CSU’s annual symposium features student and faculty research

By Bri Parker and Jan Joslin
Photos by Dan Steffy and Jan Joslin

Oral and poster presentations were presented April 16 at Charleston Southern’s Annual Spring Symposium, highlighting student and faculty research.

Alessandro Russo, a junior mathematics major, presented his project for the second time. His research was funded by the South Carolina Independent Colleges and Universities, and he presented the research at the SCICU Research Day at Milliken & Company in Spartanburg. His faculty sponsor is Dr. Mike Martinez.

Russo’s research, Threshold Based Mathematical Model for an Epidemic, focused on a mathematical model that simulated certain aspects of disease spread among a population. He said, “I wrote up a coding model using Python to simulate larger cases as well. The research itself was done during the summer and fall of 2023, and then a presentation was given to showcase the results.” 

“The goal of this project was to create a model using graph theory to represent an infection spread among interconnected sites with respect to space and time using a threshold based system,” said Russo. Russo said, “Quarantine is the most logical option for containing an infection. If quarantine is not a viable option, then preventing different sources of infection interacting with each other will help slow the spread of infection.”

Martinez, a mathematics professor, said, “Alessandro did an outstanding job on the project. Writing the code for a working computer model of a complex set of network interactions is not easy and was not even the main point of the project. Alessandro was able to accomplish that task while also developing and testing conjectures about the system. Along the way he had many more insights than we had time to fully explore, so his final presentation is only a small picture of the impressive amount of work he was able to accomplish.” 

Other presentations included:

• Social Anxiety’s Impact on Remembering New People by Draye Boyd
• The Orthodox Model of the Trinity and Cappadocian Metaphysics by Caleb Short
• The Development of a Technoference Self-Awareness Instrument for Use in Counseling Practice by Dr. Christopher J. Hipp, Kelli Kerkhoff and Kathryn Wilkins Kypke
• Making a Mythology: Depictions of Divine Creativity in the Enuma Elish and The Silmarillion by Luke Rodgers
• State of Palliative and End-of-Life Care Curricula in Prelicensure Nursing Education by Dr. Helen Condry-Lewis
• Efficacy of a Parenting Program, Families Count by Addison Short
• Impact of Extracurricular Activities on Computer Science Academic Performance by Logan Ferguson, Chamberlain Gibson, Peter Jackson Link, Nathan Mixon, and Justin Pike
• Churches Can Be the Bridge by Daniela Figueroa
• Time: A Contributor to Unfinished Nursing Care by Jenna Berger
• “Unclean! Unclean!”: Dracula and the Return of the Bubonic Plague by Jo Underwood

Poster presentations:

• Biofilm Producing Capacity of Bacterial Isolates from Charleston Southern University Tap Water by Makena Griffis and Hannah Harrison
• Investigating the Correlation Between Reading for Pleasure and Self-Esteem by Kayla Brandt
• Correlation between DRD4 polymorphism, Faith, and Behavior by Jordan Smith and Joshua Padgett
• Collegiate Team Sport Athlete Long-Term Developmental Activities, Values, and Beliefs by Dr. Anthony Smith
• Polyamidoamine Dendrimer-Mediated Dissolvable Hydrogel for Wound Dressing by Caroline Jacky and Alexander Rodriguez

The Spring Symposium at CSU is organized by the faculty Publications Committee each year.

Full gallery here!