STEM in the Alley

Aiken, SC (12/02/2021) — The University of South Carolina Aiken's (USCA) College of Sciences and Engineering held their bi-annual STEM (science, technology, engineering, mathematics) in the Alley science outreach event in downtown Aiken on Thursday, November 18.

STEM in the Alley was created to mirror a sister program of the College of Sciences and Engineering called Science on Tap. In partnership with the Savannah River National Laboratory (SRNL), Science on Tap began as a way to connect USCA STEM students and faculty with SRNL staff scientists and centers on research themes of interest to the Department of Energy (DOE).

Following the ongoing success of Science on Tap, the College of Sciences and Engineering developed STEM in the Alley as a way to focus on broader STEM topics, not just those of interest to the DOE. Close to 60 people attended the November 18 event, which highlighted student and faculty research from the USCA Department of Psychology. Dr. Chad Leverette, dean of the College of Sciences and Engineering, was pleased with the turnout.

"STEM in the Alley continues to be an outstanding science outreach event that puts the spotlight on research within our college. It is so much fun to bring our research to the Alley in downtown Aiken," Leverette said. "This iteration focused on the high-impact undergraduate and graduate research happening within our Department of Psychology. The research is so important to advance our understanding of psychology. The chance to present this work publicly allows our students to work on their communication and presentation skills, which is essential to being an effective scientist. We are so proud of our faculty and students for the meaningful research they are doing."

Dr. Bridget Cho and Dr. Brianne Coulombe were faculty presenters. Student presenters were (students' faculty advisor names are in parenthesis): Emma Nettles and Brianna Drake (Callen), Samantha Peka (Carrigan), Kayley Ayer and Catelyne Bello (Cho), Emma Swanson (Cho), Megan Medlock and Laura Shillingsburg (Coulombe), Diego Sojo (Pazda), Sydney Strother (Rogers), Kayla Hall (Stafford), Mark Griggs (Swain), and Lauren Jackson (Swain).