Researchers

JESSI BOYER

"We're seeking a deep understanding of the challenges and barriers experienced by adults who want or need to complete their degree."

Home Town: Twin Falls, Idaho

Research Area: User Experience Research

Inspiration: I'm passionate about inclusive access, user experience research provides deep insights when solving for wicked problems involving human subjects.

Research Topic: Using UX methodology to identify barriers to higher ed for non-traditional students

Big Idea: This research has the potential to impact the community by helping to inform marketing strategies that reach more prospective non-traditional students.

Home Town: Rome, Italy

Research Area: Computer Science

Inspiration: The inspiring work done by professors in my field sparked my interest in research.

Research Topic: Computational linguistics

Big Idea: My research project aims at simulating the progression of words that children learn. The goal is to more accurately computationally model the ability to acquire new words.

FLO CIAGLIA

"My work investigates how to teach language to computers in a way that is most similar to how humans learn languages."

BRIE ELLISON

"Studying biology and forensics has led me to cultivate an interest in biomedical research and to get involved in this study on glyphosate exposure in pregnant women."

Home Town: Eagle, Idaho

Research Area: Health Sciences

Inspiration: As a member of Boise State's Speech and Debate team, I use research every day - to understand the world around us, the impact we have on it, and the impact we have on each other.

Research Topic: Measurement of agricultural and dietary glyphosate exposure among pregnant women

Big Idea: This research is an important first step in determining harm from glyphosate, as we aims to quantify the exposure of vulnerable populations and pinpointing the origins of those exposures.

Home Town: Burlington, Iowa

Research Area: Multidisciplinary Studies

Inspiration: The ocean has always been an inspiration to me.

Research Topic: Remote sensing in sagebrush restoration areas

Big Idea: Using drones and software, we defined the shrub crowns and extracted the RGB value of those pixels to determine the loss of green during the summer 2021 heatwave.

VALORIE MARIE

"My current research will help the native plants and animals by giving us more information on where and how to allocate funds for maintaining these populations."

MARRISA MALDONALDO

"We have given students the tools to study arithmetic, to analyze prose, to become fluent in worldly matters, but they must also be given the tools to study self."

Home Town: Jerome, Idaho

Research Area: Computer Science, Education, Mathematics

Inspiration: Documenting my experience as a Native American female in mathematics and computer science..

Research Topic: Analysis of Undergraduate Mathematics Coursework for Curriculum Design

Big Idea: Altering educational curriculums to give students the opportunity for reflection and storytelling allows for a greater connection between subject and self.

Home Town: Meridian, Idaho

Research Area: Health Sciences

Inspiration: Making the world aware of this connection between cytokine signaling and the repression of BRCA1/2 will allow for physicians to better diagnose and treat breast cancers based on cytokine levels.

Research Topic: Cytokine signaling's role on the repression of BRCA1/2 in breast cancer

Big Idea: BRCA1/2 protect your cells against the formation of cancer, and the disappearance of the proteins increases your chances of cancer developing.

COOPER MCGRATH

"A majority of the world has been affected by cancer in some way, so having an opportunity to make a positive impact on the topic was a no-brainer."

DUSTIN NGUYEN

"My fascination with Star Wars lightsabers is what inspired my interest in researching battery technology."

Home Town: Whittier, California

Research Area: Engineering

Inspiration: It is theorized that it would take the energy equivalent of a nuclear reactor compacted inside a AAA battery to power a lightsaber.

Research Topic: Battery technology

Big Idea: My research is looking into alternative materials that can replace the current graphite electrodes in lithium-ion batteries to improve many of its characteristics, such as energy density and longevity.

Home Town: Boise, Idaho

Research Area: Materials Science and Engineering

Inspiration: I was inspired to pursue research as a creative outlet to solve complex challenges our world is facing.

Research Topic: Imaging on a nanoscale

Big Idea: Ultimately, nanoscale imaging can be used to better understand how these materials function in electronic devices.

AUDREY PARKER

"Research provides the unique opportunity to tailor your interests in ways which can make the world a better place!"

MARGARET QUATRARO

"My research will encourage current and future healthcare providers to examine their biases."

Home Town: Saint Clair Shores, Michigan

Research Area: Nursing Sciences

Inspiration: Stories from local women who experience weight stigma in our community

Research Topic: Weight bias in healthcare

Big Idea: Divesting from weight stigma and diet culture requires personal self examination, time, and support.

Home Town: Silverdale, Washington

Research Area: Social Sciences

Inspiration: My research was inspired by personal interests. I knew consumers wasted a lot of product and I wanted to see what the impacts of those actions were on larger scales.

Research Topic: Meat production, consumption, and waste

Big Idea: Current meat production is cruel to both animals and humans, but has the potential to still exist with more humane methods and standards.

COLLIN SAFFELL

"My research explores alternative methods of meat production that lowers carbon emissions. These alternatives have the potential to change our current way of getting meat to consumers."

KENSIE STALLINGS

"The research for my ranger program will create new opportunities for public engagement and education through music and science."

Home Town: Garden City, Idaho

Research Area: Geosciences

Inspiration: My research was inspired by my two passions in life, astronomy and music. As a National Park Ranger, I wanted to combine these two passions into my career, providing positive experiences for visitors at National Parks.

Research Topic: Musical storytelling in the National Parks

Big Idea: Using music in park ranger programs will give visitors opportunities to create personal connections to the parks and to nature because music can can give meaning to a place and inspire visitors to listen more intently to the world they live in.

Home Town: Caldwell, Idaho

Research Area: Math and Natural Sciences

Inspiration: I have always taken a specific interest in piecing together how things work and the correlations that exist behind even the smallest of processes, natural and nonnatural.

Research Topic: Using Infrasound to measure stream characteristics

Big Idea: The application of sound (below the frequency of human hearing) to examine stream characteristics including flow rates and wave type.

TAYLOR TATUM

"I feel like geoscience is sometimes seen as an "old science", but with recent developments we are finding new ways to understand the Earth and its processes."

CLAIRE VAAGE

"Growing up in the sagebrush sea allowed me to amass an appreciation for western landscapes and evolve as contributor to conservation efforts."

Home Town: Boise, Idaho

Research Area: Ecological Sciences

Inspiration: The Dry Creek Experimental Watershed, though a beautiful place to hike or mountain bike, is an even better place to research. Be curious about your backyard!

Research Topic: Modeling riparian vegetation in sagebrush steppe ecosystems

Big Idea: Using coding and Geographic Information Systems (GIS) software, I am developing a model that will predict the width of vegetation surrounding streams in sagebrush steppe ecosystems.

Home Town: Highlands Ranch, Colorado

Research Area: School of Public Service

Inspiration: I have always had a personal interest in China/East Asian politics because both myself and my younger sister are adopted from China. Dr. Chris Courtheyn enabled me to pursue this personal interest in a more formal, academic setting.

Research Topic: Hong Kong's pro-democratic movement

Big Idea: My crisis analysis looks at the various political, social, economic, cultural and environmental factors that are driving this movement, presenting a holistic understanding of the conflict that makes it a more effective tool for directing U.S. foreign policy in East Asia.

RYLIE WIESELER

"Conflict resolution is often not a question of finding a single, perfect solution, but synthesizing solutions that target several drivers of conflict."