In this week’s research recap, we have three Scholars Week winners and new equipment has found its way to the Anthropology Department. For in-depth articles on research at Western, visit Gaia, the university’s online journal of research and scholarships, at https://medium.com/gaia-wwuand follow @WWUResearch on Twitter.

Shannon healy, a graduate student in environmental science, received $ 100 for her presentation during the three-minute thesis session during Scholars Week 2021. Healy is more interested in using remote sensing to assess impact various light-absorbing impurities, such as snow algae, on snowmelt. His research thesis uses satellite and drone imagery to assess the influence of snowmelt on water availability in the North Cascades.

Watch his video presentation titled “Using UAV Remote Sensing to Assess the Impact of Melting Glaciers on Downstream Water Availability in the North Cascades,” at https://youtu.be/B-6TRCf0bJY.

Kris tran, a graduate student in psychology, received $ 100 for her presentation during the three-minute thesis session during Scholars Week 2021. Tran is currently conducting a meta-analysis of the well-being of Asian Americans, using the The Satisfaction Scale measures the average level of life satisfaction of Asian Americans and examines how the happiness of Asian Americans is reported in the psychological research literature.

Tran also plans to conduct a qualitative study examining various theories on how and why the well-being of Asian Americans is affected compared to other ethnic groups in North America. In the future, she plans to continue her education in a future graduate program, studying happiness and well-being in other contexts.

Watch Tran’s introductory video, “Asian American Well-Being: A Systematic Review,” at https://youtu.be/sacB8WeqViE.

Piper wolters, a graduate student in computer science, received $ 100 for her presentation during the three-minute thesis session during Scholars Week 2021. Wolters’ work focuses on the application of deep learning to audio and climate studies. In the near future, she hopes to pursue a PhD in computer science and encourage more diversity in this field.

Watch Wolters’ video presentation, “Few-Shot Audio Event Localization,” at https://drive.google.com/file/d/1ZyKrPeW11rUAtIMneuH5YLcHzvedOHqq/view?usp=sharing.

WWU Assistant Professor of Anthrolopology Tesla Monson (@PaleoTesla) and the Department of Anthropology received a technology initiative grant of $ 26,614 for the purchase of a 3D scanner. The scanner will be integrated into anthropology classes to train students in the use of 3D imaging technology, and it will be used to build a digital library of anthropology collections for use by students.