March 30, 2006: Volume 67, Number 1

It's spring, and a student's thoughts turn to NCUR

This year, 19 Union students present their scholarly research at the 20th annual National Conference on Undergraduate Research, set for April 6-8 at the University of North Carolina-Asheville.

Since 1987, when the conference began, more than 700 Union College students have been invited to showcase their work at NCUR along with undergraduates from some 300 colleges and universities.

The work represents a range of disciplines, including mathematics, business, the social sciences, humanities, physical and life sciences, natural resources, engineering and creative arts.

"NCUR is a unique opportunity for our students to showcase their research at the national level and also gain exposure to other models of exemplary research and scholarship," says Mary Carroll, the College's director of undergraduate research.

This year's event will draw 2,400 students, faculty members and administrators to hear and discuss undergraduate research through oral presentations, interdisciplinary poster sessions, artistic performances and art exhibits.

"I'm very excited about the conference," said Mary Olushoga '06, who will present her paper, "The Impact of a Higher Education Degree on the Marital Status of Black Women." "This wouldn't be possible without the guidance of my thesis advisor, Prof. Melinda Goldner, in sociology."

Other Union participants include seniors Lynn Aclander, Patrick Allen, Michael Boyer,  Rebecca Farrell, Samantha Glover, Justin King, David Korim, Fatima Mahmood, Oliver Majer, Laura Meloney, Aaron Morris, Jessica Murtagh, Nicole Sabbatino, Amy Serfis, Amanda Stella, David Stone and Marisa Zarchy, and junior Brian Oveson.

Allen, Meloney, Oveson and Zarchy have been working on projects associated with the Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) grant, which is supporting their NCUR travel. Union was awarded $1.6 million from HHMI in 2004 to promote research, study and careers in emerging new fields in the sciences and engineering. The College is covering NCUR travel costs for the others.

Following are the Union participants, with their research projects, faculty research advisers and departments. Or log on to http://www.union.edu/undergrad_research/ncur/.

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 and 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 and 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 and 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 and astronomy; and "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, Resurrection 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 and astronomy

Amy Serfis '06: "The Structure of Filamentous Bacteriophages via Dynamic Light Scattering," Jay Newman, physics and 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.

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