Repost: MCSP Blog

by mlreynolds on February 21, 2023

Earlier this month, Dr. Roland Minton and three Roanoke students competed in an online sports analytics championship! Read further to learn all about it:

Maroons Second in National Championship!

The Roanoke College team of James Rowe, Selam Mekonnen, and Cyrus Pace earned second place at the National Collegiate Sports Analytics Championship in Dallas, Texas, on February 1-2! Syracuse University won the team championship and Jacob Kauffman of Rice University won the individual national championship. The event was organized by Baylor University and hosted by the Dallas Mavericks.

None of the above paragraph is inaccurate, but it could be misleading. If you follow the weather, you may remember that Dallas was shut down February 1-2 by a winter storm. Reluctantly, the RC group canceled our flight and stayed home. With travel to Dallas shut down, the organizers shifted to a remote event. Although the Roanoke team finished second, the competition was entirely individual work analyzing a massive basketball data set. Team standings were compiled by average scores of schools with three or more competitors.

All four of Roanoke’s original team members can claim “Sweet Sixteen” status. In the qualifying round held in November, James Rowe placed 14th and Lilly Blair 16th. Lilly was unable to be in the finals because of commitments with her women’s lacrosse team. In the finals “in Dallas” contestants were seeded into seven groups, with the top two in each group advancing to round two. Selam and Cyrus gave excellent presentations to advance to the second round, while James was a close third in a highly competitive group. These are great results!

Each competitor was given five hours to take a large spreadsheet of play-by-play basketball data, isolate a team or player or type of play, distill the data into a small number of insights, and highlight those insights in a five-minute PowerPoint presentation. Cyrus, for example, pulled all plays involving Jaxson Hayes and identified strengths (e.g., pick and rolls, plays designed for him after time outs) and weaknesses (e.g., shooting from the left side of the court). After giving their presentations, they answered questions from a panel of judges drawn from professional sports teams around the country. The judges rated presentations in a variety of categories such as use of statistics, graphics, clarity of results, and responses to questions.

The biggest casualty from the winter storm was the loss of unstructured networking time with the judges, who would have been in recruiting mode. All three RC competitors have an interest in pursuing careers in sports. James and Cyrus have interned with the Roanoke RailYard Dawgs hockey team, and Selam has worked with Stat Crew. Despite being limited to zoom discussions, useful connections were made and the team gained valuable experience in the sports analytics field. However, it’s too bad that our Tex-Mex dinner wasn’t in Texas!

Congratulations to James, Selam, and Cyrus for their outstanding performance and representation of Roanoke College!

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Conference Spotlight

by mlreynolds on October 26, 2022

Sydney with President Shushock at the Ring Ceremony

During the first week of October, Sydney Wagner attended the Southeastern Institute for Operations Research and the Management Sciences 2022 conference. Working with Dr. Sweet, she presented “Introducing Corporate Psychological Responsibility (CPR).” Sydney has been working with Dr. Sweet since the Spring of 2021 when she began conducting a literature review of multiple different motivational theories, including, but not limited to, Maslow’s Hierarchy and Alderfer’s E.R.G. Theory. After review, they landed on thirteen or so theories to code for common themes to pull out as key factors in human motivation, and the abstract of the paper that came from this was the topic of the presentation at the conference. The current topic is how motivational theory can be applied in the organizational workplace setting.

This was Sydney’s second research conference, and both times she had wonderful experiences. Not only did she learn more about public speaking and presenting her work, but she has also learned a lot more about how to help present feedback to others on their work. She has learned that having multiple perspectives on a project is so important because sometimes there is an easy answer to the question, just through someone else’s expertise and experience.

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Conference Spotlight

October 4, 2022

This past weekend Megan Reynolds traveled to Dallas, Texas to present at the Queer History South Conference. She presented on the topic “The Internal Lavender Menace: Lesbian Feminist Challenges in Southwest Virginia” alongside only one other poster presenter due to complications with the hurricane. Despite this, Megan presented her research and findings to many archivists […]

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Family Weekend Research Showcase

September 28, 2022

This past weekend, we had an amazing turnout at the Family Weekend Research Showcase! There were so many wonderful topics that people presented. Congratulations to the first-place winner, Lydia Turner-Little, who presented on the topic of LGBTQ+ Experiences of Religion. For second place, we had a tie between David Adams (Intermittent Fasting Combats Diet-Induced Obesity […]

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Alumni Spotlight

September 5, 2022

Kavya Iyer is a recent alum of Roanoke College, having graduated this past spring. This summer, she had the opportunity to work in a research lab as part of the Diversity Summer Internship Program at the John Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. Kavya worked specifically in the Population, Family, and Reproductive Health Department where […]

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Repost: Roanoke Summer Scholars Dive into Research

August 24, 2022

https://www.roanoke.edu/about/news/summer_scholars_2022

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Summer Conference Spotlight

August 10, 2022

Ahmed Abusultan attended the 14th Annual Summer Undergraduate Research Symposium during the last week of July. His research revolved around understanding how humans develop the coordination patterns we use when walking, focusing on the relationship between the arms and the legs. For his project, he looked at the utilization of trekking poles to simulate having […]

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Summer Research Spotlight

July 29, 2022

James is currently assisting Dr. Ball with her project that focuses on the partners of formerly incarcerated people. There is very little research in this area, so James and Dr. Ball are conducting in-depth interviews with the partners of former prisoners in order to chronicle their experiences. They have completed almost sixty interviews with people […]

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Summer Research Spotlight

July 28, 2022

Shane Saunders spent the month of June with Dr. Collins, alongside other colleagues, conducting research on the Smooth Coneflower populations at Denhill Preserve. This research is a continuation of a research project Dr. Collins has been working on for almost a decade. Located south of Roanoke College, Denhill Preserve is home to a major population […]

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Summer Research Spotlight

July 27, 2022

This summer, Bobby Hoye has been focusing his research on the science behind solar panels. Working with Dr. Hickox-Young, he is looking at the compound, CsPbBr3, which is one in a new class of materials, called Perovskites. Perovskites, for reference, are semiconductors that transport electrical charges once the light hits them. These materials have only […]

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Summer Research Spotlight

July 25, 2022

Selma Sosic, one of our many student summer researchers, says that her favorite part about research here at Roanoke is that research advisors trust their advisees to do field research by themselves. She truly enjoys how much the research advisors value the input and thought processes the student researchers bring to the table. Selma experienced […]

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Summer Scholars Spotlight

July 15, 2022

Ivey Kline is a history major with an interest in American history and archival research.  She has worked for the Roanoke College Archives and the Center for Studying Structures of Race for three years and spent the summer of 2021 carrying out extensive archival research.  At the Center, she helped create and launch the Genealogy […]

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Summer Research Spotlight

July 12, 2022

During the weekend of June 24th, Dr. Lassiter took a couple of students to the International Zebrafish Society Conference in Montreal. Olivia Brichter and Allyson Herriges co-presented at their first international conference on the project, “Estrogen Exposure Results in Inhibited Tail Fin Regeneration in Embryonic Zebrafish (Danio rerio).” Together, they explored the effects of estrogen […]

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Summer Scholars Spotlight

July 7, 2022

Megan Reynolds is a rising senior pursuing a double major in History and Music. A member of the Class of 2023, Megan dedicates her time to a variety of campus activities. On top of her regular coursework, Megan plays the bassoon in the Wind Ensemble, is the secretary of the Historical Society, is a member […]

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Summer Research Spotlight

July 1, 2022

Emma Richards had the opportunity to go to Merida, Mexico in May to study at an American-based veterinary clinic called Planned Pethood. In her month there, she went through rotations of what she observed, shadowed, and helped with. The first week she was there, she shadowed the veterinary technicians, doing general care, and helping with […]

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Conference Spotlight

June 29, 2022

Last week, Luke Jones attended the Association of Environmental Studies and Science conference. Working with Dr. O’Neill in the Environment Department, Luke presented his project “Planting for climate resilience: Using heat mapping to assess climate vulnerability and the need for future greenspace and urban tree cover in Salem, VA.” This past weekend, Dr. Lassiter brought […]

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Summer Scholars Spotlight

June 21, 2022

Maryam Nishtar is a rising senior at Roanoke College, from Islamabad, Pakistan majoring in Psychology and Biochemistry with a concentration in Neuroscience. Maryam is a member of the service organization Alpha Phi Omega and is a resident advisor on campus. She is also a medical scribe at Lewisgale Medical Center and plans to pursue a […]

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Summer Scholars Spotlight

June 17, 2022

Haley Keene is a rising junior attending Roanoke College. She is from Abingdon, Virginia. She is majoring in biochemistry with plans off attending a medical school in her future. During her time at Roanoke College, Haley has become proficient in Excel data processing, NMR spectroscopy, and ultraviolet-visible spectroscopy. She has experience in gas chromatography and […]

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Repost: Roanoke Physics Program Earns National Recognition

June 15, 2022

A recent honor places Roanoke College’s physics program in the top 10 percent nationally and internationally. The Roanoke College chapter of the Society of Physics Students (SPS) has won an Outstanding Chapter Award from the SPS National Office. That designation is given to fewer than 10 percent of all SPS chapters at colleges and universities […]

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Summer Scholars Spotlight

June 10, 2022

Next up, we have Davis Tingle. Davis is a rising senior expecting to graduate with math and computer science degrees. As a summer scholar, he is working on optimizing drone delivery in rural and city landscapes. Outside of academics, Davis is a lead guide with Outdoor Adventures and is one of two R-house volunteer coordinators. […]

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Summer Scholars Spotlight

June 10, 2022

Happy Friday! We have two Summer Scholars to introduce today! First up, we have Lillian Pingle. Lillian is a junior from Waynesboro, Virginia, who is majoring in Sociology and minoring in Religious Studies. She is in the Honors Program, on HrnsPAG, and the president of RC Lutherans. She also has two jobs, one as a […]

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Summer Scholars Spotlight

June 8, 2022

As we begin to start a summer of research, it is time to introduce our Summer Scholars!  Jennie Costa is a double major in Art History and History. This summer, she is working with Dr. Leslie Warden on the project “Visiting an Ancient Egyptian Oasis: What Ceramic Artifacts from ‘Split Rock’ Can Reveal About Ancient […]

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Student Spotlight

September 29, 2021
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Research Highlight: Shannon Baker

June 10, 2021

I had the opportunity to interview Shannon Baker concerning her opportunity to have her distinction project on Confederate monuments be published in the Michigan Journal of History. Can you describe what your research project is about? My distinction project, Confederate Monuments in Context: Arlington National Cemetery and the Legacy of the Confederacy, analyzed the Confederate monument at […]

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Research Highlight: Abigail Packard

May 31, 2021

I had the opportunity to interview Abigail Packard concerning her time as a research fellow at Roanoke College. Can you describe what your research project is about? My independent project looks at Perceptions of Assessment: Comparing College Students & Faculty. We asked a series of questions about assessment type, including formative, summative, and standardized assessments, […]

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Research Highlight: David Casson

May 28, 2021

I had the opportunity to speak to David Casson concerning his research on structural stigma and substance abuse disorder with the aid of Dr. Schorpp. Can you describe what your research project is about?          My research project is about the effect of stigmatization, specifically in terms of a quantitative sociological analysis of structural stigma […]

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Research Highlight: Emily Winstead

May 7, 2021

I had the opportunity to speak to Emily Winstead concerning her research with Dr. Crozier on microbial source tracking using DNA sequencing. Can you describe what your research project is about? My research falls into the field of microbial source tracking – which are methods used to identify sources of fecal contamination in water sample. […]

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Research Highlight: Lauren Powell

April 26, 2021

I had the opportunity to speak with Lauren Powell concerning her research with Dr. Bucholz concerning the empathic differences between conservatives and liberals.  Can you describe what your research project is about? The most recent research Dr. Buchholz and I have presented was a study about the empathic differences between conservatives and liberals. Right now, […]

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Research Highlight: Andrew Droubay

April 20, 2021

I had the opportunity to speak with Andrew Droubay concerning his research on using virtual reality training to help the National Forest Service fight fires. The research led to his winning of first prize for student research at the Consortium for Computing Sciences in Colleges: Southeastern Regional Meeting for “Interactive Fire Spread Simulation”. Can you […]

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Research Highlight: Hannah Petty

April 12, 2021

I had the opportunity to speak with Hannah Petty concerning her research experience with Dr. Lassiter on examining the effects spironolactone has on the embryological development of zebrafish. Can you describe what your research project is about? For my research project, I look at the effects spironolactone has on the embryological development of zebrafish.  I […]

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Research Highlight: Stephanie Zemba

February 20, 2021

I had the opportunity to speak with Stephanie Zemba concerning her research experience with Dr. Hoffman and Dr. Mehrotra on examining interfaith dating relationships. Can you describe what your research project is about? Our research project examined interfaith dating relationships among college students, including students’ experiences, attitudes or views, expectations, and apprehensions. Drs. Kristi Hoffman […]

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Research Highlight: Ryan Denholm

February 4, 2021

I had the opportunity to speak with Ryan Denholm concerning his experience participating in an independent study with Dr. Bañuelos Montes which focused on actions committed by the Guatemalan military during the Cold War. Can you describe what your research project is about? My research project is about atrocities committed by the Guatemalan military during […]

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Research Highlight: Lauren Powell

November 9, 2020

I had the opportunity to speak with Lauren Powell concerning her experience presenting research she conducted with Dr. Bucholz at the Society for Personality and Social Psychology’s Annual Convention in New Orleans.  Can you describe what your research project is about? The most recent research Dr. Buchholz and I have conducted was a study about […]

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Research Highlight: Jamie Obremski

September 7, 2020

I had the opportunity to talk to recent RC grad Jamie Obremski about her research experience. She had the opportunity to present her research at the Southeast Decision Science Institute (February 2020). Why did you decide to do research? I am a part of the Honors Program here at RC and this research is a […]

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