April

Undergraduate researchers represent JMU at pair of conferences

James Madison University sent 20 student researchers to a pair of undergraduate research conferences this month.

Eight students represented JMU at the 27^th National Conference on Undergraduate Research at the University of Wisconsin-La Cross and 12 students participated in the 11^th annual Colonial Academic Alliance Undergraduate Research Conference at the University of Delaware.

Students who presented at the NCUR conference April 11-13 were Melissa Dutter, engineering; Brent Glassman, physics; Nicholas Hagans, physics; Ross Hawkins, history; Bryan Ishewood, physics; Bejan Rasoul, biology; Andrew Row, physics; and Benjamin Stanley, biology.

Representing JMU at the CAA conference April 12-14 were Sarah Bethel, engineering; Adam Blincoe, history; Emil Christensen, physics; Matthew Clasen, psychology; Katelyn Cutts, psychology; Mary Elder, political science; Brandon Eskridge, physics; Sinead Gilmore, biology; Parker Helble, engineering; Mary ann Mason, history; Kelsey Ostergren, history; and Sancho Sequeira, psychology.

NCUR is dedicated to promoting undergraduate research and academic achievement and sponsors events such as the annual NCUR conference, Posters on the Hill and the Research Experience for Undergraduates Student Scholarship to further the educational welfare of undergraduate students. 

The Colonial Academic Alliance consists of 11 institutions whose sports teams compete in the Colonial Athletic Association and whose missions focus on promoting academic excellence. The JMU students were among nearly 100 undergraduate researchers who took part in the conference, which provides them an opportunity to share their research with their peers in a professional atmosphere.

Following is a list of the JMU student presenters, the titles of their research and their advisors:

NCUR:

• Melissa Dutter, Photoelectrochemical Performance of Tungsten Doped BiVO4 Films, Dr. Keith Holland
• Brent Glassman, One-proton breakup of 18F and the 17O(p,)18F reaction in classical novae, Dr. Adriana Banu
• Nicholas Hagans, 2-Dimensional Bubble Rheology, Dr. Klebert Feitosa
• Ross Hawkins, Union Burning and Confederate Impressment in the Shenandoah Valley, Dr. Dillard Philip
• Bryan Ishewood, Assembly and Calibration of Photomultiplier Tubes for Use in Large Scale Particle Experimentaion at Jefferson Laboratory, Dr. Kevin Giovanetti
• Bejan Rasoul, Investigating the role of the saccharomyces cerevisiae β-NAC in stress response, Dr. Kimberly Slekar
• Andrew Rowe, The search for companions using debris candidates, Dr. Harold Butner
• Benjamin Stanley, Explaining Localized Variation in Cerion Shell Morphology on San Salvador Island, The Bahamas, Dr. Christine May

CAA

• Sarah Bethel, Investigating The Potential For Wind Turbines In The Maltese Deep Sea Offshore Environment, Dr. Keith Holland
• Adam Blincoe, Firm United Let Us Be. Rallying Round Our Hickory Tree: Political Prints in the Elections of 1824 and 1828, Dr. J. Chris Arndt
• Emil Christensen, Understanding Supermassive Black Hole Accretion Through H2O Mega-Maser Statistics, Dr. Anca Constantin
• Matthew Clasen, The Effect of Cocaine on Delay Discounting in the Spontaneously Hypertensive Rat, Dr. Jeff Dyche
• Katelyn Cutts, Predictive Factors for Marijuana Use Among College Students, Dr. Monica Reis-Began
• Mary Elder, Policy Impacts on Biodiesel Market Infrastructures: Comparing Virginia and North Carolina, Dr. Rob Alexander
• Brandon Eskridge, Physical Conditions of Massive Prestellar Cores in Mid Infrared Dark Clouds, Dr. Harold Butner
• Sinead Gilmore, The Effect of Estrogen and Cardiovascular Health on Nitric Oxide Synthase Expression in a ‘Listless’ Model of Zebrafish (Danio rerio), Dr. Terrie Rife
• Parker Helble, Converting Waste Cooking Oil to Biodiesal Using a Continuous Flow, Packed-Bed Reactor, Dr. Adebeyo Ogundipe
• Mary Ann Mason, From Parlor To Politics: How Religion Politicized Nineteenth Century Women, Dr. J. Chris Arndt
• Kelsey Ostergren, The Role of Religion in Southern Secession and Battle, Dr. Dillard Philip
• Sancho Sequeira, The Effect of Cocaine on Delay Discounting in the Spontaneously Hypertensive Rat, Dr. Jeff Dyche

For more news about the accomplishments of JMU students, check out http://jmu.meritpages.com/

Published April 19, 2013