SACAD 2023 Recap
The John Heinrichs Scholarly and Creative Activities Day (SACAD) started in 2005 and is held every year in April to celebrate the scholarly, research, and creative activities of Fort Hays State University students, faculty, and staff. SACAD is sponsored by the Fort Hays State University Scholarship Environment Committee, with support from the Office of the Provost, the Office of Scholarship and Sponsored Projects, and from university academic departments and college Deans. SACAD activities include empirical and non-empirical scholarly and scientific poster presentations, oral presentations, and a creative works exhibition.
The following is a snapshot of several student exhibitions from this year’s SACAD.
Clay Burk
Wakenney, KS
Levi Hickert
Hays, KS
Payton Hoffman
Wichita, KS
Trent Hermann
Dodge City, KS
Led by principal investigator Levi Hickert, these students studied the impact of lasers on retinal tissue as part of a research program supported by the defense technology company SAIC. Levi and his team’s work involved modeling the impact of supercontinuum (high bandwidth) lasers on the retina.
Daniel Huantes
San Antonio, TX
Daniel’s research focused on the impact of different colored lasers on retinal tissue. Daniel looked at how some laser colors focus on and are detected in space well in front of the retina. Some are detected deeper into the eye beyond the retina. The most dangerous laser beams are those that have a focus point on the retina itself.
Jiho Hong
Seoul, South Korea
Jiho’s research delves into the topic of Type 2 Diabetes and its occurrences in America, Pakistan, and South Korea. She found the incidences of the disease highest in Pakistan, which she attributes to Pakistanis consumption of large quantities of wheat-based flatbread. Jiho believes that the high levels of glucose (sugar) the human body produces as it converts and processes the wheat in the digestive process is a major contributing factor to Type 2 Diabetes.
Mason Cloud
Wichita, KS
Mason is preparing for a career as an art therapist. His creative work focuses on turning an emotion or experience into a work of art. The piece depicted in the photo’s right-hand side is comprised of five individual clay sculptures and a number of different chemical and metallic finishing processes that, when fused in a kiln, create unique color variations and textures.
Emma Cohn
Alma, KS
Emma and a team of FHSU students tested water from privately owned wells in northern Kansas along the Nebraska border for potential contaminants. Emma’s research focused on the presence of five specific contaminants, including arsenic, iron, nitrates, sulfates, and uranium. Most of the well water she tested was free of dangerous levels of the five contaminants, but two wells located northeast of Norton were found to have high levels of uranium.
Elijah Beauchamp
Kansas City, KS
Elijah studied mortality rates among pregnant women to identify key causal factors. He found that women with high systolic and diastolic blood pressures and high blood sugar levels were at the greatest potential risk of maternal mortality.
Michaela Sielaff
Simla, Colorado
Michaela studied bat activity at McConnell Air Force Base and local Wichita area parks. She used a sophisticated acoustic detector that could identify specific bat species by their unique vocalizations. Somewhat predictably, Michaela found little bat activity on the base over the course of her study. Away from the base, she registered a wide selection of bat species, including the rare Tricolored Bat, a species on the verge of being declared “endangered” by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
About John Heinrichs
The FHSU Scholarly and Creative Activities Day is named in honor of the late Dr. John F. Heinrichs (1957-2014). A popular Geosciences professor, an internationally renowned Arctic researcher, and esteemed colleague, Dr. Heinrichs had a tremendous impact on Fort Hays State University. He was a key supporter of faculty and student research, and his efforts were largely responsible for launching Research and Creative Activities Week, now known as John Heinrichs Scholarly and Creative Activities Day, in his honor.