Dr. John Falconer
director of Sponsored Programs, 308.865.8496
UNK– Twenty-one University of Nebraska at Kearney undergraduate projects were presented at the annual National Conference on Undergraduate Research (NCUR) held last week at the University of Montana in Missoula.
NCUR is a national program dedicated to promoting undergraduate research, scholarship and creative activity in all fields of study by sponsoring an annual conference for students. In all, 24 UNK research projects were submitted for consideration, and all 24 were accepted.
The 100 percent acceptance rate is not common for NCUR, according to Dr. John Falconer, director of Sponsored Programs, who said: “Typically, they (NCUR) accept only about 67 percent nationally.” Three of the students whose work was accepted for presentation were unable to attend for various reasons.
UNK students who gave NCUR presentations, either oral or via posters, are listed below, alphabetically by hometown, followed by their research project titles and their faculty mentors:
Arnold– Dustin Andre. “The Economic Impact of Passive Load Reduction.” Dr. Ross Taylor, management information systems.
Central City– Noland Broekemier. “New ionic liquid-type catalysts for the synthesis of biodiesel using untreated vegetable oil.” Dr. Hector Palencia, chemistry.
Central City– Noah Broekemier. “Development of new micellar-type palladium-n- heterocycle carbenes for aqueous reactions.” Dr. Hector Palencia, chemistry.
Clay Center– Anna Barber. “Assessment of the genetics involved in the tolerance of soybean to soybean aphid.” Dr. Paul Twigg, biology; Dr. Tiffany Heng-Moss, entomology at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln; and Dr. John Reese, entomology at Kansas State University.
Doniphan– Jeremy Stromer. “The Polarizing Efficiency of Lyotropic Chromonic Liquid Crystals.” Dr. Liubov Kreminska, physics; and Dr. Michael Larsen, physics.
Elwood– Britney Zeller. “Mother’s Influence on Child’s Weight Loss Success.” Dr. Kate Heelan, health, physical education and recreation; Dr. Todd Bartee, health, physical education and recreation; and Dr. Nancy Foster, health, recreation and education.
Firth– Maggie Sass. “Parental Influence on Child Weight Loss in a 12-Week Family Based Pediatric Obesity Treatment Program.” Dr. Kate Heelan, health, physical education and recreation; Dr. Nancy Foster, health, physical education and recreation.
Grand Island- Nick Gewecke. “WeatherSeer: A Customizable Weather Radar Application.” Dr. Sherri Harms, computer science and information systems.
Kearney– Denise Rice. “Texting and the Family.” Dr. Sylvia Asay, family studies.
Kearney– Jamie Stroup. “Studying Deforestation in the Congo Basin Using Satellite Data.” Dr. Vijendra Boken, geography and earth science.
Kearney– Cynthia Vencill. “Generational Differences in the Workplace: The Impact of New Communication Technologies on Human Resource Management.” Dr. David Palmer, management.
McCook– Charles Sepers Jr. “Parental Mediation and Child Weight Loss: Results from a 12-week Pediatric Intervention.” Dr. Kate Heelan, health, physical education and recreation; and Dr. Todd Bartee, health, physical education and recreation.
Neligh– Benjamin Fullerton. “Filter Paper Based Disdrometer.” Dr. Michael Larsen, physics.
Omaha– Jeff Shank. “How Term Limits Affect Competitiveness in State House Elections.” Dr. Claude Louishomme, political science.
Seward– Joshua Moravec. “The Declining Trend of Sunspots and Solar Irradiance.” Dr. Jose Mena-Werth, physics.
St. Paul– Kyle Smydra. “Ethanol, and Its relationship to accelerated wear and efficiency in SNRE’s.” Dr. Michael Larsen, physics.
Trumbull– Bobbi Arnold. “Cloning and Expression of Enolase Gene from Partridge Pea.” Dr. Frank Kovacs, chemistry.
Valentine– Evan Suhr. “Independent and mixed-species decomposition of Russian olive and cottonwood leaf litter.” Dr.Mary Harner, biology.
Waco– Brittany Schmidt. “The Relationship Between Family Mealtimes and College Students’ Self-Efficacy.” Dr. Krista Fritson, psychology.
York– Janae Nienhueser. “Effects of energy drinks on resting and submaximal metabolism in college age males.” Dr. Greg Brown, health, physical education and recreation.
OUT OF STATE
CALIFORNIA
Sherman Oaks– Danielle Policarpio. “Designing a Redox-Responsive Polymer.” Dr. David Bergbreiter, chemistry professor at Texas A&M University; Hui Fu, Texas A&M University graduate student.
The three UNK students who were unable to attend although their whose work was accepted are listed below:
Hastings– Cheri Theesen. “Aromatherapy and Agitation Reduction in Dementia Patients.” Dr. Sandy Cook-Fong, social work.
Wayne– Nate Summerfield. “Social Capital: Theory into Action on College Campuses.” Dr. Peter Longo, political science.
Nepal – Sapana Upadhyay. “A Comparative Study of the Maternal and Child Health System and Status of the United States and Nepal.” Dr. Jody Van Laningham, social work.
