BECT Symposium shines light on SC State faculty-student research findings

 

ORANGEBURG, S.C. – At South Carolina State University, students are engaged in more than lectures, homework and tests. They are conducting research with real implications in their fields of study.

SC State has a goal of achieving designation as a Research 2 (R2) institution, which would qualify the university for more grants and sponsored programs.

So, on Feb. 15, SC State’s Institute for Business, Environment, Communications & Transportation (BECT) sponsored the inaugural Faculty-Student Research Symposium in the university’s Engineering & Computer Science Complex to demonstrate the collaborative research projects already taking place.

“Some faculty are engaged in funded research projects, but there is much more unfunded research being conducted by faculty and students to remain relevant or advance knowledge in their fields that others do not know about,” said Dr. Barbara Adams, BECT’s executive director.

The symposium, which fulfills one of the objectives of BECT, was designed to highlight and recognize those who are engaged in research and to encourage more collaboration between faculty and students.

SC State President Alexander Conyers applauded faculty and students for their work and discussed his goal to move the university toward becoming an R@ university.

Elbert Malone, associate provost for sponsored programs and research, was the keynote speaker for the symposium. He provided an overview of the importance of research and the benefits to faculty and the University that would derive from becoming an R2 designated school.

Students and faculty presented 21 research projects, which included 13 oral presentations, seven poster presentations and one visual presentations.

Oral presentations

• Dr. Jai Hong Lee “Large Scale Climate Impacts of Historical El Nino Events on Localized Surface temperature over South Carolina” with students Brandyn A. Laury and River McClelland. 
• Dr. Rosetta Dingle, A Content Analysis of Variables Among Partnerships of Higher Education Institutions” 
• Tumlumbe Juliana Chengula, “Enhancing Advanced Driver Assistance Systems Through Explainable Artificial Intelligence for Driver Anomaly Detection.” 
• Dr. June Graham-Bethea, Dr. Jaqueline Jones-Brown and Shirlain Darby, “Project Impact: Empowering Pre-professionals to Become Linguistically Flexible and Authentic Communicators” with students Daniel Galloway and Madison Tanner.
• Dr. Nasrollah Hamidi, Patience Ferguson, Ashley Smith, Keyaura McClary, “Atmospheric Water Harvesting by Acrylamide Gel
• Methusela Sulle, “Analysis of Distracted Pedestrians Crossing Behavior: An Immersive Virtual Reality Application.”
• Dr. Thomas Nyatta, Dr. Lamin Drammeh and Dr. Brandon Huber, “Hindrances to Adaptation of Cover Crop in Agriculture Operation in South Carolina.” 
• Professor Terrence Segars, “Readability and Audit Outcomes: Evidence from Municipal Financial Statement Footnote Disclosures.” 
• Dr. Guohua Ma, Financial Literacy Training Programs for Small Farmers in South Carolina.” 
• Dr. Learie Luke, “Achievements in the First Decade of the Modern Tobago House of Assembly: the 1980s.”  
• Dr. Eric R. Williams, “Performance Indicators: Intended and Unintended Consequences for HBCUs.”
• Professor Joseph Onyeocha, “Exploring the Impact of Artificial Intelligence on Accounting and Business Education: A Mixed-Methods Study” with students Bailey Scott and Rejoice Anaele.
• Dr. Bley Cynthia N'dede, “Impact Assessment of Microfinance Services on Households' Economic & Social Well-being in Tanzania: Evidence from Gender Differences” with students Trevon Franklin and Luka Stefanovic.

Poster Presentations

• Eric Osei, “Pedestrian Detection in Electric and Autonomous Vehicles Using Advanced Machine and Deep Learning Techniques.”
• Michael Hopkins, "Fishing for Destruction: Exploring the Impact of Overfishing on Coral Reefs."
• Saima Nicola and India William, “Synthesis Purification and Characterization of Alumina Precursors Derived From β-Diketonate Ligands Through Atmospheric Pressure-Metal Organic Chemical Vapor Deposition (AP-MOCVD) at a Low Temperature.”
• Debbie Aisiana Indah, “Topological Data Analysis for Advanced Urban Traffic Safety and Optimization Using Vehicle Trajectory Data”
• Penelope Fennell and Dr. Haile Selassie, “Investigating the Characteristics of Limited Resource Farmers to Determine Critical Success Factors in a Fast-Changing Agribusiness Environment in Orangeburg and Neighboring Counties”
• Hannah Musau, “A National Survey on The Effect of The COVID-19 Pandemic on School Travel in The US. – Parents Perspective.”
• Kashif Alston and Zachary Thomas, “Towards Developing an Environment Friendly and Sustainable Campus at SC State: A Best Practice Approach.”

Visual Presentation

• Debbie Indah , “Mornings by Lake Victoria.”

Symposium Awards

Best Overall Research Award, $400, Dr. Jai Hong Lee

Oral Presentations

1st Place  - $200

• Dr. Jai Hong Lee
• Dr. June Graham-Bethea, Dr. Jaqueline Jones-Brown, and Shirlain Darby
• Dr. Guohua Ma

2nd Place - $100

• Dr. Rosetta Dingle
• Professor Terrance Segars

3rd Place  - $50

• Methusela Sulle
• Tumlumbe Juliana Chengula
• Dr. Thomas Nyatts, Dr. Brandon Huber and Dr. Joshua Idassi

Poster Presentations

• 1st Place -$200, Penelope Fennell and Dr. Haile Selassie
• 2nd Place -$100, Debbie Indah
• 3rd Place - $ 50, Eric Osei, Saima Nicolas and India Williams
•                           

Visual Award

• $100, Debbie Indah