MACON – Twelve undergraduate students in Mercer University's Honors Program traveled to the National Conference on Undergraduate Research (NCUR), April 16-18, at Eastern Washington University, where they presented research from a variety of academic disciplines.
“NCUR is the largest and most prestigious undergraduate research conference in the country and having so many Honors students present to their peers and other faculty both raises the profile of Mercer in the world of undergraduate research and exposes our students to the widest spectrum possible of undergraduate research practices and projects,” said Dr. John Thomas Scott, professor of history and director of the Honors Program.
Thornton Brewer, a senior political science and German double-major from Houston, Texas, made two oral presentations. The first was titled “Critical Event History Analysis: Unemployment's Effect on Cabinet Duration and Stability in Europe,” and the second was titled “Ophelia – Pinocchio or a Real Girl? Examining the Autonomy of Ophelia in Shakespeare's Hamlet.” His faculty mentors were Dr. Chris Grant, associate professor and chair of political science, and Dr. Scott.
Goldwater Scholar Kirsten Brown, a junior chemistry and mathematics double-major from Tallahassee, Florida, made a poster presentation, titled “Studying the Binding and Active Sites of OGA Using Computational and Experimental Methods.” Her faculty mentor was Dr. Garland Crawford, assistant professor of chemistry.
Colleen Closson, a junior international affairs and Southern studies double-major from Summerville, South Carolina, made an oral presentation, titled “Hurricane Katrina and New Orleans: Pre-existing Conditions to Present Day Realities.” Her faculty mentor was Dr. Eimad Houry, professor and chair of international and global studies.
Maddison Cooper, a senior international affairs major from Savannah, made an oral presentation, titled “A Case Study of the Effects of U.S. Foreign Intervention on American Citizens in Afghanistan and Iraq in Comparison to Vietnam.” Her faculty mentor was Dr. Houry.
Kelsy Cotto, a junior biochemistry/molecular biology major from Tifton, made a poster presentation, titled “Creation of an Anti-OGA Antibody Coupled Column to Investigate Endogeneous OGA.” Her faculty mentor was Dr. Crawford.
Anna Mae Kersey, a senior philosophy major and psychology minor from Macon, made an oral presentation, titled “Get Over Yourself.” Her faculty mentor was Dr. Charlotte Thomas, professor of philosophy.
Tiffany Le, a senior biochemistry/molecular biology major from Buford, made a poster presentation, titled “Investigation of Interactions Between the MiDAC Complex and the Paf1C Complex.” Her faculty mentor was Dr. Mark J. Swanson, assistant professor of genetics.
Alex Mooring, a junior English, history, and women's and gender studies triple-major from Macon, made an oral presentation, titled “Writings of Oppression: Antebellum White Women's Portrayals of Race and Gender.” Her faculty mentor was Dr. Scott.
Min Oh, a junior English major from Daegu, South Korea, made an oral presentation, titled “Racial Temporality: Revealing the Collapse of the White Authority in The Sound and the Fury.” Her faculty mentor was Dr. David A. Davis, associate professor of English.
Rachel O'Keefe, a junior biochemistry major from Kohler, Wisconsin, made a poster presentation, titled “Investigating Protein-Substrate Interactions of the Enzyme OGA.” Her faculty mentor was Dr. Crawford.
Nancey Price, a senior women's and gender studies major from Girard, made an oral presentation, titled “The Effects of Sexual Education: It's More than Just Knowledge.” Her faculty mentor was Dr. Natalie Bourdon, associate professor of cultural studies.
Katie Slusher, a senior psychology major from Columbus, made a poster presentation, titled “Disgust and Disordered Eating Explored: Self-Disgust Versus Disgust with Others and Anti-fat Biases.” Her faculty mentor was Dr. Miranda Pratt, professor of psychology.
NCUR, established in 1987, is an interdisciplinary conference where students representing institutions from around the U.S. and the world present their research and creative works in oral, poster and performance/visual arts presentations.
The conference is put on by the Council on Undergraduate Research, a national organization of individual and institutional members representing over 900 colleges and universities that is dedicated to providing undergraduate research opportunities for faculty and students at all institutions serving undergraduates. Mercer is an enhanced institutional member of CUR. For more information, visit http://www.cur.org/.
