Two Lindsey Wilson University students present research at Kentucky Honors Roundtable Conference

Two Lindsey Wilson University students taking part in the R.V. Bennett Honors Program recently dedicated part of their weekend to a discussion of their research about Hurricane Katrina and the creation of a formula that can efficiently and effectively create a work schedule.

The two students are Abigail Vanderheyden ‘28, of Murfreesboro, Tennessee, and Zachary Hite ‘27, of Hodgenville, Kentucky. They presented the findings of their research at the fall meeting of the Kentucky Honors Roundtable Conference. The event took place at the University of Kentucky on October 17.

Vanderheyden and Hite joined dozens of other students taking part in undergraduate studies at colleges and universities around the state of Kentucky, all of whom were gathered to present their research to peers and members of the larger community. 

Hite is currently double majoring in media studies and mathematics. His presentation was entitled “Workforce Scheduling Model for Flexible and Fixed Shift Settings," and included a display of mathematical formulations he created using a large language model while examining a research experience for undergraduate students at the University of Cincinnati.

Hite aimed to use his study, based on an article posted on Lindsey Wilson’s website, "to propose a general formulation that schedules a set of workers with specific roles and requirements in the most optimal and cost efficient way possible for two scheduling scenarios: a flexible shift structure and a fixed shift structure."

Moving forward, Hite wants to use his formula to assist a range of companies of all sizes, from the manager of a 30-employee fast-food restaurant, to a large manufacturer. Talking about the scalability of his formula, he said, "It's hopefully a one-size-fits-all kind of thing.”

This was not Hite’s first time at the Kentucky Honors Roundtable Conference. He spoke about his experience, saying, "It's nice to see what everybody's interested in and researching. I enjoy getting to offer to others what I'm interested in. It's also nice to be around people who just love to learn."

The title of Vanderheyden’s research presentation was "An Exploration of Ecological Catastrophe Through Literature.” Her research was partially inspired by Hurricane Katrina, which heavily damaged the Gulf Coast region in 2005. The storm caused the deaths of more than 1,300 people, displaced thousands more, and resulted in billions of dollars of damages. One of those displaced people was Vanderheyden’s step-father, a man named Tyone, who later moved from New Orleans to Tennessee.

The second source of inspiration for the research was sparked by LWU English professor Rachel Carr’s “Major Authors” seminar that Vanderheyden took last spring. The seminar included an assignment to read “Salvage the Bones” by Jesmyn Ward, an award winning novel set during the hurricane.

In her research, Vanderheyden noted that the 1,392 people who were known to have died in Hurricane Katrina, "were not a direct result of the hurricane but of the aftermath."

Vanderheyden, who is majoring in psychology, went on to explain, saying, "Families were wading in deep water, lacking food, denied proper medication, exposed to decomposing bodies and pleading for help. This was not random: it was a legacy of the plantation system, which rendered residents of the South extremely vulnerable to ecological catastrophe. These unnatural aspects and unnatural vulnerabilities of natural disasters, if not written about, will go undetected in media and historical records, which only blame the hurricane for the damage and death, not the preexisting inequalities."

Lindsey Wilson University history professor and director of the R.V. Bennett Honors program, Elizabeth Tapscott, was in attendance at the event and noted that she found it “a joy to behold” as Vanderheyden and Hite presented their research.

Tapscott went on to elaborate further, saying, "The level of research that these students are doing and then to watch them to present it to their peers from other schools is just a joy to behold.”

Psychology professor Jordan Greenburg, who serves as the assistant director of the R.V. Bennett Honors program, was there as well and spoke highly of his students, saying, "The poise that Abby had in giving her presentation was truly impressive and Zach's project was just next level."

More information about Lindsey Wilson University can be found at the school’s website.