Congratulations to the 2012 Undergraduate Research Conference Winners!
The 2012 UNC Charlotte Undergraduate Research Conference showcased more than 60 undergraduate students, representing the widest range of disciplines since its inception. Keynote addresses were given by UNC Charlotte's Dr. Scott Fitzgerald, associate professor of the Department of Sociology and Charlotte social entrepreneur Charles Thomas, executive director of Queen City Forward.
"Undergraduate research is an integral part of any healthy university system", said conference committee chair Missy Eppes, associate professor of Earth Sciences. "Students have the opportunity to take part in the production of knowledge from the initial conception of an idea, to the collection of data or resources, to the final presentation of the new work. Those who participate in such a conference immediately have a step up towards graduate school, employment and more."
The J. Murrey Atkins Library Research Awards was a new category added to the program, presenting first place winners with $1,000.00 and second place winners $500.00. One particular award, The Stephen Mosier Undergraduate Research Award for Science, was personally presented by the former Vice Chancellor for Research and Federal Relations to the student winners. (More pictures will soon be posted on Atkins Library’s website, library.uncc.edu.)
The 2012 winners are as follows:
ATKINS LIBRARY RESEARCH AWARDS (1st Place = $1,000.00; 2nd Place = $500.00)
Biological Sciences/Health Sciences:
1st Place: Ryan Baxter, Activation of Toxin-Antitoxin Systems in Viable but Non-Culturable Bibrio
vulnificus
2nd Place: Natascha Moestl, Coaching a Virus to Kill Cancer: Vesicular Stomatitis Virus Against
Pancreatic Cancer
Honorable Mention: Jonathan David Dvorak, Role of Muc1 in Breast Cancer Associated Metastasis with
Arthritis
Honorable Mention: Casey Payne, The Relationship Between Mucin 1 and Neuropilin-1 in Pancreatic
Cancer
Physical Sciences/Engineering: The Stephen H. Mosier Award, (presented by Stephen Mosier, Professor
Emeritus)
1st Place: Richard Hardin, Preparation Chracterization and Reactions of Argentates using Rapid Injection
NMR
2nd Place: Anthony Harris, Pipe Traversing Robot
Arts/Architecture/Humantities:
1st Place: Kerry Weldon, Glendale Montessori: Rethinking Educational Design
2nd Place: Zachary Tarlton, Arts & Architecture: A collaboration
Honorable Mention: Les Gray, Identities in Social Justice and Social Justice
Social Sciences/Education:
1st Place: David Gray, Effects of sleep on Phobic Extinction
2nd Place: Kyle Weichman, Depression, Quality of Life, and Rehabilitation in Dementia Using Data from
the 2002 national Health Interview Survey
Honorable Mention: Anna Wells, A 4th Graders Approach for Solving Math
DEPARTMENT AWARDS (1st Place = $100.00)
Africana Studies:
1st Place: Amanda Lee, The impact of Dollarization on Latin American Identity
Anthropology:
1st Place: Renee Zemlock, Breaking the taboo on Race
Architecture:
1st Place: Kerry Weldon, Glendale Montessori: Rethinking Educational Design
Biology:
1st Place: Ryan Baxter, Activation of Toxin-Antitoxin Systems in Viable but Non-Culturable Vibrio
vulnificus
Honorable Mention: Casey Rimland, Localization of Myc protein to histone gene expression in
Drosophila melanogaster
Honorable Mention: Claus Ullstad Effects of Ocean Acidification and Elevated Temperature on Oxidative
Stress in Marine Bivalves
Honorable Mention: Yogin Patel, Role of APE 2 in DNA damage response
Chemistry:
1st Place: Jose F Castaneda, Blinking Dynamics of Single Cadmium Selenide nanocrystals near Palladium
Nanoparticles
1st Place: Richard Hardin, Preparation, Chracterization and Reactions of Argentates using Rapid
Injection NMR
2nd Place: Lizeth Hernandez, Syntehesis and Reactivity of a new bis(pyridiyl)selone
3rd Place: Joseph Hazel, Capsular polysaccharide of Vibrio Vulnificus
Honorable Mention: Reynolds Ivins, Synthesis Chracterization of Meso-Substituted Tetraphenyl
Porphyrins for Photovolatic Applications
Communications:
1st Place: Jordan Stutts, The Use of Social Media in the Arab Spring
Criminal Justice and Criminology:
1st Place: Jeremiah Johnson, Sentencing Guidelines: Myths and Realities
2nd Place: Ingrid Portillo, Jennelee Colon, Mayra Garcia, Latinos Perceptions of the Criminal Justice
System in Mecklenburg County
Dance:
1st Place: Danielle Corbin, DANCENOISE: Challenging Expectations
Educational Leadership:
1st Place: Lauren Faw, Female and Minority Students in Engineering Face Unique Challenges
Electrical and Computer Engineering:
1st Place: Anthony Harris, Concepts of Pipe Traversing Robots
2nd Place Ruba Kachlan, General Purpose Measurement Tool Project
Geography and Earth Sciences:
1st Place: Lauren Slawsky, Examining the Diurnal Varibility of Wind Energy Resources
2nd Place: Stephen Abernathy/Shelby Ledford, Variaition in Soil pH in a Piedmond Terrace
Kinesiology:
1st Place: Regina Galloway, A Comparison of Dynamic Stretching and Static Stretching
2nd Place: Evan Drabik, Effects of Dual-Tasking on Postural Control on those with Chronic Ankle
Instability
Mathematics and Statistics:
1st Place: Morgan Leith, Elementary Education
Mechanical Engineering:
1st Place: John Troutman, Deposition and Measurement at the Nanoscale Coupling between the switch II
loop and Src Homology
Physics & Optical Science:
1st Place: Charles Herring, (SH1) helix in myosin II during the recovery stroke studies by moleculardy
2nd Place: Uriah Israel, Heat as a Contrast Agent for Biological Thermal Imaging: Monte Carlo Models of
Light Propagation
Political Science and Public Administration:
1st Place: Millie Archila, Humanitarian Aid Workers as Targets of Violence
2nd Place: Shengbao Mike Dong, Education Production Function: How much does having good peers aid
students' learning?
Psychology:
1st Place: Kyle Weichman, Depression, Quality of Life and Rehabilitation in Dementia Using Data from
the 2002 National Health Interview Survey
Public Health Sciences:
1st Place: Anna Bawtinhimer, Examining Health Literacy and Weight. Management in Adults with
Hypertension
Sociology:
1st Place: Brittany D. Woody, Comparing Resources: State Based Inequality within Vocational
Rehabilitation
Special Education and Child Development:
1st Place: Anna Wells, A 4th Grader's Approach for Solving Math
Theatre:
1st Place: Les Gray, Identities in Social Justice and Social Networks
*A special thank you goes to the event sponsors for the Atkins Awards: Duke Energy, UNC Charlotte's Charlotte Research Institute and the J. Murrey Atkins Library.
