News and Events (2014-2015)

UNCG represented at National Undergraduate Research Event for US Congress

GREENSBORO, NC, MAY 6, 2015- UNCG honors student, Tiffany Merritt, and her mentor, Dr. Saundra Westervelt of the Department of Sociology , took their research to Capitol Hill last week. Tiffany’s honors project, titled “Addressing the Aftermath of a Wrongful Conviction in North Carolina: Policy vs. Practice,” examines the implementation of the North Carolina compensation policy for NC exonerees. Tiffany’s research reveals that while NC is often noted as having a generous compensation statute for those wrongly convicted in our state, only 44% of NC exonerees actually receive compensation. Thus, her research reveals a gap between our policy and practice.

The project was one of 60 from across the country selected from over 500 applications for the annual “Posters on the Hill” event sponsored by the Council on Undergraduate Research. Merritt and Westervelt traveled to Washington, D.C. April 22-23, where they discussed their work with two U.S. Senators and the staffers for a third Senator and two U.S. Congressmen. They also met with White House staffers from the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy.

The Council on Undergraduate Research (CUR) is dedicated to supporting and promoting high-quality undergraduate student-faculty collaborative research and scholarship. CUR’s Posters on the Hill is a national showcase that emphasizes the impacts of undergraduate research experiences for the U.S. Congress.


URSCO Travel Award Recipients – April 2015

GREENSBORO, NC, May 4, 2015– This April has been a particularly demanding time for undergraduate researchers at UNCG. They started the month off with the 9th Annual Carolyn and Norwood Thomas Undergraduate Research & Creativity Expo (April 7th), travelled to academic conferences all over the US presenting their projects, and are wrapping up the month and semester with final exams. Congratulations, students, on another successful semester!

This past month, the Undergraduate Research, Scholarship, and Creativity Office has had the pleasure to fund nine students to travel to three different academic conferences in their discipline to promote their research and creative projects.

Below are the recipients of the URSCO travel awards for April 2015.

Student Name

Class Standing

Department

Title of Project

Conference

Conference Location

Kayo Robinson Senior Human Development and Family Studies A Synthesis of Family Relationships and other Hypertension Related Factors for Southeast Asian Refugee Communities Big South Undergraduate Research Symposium Buies Creek, NC
Mary John Junior Human Development and Family Studies Gender Differences in African American Widowhood Big South Undergraduate Research Symposium Buies Creek, NC
Krishnaveni Balakrishnan Senior Human Development and Family Studies Alzheimer’s Disease: How Nutrition Might Play a Role
A Focus on the U.S. and India
Big South Undergraduate Research Symposium Buies Creek, NC
Branda Mlo & Jalisa Horne Junior & Senior Public Health Education & Nutrition Transnational Plant and Food Use in Health and Hypertension among Montagnard Refugee Families Big South Undergraduate Research Symposium Buies Creek, NC
Tyanna Waddell & Makayla Jones Juniors Communication Studies and Disorders Social Media as a Tool in the Promotion of CSD National Black Association for Speech-Language and Hearing 2015 Annual Convention Nashville, TN
Curran Fitzgerald Senior Anthropology Geochemical and Physical Characterization of Lithic Raw Materials in the Olduvai Basin, Tanzania Society for American Archaeology Annual Meeting San Francisco, CA
Alexa Uberseder Senior Anthropology Renewed Excavations at DK East, Olduvai Gorge, Tanzania Society for American Archaeology Annual Meeting San Francisco, CA

 


Health and Human Sciences at UNCG & Guilford College Students’ Success at Local and Regional Research Symposia

GREENSBORO, NC, APRIL 20, 2015- Dr. Sharon Morrison and Dr. Sudha Shreeniwas are excited to announce the success of a diverse and talented team of undergraduate researchers in HHS at UNCG, as well as from Guilford College (GC). Ten students, working in teams, recently had the opportunity to showcase their research at the 2015 Big South Undergraduate Research Symposium (BigSURS) which took place April 10-11, 2015 at Campbell University, NC. Two of the teams won “Best Poster Presentation” in their categories (Health Sciences and Public Health).

Please join us in congratulating UNCG HHS students Jalisa Horne (Nutrition), Kayo Robinson (HDFS), and Branda Mlo (Public Health Education); and Guilford College students Aiperi Iusupova (Chemistry/Biochemistry), LeK Siu and Hvung Ksor (both Peace and Conflict Studies majors).


Undergraduate Research Collaboration Wins National Award

GREENSBORO, NC, APRIL 20, 2015- Undergraduate researcher Rolando Sanchez and his research mentor Dr. Roy Schwartzman have won the Joyce Ferguson Award for the top paper at the 2015 National Association of Communication Centers (NACC) conference held in Fredericksburg, VA. Their paper, titled “Communication Centers as Sites for Identity (Re)Negotiation,” was developed in Fall 2014 while Rolando worked as a Managing Consultant at the University Speaking Center. He graduated in December 2014 with a major in Communication Studies and a minor in Psychology. Rolando is now Group Project Coordinator at El Futuro Mental Health Clinic in Durham, NC. Roy Schwartzman is Professor and Lloyd International Honors College Fellow in the Department of Communication Studies. This is the third time Dr. Schwartzman has won the Ferguson Award from NACC, twice with undergraduate co-authors.


URSCO Travel Award Recipients – March 2015

GREENSBORO, NC, March 30, 2015–March is known in college sports for its madness but March is also a demanding time in academia. March is the beginning of academic conference season. This past month, the Undergraduate Research, Scholarship, and Creativity Office has had the pleasure to fund five students to travel to six academic conferences in their discipline to promote their research and creative projects.

Below are the recipients of the URSCO travel awards for March 2015.

Student Name

Class Standing

Department

Title of Project

Conference

Conference Location

Karen Boger Junior College of Arts and Sciences/ University Speaking Center Scholarship in Progress Panel The National Association of Communication Centers’ annual Excellence at the Center Conference Fredericksburg, VA
Dorothy Dator Senior Psychology Patterns in Sexual Offending: Attitudes, Risky Behaviors and Childhood Experiences South Eastern Psychological Association Conference Hilton Head, SC
Maria Ditcheva &

Saboria Thomas

Senior & Senior Psychology Transdiagnostic Anxiety Severity Associated with Blunted Cortisol Response to Lab-Induced Stress 27th Association for Psychological Science Annual Convention New York City, NY
Holly Riley Senior Music Education New Tradition-Bearers: Motivations of Young Adults in North Carolina Old Time Communities The Society for Ethnomusicology Southeast and Caribbean Chapter 2015 Annual Meeting Knoxville, TN
Holly Riley Senior Music Education Low Latency Audio Video as a Distance Learning Tool to Teach Improvisation American String Teachers Association 2015 National Conference Salt Lake City, UT

Interested in getting your conference travel funded? Read more about the URSCO Travel Awards HERE.


UNCG Undergraduates Present at 10th Annual State of North Carolina Undergraduate Research & Creativity Symposium

GREENSBORO, NC, December 3, 2014– On Saturday November 22, the 10th Annual State of North Carolina Undergraduate Research and Creativity Symposium (SNCURCS) was held the campus of North Carolina State University. This year’s SNCURCS included 504 student presenters, of which 14 were from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro.

Dr. Lee Phillips, Director of the Undergraduate Research, Scholarship, and Creativity Office at UNCG, shares, “SNCURCS is a student-friendly forum designed to showcase a cross-section of undergraduate research, scholarship and creative inquiry from across the state. Students gain from having the opportunity to present results of their inquiry to a group of their peers, as well as faculty who attend. Presentation styles include posters, talks, and exhibits. Each presentation builds on the students’ ability to communicate technical information with confidence to a general audience. Students also get a chance to attend lunch-box sessions on topics ranging from getting into graduate school to applying for fellowships and international research experiences, to name a few. I look forward to SNCURCS each year and hope more UNCG students [and faculty] will take advantage of it in the future. Next year’s SNCURCS will be hosted by High Point University.”

Here is a list of the UNCG students & mentors that participated in the 2014 SNCURCS celebration of research, creativity and scholarship.