Stander Symposium Projects

The Brother Joseph W. Stander Symposium recognizes and celebrates academic excellence in undergraduate and graduate education. This annual event provides an opportunity for students from all disciplines to showcase their intellectual and artistic accomplishments and embody the University's mission to be a "community of learners." This collection contains a sampling of the more than 200 projects presented each year during the symposium.

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Photography Senior Capstone Project (You are an experience)

Jonathon Caleb Nehemiah Sattler

My photographs explore the concept that everything in the universe exists simultaneously in unity yet remains unique. We may not be exact reflections of the world around us, but if you sit and listen and look and learn, you may find it quite surprising where you begin to see yourself echoed in the universe.
Physiological and morphological profiles vary with seasonal and cold acclimation in the freeze tolerant Cope’s gray treefrog Dryophytes chrysoscelis

Chase Jennings, Andrew Joseph Morosky, Elizabeth Evans Yokum

Dryophytes chrysoscelis possess several physiological mechanisms that contribute to their ability to be freeze tolerant which is a strategy that utilizes cryoprotectants to combat the osmotic forces that damage the cellular structure of organisms during freezing. This mechanism allows D. chrysoscelis to survive multiple cycles of freezing and thawing over the winter months. To study physiological changes induced by seasonal and cold acclimation periods, heart rate, feeding behavior, body mass, and dorsal coloration were evaluated in a laboratory setting using a protocol designed to mimic the natural reduction in temperature seen in nature. Wild-caught males were evaluated following capture in the summer and throughout the fall and winter seasons at varied temperatures and dates: August at 22°C (lab acclimated), October at 22°C (seasonal acclimated), December at 5°C and 22°C (cold acclimated and control), and January at 22°C (deacclimated). It is hypothesized that cold acclimated frogs would differ from warm acclimated frogs held at constant temperature in heart rate, body mass, feeding behavior, and dorsal coloration. Results show unique profiles at each experimental date and temperature, supporting the hypothesis that cold acclimation has a physiological impact on the measured variables. These findings also suggest that there are other, internal, mechanisms in place that contribute to the seasonal and cold acclimation response seen in D. chrysoscelis beyond the previously hypothesized temperature changes. These findings have broad implications regarding how the physiological mechanisms are regulated in organisms that exhibit freeze tolerance strategies. Our findings also contribute to the field of cryobiology, and its utilization in the field of science and medicine.
Police Investigators' Perceptions of Victim Involvement During the Investigation Process

Kaylin G. Florentino

Law enforcement officers handle various crimes and cases, many of which involve working with victims. However, most studies have focused on the perspective of the victim, their trauma, and the role they play within the investigation. The scarcity of research focusing on police perception of the victim’s involvement within the investigation process is important because few studies have been done. The current study used phenomenological approach to explore the perceptions of the police investigator about the victims’ role in the investigation process. Through snowball sampling, three police detectives from a Midwestern police agency volunteered for a semi-structured interview. The interviews were conducted via zoom and lasted an average of one hour and thirteen minutes. The interviews were transcribed verbatim, while simultaneously writing memos and thematic analysis was conducted. Preliminary findings indicate that police investigators encourage involvement from domestic violence and sex crime victims, whereas property crime victims are not seen as needed for the process. Detectives are looking for cooperation when appropriate and asked of the victim. Additionally, there were no explicit responses or implications that suggested victims of any kind should not have any involvement within the investigative process.
Political Polarization and its Effect on Political Participation

Sean Matthew Feikes

In recent years, perceived political division has risen in the United States at an astonishing rate. With the rise of social media in the last decade or so, political opinions and ideologies are able to reach more and more people than ever before. With this mass distribution of thoughts and ideas, political opinions are stronger and more divisive causing more polarization among citizens. The purpose of this research is to examine how political polarization affects political participation among college students. The method of analysis for this research question is a survey administered to UD students and distributed via email. The brief survey contains questions regarding their political identity and ideology, opinions on the current state of politics, and stance on some highly political topics. Results from the anonymous survey are contextualized within the existing literature.
Postpartum Depression: Its Impact and Tools for Diagnosis

Madyson Alexis Maynard, Natalie R. Piraino

According to data gathered in 2021, postpartum depression (PPD) is one of the most common complications that affects 10-15% of mothers worldwide (Amit, 2021). It is a leading cause of maternal perinatal mortality, accounting for about 20% of postpartum deaths (Amit, 2021). Postpartum depression is simply depression that occurs after childbirth. Symptoms include, but are not limited to, depressed mood or severe mood swings, insomnia, loss of appetite, intense irritability, and difficulty bonding with the baby (Mayo Clinic, 2018). If left untreated symptoms may worsen to severe anxiety, panic attacks, thoughts of harming yourself or your baby, and recurrent thoughts of death or suicide (Mayo Clinic, 2018). We found tools used to measure and diagnose PPD but are curious to seek why PPD remains a significant problem. The MGH Center for Women’s Mental Health mentions that the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) is most commonly used (Nonacs, 2008). Another tool currently being used is an online resource through Mental Health America titled “Depression Test for New and Expecting Parents.” The use of current tools helps women recognize the symptoms of PPD and helps improve the diagnosis of PPD in patients and yet “only 50% of women with prominent symptoms are diagnosed with PPD,” (El-Hachem, Charline, et al., 2014). The purpose of this poster is to learn more about PPD, how it is currently being diagnosed, and to suggest alternative ways to increase new mothers’ awareness of PPD that could lead to better diagnosis and treatment.
Practice Public Speaking via Simulator

Bao Truong

This project aims to develop a public speaking simulation in virtual reality (VR) in order to help people with trouble or practice with public speaking and give them feedback. People often time do not have a place or a big crowd to practice public speaking except themselves and a mirror. This project will provide the speaker with a simulated stage and interactive audiences through VR. When the speaker is giving speech, the simulation is able to pick up and analyze voice into data. The analyzed data include the rate of speaking, pauses, filler words, grammar, among others.
Predicting Fading in Free Space Communication Channel Using Deep Learning

Mohammad Albaqer Hammid Jwaid Al Ghezi

Free space optical communication plays a role in daily communications and has the advantage that it does not need a huge infrastructure of cables. Due to that advantage it can be used to deliver the internet to urban as well as remote locations, in the communication with drones, etc. However, the optical signal propagating through the atmosphere gets distorted due to fluctuations in weather parameters such as temperature and wind speed, resulting in optical turbulence, which impacts the strength of the optical signal that is received. In our work, we will use a deep learning algorithm to predict when these distortions could happen based on optical turbulence and weather data. Deep learning algorithms will be trained on the weather data as an input and the intensity of the signal as an output. Knowing the potential fading in the signal can help us to prevent losing the connection with the receiver. For instance, if we control a drone with an optical communication channel then it is important to know the potential fading in the signal, since this can be helpful for the controller to take action to prevent losing the connection with the drone.
Preparing Collegiate EMS to be First Responders for Mental Health Emergencies

Maggie M. Garcia, Hannah Jayne Lindenman

University of Dayton Emergency Medical Services (UD EMS) is a student-run collegiate EMS organization comprised of around 60 full-time undergraduate students who volunteer to provide 24/7 prehospital care to their campus community as nationally and Ohio certified Emergency Medical Technicians. In January 2022, UD EMS experienced its highest volume of mental health-related calls in the organization’s history. Additionally, according to Riaz et. al, (2021), with the rapid expansion of collegiate EMS programs, there remains “a lack of research and evidence-based guidelines surrounding how we, [in collegiate ems] can best serve college students in need of behavioral health services.” With the increased incidence of mental health emergencies in our own campus community and in collegiate EMS as a whole, we will be exploring the prevalence of these behavioral health calls and summarize current research on how to improve protocols for responding to mental health calls. The purpose of this poster is to present these findings and recommendations related to improving current protocols for responding to mental health emergencies within collegiate EMS.
Probability Analysis of the Relationship Between Share Price and ESG Ratings in the Aerospace & Defense Industry

John Richard Coffey

ESG is an evolving niche in the financial markets, as investors attempt to identify the companies that best fit with their own values. Aerospace and Defense firms are under constant scrutiny for their involvement in global warfare and contributions to the airline industry, one of the most fuel-intensive industries outside of Oil and Gas. The objective of this research is to determine which metrics within ESG impact share prices for the Aerospace and Defense industry most and build a probability model to measure the potential impact ESG has on share price movement. ESG scores for individual metrics such as Air Quality and Energy Management in Environmental and Customer Welfare and Data Security in Social. Regressions were then run with the scores for each ESG metrics run against a firm’s share price to measure correlation. Correlation was generally weak across most metrics; metrics with above 50% correlation were chosen to develop the probability model. Highest correlation was found among Social metrics, likely explained by the social impact defense companies have on war torn countries. The correlations were used to build a conditional joint probability model that determined the likelihood that a change in share price was caused by changes in one of the key ESG scores. A probability was determined, however low correlations brought into question the accuracy of the model.
Procter & Gamble - Dayton Mixing Operations Customization Kitting Optimization

Jeffrey Thomas Donahue, Claire Rose Esslinger, Robert Henry Magoto, Anderson Robert Ryan

This project researches the various processes for improving the efficiencies of bringing materials and piece parts to the production assembly operation. These include direct material flow vs. pre-kitting of various materials/parts before production assembly.
Procter & Gamble Shipment Complexity Analysis and Scheduling

Matthew Gerard Hackl, Trent Kingan, Evan S. Parker, Grace E. Yingling

Research into opportunities to improve product shipping and scheduling
Professional Development in Summer Camp Employment

Kari Truax

Many college students seek out internships and employment over the summer to grow professionally and personally. Students who choose to work as summer camp counselors are gaining transferable skills and are in environments where they can develop (Tessman et al., 2012). There are nearly 14,000 camps across the United States and majority of the camp counselors working at these camps are college students (Schelbe et. al 2018). With this seasonal work being such a demand and a common summer job for college students, it is important to consider the role that a supervisor plays in the development of their counselors. The purpose of this study is to identify what experiences are being provided by summer camps to aid student development and how supervisors are incorporating professional development throughout the summer. Data for this qualitative study emerges from 10 camp supervisors across the United States and Canada. The data collected has shown college students who spend their summers working at camps have a deep understanding of who they are, what strengths they have and how to apply skills learned to other jobs and environments. Supervisors concluded that summer camp jobs offer students an opportunity to grow in leadership, communication, decision making and critical thinking. The findings of this study not only can inform camp supervisors of the professional development opportunities provided to college students at varying camps, but also can inform higher education professionals of a field that provides students with a meaningful and impactful summer experience.
Propaganda Campaigns Analysis

Brendan John Ochs, Michael Elijah Saylor, Katelyn M. Weidner

We are confronted by a daily barrage of propaganda and disinformation messages. These manipulative efforts can take many forms on various mass media and social media channels. In our attempt to understand how these messages are constructed and how we as citizens can critically respond, our panelists will dissect several selected examples of propaganda campaigns from government sources as well as private businesses.
Propionate Alters Macrophage Morphology and Migration

Laura Marie Hobbs

Propionate is a short chain fatty acid found in our gut and used as a food preservative. Macrophages are a type of phagocytic immune cell that act as a first line of defense against pathogens. Propionate has been found to exhibit anti-inflammatory and antibacterial effects in many cell types, including macrophages. However, the impact of propionate on macrophage morphology is still not fully understood. Therefore, I seek to establish the effect of propionate on macrophage morphology and migration. RAW.264.7 macrophages were treated with IFN-γ and LPS (to simulate infection) and varying concentrations of propionate. Microscopy images were analyzed with ImageJ to determine the length to width ratio of the cells under different treatments. Microfluidic devices were used to assess migration. Nitric oxide production was determined by measuring extracellular nitrite. As low as 1 mM propionate treatment for 3 hours was sufficient to significantly increase the length to width ratios of both naïve and activated macrophages. However, 3 hour propionate treatment at up to 10 mM did not affect nitrite concentration. Overnight propionate treatment as low as 1 mM significantly reduced nitrite concentration in activated macrophages. Overnight 10 mM propionate treatment enhanced migration of both naïve and activated macrophages. These results suggest propionate alters macrophage morphology and potentially alter activation state.
Prosecutorial Misconduct: Understanding the Impact on Wrongful Convictions

Hannah Alison Cola

Wrongful convictions are a problem in the United States. Factors such as prosecutorial misconduct, racial bias, mistaken eyewitness testimony, and false confessions are said to play a role. This study focuses on prosecutorial misconduct. Research examining prosecutorial misconduct as a factor in wrongful convictions is limited. In this study, cases found in The National Registry of Exonerations, which contains the individuals who have been recognized as exonerated from a wrongful conviction in the United States, is used to examine the extent of prosecutorial misconduct as a factor in wrongful convictions. Differences across age, race, gender, crime are explored.
Pro-Understanding: Understanding the Pro-Choice Catholic

Natalie Therese Eilerman

Abortion is a widely debated and polarizing topic in the United States. While many Catholic leaders and members tend to hold beliefs against abortion, some Catholics are pro-choice. This study explores the perspectives and experiences of this often-under-recognized group. I conducted mixed methods research to analyze 1) how perspectives towards abortion are changing among Catholics in the United States (using data from the General Social Survey from 1977-2018), and 2) the experiences of college students at a private, predominately white, Catholic university in the Midwest who identify as pro-choice and Catholic. Quantitative analysis shows that Catholics’ attitudes towards abortion are becoming more pro-choice as time goes on. Qualitative interviews highlight a desire for open dialogue in which pro-choice Catholic perspectives are heard and respected as well as a want for the concept of being pro-life to encapsulate all life rather than just anti-abortion beliefs.
Psychiatric Emergencies and Mental Health Resources

Bailey Michael Cox, Samuel J. Shroder

The University of Dayton Emergency Medical Services (UD EMS) strives to serve the students, faculty, staff, and visitors to the University. A portion of the training involves learning how to manage and assist those experiencing a mental health crisis. This study looks at the number of psychiatric emergencies that UD EMS receives on campus. Previous studies show that those psychiatric emergencies are very common among college students (Pedrelli, 2015. College students are being increasingly diagnosed with anxiety and depression than in previous years (Mcalpine, 2021. Our findings show that there is an increased number of calls during the months of November, December, January, and February. Oftentimes, the calls are related to suicidal ideations and/or suicide attempts. This study analyzes the type of calls relating to suicidal ideations and suicide attempts over the previous five years in the UD EMS’s chart database. In addition, the training used by UD EMS was evaluated to see in what ways the resources provided during these types of calls can be reformatted or altered to improve the outcomes of these emergencies. The poster will review training opportunities throughout the campus to show what resources and training are available to individuals who would like to learn more about how to properly handle mental health emergencies. This poster will also look to improve the mental health resources available on campus by assessing the need and resources already in place.
Race Depicted in Children's Literature

Shaina C. Dawson

The purpose of this study is to analyze children's literature and how race is depicted to developing children. The study begins with a description of ethnic racial socialization and the ways in which parents teach their children about race. Next is a brief description of the history of children's literature and how books can be used to teach children about race and other identities. Using content analysis, I analyze some of the most popular pieces of children's literature to address the frequency of racial diversity discussed as well as how minority races are depicted. Finally, this research concludes with a discussion of the importance of ethical teaching during the developmental years and suggestions for expanding racial representation in children’s literature.
Racial Disparities in Healthcare Among Diabetes Patients

Cara Elizabeth McGlone, Adam D. Moorman, Dorothy Kelsey Seabrook

Access to quality medical care can be difficult for many racial and ethnic groups for several social determinants, namely due to racial or ethnic discrimination. According to the Centers For Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 37.3 million people in the United States are affected by diabetes, which is about 11.3 percent of the population. The breakdown of racial and ethnic groups diagnosed with diabetes is as follows: Alaskan Native/American Indian (15.1%), Asian (8.0%), Hispanic (12.7%), Black (12.1%), and only 7.4 percent of diagnosed American adults are non-Hispanic white. This means that the vast majority of those who have diabetes are people of color, which is why discussing the racial disparities in care is essential. There are many complications that can occur if diabetes goes untreated, including kidney and eye damage. It is important for the individual to take steps to keep good health, with their diet and lifestyle, however, that is not to ignore all of the social factors that prevent this. Additionally, there is a disparity in the treatment of patients of color with diabetes. According to a study published in MedCare, people who reported discrimination in care received significantly lower quality of care for their diabetes. Moreover, African Americans were calculated to have 40% of the odds of having an appropriate number of primary care visits for diabetes in comparison to Caucasians. Not only have people of color experienced higher rates of diabetes, but also experience significantly less appropriate care for this disease due to multiple factors.
Racial Representation of Long-Standing Broadway Shows

Emily Melissa Foppe

This poster will show a glimpse into the racial representation of Broadway Musicals. It will compare the original casting and most recent casting of shows running longer than "10 years". Some shows included in this research are “King and I”, “Miss Saigon”, and “Wicked”. Major differences between main and ensemble cast will be highlighted. This will be done in order to show whether representation is for the common good or just for the facade of being diverse. This research is intended to show the changes, or lack thereof, in the representation of race in the production of Broadway shows.
Rage Against American Imperialism and Corporate America

Logan Thomas Groff

My poster is about American imperialism and the genocide of Indigenous peoples, the Vietnam war, the use of an atomic bomb on Japan, and the crisis in Russia and Ukraine. My poster will demonstrate how the band Rage Against the Machine speaks out against imperialism in their music, including American Imperialism. In the song "Freedom," Rage Against the Machine appeals for the common good through their music and discusses how America is only interested in profiting a wealthy class and being a country at war while the U.S. government, the media, and corporations convince Americans they have “freedom”. In their song “Bulls on Parade”, the group speaks out against the U.S military and their aggressive acts. The arms industry in our country focuses on creating destructive weapons but they don’t worry about feeding and providing basic human rights for the poor. Instead, America is feeding war, not the people. My poster will feature a close reading of the band's lyrics and their impact on the culture.
Reinforcement Learning in the MiniHack Learning Environment

Ian M. Cannon

Reinforcement Learning is a branch of machine learning in which a computer agent receives rewards for interacting with its environment by being given observations, formulating actions, and taking those actions in the environment. Reinforcement Learning has been used to exceed human performance in game-like environments from Checkers to Go to DoTA2. Many of these achievements were hard-fought by overcoming challenges in each environment individually. NetHack is a challenging game that makes an excellent Reinforcement Learning environment for its combinations of broad action and observation space with sparse rewards and general difficulty. In this work, we investigate reinforcement learning methods in MiniHack which is a mini version of NetHack. We will introduce challenges of the difficult game of NetHack and explain how MiniHack can break up this large environment into smaller, composeable, more tractable mini-environments. We have used this environment to solve challenging problems in Reinforcement Learning and will talk through these challenges and what we have done to overcome them.
Religious Rhetoric at University of Dayton

Cole Joseph Abell, Aidan Scott Andra, Joseph Glynn Beischel, Maddalena L. Boyer, Katherine G. Brothers, Alyssa Marie Cacini, William J. Clark, Matthew Jeffrey Coath, Claire Elyse Constantino, Marissa A. Coon, Kyle Thomas Cullen, Catherine Maryann Doyle, Ella M. Doyle, Calli Marie Fenik, Shane Fitzpatrick, Liza beth Florczak, Kevin james Formato, John Gerard Francis, Grace K. Fuller, Samuel Paul Gootee, Thanh H. Ha, Michael J. Harmening, Sarah Jane Harper, Emma Nicole Harry, Elizabeth Bernadette Harvey, Peder W. Harvey, Kathryn Mary Hehn, James Treat Huff, Daniel P. Hughes, Kyra Leigh Hughes, George Arthur Icart, Charles Cooper Jones, Grace Marie Kennedy, Kieran M. Kilbride, Bryan Dolan Kingsley, Michael Fitzsimons Largay, Jack Thomas Lisle, Clare Margaret Loesch, Maeve Fitzsimmons Madden, Lee Henry Magoto, Claire B. Mahoney, Mark Liam Mahoney, Brandon Thomas Hadley Manz, Grace Ann McGinley, Luke Collin Meissner, Andrew Charles Moyer, Madeline Nagy, Brian Patrick O'Neill, Zinaejah D. Ozier, Daniel J. Peters, Carson A. Rhoades, Colin P. Riordan, Karly J. Ruzicka, Samuel Anthony Schadek, Collin Timothy Schmid, Audrey Michelle Smith, Peter Spesia, Morgan K. Steinkamp, Katherine Marie Sullivan, Paige Elizabeth Wavrek, Isabelle C. Wolford, Erin F. Zielsdorf

Students from CMM 357 Religious Rhetoric will present their rhetorical analyses of religious images on campus, both those that currently exist and some that they propose to be added to our landscape. Projects include:
Replacing Color-Blind Casting with Color-Conscious Casting: A New Roadmap to Diversity in Performing Arts

Khalid Abdulaziz N. Alqahtani

The American theatre and film industry has suffered from institutional racism where practices such as whitewashing were common. Beginning in the 1960s and 1970s, the term color-blind casting emerged to supposedly make theatre and film more inclusive and welcoming to people of all ethnicities. However, color-blind casting has done more harm to marginalized communities by disregarding their historical experiences and oppression. Therefore, instead of encouraging color-blind casting in performing arts, the industry should move towards color-conscious casting, a casting technique in which actors’ ethnicities and historical experiences are taken into consideration. The poster will demonstrate the negative aspects of color-blind casting including unequal pay, unacknowledgement of historical racism, and the oppression of actors of color. My poster will present color-conscious casting as the future-thinking roadmap for diversity by acknowledging the role of race in an inclusive performing arts industry. Sources include Johnny Depp's Lone Ranger and Alec Guinness as Prince Faisal.
ReRAM In-Memory Computing for Online Reinforcement Learning

Md Shahanur Alam

Reinforcement learning (RL) has been examined to learn when an agent interacts continually with an environment to learn an optimal policy. Neuromorphic in-memory computing is a computing method that can be used to implement Artificial Intelligence (AI) on low power. Complementary-Metal-Oxide-Semiconductor (SRAM or DRAM) based in-memory computing systems have been developed for AI inference applications at the edge. These models are not able to perform on-chip training. Alternatively, significant progress has been made in Non-Volatile Memory (NVM) based systems that allow for on-chip training. The Resistive-RAM or ReRAM is an emerging NVM device, which has been examined for implementing in-memory computing systems in the analog domain. However, ReRAM neuromorphic systems have not been investigated extensively for the RL algorithm. This work presents a memristor crossbar circuit for on-chip reinforcement learning, where the learning process takes place in a dynamic environment. The success of learning is ensured by achieving the optimum average score of the agent in the presence of environmental variability.