Graduate Research Symposium

Event Showcases Student Research

A pianist since the age of three, graduate student Angela Wong understands the intricacies of music. However, after taking a music cognition class with Georgia Southern University professor Laura Stambaugh, Wong turned from performer to researcher, to study the ways music therapy can benefit individuals with Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease.

Her research “Does music function as a memory enhancer for patients with Alzheimer’s disease?” was just one of more than 80 projects on display in the atrium of the Allen E. Paulson College of Engineering and Information Technology. Students presented research posters and lecture sessions at the annual Graduate Research Symposium, sponsored by the University’s College of Graduate Studies.

“Music therapists have been making short-term observations of patients with Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s disease,” said Wong. “Music can be used as a tool to recall more information, and studies have shown that patients do have an increased memory for music.”

Students’ research focused on a wide range of topics such as irrigation needs for cash crops, the running behavior of desert lizards, the use of peanuts as a source of alternative fuel, the effects of concussions in various sports and a children’s after-school garden and nutrition pilot program. Cash prizes were awarded to the first, second and third place winners from each College.