Office of Student Research
Research Opportunities
The opportunities for research at Appalachian are infinite. You need only have the desire and a faculty advisor to mentor you.
However, several research opportunities have been defined by our faculty and by several local non-profit organizations:
Faculty can submit a research opportunity here.
Recent Postings of Opportunities at Appalachian
View All Research Opportunities at Appalachian
1. Place-Based Augmented Reality Learning Games |
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| Faculty Contact | Available | Type | URL | Date Posted | |
| Paul Wallace | wallacepr@appstate.edu | Summer | To be determined | faculty.rcoe.appstate.edu/wallacepr/ | Sep 10, 2008 |
| Project Description: Place-based augmented reality games are an emerging type of learning tool that combine field experiences with multimedia content, and utilize game-design principles and scenarios to establish rich real-world contexts for learning. In these games, students use location-aware mobile devices (Garmin, etc.) to receive information and explore the environment in a field setting, with clues and data provided to them when in or around a pre-defined location. Place-based games can be used in geology, ecology, anthropology, history, and other fields where collaborative learning experiences can be located in an outdoor space. I am looking for student researchers from a variety of disciplines who are interested in designing place-based games for their fields and/or studying the effectiveness of these games in education. | |||||
| Department: . For either graduates or undergraduates majoring in: All Majors. | |||||
2. Plant and insect community interactions: factors and consequences |
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| Faculty Contact | Available | Type | URL | Date Posted | |
| Ray Williams | willmsrs@appstate.edu | Fall,Spring,Summer | Course Credit | Apr 15, 2008 | |
| Project Description: My primary interest lies in the composition of plant and insect communities at various scales. This includes scales where lots of expertise in plant or insect identification is not necessary. My focus is to ask what factors are responsible for the composition of insect communities we observe in plant communities? That is, what environmental conditions affecting plants determine the associated insects? A particular interest is how the chemical composition of the plants can attract or repel certain insects, thus helping determine the community structure. Students will get practical experience in field biology (most of my work is at the Gilley Research Station a few miles from Boone) and valuable experience in analytical techniques for measuring plant chemicals. None of this work requires any real prior experience. The world of bugs is really cool and I try very hard to arrange projects of interest to students to explore it! | |||||
| Department: . For either graduates or undergraduates majoring in: Biology. | |||||
3. Fiber type and muscle damage Cycling and performance |
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| Faculty Contact | Available | Type | URL | Date Posted | |
| Chuck Dumke | dumkecl@appstate.edu | Fall,Spring | Volunteer Basis | Feb 13, 2008 | |
| Project Description: Several studies occurring involving blood and muscle samples from exercising subjects. One involving muscle damage from eccentric leg extensions, and others involving prolonged cycling and performance, oxidative stress and immune function. | |||||
| Department: Accounting. For either graduates or undergraduates majoring in: Exercise Science. | |||||
4. Dissecting Root Development and Root System Formation |
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| Faculty Contact | Available | Type | URL | Date Posted | |
| Guichuan Hou | houg@appstate.edu | Fall,Spring | Course Credit,Volunteer Basis | www.casmifa.appstate.edu/hou.html | Sep 12, 2007 |
| Project Description: Roots play a critical role in growth and yield of vascular plants, such as crops and medicinal plants. Individual root development occurs primarily at the apical meristem while root system formation coordinates with shoot development and the organism as a whole. Research aiming to further our understanding of root development and root system formation has been conducted in my lab using the model species Ceratopteris richardii (triangle waterfern), Arabidopsis, and maize (corn, Zea mays). I welcome new students to join the team. | |||||
| Department: . For either graduates or undergraduates majoring in: . | |||||
5. Orographic Precipitation in the Southern Appalachian Mountains |
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| Faculty Contact | Available | Type | URL | Date Posted | |
| Baker Perry | perrylb@appstate.edu | Fall,Spring,Summer | Course Credit,Volunteer Basis | http://www.geo.appstate.edu/faculty/perry.htm | Sep 03, 2007 |
| Project Description: Opportunities available to study orographic precipitation (particularly snow) in the southern Appalachian Mountains. Dr. Sandra Yuter (NCSU) and I have installed meteorological instrumentaion, including a MicroRainRadar, PARSIVEL disdrometer, and Pluvio weighing rain gauge on Poga Mountain in Flat Springs, NC. Additionally, Dr. Charles Konrad (UNC-Chapel Hill and Southeast Regional Climate Center), Laurence Lee (NWS), David Hotz (NWS), and I are collaborating on a synoptic classification of snowfall events on the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. | |||||
| Department: . For either graduates or undergraduates majoring in: Geography. | |||||
