• Research in Society, Society in Research
• Layers of Discovery: Breakthroughs in Cancer Research
• A Forum for Graduate Student Research
• Thanks
• Stem Cell Research in Our Society: Because We Can, Should We?
• Graduate Awards for Excellence
• Showcase of Undergraduate Research Excellence
• Techniques for Completing a Thesis or Dissertation
• Research Week Ends with Awards
• Scholarship of Teaching and Learning
• Toward Cognitive Prostheses
• Vision for Building an Interdisciplinary Research-based Medical School
• Rosen College Research Colloquium
• Risk Attitudes, Randomizations to Treatments
• Art of Fiction Writing
• Art and Science at UCF Research Week
• Thank you to the following sponsors of 2007 UCF Research Week

A Forum for Graduate Student Research

This year’s Fourth Annual Graduate Research Forum had nearly 130 oral and poster presentations given by graduate students showcasing their valuable research efforts to their fields and to the UCF community. With research presented in seven categories, each presentation was judged by UCF faculty, staff and administrators. An award for Best in Category was given for one oral and one poster presentation in each category. One of this year’s winners, Jacqueline Alfonso, Ph.D. candidate in Psychology, presented her research Using Feedback to Reduce Alcohol Use in the poster format. Her research findings suggest that alcohol interventions incorporating feedback are associated with significant reductions in drinking and feedback that is delivered remotely has a greater chance of reducing drinking than face-to-face interactions. “The Graduate Research Forum is important for graduate students because it gives us a chance to showcase the research we are conducting and share it with the UCF community that helps support that research. It's a great way to recognize all of the talent we are cultivating right here at UCF. The forum also provides an opportunity for graduate students from various disciplines to connect and create a friendly intellectual dialogue that takes us beyond our own specific discipline's borders,” comments Alfonso.

A unique oral presentation in this year’s forum was given by graduate student Jennifer Truman, which focused on the Fear of Crime and Perceived Risk of Victimization among College Students. Findings from her research found that there are many demographic influences on the fear of crime and that a person’s fear of crime may increase their desire to carry a weapon for protection, among other behaviors. Hosted by the Division of Graduate Studies and the Graduate Student Association, it is obvious that graduate students at UCF are engaging in unique and dynamic research that not only impacts the UCF community, but their disciplines as well.

Congratulations to the 2007 Graduate Research Forum Best in Category Award Winners!

ORAL PRESENTATION WINNERS

• Business Administration and Hospitality Management:
  Amy Hageman, Business Administration Ph.D. – Accounting Track
  “Regional Diffusion Theory and the Adoption of Anti-PIC Statutes”
  Mentor: Sean Robb, Ph.D.
  
  
• Education
  Jennifer Tobias, Education Ph.D. – Mathematics Education Track
  “Preservice and Inservice: Teachers’ Understanding of Fractions”
  Mentor: Juli Dixon, Ph.D.
  
  
• Engineering, Computer Science, Optics, Physical Sciences, Mathematics,
  Modeling and Simulation
  Subhaashree Sridharan, Materials Science and Engineering Ph.D.
  “Multi-Scale Instrumented Indentation Studies of Deformation in Zr-Based Bulk Metallic Glasses”
  Co-Authors: C.N. Bewerse, C. Suryanarayana
  Mentor: Raj Vaidyanathan, Ph.D.
  
  
• Fine Arts
  Laurie Melnik, Theatre MFA – Theatre for Young Audiences Track
  “Applied Playwriting: Infusing Playwriting across Fourth Grade Curriculum”
  Mentor: Megan Alrutz, Ph.D.
  
  
• Humanities
  Alexandra Hill, Interdisciplinary Studies M.A.
  “Dangerous Women in Elizabethan Popular Print”
  Mentors: Elliott Vittes, Ph.D., David Boote, Ph.D.
  
  
• Life and Health Sciences
  Michelle Alvarez, Biomedical Sciences Ph.D.
  “Age Determination: The Identification of Biological Age Using Messenger RNA Profiling Analysis”
  Mentor: Jack Ballantyne, Ph.D.
  
  
• Social Sciences (Co-winners)
  Julia Fullick, Psychology Ph.D. – Industrial and Organizational Track
  “Goal Orientations and Traits: Illuminating the Effects of the Three-Factor Model of Goal Orientation on Personality Traits and Academic Performance”
  Co-Author: Daniel Miller
  Mentor: Kimberly Jentsch, Ph.D.
  
  Minna Grantham, Sociology Ph.D.
  “Ties That Bind: On Ethnic Culture Maintenance”
  Mentor: Tracy Dietz, Ph.D.

POSTER PRESENTATION WINNERS

• Business, Hospitality Management and Humanities
  Monica Carpenter, Hospitality and Tourism M.S.
  “A Critical Literature Review of Technology and Travel Agents”
  Mentor: Young Soo Choi, Ph.D.
  
  
• Education
  Deirdre Englehart, Education Ed.D.
  “Research on the Development of Science Teaching Ideas and Skills through an Undergraduate Course”
  Mentor: Lynn Hartle, Ph.D.
  
  
• Engineering, Computer Science, Optics, Physical Sciences, Mathematics,
  Modeling and Simulation (Co-winners)
  Jose Cunado, Electrical Engineering Ph.D.
  “Control and Stabilization of Tin-Doped Droplet for Extreme Ultraviolet Lithography”
  Co-Authors: Sun Wenfang, Theodore Goodsen
  Mentor: Qun Hoa, Ph.D.
  Luis Ono, Physics Ph.D.
  “In-Situ Gas Phase Catalytic Properties of Size and Shape-Selected Gold Nanoparticle”
  Mentor: Issa Batarseh, Ph.D.
  
  
• Life and Health Sciences
  Carlos Anderson, Biology M.S.
  “Computer-Aided Identification of Individual Polar Bears”
  Co-Authors: Niels da Vitoria Lobo, James Roth, Jane Waterman, Ph.D.
  Mentor: Jane Waterman, Ph.D.
  
  
• Social Sciences
  Jacqueline Alfonso, Psychology Ph.D.
  “Using Feedback to Reduce Alcohol Use: A Meta-Analytic Review”
  Co-Authors: R. Matt Alderson, Toni M. Shelton, Michael Dunn, Ph.D.
  Mentor: Michael Dunn, Ph.D.

UCF Division of Graduate Studies, the Division of Undergraduate Studies and the Office of Research and Commercialization are proud organizers of the the 2007 UCF Research Week.