Saturday, April 25, 2026
Fryxell Humanities Center
ArthurOlsen Welcometothe StudentResearch Symposium
Acelebrationof studentachievement& academicexcellenceat Augustana
University
The Symposium is a platform for the undergraduate students of Augustana University to share their research, scholarship, and creative work with the campus and surrounding community.
Enjoy the opportunity to engage with student presenters and celebrate their creativity, hard work, and ingenuity evident in the diverse and outstanding presentations at this year’s event!
Today’s event wouldn’t be possible without the support & generous contributions from the Augustana community.
• Thank you to Jim & Marcia Fry for their generous gift.
• Thank you to those who helped judge the research award applications.
• Thank you to all of the faculty mentors who have guided and supported Augustana’s student researchers.
• Thank you to all the faculty & staff who have shared their time and talents to help make this event possible.
AboutDr.ArthurOlsen
Dr. Arthur (Art) Olsen, professor emeritus of philosophy and religion and former provost, served Augustana for more than 40 years.
Olsen earned his undergraduate degree from St. Olaf College, went on to receive a bachelor's degree in theology from Luther Theological Seminary and a doctorate in theology from Harvard Divinity School. He later served as a visiting scholar at both Harvard and Stanford universities.
He first joined Augustana in 1956. While pursuing his doctoral studies at Harvard, he took a part-time position teaching speech at MIT from 19571960. He then re-joined Augustana and served until his retirement in 1996.
Appointed by former Augustana President Dr. Bill Nelsen, from 1985-1990 Olsen served as Augustana's first Chair of Religion and Values (later named the Stanley L. Olsen Chair of Moral Values), a position made possible thanks to a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities. At the same time, Olsen also assumed the post of chief coordinator/implementer of Augustana's general education curriculum, as the new curriculum moved toward implementation.
The son of Norwegian immigrants, Olsen served as a champion for sharing the Norwegian culture and heritage, organizing Norwegian language camps for children on campus, founding the annual Nordland Festival in 1975, and preserving a number of historic Great Plains buildings dating from the late 19th to early 20th century.
Olsen was particularly active in developing and teaching courses related to questions of value. He served as director of Capstone, encouraging and supporting the development of Capstone courses as part of Augustana's General Education, and chaired the committee that helped define the University's five Core Values: Christian, Liberal Arts, Excellence, Community and Service.
Dr. Olsen passed away in May 2014.
In 2015, the Olsen family made an endowed gift to support the Augustana Symposium and student research. In honor of that gift and in tribute to Dr. Olsen's many contributions to the campus community and student research, the Augustana Symposium was renamed the Arthur Olsen Student Research Symposium.
KeynoteAddress
“Why Amateur Theatricals Matter: Discoveries in the Records of a Gilded Age Men’s Rowing Club”
Dr. Sara Lampert
Associate Professor of History
Coordinator of the Women,
Gender & Sexuality Studies Program
University of South Dakota
Dr. Lampert specializes in the history of early America, women and gender, and popular culture.
Her book, StarringWomen:Celebrity,Patriarchy,and AmericanTheater,1790-1850examines the lives, careers, and fame of overlooked figures from Europe and the United States whose work in melodrama, ballet, and other stage shows shocked and excited early U.S. audiences.
She has also published work on the women entertainers in the lyceum, the career of African American opera singer Elizabeth Taylor Greenfield, and on various facets of early U.S. theater and popular culture, from St. Louis to New York.
In 2024-2025 she was the recipient of a Houghton Library Visiting Fellowship at Harvard University and a Jay Last Fellowship at the American Antiquarian Society in Worcester, MA.
ScheduleofEvents
— 10:00 - 11:30 a.m. —
Student Research Award Ceremony
HamreHall,FryxellHumanitiesCenter
Keynote Address by Dr. Sara Lampert
“Why Amateur Theatricals Matter: Discoveries in the Records of a Gilded Age Men’s Rowing Club”
HamreHall,FryxellHumanitiesCenter
— 11:35 a.m. - 12:45 p.m. —
Student Presentations
FryxellHumanitiesCenterClassrooms
12:45 - 2:00 p.m.
Poster Presentations*
CVAAtrium&Concourse, FryxellHumanitiesCenter
— 2:00 - 3:10 p.m. —
Student Presentations
FryxellHumanitiesCenterClassrooms
*Posterawardwinnerswillbeannounced attheendofthepostersession.
Student Presentations
11:35 - 11:55
Diana Sargent
HUM 102
Patrick Hicks
HUM 103
David O’Hara
HUM 123
Suzanne Smith
HUM 201
Diogo Seixas
HUM 202
Michael Mullin
HUM 226
Lucas
Hamilton
HUM 301
Pilar
Cabrera
HUM 302
Jill Rye
HUM 325
Carrie
Olson-Manning
Civitas: A Corporeal Collection (Darcie Rives-East)
Nick Doby
Cheap Thrills and Boogeyman: Abstraction of the Uncanny in Comic Art (Lindsay Twa)
Beacom Fellows Presentations
Prana Mohanty & Grishma KC Drivers of Voter Turnout in Sioux Falls
Manusmriti Budhathoki
Early Exposure to College: How Campus Visits Shape Postsecondary Aspirations Among Middle School Students (Suzanne Smith)
Catie Ruschmeyer
Romance of Leadership in Context (Diogo Seixas)
Erica Carmody
Popular Song as Propaganda in World War I (Margaret Preston)
Anna Pirrung
When Salience Goes Rogue: Anticipatory Network and Pain Amplification in PTSD & Chronic Pain Patients (Lucas Hamilton)
Chilotam Okafor
Who is an American?:
A Cross-Examination of Borders, Immigration Policy, Mass Media, and the Construction of the American Identity (Cari Eastman & Stephen Minister)
Amber Hensche
Blue Zones: Where Longevity is Designed, Not Prescribed (Ranae Aukerman)
Gabriela Nose Rabboni
Mismatch in Preference and Performance in Monarch Oviposition (Carrie Olson-Manning)
HUM 102
Patrick Hicks
Student Presentations
12:00 - 12:20
Mikennah Oleson
Straw Boy: Exploring Human Choice through Writing in the Theatre of Optimism (Patrick Hicks)
Em Powers
HUM 103
David O’Hara
Hanging Medusa and Fallen Harpies: How Art Informed by Trauma Exists Within Advocacy-based Practice (Molly Uravitch)
Beacom Fellows Presentations
Suyash SR Thapaliya & Nina Luz
HUM 123
Suzanne Smith
HUM 201
Diogo Seixas
HUM 202
Michael Mullin
HUM 226
Lucas
Hamilton
HUM 301
Pilar
Cabrera
HUM 302
Jill Rye
HUM 325
Carrie
Olson-Manning
Quantifying Health, Environmental, and Social Returns on Investment for Community-Based Nonprofit Service in the Sioux Falls Region
Beatrice Anyim & Lupe Fernandez Aleman Journey of Hope: Assessing Hygiene Poverty through Client Tracking Systems (Suzanne Smith)
Nahume Moreda
Student-Centered Recycling System of Information Systems (Marcia Entwistle)
Sara Lenker
Life, Death, and a Stripped Culture: The Imprisonment and Removal of the Dakota People Following the 1862 Minnesota-Dakota Conflict (Michael Mullin)
Olivia Hunhoff & Jenna Hageman
Efficacy of a Body Image Intervention: The Role of Appearance Ideal Inclusivity (Lindsay Howard & Spencier Ciaralli)
Jocelyn Baas
Spanish-English Translation of a Section of Neus Català’s “De La Resistencia y La Deportación: 50 Testimonios de Mujeres Españolas” (Pilar Cabrera)
Tessa Frederick
Aromatherapy's Application on Patient's Post-Operative Nausea and Vomiting (Jill Rye)
Madelyn Sliper
Herbivory Defense of Milkweed: Cardenolide Allocation of A. syriaca and A. speciosa (Carrie Olson-Manning & Steven Matzner)
HUM 102
Patrick Hicks
Student Presentations
12:25 - 12:45
Amina Koch
Mother of Monsters: The Impact of Dracula’s Daughter and Hays-Era Hollywood on the Sexuality of Sympathetic Vampires in American Cinema (Darcie Rives-East)
Ava Brandt
HUM 103
David O’Hara
HUM 123
Suzanne Smith
Theories of Art in the Age of Artificial Intelligence: Mimesis, Techne, and the Problem of the Human Maker (David O’Hara)
Beacom Fellows Alumni Panel
Angel Cruz Medina, Grace Bucklin, Annie Olson, Prana Mohanty, Grishma KC, & Manusmriti Budhathoki
From Student Research to Real-World Impact: Alumni Reflections on the Beacom Fellows Experience (Suzanne Smith)
HUM 226
Lucas Hamilton Sydney Hansen
Lateralization in Functional Brain Network Topography and Language Skills in Adolescents Using the ABCD Study (Shannon Proksch)
Mikayla Kolbeck
HUM 302
Jill Rye
HUM 325
Carrie
Olson-Manning
Ripples of Hope: How Fly Fishing Mends Mental Health Disorders (Julie Loveland-Swanstrom)
Hiwote Hailu
Comparative Transcriptomics: Exploring Differences in Transmembrane Protein Expressions between Asclepias speciosa and Asclepias syriaca (Carrie Olson-Manning)
PosterPresentations
12:45-2:00
1. Ella Fuhr, Kelsey Fischer, & Olivia Ver Steeg - Hold the Bath: The Impact of Delayed Bathing on Newborn Thermoregulation and Hypoglycemia Rates (Jill Rye)
2. Jade Nguyen, Samikshya Budhathoki, Brooklyn Holiway, & Lydia KuslerPartners in Birth: The Impact of Shared Decision-Making on Perinatal Patient Satisfaction (Jill Rye)
3. Sierra Goyette, Suma Gurung, Yoo Mi Kim, & Sefanit Seyoum - Early Detection: Mortality Rates from Preeclampsia in Pregnant Women (Ranae Aukerman)
4. Alayna Havard, Keira Sensenig, Leah Arnold, & Brook Berens - The Sound of Relief: Music as a Perioperative Intervention to Reduce Pain and Anxiety (Jill Rye)
5. Madeline Johnson & Dawson Studer - Cholesterol Inhibition Alters the Production and the Molecular Profile of Microvesicles (Marianna Madeo)
6. Paxton Ford & Brad Infield - Increasing the Hydrophilicity of Antimicrobial Dicationic Diarylacetylenes (Barrett Eichler)
7. Nathan Babb - Bacterial Enrichment Using Thin Stillage (Paul Egland)
8. Codi Stirling - Exploring ESL Education in the Sioux Falls Area (Nick Jackson)
9. Mwihaki Mwangi - Multidrug Delivery in Metal Organic Frameworks with Backbone-coordinated Medications (Zachary Schulte)
10. Madeline McDowell, Kate Greenfield, & Eli Klavetter - The Effects of Recombinant Erythropoietin on the Behavior of a BTBR Mouse Model (Alex Kloth)
11. Kate Greenfield, Madeline McDowell, & Eli Klavetter - Investigating Effects of a Recombinant Erythropoietin Derivative on Cellular Abnormalities in a Mouse Model of Autism (Alex Kloth)
12. Brooklyn T. Schroeder, Zoey Mandery, & Claire Daniel - Investigating Social Deficits of Anorexia using an Activity-Based Mouse Model (Lindsay Howard & Alex Kloth)
13. Trinity Merrill & Emma Nelson - Evaluating Links between Behavior and Physiology for Urban Ants in Thermally Challenging Environments (Diane Roeder)
14. Chilotam Okafor - 1+1=3: The Synergetic Effect of Interagency Collaboration in Solving Community Health Challenges (Spencier Ciaralli)
15. Bjorn Eide - Synthesis and Characterization of Surface Functionalized Nanoscale Ln3+-based Metal-Organic Frameworks for Biological Imaging Applications (Zachary Schulte)
16. Eferata Getinet - Movement Coordination Live vs Non-live Music Performances (Shannon Proksch)
PosterPresentations
17. Maya Madson - Sioux Falls: A Story of the Strike (David Everson)
18. Mirella Lajos - Self-guided Sustainability Walking Tour of Augustana University Campus (Julie Loveland-Swanstrom)
19. Madeline Radtke & Ellie Walker - Stability of MicroRNA as Biological Markers for Autologous Blood Transfusion Identification (Matthew Heesch)
20. Blen Lemma - Developing an AI-based Model to Detect the Primary Cilia and Surrounding Structures in the Mouse Brain (Cami Fuglsby)
21. Faith Albert - The Effects of Experimental Freeze-Thaw Cycles on Bone for Forensic Interpretation (Trent Trombley)
22. Caitlin Murphy - Quantification of Bacterial CFU in Drinking Water at Augustana University (Paul Egland)
23. Madison Lundberg, Katrina Beshai, & Sophia LunnInvestigating How Everyday Emotion-Regulation Predicts Emotional Responses to Horror Films (Lucas Hamilton)
24. May Moe Thu Han - Analysis of Two- and Three-Body Fragmentation Channels of Strong-field Dissociation and Ionization of H2CO+ (Eric Wells)
25. Bethel Tefera - Implementation of a Class of Regression Models for the Comparison of Pairwise Metrics Applied to Handwriting Data (Cami Fuglsby)
26. Juliann Seeley - Development of Imaging Outcome Measures of Neuroprotection in Multiple Sclerosis Using Ultra-High Gradient Diffusion MRI (Alex Kloth)
27. Suyash SR Thapaliya - Multiparametric Behavior Analysis of Autism Mouse Models Using Machine Learning and Depth-Based Tracking Systems (Alex Kloth)
28. Savanna Osowski - Process Over Project: A Story of Unconventional Failure (Carrie Olson-Manning)
29. Ariel Danon - A Monte Carlo Simulation for the Comparison of Pairwise Metrics on a Class of Regression Models (Cami Fuglsby)
30. Gracen Juffer - Expansins and their Effect on Leaf Angle in Sorghum Bicolor (Martha Ibore)
31. Alyssa Stahl - Returning to the Earth: Exploring Green Burial Practices in Sioux Falls, SD (Trent Trombley)
32. Isaiah Korstjens - Investigating Antimicrobial Properties of Human Placenta Extracts Against Pathogenic Bacterial Biofilms (Jennifer Gubbels & Paul Egland)
Student Presentations
2:00 - 2:20
Regis Dzenga
HUM 102
Pilar Cabrera
HUM 103
Jacee Casarella
HUM 201
Sarah Rude
HUM 202
Robert Flahive
HUM 226
Lucas Hamilton
HUM 301
Becky Fiala
HUM 302
Jetty Duffy-Matzner
Myth & Film: Human Nature's Perversion of the Essence of Prometheus (Daniel Perry)
Emma Niswander
All the Way Down to Urinetown: Designing the Revolution (Jacee Casarella)
Anna Schwab Too Busy to Think: How Productivity Culture is Killing Curiosity (Jenny White)
Jenna Hageman
A Beginner’s Guide to AbolitionThrough the Black Perspective (Spencier Ciaralli)
Aiden Heisinger
Contemplative Rituals for Acute Stress Reduction: A Comparative Effectiveness Study between Intercessory Prayer and Mindful Meditation (Lucas Hamilton)
Kate Bebensee
Teaching the Circle of Courage Through Poetry (Nick Jackson)
Clark Egland
Development and Analysis of Modified Amino Contact Lenses (Jetty Duffy-Matzner)
HUM 325
Jennifer Brown
Shriram Maiya
Polygon Tilings in Non Eucledian Geometries (Jennifer Brown)
HUM 102
Pilar Cabrera
Student Presentations
2:25 - 2:45
Amina Koch
Hegemony of Hisui: A Marxist Reading of Authority, Labor, and the Reinforcement of State Control in Pokémon Legends: Arceus (Darcie Rives-East)
Morgan Moritz
HUM 103
Jacee Casarella
HUM 201
Sarah Rude
HUM 202
Robert Flahive
HUM 226
Lucas
Hamilton
HUM 301
Becky Fiala
HUM 302
Jetty
Duffy-Matzner
HUM 325
Jennifer Brown
To Teach Theatre is to Teach the Whole Child: Exploring Cognitive, Affective, and Psychomotor Learning Skills in Theatre (Jacee Casarella)
Ylva Konings Fangs and Feelings: The Werewolf as a Mirror of Teenage Chaos (Emily Schoenbeck)
Lauren Murphy Western Power, Western Priorities: The Color Line and Selective Sovereignty at the ICJ (Robert Flahive)
Sophia Lunn
Examining Geographic Disparities in How Community Clinicians Approach and Treat Alzheimer's Disease and Related Dementias (Lucas Hamilton)
Kaitlyn Crawford Circle of Courage and ELL Best Practices (Becky Fiala)
Kate Greenfield
Environmental Enrichment on the Developing Postnatal Brain (Alex Kloth)
Cooper Stone & Evelyn Fiore
Decomposing Square Sided Dice (George Nasr)
HUM 102
Pilar Cabrera
Student Presentations
2:50 - 3:10
Crow Garcia
Decay in the Pulse of the Machine: Holiness, Bodies, and Transience (Julie Loveland-Swanstrom)
HUM 226
Lucas Hamilton
HUM 325
Jennifer Brown
Katrina Beshai
A Daily Study of Social Connection and Emotion in Graduating Seniors (Lucas Hamilton)
Simone Patricia De la Cruz González Going to War?
Let’s Talk About the Math First (George Nasr)
ResearchAwards
In conjunction with campus and community partners, the Symposium is pleased to offer the following $250 awards to students who are presenting at the 2026 Student Research Symposium. In addition, the Symposium is offering five poster awards of $50 each.
Keynote Speaker's Early Influence Award
This award is sponsored by the Sociology Department in honor of Dr. Sara Lampert, associate professor in the Department of History at the University of South Dakota and coordinator of the Women, Gender & Sexuality Studies program. The Keynote Speaker's Early Influence Award will be awarded to a student whose research aligns with Lampert's interdisciplinary work, which blends U.S. history, women and gender studies, and popular culture to highlight overlooked figures in key historical moments.
Award for Interdisciplinary Research and Collaboration
The Award for Interdisciplinary Research and Collaboration will go to a student who has done research involving more than one academic discipline and/or requiring collaboration between multiple parties. Students must be able to demonstrate how they synthesized ideas and concepts from multiple disciplines, drawing connections between multiple subjects, and/or demonstrate how they collaborated with additional individuals or groups to create a cohesive research project.
Lifelong Learner Award
The three Lifelong Learner Awards will recognize students who exhibit the spirit of Arthur Olsen’s yearning to be a lifelong learner through their research or scholarship. Arthur Olsen chaired the committee that created Augustana five core values: Christian, Liberal Arts, Community, Excellence, and Service. In keeping with Augustana’s grounding in the liberal arts tradition, each of these awards will recognize projects that do one of the following: enhance community through the understanding of humans and human interactions, enrich lives through aesthetic and creative expressions, or develop knowledge that is critical for understanding and caring for our changing world.
Symposium Attendees
Thank you for coming and supporting Augustana’s student researchers!
If you are attending the symposium to get extra credit for one of your classes, please do the following:
• Ask the faculty chair monitoring each room to stamp your attendance sheet for every classroom presentation you attend.
• Pick up a slip of paper from each poster presentation you visit and turn them in at the registration table to get your attendance sheet stamped.
The Arthur Olsen Student Research Symposium is supported by: The Office of Academic Affairs Civitas Honors Program | Mikkelsen Library Department of Sociology