Nursing student Heather Velon performed data entry for a Georgia State researcher, Sylvia Lee, dealing with the lack of sleep. And as Velon saw the data, it piqued her curiosity about a serious problem facing the modern world – and specifically, her fellow women college students.
“It was sort of shocking to me how poorly people are sleeping,” she said. “It just made me interested in it and it made me want to know more about it.”
She and her fellow student Chastity Turner garnered one of the top honors at the 2013 Georgia State Undergraduate Research Conference (GSURC) for their investigation into sleep disturbances among college women and physical symptoms from poor sleep, earning the first place award for their research poster.
“You are working at the frontiers of knowledge,” said Georgia State President Mark Becker. “You’re working in places where the answers are not all known. I hope that you will aim higher, perhaps higher than you thought possible when you got to Georgia State. And maybe even higher still than you realize now.”
Other winners included:
- Provost’s Award: Shelby Lohr, history
- 2nd place poster: G. Taylor Brooks, neuroscience
- 2nd place oral presentation: Erika Levy, history
- 3rd place poster: Maria Morales, economics
- 3rd place oral presentation: John Hull, mathematics
- Artistic Display: Sarah Justice, ceramics
- University Library Undergraduate Research Award : Alexandria Okeke, women’s studies
“Undergraduate research is one of the best ways for students to learn about the nature of disciplines and how they’re changing,” said Provost Risa Palm.