NAU Student Researchers To Present Their Work at National Conference

 

Eleven NAU students majoring in astronomy, biological sciences, biomedical science, environmental sciences, forestry, mechanical engineering, and physics have been accepted to present research posters at the National Conference for Undergraduate Research (NCUR) at the University of Wisconsin - La Crosse, April 11 to April 13, 2013. Their faculty mentors are noted in brackets.

• Matthew Blanford: Western Spruce Budworm and Climate Change in Mixed Conifer Forests [Kristin Waring],
• Bo Stevens and Patricia Rees: Does Erwinia tracheiphila Cause Bacterial Wilt in Canada Thistle (Cirsium arvense)? [Richard Hofstetter],
• Matthew Bovyn: Laboratory Studies of Ices Found in the Outer Solar System [Stephen Tegler and Will Grundy],
• Megan Cawley and Kristin Coady: Teaching Geometric Dimensioning and Tolerancing to Students of Differing Engineering Design Backgrounds [Perry Wood],
• Bret Clawson: Determination of Migration Capacity for Fleas that Vector Plague (Yersinia pestis) [David Wagner]; Identification and Overexpression of Immunogenic Proteins for Burkholderia mallei Vaccine [Andrew Koppisch],
• Audrey Ford: Characterizing the Mechanical Properties of Tropoelastin Protein Scaffolds [Brent Nelson and Robert Kellar],
• Danielle Klaas: Climate Sensitivity of Co-occurring Species on the North Rim of the Grand Canyon [Peter Fulé],
• Joshua Mayoral: Does Mucus Play a Role during Infection with the Parasite Toxoplasma gondii? [Fernando Monroy], and
• Khalid Wabli: Real Time Imaging of Biological Structures using Digital Holography and Tomography [Christopher Mann].

Attendance is anticipated to range from 3,000 to 3,500 individuals representing 35 to 45 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, Canada, and other countries. Highlights of the event will be three plenary/keynote speakers: Will Steger (polar explorer), Hazel Barton (cave microbiologist), and Bill Miller (Mohican singer/songwriter); a graduate and professional school fair; and student research and creative presentations in oral, poster/exhibit, and performance sessions.

Funding for the NAU student projects came from the Hooper Undergraduate Research Award (HURA) program, NAU Undergraduate Research Mentoring (URM) program, NAU/NASA Space Grant Internship Program, and NAU's Center for Microbial Genetics and Genomics (MGGen).

-- MaryLynn Quartaroli, EdD