| Field | Description | Requirements | Contact | Positions |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| URCW Psychology Education pedagogy research | This project will endeavor to assess specific effects of learning experiences that are dubbed high impact practices such as study abroad, undergraduate research and internships. We will evaluate the existing literature on this project and develop a protocol to study changes in personality, self-actualization, and growth mindset. This summer you would participate in the literature review, devising the specific research question, writing the IRB protocol application, and putting together the surveys. Data collection will likely occur in the fall. | -Student will have a skill set that includes communications verbal and written, independent working ethic, time management and analytical thinking. | Dr. Joanne Altman [email protected] | 1 student |
| URCW psychology statistics | The office of Undergraduate Research seeks a student to analyze our data to assess the impact of specific programs in URCW. | -strong statistical skills -strong writing skills | Dr. Joanne Altman [email protected] | 1 student |
| Business Research | Market research to determine needs of industry regarding graduating students’ skill sets. The HPU Phillips School of Business strives to maintain a current view of business trends and industry needs in order to provide students with the necessary education, tools and skill sets enabling them to compete and differentiate themselves in the working environment. We are currently launching an initiative which will survey industry employers as well as HPU alumni to capture the current trends, needs and employers’ desired criteria for employment as well as identify any gaps in the HPU alumni’s educational experience where they felt they were limited in their targeted working discipline. This research could lead to an ongoing study having a direct impact on future HPU students; leading to successful job opportunities | Business Major (Preferred): - Student will have a skill set that includes communications verbal and written, independent working ethic, time management and analytical thinking. | Mr. Randy Moser [email protected] | 2-4 business majors preferred |
| Business Research | Data entry and analytics for Growth Mind-Set research being conducted in to marketing courses over a two year period. The Growth Mindset initiative by Dr. Miquel Sahagun and Randy Moser started during Spring semester 2017. Eight marketing sections (6 MKTG 2110 and 2 MKTG 4400) were asked to complete a survey at the beginning and end of the semester. Two sections (1 MKTG 2110 & 1 MKTG 4400) were utilizing Growth Mindset methodologies developed by both professors while the remaining 6 sections were assessed under the individual instructor’s teaching format. Currently analyzing data captured with expectations being minimal this round since this is a multi-year project which determines Growth Mindset over a two year period and observes retention between marketing 2100 and 4400 (cap stone) as well as within each semester’s class comprehension and retention. | Business Major (Preferred): • - Student will have a skill set that includes communications verbal and written, independent working ethic, time management and analytical thinking. | Mr. Randy Moser [email protected] Dr. Miguel Sahagun [email protected] | 1 business major preferred |
| Psychology, Gaming, Computer Science | Developing an app for animals to measure cognition There is an ongoing project designed to measure cognitive competencies in animals. The app is not complete but we will start testing animals this summer on its early stages. This summer we have the opportunity to test wild cats, a binturong, and tortoises. We need a gaming and/or computer science student to help complete the app this summer. | • Game development applications such as Stencyl, Game Maker, Unreal Engine, Unity3D, or other (Stencyl preferred) • Willingness to apply math and logic to game development • Can work independently | Mr. Brian Heagney [email protected] | 1-2 students |
| Pharmacy, Chemistry, Biochemistry, Microbiology | Project 1: Understanding molecules that enter bacterial cells Antibiotic resistance is a major problem today. Yet, the scientific world is unable to identify new antibiotics. A major reason for this is that we do not know which molecules are most likely to penetrate the bacterial cell. Our research group is trying to understand the characteristics that help molecules enter bacteria. Recent work in our group has identified an artificial intelligence algorithm capable of accurately classifying molecules as penetrators or non-penetrators of bacteria (accuracy ~90%). Approximately 90% of molecules predicted by this algorithm to be penetrators actually are penetrators, while ~85% of molecules predicted to be non-penetrators really do not enter the bacterial cell. This summer, we will focus on testing this algorithm in the lab. Work on this project will involve standard microbiology and biochemistry techniques. Adequate training will be provided. | Microbiology lab experience preferred No experience necessary if you are interested in going into a PhD program and are willing to learn new skills | Dr. Aurijit Sarkar | 1-2 students |
| Pharmacy, Chemistry, Biochemistry, Microbiology | Project 2: Understanding the effect of kinase inhibition on bacterial physiology Kinases are enzymes that add a phosphate group onto proteins. They exist in all organisms, starting from bacteria to humans, and are critical controllers of physiology. Bacterial kinases control many different aspects of bacterial life cycles, including metabolism, virulence, survival and resistance to antibiotics. We want to understand which proteins are altered by bacterial kinases and how bacteria react when these kinases are shut down. To this end, we will try to understand which proteins are likely to be phosphorylated by a bacterial kinase called Stk1. Depending on the student’s interests, there will be an opportunity to work on computers, essential biochemistry and microbiology techniques. Appropriate training will be provided. | Microbiology lab experience preferred No experience necessary if you are interested in going into a PhD program and are willing to learn new skills | Dr. Aurijit Sarkar | 1-2 students |
| Pharmacy, biology, Behavioral Neuroscience | The Marshall Lab is broadly interested in the neurobiological mechanisms that contribute to excessive alcohol consumption and alcohol dependence. Current projects in the lab focus on the role of the neuroimmune system, including cytokines (e.g., IL-10, IL-1β), play in modulating ethanol consumption and other behaviors associated with alcohol addiction. In order to accomplish these goals, we utilize a combination of behavioral, pharmacological, molecular and genetic techniques, such as intracranial site-directed pharmacology coupled with behavioral assessments, pharmacogenetic approaches (DREADDs), Western blotting, immunohistochemistry, and qRT-PCR. We are currently looking for an undergraduate research assistant who will be responsible for assisting with ongoing experiments in the lab. This is an opportunity for an enthusiastic student looking to gain hands on lab experience and develop their research skills. The student will be will receive hands-on training and the opportunity to learn a variety of techniques including solution prep, animal handling, behavioral testing, as well as those previously mentioned. This is a great opportunity to build your resume in preparation for graduate or medical school. | To apply to work in the Marshall Lab, please email the following information to Dr. S. Alex Marshall at [email protected]: your resume/CV, an unofficial copy of your transcript, and a paragraph describing your research and career goals | 1-2 students | |
| Psychology Human Relations Education URCW Statistics | The office of Career and Professional Development seeks a student to analyze data on retention of High Point University students. The researcher will evaluate the existing literature on college and university student retention, particularly around the time to declare a major. The researcher will also help in writing IRB protocol, analyze existing data on the amount of time needed to declare a major, historical retention rates of students over a three-year period, and whether an intervention and platform used by Career and Professional Development decreases the amount of time to declare a major and increases retention. | Students must have a skillset in communication (verbal and written), critical thinking, analytical thinking, ability to work independently, strong work ethic, attention to detail, and time management | Dr. Bill Gentry [email protected] | |
| Survey Research Center | Public Opinion in North Carolina 2010 – 2019 The project explores the political and social attitudes of people in North Carolina between 2010 and 2019. The project will be focused on compiling, organizing, and analyzing more than 50 datasets generated by the High Point University Survey Research Center since it began collecting data in spring 2010. The project will include working with the Directors of the SRC to collect and pool responses from surveys on similar questions over time. This will include not only questions about topics like politics, foreign affairs, education, and health care, but also demographic variables like age, gender, income, political identification. The summer research assistant will use SPSS and other data analysis programs to produce basic analysis of surveys by question. The datasets include dozens of variables, and this step of the process will involve basic frequencies and other analysis through SPSS that will be reported in a form that shows the types of responses the SRC received from different groups over the time period. Part of the project will be preparing analysis that will look at multiple variables (e.g. presidential approval by political party or gender or race) and over time (e.g. changes in measures of consumer sentiment about personal finances and business conditions from 2010 to 2019). Analysis through SPSS will be a core part of the work, and the various analyses will be compiled into a collection to support further reporting. At the end of the summer, there will be a deliverable that reports on several aspects of the data that were analyzed. The report will include in-depth analysis of several variables and may include graphics that summarize the findings. | Strong statistical skills Experience with SPSS | Mr. Brian McDonald [email protected] | 1-2 students |
| Survey Research Center (National Science Foundation Grant) | Congressional Campaign and Official Websites 2018-2019 The project examines the communication strategies of members of Congress (both U.S. House and U.S. Senate) and is the latest round of National Science Foundation-funded work for a project that has been ongoing since 2002. Student researchers will have the opportunity to gather data on the online communications of members of Congress and analyze data from past rounds of coding. Student researchers will also work with the supervisor for the project to contact congressional offices to gather contact information for a survey of staff who design and update congressional websites. Student researchers may also have the opportunity to help plan and implement an original survey of voters who will be asked about their congressional campaign website experiences. Final student projects will draw on at least one of these data collection efforts (or data collected through this project in the past) and represent a unique opportunity to contribute to the field of political communication. | • Interest in communication (particularly political communication) • Willingness to ask questions (of supervisor) and reach out to official and campaign offices for information | Dr. Martin Kifer [email protected] | 1-2 students |
| computer engineering data science biomedical research | Project 3: Implementing an algorithm to solve complex optimization problems Amazon, one of the most successful companies today, faces a challenge of identifying the best locations for their distribution depots so as to minimize the cost and delivery time for thousands of goods. Other companies such as Netflix have to optimize the location of their servers to deliver the fastest possible speed of streaming videos, while minimizing costs. We all face such optimization challenges every day. We will attempt to solve a well-known optimization challenge, called the Traveling Salesman Problem, using artificial intelligence algorithms such as Ant Colony Optimization (ACO) and Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO). Students working on this project will learn experiment design, Python programming and statistical analysis using R while implementing ACO and PSO to solve the Traveling Salesman Problem. They will write code, test the results, and publish their findings in international, Gold-standard journals under appropriate supervision. This project is ideal for students interested in computer science and/or data analysis. This project is ideal for students interested in computer science and/or data analysis fields, but it will also lead to eventual applications in structural biology where the structure of biological molecules and their interactions cannot be determined experimentally | Student 1 should already have experience with programming (any language is OK). Student 2 can either be experienced or should be willing to learn. | Dr. Aurijit Sarkar | Student 1 should already have experience with programming (any language is OK). Student 2 can either be experienced or should be willing to learn. |