big east research symposium 2023

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Office of Undergraduate Research

Big east symposium.

During the 2024 BIG EAST Men’s Basketball Tournament, the Conference will be hosting its third annual BIG EAST Undergraduate Research Poster Symposium. Each BIG EAST institution will be represented by five posters, each presented by 1-2 undergraduate student authors. The research presented at the symposium is expected to represent a variety of disciplines including, but not limited to, natural sciences, physical sciences, social sciences, humanities, nursing, business, engineering, and fine arts.

The poster symposium will take place on Saturday, March 16, 2024 from 9am to 1pm at Madison Square Garden. The University of Connecticut is sponsoring the participation of its student presenters in this event. Travel arrangements will be made and covered for each selected presenter, including ground transportation (Storrs to NYC on March 15, NYC to Storrs on March 17), hotel accommodations (nights of March 15 and March 16), and meal expenses (within travel policy guidelines). Each selected presenter will also receive complimentary admission to the BIG EAST Championship game on the evening of March 16, 2024.

Eligibility

To apply to participate, students must meet the following eligibility criteria:

• Must be an undergraduate (currently pursuing a bachelor’s degree) at the University of Connecticut. This includes students pursuing Bachelor of Arts, Bachelor of Fine Arts, Bachelor of General Studies, Bachelor of Music, Bachelor of Science, Bachelor of Science in Engineering, and Bachelor of Social Work degrees.
• Must be in good academic standing.
• Must be available for the symposium, associated events, and associated travel, from the afternoon of Friday, March 15, through the morning of Sunday, March 17, 2024.
• Must have executed the project at UConn (any campus, including UConn Health) and have the approval of their faculty advisor on the project to share the project at this venue.
• Must not have presented at a previous BIG EAST Undergraduate Research Symposium.

Application Process

Apply here no later than Friday, February 9, 2024 . If there are two undergraduate presenters on a poster, a single application should be submitted that includes the information about both presenters. Applications will be reviewed immediately following the deadline. Selected students will be contacted in order to make travel arrangements and finalize their abstracts and posters.

In addition to student presenter contact information, students must provide the following materials in their application:

• An abstract, no longer than 200 words
• A poster file (PDF format)
• A short description of their past presentation experience
• Agreement to the terms and conditions of participation in the symposium, including an attestation that their faculty advisor on the project has agreed that it may be shared at this venue

Please note that the poster need not be in its final form at the application stage. We will work with selected presenters to finalize their abstracts by February 16th and their posters by March 1st. Modifications may be made to conform to the guidelines below and in response to selection committee feedback. The UConn Office of Undergraduate Research (OUR) will coordinate the printing of finalized posters and will cover this expense for selected presenters.

Final Poster and Presentation Guidelines

Finalized posters and associated presentations must conform to the following guidelines:

• Posters should be 36″ tall by 48″ wide (3 feet tall by 4 feet wide).
• Project title
• Faculty mentors
• Institution
• Acknowledgment of any funding received to support the research project, whether from UConn or external sources
• Presenters must be prepared to give a presentation, lasting no longer than 10 minutes, to a pair of judges. These judges will be faculty and/or administrators at other BIG EAST institutions; accordingly, the presentation should be accessible to academics from other disciplines. This presentation will be followed by a question and answer period with the judges.
• Presenters must also be prepared to present their projects to members of a general audience attending the exhibition.

Judges will use the following criteria to select top posters, which will be recognized during the Championship game:

• Visual Quality/Content: Is the poster constructed and displayed in a clear manner? Is the information displayed in a logical way? Can printed material be read easily from a reasonable distance? Is the poster of a professional quality?
• Introduction: Is there sufficient background to understand the problem or hypothesis? Are the background and hypothesis (or problem) clearly presented? Does the presenter provide the context for their problem/hypothesis and explain how their research fits into their field of study?
• Results and Discussion: Are procedures, protocols and results described clearly? Is the experimental design adequate to test the hypothesis? Are the controls appropriate? Are the conclusions supported by the data? Is the significance of the findings discussed?
• Presentation Style: Does the presenter engage the audience? Is the presentation at an appropriate pace and volume? Does the presenter make eye contact?
• Response to Questions: Does the presenter demonstrate a good knowledge base? Are responses to questions direct and insightful? Does the presenter understand how their results relate to the broader field? Does the presenter understand the significance of their results? Is the presenter confident with the material?

Please contact the Office of Undergraduate Research at [email protected] with any questions regarding the BIG EAST Undergraduate Research Poster Symposium.

BIG EAST Undergraduate Research Poster Symposium

On Saturday, March 16, 2024, Georgetown University will compete at the BIG EAST Undergraduate Research Poster Symposium, taking place at Madison Square Garden in New York City.

Currently enrolled Georgetown undergraduate students across all majors are invited to submit an application to participate as poster presenters. Selected students must also be currently enrolled Georgetown undergraduate students in the spring 2024 semester when the competition occurs.

Up to five undergraduates will be selected to present their research posters. Students will travel together via Amtrak and stay at the conference hotel near Madison Square Garden. 

The center will arrange for poster printing, hotel, and train travel, including the expenses for these. Some meals will also be covered during the weekend. 

How to Apply

By January 17, 2024 at 12 PM (NOON, not midnight) ET, email the following to [email protected] with the subject line: BIG EAST – YOUR LAST NAME.

• A 3-minute (maximum) video – made using PowerPoint, Canva, Zoom, or another similar program – that displays your draft research poster and includes a brief voice-over-style presentation highlighting your research question and your project. If selected, this will form the basis of your presentation at the symposium. (You do not need to have your video turned on during the presentation.)
• Your name, GU school, graduation year
• The list of coauthors on the presentation with their affiliations
• The name/s of your faculty mentor/s
• Resume or CV (no more than 1 page)
• A .pdf of the poster you presented in your video.

If Selected

If you are selected for participation, you will:

• Need to have your final abstract and project title ready to submit to BIG EAST sometime in early- to mid-February 2024. This information will be printed in the Abstract Book.
• Commit to work with the center to practice your presentation and finalize your research poster.
• Attend the BIG EAST Conference with the Georgetown team, including travel and hotel, and participate in related activities. The Georgetown team will travel to NYC on Friday, March 15, and return on Sunday, March 17, 2024.
• Share information about yourself in a timely manner that is required for arranging travel and hotel accommodation.
• Confirm with your professor that the research is ready to be presented in a public forum.

Posters and Judging

• Posters will be printed for participants (no cost to participants) by the Center for Research & Fellowships. Final posters will be due to the center by Friday, March 9, 2024, at 12 PM (NOON, not midnight) ET.
• Posters should be 3 foot (vertical) x 4 foot (horizontal) in size.
• Each poster presentation should be no longer than 10 minutes.
• Participants will have a brief Q&A session with each judge.
• Total time per poster = roughly 15-20 minutes.
• Presentations at the conference will be judged on areas including: visual quality and content, introduction, results and discussion, presentation style, and response to questions.

Students are recognized for top prizes and honorable mentions.

News Coverage

• 2022: Solveig Baylor (C’22) Awarded Second Place
• 2023: Claire Cushman (C’23) Awarded First Place

Updated October 2023 – subject to change

Georgetown Reigns Supreme at Big East Research Symposium

April 6, 2023

Claire Cushman (C’23) took home top honors and Kate Reeves (SFS’23) received an honorable mention at this year’s Big East Research Symposium , held in March at Madison Square Garden. 

The symposium, now in its second year, showcases undergraduate research and provides an opportunity for Big East schools to send up to five poster presenters to participate. Georgetown’s poster presenters included Cushman, Reeves, Matthew Carvalho (SOH’23), Lance Li (C’24) and Kathryn Yang (SFS’23).

Housing Justice and Building Resilient Communities

Claire Cushman (C’23) presenting at the Big East Research Symposium.

Cushman, a psychology major in the College of Arts & Sciences, won the first place prize for her poster presentation “Neighborhood Determinants of Eviction,” which summarized her research examining community factors that can predict eviction. 

“This research contributes to the growing literature on the neighborhood determinants of eviction, and specifically highlights the finding that eviction is an issue of racial injustice which must be urgently addressed through targeted public policy,” said Cushman. “I found, among other factors, that the percentage of non-white residents of a census tract was a significant, positive predictor of eviction filings, even when controlling for the neighborhood’s median household income, poverty rate, and other relevant variables.”

Housing justice is a priority for Cushman, who volunteers with ONE DC , a nonprofit that seeks to “create and preserve racial and economic equity in Shaw and the District.” Cushman’s research builds upon an existing understanding of how racial dynamics affect access to housing and eviction filings. 

“These findings could be due to a legacy of racial discrimination in mortgage lending, or it may reflect current dynamics in the rental market that have yet to be elucidated,” said Cushman. “More research on the topic is sorely needed to determine the reason for these differences and to examine what can be done to ameliorate the disproportionate effect of eviction on communities of color.” 

Under the guidance of Jennifer Woolard, a professor in and chair of the Department of Psychology, Cushman deployed longitudinal data analysis techniques to weigh the effects of different variables on eviction filings. 

“Claire’s thesis represents the culmination of more than three years of research experience on policy-relevant concerns,” said Woolard. “Undergirded by her commitment to social justice, Claire leveraged her training in psychology and statistics to conduct a theoretically grounded project with practical implications that go well beyond the standard undergraduate thesis. I’m incredibly proud of all she has accomplished.” 

Hoyas in Manhattan

This year, Georgetown sent Tammi Damas, director of education and academic affairs in the Office of the Provost, Colleen Dougherty, assistant director of the Center for Research & Fellowships (CRF) and Rhonda Dzakpasu , associate professor of physics, to serve as judges at the symposium. Bill Cessato , the CRF deputy director, represented Georgetown on the symposium planning committee and was one of the judging coordinators.

“I’m so grateful to the Center for Research and Fellowships – especially Lauren Tuckley and Bill Cessato – for this opportunity to go to the symposium, present my thesis research, and learn about so many other incredible projects from the participating schools,” said Cushman. “It was surreal to be recognized and I am so grateful to everyone who helped me throughout the process – from my incredible thesis mentor Professor Jennifer Woolard, to my savior in the statistics department, Professor Mark Meyer, to everyone at ONE DC who are constantly informing and motivating my research by revealing the extraordinary importance of a safe and stable home for all.”

Reeves, a culture and politics major, received an honorable mention for presenting her poster “Raptured Relationships with the Rivers: Why the Right to Free, Prior, and Informed Consent Fails to Protect Indigenous Communities Against Hydroelectric Dam Development in Guatemala.” Reeves’ research was mentored by Shiloh Krupar , Provost’s Distinguished Associate Professor. 

Last year, Lauren Tuckley , the center’s director, and Cessato judged posters. Tuckley also directs the Provost’s Distinguished Undergraduate Research Fellowship Program, of which Carvalho and Cushman are members.

-by Hayden Frye (C’17)

Related News

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Georgetown Undergrad Wins Top Award at BIG EAST Research Symposium

A Georgetown psychology major won first place and a culture and politics major received honorable mention during the second annual  BIG EAST Undergraduate Research Poster Symposium  on March 11, 2023 at Madison Square Garden.

Claire Cushman (CAS’23)  was recognized with the top honor for her poster presentation, “Neighborhood Determinants of Eviction,” mentored by  Dr. Jennifer Woolard , professor of psychology. Cushman was also recognized during the Milwaukee-Xavier tournament championship game that evening.

Kate Reeves (SFS’23) , mentored by  Dr. Shiloh Krupar , Provost’s Distinguished Associate Professor, was acknowledged for her poster, “Raptured Relationships with the Rivers: Why the Right to Free, Prior, and Informed Consent Fails to Protect Indigenous Communities Against Hydroelectric Dam Development in Guatemala.”

This is the second year Georgetown took part in the symposium, which began last year and includes participants from Butler, Creighton, Georgetown, DePaul, Marquette, Providence, Seton Hall, St. John’s, Villanova, University of Connecticut, and Xavier. Each school is able to send up to five posters for the symposium.

Georgetown poster presenters included Cushman, Reeves,  Matthew Carvalho (SOH’23) ,  Lance Li (CAS’24) , and  Kathryn Yang (SFS’23) .

Judges from Georgetown were  Dr. Tammi Damas , director of education and academic affairs in the Office of the Provost,  Colleen Dougherty , assistant director of the Center for Research & Fellowships (CRF), and  Dr. Rhonda Dzakpasu , associate professor of physics.

The center organizes Georgetown’s annual participation in the event. This year,  Dr. Bill Cessato , the CRF deputy director, represented Georgetown on the symposium planning committee and was one of the judging coordinators.

Last year,  Lauren Tuckley , the center’s director, and Cessato judged posters.  Read coverage of the 2022 symposium.  Tuckley also directs the Provost’s Distinguished Undergraduate Research Fellowship Program, of which Carvalho and Cushman are members.

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Villanova University Students Participate in BIG EAST Undergraduate Research Poster Symposium

VILLANOVA, Pa. (April 12, 2023) — Five Villanova University students participated in the second annual BIG EAST Undergraduate Research Poster Symposium at Madison Square Garden on March 11. The symposium took place before the Men’s Basketball Conference Championship Game in New York City. All 11 Conference institutions participated in the academic competition featuring research projects from a variety of disciplines.

“Undergraduate research is inherently an innovative, collaborative process,” said Catherine Stecyk, Director of the Center for Research and Fellowships (CRF). “The goal of Villanova’s Undergraduate Research Fellowship and other sponsored research programs is to facilitate creativity, scholarship and discovery. Partnership between faculty mentors and students like Sydney, Sam, Elise, Maeve and Lauren illustrates the impact and reach of these programs.”

Undergraduate student teams of one or two individuals presented their research to judges, who ranked them on a variety of factors including: visual quality content, introduction, results and discussion, presentation style and responses to questions.

Villanova’s representation was determined at the annual CRF-sponsored Student Research Symposium. Beginning with more than 100 student posters, a team of faculty and staff judges used similar criteria to the BIG EAST to rank poster abstracts and selected 12 semifinalists from this process. A final selection committee chose five winners and five honorable mentions from the semifinalists. The five winners moved on to represent Villanova in the BIG EAST Symposium.

A list of Villanova students who participated in the BIG EAST event with their poster titles:

Samuel Burwell ’24 CLAS Faculty Mentor: Vanessa Boschi, PhD Title : Examining the Extent of Heavy Metal Contamination: Dairy Farm Use of Copper Sulfate Footbaths Maeve Malone ’25 CLAS Alex Bruno ’24 CLAS Faculty Mentors: Aimee Eggler, PhD, and Kabindra Shakya, PhD Title : Exposure of Ultrafine Particles in Philadelphia Subway Sydney Walsh ’24 CLAS Faculty Mentor: Stephen Strader, PhD Title : Analyzing Trends in Heavy Precipitation Events and Vulnerability in the Philadelphia Metropolitan Region from 1973 to 2021 Lauren Iskander ’25 COE Faculty Mentor: Benjamin Sachs, PhD Title : Exploring the Impact of Brain 5-HT Deficiency on Exercise-Induced Alterations in Hippocampal Neurogenesis in Adult Mice Elise Miller ’23 CLAS Faculty Mentor: Benjamin Sachs, PhD Title : Brain Serotonin Deficiency but not Gut Dysbiosis Confers Heightened Anxiety-Like Behavior in Female Mice

More information about the BIG EAST research symposium can be found  here . 

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College of Liberal Arts and Sciences

Department of Molecular and Cell Biology

Mcb major, tamborra-walton invited to the 2nd annual big east undergraduate research poster symposium.

Teresa Tamborra-Walton, an MCB major and senior undergraduate research student in the Lynes laboratory, has been selected to represent the University of Connecticut at the second annual BIG EAST Undergraduate Research Poster Symposium.  Her work was chosen to represent the best of student research being done across all disciplines including natural sciences, physical sciences, social sciences, humanities, nursing, business, engineering, and fine arts at UConn.  Her presentation will be entitled “Characterization of anti-MT monoclonal antibody as a potential therapeutic in autoimmune or chronic inflammatory diseases”.  This symposium will take place in the morning of March 11 at Madison Square Garden. Five posters from each BIG EAST institution will participate and each presenter will be invited to the BIG EAST  Championship game to be played the night of the symposium.

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Big East Undergraduate Research Symposium

Posted on February 13, 2023

Providence College is proud to be participating in the second Annual BIG EAST Undergraduate Research Symposium on Saturday, March 11 at Madison Square Garden in New York City.

Each BIG EAST school was invited to send five research projects. Congratulations to these Providence College students representing PC!

Read about last year’s inaugural symposium .

Genetic disruption of metabolic balance in mouse cerebellar neurons causes deficits in the postnatal development of their dendritic tree and mouse motor skills. Mary Boghos ’23 and Hayden Lens ’23 Faculty mentor: Dr. Ileana Soto, Biology The Npc1nmf164 mutant mouse is an animal model for the human disease Niemann-Pick type C (NPC). NPC is a lysosomal storage disease that is acquired by autosomal recessive inheritance. It is mostly caused by mutations in NPC1, a protein that transports cholesterol out of the lysosomes, therefore abnormal accumulation of cholesterol in lysosomes is a hallmark of NPC. Cerebellar Purkinje cells (PCs) are severely affected by NPC, in fact, PCs degenerate first and to a larger extent at childhood stages. Therefore, we have been studying how the Npc1nmf164 mutation affects PC development during cerebellar postnatal development, a stage that precedes the degeneration of these cells in NPC.

For these experiments, Npc1nmf164 mice are used to examine changes in PCs using histological methods, microscopy, and imaging analysis. Our results suggest that a lack of NPC1 alters the development of dendrites and synapses in PC by altering metabolic pathways. It has been shown that a lack of lysosomal NPC1 causes the hyperactivation of the anabolic mTORC1 pathway, which also inhibits the production of lysosomes and catabolic processes such as autophagy. This disruption of metabolic pathways during the development of PCs may lead to developmental defects and a predisposition to degeneration.

We Can Do It, Or Can We?: Women’s Domestic and Workplace Roles in Advertising During WWII and Postwar America Jillian Brissette ’23 Faculty Mentor: Dr. Sharon Ann Murphy, History and Classics This thesis examines the dramatic change from the empowering image of women workers that appeared in World War II advertisements and the domestic picture of women’s lives as depicted in the Cold War era. In examining this transformation, I seek to understand why there was such a drastic shift and how it affected real women.

I examined hundreds of advertisements from the 1940s and 1950s that featured women in domestic or workplace roles. Contrary to the popular image of Rosie the Riveter, World War II era advertisements did not truly empower women. Instead, the emphasized women’s war work as a temporary sacrifice that would allow their husbands to come home sooner so they could return to traditional domestic roles. The Cold War focus on the nuclear family reinforced this domestic ideal, regardless of a woman’s personal or economic goals.

This thesis examines the importance of advertising in both shaping and reflecting the role of women in the workplace. Rather than studying each period individually, I placed the consecutive periods in conversation with each other to understand the drastic change in advertising messages directed at women about their work roles.

Comparing Hospital Costs & Length of Stay for Cancer Patients in New York State Comprehensive Cancer Centers vs. Non-Designated Academic Centers & Community Hospitals Ryan Fodero ’23 Faculty mentor: Dr. James Bailey, Economics This paper explores differences in costs and lengths of stay for cancer patients admitted to National Cancer Institute designated Comprehensive Cancer Centers, non-designated academic medical centers, and community hospitals in New York State. Using patient-level data from the New York State Statewide Planning and Research Cooperative System Hospital Inpatient Discharges dataset for the years 2017-2019, I employ ordinary least squares and Poisson regressions to determine that inpatient costs were 27% higher, but length of stay was 12% shorter, in comprehensive cancer centers than in non-designated academic medical centers and community hospitals. The results imply that, in New York State, comprehensive cancer centers may be a magnet for more complex oncology cases and administer more expensive treatments. That expertise, however, is probably responsible for more efficient care delivery and thorough discharge planning, allowing for shorter average lengths of stay.

Changes in E. coli susceptibility to killing by Predatory Bacteria Katie Mulvey ’23 and Caroline Zielinski ’23 Faculty Mentor: Dr. Laura Williams, Biology Bdellovibrio are predatory bacteria that invade and digest other Gram-negative bacteria, including human pathogens. This behavior makes predatory bacteria a promising candidate as a therapy against antibiotic-resistant bacterial infections. To examine how predatory bacteria hunt and kill their prey and how the prey respond to predation, we use predatory bacteria Bdellovibrio and E. coli prey to model these interactions. When we co-cultured E. coli prey with a specific strain of predatory bacteria , we observed the emergence of an altered E. coli colony appearance which correlated to a reduced susceptibility to killing by Bdellovibrio. The goal of this research is to investigate and reveal the mechanism underlying the altered E. coli phenotype and reduced susceptibility to predation. We hypothesize that E. coli’s resistance to predation is caused a change in the bacteria’s outer surface proteins. To test this hypothesis will use a common laboratory technique, PCR, and its quantitative counterpart, qPCR, to measure the gene expression of two outer surface proteins to determine if a change has occurred. This work will contribute to the current understanding of the mechanisms involved in bacterial resistance and susceptibility to predation, which is vital to develop new strategies to combat drug-resistant bacterial infections.

“A Scepter of Terror or A Sword of Freedom”: Elaine Brown’s Time in the Black Panther Party Maeve Plassche ’23 Faculty mentor: Dr. Alyssa Lopez, History and Classics This project highlights the activism of Elaine Brown, who was the only female chairperson of the Black Panther Party. It looks to enhance the way in which the Black Panther Party is remembered, by placing gender and gender relations in the center of the conversation. Even though women were crucial participants in the Party, they often did not receive the respect that their male counterparts did, and the historical scholarship, using male-centered sources, reiterates this point. While conducting research in the Dr. Huey P. Newton records, located the Stanford Libraries, I delved into the newspapers, internal Black Panther Party documents, pamphlets, speeches, memorandums, manuscripts, and letters. By engaging in deep textual analysis of these materials, a more in-depth look at Elaine Brown and her time as a member and leader of the Black Panther Party was possible. Overall, this project aims to demonstrate that Brown’s leadership was crucial in advancing the Black Panther Party from a self-defense organization to a major operator within the political and social worlds. Brown’s work and experiences within the Party shed much-needed light on what it was like to be a Panther and a woman and demonstrate the obstacles facing African American women during the Black Power movement.

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2024 Student Research Conference

We are pleased to announce the St. John’s University Student Research Conference will be held this April 2024. The broad diversity of fields and areas of research performed by students and faculty is one of the primary ways that St. John’s University makes a difference in moving society forward. Our students and faculty never cease to impress with their comprehensive and diverse research efforts, and we are proud to provide this opportunity.  We invite all students involved in faculty mentored research to submit an abstract using the online registration form . Online registration for abstract submission will remain open from February 15, 2024 to March 6, 2024. Please note that participant capacity is limited; submit your abstract as soon as possible. Posters and presentations will be included in the program on a first come, first-serve basis. The two-day research conference will conclude with a celebration of the exceptional student and faculty research and accomplishments at the Grants Reception & Award Ceremony.

Faculty members who are interested in joining the Student Research Conference committee should contact Marc E. Gillespie, Ph.D., Sr. Vice Provost for Clinical Operations, Graduate Research, Assessment, Accreditation, and Institutional Analytics, at [email protected] . This year’s Student Research Conference will be held over two days on April 9 and April 10.

Program :  Date : April 9th   Time : 10:00am - 2:00pm  Location : Taffner Field House  Research poster session featuring work from all scholarly disciplines.

Date : April 10th  Time : 10:00am - 3:00pm  Location : D’Angelo Center Ballroom.  Undergraduate and graduate student research presentations.    Time : 5:00pm - 6:30pm  Location : D’Angelo Center Ballroom  Grants Reception and Student Award Ceremony

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Marquette Wire

Two marquette students place first in big east research symposium.

Two Marquette University students, Zac Nelson and Elsa Hahn, both seniors in the College of Arts & Sciences, placed first in an undergraduate research symposium. The event took place on Saturday, March 16, and was held at Madison Square Garden in New York City, with a total of 55 groups, consisting of either one or two researchers, from all 11 of the Big East schools.

They were nominated by a professor for their research paper, “Social Information as a Catalyst for Collective Task Performance in Honey Bees,” which examined the behavior of “fanning,” the process in which honey bees flap their wings while standing at a hive entrance to allow cool air to flow in, and how inhibiting the ability to sense temperature impacts this behavior.

After injecting fanner bees with Ruthenium Red (RuR), which prevents the bees from sensing temperature, Hahn and Nelson observed that the bees injected with RuR showed decreasing rates of fanning. This specific paper observed that, when mixed with normal bees, the RuR-injected bees showed an increase in their fanning behavior, and the non-inhibited bees showed a decrease.

After nomination, they went through preliminary rounds to decide if they would be one of the five groups representing Marquette. Then at the competition, Hahn and Nelson presented their posters to judges from across academic backgrounds. However, Nelson said that they didn’t feel confident that they would win.

“We didn’t even think we were gonna place, because everyone else’s research was something like biochemistry, or astronomy, or literal rocket science,” Nelson said. “We were just saying: ‘bees flap their wings sometimes and sometimes they don’t.'”

Hahn said that winning, especially due to the surprise, made the experience that much better. However, Hahn also said that just the experience of interacting with all of the researchers was a great part of the experience.

“[When they announced the winners] was probably the peak of my life,” Hahn said. “But the best part was probably meeting really cool people from Marquette and other schools, all of whom are in doing great things in other fields.”

This project was part of a series of research projects undertaken by the Cook Lab , which both Hahn and Nelson work in. Headed by Chelsea Cook, a professor of Biological Sciences at Marquette, the Cook Lab researches the behaviors of bees, from the effects of gut microbiomes to how B-Vitamins influence the consumption of nutrients . The topic of temperature inhibition was suggested by Cook, but the method and exact execution was largely developed by Hahn and Nelson.

“[Bees] work with each other, they communicate with each other, and they live in these nest-culture with each other,” Cook said. “By studying these complex, but natural, societies, we can understand both how organisms interact with each other and the ways in which we, as humans, interact.”

However, that is not the only focus of the Cook Lab’s research.

For example, Hahn and Nelson’s research spoke on the effects these behaviors would have on bee behaviors in the face of mounting climate change. With milder or more severe seasons, the pollinating and fanning responses could, and have been, significantly more unpredictable, Cook said. Hahn and Nelson said they believed that this combination of goals helped strengthen the research process.

“[Cook’s] experiments are all building blocks into being able to understand [human social behavior] better, but they also give us so much information about other things, like our ideas with climate change,” Nelson said.

Hahn and Nelson both said that Cook’s leadership in the Cook Lab is invaluable, both in and out of the field.

Hahn said that Cook is particularly skilled at making the research opportunities within the lab accessible to people of all different backgrounds. Using funds allocated by research grants, Cook pays both her undergraduate and graduate researchers and during their summer research, where they work in-field with bees.

“[Cook] does a great job of helping people. I never thought like I’d work research jobs at Marquette, since they are volunteer work and I can’t really afford that, but she pays me to work here, which she doesn’t have to do,” Hahn said. “She’s very inclusive of people of all backgrounds. We had a first-generation student in the lab, and she supported him and his goals. She’s first-generation herself, and so she does a good job understanding and helping all of the students.”

Cook said the Cook lab is planning to continue with this string of research, including finding the tipping point for the RuR-injected and normal bees is to increase fanning behaviors. Nelson and Hahn, who both are graduating this year, both plan to continue with their academic research, and said they encourage any interested students to reach out to the Cook Lab if they are interested in research opportunities.

This story was written by Allan Fox. He can be reached at  [email protected] .

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Key facts about Americans and guns

Guns are deeply ingrained in American society and the nation’s political debates.

The Second Amendment to the United States Constitution guarantees the right to bear arms, and about a third of U.S. adults say they personally own a gun. At the same time, in response to concerns such as  rising gun death rates  and  mass shootings , the U.S. surgeon general has taken the unprecedented step of declaring gun violence a public health crisis .

Here are some key findings about Americans’ views of gun ownership, gun policy and other subjects, drawn from Pew Research Center surveys. 

Pew Research Center conducted this analysis to summarize key facts about Americans’ relationships with guns. We used data from recent Center surveys to provide insights into Americans’ views on gun policy and how those views have changed over time, as well as to examine the proportion of adults who own guns and their reasons for doing so.

The Center survey questions used in this analysis, and more information about the surveys’ methodologies, and can be found at the links in the text.

Measuring gun ownership in the United States comes with unique challenges. Unlike many demographic measures, there is not a definitive data source from the government or elsewhere on how many American adults own guns.

The Pew Research Center survey conducted June 5-11, 2023, on the Center’s American Trends Panel, used two separate questions to measure personal and household ownership. About a third of adults (32%) say they own a gun, while another 10% say they do not personally own a gun but someone else in their household does. These shares have changed little from surveys conducted in  2021  and  2017 . In each of those surveys, 30% reported they owned a gun.

These numbers are largely consistent with  rates of gun ownership reported by Gallup and those reported by  NORC’s General Social Survey .  

The FBI maintains data on background checks on individuals attempting to purchase firearms in the United States. The FBI reported  a surge in background checks  in 2020 and 2021, during the coronavirus pandemic, but FBI statistics show that the number of federal background checks declined in 2022 and 2023. This pattern seems to be continuing so far in 2024. As of June, fewer background checks have been conducted than at the same point in 2023, according to FBI statistics.

About   four-in-ten U.S. adults say they live in a household with a gun, including 32% who say they personally own one,  according to  a Center survey conducted in June 2023 . These numbers are virtually unchanged since the last time we asked this question in 2021.

There are differences in gun ownership rates by political affiliation, gender, community type and other factors.

• Party: 45% of Republicans and GOP-leaning independents say they personally own a gun, compared with 20% of Democrats and Democratic leaners.
• Gender: 40% of men say they own a gun, versus 25% of women.
• Community type: 47% of adults living in rural areas report owning a firearm, as do smaller shares of those who live in suburbs (30%) or urban areas (20%).
• Race and ethnicity: 38% of White Americans own a gun, compared with smaller shares of Black (24%), Hispanic (20%) and Asian (10%) Americans.

Personal protection tops the list of reasons gun owners give for having a firearm.  About seven-in-ten gun owners (72%) say protection is a major reason they own a gun. Considerably smaller shares say that a major reason they own a gun is for hunting (32%), for sport shooting (30%), as part of a gun collection (15%) or for their job (7%). 

Americans’ reasons behind gun ownership have changed only modestly since we fielded a separate survey  about these topics in spring 2017. At that time, 67% of gun owners cited protection as a major reason they had a firearm.

Gun owners tend to have much more positive feelings about having a gun in the house than nonowners who live with them do.  For instance, 71% of gun owners say they enjoy owning a gun – but just 31% of nonowners living in a household with a gun say they enjoy having one in the home. And while 81% of gun owners say owning a gun makes them feel safer, a narrower majority of nonowners in gun households (57%) say the same. Nonowners are also more likely than owners to worry about having a gun at home (27% vs. 12%).

Feelings about gun ownership also differ by political affiliation, even among those who personally own a firearm. Republican gun owners are more likely than Democratic owners to say owning one gives them feelings of safety and enjoyment, while Democratic owners are more likely to say they worry about having a gun in the home.

Non-gun owners are split on whether they see themselves owning a firearm in the future.  About half of Americans who don’t own a gun (52%) say they could never see themselves owning one, while nearly as many (47%) could imagine themselves as gun owners in the future.

Among those who currently do not own a gun, attitudes about owning one in the future differ by party and other factors.

• Party: 61% of Republicans who don’t own a gun say they could see themselves owning one in the future, compared with 40% of Democrats.
• Gender: 56% of men who don’t own a gun say they could see themselves owning one someday; 40% of women nonowners say the same.
• Race and ethnicity: 56% of Black nonowners say they could see themselves owning a gun one day, compared with smaller shares of White (48%), Hispanic (40%) and Asian (38%) nonowners.

A majority of Americans (61%) say it is too easy to legally obtain a gun in this country, according to the June 2023 survey. Far fewer (9%) say it is too hard, while another 30% say it’s about right.

Non-gun owners are nearly twice as likely as gun owners to say it is too easy to legally obtain a gun (73% vs. 38%). Gun owners, in turn, are more than twice as likely as nonowners to say the ease of obtaining a gun is about right (48% vs. 20%).

There are differences by party and community type on this question, too. While 86% of Democrats say it is too easy to obtain a gun legally, far fewer Republicans (34%) say the same. Most urban (72%) and suburban (63%) residents say it’s too easy to legally obtain a gun, but rural residents are more divided: 47% say it is too easy, 41% say it is about right and 11% say it is too hard.

About six-in-ten U.S. adults (58%) favor stricter gun laws. Another 26% say that U.S. gun laws are about right, while 15% favor less strict gun laws.

There   is broad partisan agreement on some gun policy proposals, but most are politically divisive. Majorities of U.S. adults in both partisan coalitions somewhat or strongly favor two policies that would restrict gun access: preventing those with mental illnesses from purchasing guns (88% of Republicans and 89% of Democrats support this) and increasing the minimum age for buying guns to 21 years old (69% of Republicans, 90% of Democrats). Majorities in both parties also  oppose  allowing people to carry concealed firearms without a permit (60% of Republicans and 91% of Democrats oppose this).

Republicans and Democrats differ on several other proposals. While 85% of Democrats favor banning both assault-style weapons and high-capacity ammunition magazines that hold more than 10 rounds, majorities of Republicans oppose  these proposals (57% and 54%, respectively).

Most Republicans, on the other hand, support allowing teachers and school officials to carry guns in K-12 schools (74%) and allowing people to carry concealed guns in more places (71%). These proposals are supported by just 27% and 19% of Democrats, respectively.

The public remains closely divided over whether it’s more important to protect gun rights or control gun ownership, according to an April 2024 survey . Overall, 51% of U.S. adults say it’s more important to protect the right of Americans to own guns, while a similar share (48%) say controlling gun ownership is more important.

Views have shifted slightly since 2022, when we last asked this question. That year, 47% of adults prioritized protecting Americans’ rights to own guns, while 52% said controlling gun ownership was more important.

Views on this topic differ sharply by party. In the most recent survey, 83% of Republicans say protecting gun rights is more important, while 79% of Democrats prioritize controlling gun ownership.

Americans are slightly more likely to say gun ownership does more to increase safety than to decrease it.  Around half of Americans (52%) say gun ownership does more to increase safety by allowing law-abiding citizens to protect themselves, while a slightly smaller share (47%) say gun ownership does more to reduce safety by giving too many people access to firearms and increasing misuse. Views were evenly divided (49% vs. 49%) when we last asked in 2023.

Republicans and Democrats differ widely on this question: 81% of Republicans say gun ownership does more to increase safety, while 74% of Democrats say it does more to reduce safety.

Rural and urban Americans also have starkly different views. Among adults who live in rural areas, 64% say gun ownership increases safety, while among those in urban areas, 57% say it  reduces  safety. Those living in the suburbs are about evenly split in their views.

More than half of U.S. adults say an increase in the number of guns in the country is bad for society, according to the April 2024 survey. Some 54% say, generally, this is very or somewhat bad for society. Another 21% say it is very or somewhat good for society, and a quarter say it is neither good nor bad for society.

About half of Americans (49%) see gun violence as a major problem,  according to a May 2024 survey. This is down from 60% in June 2023, but roughly on par with views in previous years. In the more recent survey, 27% say gun violence is a moderately big problem, and about a quarter say it is either a small problem (19%) or not a problem at all (4%).

A majority of public K-12 teachers (59%) say they are at least somewhat worried about the possibility of a shooting ever happening at their school, including 18% who are very or extremely worried, according to a fall 2023 Center survey of teachers . A smaller share of teachers (39%) say they are not too or not at all worried about a shooting occurring at their school.

School shootings are a concern for K-12 parents as well: 32% say they are very or extremely worried about a shooting ever happening at their children’s school, while 37% are somewhat worried, according to  a fall 2022 Center survey of parents with at least one child younger than 18 who is not homeschooled. Another 31% of K-12 parents say they are not too or not at all worried about this.

Note: This is an update of a post originally published on Jan. 5, 2016 .

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Katherine Schaeffer is a research analyst at Pew Research Center .

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