Elizabethtown College Students Complete Summer Research

Elizabethtown College students gained valuable experience this summer, working closely with faculty mentors on campus to perform independent student research as part of the Summer Scholarship, Creative Arts and Research Projects (SCARP) program. SCARP was created to support independent student research under the sponsorship of a faculty mentor. The program is a non-credit experiential learning program designed to enhance professional skills and provide a competitive advantage to participating students in the pursuit of career opportunities and graduate studies. It also serves as fulfills one of the two Signature Learning Experiences (SLE) all Etown students are required to complete prior to graduation.

Participating faculty scholars and researchers also benefit from student involvement in support of professional scholarship and research agendas.

“Some of these projects have the potential to really change people’s lives, such as through a better prosthetic arm or an inexpensive test for lead in drinking water,” remarked Susan Mapp, Associate Professor for Institutional Effectiveness and Innovation and a coordinator for the SCARP program. “Many of the opportunities that Etown students have would be reserved for graduate students at larger institutions, but here we have students who have just finished their first year completing hands-on research this summer. Students are then able to parlay this experience and the skills they develop into sought-after jobs and graduate school acceptances.”

Learn more about this Summer’s SCARP Projects:

Synthesis of Lipid-Appended Porphyrins by Will Davis ’24

Distribution of Hydra Species in Lancaster County Lakes by Kayla Morrill ’22 and Katie Hollen ’22

The Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Elementary School Teachers’ Stress, Coping and Burnout: Identification of Protective and Exacerbating Factors by Victoria Vaughn ’22 and Meghan Keenan ’23

Synthesis and Characterization of Oxovanadium Compounds as Potential Insulin Mimetic Molecules by Kaitlyn Mercando ’22

Luminescent Metal-Organic Frameworks for the Detection of Alcohols by Lucas Stehle ’22 and Brandon Molina ’23

Real-Time Control of a Virtual Arm by Alex Kobilnyk ‘23 and Nathan Griffin ‘23

SECTOR: A Web-based Data Management and Sharing System Secured by Blockchain by Matthew Grohotolski ‘22

Nucleobase-Modified Peptide Nucleic Acids for Sequence Selective Triple-Helical Recognition of Non-Coding RNA by Emily Harding ’23 and Kyle Hess ’23

‘Low-cost, Electrical and Mechanical Stimulators for Non-Invasive Sensory Feedback by Alex Kobilnyk ‘23 and Joe Kutteh ‘23

Optimization and Scale-Up of a 2-Aminopyridine Derived Peptide Nucleic Acid Monomer by Tristan Mabee ’24

DataScope: Predictive Diagnosis in IIoT-Enabled Smart Manufacturing by Adam Geltz ‘23 and Reilly Sollenberger ‘24