FUNDS GREAT IDEASUndergraduate Research Grants

Created in 2006, the Undergraduate Research Grant program provides $35,000 in funding per year with the purpose of encouraging curiosity, creativity, risk-taking and scholarly investigation into a project or subject of interest relevant to the student’s major. Each year, students from majors across the School of the Arts apply for grants to make their ideas a reality. This booklet highlights a few recent team projects.

Virginia Commonwealth University School of the Arts325 N Harrison St, Suite 201 PO Box 842519Richmond, Virginia, USA 23284-2519

arts.vcu.edu/ugrg

804-VCU-ARTSarts@vcu.edu

A Psychophysiological Model for the Assessment 1 of Chronic Muscle Tension in Trumpet Players

…Over 2

Medical Motion 3

Wood Steamer for VCUarts Wood Shop 4

Aerogel Exploration 5

This Makes Sense 6

The People’s Library 8

RVA Parklet 10

musicspace.edu: Education Re-form 12Through Space and Creativity

FUNDING GREAT IDEASVCUarts UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCH GRANTS

A PSYCHOPHYSIOLOGICAL MODEL

FOR THE ASSESSMENT OF CHRONIC

MUSCLE TENSION IN TRUMPET PLAYERSA psychophysiological model will be developed to assess muscle tension in students who play brass instruments. Common among musicians who play brass instruments intensely for long periods of time, chronic muscular conditions of the neck, facial, and upper back muscles restrict how well players can perform. To facilitate effective performance, students will use surface electromyography and the Mental Health Inventory to determine the causes of, and potential preventive measures for, chronic muscle tension in instrumentalists.

RECIPIENTS:Hannah Rumsey, Music Performance; Sahil Aggarwal and Erin Hobson, Biology; Jeeyun Park, Biomedical Engineering

AWARD: $4,693

1

…OVERA student, himself a veteran, will work with a group of veterans to create an installation that addresses the suppression of emotions related to wartime service. Interviews will be conducted in which veterans will unpack their thoughts and feelings concerning their experience of war. Words drawn from these interviews will then be stamped on dog tags that will be hung in a manner that references military campaigns, troop movements and other features of war. The project aims to explore ways of coping with wartime experience as well as helping families, friends, and the community to support and understand the experience of veterans.

RECIPIENTS:Joe Olney, Painting + Printmaking; Ben Sims, VCU alumnus

AWARD: $1,310

2

MEDICAL MOTIONIn order to meet the challenge of making medical science easier for students and professionals to grasp, a team of students will develop an informational video clip exploring a complex medical topic—the multiple pathways of lipids in the human body. The team hopes to use the video to show the ways in which different disciplines can work together to make learning more accessible through use of animated technology.

RECIPIENTS:William Hernandez and Maya Sosa, Communication Arts; Mary Anne Matel and Carlos Valdes, Kinetic Imaging; Deborah Me and Laura Zalles, medical students

AWARD: $1,924

3

WOOD STEAMERFOR VCUARTS WOOD SHOP

Students will construct a wood steamer to explore the possibilities of wood bending. They will research how wood bends, including the aesthetic effect produced by different types of curved wood. Construction of the steamer requires engineering skills, pushing the traditional design of a steamer to make it functional for a wide variety of wood types and sizes. This project unites the scientific with the creative, fostering interdis-ciplinary activity by creating the tool that allows for the study of sculptural elements.

RECIPIENTS:Casey Burkett, Sculpture + Extended Media; Matthew Burnette, Chuck Meas and Jose Ocampo, Mechanical Engineering

AWARD: $5,000

4

AEROGELEXPLORATIONThis project will explore the properties of aerogel, the lightest, lowest density solid and similar in structure to glass, through its application in a sound piece/installation. Students will create and mold aerogel capable of withstanding pres-sure and use. They will develop a means for increasing the longevity and stabil-ity of aerogels for use in sculptural and other applications. The resulting aerogel will be used to make mechanical parts and sculptures for use in an installation.

RECIPIENTS:Ginger Kitchen, Sculpture + Extended Media; Robert Williams, Physics

AWARD: $3,584

5

6

THIS MAKES SENSEThe team will investigate translating sensory perception using technology in novel ways. They will transform a gallery space into a sensory translating device, presenting data from several outdoor locations throughout Richmond during different seasons and hours. Three different installations will translate sight to sound, sound to sight, and sound to touch. Engineering students will develop the data-collection devices and use the data to create a multisensory exhibition in a gallery setting, while Cinema students will create a documentary that examines the process.

RECIPIENTS:Dillon Meyer and Taylor Robinson, Cinema; Perrin Turner, Jihyung Yoon, Sculpture + Extended Media; Michael Flynn, Electrical Engineering; Marcus Massok, Mechanical Engineering; Laura Pretzman, Chemical Engineering/Chemical Science; Elliot Roth, Biomedical Engineering/Chemical Engineering

AWARD: $5,000

7

8

1. Take books headed for the recycling bin. 2. Remove the pages. 3. Shred the paper to make new paper. 4. Insert that into the old covers for the public to author. 5. Have these books available for the public to check out at the library.

Courtney Bowles, Riley Duncan, and Mark Strandquist have created The People’s Library, repurposing unwanted books into new vessels for our stories and histories. They’ve facilitated dozens of free public workshops at Richmond venues, where participants shared skills, made paper, silk-screened title pages and bound books. “They make paper, or bind books with the understanding that someone else would be doing the same for them. There’s a generative component that is really exciting,” Strandquist says.

A spin-off, the People’s Librarians intern-ship program, was initiated with VCU

students mentoring local high schoolers. People’s Librarians learn the creative and community-based skills necessary to lead workshops and facilitate their own workshops. They silkscreen, bind books, make paper and learn how to be commu-nity organizers.

Librarians all over the country now want to start their own People’s Library. One way the team is disseminating information is through an exhibition at Columbia College in Chicago, creating a visual model of the project that will include a DIY-guide for visitors.

RECIPIENTS:Courtney Bowles, Anthropology and Environmental Studies; Riley Duncan, Sculpture + Extended Media; Mark Strandquist, Photography and Sociology

AWARD: $5,000

THE PEOPLE’SLIBRARY

9

10

RVAPARKLETAfter researching sustainable trends around major cities in the U.S., this student team encountered an initiative that promotes wellness, sustainability, design, and interaction: temporary recreational areas known as Parklets. Considering that many streets are excessively wide and contain large zones of wasted space, especially at intersections, Parklets have become a solution to this problem. They seek to reclaim some unused swathes and quickly and inexpensively turn them into new public plazas and parks. By taking over two parking spots to create this space, the intent is to encourage people to exercise, have somewhere to sit and relax and enjoy the city around them, specifically where narrow sidewalks would otherwise preclude such activities. This project also explores different methods of building and construction while taking into consideration limitations posed by real-world situations.

The city of Richmond is currently evaluating a proposed ordinance that will allow for semi-permanent parklets to be built.

RECIPIENTS:Ricardo Hernandez-Perez, Interior Design; Lauren Versino, Sculpture + Extended Media

AWARD: $5,000

11

MUSICSPACE.EDU: EDUCATION

RE-FORM THROUGH

SPACE AND CREATIVITY This project will study the effects of the current educational environments on the creative individual. Through research, the team will provide an educational environment that is stimulat-ing and accommodating to the current generation of students. The space will strengthen the music community and foster collaboration between students, while encouraging the learning process and allowing students to be more explorative in their creative endeavors.

RECIPIENTS:Chanel Hurt, Music; Anthony Martin, Interior Design; Christina Merritt, Psychology

AWARD: $5,000

12

VCUarts RICHMOND UNDERGRADUATE MAJORS

Art Education – BFAArt History – BACinema – BACommunication Arts – BFA illustration, drawing, visual studiesCraft/Material Studies – BFA clay, fiber, glass, metal, woodDance & Choreography – BFAFashion Design – BFAFashion Merchandising – BAGraphic Design – BFAInterior Design – BFAKinetic Imaging – BFA video, animation, soundMusic – BA, BMPainting + Printmaking – BFAPhotography & Film – BFASculpture + Extended Media – BFATheatre – BFA, BA

arts.vcu.edu

VCU QATAR UNDERGRADUATE MAJORS

Art History - BAFashion Design – BFAGraphic Design – BFAInterior Design – BFAPainting & Printmaking – BFA

qatar.vcu.edu

VCUarts UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCH GRANTS

We are continually amazed at our students’ incredible ideas and level of thinking and curiosity. And in this regard, VCUarts puts its money where its mouth is, with grants totaling $35,000 annually for undergraduate research.

All Richmond VCUarts undergraduate students are eligible. Students may apply every year.

The projects in this booklet are just a sampling of the innovative ideas put forth by our students. The full list, and instructions for submitting a grant proposal, can be found at:

arts.vcu.edu/ugrg

We have amazing students. They’re filled with

innovative projects ideas that may not get off the

ground without a bit of cash. That’s where the

VCUarts Undergraduate Research Grants come in.

Students submit their collaborative proposals and,

boom, many are selected for funding. This book

includes some of the interesting projects that students

have initiated since we began the program in 2006.

To date, we’ve supported students to the tune of

more than $150,000 through these grants.

To read about more student projects,

visit arts.vcu.edu/ugrg

School of the Arts