Olivet Nazarene University announces the release of the second volume of ELAIA: The Honors Journal of Olivet Nazarene University, a scholarly publication designed to highlight student research. The second volume, contains the projects from the 2019 Honors Program students in the senior cohort and their mentors.
Now available in print and online, the 272-page journal features work from the disciplines of the sciences, literature, psychology, astronomy, engineering and more.
Articles include:
• McKenna Conforti (Department of Biological Sciences; Dr. Derek Rosenberger, mentor) The Effects of Cattle Grazing on the Health of Bumble Bee (Bombus spp.) Populations in a Historical Tallgrass Prairie Ecosystem
• Evan Dexter (Walker School of Engineering; Dr. John Tatarko & Dr. Dan Sharda, mentors) Evaluating the Scalability of the Sonication Method of Graphene Oxide Synthesis
• Katie Dickey (Walker School of Engineering; Dr. Stephen Case, mentor) Thermal and Orbital Analysis of DarkNESS CubeSat
• Cole Doolittle (Department of Biological Sciences; Dr. Randal Johnson, mentor) Stand Location Variance as an Indicator of Disturbance Regime in a Monotypic Tsuga Canadensis Forest
• Amy Kaczor (Department of Dietetics, Dr. Cathy Anstrom, mentor) The Relationship Between Black Coffee Consumption and Weight Status
• Marlena Kalafut (Department of English and Modern Languages; Dr. Rebecca Belcher-Rankin, mentor) It’s Not the End of the World: An Analysis of the Similarities in Dystopian Literature and Their Shared Reflection of the Innate Fears of Humanity
• Elisa Klaassen (Department of English and Modern Languages; Dr. Karen Knudson, mentor) Tolkien’s Tribute to England and its Roots in Beowulf
• David Kok (Walker School of Engineering; Dr. David Ibrahim, mentor) The Effect of FLiNaK Molten Salt Corrosion on the Hardness of Hastelloy N
• Emma Kuntz (Department of Biological Sciences; Dr. Gregory Long, mentor) Exploring the Effects of Protein Kinase C Alpha Gene Knockout on the Proliferation of Human Embryonic Kidney Cells
• Tim Mayotte (Department of Biological Sciences; Dr. Ryan Himes, mentor) Hexavalent Chromium: Elucidating its Carcinogenic Mechanism, and Testing Potential Preventative Treatments. Tim and Dr. Himes’ research was additionally presented at the 2019 Experimental Biology conference in Orlando, Florida and featured in Science Daily.
• Michael Resciniti (Walker School of Engineering; Dr. David Ibrahim, mentor) Performance Analysis of an Exhaust Heat Recovery System Utilizing Heat Pipes, Metal Foam, and Thermoelectric Generators
• Amanda Roche (Department of Behavioral Sciences – Psychology; Dr. Kristian Veit, mentor) The Relationship Between Faith Maturity and Life Satisfaction
• Erica Sandtorv (Department of Behavioral Sciences – Psychology; Dr. Lisa Gassin, mentor) Mental Health First Aid Training: Evaluating a Brief Training Intervention for College Students
• Jarrett Stalinger (Department of Theology and Christian Ministry; Dr. Tim Mercer, mentor) The Japanese Way in America: A Comparison of the Religious Beliefs, Habits, and Ideas of the American Religious ‘Nones’ and Contemporary Japanese Nationals
• Vanessa Van Oost (Department of Biological Sciences; Dr. Gregory Long, mentor) Alpha Mangostin as a Chemoprotective Agent via Activation of the P53 Pathway for Breast Cancer
• Kimberly Zralka (Department of Biological Sciences; Dr. Derek Rosenberger, mentor) The Role of Endangered Oak (Quercus Spp.) Savanna Characteristics in Supporting Red‐Headed Woodpecker (Melanerpes Erythrocephalus L.) Populations. Kimberly’s work studying the endangered species of woodpeckers was in the black oak savannah near Pembroke Township, Illinois, which is the best-preserved habitat of this type in the world.
From the moment Olivet Honors Program students set foot on campus, they join a community of scholars. Together, in Christian fellowship, they study, learn and grow. In their junior and senior years, students work on a capstone scholarship project with faculty mentors. The results of these projects are often life-changing.
Cole Doolittle ’19 says of the experience, “The Honors Program continually challenged me to step into the full reality of God’s plan for my life. The material is challenging, the work is difficult, but the reward for persistence is an eye-opening spiritual, relational, and academic understanding of what it means to be human.”
The professional-level research and presentations students complete as undergraduates in Olivet’s Honors Program become an important career step for 2019 graduates. Each of their projects was presented they present their work during Olivet’s annual Scholar Week and is featured in ELAIA.
To learn more about the Olivet Honors Program, contact the Office of Admissions at admissions@olivet.edu or 800-648-1463.
Published: 10/24/2019
LB
