Second semester is often associated with spring break trips to warm locales, the return of outdoor sports and the pomp and circumstance of graduation, but for dozens of University of Wisconsin Oshkosh students it’s also research presentation season.
Nine UWO students head out this week to the National Conference on Undergraduate Research (NCUR) at the University of Central Oklahoma—the first in a series of research conferences held throughout April. The students will offer oral and poster presentations on their research covering an array of topics from anthropology to psychology.
“This experience will afford these students an opportunity to present their research to peers and professors from institutions of higher learning throughout the United States,” said Stephen Kercher, interim director of UW Oshkosh’s Office of Student Research and Creative Activity. “They will be able to learn from the original work that students in their field are advancing. And because NCUR is an interdisciplinary conference, our students will undoubtedly appreciate the types of research that students in fields very different from their own are pursuing.”
The students also will gain an introduction into the professional world of academia.
“Research and creative work are meant to be shared, for the sake of advancing knowledge and for the good that comes when we allow creative expression to alter the way we see the world,” Kercher said.
Three of the UWO undergrads traveling to Edmond, Oklahoma, for NCUR include senior psychology majors Kaitlin Beattie, of Pewaukee; Blair Braun, of Appleton; and Deanna Luttenberger, of Fond du Lac. They will present the following posters:
- Beattie, working with faculty mentor Sarah Kucker, “Phonological Processing and Reaction Time in Children with SLI: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.”
- Braun, with Quin Chrobak, “Examining the Grain-Size Lineup While Making Cross-Race Identifications.”
- Luttenberger, with Justyna Olszewska, “The Effect of Diurnal Variability on False Memories in Visual and Audio Short- and Long-Term Memory.”
Madeline Hass
In addition, two philosophy students will give oral presentations at NCUR. Madeline Hass, a sophomore from Neenah also majoring in history and German, is working with UWO faculty mentor Evan Williams on “Death in the Context of Indefinitely Extended Life.” Senior Emma Link, of Charlotte, North Carolina, is working with Larry Herzberg on “Rape: An Investigation into Consciousness, Identity, and Harm.”
The following students also will take part in NCUR:
- Jennifer Depew, a senior double majoring in history and political science from Appleton, with David Siemers, oral presentation, “A New Slavery of Caste”: An Evaluation of President Woodrow Wilson with Regard to Race.”
- Leigh Hayes, a senior double majoring in anthropology and geology from Greenville with Jordan Karsten, poster presentation, “A Test of the Metric Method for Estimating Sex Using the Human Radius.”
- Santidra Love, senior biology major from Milwaukee, with Courtney Kurtz, poster presentation, “Adipose IL-10 Decreases at the Onset of Glucose Intolerance in Fattening Ground Squirrels.”
- Christopher Smith, senior economics major from Winnebago, Illinois, with Joshua Foster, oral presentation, “An Experimental Study in Zero and Negative Prices: Replications and New Evidence.”
Hayes, Love and Luttenberger are McNair Scholars—a TRIO program that prepares undergraduates for graduate study by pairing them with faculty mentors who assist them in designing, implementing and completing a significant research project.
In additional to NCUR, upcoming conferences include Research in the Rotunda, April 11 in the Capitol Rotunda, Madison; the UW System Symposium for Undergraduate Research and Creative Activity, April 20 at UW-Green Bay; and the Celebration of Scholarship and Creative Activity, April 26 at UW Oshkosh.
Learn more: