UW McNair Scholars to Present Research July 26

Sixteen undergraduate students will present meaningful individual work during the University of Wyoming’s 29th annual McNair Scholars Research Symposium Monday, July 26.

The symposium begins at 8:30 a.m. in the Wyoming Union Family Room, with welcoming remarks from UW President Ed Seidel. Student presentations follow and are scheduled throughout the day. The event is free and open to the public.

The symposium is an opportunity for McNair Scholars to share the progress and findings from their undergraduate research internships with the broader community of scholars. Student presentations are from a diverse range of academic programs, including communication disorders, criminal justice and sociology, geology and geophysics, history, molecular biology, psychology and social work.

UW’s McNair Scholars Program encourages undergraduate students from groups traditionally underrepresented in postbaccalaureate degree programs to pursue graduate studies by providing opportunities to define goals, engage in research, and develop the skills and student/faculty mentor relationships critical to success at the doctoral level.

Since the inception of the symposium in 1992, nearly 70 socioeconomically disadvantaged and underrepresented UW students have earned doctoral degrees through participation in the McNair Scholars Program.

For more information, call Paige Dingess, McNair Scholars Program director, at (307) 766-3818 or email paige.morgan@uwyo.edu.

UW McNair Scholars presenting work, listed by time, hometowns, majors, titles of their projects and UW mentors, are:

-- 8:40 a.m.: Tawna Herrera, Laramie, molecular biology, “Manipulation of Neuronal Pathways to Decrease Cocaine Addiction Relapse,” with Ana Clara Bobadilla and Carl Litif.

-- 9 a.m.: Cortney Borer, Laramie, wildlife and fisheries biology and management, “Effect of 30% Change in Nitrogen and Phosphorous on Microcystis and Anabaena Cultures,” with Annika Walters and Ashleigh Pilkerton.

-- 9:20 a.m.: Gracen Wallen, St. Louis, Mo., geology, and environment and natural resources, “Stratigraphic relationships within the uppermost Hell Creek Formation of Garfield County, Montana,” with Mark Clementz, Carl Campbell and Susannah Wright.

-- 9:40 a.m.: Jordan Eichman, Thornton, Colo., geology, “Using cloud microphysics to eliminate bias in climate monitoring,” with Daniel McCoy and Brandon Lopez.

-- 10:10 a.m.: Alec Wallen, Colorado Springs, Colo., geology, “Synoptic Climatology of Colorado River Low Flow Conditions at Lake Powell,” with JJ Shinker and Tessa Ray-Cozzens.

-- 10:30 a.m.: Marissa LeDoux, Brighton, Colo., speech, language and hearing science, “The impact of age on the naturalness of /r/ productions,” with Breanna Krueger and Josephine Cox.

-- 10:50 a.m.: Taryn Veniegas, Laramie, psychology, “Investigating Public Misperceptions of False Sexual Assault Allegations,” with Matt Gray, Riley Hoogerwerf and Natalie Poole.

-- 11:10 a.m.: Johnathan Walker, Loveland, Colo., psychology, “Trauma cognition as an intervening variable in the relationship between chronic child abuse and risk factors for suicidal ideation,” with Joshua Clapp, Robert Kaya and Alexandria Sowers.

-- 12:30 p.m.: Anthony Sandoval, Saratoga, English, “The Development of Straight Authorial Utilization of Gay Assimilation and Homosexual Visibility Narratives in Young Adult Literature from 2010-2014,” with Jason Thompson and Robert Baker.

-- 12:50 p.m.: Wendy Luna Garcia, international studies, “Mexico’s Golden Age of Cinema: Reflections of Womanhood through Time,” with Nicholas Crane, Trisha Martinez and Veronica Hanway.

-- 1:10 p.m.: Angela Adams, Cheyenne, criminal justice, “Treading Water: A Critique of Child Protective Services,” with Fredrick Douglass Dixon and Alexandra Bitter.

-- 1:30 p.m.: Madison Davis, Cheyenne, social work, “Examining Social Work Students Perceptions of Power in the Classroom,” with Eleanor Downey and Julia Cathey.

-- 2 p.m.: Bethany Haworth, Green River, sociology and political science, “A Study of Alienation among Fast-Food Service Industry Workers: The Self-Estranged,” with Daniel Auerbach and Arianna Maikalani Garcia.

-- 2:20 p.m.: Roman Peterson, Rock Springs, sociology, “A Religious Studies Contribution to Rural Sociology,” with Mary Keller and Jennifer Tabler.

-- 2:40 p.m.: Rebecca Lovell, Chillicothe, Texas, history, “Nofretete: German Appropriation of an Egyptian Queen,” with Adam Blackler and Randi Spray.

-- 3 p.m.: Irelynn Holland, Reno, Nev., communications, “Modern perceptions of social unrest and the influence of The Beatles,” with Katrina Zook and Will Flagg.