The Fourth Annual Undergraduate Research Festival took place Monday in the Hunter Welcome Center. The festival, supported by the McNair Scholars Program, had over 100 student presenters this year, and for the first time had several presenters from other Abilene colleges. In only it’s fourth year, the number of presentations has increased by nearly 50 percent compared to last year’s festival.
Dr. Greg Powell, ACU Director of Undergraduate Research, predicts that a two-day festival may be in the works for next year to accommodate participants and spectators.
“We filled almost all of the available time slots and may have to move to a two-day festival in 2013,” Powell said. ” I was pleasantly surprised by the large audience for many of the poster and oral presentations; attendance was excellent.”
Before presenting their topic in its entirety, students submitted abstracts of their presentations to the Undergraduate Research Festivals Proposal Committee, made up of seven faculty members. These faculty members selected students based on how well the abstract described the purpose of their research and the manner in which the project was designed. After students were selected, they conducted their research with the assistance of a faculty mentor.
Students had the option of submitting a paper or a poster presentation. Papers were given orally in various conference centers to faculty, staff and fellow students. Poster presentations were given in a group setting, where teachers and friends could stop by the festival to observe and peruse the student’s research.
Spencer Goudeau, senior English major from Colorado Springs, Colo., saw the festival as a unique opportunity to present his work and receive recognition in the industry.
“To present anything at a research festival is impressive on resumes and in job interviews, but it also prepares students for their chosen industry and for graduate school,” Goudeau said. “More students should take advantage of [this opportunity] to diversify their skill sets.”
2012 Undergraduate Research Festival Award Winners
3 Outstanding Poster Presentations in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics:
-Hillary Eichelberger and James Huddleston When Being a Variant is Advantageous: A Role for Chromatin Remodeling After TBP Recruitment, Faculty Mentor: Dr. Sarah Lee, ACU Chemistry and Biochemistry
-Charles Holt and Jacob Lowry Phenyl Acrylate Synthesis, Faculty Mentor: Dr. Brian Cavitt, ACU Chemistry and Biochemistry
-Jonathan Urbanczyk Effect of Crystal Absence on Heat Resistance of Bacillus Spores in SEA and BHI, Faculty Mentor: Dr. Gary Wilson, McMurry University Biology
2 Outstanding Poster Presentations in the Social Sciences, Humanities, and Arts:
-Wiepie Rojas Food Disparity: A Glance at the Navajo Reservation, Faculty Mentor: Dr. Michael Nicodemus, ACU Agricultural and Environmental Sciences
-Katie Thornton, Morgan Myer, and Elizabeth Ellery The Monster of Sexualized Children’s Media, Faculty Mentor: Dr. Jennifer Shewmaker, ACU Psychology
3 Outstanding Oral Presentations in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics:
-Allison Songstad Global Gene Expression Analysis in the Mdr1a Knockout Rat, Faculty Mentor: Dr. Autumn Sutherlin, ACU Chemistry and Biochemistry
-David Reynolds Finding the Best Solution among Multiple Optimal Solutions, Faculty Mentor: Dr. Jason Holland, ACU Mathematics
-Walker Nikolaus Studying What’s inside the Proton, Faculty Mentor: Dr. Rusty Towell, ACU Engineering and Physics
3 Outstanding Oral Presentations in the Social Sciences:
-Jared Perkins Congregations in Community: An Analysis of the Effects of Congregation Location on Social Welfare Involvement, Faculty Mentor: Dr. Suzie Macaluso, ACU Sociology and Family Studies
-Wiepie Rojas “Gardening with Grace:” The Effectiveness of a Community Garden on Building Community, Faculty Mentor: Dr. Jonathan Camp, ACU Communication
-Farron Salley Framing Net Neutrality: The Media Coverage of Media Ownership, Faculty Mentor: Dr. Susan Lewis, ACU Journalism and Mass Communication
3 Outstanding Oral Presentations in the Humanities and Arts:
-Allye Foster The Illusions of Sex on TV: The Secret Life of the American Teenager, Faculty Mentor: Dr. Lauren Lemley, ACU Communication
-Austin Holt What Happened to Lament?, Faculty Mentor: Dr. Glenn Pemberton, ACU Bible, Missions and Ministry
-Margaret Moore Constitutive Rhetoric and the Taqwacore Culture, Faculty Mentor: Dr. Lauren Lemley, ACU Communication
