BRAYTON WHITELEY MAJORS: PHILOSOPHY AND PSYCHOLOGY CLASS OF 2026 MENTORS: DR. SHANNON SPAULDING, DR. JAMES GRICE, DR. SARA LOSS HOMETOWN: EARLY, TX HOW DID YOU GET STARTED IN RESEARCH? I was super interested in Department of Philosophy head Dr. Spaulding’s research on empathy, and I sent her an email to get more information. She apparently was really interested in getting undergraduates into her lab. I started working with her, and eventually, I got much more comfortable engaging in research, reading research articles and accomplishing my research goals. I began to explore other fields, too, including linguistics and psychology. WHAT HAVE YOU BEEN WORKING ON? I’ve been working in a personality lab for two semesters, where we are researching cognitive dissonance and narcissism. We’re in the literature research portion and I’ve been enjoying developing my skills in literature summaries. I’m also working on a research publication and thesis in philosophy. I’ll be analyzing free will and causality, intending to reexamine the problem in other fields of research. HOW HAS RESEARCH IMPACTED YOU? My career goal is to eventually be a professional researcher in philosophy and psychology. Research with faculty has given me many opportunities to engage with my fields and has made me much more comfortable with academics in general. WHAT ARE YOUR FUTURE PLANS? I hope to be a professor and researcher in psychology and philosophy. I’ve always wanted to teach, and getting the opportunity and excuse to learn even more in these subjects makes me excited to get out there. Outside of research, I also love fiction writing, and I hope to be published in my creative endeavors as well. LAUREN HAYGOOD PH.D.: GEOLOGY FOURTH YEAR MENTOR: DR. TODD HALIHAN HOMETOWN: OWASSO, OK HOW DID YOU GET STARTED IN RESEARCH? As an undergraduate I spent my summers involved in the Tulsa Undergraduate Research Challenge. My master’s thesis involved a biogeochemical analysis of the Kiamichi River Basin in southeast Oklahoma. My dissertation research focuses on applying geochemistry techniques to investigate deep-water ventilation changes using marine sediments. I also learned that it was OK to move around research areas; the skillsets I built from projects are applicable to multiple fields. WHAT HAVE YOU BEEN WORKING ON? In 2024, I was part of the science party of the International Ocean Discovery Program Expedition 403, which recovered sediment cores from the Fram Strait situated between Greenland and Svalbard. The material recovered will help us learn more about deep-water variability, and how Arctic glaciations, ice shelf development and distribution of sea ice were impacted by the inflow of warm waters from the Atlantic Ocean. WHAT ARE THE IMPACTS OF YOUR RESEARCH? Studying changes in deep-water ventilation is important for understanding the dynamics of global thermohaline circulation, and its effect on climate and global processes. Drilling vessels can recover deep-sea sediment cores, where we can apply geochemistry proxies to investigate changes in deep-water ventilation throughout geologic time, which helps us to infer climate changes in the past. Results of these investigations are important for predicting and managing the impacts of climate change on marine systems. WHAT ARE YOUR FUTURE PLANS? I plan on applying for postdoctoral fellowships and faculty positions, as ultimately, I would like to continue research in high-latitude marine environments. I also hope to lead an ocean research expedition later in my career. 18 CONNECT 2025
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy MjAxMjk=