JACKSON, Tenn. — April 25, 2018 — More than 200 51社区 students presented research April 24 at the Scholarship Symposium. The symposium included undergraduate and graduate students from business, nursing, theology and missions, education, social work and arts and sciences.
Meredith Tatarzycki, a nurse anesthesia student, presented research on a device call the CanaryBox, which can control the volume of music in operating rooms to allow anesthetists to hear alarms from vital signs and respond quicker to changes in a patient鈥檚 pulse, heartrate and blood pressure. She used Union students and Union鈥檚 nursing simulation lab to conduct her experiments.
鈥淲hat I found was that the group who used the CanaryBox responded quicker to every situation, but the one that was significant was blood pressure,鈥� Tatarzycki said. 鈥淲hen that changes, the box causes the music to stop completely.鈥�
Tatarzycki said according to her research, the new device will allow surgeons to play the music that helps them work without fear that it could interfere with the anesthetist鈥檚 job of ensuring the patient is in good condition.
Nyla Gwan, a junior engineering major, worked with 10 other engineering students on a project titled 鈥淎IR 1.0: Aerodynamic Improvement Research.鈥� Gwan and the other students studied three specific shapes designed to improve aerodynamics: the airfoil, the golf ball and the trailer foil. These shapes improve the aerodynamics of cylinders, spheres and cubes, respectively.
鈥淭he main thing I took away from this is the importance of drag and how it relates to shape,鈥� Gwan said. 鈥淚f you can reduce drag, you can greatly increase aerodynamics.鈥�
Gwan said the students tested these shapes by attaching each to a load meter on a car and driving at varying speeds.
Six senior psychology majors examined the relationship between birth order, academic motivation and introversion in emerging adults, age 18-24. Trenton Holloway, one of the students who worked on the project, said the group used Union students as a sample and divided them into firstborns and latter-borns. They then used several tests to determine introversion and extroversion. They also tested to see if students were driven by performance goals, a desire to do well for others; or mastery goals, a desire to do well for oneself.
Olivia Shmitke, another of the students on the project, said they found several interesting connections between these traits.
鈥淔or example, we found that introversion is strongly linked to firstborns,鈥� Shmitke said. 鈥淚ntroversion is also related to mastery goals, but it鈥檚 a less direct link.鈥�
Students presented their research through poster displays in the Carl Grant Events Center and through 20-minute presentations around campus.