Undergraduates Selected to Present Research at National Conference

Selected from among 3,500 abstracts across the nation, 11 Texas Tech Center for Undergraduate Research students were chosen to present research findings at the 2012 National Conference on Undergraduate Research (NCUR) on March 29-31 in Ogden, Utah.

Hosted annually, the NCUR conference promotes undergraduate research, scholarship and creative activity in all fields of study.

2012 marks the third year the Center for Undergraduate Research has supported student involvement to the NCUR, and Texas Tech students will present research on a variety of topics ranging from microbiology to communication and gender studies.

Jeannie Diaz, director of the Texas Tech Center for Undergraduate Research, said the center believes it is important to support Texas Tech participation at NCUR, as the conference provides a platform to showcase research findings for students in the arts, humanities, social sciences, and STEM fields.  It also provides an excellent opportunity for students to network with more than 2,000 peers.

“This is exciting for Texas Tech University,” Diaz said. “It promotes student research on a national level while supporting creative scholarship and student success.”

Students selected to present, and their respective research topics include:

• Ann Marie Scott, Microbiology/Immunology: Selenocystamine inhibits the growth of oppurtunistic pathogen P. aeruginosa, and prevents biofilm formation
• David South, Computer Science: Integration of the Alice 3D Programming Environment with Robotics to Stimulate Interest in Computing
• Jess Lees, Physiology: Vacuolar proton ATPases Extrude Acid at the Cell Surface in Human Cancer Cells
• Kathryn King, Marketing: The Effect of Design and Color in Consumer Perception of the Sweetness Levels of Wine
• Co-presenters: Kelly Butler, Education and Candace Prater Miller: Creativity in the Classroom: Synthesis of Effective Teachers and their Classrooms
• Lotoya Broughton, Psychology: Teachers’ and Mothers’ Perception of Low-Income African American and Hispanic Children's Behavior and Parenting Strategies and Effectiveness
• Mwansa Chiyenge, Engineering Technology: Watershed Management for the Canyon Lake System in Lubbock, TX.
• Mwale Chiyenge, Engineering Technology: Degradation of Pharmaceuticals in Water by Superoxide Produced by Reaction of Selenocystamine with Sulfur
• Rachel Bottlinger, Communications: Cognitive and Emotional Processing of Music
• Tory Ervin, Women and Gender Studies: Comparing Feminist Attitudes and Feminist Identity: Is a Rose by Any Other Name Still a Rose; Psychology: Distinction Worth Examination and Mediation Effect of Harshness of Discipline on the Relationship between Maternal Education Level and Young Children's Receptive Vocabulary