Student Anthony Pietsch. | |
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Friday July 17, 2009
Celebration spotlighted student scholars
The UW Oshkosh’s 16th-annual Celebration of Scholarship showcased more than 75 different student research projects.
The presentations, ranging from the design of an e-voting platform to how to craft a motion picture screenplay, were April 23 in Reeve Memorial Union. The research was conducted in collaboration with faculty advisers.
Senior management information systems major Marshall Scorcio developed an e-voting system prototype with a secure systems framework for software engineering to address voting accuracy and technical security issues.
“I looked at what happened with the previous e-voting machines and then began following industry best practices,” Scorcio said.
Modeling his system after the online banking concept, Scorcio also made his system transparent to allow system evaluators to monitor security better, which was the main problem in previous e-voting systems.
“I think it’s definitely feasible,” Scorcio said. “It would encourage people to vote more because they can vote from anywhere at any time.”
Ashley Hellenbrand, who majors in environmental studies and chemistry, also explored the feasibility of a technological advancement that would benefit society.
Hellenbrand researched if the electric car is sustainable, its potential benefit to society and the costs involved in making the switch.
“Society would benefit because we would be less dependent on oil, and we would lessen greenhouse gases and breathe cleaner air,” she said.
Hellenbrand worked on her project as part of a sustainability course, in which she also brainstormed ideas to raise awareness about sustainability on campus. She currently is leading an environmental audit report that examines the past, present and future environmental state of UW Oshkosh.
The award winners were:
Graduate School Awards ($200 each)
Kathryn Griffiths, biology and microbiology
Olesya Savchenko, accounting
Undergraduate School Awards ($100 each)
Anthony Pietsch, history
Shannon Traska, communication — radio-TV-film
Chan Vang, art
George Weir IV and William Kovac, biology and microbiology
Westbrook Award for Environmental Biology ($125 each)
Elizabeth Bradford, environmental studies
Clow Award for Social Sciences ($125 each)
Leviathan Whitfield, education
Amanda Scripture, social work
Nursing Research Award ($200 each)
Elizabeth Wagner, nursing
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