Conferences

EWU McNair Scholars Present their STEM Research and Experiences

02/02/2021 by Jaeger, Corinne Leave a Comment

Despite COVID-19, EWU McNair Scholars have persisted through their virtual research internships during the summer of 2020 and now are presenting their research throughout the year. In addition to Ashley Destin and Rachael Pentico presenting at the Murdock College Science Research Conference in the Fall of 2020, three McNair Scholars have presented within their departments at EWU so far in 2021.

Darlene Gilroy, a second year EWU McNair Scholar, presented her research on, “Chemical Weathering of Deposits from the 1980 Mount St. Helens Eruption and its Effect on Stream Water Chemistry," to the Geology Department in early January. Darlene has been mentored by EWU McNair Faculty Mentor Dr. Carmen Nezat for two summers of research. Darlene is currently finishing her senior year at EWU as well as applying to multiple graduate schools across the country.

EWU McNair Scholar Mori Williams was recently featured in a video on the EWU Biology Department's website where he discusses his EWU McNair Summer research in detail. With the support of his EWU McNair Faculty Mentor, Dr. Camille McNeely, Mori took samples at the Turnbull National Wildlife Refuge to determine concentrations of microcystins from cyanobacteria in wetlands. He is still compiling data and will present his findings this spring at the EWU Symposium. In the video, Mori also discusses his long term goals to become an environmental scientist with an emphasis in toxicology so he can focus on ways to reduce and remove toxins from our waters. Mori has applied to 7 PhD programs and 3 Masters programs and is currently applying for a fellowship.

Rachael was also featured in a video on the EWU Biology Department's website and shares great research opportunities where she shares examples of research within the department, including her EWU McNair research project under the mentorship of Dr. Rebecca Brown: Differences in Plant Soil Feedbacks with Respect to Slope Aspect. Rachael's findings in this project suggest that slope aspect influences plant-soil feedback. This insight can help with invasive species management in endangered ecosystems such as the Palouse Prairie Ecoregion. Rachael is now hard at work completing her graduate school applications to schools across the country!

We're so proud of all of our EWU McNair Scholars. It's been amazing to see how hard they've worked given all the challenges of the last year. We're excited to see where each of them goes next. Keep your eyes on the EWU McNair website and facebook page in the coming months to see as these fantastic scholars get accepted into graduate programs!

EWU McNair Scholars Present at Murdock College Science Research Conference 2020

01/27/2021 by Jaeger, Corinne Leave a Comment

Despite COVID-19, EWU McNair Scholars have persisted through their virtual research internships during the summer of 2020 and continued to present their research throughout the year. This last fall, two EWU McNair Scholars presented at the Murdock College Science Research Conference. This Northwest specific undergraduate conference focuses on sharing and advancing new knowledge in the natural sciences created or discovered through collaborative faculty-student research. Attendance at this conference is by invitation only. The two presentations from our McNair Scholars were:

Rachael is now hard at work completing her graduate school applications. Ashley will continue on another year in her studies and apply to graduate school in the fall of 2021. We're so excited for both of these scholars and their next steps towards attaining their PhDs!

Nine EWU McNair Scholars Present at Baylor McNair Research Conference

10/09/2020 by Jaeger, Corinne Leave a Comment

From looking at community perceptions of reentry barriers to formerly incarcerated people to the impact of chemical weathering from Mount St. Helen’s on streams, EWU McNair Scholars have been hard at work researching all summer under the guidance of their mentors. On October 1^st and 2^nd. Nine of these scholars presented at the 2020 Virtual Baylor McNair Research Conference! This conference brought together over 350 students, staff, and faculty from McNair programs across the country. Presenting at the conference gives student practice for the future, as well as the opportunity to network with graduate programs across the country. Congratulations to our amazing student presenters and huge thanks to their mentors for ongoing support! Click on the student’s name below to learn more about them and their research.

Malachi Chukwu – Poster Presentation

Mentor: Dr. Majid Sharifi, International Affairs and Political Science

Assessing Developmental Approaches Since the Mid-20th Century and its Outcomes for the Underdeveloped Countries

Ashley Destin – Poster Presentation

Mentor: Dr. Judd A. Case, Biology

Size Scaling in the Skull of North American Felids as Adaptations for Prey Acquisition

Darlene Gilroy – Oral Presentation

Mentor: Dr. Carmen Nezat, Geology

Chemical Weathering of Deposits from the 1980 Mount St. Helens Eruption and its Effect on Stream Water Chemistry

Theresa Lee – Poster Presentation

Mentor: Dr. Lindsey Upton, Criminology

Prisoner Reentry: College Perceptions of Reentry Barriers in a Northwest Community

Wendolyn Martinez – Poster Presentation

Mentor: Dr. Dorothy Zeisler Vralsted, International Affairs

Propaganda: USSR and US Comparing Propaganda from the US and USSR Produced for the Advancement of Public Approval for Hydro-projects in the 1930s

Aulane Mpouli – Oral Presentation

Mentor: Dr. Yao Houndonougbo, Chemistry

Molecular Docking Study of ITPA Protein Substrate Complex

Rachael Pentico – Poster Presentation

Mentor: Dr. Rebecca Brown, Biology

Differences in Plant Soil Feedbacks with Respect to Slope Aspect

Samantha Sanchez-Garcia – Poster Presentation

Mentor: Dr. Jillene Seiver, Psychology

PsychologyTraumatic Experiences and Mental Health Among College Students

Hope Sands – Poster Presentation

Mentor: Dr. Brian Buchanan, Archaeology/GIS

Understanding the Historical Past of Fort Spokane through Landscape Archaeology

EWU McNair Scholar Theresa Lee Presents Poster at the American Society of Criminology Conference

12/03/2019 by Jaeger, Corinne Leave a Comment

EWU McNair Scholar Theresa Lee presents her research poster with Mentor Dr. Lindsey Upton at the American Society for Criminology Conference in 2019.

EWU McNair Scholar Theresa Lee presented her research poster, “Prisoner Reentry: College Perceptions of Reentry Barriers in a Northwest Community” this November at the American Society of Criminology (ASC) conference. With the support of her mentor, Dr. Lindsey Upton, Theresa studied the college community’s perception of barriers to reentry that might interrupt, or help, successful reentry for inmates and developed an informational poster to present her research.

Theresa talked with us about how valuable she found the experience.

“The time I spent at the American Society of Criminology (ASC) conference, located this year in San Francisco, California, was incredible! I presented my research in poster format, and was able to meet some interesting contacts from universities across the country. Among those contacts was current McMair scholar Cheyenne McQuain from (St. Lawrence University, New York) along with a variety of professors from: Old Dominion University, Sam Houston University, Florida State University, Kansas State University and American University—to name a few. I attended multiple university socials and was able to converse with professors and graduate students about life at their university and upcoming or current research opportunities. However, this opportunity was not all work; I was able to taking a walking tour of San Francisco with a handful of professors to learn about past criminal history and activity within the area. It was a chilling and unforgettable experience that I now share with the attending professors—professors who work with and for potential graduate programs I’ll be applying to. Therefore, this experience was immensely valuable in regards to networking!

Networking wasn’t the only benefit I experienced, however. An invaluable and profitable bit of knowledge that I gained was obtained through observation. It was interesting and helpful for me to see how professionals in the field (a field I hope to join) conduct, investigate, and present their research. This information will help me prepare for future presentations and conferences.

Personally, I believe that I made a memorable impression and a handful of useful contacts to assist me in obtaining my future goals. All in all, this experience was life changing and unbelievably enjoyable.”

The EWU McNair Scholars Program works with each student to get them connected to research opportunities, supports them in completing their research papers and preparing for conferences and presentations, and we require scholars to attend at least one conference for exactly the reasons Theresa illustrates so well above.

We are so excited that Theresa had such a great experience and proud of her work as a McNair Scholar!

EWU McNair Scholar Theresa Lee and her mentor Dr. Lindsey Upton take a walking tour of San Francisco on their trip to the American Society of Criminology Conference.

Darlene Gilroy, EWU McNair Scholar and Environmental Geology major, attends prestigious Murdock College Science Research Conference in Vancouver, WA

11/14/2019 by Patolo, Najeda Leave a Comment

Darlene Gilroy with EWU faculty members and colleagues.

The EWU McNair Scholars' Program would like to recognize McNair Scholar Darlene Gilroy (2018-19 cohort) for presenting her original research at the 2019 Murdock College Science Research Conference held November 8th-9th in Vancouver, Washington. Darlene's research project, Chemical Weathering of Mt. St. Helens Volcanic Sediments, was completed in the summer of 2019 as part of the EWU McNair Summer Research Internship. Dr. Carmen Nezat of the EWU Department of Geology was Darlene's research mentor for this project.

From the Murdock Charitable Trust website:

The conference focuses on sharing and advancing new knowledge in the natural sciences created or discovered through collaborative faculty-student research.

Attendance at the conference is invitation-only, and this year's theme was Collaboration – A Key to Success in Undergraduate Research. Darlene offered to share her experiences with us, saying, "I felt blessed to be able to attend such a wonderful and prestigious conference. I used this as an opportunity to practice presenting on a conference level. I was truly inspired by the research that was being presented by fellow conference attendees. It was also a wonderful opportunity to network with fellow Environmental Science/ Geology students from different institutions, as well as bond with the three other Eastern students who attended. #GeologyRocks."

Now that she has returned, Darlene is focused on applying for summer undergraduate research opportunities next year where she will continue her academic and scholarly endeavors. Congratulations, Darlene, on your fantastic accomplishment!