Student researchers unveil summer research at showcase

On a warm summer day in early June, the geology laboratory on the first floor of the Padnos Hall of Science is buzzing with activity. Senior Maya Giannecchini is hunched over a rock saw, carefully gliding a 2.2 billion-year-old rock sample toward the whirling blade.

With geology professor Dylan Wilmeth keeping a watchful eye, Giannecchini intently guides the sliver of rock until it’s split cleanly in two. Giannecchini hopes the sample, which will be sent to the University of Michigan for analysis, can shed light on her research project.

Giannecchini was one of 22 students who presented and discussed their research and projects at the Summer Scholars Showcase on July 28 at the Seidman College of Business. Giannecchini and the other participating students spent the summer collecting data and working with mentors on their research.

Wilmeth took a party of his peers and student researchers, including Giannecchini and biology senior Garrett Brown, to the Upper Peninsula to collect samples of different rock formations in Marquette. Giannecchini said she’s been examining the fossilized bacterial mats within a rock formation known as Kona Dolomite, which contain Michigan’s oldest fossils and reveal a pivotal time in the earth’s history.

“These formed during a very interesting time when the earth's atmosphere was changing dramatically from no oxygen to oxygen that we can breathe and that organisms can live,” Giannechini said. “So part of the story is possibly these bacterial mats might have caused a rise in the global atmospheric oxygen.” 

Giannecchini said the study of these particular rocks can unveil a mystery that’s been locked away for billions of years.

“I’ve always been interested in paleontology, but geology is a realm I’ve never really dived into before,” she said. “You’re used to seeing all about the T. rex, but these rocks tell a much broader story of what was changing about the earth and what makes it possible for us to be around and breathe today.”

Brown, who was also a part of Wilmeth’s party to northern Michigan, said his research looked at similar fossils in the Randville Dolomite formation, which is the same age as the Kona.

At first, Brown didn’t see a possible connection between his biology major and geology, but a class with Wilmuth changed his perspective, he said. 

“Dylan was my professor and lab instructor. Dylan has such a passion for rocks, and I became really fascinated with it and how you can tell such an amazing story from the past,” Brown said. 

Brown said his experience studying and working with Wilmeth and other faculty members gave him numerous opportunities for research as an undergraduate student. 

“I’ll go talk to a professor and just introduce myself and say this is what I want to do in my future,” Brown said. “From there, they have given me so many opportunities. I didn’t know much about geology, but Dylan said, ‘I’d love to teach you and give you this experience.’” 

While Giannecchini's and Brown’s research took them to the Upper Peninsula, senior Kendra Slater focused on a topic familiar around West Michigan: dairy farms. Slater’s family owns one and that gave her the idea to combine her family history and her major, she said.

Initially, she said she wanted to analyze the sustainability practices between industrial dairy farms, like her father’s which typically have more than 2,000 head of cattle, and smaller, sustainable farms.

“But, we’re switching gears a little and looking more at just the industrial farms because we’re getting a lot of great data from them and seeing a lot of barriers that they face, and what they think about sustainability,” Slater said.

The experience also opened Slater’s perspective toward her major and pursuing postgraduate studies. 

“It’s made me really like research first and the social science aspect, getting to talk with people and make changes on the ground level,” Slater said. “I like going out in the field and talking with these farmers and seeing firsthand what they experience.

“It’s given me more appreciation for where our food comes from, and all the challenges that the farmers of America face in making food for us.”

Given her major, Hannah Cline said she didn’t expect to find many opportunities for summer research. So when she was offered to work with graphic design professor Vinicius Lima and mathematics professor William Dickinson, Cline jumped at the chance. 

Over 12 weeks, Cline was assigned to work with Dickinson’s web-based application which is designed to help teachers in their instruction on spherical geometry. 

”My whole design process over this application was picking apart the old interface, taking certain aspects of it, seeing what works and what doesn't work, collecting my data and then putting that into use,” Cline said. 

Typically, Cline said, this type of project requires a team of 10-20 designers and developers. But the condensed time frame required her to focus more on her communication skills than she anticipated. 

“It was a very interesting experience for me, overall, and very different to do, and something that I never thought I would have the opportunity to be a part of,” Cline said. “It was very rewarding in that sense and being able to be part of something bigger.”

Once her analysis was completed, Cline worked with another student to implement her data and develop the interface. 

“It was interesting to talk to Will about his application and get a feel of what he wants the app to be,” Cline said. “It wasn’t just me creating something that I thought was visually appealing, like one of my class projects. 

“It was refreshing to get that sense of what he wanted this to look like and see it grow. And that was really rewarding for me to see him being so happy with what happened.” 

Junior Jada Thomas has been enamored with psychology since taking a high school class that introduced her to the subject. In her time at Grand Valley, her fascination has continued, particularly thanks to psychology professor Robert Deaner, she said. 

“I had a class with him my first year, and I really enjoyed the class, and he was one of my favorite professors,” Thomas said. 

Thomas’ research bridged her love for cooking with Deaner’s classwork. Under Deaner’s guidance, Thomas studied how male and female chefs on one of the top reality TV shows, MasterChef, view their fame. 

“We're seeing how males and females may differ,” Thomas said. “If males are more competitive when it comes to cooking, or if women feel like cooking is an obligation. We looked at their social media, and what they typically post.”