Undergraduate Research Opportunities: What Have Grace Students Discovered This Summer?

By Elizabeth West (BA 26)

What do history, credit cards, AI, and double stars have in common?

They were each research topics at Grace College! This summer, four groups studied different subjects on campus for the purpose of contributing to the academic research community. Thanks to grants, these professors were able to mentor students in rare undergraduate research opportunities in their fields to grow in practical experience. 

What did they discover and why is it important?

Who was Ma Sunday, and how is she a significant part of Winona Lake History?

This summer, Dr. Mark Norris, professor of European and world history, led a history research project on Ma Sunday with undergraduate students Lillian Shallenberger (a history major), Jade Hermawan (a double major in US and international law and global management), and Vinyl Valastek (a secondary education major with a focus in social studies). 

Helen “Ma” Sunday was the wife of the famous preacher, Billy Sunday. The Sunday couple lived, worked, and raised their children in Winona Lake, Indiana. Ma helped bring Billy’s ministry to national prominence in several ways, including her role in finances and administration. She was also considered a leader in the women’s rights movement, in addition to her support for young mothers with children. These were all points of interest in the history students’ undergraduate research opportunities this summer. 

“The focus is really on the students,” said Dr. Norris. “It’s their project from the very beginning of the research all the way to the end. They’ve completed a literature review, they’ve been in the records themselves, they’ll be doing multiple presentations on campus, and they’ll take a trip together to view the Billy Graham archives in North Carolina.” 

The group visited the Billy Sunday home and the Winona Lake History Center while researching, and frequently used the Morgan Library on campus. Norris and the students studied records, such as letters to and from Ma, to better establish historical timelines and facts for the purpose of writing a book on this historical figure. 

“I learn fabulously by having something in my hands and physically reading it,” Valastek commented about the hands-on approach to research. “When I’m holding records in my hand, it’s just a different feeling. This opportunity is definitely one in a million, because I get to hold documents in my hand from a long time ago and step into the world that they lived in.”

What is it really costing restaurants to process cash and card payments?

Glenn Grossman, professor of finance and entrepreneurship, and accounting student, Galen Hochstetler, are conducting ongoing research that started this summer. Their finance research project is on small businesses and “the cost of payments.”

“When you’re at a restaurant, and you go to pay, you have a choice,” said Grossman. “Oftentimes it’s cash or a card. Every form of payment costs a restaurant owner money, or money in the form of time. We are leading a study with a sample of restaurants in this region to show what their exact cost is to accept each kind of payment in their restaurant.” 

This is groundbreaking research on a topic that has not been thoroughly explored in the business world. The general belief is that accepting cash payments is more cost-effective than processing card payments, but there is little research to determine what is truly the best use of restaurants’ money and time. Grossman hopes that the study will provide the insight needed for small businesses to make profitable financial decisions. 

“This research study, when completed, will be presented as a report to be used by both the restaurant industry and the banking community,” explained Grossman. “We will also seek to publish an article within a peer-reviewed journal. We believe that the next step from this research is to launch a larger national survey that will provide a sample of a nationwide representation of restaurants.”

According to Hochstetler, his faith plays a large role in conducting research ethically. “I care deeply about presenting data accurately, and giving fair looks to both sides of the argument,” said Hochstetler. “While I have my hypothesis as to what the data will say, I ultimately seek to find the truth — even if I end up proving my position is incorrect.”

Professor Grossman is excited to offer a student a chance to do primary research and collect data directly from its source rather than reviewing research produced by others. Undergraduate research opportunities are limited for students, especially primary research, and he is happy to provide an exception. 

This finance research project allows Grace College to give back to the community, particularly small businesses, through the Gordon Center of Enterprise Development. 

How do faith, art, and AI overlap?

This summer’s undergraduate research opportunities wouldn’t be complete without a discussion on art and AI technology. Dr. Kim M. Reiff, professor of visual art and design, and Kit Sprunger, an art major, studied art and AI to compile a catalog of Christian artists around the world, contrasting those who use AI to enhance their work with those who do not. They named the project, “Seeing the World through Art, Algorithms, and Faith.”

“When we look into artists, we’re looking at their artwork, their faith, and use of AI. This includes collecting a variety of artworks where we can compare categories in the compositional elements and principles of design,” elaborated Sprunger. “This includes such things as colors, texture, balance, and pattern. We look at the art topics, and we look at artists who use AI as a tool.”

Some of their research areas were themes, processes, and methods, including the ways artists use AI and ways they do not. One point Reiff emphasized was that AI cannot replace imagination or human creativity; artists who are trained in art best understand AI’s place in their own creative work. 

“The outcome of the project and the purpose is multi-layered,” said Reiff. “We have over 200 global artists that we’ve accumulated. One goal is to create an anthology for those who are interested in seeing which Christian artists are using AI and then compare the actual use of AI-generated or assisted art with artists who are not using AI.”

There is currently limited research on art and AI that is consolidated into a collection-style format, and Reiff and Sprunger want to contribute to this area of scholarship. After finalizing the project, both Reiff and Sprunger will give separate public presentations on their research at Grace. Reiff is also in the process of designing a course for the fall semester called Selected Topics: Art and AI.

How can we contribute to astrological research while exploring God’s creation?

Dr. Tyler Scott, associate professor of physics, and Edward Bowald, an actuarial science student, studied double stars with the goal of identifying if they are binary and then (if possible) identifying an orbit. While there is not an astronomy major at Grace, Scott occasionally offers an astronomy elective, a class that Bowald took last year. It was through this class that Bowald was offered one of the undergraduate research opportunities over the summer.

Their research included observation of stars through telescopes in the Canary Islands, Chile, and Australia. Scott and Bowald first confirmed that stars are binary and then took measurements of the spacing and where they are relative to each other, in hopes of calculating their orbits around each other over time. Some of the stars they observed have been previously identified, but they also worked toward discovering new stars that were unreported at the time. 

“Binary stars are very important for astronomy. A lot of important breakthroughs of astronomy, such as measuring distances to stars and measuring masses of stars, have been possible by studying binary stars,” said Scott. “Another important thing about our research is just studying the world around us. Even if there isn’t a technological breakthrough that comes from this, it’s interesting to study God’s creation.”

“Our research is a lot about contribution,” said Bowald. “We read a lot of papers that people have already published to help us with our own project. We’re hoping to contribute some observations that help people down the line make better calculations.”

When the research is finished, Scott and Bowald plan to publish their findings in the Washington Double Star Catalog in the Naval Observatory in Washington D.C., a database filled with information on double stars collected by thousands of researchers. 

As an undergraduate student, Scott also had the chance to take part in an astronomy project, which influenced him to study physics more deeply and eventually become a physics professor. 

“I think one of the most useful things that a student can learn from a research project like this is that research is accessible,” said Scott. “You don’t have to have a Ph.D. to do research. You just have to be curious and willing to work through challenges.”

Do you want a school that offers undergraduate research opportunities in a variety of fields, allows students to research directly alongside faculty, and is passionate about conducting groundbreaking studies that actually impact lives? Come to Grace, where you will be supported in small-sized classes led by intentional professors who want to see you grow academically and spiritually. Here, it’s not a question of, “Will I be mentored?” Rather, it is a journey to see how purposeful mentorship will change your future.