WSU Honors Students Land Undergraduate Research Symposium Awards
PULLMAN, Wash. — Using speeches and posters to demonstrate their work, Honors College students from freshmen through seniors participated in the first Washington State University Undergraduate Research Symposium in November. At the close of the day, Honors students got top honors and half of the total $3,200 prize money for their research, scholarship, or creative activity.
“We are very pleased that our Honors students participated in the inaugural project and that they made outstanding presentations,” says Libby Walker, Honors interim dean.
A total of 36 WSU undergraduates, including the Honors students, petitioned to be part of the symposium. They were tasked to make an oral presentation or use a poster to evidence their project, activity, and results. The presentations were evaluated by judges from faculty, staff, and administrative ranks. The term “undergraduate research” at WSU covers not just work performed in laboratories but also scholarship and creative endeavors.
The Honors award winners all made oral presentations and included: (winners in the Crimson $500 category) Meagan Turner, a biology senior and Honors student from Lacey, who researched “Exploring Patterns of Diversification in Beslerieae (Gesneriaceae) using Three DNA Spacer Region Sequences.” Her faculty advisor is Eric H. Roalson, biological sciences. And, John Leraas, physics and Honors senior, Olympia, “Vacuum Ultraviolet Excimer Laser Light Interactions with Poly(vinylidene fluoride),” with advisor J. Tom Dickinson, physics.
In the Grey category ($300) top presentations were by: Kasey Vargo, biology and Honors senior, Great Falls, Mont., “The Effects of Post-Translational Modifications on Core Lysine Residues in Histone H2A and H2B and Their Influence on Gene Expression in Saccharomyces cerevisiae,” with advisor John Wyrick, molecular biosciences. And, Leah G. Jordan, genetics and Honors junior, Spokane, “Development of Universal Primers for Use in Fish Species Identification,” with advisor Gary Thorgaard, biological sciences.
Other Honors students making oral presentations were the team of Megan Ching, Sean Leonard, Adrianna Lippy, Juvier Suarez, and Shelly Najjar, “University Affiliated Foods and Their Environmental Impact,” with advisor Hilary Hawley, English. Ching, a sophomore from Bellevue, indicates broadcast management is her major; Leonard, a sophomore from Spokane, genetics and cell biology for pre-pharmacy; Lippy, a freshman from Belfair, biotechnology; Suarez, a freshman from Pullman, fine arts and digital media; and Najjar, a freshman from Seattle, dietetics.
Honors senior Lindsay Sanford, a mechanical engineering major from Yakima, displayed a poster on “Between War,” examining the images of female empowerment in World Wars I and II. Her advisor is Pamela Lee, fine arts. Skuyler Herzog, a freshman interested in biology and zoology, presented a poster on “Watersheds of the Missouri Flat Creek and the South Fork of the Palouse River.” His faculty advisor is Hilary Hawley, English.
Scenes from the 2007 Symposium
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CONTACT: Beverly Makhani, WSU Undergraduate Education Communications Director, 509-335-6679, makhani@wsu.edu
Dave Bahr, WSU Undergraduate Research Director, 509-335-8523, dbahr@wsu.edu