Research projects pair students with faculty

Steffani Pass, a senior from Hoschton, Georgia, pursuing a degree in psychology with a minor in English, is part of a FUSE project with Dr. Troy Smith, associate professor of psychological science. They are seeking to measure cognitive dissonance, a regularly discussed but lightly studied area of psychology. Their work includes administering electroencephalograms with research subjects.

Pass said Smith helped her learn more about graduate school, and she is grateful for how FUSE prepares students to apply for conferences and present, create personal statements, compose resumes, and apply for scholarships, grants and graduate school. She is in the process of applying to competitive Ph.D. programs.

"I'm getting hands-on lab experience as opposed to basic survey-based research where you never personally interact with the participants. I've also enjoyed the chance to be immersed in the theory side of research," Pass said. "Both lab experience and theory immersion are crucial when considering and applying to graduate school - partially because it's a requirement, but also because that's what I plan to do in graduate school. It's been validating to enjoy the work we're doing as much as I have, and it's made me even more excited for graduate school."

Smith said the cognitive dissonance research brings together multiple psychology domains.

"This project combines cognitive psychology with social psychology and neuroscience," he said.

Alex Lele, a junior from Dacula, Georgia, pursuing a degree in physics, is partnering with physics faculty members Dr. Sonny Mantry and Dr. Dilina Perera on a project using machine learning to examine high-energy particle physics. Lele sought out the FUSE funding after starting the project with Mantry and Perera this spring. Mantry's expertise is in particle physics, while Perera has experience in machine learning.

They are implementing machine learning tools to analyze high-energy proton collisions, aiming to better understand the underlying quark flavor structure of the proton.

Lele said the biweekly FUSE meetings have been an important part of his development.

"It's been really helpful to practice explaining what I'm doing to a general audience," Lele said. "That's helped me learn more about what we're doing."

Mantry, a professor of physics, was grateful for the chance to expand the research from its start in the spring.

"FUSE gives us the opportunity to do focused, accelerated research over the summer," Mantry said.

Deadlines for portions of the project such as abstracts also prove valuable to students and faculty.

"It keeps us on track," Perera, an assistant professor of physics, said.

The other FUSE projects are:

• Taerin Jeong and Alyssa Simpson with faculty mentor Dawn Drumtra, senior lecturer of biology, "Bisphenol A (BPA) in Wild Birds."
• Alex Reyes and Christian Lopez with faculty mentor Zachary Elison, assistant professor of psychological science, "Social Emotional Belonging Intervention."
• Iris Wright and Tiffany Little with faculty mentor Ralph Hale, associate professor of psychological science, "Future so bright, we are going to need shades: How brightness and contrast impact perceptual organization and illusory color spreading."
• Madeline McCloskey and Miguel Vilchis Tinoco with faculty mentor Amanda Reynolds, assistant professor of biology, "Physiological Fitness in Native Species of Crayfish."
• Kathryn Brazeal and Marissa Migneco with faculty mentor Nathan Wagner, lecturer of English, "Underground U: A Faculty/Undergraduate Collaborative Podcast."
• David Chandler with faculty mentor Meng Zhang, associate professor of mathematics, "A Graph-Theoretic Approach to Analyze Microbial Community Relationships."