Carroll College Student Undergraduate Research Festival 2022
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The Student Undergraduate Research Festival (SURF) is a celebration of the research done by Carroll College students. The event occurs every April, and everyone is invited to attend. SURF is seen as the highlight of the year for all of the students doing research, and it is a wonderful opportunity for other Carroll students, Carroll faculty and staff members, and community members to see the amazing work done by our students. Our students are very excited to share their research during this time of student-driven, inquiry-oriented learning.
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Recent Submissions
Item Gender Disparity In Broadway Sound Design(2022) Southworth, TabithaSound design is a field that has been historically dominated by men. Especially in the elite Broadway sector, it has been difficult for female sound designers to break in. Carroll College’s She Persisted study collected data on the gender of sound designers of Broadway shows from 2011-2021. I have used this data to compare the number of shows that have run on Broadway to the number of female sound designers who have worked on the Broadway stage over the last ten years. Of the 369 shows that have run on Broadway, twelve have featured female-identifying sound designers. In this project, I have provided several theories as to why sound design might be the most difficult area of theatre for women to break into on a professional level.Item Work and Labor Songs of Butte Montana: An Audio Experience of the Past(2022) Duff, Arizona; Fregulia, Jeanette; Marchesini, Maren; Cash, DaneWork and labor songs paint a picture about what life was like for working class people throughout history. In the United States, we have seen songs rise and fall in popularity representing groups of workers, from the coal mines in Kentucky to the striking General Motor workers in Flint, Michigan. While the lyrics and stories of these songs contain deep meaning in their own right, the music and the presentation of the pieces are also a critical aspect in understanding the historical significance of these songs. This project explores the work and labor songs from the mining community of Butte, Montana and what this music, experienced as music, can teach us. Using music books, union pamphlets, and field and audio recordings collected throughout the 20th century, I explore what it sounded like to be a miner.Item Concentration of Metals in Remediated vs Non-Remediated Soils(2022) Olmes, Nathan; Post, William; Winn, Hannah; O'Sullivan, Joseph; Heiser, PatriciaEast Helena, Montana was the site of a lead smelter, operated by ASARCO from 1888-2001, which became a source of heavy metal contamination that was dispersed through surface water, groundwater, soils, and air. The entire city of East Helena became an EPA Superfund site and cleanup of contaminated surface soils began in 2010. In many instances, topsoil was removed from yards and parks, and transported to treatment sites. Prickly Pear Land Trust (PPLT) has acquired several parcels of land and is making efforts to remediate the soil and eventually make it safe for public use. In particular, an 80-acre parcel north of Kennedy Park remained untreated. PPLT has begun remediation efforts using the method of turning soils in order to disperse contamination and reduce the concentration of heavy metals at the surface. This project will assess metals concentrations in surface soils in areas that were previously remediated, are currently undergoing remediation, and along Prickly Pear Creek where soils remain undisturbed. Soil samples from each of these surfaces will be analyzed using X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy (XRF). The data will provide heavy metal concentration in ppm and will be compared with each other as well as baseline surveys conducted before remediation actions. The results of this study will be presented as a map representing metals in surface soils across the study area, as well as comparisons with baseline and nearby remediated areas. This project will assist in overall restoration efforts and will help evaluate the success of remediation.Item Did an Ice Cap Cover the Flint Creek Range?(2022) Hadley, Ashelynn; Worden, Garrett; Yocum, Natalie; Sater, Shane; Heiser, PatriciaDuring the last glacial maximum (LGM), glaciers occupied many ranges in the mountain west. In the vicinity of Racetrack Creek and Fred Burr Creek in the Flint Creek Range, west-central Montana, glaciers left clear moraines marking maximum extent into lower valleys on either side of the range. ‘Trimlines’ marking former ice surface suggest that an ice cap might have joined the glaciers at the top of the range. Surficial geologic mapping of the lower Racetrack Creek valley allowed us to reconstruct ice thickness as it exited the range. We then used a mathematical model (based on physical properties of ice, slope, and basal shear stress) to reconstruct former ice surface to the divide. Our model matched closely with the constraining physical data, indicating that a small ice cap fed the two outlet glaciers during the LGM. The ice cap did not completely cover the top of the range, leaving protruding peaks or ‘nunataks’. The glacial equilibrium line altitude (ELA) was 2,130 meters in the Fred Burr Creek valley and 70 meters lower in the Racetrack Creek valley, indicating that ice extended lower on the east of the range. These results provide an important contribution to the understanding of glacial history in the Flint Creek Range and growing body of data on glacial and climate history of the mountain west. The ELA we determined are over 250 meters lower than those previously estimated for this area, suggesting that the local climate was colder and/or wetter than previously interpreted.Item Accessibility Scan of Carroll College(2022-04) Shepherd, Eliza; Koster, Kami; Wilkinson, Genesis; VanSickle, Emma; Jones, Sadie; Olney, Bridget; Kraut, Grace; Cook, Breanna; Parsley, KellyResearch done in a national study in 2011 found that only 34 percent of college students with disabilities will complete a 4 year program (NLTS2: Home, n.d.). This is due to numerous issues with accessibility on college campuses. While many colleges support students with physical disabilities, many do so from the standpoint of legal compliance instead of bettering campus and classroom accessibility. Student researchers were concerned about Carroll College's accessibility for people with physical disabilities. They wanted to see how accessible Carroll is, especially from the standpoint of someone who uses a mobility aid. Student researchers conducted interviews, focus groups, and environmental scans, in order to gather results. Interviews showed that Carroll students and faculty thought that prospective students with a preexisting physical disability would not feel comfortable joining the Carroll community due to a lack of accessibility. Environmental scans revealed that even though there are accessible entrances to buildings, they are not realistic for long term or daily use. In Guadalupe Hall specifically, the only way to get to the accessible bathroom on the men’s side is to exit the building, re-enter through the Wellness Center door, take the elevator to the first floor, and use the bathroom by the computer lab. There are no accessible bathrooms for the women’s floors. This research will be used to inform Carroll on ways that campus can be made more accessible, therefore further embodying the mission of “welcoming all persons” as per the mission statement.