Mountaineer Discovery: Spotlighting Student Research, Creativity and Innovation at App State | Appalachian Today

Mountaineer Discovery: Spotlighting Student Research, Creativity and Innovation at App State | Appalachian Today
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Mountaineer Discovery
Spotlighting Student Research, Creativity and Innovation at App State
Follow Mountaineer students as they roll up their sleeves, test their creative limits and expand the boundaries of knowledge at App State and beyond. Alongside committed faculty mentors, App State undergraduate and graduate students alike contribute to meaningful research and innovative projects across numerous disciplines.
Learn more at the
Celebration of Student Research and Creative Endeavors
, featuring
keynote speaker Amelia Bruce Leicht ’19
, on Wednesday, April 22.
Mountaineer Innovators
Events
Photo Lab
Get Involved
Give
Designing, building, discovering
At App State, innovation is hands-on. Our students collaborate across disciplines to solve real-world problems — merging ancient practices with new tech, expanding access to prosthetics, and developing laser tools. They make things that make a difference.
WATCH: Undergrad’s metalwork combines ancient processes with innovative technology
Precision and purpose: App State students work to expand prosthetics access
From lasers to microscopes — building a new generation of optical instruments
AI against glaucoma: Machine learning could aid early detection
In the field — here and abroad
Ranked 4th nationally for study abroad participation
, Mountaineers make an impact wherever their curiosity leads. From international destinations to our own backyard, students apply their skills to solve challenges — whether they are halfway across the world or right here at home.
Off the map in Mongolia: Geology students explore origins of ancient mass extinction
Education students roll up their sleeves for literacy in local public school classrooms
App State alumna researches volcano collapse — and safety
Archaeology team discovers ancient campsite at App State farm in Ashe County
Research for resilience
Mountaineers are at the forefront of resilient innovation, from renewable technologies to food systems, gaining the hands-on experience needed for the jobs of tomorrow and the communities of today.
Clean water makes the difference during natural disasters. Bradley Del Vecchio has a solution.
Waste today — food tomorrow: Fermentation students synthesize new protein sources
WATCH: Students study the effects of Hurricane Helene on North America's largest salamander
Discovery through the arts
From the precision of choreography to the healing power of music, App State scholars explore the arts as a way to engage with the community. By sharing their work on stage and in local schools, they turn creative passion into meaningful action.
WATCH: Students choreograph original works for Spring Appalachian Dance Ensemble
Student-led music therapy bolsters preschool speech program
App State music, theatre and dance teams collaborate to present 'Once Upon a Mattress'
Health across the lifespan
From studying new pathways to fight cancer to mapping vital care resources, Mountaineers across disciplines are putting human health in focus.
WATCH: Students research new pathways to fight cancer
Mountaineers explore vital link between grip strength and longevity
MBA student examines newborn health patterns near chemical accident sites
Mountaineers map dementia care resources across the state
Celebrate Student Research and Creativity This Spring
Photo Lab: Student Discovery in Action
“Once Upon a Mattress” — a musical comedy based on Hans Christian Andersen’s 1835 fairy tale “The Princess and the Pea” —
is presented as a collaborative performance
by App State’s Department of Theatre and Dance and Hayes School of Music. Five performances of the musical will take place from April 15 through 19 in Valborg Theatre on the university’s Boone campus. Photo by Chase Reynolds
App State kinesiology graduate student and lab assistant Charlotte Willis, left, connects Boone Fire Department Capt. Jereme Daniels to the gas sampling line of a portable metabolic system during lab testing in the environmental chamber housed in App State’s Beaver College of Health Sciences.
Research led by Dr. Caroline Smith
, a professor in the Department of Kinesiology, tests the cooling limits of newly-engineered firefighting protective gear. Photo by Chase Reynolds
App State music therapy graduate student Haley Kruse, a board-certified music therapist from Gilbert, Arizona, right in background, and Catherine Mitkus ’23, a teacher in App State’s Thomas O. Eller Preschool Language Classroom, left in background,
collaborate on a music therapy activity for young children at the Preschool Language Classroom
. Mitkus is pictured reading a story to the children while Kruse plays her guitar. Photo by Chase Reynolds
From left, Jackson Johnson, Dr. Nancy Asen, and Jack Kelly work in the lab to understand foundational properties of oil seed waste and its
potential to yield new edible protein sources through fermentation
. Photo by Chase Reynolds
Harnessing the sun and readily available filtration materials,
an emergency solar-powered water filtration system
, created by App State graduate student Bradley Del Vecchio ’25 and a team in the Department of Sustainable Technology and the Built Environment, is designed to bring clean drinking water to those impacted by weather disasters such as Hurricane Helene. Photo by Kyla Willoughby
Building instruments and advancing knowledge
, senior physics and mathematics major Asher Rockriver, left, of Pittsboro, and junior physics major Joshua Lennon, of Greensboro, optimize the spectrometer in the Laser Tweezers Raman Spectroscopy system at App State. Photo by Chase Reynolds
Since its launch in fall 2023, App State’s early literacy field experience program has given reading support to hundreds of K-3 students and hands-on classroom experience to nearly 460 App State teacher candidates in the elementary and special education degree programs. Photo by Chase Reynolds
A team of industrial design students at App State is taking
a human-centered approach to innovation
, using 3D printing technology to design and develop next-generation prosthetic hands that are both accessible and customizable for users. Pictured, from left to right, are App State assistant professor Jimena Vergara-Sanz and senior industrial design major Walt Rakestraw. Vergara-Sanz, who was born without her right hand, wears one of the prosthetic hand prototypes developed by the team. Photo by Chase Reynolds
App State anthropology students Charlotte Mueller, left, and Talia Debenedette, right, prepare a dig site during an archaeology field course led by Cameron Gokee, associate professor in the Department of Anthropology, as the
group searches for 19th-century artifacts
at a dig in Boone’s historic Junaluska neighborhood. Photo by Kyla Willoughby
A victory worth celebrating — App State’s
student-led solar vehicle team, Team Sunergy
, secured a podium finish in the 2025 Electrek Formula Sun Grand Prix and is hard at work on a next-generation vehicle the team hopes will give it the needed edge to carry future national and international competition victories. Photo by Kyla Willoughby
Savannah Devine ‘22 received the 2024 Jane Grimson Medal of Excellence, a prestigious award given by Research Ireland recognizing her work to
understand the causes and mechanism of volcanic caldera collapses
. Photo submitted
App State student researchers Haley O’Donnell, right, and Daniel Williams, background, test grip strength with Mary Sheryl Horine using a handgrip dynamometer in the Neuromuscular & Biomechanics Laboratory in the Levine Hall of Health Sciences for a
study linking whole body strength to longevity
and grip strength as a key indicator of whole-body strength. Photo by Kyla Willoughby
Fighting for a common cause and
finding community along the way
, Dr. Daniel Chen’s cancer lab members, from left to right, are, (back row): Kelly Beach, Zaw Bring, Brice Griffin, Jenna Spears, Tessa Christner and Chloe Ledbetter. (front row): Janet Santos-Antonio, Gabriela Gonzalez Caquias, Dr. Daniel Chi-Wei Chen, Luiza Dias and Ava Mendez. Photo by Chase Reynolds
Dr. Sarah Carmichael is surrounded by the Gobi Desert on a geology expedition with the App State-led Devonian Anoxia, Geochemistry, Geochronology, and Extinction Research (DAGGER) group, which
returns to remote Mongolia each year
to study the mass extinction event of the Late Devonian period. Photo submitted
MBA student Karlee Cook, center, is flanked by her faculty mentor Dr. Dennis Guignet and Dr. Ashley Colquitt, associate vice provost and dean of the Cratis D. Williams School of Graduate Studies, at App State’s 14th Annual Three Minute Thesis (3MT) competition, where Cook was honored for her
work on a study examining lower birth weight and preterm birth
near chemical accident sites in North Carolina. Photo by Troy Tuttle
App State student researchers use trowels to excavate a layer of soil just beneath the reach of plows at the university’s Blackburn Vannoy Estate and Farm in Ashe County. During the
summer 2025 archaeology field school
, they discovered an ancient hearth, storage pits, pottery and projectile points — evidence that the area was used as a camp by Native American peoples. Pictured are Peyton Harrison, of Conover; Cowan Ramirez, of Asheville; and Spencer Brice, of Charlotte. Photo by Chase Reynolds
Dr. Zachary Russell, assistant professor in the Department of Physics and Astronomy at App State, center, and App State student researchers Ethan Humphries, a senior physics major from Kings Mountain, left, and Hunter Corman ’24, an engineering physics graduate student from Morehead City, are pictured at the Ion Innovations Scientific Instrumentation Development Lab in Boone, where they are
developing an AI-enhanced robotic microscope
for simple and rapid identification of parasites in livestock and poultry — work supported by a $2.3 million NCInnovation grant. Photo by Chase Reynolds and Kyla Willoughby
App State graduate student Michael Sciole ‘24 is using the power of machine learning and multiple AI “minds” to analyze genetic markers with a goal of
assisting the early detection of glaucoma
. Photo by Troy Tuttle
App State alumna Amelia Bruce Leicht ’19, standing, prepares a study participant to measure the effects of
brain stimulation on treating ankle injuries
during her time as a student at App State. Photo submitted
Invest in Your Innovation — Get Involved
As a Research 2 (R2) university, App State advances community-engaged research and creative projects, allowing students to innovate alongside expert faculty and staff. Whether you’re in the lab, the studio, or the field, your research and creative work prepare you for the challenges and opportunities of tomorrow.
Get Support
Learn how the Office of Student Research supports student research and creativity.
Fund Your Work
Apply for assistantships and grants to power your projects and travel.
Showcase Your Results
Learn how to present at conferences and publish your work as a Mountaineer Student Scholar.
Support Student Research at App State
Donations directly fund faculty-mentored research and creative projects, providing students with the resources they need to succeed — from purchasing essential research supplies to traveling to conferences, meetings and events where they can present their work, communicate their findings and build professional networks within their disciplines.
Give Now
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