Deep South Center ERC News

ERC Trainee Research, Presentations and Awards:

Shivaprasad Nageswaran, a spring 2023 PhD graduate of the OSE program, won the National Three Minute Thesis, or 3MT™ Competition, hosted by the Council of Graduate Schools at their Annual Meeting on Dec. 10, 2023, in Washington, DC. Among 12 contestants from the US and Central America, Nageswaran received the top award at the national level, the People’s Choice Award.
Preston Graben was selected to join the highly competitive MITRE National Security Accelerator Program.
Jessica Volz, OHN Trainee, presented Mitigating Workforce Violence, Virtual Nursing, New Models and Trends for the Future, The Healthcare Council and Premier Fall Conference, 2023, Bethesda, MD
Jessica Volz and Katie Wells, OHN Trainees, poster presentation: Implementing Detective Consults for Anonymous Reports, Maryland Patient Safety Center Conference 2023, Baltimore, MD
In November 2023, PhD trainee, Precious Diaz presented at the 17th Annual Southeast Mine Safety and Health Conference in Birmingham, AL: Cultivating Safety Leadership: Addressing Root Causes and Behavioral Health
IH PhD Trainees Precious Diaz, Nathan Chen, Seunghyeon Yang and Megan McMahan, received scholarships from the Southeast Mine Safety and Health Conference, held in Birmingham, AL, November 2023
Meghan McMahan, PhD trainee, (Lungu-advisor): 1st Place Doctoral Poster Presentation, Southeast Regional Research Symposium (SERRS)
Meghan McMahan, PhD trainee, won 1st Place Poster Presentation of Section VIII Environmental and Earth Science, 101st Annual Alabama Academy of Science (AAS) Meeting for her poster: Development of a Dual-Air Purifying Respirator: Analysis of Activated Carbon Fiber’s simultaneous Filtration Efficiency and VOC Capture in February 2024
Seunghyeon Yang (Oh-advisor): The Amazon “Invent and Simplify” Scholarship and The D. Jeff Burton Scholarship
Maya Van Houten-Armstrong (Oh-advisor): The Pengfei Gao Memorial Scholarship and The George & Florence Clayton Scholarship
Meghan McMahan (Lungu-advisor): The Amazon “Invent and Simplify” Scholarship
Precious Diaz (Lungu- advisor): American Industrial Hygiene Foundation (AIHF) Scholarship
Darkeya “DeDe” Rowe (Oh-advisor): The Monica Melkonian Memorial Scholarship
Savannah Maples was recently awarded the annual Dr. Saeed Maghsoodloo Assistantship. The assistantship acknowledges and rewards the valuable role that graduate teaching assistants (GTA) play in the Auburn University Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering (ISE). https://eng.auburn.edu/news/2024/03/maghsoodloo-assistantship-awarded-to-ise-doctoral-student
Maria Lanzi, OHN Trainee, was inducted into the Fellows of American Association of Nurse Practitioners (2024) and was also awarded the AANP NP State Award for Excellence (2024)
Jessica Volz, OHN trainee, was awarded National Sexual Violence Resource Center Visionary Voice Award (2024), and was a 2024 Adventist HealthCare Compassionate Care Award Nominee
Jessica Volz, OHN trainee, was presented with an Maryland General Assembly Official Citation: “In recognition of her steadfast commitment to patient centered care and her tireless leadership to ensure sexual assault survivors have access to forensic exams” (2024), by Senator William Smith Jr.
Nathan Chen, PhD candidate in Environmental Health Sciences, received the Dr. Jack Driscoll Best Real-Time Detection Student Poster Award at the national American Industrial Hygiene Conference and Exposition (AIHce, May 2024) for his poster presentation, “Occupational Exposure to Hand-arm Vibration (HAV) in US Groundskeepers”. The Dr. Jack Driscoll Award is given to the best student poster at AIHce that focuses on real-time detection.
Meghan McMahan (Lungu-advisor): Second Place Silver winning poster for the Best in Show Awards, American Industrial Hygiene Association (AIHA) CONNECT
Nathan Chen (Oh-advisor): Third Place Bronze winning poster for the Best in Show Awards, American Industrial Hygiene Association (AIHA) CONNECT
Meghan McMahan (Lungu-advisor): Best Volunteer Group Student Poster Awards from Protective Clothing and Equipment Committee & Respiratory Protection Committee, American Industrial Hygiene Association (AIHA) CONNECT
Six doctoral students in the Auburn University Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering (ISE) were awarded American Society of Safety Professionals (ASSP) Foundation scholarships, totaling $32,000. OSE students Savannah Maples and Emmanuel Winful and OIP students Lucie Outlaw and Bob Sesek were recipients.
https://eng.auburn.edu/news/2024/08/six-ise-doctoral-students-awarded-assp-foundation-scholarships
M. Callihan*, H. Cole, A. Callihan, E. Penn, L. Peek, M. Barrow, C. T. Lungu, E. Odame, J. Oh, H. Stokley, J. Wickliffe, L. Winchester. Reliability of Wearable Technology to Monitor Core Temperature among Helicopter-based EMS Crews. Workplace Health & Safety. Accepted.
Shinozuka-Johnson, N. S., Garner, S., & Jones, A. R. (2024-accepted for publication). Updated blood pressure guidelines: Navigating Workplace Impact. Workplace Health & Safety
Ballard, V. (2023e, September 19). Unlocking Potential: Redefining Workspaces through Inclusivity and Innovative Universal Design. [Keynote Speaker]. Cintas Ergonomics Competition Innovation Webinar Series, Webinar.
Ballard, V. (2023f, October 12). Assessing the Cognitive Load and Learning of ADHD Workers in Manual Assembly Manufacturing Tasks with and without Augmentation [Poster Presentation]. Graduate Engineering Research Showcase, Auburn University, Auburn, AL.
Ballard, V., Pantazes, R. (2023). Neurodiversity. Auburn University College of Engineering Faculty DEI Colloquium.
Harris, C., Vance, D. E., & Heaton, K. (2024). Diesel Engine Exhaust Exposure in Relation to Lung Cancer in Long-Haul Truck Drivers: An Eight-Step Concept Analysis. Workplace health & safety, 72(8), 314–326. https://doi.org/10.1177/21650799241248388
Heaton, K., Harris, C., Aroke, E. (2024). Working While in Pain: A Qualitative Research Case Study. Southern Pain Society Annual Meeting, New Orleans, LA. September 20 – 22, 2024.