Student research will be on display at Creative Inquiry poster forum

Published: April 6, 2010

CLEMSON — A Clemson University student team's design of homes to be heated or cooled affordably without heating or cooling equipment will be among the projects on display at the Creative Inquiry Poster Forum. 

More than 100 poster presentations of Creative Inquiry projects will be on display from 1 to 3 p.m. Monday, April 12, at the Hendrix Student Center.

Clemson's unique Creative Inquiry program gives undergraduates students the opportunity to work with faculty mentors on research projects that span disciplines and multiple semesters.

Architect Ulrike Heine is leading a student research team designing the "Zero Energy House" that can be heated and cooled in South Carolina's climate without air conditioning, a heat pump or furnace. Other teams are researching cyberbullying, dam destruction on Twelve Mile Creek and the reasons people might hide or display courage. All five colleges at Clemson will be represented at the poster forum.

“Creative Inquiry challenges students and faculty to seek solutions to real problems in our state and world,” said Barbara Speziale, associate dean of undergraduate studies and professor in biological sciences. "This event is a marvelous venue for displaying their accomplishments each year."

Other work to be presented includes:

• A student research team led by psychology professor Thomas Britt is studying why people might not seek psychological treatment.
• Students led by John Hains in biological sciences are studying the biology of an exotic snail that has invaded South Carolina's lakes.
• Roy Pargas in the School of Computing leads a team hoping to help students improve their time-management skills.
• A team led by bioengineering professors Jiro Nagatomi and Dan Simionescu is working to create living-tissue heart valves that will last longer than the artificial heart valves in use now.
• Students working with John Mittelstaedt in marketing are planning sustainability projects on campus, including an upcoming Earth Day event.
• Clementina Adams, in the languages department, is working with students on a three-year study of how Hispanic immigrants and native North American residents perceive each other.

For information on all of the Creative Inquiry projects at Clemson go to http://www.clemson.edu/ci.

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