Dianne M. Holcomb
assistant director, Office of Sponsored Programs, 308.865.8481
Twenty-eight University of Nebraska at Kearney students will present their projects at the 10th annual fall Student Research Symposium on Sunday, Oct. 23.
The symposium will take place from 1-4 p.m. in the Nebraskan Student Union Ponderosa Room, and is free and open to the public. Posters will be on display in Ponderosa 238E, while the oral presentations will take place in adjoining rooms 238C and 238D.
“Students who did research as part of the Summer Student Research Program, Thompson Scholars and Undergraduate Research Fellows will give oral presentations and/or present poster displays, said Dianne Holcomb, UNK assistant director of Sponsored Programs.
“The Fall Student Research Symposium provides an opportunity for students to showcase research and creative work accomplished outside of the classroom,” she said. “A survey of leading institutions in Nebraska and other states noted that UNK students report more involvement in out-of-class research than do their peers at other institutions.”
In all, 210 UNK students have been in the undergraduate research program over the past 10 years. The undergraduate research program was first known as Platte Studies Seminar, then it became the Independent Research Seminar, and finally, the Summer Student Research Program.
The Undergraduate Research Fellows Program, designed to create new opportunities for undergraduate research during the academic year, is supported by a student-approved fee. The Thompson Scholars Learning Community provides multidimensional living and learning opportunities that foster student engagement including working with a faculty mentor on an undergraduate project.
For more information on any of the UNK research programs, visit the Undergraduate Research website at www.unk.edu/academics/gradstudies.aspx?id=5345.
The symposium schedule is below. Posters will be up from 1-4 p.m. Oral presentations are listed in order by time, followed by the student’s name, hometown, research project title and faculty mentor:
Oral Presentation Schedule & Poster Display:
Ponderosa Room 238C
1 p.m. Brittany Musil, Kearney, Regional Issues in Holocaust Studies; mentor: Dr. Carol Lilly, history
1:15 p.m. Jordan Rehnstrom, Hartington, IFRS and Its Effect on Reported Working Capital;mentor: Dr. Laurie Swinney, accounting and finance
1:30 p.m. Kelsie Musil, Omaha, Effects of Nitrogen Deprivation on Chlamydomonas reinhardtii; mentor: Dr. Paul Twigg, biology
1:45 p.m. Charles Sepers Jr, Kearney, Efficacy of Two Theory-Based 12-week Internet-Mediated Walking Program;mentor: Dr. Todd Bartee, health, physical education, recreation and leisure studies
2 p.m. Stephanie Klein, Wakefield, Do They Live Happily Ever After? The International Adoption Story from Beginning to End; mentor: Dr. Maha Younes, social work
2:15 p.m. Alyssa Johnson, Grand Island, New Technology and the Changing Face of Illustration; mentor: Dr. John Stanko, art
2:30 p.m. Emily Myers, Holdrege, Social Criticism in Young Adult Fiction; mentor: Dr. Susan Honeyman, English
2:45 p.m. Alejandro Pinedo, Lexington, Functionalized Gold Nanoparticals as Catalysts for Glycerol Carbonate Synthesis; mentor: Dr. Hector Palencia, chemistry
3 p.m. Grant Carlson, Minden, Public Perspective of Law Enforcement Uniforms; mentor: Dr. Joseph Carlson, criminal justice
3:15 p.m. Samantha Mitchell, Grand Island, Detection of OTK18 via Immunoprecipitation; mentor: Dr. Kim Carlson, biology
3:30 p.m. Jessica Baillie, Omaha, Development of an Immunoassay for Environmental Targets; mentor: Dr. Annette Moser, chemistry
3:45 p.m. Kirsti Rehler, Austin, Texas, Statute of Frauds – Is it time for a change?; mentor: Dr. Larry Carstenson, accounting and finance
Ponderosa Room 238D
1 p.m. Jess Lammers, Kearney, Influence of wind direction on captures of endangered beetles; mentor: Dr. Wyatt Hoback, biology
1:15 p.m. Annette Maynard, Broken Bow, Language and Literacy Abilities of Hearing Children Born to Deaf or Hard of Hearing Parents; mentor: Dr. Linda Crowe, communication disorders
1:30 p.m. Jordan Heiliger, Lincoln, EPA and Superfund Cleanup: The case of Omaha, NE and implications beyond;mentor: Dr. Peter Longo, political science
1:45 p.m. John Lawless, Aurora, The Wisconsin Labor Union Situation: Inter-Branch Conflict and Courtroom Public Policy; mentor: Dr. Peter Longo, political science
2 p.m. Viridiana Almanza, Grand Island, Latin American Indigenous Movements: Evolution, Relations, And Achievements;mentor: Dr. William Aviles, political science
2:15 p.m. Abbie Olson, Dalton, Mothers’ Marital Satisfaction and the Transition to Parenthood; mentor: Dr. Jody Van Langingham, social work
2:30 p.m. Maria Rojas, Grand Island, Developing a Method to Measure Atrazine in Avian Eggs; mentor: Dr. Letitia Reichart, biology
2:45 p.m. Jennifer Frisch, Lindsay, Identification of Molecular Markers to Identify Eastern and Western Coyotes;mentor: Dr. Joseph Springer, biology
3 p.m. Jed Dush, Elba, Determining the Deterrence Value of License Suspension for Minor in Possession; mentor: Dr. Danielle Neal, criminal justice
3:15 p.m. Josh Wilson, Grand Island, A New Type of GsAs Photo Emiter; mentor: Dr. Ken Trantham, physics
Oral Presentation Only:
3:30 p.m. DeAnn LoCasto, Grand Island, Ethnomusicology Study of the Irish musical Instruments Bodhran and Tin Whistle; mentor: Dr. Darleen Mitchell, music
Poster Display Only:
Corey Willicott, Blue Hill, Determination of Various Energy Drink components Using Reversed Phase Chromatographyr; mentor: Dr. Annette Moser, chemistry
Josh Wilson, Grand Island, Wind Turbine Data Recovery and Analysis; mentor: Dr. Sherri Harms, computer science and information systems
Amanda Hagstrom, Hickman, Baseline levels of corticosterone in Red-winged blackbirds (Agelaius phoeniceus) during development; mentor: Dr. Letitia Reichart, biology
Paul Thompkins, Inman, Sentences of Convicted Sex and Labor Traffickers; a Comparison; mentor: Dr. Beth Wiersma, criminal justice
Lingyun Yang, Des Moines, Iowa, Develop a Molecular Approach for Fructose-6-Phospate Analysis; mentor: Dr. Haishi Cao, chemistry
Junqi Wang, Beijing, China, Detecting Toxic Mercury(II) Based on Nanomaterials; mentor: Dr. Haishi Cao, chemistry
