MTSU undergrad students showcase research on ecosystems, audiology, more at state Capitol

MTSU Posters at the Capitol featured image

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Edwin Walck received his thirst for education and research honestly, through his parents, Jeffrey Walck and Siti Hidayati, Middle Tennessee State University Department of Biology faculty members.

Edwin Walck, a senior Aerospace Department major with concentrations in professional pilot and flight dispatch, was among seven MTSU undergraduate student researchers and nearly 60 from nine Tennessee universities attending the annual Posters at the Capitol recently at the Tennessee Capitol in Nashville.

Middle Tennessee State University undergraduate psychology major Izzy Jacober, right, meets with state Rep. Clark Boyd during the annual Posters at the Capitol event Wednesday, April 2, at the state Capitol in Nashville, Tenn. Boyd represents voters in District 45, which includes Cannon and part of Wilson and DeKalb counties. (MTSU photo by Lindsay Randolph)

Hosted by MTSU and the Tennessee STEM Education Center since 2006, Posters at the Capitol showcases research being conducted by undergraduates from Memphis to Johnson City. The event exposes state legislators to the student researchers and the students to their legislators.

Along with Walck, who said his parents “certainly have been a big influence in all this,” MTSU’s other researchers selected this year included Izzy Jacober, Rashieq Cockerham, just-named a 2025 Goldwater Scholar Isaac Puckett, Ananya Arcot, Shelby Mayhut and Esme’ Keszler.

“The research allowed me to pursue my interests, outside of my major, in mapping, aerial photography and history,” said Walck, 23, of Murfreesboro, whose one-year study was titled “Natural and Anthropogenic Ecosystem Loss Following Establishment of Percy Priest Lake.” “It was fun seeing how the research all came together from initially collecting data to presenting my results.”

Edwin Walck, MTSU undergraduate student researcher from Murfreesboro, Tenn. — Edwin Walck

Walck’s study, which has concluded, “evaluated the extent of natural and anthropogenic ecosystems lost due to the (damming of the Stones River and) formation of this lake” to provide hydroelectric power and flood control in 1967. His mentor was Jeremy Aber, an associate professor in the Department of Geosciences.

Tennessee Sen. Shane Reeves, left, of Murfreesboro, Tenn., learns about current undergraduate research from biology major Rashieq Cockerham, center, and aerospace major Edwin Walck in Reeves’ Tennessee Capitol office Wednesday, April 2, during the annual Posters at the Capitol visit. Nine state universities sent nearly 60 students, who shared their research with state legislators. (MTSU photo by Lindsay Randolph)

Non-forested areas, mostly crop lands in the river’s floodplain, woodlands, forests, the river and its tributaries and cedar glades were lost, the research revealed. Additionally, 188 structures and four bridges were destroyed.

Walck plans to pursue a flight dispatch career and may pursue a graduate degree in geographic information system and aerospace.

From left, Jamie Burriss, director of the Middle Tennessee State University Undergraduate Research Center, and undergraduate students Shelby Mayhut, Ananya Arcot, Esme’ Keszler, Izzy Jacober, Edwin Walck, Rashieq Cockerham and Isaac Puckett attend the annual Posters at the Capitol April 2 at the Tennessee Capitol in Nashville, Tenn. (Submitted photo)

Data from college students

Arcot, 20, of Brentwood, a senior speech-language pathology and audiology major in the Department of Health and Human Performance who is graduating in August, said the April 2 event “was a great experience meeting the legislators and getting a feel for the capitol.”

Ananya Arcot, 20, of Brentwood, Tenn., an MTSU senior — Ananya Arcot

She conducted research on “The Effects of Audiovisual, Visual and Orthographic Input on Language Learning in College Students.” Arcot worked on the project for one year as part of an Honors thesis, mentored by Meghan Wendelken, assistant professor in Health and Human Performance within the College of Behavioral and Health Sciences.

The study compares three conditions of watching a 25-minute selected documentary clip — audiovisual, visual and text and audiovisual and text — to determine the highest incidental vocabulary acquisition, the correlation between existing vocabulary skills and vocabulary learning, and the differing perspectives of the documentary based on the three conditions, Arcot said.

“Preliminary data has shown significant gain in scores after watching the documentary, but there have been no changes in language learned among the three conditions with fill-in-the blank scores,” she added. “My experience with research had its ups and downs, but my research team and the faculty made it an enjoyable process.”

Arcot said she hopes to get her master’s in speech pathology or a doctorate in audiology and continue this research in some form

To learn about the many Tennessee STEM Education Center offerings, visit https://tsec.mtsu.edu or call 615-904-8573.

For more on the MTSU Undergraduate Research Center, visit https://urc.mtsu.edu or call Director Jamie Burriss at 615-494-7669.

— Randy Weiler (Randy.Weiler@mtsu.edu)