2012 EURēCA Awardees
The university offers undergraduates the opportunity to reach beyond the classroom to pursue the excitement of original research and creative projects. Every spring, the Office of Research & Engagement organizes the Exhibition of Undergraduate Research and Creative Achievement (EURēCA) — a two-day exhibition and performance event for students.
Projects judged to be the best overall are recognized with the Phi Kappa Phi National Honor Society Awards, William Harris III Undergraduate Research Award, Office of Research Top Undergraduate Research Award, and the Environmental Sustainability Award.
To see a list of 2011 EURēCA winners, click here.
College of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources
Amanda Fields
Project: Mechanisms by which Omega 3 Fatty Acids Decrease Adipose Tissue Inflammation, Obesity, and Insulin Resistance
Faculty Mentor: Moustaid Moussa
Connor Gorman
Project: Construction and Verification of Promoter Testing Vectors for Switchgrass
Faculty Mentor: Neal Stewart
Kristen Higginbotham
Project: Antimicrobial activity of Hibiscus Sabdariffa Aqueous Extracts Against Escherichia coli 0157: H7 in Microbiological Medium and Ultra High Temperature Milk
Faculty Mentor: Neal Stewart
Jasmine John
Project: Tapping into the Genetics of Trees that make Diesel Fuel: Identification of Copaifera Officinalis and C. langsdorfii Terpene Synthase Promoter Expression in Nicotiana tabacum
Faculty Mentor: Neal Stewart
Stephanie Kerrigan
Project: Mapping Outstandingly Remarkable Values on the Wild and Scenic Wekiva River using Georeferenced Video
Faculty Mentor: Paul Ayers
College of Architecture and Design
Emily Bingham
Project: Archive of [Im]Measurable Madness: A Study in Solution
Faculty Mentor: Brian Ambroziak
Ryan Bryant and Daniel Pering
Project: Alumination
Faculty Mentor: Gregory Spaw
Christina Clouthier
Project: Rejuvenation of Awareness
Faculty Mentor: Barbara Klinkhammer
Claire Craven
Project: To Belong—A Secret Garden for Downtown Knoxville
Faculty Mentor: Katherine Ambroziak
Emily Fike, Cassidy Barnett and Kathryn Kelly
Project: Movement Lab
Faculty Mentor: Ryann Aoukar
Amanda Gann
Project: The Active Mind: The Art of Imagination
Faculty Mentor: Katherine Ambroziak
Rachel Murdaugh
Project: Sobro Elementary School
Faculty Mentor: Barbara Klinkhammer
Megan Zolnier, Sarah Heimmermann, Bernice Paez and Ulla Syväranta
Project: The Human Movement: Design for a 5 Star Hotel
Faculty Mentor: David Matthews
School of Art
Anna Boyd
Project: Not of the Body
Faculty Mentor: Marcia Goldenstein and Baldwin Lee
Joshua Gibson
Project: Portrait with Scribbles
Faculty Mentor: Koichi Yamamoto
Diana Lowrie, Simon Sok and Rachel Landrith
Project: A Survivor-ship Story: The Snuggly Sidekicks Journey to Defeating Childhood Cancer
Faculty Mentor: Cary Staples
Mary Miller
Project: Totem
Faculty Mentor: Marcia Goldenstein
Yonghee Min
Project: Requiem for Eternal Celebration
Faculty Mentor: Patricia Tinajero
Allison Olmstead
Project: Investigating the Tea Set
Faculty Mentor: Beauvais Lyons
Jaclyn Salem, Jacob Schneider, Tommi Sharp and Sara Mays
Project: 100: 1
Faculty Mentor: Cary Staples
Benjamin Wheeler
Project: Beta Design Knoxville
Faculty Mentor: Evan Meaney
College of Arts and Sciences – Biological Sciences
Michelle Brown
Project: Determining the Role of POTRA2 and POTRA1-3 in Chloroplast Protein Import
Faculty Mentor: Barry Bruce
Madelyn Crawford
Project: C-terminal His6-tag Influences the Function of a Model G Protein-coupled Receptor
Faculty Mentor: Jeff Becker
Jason Lancaster
Project: Engineering of Conductive Metal Binding Sites on Photosystem
Faculty Mentor: Barry Bruce
Molly Payne
Project: Antibody for the Detection of a Second Messenger-sensing Bacterial Chemotaxis Receptor
Faculty Mentor: Gladys Alexandre
Matthew Ramsey
Project: Investigating Conformational and Dynamic Changes in the Reactive Center Loop of PAI-1 Using SDSL-EPR
Faculty Mentor: Cynthia Peterson
Bernard Belisle
Project: Is Urea a Driver for Microcystis Blooms?
Faculty Mentor: Steven Wilhelm
Bradley Craig
Project: Detailed Analysis of Stylophoran Appendage Plates—Late Ordovician, Ohio
Faculty Mentor: Colin Sumrall
Mary Glover
Project: Geographic Variation in the Plastic Response of Antipredator Behavior to Non-lethal Predator Cues in Tribolium
Faculty Mentor: Benjamin Fitzpatrick
J. Kashina Hickson
Project: Trends in Student Confidence Over a Semester of Undergraduate Biology
Faculty Mentor: Elisabeth Schussler
College of Arts and Sciences – Humanities and Social Sciences
Sarah Russell
Project: Stamp Out This Awful Cancer: Atheism at the University of Tennessee, 1923-1927
Faculty Mentor: Bruce Wheeler
Chelsea Ennis, Carolyn Buehler, and Rebecca Loveday
Project: Reported Experience of Maltreatment by Adolescents Whose Mothers Have Borderline Personality Disorder
Faculty Mentor: Jenny Macfie
Alexander Khaddouma
Project: Examining the Link Between Relationship Satisfaction, Hazardous Drinking, and Readiness to Change
Faculty Mentor: Gregory Stuart
Grace Levin
Project: A Critique of Social Enterprise: The Global Impact of a Microfinance Crisis in India
Faculty Mentor: Micheline van Riemsdijk
College of Arts and Sciences – Physical and Earth Sciences
Kelsey Crane
Project: Shape and Thermal Modeling of a Selection of M-Type Asteroids
Faculty Mentor: Joshua Emery
Britta Johnson
Project: Dynamics of He Absorbates on Mg0(100) Surfaces
Faculty Mentor: R. J. Hinde
Andrew Moss
Project: Ongoing Synthesis of Galactose Disaccharides for Binding Studies
Faculty Mentors: Irene Abia and David Baker
College of Business Administration
Jasmine Lorraine Au
Project: A Comparison of the Visual Branding of the University of Tennessee to the University of Minnesota and Clemson University
Faculty Mentor: Cindy Raines
College of Communication and Information
Stephanie Dixon
Project: For the Love of Sport: The UT Lady Vol Rowing Team
Faculty Mentor: Robert Heller
Clara Reed
Project: The Final Product: Design to Production at Graphic Arts Services
Faculty Mentor: Robert Heller
Jennifer Smith
Project: Tamed and Trained: The Journey of a Vet Student
Faculty Mentor: Robert Heller
College of Education, Health, and Human Sciences
Nancy Childers
Project: Development and Testing of an Online Training Module on Celiac Disease for Public School Personnel
Faculty Mentor: Melissa Hansen-Petrik
Anna Lavender
Project: The Link Between Obesity and Breast Cancer: Effects of Environmental Carcinogen B[a]P on Stromal Cells
Faculty Mentor: Ling Zhao
Barrett Updegraff
Project: A One Nucleotide Substitution Within the iNOS Gene Promoter Enhances Cross-talk Between Two Distinct Signaling Pathways
Faculty Mentor: J. Jason Collier
College of Engineering
Patrick Beasley, Brianna Cooper, Chad Tague and Joe Yantis
Project: Green Wall
Faculty Mentor: Daniel Yoder
Lane Carasik and Christopher Baxter
Project: Thermal Stratification of a Twin Jet Mixing Experiment
Faculty Mentor: Arthur Ruggles
Erick Foster, Mathew Menachery, Steve Motruk and Jake Smith
Project: University of Tennessee Quarter Scale Tractor Team
Faculty Mentor: William Hart
Michael Jugan
Project: Multi-threaded Erasure Coding In Jerasure
Faculty Mentor: James Plank
Akshitha Yarrabothula and Katie Lutes
Project: The Efficient Production of Esters in Whole Cell Biocatalysts
Faculty Mentor: Cong Trinh
School of Music
Inna Karsheva, Violin
Faculty Mentor: Miroslav Hristov
Amanda Tittle, Mezzo-Soprano
Faculty Mentor: Lorraine DiSimone
Alex Crowe, Piano
Faculty Mentor: Professor David Northington
College of Nursing
Hailey Dixon
Project: Job Shadowing Experiences, Practices, and Outcomes for Undergraduate Nursing Students
Faculty Mentor: Allie Brown
Caitlin Wise
Project: Hearing the Silent Voices: Narratives of Healthcare and Homelessness
Faculty Mentor: Ken Phillips
Sara Swaney
Project: Sleep Quality in BSN University of Tennessee Students
Faculty Mentor: Kathleen Thompson
College of Social Work
Jade Bryant
Project: The Relationship between Bedtime Routines and Child Behaviors
Faculty Mentor: Sungkyu Lee
Chelsea Keyser
Project: Victimization and Substance Abuse
Faculty Mentor: Sungkyu Lee
Shauna Stubbs
Project: Post-secondary Milestone Achievement among High Risk High School Graduates
Faculty Mentor: Sungkyu Lee
Rachel Underwood
Project: Evaluating Operation Backyard: A Qualitative Study of Satisfaction with a Minor Home Repair Program
Faculty Mentor: Sungkyu Lee
Theatre
Carolyn Baker
Project: Broken Bride
Faculty Mentor: Terry Silver-Alford
Dimitar Venkov
Project: Edward Albee’s The Lady From Dubuque: A Student Director’s Process
Faculty Mentor: Kate Buckley
Contact Information
Jane Taylor
Administrative Specialist
Office of Research & Engagement
1534 White Ave.
Knoxville, TN 37996-1529
Phone: (865) 974-0437
Fax: (865) 974-7400
Email: tayloje@utk.edu