Four Honors College Students Win Top Awards at WSU Undergraduate Research Symposium
PULLMAN, Wash.—At the second annual Washington State University Undergraduate Research Symposium Oct. 17, 2008, two seniors, a junior, and a sophomore from the WSU Honors College were among eight students taking top honors.
Three “crimson” prizes of $500 and one “gray” prize of $300 were awarded to Honors researchers making oral presentations or poster presentations.
Receiving Crimson awards in the oral presentation category is:
• Brittany Navarre, a senior neuroscience major from Cle Elum who is advised by Rebecca Craft from the Dept. of Psychology on her research entitled, “Anhedonia During the Postpartum Period in Rats.”
Crimson awards in the poster category went to:
• Gianne Souza, a sophomore microbiology major from Edmonds researching with Susan Carpenter and Rebecca Tallmadge from the Dept. of Veterinary Microbiology and Pathology on “Mapping Regions of Env Important in the Neutralization of Equine Infectious Anemia Virus.”
• Mandi Hohner, a senior civil engineering/environmental engineering major from Spokane working with Brian Lamb of the Dept. of Civil and Environmental Engineering on “Investigation of Nighttime CO2 fluxes in Complex Terrain.”
Recipient of the gray award in the oral category was:
• Leah Jordan, a junior genetics and cell biology/music major from Spokane researching with Gary Thorgaard and Brian Kemp from the School of Biological Sciences and the Dept. of Anthropology on “Millimeters and Base Pairs: Do Transverse Diameter and DNA Tell the Same Story?”
“Honors students made up about half of the total participants and won four of the eight top awards at this year’s WSU Undergraduate Research Symposium,” says Libby Walker, interim Honors College dean. “We are very proud that so many Honors students participated and that they presented their work so well at the event.”
Members of the Honors College also at the 2008 WSU Undergraduate Research Symposium are:
• Amy Dole, a senior English education major from Spokane, researching with Barbara Monroe from the Dept. of English on “The Role of Gothic Literature in the Classroom.”
• Laurissa Hale, a senior architecture major from Seattle researching with Matthew Cohen of the College of Engineering and Architecture on “Is Sustainable Urbanism a Viable Solution to Suburban Sprawl? A Critique of Douglas Farr’s ‘Sustainable Urbanism.’”
• Keena Mullen, a senior animal sciences/pre-vet major from Sedro Woolley researching with Wesley Henderson of North Carolina State University’s Dept. of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering on “Ionic Liquids as Solvents for Lignocellulosic Biomass.”
• Erika Ottenbreit, a senior civil engineering student from Marysville researching with Pressley, Allwine, and Lamb, “Quantifying Methane Emissions from WSU Compost Facility.”
• Amy Van Nortwick, a junior neuroscience major from Mt. Vernon researching with David Rector from the Dept. of Neuroscience, “Investigating Neurovascular Coupling Under High Stimulation.”
Abstracts of all participants’ research are available online at undergraduateresearch.wsu.edu.
CONTACT: Beverly Makhani, WSU Undergraduate Education Communications Director, 509-335-6679, makhani@wsu.edu
Libby Walker, WSU Honors College Interim Dean, 509-335-4505, walkerl@wsu.edu
Merik H. Metos, WSU Undergraduate Education Communications Intern and Honors student, 509-335-8070, mmetos@wsu.edu