ECU students share research on graduate education day
ECU graduate students Bradley Eidschun, Daniel Zapf and Mahealani Kaneshiro-Pineiro represented East Carolina University in North Carolina’s Graduate Education Day May 23 in Raleigh. (Contributed photo)
Three East Carolina University graduate students displayed their research at the North Carolina Capitol Building in Raleigh May 23 as part of North Carolina’s Graduate Education Week, May 20-26.
Mahealani Kaneshiro-Pineiro, Bradley Eidschun and Daniel Zapf from ECU joined students from Duke, Wake Forest and other UNC system universities at the event, which was designed to recognize the contributions that graduate education makes to the scientific, cultural, and economic needs of the state and global communities.
The three ECU students set up posters highlighting their research projects. They met with ECU Chief of Staff Phillip Rogers, the university’s liaison with the state legislature, and discussed their research with a number of elected officials, including Rep. Marian McLawhorn, Rep. Bill Cook, Rep. G.L. Pridgen, Rep. Tim Spear and Sen. Stan White.
Additional information about the students follows:
Kaneshiro-Pineiro
A native of Oahu, Hawaii, Kaneshiro-Pineiro is a PhD candidate in coastal resources management. She has a master’s degree in zoology and a bachelor’s in marine science from the University of Hawaii at Manoa and Hilo, respectively. She has conducted research throughout the Pacific, including Midway Atoll and Okinawa, Japan. Her research interests include jellyfish ecology and jellyfish-human interactions. Kaneshiro-Pineiro presented research on the biology and tourism effects of Sea Nettle jellyfish. Her faculty mentor is David Kimmel, assistant professor of biology in the Harriot College of Arts and Sciences and the Institute for Coastal Science and Policy.
Eidschun
Arizona native Eidschun has just completed a master’s degree in mathematics at ECU and holds a bachelor’s in mathematics and computer science from UNC-Pembroke. His research examined a method for modeling tsunami and rogue waves, as well as the impact these waves could have on the North Carolina coast. ECU mathematics professors David Pravica and Mike Spurr served as Eidschun’s mentors.
Zapf
Master’s degree student Zapf, of Rochester, N.Y., has a bachelor’s degree in environmental biology from the State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry. He has worked for the Illinois Natural History Survey studying fisheries ecology in Lake Michigan. Zapf’s research examined critical river herring nursery habitats in the Albemarle Sound using otolith microchemistry. His faculty mentor is Roger Rulifson, professor of biology in the Harriot College of Arts and Sciences and the Institute for Coastal Science and Policy
Accompanying the students were their faculty mentors, ECU Graduate School Dean Paul Gemperline, along with Graduate School Associate Deans Thomas J. McConnell and Belinda Patterson. Gemperline is the president of the North Carolina Conference of Graduate Schools for 2011-2012.
Governor Bev Perdue signed a proclamation in January declaring May 23 as Graduate Education Day and May 20-26 as Graduate Education Week in North Carolina.
Faculty, administrators and students were among the ECU attendees at Graduate Education Day.