Koret Scholars Program

Lessons the United States Can Learn from the World in Combating White-Collar
Crime

College of Humanities, Social Sciences, and the Arts, Department of Criminology and Criminal Justice

Faculty Mentor: Bryan Burton
 

Koret Scholars: Aidan McMains, Ashley Talbot, Citlaly Reyes Farias, Hector Barrios, Melissa Felix, and Nayeli Nuno-Ledezma

Project Description:

This student research project is part of a larger book project entitled, Understanding the Myths and Realities of White-Collar Crime. Dr. Diana Grant and I are exploring several common myths about white-collar crime held by the public, such as the belief that these offenses are nonviolent. Edwin Sutherland coined the term “white-collar crime” in 1939 to describe illegal actions by business and professional class members during their occupational activities. White-collar crimes entail various costs - financial, physical, mental, and social - that often exceed those of street crimes. For instance, healthcare fraud, such as physicians billing for unprovided or unnecessary medical services, is more financially burdensome than all street crimes combined.

My undergraduate research assistants will be focusing on white-collar crime research, specifically collecting information for a chapter addressing the myth that nothing can be done about white-collar crime. In my white-collar crime course, students learn that such offenses are widespread and that almost everyone is a victim of white-collar crime in some way—whether it’s receiving less cereal than expected or taking harmful medications believed to be safe.

Effects of Caffeine Consumption on Metabolism, Skeletal Muscle Formation, and Cycling Performance 

College of Science, Technology, and Business - Department of Kinesiology 

Faculty Mentor: Bülent Sökmen

Koret Scholars: Sheriene Arikat, Libby Sarto, Justin Hou, Melissa Radlinsky, Shrena Desai, and Moez Savul

Project Description: 

Caffeine exerts widespread effects on the central nervous system (CNS) and on hormonal, metabolic, muscular, and cardiovascular functions during both rest and exercise. While it is well-established that caffeine ingestion enhances endurance performance in a single exercise bout, the underlying mechanisms remain unclear. Earlier studies attributed this improvement to glycogen sparing via increased fatty acid utilization, thereby reducing peripheral fatigue. More recent research suggests that caffeine’s enhancement of endurance performance may be due to its analgesic effects, which reduce pain perception and delay central fatigue. This study aims to investigate the effects of acute caffeine intake (3 mg⋅kg⁻¹) on multiple aspects of exercise performance in trained males and females. We will assess exercise economy through oxygen consumption, muscle fiber recruitment using electromyography (EMG), substrate utilization via blood lactate and glucose measurements, performance variables through isokinetic strength testing and cycling time trials, and pain perception during time trials following intermittent cycling. By examining these variables, we seek to elucidate the mechanisms through which caffeine enhances endurance performance.

Designing A User Guide and Website For An Artificial Intelligence Tool That Aims to Improve Resentencing and Prison Release Opportunities

College of Humanities, Social Sciences, and the Arts - Department of Criminology & Criminal Justice 

Faculty Mentor: Caitlin Henry

Koret Scholars: Jeff Huang, Nicholas Chaudoir, Shelby Anderson, Reeti Joshi, Vanessa Sanchez, and Gabriel Aviles

Project Description: 

This project involves using an AI to examine trends in the difference between eligibility and delivery of second chance relief.1 Scholars have described the “second chance gap,” as leaving people stuck in a “paperprison,” meaning that they remain incarcerated not because of a safety risk, but because of deficiencies in the administration of second chances.2 This tool will help stakeholders analyze approximately twenty variables that may correlate with trends in eligibility and delivery of resentencing. For example, a user can query whether any demographic, such as a racial or geographic group, faces disparate opportunities for second look resentencing. Correlations and visualizations revealed from this tool could show how cases could progress more equitably, efficiently, and economically. This project will build (1) a public interface and (2) user guide for a machine learning AI tool. Students will review agency records and identify what factors should be displayed on a website and how users with different use cases for the data will engage with individual case data and aggregate case trend data. Students will select categories of data for drop down menus, report generation, and natural language inquiries. Students will formulate parameters for the AI, organize and analyze sample queries, and refine queries. Students will write a user guide that explains variables users of the tool can interface with and write sample queries for the user guide. Students will begin “consumer” engagement, test-running use of the tool with target audiences that have different use cases, including public defenders, district attorneys, advocates, and others. Students will refine the tool, website, and user guide after testing. The team will track who is using the database to understand who is using the API and what questions they are asking the dataset, modify the responses, and be able to follow up with users.

Testing the Measurement Invariance of the Career Indecision Profile (CIP-65) in a Korean American Sample

College of Education, Counseling, and Ethnic Studies - Department of Counseling

Faculty Mentor: Cecile Bhang

Koret Scholars: Bianca Draffen, Jacqueline Machado, Alexandra Olivares, and Isabella Mejia Yepez

Project Description: 

The research project titled "Testing the Measurement Invariance of the Career Indecision Profile (CIP-65) in a Korean American Sample," investigates career indecision among Korean American immigrants by comparing their experiences with those of White Americans and South Koreans. This study challenges Eurocentric models in career psychology, adopting a social justice framework through decolonial psychology to address the unique cultural contexts of underrepresented groups. The primary goal of the project is to determine whether the fouror five-factor models of career indecision—developed primarily with White American samples—are applicable to Korean Americans, a bicultural population. By analyzing the similarities and differences in career indecision among Korean Americans, White Americans, and South Koreans, the research aims to contribute to a broader understanding of immigrant career development in bicultural contexts. Ultimately, the study seeks to assess whether the current models of career indecision require adjustments for Korean Americans, thereby filling a gap in the literature and offering culturally responsive insights. The project involves secondary analyses, as requested by a journal for the revision and resubmission of a manuscript. The focus is on conducting these secondary analyses with an expanded sample, revising the manuscript, and resubmitting it for publication. 

Students will acquire research experience in institutional review board (IRB) proposal writing, data collection, analysis, and manuscript preparation, equipping them for careers in academia and mental health. Two student teams will participate: one comparing Korean American and White American samples, and the other comparing Korean Americans and South Koreans. The research will foster new insights, support culturally grounded measures, and encourage students to integrate social justice principles into their psychological research, reinforcing the university's mission to advance diversity, inclusion, and equity.

Ethnical Diversity, Economic Situation, and Hate Crimes in the U.S.

College of Science, Technology, and Business - Department of Economics

Faculty Mentor: Chong-Uk Kim

Koret Scholars: Jessica Gomez Rodriguez, Dylan Vargas, Micah Reyes 

Project Description: 

According to data from the FBI, a double-digit spike in hate crimes in 2021 and a continued rise into 2022 in the U.S. Especially, anti-Asian hate crimes increased by 223.7% from 2020 to 2021. More importantly, more than 60% of the incidents were reported by women. These women were reported being verbally harassed, coughed and spat on, physically assaulted and refused entry onto urban transit trains. California, unfortunately, is not exception. In San Francisco, home to one of the largest Asian communities in the U.S., several Asian Americans were violently attacked last year. According to the FBI Crime in the Nation report, race and ethnicity account for more than half of all hate crimes last year and nothing changed in 2024. It is a troubling trend and many are calling for increased efforts to fight hate crimes and support affected communities.

As a team with the students, in this study, we will empirically test whether municipal ethnical diversity affects the occurrence of hate crimes in U.S. cities. Do more ethnically diversified cities have more hate crimes? Or less hate crimes? This question is very important and must be answered carefully because immigration, racial and ethnic equality, and public safety are most important current social issues in the U.S. Needless to say, equality and public safety are very important topics in economic literature. To study on this topic, it is necessary to consider the economic situation around societies. Socioeconomic variables such as personal income, unemployment rates, inflation, and educational attainment, cannot be ignored for their impact on hate crimes and are supported by various studies. We are a team of students majoring in Economics and Business Administration aiming to empirically analyze how effectively these socioeconomic variables work when encountering racial diversity in terms of hate crimes. In summary, through this research we seek to find answers to the following three questions:
 

1. What effect does ethnical diversity have on hate crimes?
2. How much influence do socioeconomic variables have on hate crimes?
3. Do socioeconomic variables operate differently according to ethnic?

Generosity and Social Morality

College of Humanities, Social Sciences, and the Arts - Department of Sociology

Faculty Mentor: Debora Paterniti

Koret Scholars: Carlie Hayton, Anahy Hernandez Valencia, Dominique Joseph, Jay Elliot Rogers, Claire Terizch, and Areli Villasenor Garcia

Project Description:

The goal of this project is to produce a book proposal with chapter summaries focused on the impact of everyday generous practices on identity and emotion. Of note, the bulk of work on generosity has been associated with altruism in psychology and anthropology, and uses experimental or community-based observational methods, which depend on researcher interpretations of behaviors and events. Further, there is a dearth of literature in the discipline of sociology that examines the micro-politics of generous practices and their significance to identities and emotions in interactional exchanges. In their studies of generosity, sociologists have focused principally on charitable giving practices of persons (volunteering, economic donations, blood/organ donation) and institutions, relying primarily on survey data or macro-scale research strategies to understand these practices. I have been invited by Palgrave-MacMillan Publishers to put together a book proposal based on based on two-and-one-half years of research involving qualitative interviews with individuals on their experiences of everyday generosity. Further understanding individual experiences with and interpretation of generous practices will enrich the field of social psychology and start to bring to fruition a research project, which I have built overtime with the participation of Sonoma State student involvement.

Applied biology for management of giraffes, monkeys, and herpetofauna

College of Science, Technology, and Business - Department of Biology

Faculty Mentor: Derek Girman

Koret Scholars: Kaitlin Nicaragua, Sanaya Roberts, and Jenna Spain

Project Description: 

This team of undergraduates will participate in three distinct studies, each related to the evaluation and management of wildlife.

This project will focus on determining the limb structures that are affected when tissue inflammation is detected using thermal imaging analysis of limbs in captive giraffes. The student will use a developing understanding of the detailed morphology of artiodactyls to identify the specific tissues that are expressing inflammation in thermal images of giraffes and to identify the likely causes of inflammation in different cases (e.g. arthritis, contusion, tendinitis, growth plate activity).

This study will examine stress responses in captive De brazza’s monkeys in response to human encounter rate. In this case, stress response will be measured by examination of cortisol (stress hormone) levels and compared to employment of stereotypic behaviors observed in primates in captive facilities as well as visitation rates at this primate enclosure.

This project builds upon prior work conducted by SSU graduate and undergraduate students to evaluate the longer-term effects of wildfires on amphibian and reptile species (herpetofauna). By collecting herpetofauna observation data this season (2024-2025), seven years after initial wildfire impacts, the student will be able to compare captures rates for different species and in different habitats to pre-fire levels as well as to immediate post-fire levels to examine aspects of longer-term fire impacts and population recovery.

Community-Oriented Policing: An Assessment of How Things are Going in Sonoma County

College of Humanities, Social Sciences, and the Arts - Department of Criminology & Criminal Justice

Faculty Mentor: Emily Asencio

Koret Scholars: Diego Robledo, Cydnee Hogland, Alejandro Ramirez, and Elena O'Kane 

Project Description: 

The objective of the proposed work under the Koret Scholars Program is to collaborate with the Independent Organization for Law Enforcement Review and Outreach (IOLERO) in Sonoma County on a Community Policing research project in Sonoma County. Specifically, the research team will focus on defining community-oriented policing according to the practices of the Sonoma County Sheriff’s Department. We will collect data from the Sheriff’s office directly about their policies, practices, and attitudes related to community policing. We will also collect data from the community about perceptions of community-oriented policing practices. We will examine the data to determine whether the perceptions of the Sheriff’s office about community policing practices correspond with the perceptions of the community about the Sheriff’s community policing practices.

VoltLog: A Low-Cost Solution for Precise Battery Monitoring in Biomedical Devices

College of Science, Technology, and Business - Department of Engineering 

Faculty Mentor: Farid Farahmand

Koret Scholar: Andres Duenas, Samuel Guzman, Emanuel Barajas, and Antonio Kassis

Project Description: 

The objective of this project is to design and develop VoltLog, a low-cost, easy-to-use programmable device for precise monitoring and recording of battery voltage at user-defined intervals. VoltLog will serve as an essential tool for verifying battery performance in wearable biomedical devices, which are crucial for continuous health monitoring. By improving battery efficiency assessments, VoltLog will help optimize power management, reliability, and longevity of these devices.
 

Specifically, the project aims to:
1. Develop a high-precision, low-voltage monitoring and logging system that can be used during regular operation, as well as during battery charging and discharging cycles.
2. Create an accessible solution for researchers in academia and industry, addressing the limitations of current expensive and complex battery testing systems.
3. Provide a valuable educational experience for the student team, fostering innovation and technical skills.
 

Through the Koret Scholars Program, we aim to immerse a diverse team of engineering and computer science students in a practical, real-world project. The engineering and computer science students will
collaborate closely with stakeholders to define both the marketing and engineering requirements of their design, ensuring it meets real-world needs. Additionally, this project provides students with the opportunity to develop a versatile, low-cost battery monitoring solution that could be marketed to hobbyists and researchers alike, broadening its potential impact beyond biomedical applications.

Media Coverage of the Economy, Voters' Perceptions, and the US States Gubernatorial Elections

College of Science, Technology, and Business - Department of Economics 

Faculty Mentor: Florence Bouvet

Koret Scholars: Daniel Hernandez Ferman and Domenic Enzo Motto

Project Description: 

This new research project aims to investigate the impact of media coverage bias on economic perceptions and subsequent voting behavior using state-level data from the United States. Recent findings highlight a significant disparity between economic realities and public sentiment. A Harris poll conducted for The Guardian in May 2024 revealed that 56% of American respondents believed the US economy was in recession, while 49% thought unemployment rates were at a 50-year high. These perceptions starkly contrast with actual economic indicators, particularly regarding unemployment figures and inflation. The study seeks to quantify the extent to which biased media reporting shapes public opinion on economic matters, potentially influencing electoral outcomes. By analyzing state-specific data, the research aims to uncover regional variations in media bias and its effects on local economic perceptions. This approach may provide insights into how media-driven economic narratives differ across the country and their potential impact on voting patterns in different states.

Exploring Consumer Trust and Attitudes Toward AI in Wine Service Environments

College of Science, Technology, and Business - Department of Business: Marketing & Wine Business

Faculty Mentor: InHaeng Jung

Koret Scholars: Georgia Van Houten, Katherine Yokomizo, Brooke Garcia, Abrea Tillman, Sabrina Carney, and Tavis Brown

Project Description: 

The goal of this project is to comprehensively explore the impact of AI on consumer interactions in the wine industry, particularly focusing on:
1. Evaluating the effectiveness of informational elements in AI-generated wine recommendations.
2. Comparing consumer trust in AI advice versus traditional sommelier suggestions.
3. Assessing the influence of AI’s form (humanoid vs. non-humanoid) on trust levels.
4. Examining the impact of diverse ethnic representations within AI interfaces on consumer trust.
Our research will involve an innovative online choice experiment. This experiment will juxtapose scenarios where wine recommendations are provided by AI against those suggested by traditional sommeliers. This methodological approach will allow us to gauge the nuanced effects of AI’s presentation and information on consumer decision-making. This study aims to bridge the informational gaps that often overwhelm consumers when selecting wines, as detailed by Lockshin et al. (1997) and Mitchell & Greatorex (1989). By tailoring AI recommendations based on tracked consumer preferences, past experiences, and
specific wine traits, we expect to mitigate the common apprehensions associated with wine selection (Demartini et al., 2019). The research will also illuminate how different forms of AI and the representation of diversity within these systems affect consumer trust and acceptance.

Indigenous Curanderas/Healers and Ecosystems in Mexico and California

College of Humanities, Social Sciences, and the Arts - Department of History

Faculty Mentor: James Mestaz

Koret Scholars: Edgar Munoz Corona, William Gabbert, and Rosemary Marshall

Project Description:

The objective of this project is to explain the adaptation strategies of indigenous curanderas/healers in both Mexico and California as their natural landscapes changed from the 1990s to present. The project will accomplish three goals. 1) Uncovering the contributions of indigenous healers in the proliferation of natural remedies. How and why did indigenous healers invoke their ancestral knowledge to assist others, and why are these practices essential to the well-being of indigenous communities of Mexico and Latinx/Native communities of California? 2) By mapping changes to the ecosystems that healers depend on to gather plants for natural remedies, this project will produce and spread knowledge to the public that will lead to productive practices that consider the conservation of indigenous healing knowledge. 3) By using primary sources like oral interviews, archives, and movies/newspapers, as well as GIS mapping, two history and two GEP majors will teach their colleagues about their research techniques. Refining and mastering these research strategies will allow students to understand the methodologies within their own fields while delving into cross-disciplinary methods.

Building Human and Robot Teams for Ethical Decision Making in Elder Care Scenarios

College of Humanities, Social Sciences, and the Arts - Department of Philosophy 

Faculty Mentor: John Sullins lll

Koret Scholars: Krittana Phumjam, Leah Hall, Reimar Tria, and Jakob Gardner

Project Description:

Building Human and Robot Teams for Ethical Decision Making in Elder Care Scenarios I have been collaborating with faculty, graduate students, and their undergraduate student team at the University of Palermo for four years now. We have been exploring how to make humans who are interacting with robots on a common project as a team to make more ethical decisions when faced with problems in the care of patients with dementia. The objective of this project is to work with technologies that are available in the SSU maker Space and or robotics resources held by the CS department educational robotics lending lab and apply them to the task of exploring the problems outlined in my research on the use of social robotics in the care of patients suffering from dementia. We will use a questionnaire method that I developed to measure the moral growth of the discussions made to see if they are better serving of the dementia patient or still self-serving of the participant.

The Perinatal Inequality Project

College of Humanities, Social Sciences, and the Arts - Department of Sociology

Faculty Mentor: Kyla Doughty

Koret Scholars: Alexsandra Chavez Martinez, Dennis Leon Aguilera, Sarah Hattie Lewis, Arianna Riddle, and Carmen Salgado

Project Description: 

I have a long-standing interest in how beauty operates as a mechanism to reproduce racial, gender, and class inequality. The Perinatal Inequality Project raises questions about how beauty appraisals shape subjective experiences of pregnancy, childbirth, and post-natal transitions in California. This IRB-approved project’s central research questions are: (1) How do people who have given birth engage in beauty appraisals of their pregnant, birthing, and postnatal selves? (2) How do accounts from people who have given birth highlight the power dynamics of relationships between patients and health care providers?, and (3) How do these accounts vary by race, gender, class, and age?

The Impact of Artificial Intelligence (AI) on Small Winery Operations in California: Unveiling a Moderating Role of a Winery Cluster between Napa and Sonoma

College of Science, Technology, and Business - Department of Business: Marketing & Wine Business

Faculty Mentor: Kyuho Lee

Koret Scholars: Diego Gutierrez, Dayana Sanchez-Ortiz, Edith Martinez, Lupita Esquivel Torres, and Jonathan Duran Del Villar

Project Descriptions:

This study focuses the adaptation of AI technology adaptation by small winery operators who produces fewer than 10,000 cases per year. Small wineries rely on winery-based direct to consumer sales to winery visitors and wine club members. The direct-to-consumer sales business model for small winery operations is similar to the business model of the service industry where the value of the business occurs through the service offered at the service establishment (Lee et al., 2024).

In spite of the growing interest in AI, very little research has been conducted to understand on how small winery operators can adopt AI for their winery operations and explore the challenging issues they have faced in using AI. This study will also examine whether a winery cluster affects the adaptation of AI among small winery operators by comparing small wineries located in a Napa Valley winery cluster with small wineries in a Sonoma County winery cluster. Specifically, this research is designed to answer four issues:
1. Identify the perceptions of and barriers to AI adaptation among small winery operators
2. Investigate the factors that determine AI adaptation among small winery operators
3. Examine the emerging AI technologies that small winery operators can integrate into their operations
4. Examine the impacts of a winery cluster in adopting AI among small winery operators

Chromosomal Organization in Renal Cell Carcinoma

College of Science, Technology, and Business - Department of Biology

Faculty Mentor: Lisa Hua 

Koret Scholars: Kieran Chiddix, Faviola Sanchez, Omoefe Odiase, Sarah Sanchez Hurtado, Patrick Swallow, and Amada Castro Vega

Project Description: 

The study aims to investigate the conservation of mitotic anti-pairing for chromosome 19 in the primary clear cell renal cell carcinoma (ccRCC) cell line, UM-RC2. Previous research5, 6 indicated that loss of this antipairing was observed in the metastatic Caki-1 cell line, where homologous chromosome 19 were abnormally positioned/paired, potentially linked to overexpression of a gene EGLN25 that is important in oxygen regulation in cells. To explore this further, my students and I plan to analyze the position of chromosome 19 in a primary renal cancer cell line, UM-RC2, which typically has 58 chromosomes. This analysis could clarify whether the abnormal pairing interaction of chromosome 19 is specific to metastatic ccRCC or if it is also present in a primary ccRCC cancer cell line.

The Caki-1 cell line, associated with secondary or metastatic renal carcinoma, has shown a loss of spatial segregation for chromosome 194. If the UM-RC2 cell line exhibits similar abnormal pairing of chromosome 19, it would indicate that this characteristic is also present in a primary clear cell renal carcinoma (ccRCC) cell line. Conversely, if UM-RC2 maintains spatial separation and does not exhibit antipairing for chromosome 19, this could imply that the abnormal pairing is exclusive to the metastatic Caki-1 cell line. These findings suggest a relationship between the spatial organization of chromosome 19 and the metastatic behavior of both primary and secondary ccRCC.

City of Gods and Goddesses

College of Education, Counseling, and Ethnic Studies - Department of Chicano & Latino Studies 

Faculty Mentor: Malinalli Lopez

Koret Scholars: Max Millan, Kristen

Project Description:

The objective of this project is to conduct initial research for a YouTube documentary series of 5 episodes titled Gods and Goddesses, which is part of a larger exploration of Indigenous Futurisms. The research will prepare for interviews with five Indigenous human subjects from various regions who embody unique perspectives on the following themes:
• Urban Planning: Highlighting how Indigenous communities are reshaping cities and spaces with urban planning philosophies rooted in traditional knowledge, ecological balance, and sovereignty.
• Indigenous Cosmologies and the Art of Balance: In this episode we will look at the tradition of Día de Los Muertos and how it celebrates life and death as an act of balance.
• Spirituality and Ceremonies: Central to Indigenous thought is being connected to the heavens, land and water. Different tribal members discuss their connection to Gods and Goddesses and what it means for Indigenous futurisms.
• Indigenous Relationships with Land and Water: Tribal leaders, advocates and community organizers will discuss how Indigenous people are rehabilitating waterways and landscapes using sustainable practices.
• Indigenous Futurisms—Reimagining a Thriving Indigenous Future: Indigenous artists and leaders will talk about what it means to be Indigenous today and their complex relationship to colonialism and building the future.
Through these interviews, the documentary series aims to showcase Indigenous peoples’ relationships to culture, spirituality, and visions for the future, challenging common narratives that have framed them as relics of the past. By highlighting Indigenous contributions to contemporary society and futurisms, the series will counteract harmful stereotypes in mainstream media, encouraging a broader understanding of Indigenous resilience and adaptation in media and cultural studies. The Koret Scholars Award will allow our research group led by faculty mentor Malinalli López in the initial stage of research, where we will
identify and connect with key Indigenous thought leaders, artists, and community members. The award will enable our group to develop research questions, refine themes, and prepare for the in-depth interviews that will ultimately form the foundation of the documentary series.

Fractionation and optimization of fluorescent assay to study Opuntia ficus-indica in myoblast cells

College of Science, Technology, and Business - Department of Chemistry

Faculty Mentor: Monica Lares

Koret Scholars: Kevin Witt, Kamsiyochukwu Onwuazombe, Linda Thierry, and Lauren Toledo

Project Description:

The primary aim of our research lab is to substantiate ancestral knowledge regarding the blood glucose-regulating properties of nopales (prickly pear, Opuntia ficus-indica), focusing on both individuals with and without diabetes. This specific project proposal seeks to advance our research through three key objectives:
1. Obtain and Maintain a New Cell Line: We will establish a myoblast cell line (C2C12) that possesses properties more suitable for our experiments compared to our previous cell line (RPE-1).
2. Fractionate the Opuntia ficus-indica: We aim to separate the plant into its water-soluble and water-insoluble components to identify which fractions contribute to its hypoglycemic effects.
3. Optimize Our Fluorescent Assay: We will refine our assay to study glucose uptake via the GLUT4 transporter in the C2C12 cell line.
By achieving these objectives, we anticipate a deeper biochemical understanding of how nopales regulate blood glucose levels, contributing valuable insights to the field of metabolic research.

Development of the Luna Robot, Payload, and Autonomous Control System for NASA's 2025 Competition

College of Science, Technology, and Business - Department of Engineering

Faculty Mentor: Nansong Wu

Koret Scholars: Alexander Pagaduan, Juan Jimenez, Andres Briseno Camacho, Logan Puntous, and Max Edwards

Project Description:

The Lunabotics competition, hosted by NASA, is a prestigious national event where university teams design, build, and test lunar excavation robots following NASA's System Engineering methodology. The competition supports NASA's Artemis missions and challenges students to design robots capable of performing tasks on a simulated lunar surface. In 2022, I mentored Sonoma State University’s first-ever team, which qualified as a finalist and ranked 28th. In Fall 2023 and Spring 2024, I led a student team consist of both electrical engineering and computer science students, and began preparations in summer 2023, excelling in the challenge by earning a perfect score of 10/10 on our Project Management Plans. Over 10 months, we completed key milestones, submitting reports to NASA, including a Systems Engineering Paper, Proof of Life Video, and an Oral Presentation. After extensive effort, we qualified for the national onsite challenge from May 10–17 in Florida, ranking 17th in the onsite construction competition, and 1st of California teams. Lunabotics equips students with practical experience in NASA’s Systems Engineering, enhancing critical skills like communication, collaboration, and problem-solving. These skills are applicable not only to future space missions but also to other high-tech industries, fostering a workforce ready for a space-based economy.

The effect of intergenerational exercise program on physical and mental health in young and older adults

College of Science, Technology, and Business - Department of Kinesiology

Faculty Member: Poram Choi

Koret Scholars: Madison Souza, Addyson Renard, Emma Hall, Madelynne Silva, Andre Sponseller, and Diana Ramirez

Project Description: 

This study seeks to examine the effects of an intergenerational exercise program on both the physical and mental health of participants over a 6 or 8 week period. We will implement the "Walking Buddy Program," which pairs older adults with young adults for regular walking sessions. Our central hypotheses are that participation in the Walking Buddy Program will: (1) reduce levels of depression and anxiety, (2) enhance social skills and increase social support, (3) lower fall risk factors among older adults, (4) improve physical fitness, and (5) reduce ageism among young adults. With funding from the Koret Scholars Program, we will be able to offer incentives and prizes to encourage participant recruitment and sustained engagement throughout the program.

Let Them Eat Credit: How Bank Credit and Inequality Influences Voting Behavior 

College of Science, Technology, and Business - Department of Economics

Faculty Mentor: Puspa Amri

Koret Scholars: Nathan Callahan, Lauren Garcia, Diego Martinez Zaragoza, Xavier Swanson, and Christopher Cole

Project Description:

The project aims to investigate the relationship between bank credit and the vote share of incumbent parties in national legislative elections. It also seeks to provide undergraduate students at SSU with hands-on interdisciplinary research experience in economics, finance, and political science, guiding them in generating publication-quality research. Together with the students, we will analyze secondary data from about 30 countries over a 30-year period starting in 1990, to test whether variations in bank credit together with credit policies impact the vote share of incumbent parties. We also conduct media analysis on this topic for selected countries, to get a deeper sense of when and how exactly do politicians engage in credit policies to appeal to their constituents. The initial focus is OECD economies, with more developed policy instruments to stimulate consumer credit, compared to developing countries.

Plasticola

College of Humanities, Social Sciences, and the Arts - Department of Art, Computer Science, and Engineering 

Faculty Mentor: Sena Clara Creston

Koret Scholars: Eduardo Camacho, Angela Hauser, Bjorn Lavik, and Miles Broadwell

Project Description:

The Koret Scholars Award will allow for the completion of Plastiola. Plasticola is a glowing interactive sculpture made from an enterable welded steel throne-like wave sculpture donned with a covering of discarded plastic shopping bags that float delicately in the breeze, as it illuminates a green-blue color. When people approach Plasticola, the colors change from green to blue to violet to red as more people are detected, or get closer to the sculpture. With engineering, and art students, I will build a circuit that allows Plasticola to change its colors based on human presence. The circuit will use sensors to “see” when a viewer enters the space, use that change its the color of its glow from green to red. Plasticola will use sensors to track the viewer’s relative position, glowing in specific areas. To make Plasticola transportable for exhibition, the sculpture will be modularly welded, and the circuit will be finalized as a printed, soldered circuit board, with a 3D printed circuit box that includes the power supply, ventilation and detachable connections. To transport Plasticola, lights and the sculpture and circuit will modularly connect four distinct pieces; front, left, right, and back. Upon completion of its circuit, Plasticola will be ready to exhibit
with other components of the interactive installation Plastescape.

Social Networks of Immigrants in the Bay Area

College of Humanities, Social Sciences, and the Arts - Department of Sociology

Faculty Mentor: Soo Yeon Yoon 

Koret Scholars: Ashley Symes, Patcharida Srisawat, Lisset Miranda Roland, Tyler Hayashida, and Bianca Draffen 

Project Description: 

The objective of this project is to explore social relationships among immigrants in the San Francisco Bay Area with a focus on the role of social media platforms in shaping and expanding social networks. The San Francisco Bay Area has a large immigrant population, with foreignborn residents making up a significant portion of the population. Approximately 34% of the population in San Francisco, 36% in San Mateo, and 34% in Alameda counties are foreign-born. Across the nine-county Bay Area, the majority of immigrant population identifies as East, Southeast, or South Asian. Moreover, there is a large presence of Central and South Americans in the region.

This project encompasses several interrelated research questions. 1) what is life like for relatively newer immigrants in the Bay Areas?; 2) Do immigrants seek out others with similar ethnic backgrounds, or do they socialize with neighbors regardless of ethnicity?; 3) do immigrants prefer to keep friendships only within their own sub-ethnic group?; and lastly 4) where do immigrants feel a sense belonging and community, and how do they search for it?

A New Framework for Understanding Beliefs of Control: A Study of Latinx Couples

College of Humanities, Social Sciences, and the Arts - Department of Psychology

Faculty Mentor: Teresa Nguyen 

Koret Scholars: Mariela Gonzalez Hernandez, Elyse Phillips, Karla Perez Leon, Taurus Sims, Gabriel Tsuruta, and Emily O'Reilly

Project Description: 

As Principal Investigator of the Sonoma Marriage Lab, I lead a team of undergraduates studying marginalized couples, with a current focus on Latinx couples facing social and economic disadvantages. Our lab explores the challenges and protective factors unique to Latinx families. Existing theory claims that better marital outcomes are experienced by couples who believe their fate is determined by their own actions (internal locus of control) as opposed to outside forces (an external locus of control). However, this research largely overlooks cultural context, focusing mainly on White, middle-class couples. Although a lack of agency should be maladaptive when couples have the resources needed to take action, Latinx individuals often face stressors like systemic racism that are beyond their control. In the face of uncontrollable sources of adversity, it may in fact be maladaptive for spouses to believe that their worse outcomes (e.g., being denied pay raises) are a direct result of their actions. Expected Outcome: Latinx couples will be interviewed by phone about their control beliefs, relationship quality, depression symptoms, and religious involvement. I will empirically test the distinctions between locus of control, depressive helplessness, and religiosity, assessing whether these constructs overlap or remain distinct. Using multilevel modeling, I will next examine the impact of racial discrimination on relationship quality and test whether (a) an external locus of control or (b) religious beliefs in a benevolent God buffer against discrimination-related stress. My students and I will prepare the findings for dissemination.

Optimizing a golf putt skill learning in both young adults with and without intellectual disabilities

College of Science, Technology, and Business - Department of Kinesiology

Faculty Mentor: Yonjoong Ryuh

Koret Scholars: Kyalin Payne, Danielle Bengs, Jillian Gonzalez, Maxwell Sandwina, Sabrina Gardner, and Gabriela Felix Domeni De Goes

Project Description: 

Although errorless practice has few limitations in application, applying external focus cues in individuals with ID presents a clear challenge. It is difficult to sustain their attention on an external locus for a prolonged period. Moreover, due to their limited cognitive abilities, we cannot always verify their focus, even when they claim to have been concentrating on the given cue. Thus, this study aims to develop a golf putting practice method that combines an errorless approach with an external focus of attention for both young adults with and without intellectual disabilities (ID). We will compare motor learning outcomes between these two distinct groups. To our knowledge, this is the first study of its kind, and it holds promise for enhancing motor skill acquisition in individuals with ID, ultimately increasing their participation in physical activity that often, if not always, reflects their physical fitness and health. We are excited to contribute a new building block to this field of research.

Optimal Drop Height for Maximum Performance in Drop Jumps: Impact on Leg and Joint Stiffness

College of Science, Technology, and Business - Department of Kinesiology

Faculty Mentor: Young Min Chun

Koret Scholars: Hailey Babcock, Christopher Hernandez, Rachel Nykamp, and Jade Winter-Hare

Project Description: 

Drop jumps are a powerful plyometric exercise designed to enhance force production through the stretch-shortening cycle (SSC), a key mechanism in enhancing jump performance. This exercise involves stepping off a box and immediately performing a vertical jump, allowing athletes to harness the elastic energy stored in their muscles and tendons. To maximize jump performance, individuals must absorb the
ground reaction forces (GRF) when landing and quickly convert that energy into upward propulsion through a rapid transition from eccentric (lengthening) to concentric (shortening) muscle contractions. However, due to differences in training experience and individual capacity to generate force, both eccentrically and concentrically, it is important to identify the optimal box height that maximizes performance without subjecting the body to excessive GRF. The main goal of this research project is to determine the optimal drop height for achieving maximal jump performance. Since the ideal drop height varies from person to person, this study aims to explore the relationship between each individual's optimal drop height and their unique body measurements. Additionally, a secondary objective is to examine how leg stiffness changes as drop heights increase. This will provide valuable insights into how the body responds to excessively high GRF levels that no longer contribute to improved jump performance.

The Price of Desire: An Analysis of the Porn Industry’s Evolution 

School of Arts & Humanities, Department of Communication and Media Studies

Faculty Mentor: Emily Acosta Lewis
 

Koret Scholars: Kimiko Leight-Strachan, Lena Coonen, Jenna Beament, and Liza Schoen

Project Description:

Lena, Liza, Jenna, and Kiki will be examining how the porn industry has evolved over the past 75 years regarding the treatment of talent, safe sex practices, and the way porn affects how people view sex. Through their research, they hope to educate the general public about the impact that pornography can have on an individual as well as bring light to the positive changes that have been made in the industry in terms of portrayals. 
Pornography has a reputation for the fetishization of queer people. Fetishization of queer individuals can occur when their sexual orientation or gender identity is exaggerated, stereotyped, or exploited for the purpose of catering to specific fetishes or fantasies. This can lead to harmful consequences, like reinforcing harmful stereotypes, the objectification of individuals; it can also contribute to discrimination and prejudice against those in the queer community. In order to understand how pornography fetishizes queer people, they must analyze it. This can be done through the consideration of power dynamics within the industry, understanding how queer people are portrayed in porn, and how queer people would prefer to be portrayed. The team can also compare queer individuals to their heterosexual counterparts to see if there is a difference between the two.
 Koret will give us all the structure and monetary incentive to allow everyone to participate in one of the most impactful high-impact practices (in my opinion). I have seen what how transformative this experience can be for students who participate in Koret in the past and how this cultivates curiosity in a different way and can spark an interest in research or graduate school as a future path. 
The reason that I am applying as a faculty mentor for Koret this year is because of Kiki. She approached me this past spring about Koret and said she was so excited to do undergraduate research and that she wanted to work with me-so when the announcement came up this fall, we teamed up and recruited the other student researchers. This research team is phenomenal and I cannot wait to see how they explore and grow over the next semester and a half.

Law Enforcement Techniques: What Community-Oriented Policing Means in Sonoma County

School of Social Sciences, Department of Criminology & Criminal Justice Studies

Faculty Mentor: Emily Asencio
 

Koret Scholars: Kristen Le, Andrea Castillo, Nehemias Gramajo Signor, and Elena O'Kane

Project Description:

Prior research suggests community-oriented policing is an effective way to prevent crime and diffuse escalating tension between law enforcement and the community. Community-oriented policing is an approach to policing that involves a proactive style of interacting with the community as opposed to a reactive style. Community-oriented policing entails training and socialization of both officers and community members to engage with one another to generate and maintain positive relationships that foster community development. Events such as “Coffee with a Cop,” where law enforcement officers gather with community members for informal talks over coffee are an example of a community policing approach. Other kinds of
community-oriented policing activities include things like “Camp Chance,” which is a summer camp for at-risk youth in which Marin County Sheriff’s Deputies stay with the campers for a week and engage in informal activities such as hiking, swimming, and playing basketball. Community policing can also involve assigning the same patrol officers to particular neighborhoods where they engage in foot, or bicycle patrol regularly, giving them a chance to get to know the community members through consistent interaction. Any opportunity for positive interaction between law enforcement officers and community members can be viewed as a community policing oriented activity. The goal of community-oriented policing is to engage both law enforcement and community members in a joint process of building and maintaining a healthy community through trust and mutual respect. Despite this general understanding of the concept of community-oriented policing, the literature lacks a specific explanation of how community-oriented policing is defined both by law enforcement officers and community members.
The objective of the proposed work under the Koret Scholars Program is to collaborate with the Independent Organization for Law Enforcement Review and Outreach (IOLERO) in Sonoma County on a Community Policing research project in Sonoma County. Specifically, the research team will focus on defining community-oriented policing according to the practices of the Sonoma County Sheriff’s Department. We will collect data from the Sheriff’s office directly about their policies, practices, and attitudes related to community policing. We will also collect data from the community about perceptions of community-oriented policing practices. We will examine the data to determine whether the perceptions of the Sheriff’s office about community policing practices correspond with the perceptions of the community about the Sheriff’s community policing practices.
Once complete, the results of our research will be shared with Sonoma County Sheriff’s as well as the community, and general public. Our work will also be presented at national and international conferences as appropriate, and we will submit a journal article for publication in the appropriate social science scholarly journal.

Using 3D Terrestrial Laser Scanning Data to Estimate Forest Structure 

School of Science & Technology, Department of Biology

Faculty Mentor: Lisa Bentley
 

Koret Scholars: Emilio Orozco, Anthony Flores, Shelby Anderson, and Francisco Elias

Project Description:

This research will use data collected from remote sensing (terrestrial LiDAR) to estimate crucial fuels parameters to help validate or refine fuel treatment tools and fire behavior models across diverse California forests. Currently, there is pressure on landowners and land managers to increase forest resilience via management and determine how their management strategies will respond to future disturbance. Unfortunately, data to determine the effectiveness of thinning treatments in mixed hardwood forests are limited. The outcomes of this research project will include processed data that will be used as inputs to a fire model to evaluate commonly accepted fuel management strategies.

Practicing Decolonial and Liberation Psychologies: Its Application to Korean Liberation Psychology

School of Education, Department of Counseling

Faculty Mentor: Cecile Bhang
 

Koret Scholars: Marisol Berta, Natalie Madrid, Taurus Sims, and Lovie Romes

Project Description:

The Koret Scholars Award holds the potential to provide essential support for my students, enabling them to delve into scholarly work within the realms of counseling and psychology, with a specific focus on diversity and social justice issues concerning persons of color in the field. The envisioned project, titled "Practicing Decolonial and Liberation Psychologies: Its Application in Korean Liberation Psychology," addresses a critical gap in existing literature. 
Currently, a burgeoning community of practitioners and researchers is actively disengaging from white centrality and Euroamerican systems of thought. Instead, they draw inspiration from the wisdom of their blood, spirit, and land ancestors, incorporating their lived experiences of surviving and transcending colonization. While much of the existing scholarship has concentrated on decolonizing psychological research, methods, and theories, there is a notable dearth in attention to psychological practice and applied work within communities. 
This project seeks to rectify this imbalance by acknowledging and disseminating the work of colleagues consistently employing decolonized and liberatory approaches to mental health. By highlighting community-based, culturally embedded, and liberatory healing strategies, we aim to address the needs and self-determination of those most impacted globally. Specifically, the project aims to reclaim Korean ancestral values related to rest, challenging Euroamerican-centered work ethics in favor of Korean rest ethics that emphasize wholeness and interconnectedness. 
South Korea's history of rapid economic development and cultural losses, influenced by capitalism, White supremacy, and Western saviorism, has resulted in a culture of overwork and competition that marginalized traditional Korean wisdom and practices of rest. To address the psychological impacts of this culture, the project proposes alternative ways of being through discussions on Korean virtues and indigenous practices of rest, historical analyses of rest and work culture in contemporary Korean society, and implications of healing practices. Grounded in ancestral, experiential, and practical knowledge, as well as multicultural, liberatory, and critical paradigms, our work focuses particularly on the perspectives, experiences, and frameworks for healing and psychological practices of traditionally overlooked marginalized populations in the field of psychology. With the support of the Koret Scholars Award, I aim to involve students in scholarly projects that explore this understudied topic, contributing to the University's mission and commitment to practicing diversity, inclusion, and social justice. 

Exploring Disability and Restoring Social Memory in Early 20th Century California: A Community-Based Research Project at the Sonoma Developmental Center Cemetery 

School of Social Sciences, Department of Anthropology

Faculty Mentor: Alexis Boutin 
 

Koret Scholars: Serena Chan, Tristan Niles, Ursula Senghas-Pole, and Fernando Pimentel

Project Description:

This community-based project, which is co-directed by me and Dr. Benjamin Smith (Human Development), takes as its subject the cemetery at the Sonoma Developmental Center (SDC). Located in Glen Ellen, California, the SDC opened in 1891, eventually serving thousands of residents who would today be described as developmentally disabled, mentally ill, or deviating from social norms. Between 1892 and 1960, its cemetery received the remains of ca. 1913 residents – after which its use ceased and gravemarkers were removed. The SDC closed in 2018, and the core of its 945 acre campus is now slated for redevelopment. While there are no plans to redevelop the cemetery, impending changes to the surrounding area and the concerns of community members have led us to lend our expertise to help document and preserve the cemetery, and to better understand the lives of its residents and restore them to social memory. 

Understanding Myths and Realities about White-Collar Crime: The Myth that Regulatory Agencies Protect the Public from All Serious White-Collar Crimes 

School of Social Sciences, Department of Criminology & Criminal Justice Studies

Faculty Mentor: Bryan Burton
 

Koret Scholars: Vanessa Sanchez, Fiona Orshan, Dominga Gomez, and Ashley Marie Escobar-Macias

Project Description:

This student research project is part of a larger book project entitled, Understanding the Myths and Realities of White-Collar Crime. My coauthor, Dr. Diana Grant, and I are looking at several myths surrounding white-collar crime, such as these offenses are nonviolent. Edwin Sutherland, in his 1939 keynote address at the American Sociological Association, coined the term ‘white-collar crime’ to describe lawbreaking committed by members of the business and professional classes in the course of their occupational activities. White-collar crimes have a number of costs: financial, physical, mental, and social, and often they have more than one of these. For example, healthcare fraud (such as physicians billing for services never provided) alone is more financially costly than all the street crimes combined.
My undergraduate research assistants will be learning about and focusing on white-collar crime research. They will be working on collecting information for a chapter looking at the myth that there is nothing we can do about white-collar crime. Students learn in my white-collar crime course that such offenses are everywhere. They also learn everyone is almost certainly a victim of white-collar crime in some way - even if it is just getting a half-ounce less of cereal than you thought you were getting when you bought the box to taking harmful and deadly medications thought to be safe.

The Feasibility of Fall Prevention Exercise Programs Integrated into Activities of Daily Living (ADLs) for Older Adults

School of Science & Technology, Department of Kinesiology

Faculty Mentor: Poram Choi 
 

Koret Scholars: Samantha Muniz, Consuelo Maldonado, Ashleigh Allen, and Shrena Desai

Project Description:

In the United States, a striking statistic reveals that more than one in four adults aged 65 and older experience falls each year (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2020). Falls constitute the leading cause of injuries, hospitalizations, disabilities, and institutionalizations among older Americans (National Council on Aging, 2023). Older adults who have experienced falls often encounter difficulties in activities of daily living (ADLs) (Choi et al., 2013), which may result in a loss of independence and significant socioeconomic consequences due to direct and indirect medical costs (Vaishya & Vaish, 2020).
Research has shown that group exercise and home-based exercise programs comprising balance and strength training exercises can effectively reduce the rate of falls among older adults by approximately 25% (Gillespie et al., 2012; Sherrington et al., 2020). Furthermore, a more intensive exercise regimen (more than 3 hours per week) targeted at improving balance or function has the potential to reduce the rate of falls by as much as 42% (Sherrington et al., 2020).
While numerous fall prevention programs have been implemented for older adults, many of these programs are unsustainable as the behavioral changes have not been successfully integrated into the daily routines of older individuals (Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, 2013). Therefore, our proposal aims to develop and deliver a fall prevention exercise program that is seamlessly integrated into ADLs. This program is specifically designed to enhance handgrip strength, leg strength, and balance, which are highly correlated with the incidence of falls (Pham et al., 2023; Rinkel et al., 2019). Our study seeks to examine the feasibility of implementing fall prevention programs integrated into ADLs for older adults.

The Effect of Ergometer Mode in the Direct-Drive Power Trainer on Muscle Activations

School of Science & Technology, Department of Kinesiology

Faculty Mentor: Young Min Chun
 

Koret Scholars: Leslie Gaona-Castaneda, Thanh T Ngo, Mia Oggenfuss, and Mikayla Rudis

Project Description:

The demand for indoor cycling training has seen remarkable growth over the past decade, largely attributable to the introduction of the direct-drive power trainer. In contrast to traditional indoor bike trainers that offer fixed resistance regardless of cadence (i.e., pedal strokes per minute), the direct-drive power trainer distinguishes itself by providing not only fixed resistance but also dynamic resistance adjustments in response to the rider's self-selected cadence. This dynamic resistance capability empowers direct-drive power trainers to offer a diverse range of training protocols.
For instance, these trainers seamlessly integrate with sophisticated training programs such as Zwift and Rouvy, where resistance levels dynamically adjust to replicate the topography of selected routes. The trainer increases resistance to simulate climbs and measures power based on both resistance and cadence. Furthermore, for training or cycling ability assessment purposes, users can establish a target power output independently of cadence by activating the ergometer (ERG) mode. Since the targeted outcome is power, which results from the product of applied force and angular velocity (i.e., cadence), cyclists must consistently exert force at their
self-selected cadence to achieve the desired power output. A reduced cadence necessitates increased force to reach the target power level, and vice versa. This functionality not only enables cyclists to improve their cycling performance but also to assess their cycling capacity by maintaining a consistent power output using their own bicycle.
Nevertheless, a notable challenge encountered by most cyclists lies in maintaining an equivalent level of power output during indoor cycling sessions. Studies have indicated that muscles tend to fatigue earlier during indoor cycling, as muscle activations demonstrate reduced variability in indoor time trials compared to their outdoor counterparts (Blake and Wakeling, 2012) with decreased power output (Jeffries et al., 2019). Several factors contribute to this phenomenon, including disparities in riding positions (Valenzuela et al., 2022), variation in terrains (Blake and Wakeling, 2012), and the absence of "resistance dead points" and
"micro-recovery" periods between pedal strokes in indoor time trials.
Given that the ERG mode makes cyclists continuously produce the required torque in response to the selected cadence to achieve the target power, it is likely that the ERG mode even more reduces the variability. This may lead to lower extremity muscles fatigued more rapidly than during indoor cycling without ERG mode. Thus, the purpose of this research is to examine the effect of the ERG mode on lower extremity muscle activation patterns while achieving the target power. It is hypothesized that the lower extremity muscles would be activated for longer periods of pedaling and would have less variability of the muscle contractions with the ERG mode as compared to without the ERG mode.

Beauty of the Birthing Body and Perinatal Inequality

School of Social Sciences, Department of Sociology

Faculty Mentor: Kyla Doughty
 

Koret Scholars: Madelyn Boyd, Alexsandra Chavez Martinez, Dennis Leon Aguilera, and Sarah Lewis

Project Description: 

Mortality and morbidity for birthing people of color are public health crises in the United States (Gingrey 2020; White House 2022). These racial health disparities stem from interpersonal, ideological, systemic, and structural racisms. Indeed, medical researchers, legal scholars, and social scientists have examined how social processes shape perinatal experiences and health outcomes (Ajayi and Garney 2023; Campbell 2020; Schmidt, Décieux, Zartler, and Schnor 2022). Pregnant and postpartum bodies are sites of medicalization (Prosen and Tavčar Krajnc 2013). Healthcare professionals continually evaluate birthing bodies, comfort them, poke them, and openly comment on them (McCabe 2016; Rivera 2021; Simonds 2002).  
Yet relatively little is known about how beauty shapes birthing people’s experiences of pregnancy, labor, and delivery, let alone how healthcare workers may interact differently with birthing people based on their beauty. The aesthetics of one’s physical, aural, aromatic, and tactile presence tend to culminate in beauty evaluations, determining an individual’s symbolic capital (Misra and Walters 2022). Race, gender, class, age, and ability inform beauty appraisals. My study will consider how narratives and perceptions of the prettiness or plainness of birthing people’s bodies impact perinatal experiences.   
The project will use two methods. First, the Koret research team will apply for IRB approval to conduct in-depth, semi-structured interviews focused on the interactions during labor and delivery, and birthing people’s experiences of labor and delivery. The first wave of these interviews will be wide-reaching in terms of the sample. Subsequent waves will purposively sample groups who are underrepresented in the sociological literature available in English on perinatal experiences (i.e., Black, Latin/a/o/x, Native American, Asian, Pacific Islander, and multiracial people; transgender, gender queer, and nonbinary birthing people; lesbians, bisexuals, and pansexuals; poor and rich people; and people who birthed at age 35 or older).  
Second, while waiting for IRB approval, the Koret research team will conduct a preliminary content analysis of publicly available birthing stories across race. We will explore how and to what extent beauty is mentioned, as well as what racial differences exist.  

Theatre Movement Training for the 21st Century Actor: An Examination of Ancestry, Culture, and Family Influences and the Actors Body on Stage

School of Arts and Humanities, Department of Theatre and Dance

Faculty Mentor: Marie Ramirez Downing
 

Koret Scholars: Ally Liberty, Sydnie Crumrine-Thomsen, Maick Poroj, and Jasmin Fausto-Sanchez

Project Description: 

In the contemporary American Theatre, many University and College theatre programs include a movement for the stage course as part of their training programs. These techniques vary from Yoga classes, Alexander, and Feldenkrais methods, and tackle anything from the organization of the body to expressive movement on stage. Alexander Technique is a type of movement training that uses relaxation and other breathing and physical exercises to make actors aware of how they organize their bodies and the reasons behind that, “their thinking.” We will ask and examine, “How often do they bring themselves to their roles when they strongly identify with their own culture and heritage on stage and what do they feel like they have to leave behind and change when they play other characters different from their own identity? Specifically, what happens in the body and breath, when there is a mental shift and an audience is witnessing this?  How have their families and culture contributed to their physical presence? Also, what are the rewards, sacrifices, or challenges of being an actor of an underrepresented group when exploring physicality for a production. Students will attend two workshops. One with a trained/certified Alexander teacher and another with a Chicago based professional director, devisor, and contact improv specialist to experience deeply personal physical work for the stage.  They will also attend two professional theatre productions in the bay area and interview professional actors working on roles about their heritage, lineage and any connection to the story they are telling and discuss the physical work. They release tension, develop new habits, find an economical alignment of the spine, and gain an understanding of every movement the individual body makes on stage and off. The Feldenkrais Method is similar, named after scientist and engineer Dr Moshe Feldenkrais, it taps into the deep relationship between movement and thinking, feeling and learning based on individual experiences, heritage, environmental factors to name a few.  For this research, 3 theatre majors and 1 Kinesiology major of diverse and underrepresented communities (First-generation college students, biracial, Native American Ancestry, African American, Mexican American, and Guatemalan) will examine their own individual cultural, familial, and ancestral history and how they move in everyday life and take on characters for the stage influenced by those factors.    

Towards Making of Eclipse Megamovie 2024: Using Machine Learning to Identify Phases of a Total Solar Eclipse

School of Science & Technology, Department of Computer Science

Faculty Mentor: Gurman Gill

Koret Scholars: Nicholas Cabrales, Ethan Martinez, Obinna Kalu, and Matthew Vitullo

Project Description: 

In 2011, Dr. Hugh Hudson from the Space Sciences Laboratory at the University of California, Berkeley, led a group of well-established solar scientists and educators, including renowned solar eclipse expert Dr. Jay Pasachoff, in proposing the idea of the Eclipse Megamovie Project 
[Hudson et al., 2011]. From this beginning, the basic idea of the project has always been “to incorporate as many images as possible (of the total solar eclipse), provided by a diverse range of observers using standard photographic techniques, into an overview movie.” The “Great American Eclipse” in 2017 offered a unique opportunity for US citizens across the entire continent to experience the awe-inspiring changes that occur during rare total solar eclipses 
(TSEs). A team of scientists, educators, software engineers, and artists was led by SSU EdEon’s Dr. Laura Peticolas [Peticolas et al., 2019] to gather photographs of the total solar eclipse showing the Sun's outer atmosphere, the corona. The goal of the 2017 Eclipse Megamovie 
(EM2017) was to obtain enough pictures of the Great American Total Solar Eclipse to create a movie of the solar corona in order to better study it. Over 2,000 volunteers submitted 50,000 images and a movie was made only a few hours after the Moon's shadow left the U.S. [Peticolas et al., 2019; White et al, 2018; Hudson, H. and Bender, M., 2017].  
In 2023 Dr. Peticolas received funding from NASA's Citizen Science program [Interrante, Abbey. 2023] to continue the work for the total solar eclipse taking place on April 8th, 2024. Eclipse Megamovie 2024 (EM2024), led by Dr. Peticolas and in collaboration with University of California, Berkeley, will add High Dynamic Range (HDR) photographs with a broader range of exposure times in order to create a far more visually appealing, while also scientifically significant, movie.  
To further their understanding of white-light observations of coronal jets and other transient plasma flows in the chromosphere [Cho et al., 2021, Hanaoka et al., 2018, Pasachoff et al, 2006], the EM2024 team needs to automatically align the thousands of images submitted by volunteers. Part of that initiative requires categorization of these images into the different phases of a solar eclipse.

Investigating Personalized Algorithmic content Recommendations on Internet Platforms

School of Social Sciences, Department of Political Science

Faculty Mentor: Willie Gin

Koret Scholars: Melany Billings, Nicholas Nolan, and Nico Sanchez

Project Description: 

The team proposes to research whether differences in identified interests and viewing history leads to different content recommendations on Internet platforms such as Youtube and Tiktok. The research will culminate in the drafting of a paper that will include a literature review, a carefully crafted hypothesis, a methodological strategy to test the hypothesis, and analysis of original, self-collected data. This work will be presented at SSU’s Social Action Student Symposium (SASSy) and during the Week of Research and Creativity.

"Ship Happens": Improving the Effectiveness of an Online Bystander Training Game

School of Social Sciences, Department of Criminology and Criminal Justice Studies

Faculty Mentor: Diana Grant

Koret Scholars: Isabel Caselli, Brett Atchison, Bryan Carreto Colorado, and Brendan Perkins

Project Description: 

The purpose of this experiment is to test whether the affirmation of a shared university identity will improve the effectiveness of an online game-based bystander intervention training. Online bystander intervention trainings can create a threat to students’ self-image because these trainings require students to recognize the possibility that their fellow students could be targets or perpetrators of sexual misconduct. An initial group affirmation exercise could defuse this self-image threat and remind students of shared justice norms. 
We will randomly assign student volunteers to affirm their shared university identity using 1) a traditional essay measure, or 2) a newly developed emoji-based measure, or 3) do nothing before they play a prototype space adventure game designed to teach bystander intervention strategies. Immediately after they play the game, participants will complete a questionnaire that measures their attitudes toward the training, as well as their confidence and willingness to intervene if they witness potential sexual misconduct. As a second test of whether they actually used the training information, we will ask all participants to complete a short online bystander intervention behavior questionnaire via text or email two to three months after they complete the in person study. 
We designed this experiment to determine whether a university affirmation will make it more likely that participants will include possible student targets and perpetrators within their “scope of justice”. If so, these students should be more likely to remember and use the training intervention strategies compared to participants assigned to no affirmation experimental condition. However, we suspect that the traditional affirmation manipulation that requires participants to write a short answer about their preferred value will not be as effective as our new affirmation manipulation that uses emojis that distinguish among different identity domains. For example, some researchers think affirmation manipulations are effective because they remind people that their groups are moral; other researchers think affirmation manipulations are effective because they remind people that their groups are competent. Our new manipulation will enable us to learn what identity domains that students prefer. 
Because previous research on bystander intervention training and application indicates that male and female identified students report different levels of confidence, interest and willingness to intervene when they encounter potential sexual misconduct, our design includes gender identity as an additional factor. This experiment builds upon a pilot experiment in which we compared this prototype space adventure game with an online PowerPoint slide presentation of the same information. We plan to present our data at the April 2024 Western Psychological Association meeting in San Francisco. 

Monitoring Water Quality Near Homeless Encampments Along Santa Rosa Creek

School of Social Sciences, Department of Geography, Environment, and Planning

Faculty Mentor: Jacquelyn Guilford

Koret Scholars: Alexis Kamages, Stephany Orellana, Bryan Peeso, and Sydney Pontius

Project Description: 

The recent increase in homelessness across California has raised concerns about water quality in urban creeks. While the public perception is that unhoused people sleeping adjacent to Santa Rosa creeks degrade the creek water quality, there is a lack of data supporting that claim. Since August 2022, students in the Water Research Methods class, GEP396, have been measuring water quality in creeks where homeless encampments have been frequently reported.  
During the 2022-2023 academic year, we worked with the Santa Rosa Storm Water and Creeks Team to identify locations along Russell Creek, Paulin Creek, and Santa Rosa Creek near known homeless encampments, as well as areas upstream and downstream of these locations to use as comparison points. Approximately once per month, the water quality was tested at multiple locations along each creek. After the first year of this project, we identified several creek locations that had very high levels of the fecal bacteria Enterococcus and E. coli in the water.  
High levels of these bacteria in creek water indicate that the water has potentially been polluted by unsanitary defecation in close proximity to the creek. A limitation of the fecal bacteria testing that we had been doing was that it is not specific for human sources, meaning that a positive result could be coming from wildlife, such as dogs, birds, or cattle. 
For the second year of the project (2023-2024), we are focusing exclusively on Santa Rosa Creek because it is the most closely monitored by Santa Rosa Creek interns. The interns provide us with weekly reports on where they observe evidence of homeless encampments. Other advantages of monitoring Santa Rosa Creek are that the water is very clean in the upstream area and the downstream area and there are many individual pockets of homeless activity as the creek moves through the urban areas, particularly in the Prince Memorial Greenway area.  
In order to know if the fecal bacteria we have detected at some creek locations are coming from a human source, we are adding an additional method to our study. The use of real time PCR can measure specifically for human fecal bacteria. In collaboration with Madison Ingraham, a graduate student in Sean Place’s Biology lab at SSU, we are developing the capability to run this test at SSU at a fraction of the cost of sending the samples to a commercial lab ($50/sample vs $500/sample). The items listed in the budget are all consumable products needed to run this experiment. Some of the supplies are disposable plasticware (PCR plates, micropipette tips, plate sealing film) and other items are chemicals required for the experiment (RNase/DNase free water, DNA extraction kit, SYBR Green Supermix). 
The preliminary data that we collected so far indicate that water quality along urban creeks in Santa Rosa may be impacted by the transient population living in our creeks. The funds requested in this application will advance our research in the current academic year as we improve our ability to (1) more accurately quantify where homelessness is occurring along Santa Rosa Creek on a weekly basis and (2) determine if the fecal bacteria levels found in creek water are from human sources or not.  
If we find that the fecal bacteria is of human origin, we will further investigate whether it comes from overnight use along the creek, if it is transported from other areas via storm drains, or if there is a point source nearby, such as leaking septic or sewage lines. Understanding potential impacts to water quality can help agencies design solutions to support those experiencing homelessness, while also ensuring clean water for everyone in the community. 

Estimating the Recreational Value of Taylor Mountain Regional Park

School of Business and Economics, Department of Economics

Faculty Mentor: Merlin Hanauer

Koret Scholars: Evan Horoszko, Diego Zaragoza Martinez, Christian Marin Pilling, and Kyle Minehan Willis

Project Description: 

The primary objective of this project is to mentor students through the process of generating publication-quality research in the field of economics.  

The Relationship Between Prison Initiated Resentencing and Judge Initiated Resentencing After AB 600 (October 2023)

School of Social Sciences, Department of Criminology and Criminal Justice Studies

Faculty Mentor: Caitlin Henry

Koret Scholars: Alyssa Cardea, Noah Kindfield, Sirena Licea, and Taylor Zajonc

Project Description: 

This project will evaluate trends in court referrals and outcomes related to the newly enacted judicially initiated Recall and Resentencing program, created October 2023 by Assembly Bill 600. As stated in Bill 600: “This bill would additionally authorize the court to recall a sentence, on its own motion, at any time if the applicable sentencing laws at the time of original sentencing are subsequently changed due to new statutory or case law authority. The bill would specify that recall and resentencing under these provisions may be initiated by the original sentencing judge, a judge designated by the presiding judge, or any judge with jurisdiction in the case.” 
Researchers will evaluate the timelines and efficacy of court referrals under the recall and resentencing statute, Penal Code 1172.1 for prison initiated referrals, and identify trends that relate to the creation of a judicially initiated referral process. Advocates continue to pass new legislation to redress California’s severe sentencing policies and sentence enhancements, and District Attorneys utilize these enhancements in racially biased manners. The legislature passed SB 1393 (Mitchell) (5-year prior felony enhancements) to potentially eliminate 100,000 additional years of incarceration and SB 136 (Wiener)* (2019 - eliminating most 1-year prison prior enhancements) to potentially eliminate 20,000 years of incarceration due to an enhancement. The legislature passed the California Racial Justice Act of 2020 (AB 2542) to give a remedy and ameliorate sentences for people who can prove that race, ethnicity or national origin played an improper role in their conviction or sentencing.
Analyzing how many cases are resentenced under each type of resentencing (prison initiated, judge initiated, prosecutor initiated) is crucial to understanding whether these laws, as implemented by the prisons, District Attorneys, and courts, are having the impact legislators intended. It is crucial to look at how many referrals happened when rights were expanded, and what the case outcomes were.  This project will compare and contrast cases before and after the new law in order to understand whether and how it is having its intended effect. 

Using Parthenogenetic Cells to Study Mechanisms of Chromosome Organization

School of Science & Technology, Department of Biology

Faculty Mentor: Lisa Hua

Koret Scholars: Christian Quintero, Salma Torres Lopez, Esha Malik, and Alyssa Stadie

Project Description: 

To test whether parental origin defines the haploid (1n) chromosome set using parthenogenetic mouse cells (PG-MEFs).  

From Vine to Wine: Exploring the Human Touch in Quality Perception and Worker Well-Being

School of Business and Economics, Department of Wine Business

Faculty Mentor: InHaeng Jung

Koret Scholars: Carina Bautista, Christine Pagaduan, Hailey Brooks, and Johnathan Perez

Project Description: 

In the evolving landscape of the wine industry, where technological advancements are increasingly prominent, the importance of human labor, especially in traditional practices like hand-harvesting, is becoming a critical point of discussion, in a marketing point of view 
(Maesano et al., 2021). In California, a leading wine producer, the majority of wine grapes are harvested mechanically (Dominici, 2019). Despite mechanization's efficiency and cost-saving aspects (Gilby, 2018), there remains a strong consumer preference for hand-harvested wine ( Dominici et al., 2020). This preference is often tied to perceptions of quality and naturalness 
(Abouab & Gomez, 2015), making it a significant factor in wine marketing strategies. However, the industry's focus on product attributes such as price, productivity, and efficiency (Schäufele & Hamm, 2017) has often overshadowed the crucial role of migrant workers, who face various challenges and vulnerabilities in their work and living conditions. Some studies indicate that migrant workers often face increased risks and limited human rights protections (Moyce & Schenker, 2018). In addition, their transient nature, dictated by the availability of work coupled with the rise in automation and technology in agriculture, means they are often left vulnerable to changing labor demands (Baur, 2023).  
For the 2023-2024 academic year, our team, comprised of four scholars, is set to undertake two in-depth research projects. The first study, titled "From Vine to Wine: How Hand-Harvesting Shapes the Consumer's Wine Quality Perceptions," is led by Hailey Brooks & Christine Pagaduan.   This study delves into consumer perceptions surrounding hand-harvested wine. It aims to unravel how different backgrounds and experiences with wine affect preferences and how a wine label's visual and textual components can sway consumer choices toward hand-picked wines. The second study, titled "Vines and Lives: Unveiling the World of Migrant Vineyard Workers," is led by Carina Bautista & Johnathan Perez. This study shifts the focus to the often-overlooked migrant vineyard workers. This research seeks to understand the identities of these workers and the realities of their living and working conditions, which are pivotal yet under-discussed aspects of the wine industry. 
Through these two independent but complementary research projects, we aim to gain a comprehensive understanding of the added value of wine's naturalness from a consumer perspective, as well as the current status of migrant workers' well-being in their professional and personal lives. This multifaceted approach not only contributes to the academic literature but also provides crucial insights for the wine industry, ensuring that it evolves in a consumer-conscious and socially responsible way. To achieve these goals, four undergraduate researchers and I will work together to develop and conduct surveys and interviews to collect data. Both studies will take place in two parts, and a more detailed research plan is introduced in a later section and in the Appendix. Our goal is to 1) present it at CSU undergraduate research competition and SSU’s Research Symposium for feedback, 2) share it with the Wine Business Institute’s board and wider wine industry community, and 3) publish it in peer-reviewed journals in consumer behavior research (i.e. Appetite (IF=7.4), Sustainability (IF=4.4)) or wine business research (i.e. Journal of Wine Economics (IF=2.2)) 

Preparation, Assay, and Cell Culture Work of Nopales

School of Science & Technology, Department of Chemistry

Faculty Mentor: Monica Lares

Koret Scholars: Olivia Tang, Abhishek Prasad, Brittney Glor, and Sarah Ahmadi

Project Description: 

The objective of our research lab is to provide evidence of the ancestral knowledge that nopales (prickly pear, Opuntia ficus-indica) can regulate blood glucose levels both in people with and without diabetes. The objective of this specific project proposal is to move three aspects of this research forward:

1) Prepare nopales using a cold method to preserve enzyme integrity

2) Prepare and set up our lab space in order to carry out cell culture work to study the uptake of glucose in cells

3) Further optimize our assay to monitor glucose levels

Exploring the Competitive Advantages of Larger Wineries in the U.S. Through Brand Positioning Strategies

School of Business and Economics, Department of Business Administration

Faculty Mentor: Kyuho Lee

Koret Scholars: Michelle Flores, Sabrina Filmon, Phoebe Moser, and Bee Bee Yeap

Project Description: 

This study will investigate the brand positioning strategies of large wineries in order to understand how they differentiate themselves from other wineries. We will analyze the brand positioning strategy of the top 50 wineries in the U.S., in terms of their wine production, using content analysis of each winery’s website. We chose the top 50 wineries in the U.S. to better understand how brand positioning strategies contribute to the success of large American wineries. A number of researchers have adopted content analysis of a firm’s website to investigate a firm’s brand positioning strategy. Wineries use their websites to signal points of differentiation and points of parity to consumers. Given the increasing importance of the digital marketplace in signaling a winery’s points of difference and points of parity, it is crucial that wineries use their websites to attract visitors to their wineries and reduce consumers’ perceived risks’ about buying wine directly from a winery. 

Islands of Loneliness

School of Arts and Humanities, Department of Chicano and Latino Studies 

Faculty Mentor: Malinalli Lopez

Koret Scholars: Erika Banuelos, Jorge Alejandre Martinez, Cristina Olivares-Montanez, and Melissa Felix

Project Description: 

The objective of our project is to research the immigrant experience of crossing the US-Mexico border and study the affects of psychological trauma and to produce a 90-minute documentary,  Islands of Loneliness. The documentary will investigate the experiences of Mexican immigrants in Northern California and their resilience through their eyes and words. The research and film production will be supervised by Malinalli López who teaches in the Chicano Latino Studies Department. Ms. López is an award-winning filmmaker whose most recent film Hyena produced in 2021 was the recipient of 20 awards worldwide in countries including: Australia, Italy, Spain, Japan, France, the US and Canada. She supervised the early research in preparation for this documentary which took place in 2012 and entailed doing short pre-interviews and producing a trailer which can be found on YouTube at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4pd3w3fa3AM&t=1s . 

Understanding the Role of Social Networks and Academic Success Among Latina Students in Predominantly White Universities

School of Arts and Humanities, Department of Chicano and Latino Studies 

Faculty Mentor: Daniel Malpica

Koret Scholars: Alexa Rayas, Isela Gaona, Siobhan Rodriguez, and Vianca Hinojosa

Project Description: 

This project aims at documenting the nature, purpose, and value of a unique social support system present in Latina female students at SSU. This social support group is a form of social network or social capital, which we refer to as “Comadres.” Comadres form a strong social relationship or social network, a sister-like deep emotional bond providing them with comradery, support, safety, resource sharing, and validation of daily experiences. These strong social relationships often extend throughout a lifetime. Comadres transcend the individual and create a stronger unit, which helps them to successfully cope with life’s struggles and achieve academic success in college. Although faculty, staff, and students recognize the presence and value of this phenomenon, it has rarely been documented in the social science literature as an effective cultural retention model (Bravo and Chaney, 2014; Richmond, Morrow, Salomone, 2003; Stanton-Salazar, 2001; Zarate, 2011). This study fills this void by conducting research on the following question: How do culturally significant social networks among Latina students attending White institutions positively impact their academic performance in college?   
We have conducted in-depth qualitative interviews with 20 pairs of Latina students at SSU. All the interviews have been transcribed and are in the process of being coded and organized for analysis and report writing. We are seeking funding from the Koret Foundation to continue analyzing the data collected and be able to start working on publications and presentations at regional and national conferences on the research findings. This research project is an outgrowth of qualitative study conducted by Professor Emeritus Elisa Velasquez (who will join the team in the Spring semester of 2024) and Professor Daniel Malpica. For this new phase of the research, we have recruited four underrepresented, racial minority Latino/Black students who are first-generation, and working class, to be a part of the research team.   
Some of the preliminary results from our research are worth noting. First, all the Latina participants reported feeling very isolated at SSU due to the difficulty to find more Latinx peers and connect with White students. The longer Latina students stay at SSU the more alienated, alone, and disenfranchised they feel. As a consequence, they start self-doubting and have to work harder to maintain their academic performance and motivation to persist in college. Second, as newly admitted Freshmen and transfer students, participants reported difficulties in making new friends to connect with and who could help them academically. Hence, a Comadre relationship becomes a “life vest” from which they obtain full reciprocal acceptance, understanding, trust, support, and validation. In the context of this relationship, they learn from each other how to be better students and persons. They motivate and encourage each other to study, go to class, work on papers, and achieve a balanced academic and social life. They share class notes and help each other with transportation, food, money, books, and more. The Comadre relationship increases the sense of belonging at SSU and reduces the sense of isolation experienced in the dorms and in the classrooms. Finally, most respondents saw a significant difference between the support obtained from a Comadre versus “formal” systems of support (HUB, LARC, CAASE, Counseling Center). Respondents expressed having limited knowledge of the “formal” support due to inadequate advertising of how underrepresented students can benefit from such services. When respondents used “formal” support services, they were not pleased with the quality of the support, the service did not meet their needs or they felt misunderstood by the staff. In contrast, Comadres are available to each other all the time, can communicate in person, telephone, or text and the relationship is based on mutual trust and sure expectation of being there for each other and the certainty that they can rely on each other to obtain academic, social, and emotional support.   

"What's In Your Head?": The Human Bias Through Movement

School of Arts and Humanities, Department of Theatre Arts and Dance

Faculty Mentor: Farrah McAdam

Koret Scholars: Madyline Jaramillo, Ella Jensen, Olivia Keydeniers, and Alaina Wilson

Project Description: 

Through this award, I would use the funds and opportunity to uplift
underrepresented student voices: both in their experience of their identity and their experience as artists in academia.
The Dance program consistently strives for spaces that are rooted in anti-racist, equitable, human-first practices. Many of the relationships we have built with guests such as Urban Bush Women have helped solidify and offer tools in these realms to our program’s pedagogy. These tools often cater to deep internal work of the self in order to understand and show up for our larger communities, deep reflection of our past to understand our present and future’s fullest potential. This group of scholars would like to take these practices and apply them to a deeper study around bias and the way it affects not only the dance world, but human behavior through psychological and sociological perspectives. They would like to further explore and synthesize research surrounding gender bias and body type bias in dance, as well as the studies of self-awareness of both learned bias and implicit bias.
With this group of students, we will use this work as our common base to research how these concepts show up in these students’ experiences. Two of these four students are 1st generation college students, and two are students of color. All four of these young scholars are constantly reimagining what it means to navigate academia in an art major that is too often seen as “easy”. In these specifically targeted demographics, it is culturally seen as a major that is unnecessary, that does not provide any financial opportunity or societal legitimacy. Yet, they have pursued fields they know are crucial to the quality of human lives with full intention to continue on to graduate school after their time at Sonoma State. In this research, these students will be able to take the time and resources to not only process but reimagine what their contributions to society can entail from individual, cultural, and academic perspectives. We will provide a space for these students to delve into their passionate points of research within understanding bias, and we will increase the visibility of creative work and performance research in academia. Now that the Sonoma State campus is fully back on-campus, the student team and I plan to document our findings through movement composition, resulting in some sort performance piece, live or filmed, that can be presented live alongside our research poster. Creating a film project will not only serve as a compatible alternative for our presentation, but it will provide students with quality documentation of their research to use for their careers – via websites, graduate school applications, and CVs. I have requested the finances for the services needed to compile our movement research.

Redefining Models of Relationship "Satisfaction" Among Latino Couples

School of Social Sciences, Department of Psychology

Faculty Mentor: Teresa Nguyen

Koret Scholars: Lorenzo Alvarez, Rose Chavez, Grely Mazariegos, and Alexa Rayas

Project Description: 

Marital stability is widely assumed to stem from spouses’ personal happiness and their personal gratification within their relationship. As a consequence, the mostly widely used instrument for assessing couple functioning—the Couple Satisfaction Index (Funk & Rogge, 2007)—emphasizes White, middle class values related to personal happiness and personal fulfillment (e.g., “My partner makes me happy;” “My partner meets my needs”). Such individualistic-centered measures of relationship outcomes may (1) fail to capture experiences of satisfaction in more collectivist cultures, (2) be less reliable in predicting relationship stability for first-generation Latinx spouses compared to later-generation Latinxs, and (3) overlook other reasons why Latinx spouses enter, stay in, and leave relationships. Marital quality will be measured followed by an open-ended questionnaire about the basis for their quality rating. This project will explore the spontaneous responses that couples give to this open-ended question. Specifically, we will develop coding categories for those responses using standard procedures
(Ryan & Bernard, 2003) and conduct salience analyses to uncover and quantify the importance of various factors that spouses consider when evaluating their relationship as a whole.
After identifying how Latino couples define a good quality relationship, the goal of the project is to test which factors predict relationship quality. That is, finding significant predictors of relationship quality using quantitative data analysis. In contrast to other studies that have focused on assessing communication behaviors as a primary determinant of marital outcomes, the proposed study will assess factors that are likely to be influential among low-income, Latinx couples: discrimination, financial stress, and religious coping. Couples will also be asked about their conflict resolution style and how they manage differences.

Climate Awareness and Business Solutions in Sonoma County

School of Business and Economics, Department of Business Administration

Faculty Mentor: Nadiya Parekh

Koret Scholars: Claudia Muralles, Andres Serrano, and Lily Roberts

Project Description: 

The objective is to conduct an exploratory research on the climate awareness of Sonoma county residents and their perception about how sustainable business solutions can address their concerns. The project is IRB approved (IRB #3248) in the year 2022. In 2022, we have completed primary data collection among students and residents by designing a survey (with SSU undergraduate students of a business statistics course/BUS211 as co-investigators). Data collected at this stage has been analyzed using SPSS software (using descriptive, correlational and regression analysis techniques). Later, in 2023, literature review was initiated as part of 2023 School of Social Sciences Undergraduate Research Initiative (SSURI) with two undergraduate student research assistants.  
If we receive the support of the Koret Scholars Award, the objective is to collect further data to triangulate the quantitative findings with qualitative data, document the results and findings and conclude the work as a draft research paper. For this a 4-member student team is formed with inter-disciplinary and diverse background. The students will be trained to triangulate the quantitative findings from primary data with qualitative secondary data,  write up a draft research paper ( through scientific research writing workshops on how to write introduction, literature, results & findings, discussion and conclusion sections of the paper ) and present the work at SaSSY and possibly at another conference (subject to funding available from faculty’s professional development funds at that stagei) . The proposed outcome of the work would be a draft research paper that can be used to share the insights from the work to inform design of sustainable business products/services in Sonoma County. 

A Social Economy of Generous Practice

School of Social Sciences, Department of Sociology

Faculty Mentor: Debora Paterniti

Koret Scholars: Ashleigh Carillo, Earic Hall, Sandra Olmos-Martinez, and Karla Santos

Project Description: 

The purpose of this project is (1) to increase the robustness of an existing qualitative data set; (2) to analyze the qualitative data with two goals in mind: (a) enriching the understanding of the generosity paradox as part of a social economy of inequality and (b) developing a more contextually-grounded comprehensive survey based on the social contexts of generosity; and (3) to engage student scholars how to use qualitative research in theory construction and as a formative tool for survey development. 

Counterstories of Childhood: Amplifying BIPOC Voice in Early Childhood Knowledge Systems

School of Education, Department of Early Childhood Studies

Faculty Mentor: Ayesha Rabadi-Raol

Koret Scholars: Celia Salazar, Victoria Vaswani, and Lauren Cooper

Project Description: 

Our research team will use the funds for data collection and analysis for the following qualitative research study which will eventually culminate in a conference presentation.

Interaction of Genes and Microbes Mediating Evolutionary Ecology of a Montane Insect

School of Science & Technology, Department of Biology

Faculty Mentor: Nathan Rank

Koret Scholars: Kaylee Dillard, IIlse Hernandez Gopar, Jordan Blakeley-Gendreau, and Shane Vistalli-Alvarado

Project Description: 

With this award, I plan to mentor four undergraduate students to investigate the interaction between genetic variation in natural populations of a leaf beetle in California and the microbiota of this species. This work will be accomplished through analyses of sequence variation in genes found in the beetle and laboratory work characterizing the microbial community of beetles that were treated with antibiotics to reduce levels of specific bacteria that are known to occur in these insects and that affect their reproductive biology and ability to thrive in natural conditions. Two students will perform dissections of the antibiotic treated beetles that were mated in the laboratory and whose egg production was quantified over two weeks in the summer of 2021. This grant would allow these students to implement a tool used in molecular biology (qPCR) to quantify the effect of the antibiotic treatment on the bacterial titre. A third student will use the genetic sequence analysis program Geneious to analyze variation among the strains of these bacteria infecting beetles collected in different regions in California, and a fourth student will focus on variation at the mitochondrion (the cellular structure that allows animals to use oxygen for metabolism) for beetles that were overwintered under different environmental conditions. All four students are currently enrolled in Biology capstone research courses (Biology 494 and they will present the results of their work at the SSU Symposium for Research and Creativity in spring 2024 before they graduate. All four students are either members of groups underrepresented in biology research or first generation college students and/or participants in the MESA program.

Errorless Practice on Golf Skill Learning in Individuals with and Without Intellectual Disabilities

School of Science & Technology, Department of Kinesiology

Faculty Mentor: Yonjoong Ryuh

Koret Scholars: Carter Michnevich, Dylan Copeland, Kevin Cameron, and Kyalin Payne

Project Description: 

Motor learning is the intricate process of acquiring and retaining movement skills. Traditionally, a near consensus among scholars posits that learning a novel skill involves a hypothesis-testing process with errors (Steenbergen et al., 2010). Consequently, the identification and rectification of errors during practice constitute crucial elements of the motor skill learning process. Conventional theories suggest that novice learners initially acquire movement skills by generating declarative knowledge, enabling them to verbally describe the movement characteristics achieved during practice, such as elbow angle, movement sequence, posture, weight shift, and others (Magill, 1998). As learners progress, they develop a consistent movement pattern, leading to increased automation of motor skill execution and reduced reliance on declarative knowledge.
Contemporary research has introduced an alternative motor learning paradigm, specifically an implicit approach (Masters et al., 2013). This emerging technique suggests that acquiring a novel movement may occur without the traditional trial-and-error process associated with generating declarative knowledge. Instead, novices may potentially bypass the initial declarative, explicit learning stage and transition to the implicit learning stage earlier, with minimal error production (Kal et al., 2018). Consequently, the traditionally employed explicit practice method may not be the sole means of skill improvement; implicit practice holds promising potential to facilitate motor learning in diverse populations, including individuals experiencing intellectual disabilities, who are known to encounter challenges in generating and processing declarative information (Schuchardt et al., 2010). Recent studies have further delved into the comparison of the underlying neural correlates of implicit versus explicit practice. These studies have confirmed that enhancing the neural correlates associated with implicit practice, particularly in the primary motor cortex, contributes to improved motor skill acquisition and retention compared to explicit practice, which predominantly involves the frontal premotor area. This accumulating evidence underscores the necessity of deeper exploration into the implicit approach to practice.
The errorless approach stands as a validated motor learning technique facilitating implicit practice. Maxwell and colleagues (2001) have documented that errorless learning paradigms impose constraints on the environment to mitigate errors during performance. This
constraint-based approach establishes consistent movement patterns earlier, mitigating the need for continual generation of alternative movement solutions to reduce errors. In a related study, Capio et al. (2012) conducted a comparative analysis of the effectiveness of errorless practice
(beginning with very easy tasks and progressing to more difficult ones) versus errorful practice (beginning with the most difficult tasks and gradually moving to easier ones) in the context of overhand throws in children. Their findings indicated a preference for errorless practice, revealing superior performance and learning benefits compared to errorful practice.
Our objective is to advance the existing knowledge base through two distinct experiments. In Experiment 1, we will implement errorless practice techniques in the context of the golf chip shot. Notably, there is a dearth of research exploring the golf chip shot, despite numerous empirical studies substantiating the positive effects of errorless practice on golf putting. Experiment 2 focuses on applying the benefits of errorless practice to golf putting among individuals with intellectual disabilities (ID). Implicit practice, characterized by a restriction in relying on verbal-analytic types of declarative knowledge and the promotion of automatic movement, presents a promising approach for facilitating skill acquisition in individuals with ID. However, there is a notable absence of studies within this population. Taken together, this project serves a dual purpose: firstly, to expand our understanding from golf putting to chip shots in typically developing individuals; and secondly, to investigate whether errorless practice yields comparable skill learning benefits in individuals with ID using the golf putt task.

Improved Indoors Wireless Propagation Modeling for NextG Systems

School of Science & Technology, Department of Engineering

Faculty Mentor: Mohammed Salem

Koret Scholars: Eriberto Salgado, Gilberto Cornejo, Grant Goodwin, and Jesuina Lopez

Project Description: 

As communications technology evolves beyond fifth-generation wireless systems (5G) and technology capabilities supporting next-generation communications systems (NextG) become more widespread, the research and development (R&D) community faces an opportunity to address certain challenges that could scale innovations across the wireless communications industry over the next several years. As NextG communications and computing use cases become increasingly integrated and sophisticated, the amount of data to be gathered and transmitted between users, machines, and applications will exponentially increase the demand for radio spectrum usage. In order to leverage wireless spectrum to deliver the higher speed and data rates required for NextG applications, communications researchers must develop new methods of sharing spectrum between diverse end-uses and managing spectrum more efficiently. Meanwhile, they must also accommodate form factor limitations on antenna size and power efficiency needed to provide wireless services at a reasonable cost and level of complexity. 
Spectrum, defined as the range of radio frequencies used fore wireless communication, can be shared geographically, temporally, or between users to increase spectrum access to wireless consumers and providers. Spectrum-sharing techniques rely on spectrum occupancy measurements that are typically used to determine whether new transmitters can be added without causing additional interference. However, assessing interference remains challenging. Spectrum measurements should differentiate between the various communications and non-communications sources of interference, including intentional radiators, man-made noise, natural noise, and intermodulation spurs. 
Most existing propagation models focus on quantifying the coverage of the system under consideration, that is, the average wireless signal strength at the geographic locations covered in the model. While such models have been crucial for advancing wireless communication, there is a serious need to emphasize on developing models that take signal interference into account. The interference phenomena become rather significant for communication at high speeds, which is one of the promises of NextG systems. Current propagation models used to determine interference are overly conservative leading to reduced spectrum utilization. In order to improve sharing, the protection needs of incumbents as well as typical deployment scenarios need to be considered. 
This project aims to develop an improved wireless propagation model for indoor environments that account for signal interference in the part of the spectrum designated for NextG systems. Developing the model requires collecting and processing large number of measurements inside buildings. Because the experimental nature of NextG signal format, there are no commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) radio transmitters or receivers. A significant portion of this project is thus constructing a transmitter device capable of generating NextG-compliant signals. Receiving the signals is possible using COTS instruments, such as spectrum analyzers. The other portion of the project will focus on performing a large number of measurements inside several buildings on campus and collecting data on the received signal. The collected data will be classified and processed using advanced statistical techniques to construct the improved propagation model. In parallel with that, simulation models will also be developed to verify and compare with the measurements. A successful improved wireless propagation model will be significant in advancing the planning and deployment of NextG systems and may drive decisions about things like how and where to deploy wireless access points, what rules to establish for geographically sharing spectrum, and what kind of spectrum equipment to build. Thus, the objective of this project is to construct an improved indoors propagation model for NextG wireless communication systems that the R&D community can trust and accept its results as sound. 

Breath Data Collection Device, Version-2

School of Science & Technology, Department of Engineering

Faculty Mentor: Sudhir Shrestha

Koret Scholars: Cole Montano, James Appel, Arlen Venegas, and Jennifer Avendano Lopez

Project Description: 

Our team is developing a smart breath glucose monitor (BGM), a hand-held device that uses volatile organic compound (VOC) sensors to predict blood-glucose levels from human breath. Our goal is to collect data from patients with type-2 diabetes (non-insulin-dependent) and train machine learning (ML) models with this dataset to enable real-time glycemia predictions.
We conducted a pilot at-home data collection over the past year using a sensor device developed at the Intelligent Systems Lab at Sonoma State University. The study design includes two major steps. The first step was recruiting patients with type-2 diabetes from a medical clinic in Santa Rosa, CA, and giving them sensor devices to take home. The patients were trained on the device at the clinic by healthcare practitioners. The patients were instructed to measure their blood glucose using a fingerstick glucometer and breathe into the sensor device. The sensor data were wirelessly received or retrieved from a memory card, while the finger-stick readings were noted on a separate chart that was collected by the clinic and shared with the research group after removing all identifying information. Six patients participated in this study. After the first step's completion, we received 176 clean data points. The second step involved analyzing the collected BGM data using statistical analysis techniques such as PCA to reduce the number of features in the dataset. Then, we employed the use of Support Vector Machine (SVM) algorithms to build a prediction model that could classify glucose levels as high, normal, or low. We used cross-validation processes to train the SVM model and determine the SVM parameters. This poster will present the study design lessons learned, and highlight important results from the study.
The next steps for the research include large-scale data collection and testing, developing a user interface on the device to input finger-stick BG measurements and display BG states, and creating a companion smartphone application for monitoring and tracking BG readings by patients and medical professionals. Such a solution would enable type 2 diabetes patients to receive instant glucose status readings without the need for finger pricks, test as many times as they desire, and easily monitor their BG history, revolutionizing patient care.

Effects of Blood Flow Restriction Exercise on Post-Activation Potentiation in Resistance Trained Men and Women

School of Science & Technology, Department of Kinesiology

Faculty Mentor: Bulent Sokmen

Koret Scholars: Christopher Daniels, Garrett Campedel, Melissa Aragon Matias, and Jairo Carillo

Project Description: 

Our previously published study [1] demonstrated that post-activation potentiation (PAP)
occurred with both unilateral and bilateral training protocols, resulting in an increased rate of 
force development. https://www.remedypublications.com/open-access/pthe-effects-of-acute- 
bilateral-and-unilateral-set-protocols-on-muscle-power-and-rate-of-force-developmentp- 2194.pdf”. 
Currently, we aim to investigate the same phenomenon by incorporating blood flow restriction 
exercise. By definition, PAP has been described as an acute enhancement in the force- generating 
capacity of skeletal muscle, as the result of a biomechanically similar “conditioning action” [2]. 
It is believed that following the conditioning action, both fatigue and potentiation exist 
simultaneously, and during the recovery period, fatigue dissipates at a faster rate than the 
potentiation response. After the recovery period, it is postulated that a brief window of 
opportunity exists to capitalize on the potentiation effect [2]. Exploitation of the PAP response 
has been attempted within resistance training settings [3] and in pre-competition warm-ups [4]; 
however, presently a dearth of data exists examining the PAP response within clinical settings [5]

Collaborative Alliance in Community-Based Research

School of Arts and Humanities, Department of Chicano and Latino Studies

Faculty Mentor: Natalia Villanueva-Nieves

Koret Scholars: Maya Angelica Betancourt Feliz, Mariah Gonzales, Grisselle Herrera Reyes, and Joselyn Serrano Gutierrez

Project Description: 

Our research team is integrated by a Latina faculty mentor and four Latina students in different stages in their academic paths at SSU (two senior-level students, one sophomore, and one freshman). The Koret Scholars Program would provide students with the necessary funds to work collaboratively to implement community-based research methods in four individual projects engaging with communities across Sonoma County. The students’ projects focus on the following topics: young Latino men's mental health, immigration policies impacting unaccompanied youth, self-identity and bilingual language development in Latinx high school students, and the impact of agrochemicals on the health of farm workers. 
Students will collect data through interviews and archival research during the award period. They will also participate in weekly meetings facilitated by the faculty mentor. These weekly meetings aim to check students’ progress in their research projects and to provide them with a collaborative space to discuss ethical research practices. The discussions will mainly focus on best practices to achieve reciprocity, the safety, and respect of participants and acknowledge participants as knowledge producers. Students will present their findings at the SSU’s Week of Research and Creativity in Spring 2024. In addition, the two senior students will present their findings at the National Association of Chicano and Chicana Studies 2024 Conference and as part of their senior theses.  

Design, Evaluation, and Comparative Analysis of Tread and Grouser Patterns for Planetary Exploration Rovers

School of Science & Technology, Department of Engineering

Faculty Mentor: Nansong Wu

Koret Scholars: Aaron John Estrada, Joshua Lyman, Gilberto Cornejo, and Antoine Rochman

Project Description: 

The NASA Lunabotics [1] competition is an engaging systems engineering design challenge that encourages students to design and construct an autonomous or telerobotic robot specially tailored to navigate a simulated lunar surface and undertake designated construction tasks. Our team's exceptional dedication and expertise have shone brightly, as our Project Management Plan received a perfect score of 10 out of 10, a judgment made by NASA engineers. This achievement has secured our place among the 50 university teams† selected to participate in this competition. In this competition, a regolith simulant is used to mimic the properties of the real lunar regolith. This simulant provides for a very difficult environment for mobile robotics. The aim of this research is to investigate, design, build, test, and compare wheel designs for use in this harsh environment.  
1. Objectives
A set of specific research, educational, and outreach goals are as follows: 
Objective 1: Conduct research on currently available wheel types, patterns, and the specific requirements of NASA competitions. Create a table to outline the strengths and weaknesses of various designs, ultimately leading to a decision on the wheel diameter. 
Objective 2: Engage in the production of selected wheel pattern components through diverse manufacturing techniques and assemble prototype wheels for comparative analysis against our existing wheel models. 
Objective 3: Develop a testing apparatus capable of accommodating multiple wheel types, allowing for quantitative testing. 
Objective 4: Execute physical testing on the designated set of wheel test specimens, gathering valuable data. 
Objective 5: Thoroughly examine the collected data pertaining to each wheel design. Evaluate the merits and drawbacks of each design, including factors like pull force at different loads and wheel weight, drawing comprehensive conclusions from the analysis.