Penn State Schuylkill Excels in Undergraduate Research and Creative Accomplishments

written by Dr. Valerie Schrader, Professor of Communication Arts & Sciences

Penn State Schuylkill provides students with the opportunity to conduct original research and creative work under the guidance of faculty members in a variety of disciplines. Students work in an area of interest of their choosing either one-on-one with Schuylkill faculty members or as part of a supervised research team.

These experiences enable students to gain important hands-on experience that may help them as they apply for jobs, internships, graduate study, or medical school. Penn State Schuylkill also provides opportunities for students engaging in undergraduate research to publish their work in peer-reviewed journals with faculty members, present their research at state, regional, national, and international conferences, and travel for data collection or conference presentation.

Students can earn course credit for conducting undergraduate research, or they may serve as a wage assistant during a regular semester or during the summer. Students in the Penn State Schuylkill Honors Program or the Schreyer Honors College often conduct research as part of their honors option in a course.

Isabella Frederick, a second-year honors student double-majoring in neuroscience and English, has worked with four different faculty mentors on research in different fields at Penn State Schuylkill. “The best thing about being on a small campus is that if the perfect research opportunity doesn't exist, the faculty and staff are more than willing to help you create it,” said Frederick. “That kind of personal support is hard to find anywhere else.”

Frederick particularly notes the value of publishing with her professors and presenting work at conferences as she prepares for applying to graduate school: “Publishing as an undergrad gives you a voice in the academic world early on, making your grad school journey feel so much more possible.”

Penn State Schuylkill also hosts events each semester to provide students conducting undergraduate research with the opportunity to present their work to the Schuylkill campus community. Students may create posters or deliver oral presentations highlighting their work at these events. Many students consider these events a “test run” for their research presentations before they present them at a state, regional, or national conference.

Students may choose to work with a number of faculty members on campus in various disciplines, including:

Biology

Dr. Sarah Princiotta, Assistant Professor of Biology, conducts research in aquatic ecology and water quality with students in the biology major. Students lead research projects that are based in the lab or in the field, primarily on lakes in Schuylkill and Berks counties. Research students also participate in science communication by working directly with citizen scientists through a long-term monitoring and educational program called PLEON (Pocono lake Ecological Observatory Network). Students in the Princiotta lab are expected to present their work at the annual meeting of the Northeast Algal Society and pursue opportunities for independent research funding.

Dr. Lucas Redmond, Associate Professor of Biology, is a biologist with broad interests in the breeding biology and ecology of songbirds. His work heavily relies on and includes the participation of undergraduate students at Penn State Schuylkill. Currently, he and his students are doing research on two separate systems: a long-running study that is focusing on several aspects of the biology of Gray Catbirds, and another seeking to elucidate the migratory pathway of Eastern Kingbirds. Undergraduates who work with Dr. Redmond on these projects participate in all aspects of these projects from data collection in the field, data analysis, preparation and presentation of results at conferences, and publication.

Mary Ann Smith, Lecturer of Biology, has been conducting undergraduate research with students from all majors in antibiotic discovery and sustainability-related topics since her arrival at Penn State Schuylkill in 2019. Since her launch of the Small World Tiny Earth Program, over 150 students have participated in research and presented posters about their work. Two students have showcased extensions of their projects at the state capitol as part of Research at the Capitol. Smith also represents Penn State Schuylkill as part of the EnvironMentors program, where high school students get an opportunity to perform research under her guidance and that of an undergraduate mentor.

Chemistry

Dr. Lee Silverberg, Professor of Chemistry, conducts organic chemistry research with interested students in any major, though most are in a STEM major. Students can volunteer or do research as an honors option, and research is built in the Organic Chemistry Lab class (CHEM 213). Students conduct novel projects in synthetic organic chemistry, often as part of a larger project involving other students. Since 2010, 146 students have worked in Dr. Silverberg’s lab, and 34 refereed publications have included student authors. Students have presented their work at American Chemical Society Middle Atlantic Regional Meetings and Intercollegiate Student Chemists Conventions.

Communication

Dr. Valerie Schrader and student holding trophies

Dr. Valerie Schrader, Professor of Communication Arts & Sciences, mentors undergraduate students in all majors who want to conduct rhetorical and autoethnographic research. Students conduct their own individual research projects in areas such as health communication, political communication, and popular culture under Dr. Schrader’s guidance. Since 2013, more than 50 of Dr. Schrader’s students have presented over 130 individual research projects at the Pennsylvania Communication Association, the Ohio Communication Association, the Eastern Communication Association, and the National Communication Association conferences and have won 22 top paper or top poster awards at these conferences. Dr. Schrader also regularly publishes with her students in peer-reviewed communication and theatre journals, and many of her research students have gone on to graduate school and law school.

Criminal Justice & Criminology

Dr. S. Hakan Can, Professor of Criminology, works with undergraduate and graduate students in all majors who want to join his research projects. Over the years, Dr. Can has worked on numerous local, state, federal and international level projects with over 50 students, who assisted him in these various projects on topics such as inmate violence, early released inmates with opioid addiction, community conflict and law enforcement officers’ well-being, and police psycho-physiological stressors. Students have presented their research independently in national, regional and state conferences and many of them have published in national peer-reviewed journals with Dr. Can or independently. Students who have researched with Dr. Can have often been accepted to high impact national internship programs, including the Department of Justice, Interpol NCB, and the White House’s Office of National Drug Control Policy.

Dr. Juyoung Song, Associate Professor of Criminal Justice and Coordinator of the Student Research and Scholarship Conference at Penn State Schuylkill, advises undergraduate students in all majors who want to conduct criminological research. Students conduct their own individual research projects in areas such as cyberbullying, drug use, and juvenile delinquency under Dr. Song’s guidance. Since 2015, Dr. Song’s students have been presented at state, regional, and national conferences. Dr. Song brings students to the American Society of Criminology and Academy of Criminal Justice Science conferences; both conferences are the national level and only accepted papers can be presented. Dr. Song is preparing to publish with her students in peer-reviewed criminological journals.

Cybersecurity

Dr. Joseph Squillace, Assistant Teaching Professor of Cybersecurity Analytics and Operations, mentors undergraduate students in multiple disciplines who are interested in pursuing cybersecurity research projects that have a direct impact on society and community safety. Student research teams conduct their own research projects in areas such as cybersecurity, cyberbullying, and technology sustainability under the guidance of Dr. Squillace. Since 2022, Dr. Squillace’s students have presented work at various regional, state, and national conferences and several have received awards at these events. The nature of the research conducted by Dr. Squillace and his team has led to opportunities to collaborate internationally, with research having been presented and published in multiple countries including the Czech Republic, Hungary, and Bulgaria.

Film

Cathy Fiorillo, Teaching Professor of Theatre and Communication Arts and Sciences, engages undergraduate students interested in theatre, film, and/or public speaking in her film projects. In her last film QUIRKS, students participated as performers and production assistants involved in marketing and graphic design. QUIRKS was both nationally and internationally recognized, as the film went on to appear in over 40 festivals and win numerous awards. QUIRKS was a SAG (Screen Actors Guild) contract, enabling students to work alongside professional actors and a professional production team. Professor Fiorillo’s current film, jAImes, enabled five students another opportunity to be part of a professional production, in which students served as first assistant director and had cameo performances on camera.

History

Dr. Harold Aurand, Teaching Professor of History, conducts research with students taking his classes. The topics vary according to the course the student is enrolled in. In addition to nearly 60 of his students presenting work at the Schuylkill Campus Student Research and Scholarship Conference and the Penn State Eastern Regional Undergraduate Research Symposium (at which two of his students placed first and second in the Humanities division), two of his students have presented work at the Pennsylvania Historical Association Annual Meetings. He also occasionally co-presents at conferences and co-authors publications with undergraduate students.

Nursing

Dr. Marianne Adam, Teaching Professor of Nursing, conducts research on pedagogical strategies and the impact of professional identity development in nursing students. She also conducts research with a focus on substance use disorder and stigma, and the impact of substance use disorder on individuals and families. In her research in this second area, she occasionally works with nursing students, who contribute to literature reviews and present work as posters at the Campus Poster Conference.

Psychology

In her research, Dr. Jessica Saalfield, Assistant Professor of Psychology, takes an interdisciplinary approach to developing a comprehensive and foundational understanding of the effects of substance use and misuse in geographically diverse adolescents and young adults. She enjoys having students join in her research pursuits, whether on topics related to her research on addiction or by exploring the student's personal research interests. She has published scientific manuscripts with students as well as had students present posters at local and national scientific conferences.