosterPresentationsContinued
23. Camryn Van Nieuwenhuyzen - Uniqueness of Frontal Sinus as Means of Forensic Identification (Trent Trombley)
24. Ellyssa Bartels - Exploring Student Outcomes Across Diverse REU Sites: A Comparative Analysis and Comprehensive Examination Using PSM Nearest Neighbor and Optimal Methods (Mariam Khachatryan)
25. Basmala Alemam - Modification and Characterization of Polyethersulfone (PES) Membranes (Cyndey Johnson-Edler)
26. Caleb DeWitt - Synthesis and Characterization of Chitosan Nanoparticles for the Delivery of Ocular Medications (Jetty Duffy-Matzner)
27. Jordan Hastad - Plant-Soil Interactions Provide a Home-Site Advantage for Asclepias Speciosa (Steven Matzner)
28. Mikayla Bendix & Pierce Cunningham - Correlation of Environmental and Genotypic Cofactors to Elevated Platelet Responses in Native Americans (Mark Larson)
29. Olivia Kern - The Complete Mitochondrial Genomes of Hickmania Troglodytes (Higgins and Petterd, 1883) (Araneae, Gradungulidae) and Bothriocyrtum Californicum (O.Pickard-Cambridge, 1874) (Araneae Halonoproctidae) (Brian Patrick)
30. Sophia Bernhard - The Economic and Environmental Impact of a Yeast Repository in South Dakota (Stephanie Bruggeman)
31. Maysa Gillingham - Synthesis and Initial Characterization of Calcium CarbonateCMC (Carboxymethylcellulose) Microparticles for the Delivery of Ocular Medications (Jetty Duffy-Matzner)
32. Reagan Fisher - Deuterium Labeling as a Tool for Analyzing Cholesterol Biosynthesis and Efflux in Pediatric Metabolic Disorders (Barrett Eichler)
33. Lara Matuck - Tracking Wildlife and Mapping Species Behavior in Costa Rica (Sarah Olimb)
34. Kimberly Gray - Money isn’t Everything: Owner and Veterinary Professional Differences in Opinion Regarding Use of Parasite Control (Stephanie Bruggeman)
35. Aeson Akins & Schaler Starks - Expansions and Their Effect on Leaf Angle in Sorghum Bicolor (Martha Ibore)
36. Laura Garcia - Simulation of Heavy Dark Matter Propagation in DarkSide-20k (Drew Alton)
37. Patrick Vogel, Zach Stanz, & Noah Everson - The Effect of an Erythropoietin Derivative on Autism-Related Behaviors in Model Mice (Alex Kloth)
38. Madeline McDowell, Tristen Bruns, & Lindsay Wachal - The Effects of QPO on the Behavior of a BTBR Mouse Model (Alex Kloth)
39. Anna K. Schmidt, Malorie Schultz, & Suyash SR Thapaliya - Restoration of Deficient Social and Anxiety-Related Behaviors in BTBR Mice (Alex Kloth)
40. Lily Ingalls & Mackenzie Rasmusan - Tea Party-cles: A Study of Green Synthesis of Silver Nanoparticles Using Tea Extracts (Zach Schulte)
PosterPresentations
41. Blen Lemma & Filimon Woldesilassie - Utilization of Bioinformatics Tools to Analyze Sorghum RNA Sequencing Data (Martha Ibore)
42. Ari Danon - The Use of High Performance Computing Methods With Sparse Matrices Created From Generalized Least Squares Models of Pairwise Comparisons (Cami Fuglsby)
43. Kevin Schumacher - Evolution of Clinician Position During BESS Single-leg Stances (Melissa Fraser)
44. Anna Pirrung, Alec Reutzel, Brayden Hahn, Grace Park, & Isha HoodaAn Exploration of Environmental Enrichment as a Treatment for Correcting Physiological Mechanisms of Autism in a Mouse Model (Alex Kloth)
45. Sneha Acharya & Suyash SR Thapaliya - A Streamlined Approach to PCR, Gel Electrophoresis, and Molecular Cloning Using Gibson Assembly (Carrie Olson-Manning)
46. Erika Gunderson - Investigations Into the Ligand Effects on Nickel-Mediated Decarbonylation Reactions (Zachary Schulte & Jessica Hoover)
47. Lin-Lin Elliott - Synthesis of MAX Phases Via Sol-Gel Free Radical Polymerization (Charles Weiss & Christina Birkel)
48. Isabel Van Veldhuizen, Nicole VandenBrink, & Tye Briggs - Color and Scent Preferences as Foraging Strategies in Butterflies (Diane Roeder)
49. Andrew Berntson, Beau Brock, Gabi Rabboni, & Daniel StreetHybrid Milkweeds and its Effects on Monarch Growth Rates and Cardenolide Sequestration (Carrie Olson-Manning)
50. Faith Burns - Neutrophil Phagocytic and Migratory Behaviors in Response to Factors within the Gestational Environment (Jenny Gubbels)
51. Emily Ricketts - Social Media Use, Body Dissatisfaction, and Beauty Product Purchasing Behavior (Lindsay Howard)
52. Hannah Churchill - Evaluating and Addressing Vaccine Hesitancy in South Dakota (Kelcie Vercel)
53. Aiden Heisinger, Sydney Hansen, Bill Davis, & Zachary NicklesEmperor’s New Groove: Sensory Features Underlying the Perception of Musical Groove (Shannon Proksch)
54. Zachary Nickels, William Davis, Sydney Hansen, & Aiden HeisingerNeurophysiological Time Course of Timbre-Induced Music-Like Perception in Report and Non-Report Conditions: A Replication and Extension of Santoyo et al (2003) (Shannon Proksch)
55. Emma Johnson - Crisis Intervention in Law Enforcement: Strategies for Effective Mental Health Response (Will Swart)
56. Amelia Jibben - Exploring Definitions of Kinship Between South Dakota Department of Corrections and Indigenous Communities (Trent Trombley) I attended poster sessions
Student Presentations
2:00 - 2:20
Mattison Tschetter
HUM 102
LindsayTwa
HUM 103
CoryConover
HUM 123
MarkLarson
HUM 201
Shannon Proksch
HUM 202
Stephen Minister
HUM 226
Lucas
Hamilton
HUM 302
ZachSchulte
HUM 325
Ranae
Aukerman
HUM 331
Joseph Patteson
Fired and Free: A Cross-Disciplinary Approach to Abstract Expressionism and Fauvism in Ceramics (LindsayTwa)
Jorgen Hansen
Indian Adoption: Care or Culture? (CoryConover)
Emma Nelson
Impacts of Prairie Management on Insect Biodiversity (DianeRoeder)
Elijah Schipper
Mapping South Dakota State Park Visitation (SarahOlimb)
Patrick Vogel
Living with Hope: Wheelchair Delivery to Sigomere Small Home (SallyMallowa)
Anna Schmidt, Claire Egland, Katrina Beshai, & Lillian Derynck
Study of Psychological Horror Reactivity as Influenced by Emotional Awareness and Knowledge (LucasHamilton)
Lily Ingalls
Multidrug Delivery in Metal-Organic Frameworks with Backbone-Coordinated Medications (ZachSchulte)
Kimberly Gray
Money Isn’t Everything:
Owner and Veterinary Professional Differences in Opinion Regarding Use of Parasite Control (StephanieBruggeman)
Amina Koch
Two Dishes but to One Table: A Comparison of Ophelia and King Hamlet’s Deaths in Hamlet and the Implications for Ophelia’s Honor and Agency (SarahRude)
Student Presentations
2:25 - 2:45
HUM 102
LindsayTwa
HUM 103
Cory Conover
HUM 123
MarkLarson
HUM 201
Shannon Proksch
HUM 202
Stephen
Minister
HUM 226
Lucas
Hamilton
HUM 302
ZachSchulte
HUM 325
Ranae
Aukerman
HUM 331
Joseph Patteson
Quinn Ward
Painting the New West (LindsayTwa)
Ian Kelly
Bill Janklow and Peter Norbeck: Contrasting Approaches to State Intervention in Enterprise (CoryConover)
Rachel Johnson
Living Life Out on a Limb: Reflections of a Summer 2024 Forestry Internship in Rapid City with the South Dakota Department of Agriculture and Natural Resources (MarkLarson)
Catherine Banson
Community Gardens and Food Deserts in Sioux Falls (SarahOlimb)
Samantha Kross
Praying Across the Political Divide: Can Prayer Reshape How We Approach Political Disagreements (AnnRosendale)
Evan Bell
Social Support as a Moderator of Burnout for Freshman & Non-Freshman College Students (LindsayHoward)
Ryan Schulte
Synthesis and Characterization of Surface Functionalized Nanoscale Ln3+-based Metal-Organic Frameworks for Biological Imaging Applications (ZachSchulte)
Lauren Rowe
Ethics of Modern Healthcare Through the Eyes of Bonhoeffer: A Comparison between Norway and the United States (RanaeAukerman)
Jocelyn Baas
Shakespearean Blame Game: Supernatural Force vs. Human Agency in Macbeth and Hamlet (SarahRude)
Student Presentations
2:50 - 3:10
Brock Fox
HUM 102
LindsayTwa
HUM 103
CoryConover
HUM 123
MarkLarson
HUM 201
Shannon Proksch
HUM 226
Lucas Hamilton
HUM 302
ZachSchulte
HUM 325
Ranae
Aukerman
ResearchAwards
Forged Farm Art (LindsayTwa)
Kaitlyn Crawford Won’t You Be My Neighbor: Analyzing How Housing Development, Culture, and Policy
Shaped Economic Segregation Today (CoryConover)
Pedro da Rocha Borin
Comparative Transcriptomics: Decoding Environmental and Genetic Drivers of Phenotypic Differences in Milkweed Species through de novo RNA-Sequencing (CarrieOlson-Manning&KyleneGuse)
Erica Carmody
Comparing the Placement of Midwest Public and Private Colleges and Universities (SarahOlimb)
Sneha Acharya
Influence of a Body Image Intervention on Denial of Disordered Eating Behaviors (LindsayHoward&SpencierCiaralli)
Henry Dornbusch
Countering Global Threats: Power Balancing as a Strategic Imperative of U.S. Foreign Policy (DavidGolemboski)
Ethan Kinney, Christian Cortiñas, & Avery Lenz
Stability of MicroRNA as Biological Markers for Autologous Blood Transfusion Identification Following Acute High-Intensity Exercise (MattHeesch)
HUM 331
Joseph Patteson
Amina Koch
Men, Myths, and Monsters: Exploring the Transformation of Real People into Nationalistic Symbols through Cantar de Mio Cid and Dracula (MichaelRueter)
In conjunction with campus and community partners, the Symposium is pleased to offer the following $250 awards to students who are presenting at the 2025 Student Research Symposium. In addition, the Symposium is offering five poster awards of $50 each.
Keynote Speaker's Early Influence Award
This award is sponsored by the Augustana Department of Languages, Literatures & Cultures in honor of Dr. Ignacio López-Calvo, Director of the Center for the Humanities, Presidential Chair in the Humanities, and Professor of Latin American Literature at the University of California, Merced. The Keynote Speaker's Early Influence Award will be awarded to a student whose research aligns with Dr. López-Calvo's work, which speaks to the power of the humanistic disciplines (e.g. languages, philosophy, writing, arts, etc.) in shaping a better future for all of us as well as the intriguing ways that writings from seemingly disparate lands have impacted each other and the cultures in which they live.
Award for Interdisciplinary Research and Collaboration
The Award for Interdisciplinary Research and Collaboration will go to a student who has done research involving more than one academic discipline and/or requiring collaboration between multiple parties. Students must be able to demonstrate how they synthesized ideas and concepts from multiple disciplines, drawing connections between multiple subjects, and/or demonstrate how they collaborated with additional individuals or groups to create a cohesive research project.
Lifelong Learner Award
The three Lifelong Learner Awards will recognize students who exhibit the spirit of Arthur Olsen’s yearning to be a lifelong learner through their research or scholarship. Arthur Olsen chaired the committee that created Augustana five core values: Christian, Liberal Arts, Community, Excellence, and Service. In keeping with Augustana’s grounding in the liberal arts tradition, each of these awards will recognize projects that do one of the following: enhance community through the understanding of humans and human interactions, enrich lives through aesthetic and creative expressions, or develop knowledge that is critical for understanding and caring for our changing world.
Student Name:
Symposium Attendees
Thank you for coming and supporting Augustana’s student researchers!
If you are attending the symposium to get extra credit for one of your classes, please do the following:
• Ask the faculty chair monitoring each room to stamp your program for every classroom presentation you attend.
• Pick up a slip of paper from each poster presentation you visit and turn them in at the registration table to get your program stamped.
• Sign your name (in pen) on the back of the program.
www.augie.edu/symposium