Photo by Andrew McKeough ’19

The Falvey Scholars Program, established in 2002, is an annual program by Falvey Library and the Center for Research and Fellowships to recognize outstanding undergraduate research. Award winners are selected from candidates nominated by Villanova faculty and reviewed by Library and University staff.

This year, we honor eight students for seven outstanding projects, which reflect the strength of Villanova’s undergraduate research as well as the support the Library provides through its expert staff, copious resources, and welcoming spaces.

We are introducing our scholars and covering their research in their own words. Look for additional coverage of Grace Lundell ’23 CLAS and her fellow Falvey Scholars in the fall issue of Mosaic.

Congratulations to all of our Falvey Scholars, past and present!

Grace Lundell ’23 CLAS

Faculty Mentor(s): Deborah Seligsohn, PhD, and Ryan Weldzius, PhD, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences

Title: “War, What is it Good For?: The Effect of Military Conflicts on Trust in the EU”

Hometown: Washington, DC

Other Honors: Connelly-Delouvrier Scholarship; Vocare Fellowship; 2023 College of Liberal Arts and Sciences’ Fritz Nova Award for excellence in Political Science; 2023 College of Liberal Arts and Sciences’ the Rev. Joseph J. Gildea, OSA Award for excellence in French and Francophone Studies

Tell me about your research.
“I researched whether the ‘rally around the flag effect’ can occur at the level of the European Union (EU). In other words, I investigated whether wars in Europe or involving EU states can cause an increased trust in the EU among its citizens.”

How did Falvey’s resources, databases, and spaces impact your research?
I used Falvey’s journal databases a lot. I also used Falvey’s compilation of surveys/data to find the data source that I ended up using in my study.

What’s next for you?
I am working this summer at the Department of State. I will then be going to the London School of Economics for my master’s in international relations.

Will you continue this research direction or has it inspired you to new research interests?

So, although I don’t know that I’ll continue to research this specific topic, I’m definitely interested in continuing my research on Europe and the EU.

Shawn Proctor, MFA, is Communication and Marketing Program Manager at Falvey Library.

Photo by Andrew McKeough ’19

The Falvey Scholars Program, established in 2002, is an annual program by Falvey Library and the Center for Research and Fellowships to recognize outstanding undergraduate research. Award winners are selected from candidates nominated by Villanova faculty and reviewed by Library and University staff.

This year, we honor eight students for seven outstanding projects, which reflect the strength of Villanova’s undergraduate research as well as the support the Library provides through its expert staff, copious resources, and welcoming spaces.

We are introducing our scholars and covering their research in their own words. Look for additional coverage of Thomas and Rohan and their fellow Falvey Scholars in the fall issue of Mosaic.

Congratulations to all of our Falvey Scholars, past and present!

Rohan Biscuitwala ’23 VSB & Thomas Haas ’23 VSB (Joint Project)

Title: “Savor the Flavor: The Mediating Role of Emotions on the Relationship Between Flavor and Behavior”

Faculty Mentor: Aronte Bennett, PhD, Villanova School of Business

Describe your research in your own words.
Our project used empirical research methods to investigate the impact that gustatory experiences related to specific flavors have on emotional reactions. Primary results indicated the emergence of sweet flavors in certain emotions, including warm, secure, and calm, among others. The next phase of this study will include gathering alternative methods to priming flavors, and, later, observing how these emotional responses influence consumer behavior.

How did Falvey’s resources, databases, and spaces impact your research?
Falvey Library’s online database was one of the main sources we used in researching for this study, a part of the process that we have spent a great amount of time on with how little background we had coming in.

Psychinfo is one we particularly looked to quite a bit initially in researching multimodal sensory experiences that fuse in the brain, like smell and taste. This helped us start to form the actual hypothesis and ideate examples of what the experiment could look like, reviewing pre-existing studies in based on the sense of smell in journals found through said database. Past experience with the database from Competitive Effectiveness class gave us some idea of how to use it, but we now have a much greater appreciation for just how useful and expansive the knowledge contained within it can be.

How did the Library’s staff impact your research and academic experience?
Linda Hauck, Business Librarian, has also been a big help in our literature review process, pointing us in the right direction toward sources we could base the development of our research design on. Considering our general inexperience with research projects of this scale, any insight we could gain was extremely beneficial, so Mrs. Hauck’s assistance with the research process made a clear impact, especially in looking for example experiments to help brainstorm the set-up of our supplemental study.

This supplemental one will involve conducting an in-person field study, and Mrs. Hauck provided us with great resources as well as a guide on how to find more, allowing us to outline how this study should be designed. Something we have learned about the research project process is just how intensive review processes can be, so I am sure we would have overlooked something if not for the assistance of Falvey Library, between its help in creating a comprehensive literature review and unlocking ideas and best practices for conducting this study.

What’s next for you?

T.H.: The process shined a light on a career path that had not really given the time of day before. Perhaps my love of exploring new ideas can be fulfilled just as well in academia as it can in the market (or just on my own time). It has also sharpened my analytical and research skills, which will be useful in my career given my Business Analytics co-major and interest in that line of work.

R.B: The main reason I got into this research project was my curiosity for consumer behavior, and this experience has really built my passion for this subject, exposing me to great research pieces and allowing me to think more in depth about neuro-psychology. This makes me want to explore more about our unconscious behaviors for relevant use cases, such as the prominence of para-social influencers or how social media algorithms affect our behaviors. Ultimately, I feel this experience has opened the door for me into a subject I am passionate about and want to continue researching.

 Shawn Proctor, MFA, is Communication and Marketing Program Manager at Falvey Library.

Photo by Andrew McKeough ’19

The Falvey Scholars Program, established in 2002, is an annual program by Falvey Library and the Center for Research and Fellowships to recognize outstanding undergraduate research. Award winners are selected from candidates nominated by Villanova faculty and reviewed by Library and University staff.

This year, we honor eight students for seven outstanding projects, which reflect the strength of Villanova’s undergraduate research as well as the support the Library provides through its expert staff, copious resources, and welcoming spaces.

We are introducing our scholars and covering their research in their own words. Look for additional coverage of Olivia Hall and her fellow Falvey Scholars in the fall issue of Mosaic.

Congratulations to all of our Falvey Scholars, past and present!

Olivia Hall ’23 COE

Faculty Mentor(s): Deeksha Seth, PhD, College of Engineering

Title: “Integration of Design and Interdisciplinarity in Engineering Education: Development and Assessment”

Hometown: Kennett Square, Pa.

Other Honors: Presidential Scholar

Tell me about your research.

Our work is about optimizing engineering design education to meet 21^st century industry needs. We have developed an integrative, interdisciplinary, project-based learning activity designed to improve student perception of integration and interdisciplinarity, preparing them for the modern workplace.

How did Falvey’s resources, databases, and spaces impact your research?

We exclusively used databases promoted by the library, confident in their extensive scope, for our literature review. The subject guides were especially helpful in this endeavor since we considered areas outside of engineering.

How did the Library’s staff impact your research and academic experience?

We relied on staff to coordinate inter-library loans that were integral to drafting our literature review. The subjects guides prepared by the staff were also very helpful in identifying resources to evaluate.

What’s next for you?

I will be working as a systems engineer and am considering continuing my education in the near future.

Will you continue this research direction or has it inspired you to new research interests?

I have become extremely passionate about engineering education and, should I choose to pursue further education, would seek to specialize in that area. It has also made me much more interested in engineering design work, something I hope to explore further as I enter industry.

Shawn Proctor, MFA, is Communication and Marketing Program Manager at Falvey Library.

Photo by Andrew McKeough ’19

The Falvey Scholars Program, established in 2002, is an annual program by Falvey Library and the Center for Research and Fellowships to recognize outstanding undergraduate research. Award winners are selected from candidates nominated by Villanova faculty and reviewed by Library and University staff.

This year, we honor eight students for seven outstanding projects, which reflect the strength of Villanova’s undergraduate research as well as the support the Library provides through its expert staff, copious resources, and welcoming spaces.

We are introducing our scholars and covering their research in their own words. Look for additional coverage of Bronwyn Mogck and her fellow Falvey Scholars in the fall issue of Mosaic.

Congratulations to all of our Falvey Scholars, past and present!

Bronwyn Mogck ’23 CLAS

Title: “Body and Soul in Medicine”

Faculty Mentor: Helena Tomko, PhD, and Angela DiBenedetto, PhD, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences

Hometown: Simsbury, Conn.

Honors: Honors Program at Villanova, St. Augustine Scholarship at Villanova, SENS Student Research Fellowship, SENS Post Baccalaureate Fellowship, Phi Beta Kappa

Tell me about your research.

In my research project, I describe the historical roots of the concept of the human soul. I begin by showing how, in the modern age, we do not typically respect the idea of the soul, and tend to see people as only their bodies. I argue against the validity of this reductionism, and propose that we return to an older, classical idea that people are both completely their bodies and completely their souls. Once I fully explain these two different viewpoints, I analyze how the current healthcare system would be changed if we started to view the human, once again, as embodied and ensouled.

How did Falvey’s resources, databases, and spaces impact your research?

My thesis is very interdisciplinary, as I read everything from scientific journal articles, to theological doctrine, to fictional stories for the project. I took advantage of the databases to access many scientific and philosophical journal articles, and I even installed Villanova’s remote VPN so I could keep using Falvey online resources in my off-campus apartment. Additionally, I checked out many physical copies of books to read for the thesis, and I referenced previous senior theses that the Library publishes online to help me with formatting and inspiration.

How did the Library’s staff impact your research and academic experience?

The Library staff were incredibly helpful, especially in helping me find books in the physical library and through InterLibrary Loan. I actually came into the Library just a few weeks before a thesis deadline in need of a book that was checked out of Falvey. The librarian helped me request it through InterLibrary Loan so I could read the book and add the material I learned from it to my thesis in time for a pressing draft deadline.

What’s next for you?

I will be conducting biological research in of lab of Chris Wiley, PhD, at the Jean Mayer USDA Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging at Tufts University. My research will be funded by a Post Baccalaureate Fellowship Grant from the SENS Research Foundation.

Will you continue this research direction or has it inspired you to new research interests?

While my research next year will be far more experimental in nature, my thesis topic is very close to my heart and I hope that I get to return to my research questions later on in my career. I am considering a long term career in the sciences, so I know that my senior project will stay with me on a personal basis. I also hope to use the work I have done this year and submit abstracts to different medical humanities conferences so that I might be able to continue this research in a more professional way.

Shawn Proctor, MFA, is Communication and Marketing Program Manager at Falvey Library.

Photo by Andrew McKeough ’19

The Falvey Scholars Program, established in 2002, is an annual program established by Falvey Library to recognize outstanding undergraduate research. It is a collective initiative of the Library and the Center for Research and Fellowships. Award winners are selected from candidates nominated by Villanova faculty and reviewed by Library and University staff.

This year, we honor eight students for seven outstanding projects, which reflect the strength of Villanova’s undergraduate research as well as the support the Library provides through its staff, resources, and spaces.

We are introducing our scholars and covering their research in their own words. Look for additional coverage of Zachary Boyer and the other Falvey Scholars in the fall issue of Mosaic.

Congratulations to all of our Falvey Scholars, past and present!

Zachary Boyer ’23 CLAS

Title: “Synthesis and Evaluation of the Structure Activity Relationships of Antibacterial Functionalized Dihydropyrimidine Derivatives”

Faculty Mentor: Matthew O’Reilly, PhD, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences

Hometown: Tamaqua, Pa.

Other Honors: Villanova Curvey Scholar, Morgans Scholar, Amcor Scholar, Latoff MS Foundation Scholar, 2022 Barry M. Goldwater Scholar, 2022 Phi Beta Kappa Honor Society Inductee

Describe your research in your own words.
Whether exploring new bond connections, developing new catalysis, or engineering selective synthetic techniques, new chemical transformations with applications in drug/therapeutic development probe my interest.

The evolution of diseases and microbes that cause diseases is as inevitable as a sold-out Villanova men’s basketball game against a Big East rival. Therefore, research toward new therapeutics is essential to ensure a healthier today and tomorrow!

My research explores the underlying chemistry in novel antibiotic development—as antibiotic resistance has become an immense threat to public health in the last decade. My focus is on effectively and efficiently synthesizing these new antibiotics and examining the necessary elements for these molecules to maximize their biological activity against bacterial strains (specifically MRSA, one of the most threatening antibiotic resistant strains of bacteria in the 21st century). I have amazing colleagues that focus on the biology of these compounds—potency, toxicity, mechanism of action, etc. Currently, my efforts are focused toward developing chemistry to enable access to photo affinity probes, which will enable my colleagues to interrogate the mechanism of action of these molecules.

How did Falvey’s resources, databases, and spaces impact your research?
Falvey Library’s resources were indispensable for the project’s success. They enabled access to hundreds of scientific journals in addition to scientific databases (Reaxys and SciFinder), which were essential in the research process, enabling the discovery of the idea for the project.

These resources also helped my colleagues and me to discover any precedent for our project, necessary elements of the project that lacked previous interrogation, and methodology for advancing the project. Lastly, Falvey’s Mendeley resource made for smooth writing—keeping all our references organized and easy to cite.

How did the Library’s staff impact your research and academic experience?
One thing prospective undergraduate students at Villanova will ask me is: “What is it that makes Villanova so great?” My response: the people!

Falvey Library’s staff was incredibly helpful and genial throughout my research/academic experience at Villanova. Whenever a resource was needed or a question arose, staff was eager to come to my aid.

What’s next for you?
I will attend Yale University as a PhD candidate in Organic Chemistry. I will also continue my research career, where I will be developing new synthetic strategies and methods in organic chemistry with applications in drug/therapeutic development. Finally, I will continue my dedication to mentorship and outreach, mentoring undergraduates and introducing children to science, especially children in underprivileged areas of New Haven, Conn.)

Shawn Proctor, MFA, is Communication and Marketing Program Manager at Falvey Library.

Photo by Andrew McKeough ’19

The Falvey Scholars Program is an annual program established by Falvey Library to recognize outstanding undergraduate research. Now in its 21st year, the program is a collective initiative of the Library and the Center for Research and Fellowships. The recipients of this award are selected from a pool of candidates nominated by Villanova faculty and reviewed by Library staff.

This year, eight students received awards for seven different projects, and their work reflects the breadth and depth of undergraduate research at the University as well as the support the Library, its resources and staff, provide student-scholars.

The blog will introduce our scholars and cover their research in their own words. Look for additional coverage of the Falvey Scholars in the fall issue of Mosaic.

Congratulations to all of our Falvey Scholars, past and present!

Madeline Scolio ’23 CLAS

Title: “Modeling the Relationship Between Surface and Air Temperature and Implications for Urban Sustainability and Well-Being in Philadelphia”

Faculty Mentors: Peleg Kremer, PhD, and Samer Abboud, PhD, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences

Hometown: Woodstock, Ill.

Other Honors: Alexander von Humboldt Medallion for Excellence in Geography, Cosmas Indicopleustes Medallion for Excellence in Global Interdisciplinary Studies, NSF Supplemental Grant from the National Science Foundation, Presidential Scholarship, Villanova Undergraduate Research Fellowship, Seamus Heaney Honors Program Writing Award

Describe your research in your own words.

Currently, it is common practice to use remotely sensed surface temperature as a proxy for air temperature in studies of urban heat and microclimate. It has been established that surface temperature is not a good proxy for air temperature. Thus my research revolves around creating a spatiotemporal model that related the surface temperature to air temperature in order to improve the quality of temperature data available for Philadelphia. I also worked to highlight human well-being and sustainability issues around the city that could benefit from this improved data.

How did Falvey’s resources, databases, and spaces impact your research?

In the Fall, I struggled with finding an approach to my project that would highlight its broad application in social and scientific domains and interdisciplinary nature. During this time, I met with Director of Research Services & Scholarly Engagement Jutta Seibert who helped guide my research towards questions of urban sustainability. This meeting was extremely helpful in narrowing down the focus of the geographic information systems (GIS) portion of my thesis while still complementing the more geotechnical question I was investigating. More specifically, she introduced me to Oxford Bibliographies which were extremely useful in building the urban sustainability and human well-being backbone of my project.

How did Falvey’s resources and databases impact your research?

The resources available through the Falvey Library website were critical in facilitating the foundational and explanatory research for my thesis project. I found it helpful to search for similar terms in different databases and compare the results. For example, I searched for literature relating to urban sustainability in both Scopus and JSTOR and got completely different results. This was extremely useful in situating my geotechnical research in a broader context.

Beyond that, I used the website to gain access to journal articles that informed the development of my methods and to gain a comprehensive understanding of a relatively novel field. For example, mobile air temperature monitoring has been conducted on foot, by bike and by car with each method having its own limitations and advantages. Understanding the methods of other researchers was useful in helping weigh the pros and cons of each method and ultimately deciding to collect my data by car. Through the many journals I was able to access through Falvey, I was able to participate in a long history of academic collaboration by building upon the work of other researchers.

What’s next for you?

I am taking a year off to work, travel, apply to graduate school, and spend time with loved ones. After that, I am planning on getting a master’s degree in architecture and urban planning.

Shawn Proctor, MFA, is Communication and Marketing Program Manager at Falvey Library.

Photo by Andrew McKeough ’19

The Falvey Scholars Program is an annual program established by Falvey Library to recognize outstanding undergraduate research. Now in its 21st year, the program is a collective initiative of the Library and the Center for Research and Fellowships. The recipients of this award are selected from a pool of candidates nominated by Villanova faculty and reviewed by Library staff.

This year, eight students received awards for seven different projects, and their work reflects the breadth and depth of undergraduate research at the University as well as the support the Library, its resources and staff, provide student-scholars.

The blog will introduce our scholars and cover their research in their own words. Look for additional coverage of the Falvey Scholars in the fall issue of Mosaic.

Congratulations to all of our Falvey Scholars, past and present!

Becca Jacobson ’23 CLAS

Title: “Identifying Factors that Promote or Inhibit Disability-Related Discussion in Secondary English Language Arts Classrooms”

Faculty Mentor: Christa Bialka, PhD, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences

Hometown: Randolph, N.J.

Other Honors: Secondary Education Medallion, Villanova Undergraduate Research Fellowship Grantee, Honors Senior Thesis Distinction

Describe your research in your own words.
I investigated the factors that influence English Language Arts teachers to discuss or refrain from discussing disability with their students through a qualitative, exploratory study via interviews with 13 in-service secondary English Language Arts teachers. My findings concluded that the role of disability representation in curriculum, role of classroom and school culture, and role of personal factors all contribute to teachers’ decisions to discuss disability. Teachers desired more representation in curriculum and professional development that frames disability as a social identity to aid them in facilitating these discussions.

How did Falvey’s resources, databases, and spaces impact your research?
The Falvey Library databases were integral to my research process, and I would not have been able to complete my thesis without using the databases. My thesis included a 13-page literature review—literature I retrieved from Falvey Library’s databases. This review served as the foundation for my research methods, data, and discussion.

I would be remiss to leave out the fact that I wrote the vast majority of my thesis inside the walls of Falvey Library. In fact, I wrote almost all 45 pages of my thesis at the same desk on the third floor of the Library by the windows overlooking Mendel Hall. I am the type of student who needs complete silence in order to concentrate and prefers to limit visual distractions, so the desks on the third floor that have hutches with dividers create an ideal learning environment for me. I always tell people, “I do my best work on the third floor of the Library,” and my thesis certainly is my best work.

How did the Library’s staff impact your research and academic experience?
I came to know how to navigate databases and conduct research efficiently and strategically because of the presentations from the many research librarians from Falvey Library. I also had the privilege of meeting with a research librarian one-on-one during my first semester at Villanova, which I believe was one of the smartest decisions I made, as I used the knowledge I gained from that meeting throughout the next four years.

What’s next for you?
I plan to secure a position teaching English Language Arts at a public high school in Northern New Jersey in the near future. In terms of future education, I plan to pursue a Master’s Degree in Special Education and move on to my Doctorate in Education later on in my career.

Also, this research has certainly inspired me to pursue research in the future. I want to examine disability-related discussion more deeply through transcripts of actual disability-related conversation in classrooms and the critical talk moves that teachers make in order to facilitate them.

 Shawn Proctor, MFA, is Communication and Marketing Program Manager at Falvey Library.

The Spring 2023 issue of Mosaic is now available in the Digital Library. For those with visual accessibility needs, an optimized, accessible PDF is also available on the same page.

In this issue, learn more about the many technologies and services available in the Digital Scholarship Lab, catch up with a Falvey Scholar, celebrate a milestone with Performance Studies, and hop in the wayback machine to see Villanova’s on-campus radio station though the decades.

Thanks to the many departments across the Library for sharing news, and special thanks to Distinctive Collections and Digital Engagement for hosting the digital version of the publication.

Announcing the 2023 Falvey Scholar Award Winners:

Olivia Hall

Title: “Integration of Design and Interdisciplinarity in Engineering Education: Development and Assessment”

Faculty Mentor(s): Deeksha Seth, PhD, College of Engineering

Madeline Scolio

Title: “Modeling the Relationship Between Surface and Air Temperature and Implications for Urban Sustainability and Well-Being in Philadelphia”

Faculty Mentor(s): Peleg Kremer, PhD, Samer Abboud, PhD, Kabindra Shakya, PhD, Yimin Zhang, PhD, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences

Zachary Boyer

Title: “Synthesis and Evaluation of the Structure Activity Relationships of Antibacterial Functionalized Dihydropyrimidine Derivatives”

Faculty Mentor: Matthew O’Reilly, PhD, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences

Rohan Biscuitwala & Thomas Haas (Joint Project)

Title: “Savor the Flavor: The Mediating Role of Emotions on the Relationship Between Flavor and Behavior”

Faculty Mentor: Aronte Bennett, PhD, Villanova School of Business

Grace Lundell

Title: “War, What is it Good For?: The Effect of Military Conflicts on Trust in the EU”

Faculty Mentor: Deborah Seligsohn, PhD and Ryan Weldzius, PhD, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences

Becca Jacobson

Title: “Identifying Factors that Promote or Inhibit Disability-Related Discussion in Secondary English Language Arts Classrooms”

Faculty Mentor: Christa Bialka, PhD, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences

Bronwyn Mogck

Title: “Body and Soul in Medicine”

Faculty Mentor: Helena Tomko, PhD and Angela DiBenedetto, PhD, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences

Join us on Friday, April 28, at 10 a.m., in Falvey Library’s Speakers’ Corner for the 2023 Falvey Scholars Research Presentation and Awards Ceremony. At the event, award recipients will give short presentations on the content and findings of the research involved in the writing of the thesis or in the creation of the project report. You can also view via livestream as well: https://vums-web.villanova.edu/Mediasite/Play/0b78a4f3822a4eebaecb01ad3fe85b941d

The Falvey Scholar award is an annual program established by Falvey Library to recognize outstanding undergraduate research. It is a collaborative initiative of the Library and the Center for Research and Fellowships. The winners of the Falvey Scholar award are selected from a pool of candidates that will be generated by applications submitted by a senior Villanova University student or a group of students working on a senior project together with the recommendation of the advisor to the senior thesis or capstone project completed for academic credit.

Digital copies of the winning papers are maintained in the Digital Library.