Eckley Summer ’22 Scholars Announced

May 4, 2022

BLOOMINGTON, Ill. — Illinois Wesleyan University announced six student recipients of the 2022 Robert S. and Nell B. Eckley Summer Scholars and Artists Program .

Established by the late IWU President Emeritus Robert Eckley and his wife Nell, the recognition provides a stipend of $4,000 for each scholar to spend the summer conducting academic research or artistic activity under the mentorship of a faculty member. The program is designed to develop and deepen a student’s creative and research competencies.

Students selected for the fellowship, their projects and their faculty sponsors are:

Student: Ali Khatai '23

Project: “Data Transmission Using Tunable Higher Order Bessel Beams.”

Faculty Sponsor: Gabe Spalding, B. Charles and Joyce Eichhorn Ames Professor of Physics

Majors: Physics and Computer Science with a Math Minor

Hometown: Rawalpindi, Pakistan

 

 

Student: Chloe Xu '24

Project: “Exploring Peer Pressure Influences on Body Image and Disordered Eating.”

Faculty Sponsor: Marie Nebel-Schwalm, Assistant Professor of Psychology

Majors: Psychology and Interdisciplinary Education

Hometown: Beijing, China

 

 

Student: Maria Harmon '23

Project: “Investigating Poetry’s ‘Well-Made’ Surprises.”

Faculty Sponsor: Micheal Theune, Robert W. Harrington Professor of English

Majors: English Literature and Marketing

Hometown: Springfield, Illinois

 

 

Student: Tyler Maple '22

Project: “The Effects of Reflexive Performance Reset on Performance of Elite High School Athletes: A Preliminary Study.”

Faculty Sponsor: Todd Lowder, Head Men’s Track and Field Coach and Head Strength and Conditioning Coach

Majors: Biology and Hispanic Studies

Hometown: Plainfield, Indiana

 

Student: Anja Schrag '23
Project: “An Exploration of Personal Identity Through Autoethnographic Solo Performance”

Faculty Sponsor: Michelle Gibbs, Assistant Professor of Theatre Arts and Head of the B.A. Theatre Arts Program

Majors: English Literature and Theatre Arts with a Philosophy Minor

Hometown: Champaign, Illinois

 

Student: Emile Ottinger '23
Project: “Devastation, Reconstituted: Queer Restorative Ecopoetry”

Faculty Sponsor: Michael Theune, Professor of English and University Writing Program Director

Majors: Environmental Studies and English Writing

Hometown: Shawnee, Kansas

 

 

By Kailee Galloway ’23