Luther College junior Sam Moyer collaborated with fellow researchers John Kelly and Laura Olson as well as advisers Tommy Occhipinti and Eric Westlund, professors in mathematics, to tackle the Parker’s Square-sum conjecture for his summer research project.

Geophysical surveying is being used this summer to study the prehistoric Oneota site and Effigy Mounds in northeastern Iowa. Through her summer research project, Anna Luber, Luther College junior of Peosta, Iowa, is exploring these sites through geophysical surveying to provide a look into their structures without physically digging them up.

Geophysical surveying is a relatively new way to study archaeology under ground. Through her summer research project, Linh Luong, Luther College junior of La Crosse, Wisconsin, explored these prehistoric sites through geophysical surveying to provide a look into their structures without physically digging them up.

Parker’s Conjecture is the mathematical theorem that the numbers one through n (for n>24) can be arranged so that each consecutive pair sums to a perfect square. Laura Olson, Luther College junior of Webster, Minnesota, worked to prove this conjecture for her summer research project.

Luther College senior Jane Clare took a look outside the “Luther Bubble” this summer in her research surrounding Buddhism in the Christian Midwest. According to Clare, it is important to be aware of and engaging in religions outside one’s own in order to navigate the world around us. “I think it is always important to look outside of our own experiences and learn about others so that we can live in and embrace a larger community,” she said.

According to Luther College senior Gabrielle Blair, the prevalence of deer in the Midwest has led to the importance of studying their mating structures. This kind of study has been done primarily on captive deer, so being able to research the mating structures of wild deer creates a new direction for researchers.

A new water quality research project investigating water-borne disease-causing agents in Winneshiek County is underway. Eric Baack and Jodi Enos-Berlage, both professors of biology at Luther College, were recently awarded a $39,938 grant from the Iowa Center for Health Effects of Environmental Contaminants that will allow them to quantify levels of harmful bacteria and viruses in both ground and surface waters. Luther is the first small college to receive this grant in CHEEC’s 30-year history.

Public libraries can contribute to the growth of a town and the minds that inhabit it, according to Luther College senior Keanna Belau and junior Collin Kern. Belau and Kern’s research show that the public libraries’ viability is sustained upon the ability to adapt to the needs of the community they serve. Partnering with the Decorah Public Library, Belau and Kern are researching ways in which the library can remain a treasured resource for the community.

When the United States left Vietnam and Southeast Asia following the end of the Vietnam War in 1975, the Hmong who had supported U.S. military operations were targeted by the communist-supported regime in Laos. Thousands fled to Thailand and were placed in refugee camps. Following the Indochina Migration and Refugee Assistance Act of 1975, Laotian refugees arrived in the United States in great numbers. Anika Nelson, Luther College senior of Carroll, Iowa, is interviewing Hmong refugees that came to Decorah from Laos during the Vietnam War for her summer research project.

Understanding foreign cultures and global citizenship can be a struggle for some students. Peder Smith, Luther College junior of Brainerd, Minnesota, is creating, along with Luther’s Nordic studies research team, historically based role-playing simulations in order to stimulate and to engage students in the learning of modern languages.