Conference spotlights student research
Article By: Agnes Hina
The University of North Georgia (̨Íåswag) hosted the 28th Annual Research Conference (ARC) at the Dahlonega Campus in the Convocation Center on March 24.
̨Íåswag undergraduate and graduate students from all disciplines and campuses shared their research and projects in poster sessions, performance pieces and panel presentations.
"The Annual Research Conference is a great opportunity to see all the exciting and creative work ̨Íåswag students have been up to," Dr. Diogo Pinheiro, Center for Undergraduate Research and Creative Activities (CURCA) assistant director, said. "This year we are particularly excited because it was our largest ARC since the start of the pandemic with over 100 student submissions."
Selection to present included the submission of a 250-word abstract. 105 submissions were accepted and presented at the conference, with 58 posters and 54 oral presentations.
My mentors have provided immense support and guidance as I've worked on these projects and have given long-lasting feedback that I can employ for the rest of my career
Ranah Ocampo
̨Íåswag student
Awards were given for Best Presentation based on these abstracts as well as essays and posters.
This year's research proved to be exciting like 2022 Best Poster winner Ranah Ocampo's research on "Introducing Immunofluorescence Microscopy of Tetrahymena Cells in Cell Biology Lab." Ocampo, who is pursuing a degree in biology, also won a CURCA mini-grant with her mentors Dr. Jo Qian and Dr. Adam Davis last year.
"My mentors have provided immense support and guidance as I've worked on these projects and have given long-lasting feedback that I can employ for the rest of my career," the senior from Snellville, Georgia, said. "I've gained great experience that will help me in the next stage of life and education. Those awards have motivated me to keep working more diligently every day and keep sight of my aspirations."
After having such a great experience herself, Ocampo believes her peers should participate in the conference to build schema, diversity and awareness of various topics.
"I feel as though the best way to learn is to do something yourself, and I gained so much more confidence through this research," Ocampo said.
This year's ARC winners are:
- Best Oral Presentation: " Testing how Framing of Sustainability Affects Student Interest for a Sustainability Fee," Anna Marie Møller. Faculty mentors: Dr. Bryan Dawson, Hugh Scott and Dr. Diogo Pinheiro
- Best Oral Presentation: " A Reinvestigation of PepsiCo’s Revenue Growth after the Russia-Ukraine War," Jenna Gardner. Faculty mentor: Dr. Ruohan Wu
- Best Poster Presentation: " Promoting the Development of Critical Thinking in Pre-Nursing Students through Concept Mapping: A Review," Jessica Cisneros Lerma. Faculty mentor: Dr. Cathy Whiting
- Honorable Mention-Best Poster Presentation: " Effects of partial timber harvests on vertebrate community composition," Atticus Tomcho and McKenna Johnson. Faculty mentors: Dr. Erin Barding and Dr. Jessy Patterson
To see the students' research, visit the Annual Research Conference page. Students interested in learning more about undergraduate research opportunities may visit ̨Íåswag's CURCA website or email curca@ung.edu.
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