Volume 1, Issue 2 (2021)

Letter from the Editors

Dear Reader,

It is with great pleasure that we present to you the second issue of the University of Louisville’s sole undergraduate multidisciplinary research journal, The Cardinal Edge (TCE). We are also proud to announce TCE’s Best Papers of 2021-22 in Natural Sciences, Social Sciences, and Humanities. These papers present original methodology and novel solutions to contemporary global issues.

This past cycle, we received diverse submissions from over twenty fields of study. The pages of this issue feature research topics ranging from COVID-19 vaccination rates at the Kentucky Racing Health Services Center in Churchill Downs to the evaluation of LSD usage in the 1960s. We also feature three Spotlight articles detailing interviews with Drs. Maegen Rochner, Timothy O’Toole, and Lauren Heberle on the impact of climate change from multidisciplinary perspectives.

The abstracts, literature reviews, and research reports published in this issue have been reviewed by our journal’s editorial board and ad hoc reviewers of graduate students, faculty, and past authors. We owe the success of this publication to everyone who submitted their work for consideration, as well as editors, advisors, and other contributors. To you, the reader, we appreciate your faith in and support of TCE to relay the impressive research, creative endeavors, and scholarship conducted by fellow undergraduate students.

Since the release of our inaugural issue, TCE’s journal staff continues to be dedicated to our mission—bringing forth a narrative of academia from the undergraduate student perspective. The Cardinal Edge is unique in that our journal and initiatives are entirely student driven. In this publication year, we hosted our first panel event elucidating non-linear pathways into research and creative activity as a career. We also expanded our staff by recruiting seven new first-year members to ensure the longevity of the journal. TCE has formally established our partnership with the newly formed Center for Engaged Learning, expanded our reach to the J.B. Speed School of Engineering, and finalized our first Volume 1 Issue 1 print journal, which is now available for purchase.

We would like to express immense gratitude to our exemplary staff, as this publication would not be possible without their efforts, diligence, and commitment. We are grateful to our faculty advisors, Drs. Mark Running, Shira Rabin, and Brian Robinson, for their guidance and support. We also thank Dr. Paul DeMarco, Interim Director for the Center for Engaged Learning, for sponsorship. Finally, we thank ThinkIR, UofL’s Institutional Repository, for providing an accessible platform for undergraduates to submit and showcase their research.

Happy reading,

Your 2021-22 Editors-in-Chief

Betty Ngo

Gopika Gopan

Jahnavi Sunkara

Priya Chandrashekhar