KOKOMO, Ind. - As a child, Jackson McCullough considered joining the military to protect people.

As a computer science major at Indiana University Kokomo, he's found other ways protect people, by studying the cybersecurity vulnerabilities of autonomous drones.

"We're growing drone usage, but not drone security," said McCullough, from Arcadia. "This was the kick starter to my cybersecurity path."

He was among more than 200 Indiana University students who showcased their knowledge Friday (November 21) at the 31^st Indiana University Undergraduate Research Conference on the Kokomo campus. The event celebrates and promotes undergraduate research, scholarly and creative achievement, professional development, and lifelong learning on all nine IU campuses.

The conference awarded first-, second-, and third-place recognition for outstanding presentations.

First-place honors went to Salma Kherallah, IU Indianapolis, with The Availability of Unethically Sourced 3D Anatomy Models on Peer-to-Peer Websites, with Andrew S. Cale, assistant professor of anatomy, cell biology and physiology, IU School of Medicine.

Second place was awarded to Ibrahim Abdulrehman and Sahith Reddy, IU Southeast, and third place to Dana Peng and collaborators Catharina BP Villaca and Teresa L. Mastracci, from IU Indianapolis.

McCullough was one of 11 IU Kokomo students who shared their research findings, through oral presentation or poster presentation.

He completed his work, Skyshield: Game-Theoretic Defenses to Autonomous Drones, with Aakif Mairaj, assistant professor of computer science. They noted that drones are increasingly employed in agriculture for crop monitoring, and in health care for medication deliveries, among other uses. They studied how an attacker can deploy and identify a defensive approach to mitigate the effects of an attack.

It was a transformative experience.

"I was waiting to see where I belong," he said, adding that it's steered him toward a career in security engineering.

Her own ADHD diagnosis, and that of her children, inspired Holly Hunter to research self-esteem, motivation, and impulsivity among people with ADHD and Autism Spectrum Disorder in her presentation, The role of motivation/self-esteem on impulsivity with neurodivergent individuals.

"I was diagnosed at 5, and I struggled a lot academically," said Hunter, from Amboy. "My goal is to become a school psychologist to help kids get the resources they need. If they get the right resources, these kids can thrive."

Working with Kathryn Holcomb, associate professor of psychology, encouraged her to step out of her comfort zone to present her work in person.

"She's pushed me in all the classes I've had with her, because she knows I can do better," Hunter said. "She's good at giving positive feedback and pushing me to do my best."

Haley Roberts's wish for better end-of-life care for her great-grandmothers inspired her research presentation, Exploring Public Perceptions and Moral Beliefs about Medical Aid in Dying: A Quantitative Study.

"I grew up with four of my great-grandmothers, and we were not equipped with proper end-of-life knowledge," she said, adding that they might have considered palliative care had they known more.

"Taking care of people at the end of their lives is very important to me," she said.

Roberts worked with Stephanie Medley-Rath, professor of sociology, on her research.

Additional IU Kokomo students, and their presentations, included:

• Karedis Araujo, Carmel, Informed not Forced, highlighting the importance for nurses and health care workers to educate patients about vaccines.
• Grayson Arndt, Marion, Narrativism: A Framework for Legalized Aggression and Lawfare, introducing narrativism, a theoretical paradigm that reconceptualizes international relations as structured by strategic narratives that legitimize stage aggression through law, identity, and institutional design.
• Annastasia Hutchings, Plymouth, and Kaitline Martin, Kokomo, Health Impacts of a Short-term Pesco-Vegetarian Diet Intervention Supplemented with Ginger and Curcumin on the Human Participants, investigating the effects of a pesco-vegetarian-based diet with the additional consumption of ginger and curcumin supplements on free radical scavenging capacity of blood.
• Annalissa Brown, Cicero, Understanding Herd Immunity: How Immunization Schedules Protect Public Health and the Ethical Impact of Nursing Practice in Administering Vaccines, focuses on evidence-based research which will illuminate how vaccines contribute to public health and achieving herd immunity.
• Dalen Bushong, Peru, and Jacob Pierson, Bunker Hill, Depolymerization of Nylon-11 By Bacterial Extracellular Proteases, details attempt to reduce the crystalline structure of nylon via a variety of physicochemical treatments to prevent Nylon-11 waste from being released into the environment.
• Raileigh Gerlach, Battle Ground, Birth Order and Personality, studying the interactions between birth order, the Big Five personality traits, and the parenting style of the participants' primary caregiver when they were younger.

Education is KEY at Indiana University Kokomo.

Transformative Research and Creativity

IU Kokomo will improve the lives of people and the economic vitality of the state of Indiana through timely engagement, innovation, education, and service.

See our full plan here.