The Office of Student Research (OSR) at Illinois State University announces the winners of the Summer 2024 FIREBird and BirdFEEDER research grants.
These small grants provide funding to support student research, scholarly inquiry, and innovation at Illinois State. The FIREbird Awards provide undergraduate students with funds for Faculty-mentored Independent Research Experiences (FIREbird). Up to $3000 may be used for student hourly wages, research incentives, supplies, or travel.
The BirdFEEDER Awards (Fund for Experimentation, Enquiry and the DEvelopment of Student Research) provide graduate and undergraduate students with up to $500 to use for research supplies, materials, or travel to conduct research.
This semester’s recipients are:
FIREBird
Joseph Alexander, School of Biological Sciences, “Identifying Regulators of Vibrio cholerae Environmental Survival.” Faculty Mentor: Kyle Floyd.
Ryan Bredesen, School of Information Technology, “Network Segmentation Security with the Implementation of Threats.” Faculty Mentor: Stephen Mujeye.
Alex Clark, School of Information Technology, “A Critical Analysis of SME Cybersecurity Policies and Practices.” Faculty Mentor: Stephen Mujeye.
Pedro Galvan, School of Biological Sciences, “Probing the Mechanisms of Migraine Initiation Using Genetically Modified Larval Fruit Flies.” Faculty Mentor: Wolfgang Stein.
Grace Hohman, School of Biological Sciences, “The Effects of Tryptamine, Harmine, and Harmaline on Leishmania tarentolae in a Rocking Environment.” Faculty Mentor: Marjorie Jones.
Brenna Long, School of Biological Sciences, “Cover Crop Effects on Soil Fungal Biomass: The Fungus Among Us.” Faculty Mentor: Bill Perry.
Cole Roberts, School of Information Technology, “Exploring Honeypots Usage and Malware in Cybersecurity.” Faculty Mentor: Stephen Mujeye.
Ben Ross, School of Biological Sciences, “Impact of Environmental Signals on msh Gene Expression in Vibrio cholerae.” Faculty Mentor: Kyle Floyd.
Whitney Stiverson, Department of Agriculture, “Buyer Valuation of Sport Horses Sold Through Online Auctions.” Faculty Mentor: Michelle Kibler.
Jack White, Department of Chemistry, “X-ray Structural Analysis of Ephedrine and Norephedrine Derived 1,3,4-oxadiazinan-2-one and 1,3,4-oxadiazinan-2-thione Containing Crystals.” Faculty Mentor: Gregory Ferrence.
BirdFEEDER
Taylor Flinn, Department of Psychology, “The Moderating Effect of Identification on the Relationship Between Work Engagement and Unethical Pro-Organizational Behavior.” Faculty Mentor: Dan Ispas.
Tuba Yasmin Lubna, Department of Agriculture, “Preliminary Study on Arrested Anaerobic Digestion of Pennycress for Biofuel Production.” Faculty Mentor: Liangcheng Yang.
Steve Poggendorf, School of Teaching and Learning, “The Power of Text and the Obstacles that Impede Secondary English Language Arts Teachers.” Faculty Mentor: Anna Smith.
Olesia Pupina, School of Music, “Arts and Healing Workshops for Ukrainian Newcomers to Poland.” Faculty Mentor: Midori Samson.
For more information and for application dates for the 2024-25 academic year, visit Office of Student Research.
