Hazleton

Students invited to research expo on Sept. 23 at Penn State Hazleton

Penn State Hazleton will host its faculty research expo on Monday, Sept. 23, beginning at 12:15 p.m. in Room 1 of the Kostos Building. The event is designed to introduce students to faculty research and give them the opportunity to learn more about how they can participate in the research.

“At Penn State Hazleton, students are able to join faculty members in conducting research in an area of shared interest. Research is a key component of students’ undergraduate studies, offering the benefits of stronger critical thinking, writing and presentation skills,” said Assistant Teaching Professor of Business Ellen Raineri, one of the organizers of the expo.

During the event, faculty members will highlight their research interests and a selection of their publications. Pizza will be provided and students are invited to network and talk with faculty during the expo.

In the spring, students who have conducted research during the academic year present their projects at the annual campus Undergraduate Research Fair, with winners moving on to the Regional Undergraduate Research Symposium.

Participating faculty and their research topics include:

  • Mesude Bayrakci-Boz, assistant teaching professor of engineering: solar energy, electric vehicles, energy markets and geographic information systems.
  • Douglas Edmonds, assistant professor of physics: astrophysics, cosmology, dark matter, dark energy, active galactic nuclei, black holes and structure formation.
  • Yusuke Hayashi, associate professor of psychology: decision making, behavioral economics, neuroeconomics, addiction, problematic mobile phone use and cyberbullying.
  • Garrett Huck, assistant professor of rehabilitation and human services: alopecia areata, severe and persistent mental illness, physical activity, undergraduate rehabilitation education and quality of life.
  • Joshua Parcha, assistant professor of corporate communication: corporate social responsibility and corporate advocacy.
  • Dan Patel, assistant professor of chemistry: organic chemistry, organic synthesis, materials chemistry, photochromic compounds and spectroscopy.
  • Michael Polgar, associate professor of sociology: sociology, the Holocaust, human rights and health care.
  • Ellen Raineri, assistant teaching professor of business: entrepreneurship, management, cybersecurity, business ethics, corporate social responsibility (CSR) and innovation.
  • Megan Schall, assistant professor of biology: fisheries ecology, fish health, molecular genetics and DNA barcoding.
  • Nargess Tahmasbi, assistant professor of information sciences and technology: crowdsourcing, social media analytics, social computing, cyberbullying detection and data science.
Last Updated September 11, 2019