Showcasing Scholarly and Creative Activity
Since 1987, More than 700 Union College students have presented at NCUR.
The mission of the National Conferences on Undergraduate Research (NCUR®) is to promote undergraduate scholarship and creative activity, done in partnership with faculty members or other mentors, as a vital component of higher education. Specifically, the purposes of NCUR are to:
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| Visit the NCUR website |
- Encourage awareness of undergraduate research, scholarship, and creative opportunities as they exist in various disciplines and types of institutions;
- Promote appreciation of the valuable role these components play in complementing the other aspects of undergraduate education and in encouraging the pursuit of advanced study and academic careers;
- Communicate and celebrate the results of such student-mentor collaborations;
- Foster a multidisciplinary and multicultural community of researchers, scholars, and artists linked by a common enthusiasm for learning.
The most visible element of NCUR's programmatic activities is its three-day annual conference, which is both its "voice" and its source of credibility. Unlike meetings of other professional bodies, this gathering of young scholars welcomes presenters from all institutions of higher learning and from all areas of the academic curriculum. Through this annual conference, NCUR creates a unique environment for the celebration and promotion of undergraduate student achievement, provides models of exemplary research and scholarship, and helps to improve the state of undergraduate education.
The conference has been held twice at Union (1990 and 1995), and the College is currently the NCUR Home Base. Every year since NCUR's inception, Union has sent one of the largest contingents of students and faculty of any school that participates. Please refer to the links to the left for NCUR's home page and photos from the latest conference.
2006 Presenters at NCUR
| Name | Yr. | Presentation | Sponsor | Department |
| Lynn Aclander | '06 | Canopy Light and Photosynthesis Phylogenetic Relationships in Sphagnum | Stephen Rice | Biology |
| Patrick Allen | '06 | Biochemical and Mechanical Influences on Collagen Construct Development and Mechanical Properties | Leo Fleishman | Biology |
| Michael Boyer | '06 | Automated Campus Tour Guide | John Spinelli | Electrical & Computer Engineering |
| Rebecca Farrell | '06 | Drug Delivery to Tumor Sites in the Human Liver with the Use of Iron Nanoparticles and an External Magnetic Field | Amy Hsiao | Mechanical Engineering |
| Samantha Glover | '06 | Control of photosynthesis in Sphagnum, why the canopy matters | Stephen Rice | Biology |
| Justin King | '06 | Development of a Mossbauer Spectrometer | Michael Vineyard | Physics & Astronomy |
| David Korim | '06 | The Effect of Compression Loading on Aerogel Microstructure | Ann Anderson | Mechanical Engineering |
| Fatima Mahmood | '06 | Neutral Meson Analysis of Photoproduction from the Proton | Michael Vineyard | Physics & Astronomy |
| Oliver Majer | '06 | Thermal, Mechanical, and Magnetic Applications of Shape Memory Alloys | Amy Hsiao | Mechanical Engineering |
| Laura Meloney | '06 | Using Electroretinography to Measure Spectral Sensitivity of Different | Leo Fleishman | Biology |
| Aaron Morris | '06 | Multi-frequency VLBI Study of the CSO 0026+346 | Jonathan Marr | Physics & Astronomy |
| Aaron Morris | '06 | Cruise Ship Tourism in the Caribbean: Sustainable Tourism for Small Island States or the Worst Example of Mass Tourism? | Sharon Gmelch | Anthropology |
| Jessica Murtagh | '06 | A Century of Turmoil, Resurection, and Popularity: Why Women are again Choosing Midwives | Janet Grigsby | Sociology |
| Mary Olushoga | '06 | The Impact of a Higher Education Degree on the Marital Status of Black Women | Melinda Goldner | Sociology |
| Brian Oveson | '07 | Visualizing Rhabdom Shedding in 'Whole Mounts of Photoreceptors in Limulus Polyphemus | Leo Fleishman | Biology |
| Nicole Sabbatino | '06 | Mathematically Modeling Accretion Discs around a Black Hole | Rebecca Surman | Physics & Astronomy |
| Amy Serfis | '06 | The Structure of Filamentous Bacteriophages via Dynamic Light Scattering | Jay Newman | Physics & Astronomy |
| Amanda Stella | '06 | Trophic Analkysis of Myosotis Lake, Rensselaerville, New York | Peter Tobiessen | Biology |
| David Stone | '06 | Technical Efficiency in Chicago Public Secondary Schools | Shelton Schmidt | Economics |
| Marisa Zarchy | '06 | Classifying Temporal Properties Of Cone Retinal Photoreceptors In The Lizard Anolis Sagrei Using Electroretinography | Leo Fleishman | Biology |