Contact: Maridith Geuder
When high school senior Ronke Adebiyi decided last year to seek an unusual summer vacation, she had no idea where it would lead.
Soon to graduate from the Mississippi School for Mathematics and Science in Columbus, the Starkville resident is participating this week in a national competition based on research she conducted in 1998 at Mississippi State University. She is among 48 high school students nationwide earning a $4,000 scholarship for original research in the Junior Science and Humanities Symposium.
The competition is sponsored jointly by the United States departments of the Army, Navy and Air Force. Adebiyi's first-place Mississippi award advanced her to the symposium being held in San Diego, Calif., where the winner earns a $16,000 scholarship.
"At MSMS, we're encouraged to do research," she said. "I spoke with [associate professor] Lesia Crumpton of Mississippi State's industrial engineering department and was able to work in her ergonomics laboratory."
Crumpton heads MSU's Ergonomics/Human Factors Program and Experimentation Laboratory. She regularly involves undergraduate and graduate students in research that includes computer simulations in ergonomics, design of displays and controls, workplace design, and carpal tunnel syndrome prevention and control.
Adebiyi joined a Crumpton-directed student team working on a carpal tunnel syndrome project related to the catfish industry. Crumpton said the team "evaluated the influence of knife design features on the occurrence of risk factors for carpal tunnel syndrome."
"There's a high incidence of carpal tunnel syndrome in catfish trimming," Adebiyi observed. Her team researched the problem and analyzed the process from watching videotapes of workers performing tasks. Her research paper was the basis for her state award.
Adebiyi will continue her studies in the fall at MSU, where her father George is a mechanical engineering professor. Following family tradition, she plans to study engineering.
"I'm also interested in the medical field and in problem solving," she said. "I want to seek a career that lets me use both engineering and medicine."