This spring, seniors in the John V. Roach Honors College presented their Departmental Honors theses at their college- and school-level research and creative project symposiums.
The 12 finalists from each college/school advanced to the final round of the college’s annual Boller Competition, which was established in 1982 by Paul Boller, Ph.D., professor of history at TCU in memory of Rev. and Mrs. Paul F. Boller .
Faculty judges from each college selected the best senior Honors project presentation and bestowed the Boller Award to the winner at the annual Honors banquet.
“A British Ice Cream Revolution”
College of Fine Arts | Faculty Mentor: Dusty Crocker, Ph.D., professor of professional practice
A Royal Warrant of Appointment is a mark of recognition for brands and products, designated at the discretion of the monarchy. While studying abroad in England, Brown witnessed how a product’s connection to the royal family impacted its marketing, and she aimed to try as many “warranted” products as possible.
The Royal Warrant Association does not list any warranted ice cream companies, so Brown decided to design her own. Based on her research, she used her graphic design skills to create a brand called “Lizzy's” — a name influenced by the late Queen Elizabeth II — which celebrates her lifetime of achievement. The goal of her project was to demonstrate how brand messaging, like the endorsement of the queen, impacts the ability to draw in consumers.
“The Making of a Radical: William Cobbett's Transatlantic Adventures, 1792-1810”
AddRan College of Liberal Arts | Faculty Mentor: William Meier, Ph.D., associate professor and department chair of history
The concerns of the working people of Britain found little voice in the early 19th century. That is until radical British author William Cobbett (1763-1835) rose to prominence. Cobbett wrote for and about the British working classes, championing the cause of the common people in his pamphlets and newspapers.
While most historical scholarship on Cobbett has focused on his later years as a prominent radical author and politician, Christopherson's research explored Cobbett's early life and his evolution into a radical during the late 18th to early 19th centuries. Ultimately, Christopherson found that Cobbett’s unique radicalism evolved to address the concerns of working people in England by supporting government reform.
“The Effects of Transcutaneous Auricular Vagus Nerve Stimulation on Language Retention in College-Aged Students”
College of Science and Engineering | Faculty Mentor: Tracy Centanni, Ph.D., assistant professor of psychology
Learning a language becomes more difficult with age. Crupper's research aimed to prevent the slowing of learning through noninvasive brain stimulation called transcutaneous auricular vagus nerve stimulation (taVNS).
The vagus nerve is tied to learning and memory, and can be stimulated by sending a low-level electrical current through a device clipped on the ear. In Crupper's study, participants learned words in the Palauan language while receiving either 5 Hz, 25 Hz or no stimulation through taVNS. Those receiving 25 Hz stimulation were able to recall words significantly better than the other groups after a short delay.
This research suggests that taVNS may be used in language-based applications. With expanded research, this technology has the potential to bridge the learning gap between typical and nontypical learners or recover language in patients who've suffered traumatic brain injuries.
“Preparing Preservice Teachers to Implement SEL Strategies: One Approach to Disrupt the School-to-Prison Pipeline”
College of Education | Faculty Mentor: Endia Lindo, Ph.D., associate professor of special education
The school-to-prison pipeline is a prevalent issue that is creating irreparable damage in the lives of students of color. In an effort to identify potential solutions, Langford’s research revealed social-emotional learning (SEL) as a proactive intervention for students. SEL is a small solution that can create permanent change to help keep students in the classroom.
Langford conducted a literature review on two evidence-based SEL interventions in creating positive outcomes for middle through high schoolers. Following the literature review, she developed and implemented a training session with preservice teachers on using SEL in their future classrooms.
“Opening the Door on Molecular Hinges”
College of Science and Engineering | Faculty Mentor: Eric Simanek, Ph.D., Robert A. Welch chair of chemistry
Currently, the medical community is focused on using smaller molecules in drugs to target cells. Joey’s research explored a new class of drugs using larger molecules. He developed a large, ringed molecule using organic chemistry to hinge like a door in solution. His research group controlled the hinging rate of these molecules by slightly changing their structure.
Some drugs bind to target cells when the molecule’s hinge is open, while others bind better when the hinge is closed. By manipulating the molecule and controlling the rate of the hinging motion, we may be able to better target sites that require the open or closed conformation. This opens the door to creating new drugs that utilize this molecule’s motion.
“When Does Song Begin? Exploring Preparatory Features on Song Respiration”
College of Science and Engineering | Faculty Mentor: Brenton Cooper, Ph.D., associate professor of neuroscience
Nguyen aimed to understand how animals, including humans, make decisions before producing speech. She used songbirds as her animal model because of the similarities they share with humans in language acquisition and speech production. Nguyen found that birds produce introductory notes that are more likely to function as a form of motor practice — or a "tuning" element — that allows the birds to better develop their songs, but are not part of song itself.
The ultimate goal was to understand the neural control of motor preparation. These results will be foundational for future studies aimed at exploring the neural circuits necessary for preparing to sing, which will help us better understanding mechanisms behind speech and fluency disorders.
“How Can Fans Support Artists Through Technology”
Neeley School of Business | Faculty Mentor: Grant Farnsworth, Ph.D., assistant professor of professional practice
Compensation issues in the music industry have taken center stage for all artists, from famous and professional to independent and amateur. Nhung examined how blockchain technology can affect the music business, as well as its potential applications and benefits over current practices for investors, users and artists.
Nhung emphasized how blockchain technology have the ability to allow musicians more freedom, transparency and flexibility when it comes to monetizing their music with less involvement of a third party (like Apple Music or Spotify). With recent changes in technology, the public is more interested in blockchain and non-fungible token (NFT) investments. This paves the way for blockchain to be not only used for image creation, but sound creation, as well.
“Investigating the Potential Therapeutic Effects of CBD in Vitro”
College of Science and Engineering | Faculty Mentor: Michael Chumley, Ph.D., professor of biology
The use of cannabis is a topic of interest in the context of medicine and health benefits. Cannabidiol (CBD) is a known anti-inflammatory and antioxidant. It is being studied as a potential therapy for a variety of diseases involving inflammation and oxidative stress such as cardiovascular disease, neurodegenerative diseases, diabetes and cancer.
Allison’s research investigated CBD's effect on the Nrf2 pathway, which is the cell's main protective response to oxidative stress. Her lab utilized funds provided by the Honors College, and her results indicated that CBD may be acting as an antioxidant by increasing Nrf2 protein levels in the cell. This research provided some evidence for the use of CBD as a potential therapy for people with oxidative stress-related diseases.
“The Effect of Differential Training on Learning in a Standing Broad Jump”
Harris College of Nursing & Health Sciences | Faculty Mentor: Adam King, Ph.D., associate professor of kinesiology
Rivera’s research was borne out of a desire to understand how individuals of varying skill levels and backgrounds learn to move efficiently. To do this, he designed a training study to analyze whether the introduction of variability, or “differential training,” into practice increases the rate of learning for novice participants learning the standing broad jump task. These variations included manipulations of starting foot position, arm swinging and jump direction, among others. Rivera found a decrease in the rate of force development for the experimental group, which led to the conclusion that explosive movements require a narrower set of variations to promote an increase in jump distance.
Rivera hopes that creating training programs and methodologies that increase the rate of learning will have positive implications, not only for sport-specific settings but for clinical settings, as well.
“Applying Co-Cultural Theory to the Interactions of the Deaf Community and Sign Language Interpreters”
Bob Schieffer College of Communication | Faculty Mentor: Britney Gilmore, Ph.D., assistant professor of communication studies
As a certified sign language interpreter, Dezirae recognizes her position of privilege to engage with the Deaf community and strives to be an interpreter who empowers Deaf consumers. Her research aimed to highlight their loved experience and enhance interpreter approaches to reduce burdens placed on the Deaf community.
Dezirae investigated how Deaf people, as minority group members, enact communicative behaviors when engaging with hearing sign language interpreters, who are dominant group members. The results found that when engaging directly with a sign language interpreter, Deaf individuals tend to take an assertive accommodative stance in expecting dominant group members to adapt to them. However, with the general public — who they assume lacks an understanding of Deaf culture — they take on a non-assertive assimilation stance and attempt to blend in with the dominant group out of concerns for being perceived negatively.
“Rebirth: An Exploration of Circular Fashion”
College of Fine Arts | Faculty Mentor: Stephanie Bailer, MA, instructor of fashion merchandising
The fashion industry significantly contributes to the world’s pollution. It is extremely important to improve production practices and reimagine ways to create products built for a circular economy, rather than the traditional linear cycles that inevitably end in waste. As interest in creating sustainable products grows, Satkiewicz focused why the sustainability initiatives created by fashion giants over the last decade have not been successful in mitigating the fashion industry's environmental impact.
Satkiewicz wanted to disrupt the fashion industry’s take-make-waste product timeline and turn to the practice of closed loop recycling. The circular fashion cycle emphasizes designing waste out of products and reusing post-production materials. Satkiewicz even created her own product, which was developed using post-production fabrics and materials to eliminate waste entirely.
“Addressing the Right to Vote: Address Confidentiality Programs in the United States”
AddRan College of Liberal Arts | Faculty Mentor: Emily Farris, Ph.D., associate professor of political science
One in five women and one in 10 men in the United States experience intimate partner violence (IPV). Those who escape the cycle of abuse are often left out of political conversations, indirectly denied their right to suffrage and passively deemed as undeserving members of society.
Sterlow researched Address Confidentiality Programs (ACPs), which aim to provide safe mechanisms for survivors of IPV to vote and participate in civil society by anonymizing their addresses in public records so that abusers cannot find them. By examining the eligibility criteria, application process and participation outcomes of state ACPs, her thesis sought to establish whether the perceived high administrative burdens of ACPs led to lower take-up rates of the programs and may be responsible for the low number of Americans utilizing them.
We recognize the faculty members who served as judges for the 2023 Boller Competition:
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