USU research shown at Capitol
Twenty-eight Utah State University students showcased their undergraduate research at this year’s Posters on the Hill at the Utah Capitol in Salt Lake City on Thursday.
Joyce Kinkead, vice provost for Undergraduate Studies and Research, said, “This is a way to spotlight our undergraduate students and share their research with legislators.”
Posters on the Hill is designed to recognize public research universities throughout the state. Students from USU and the University of Utah showcase their research to parents, legislators and Board of Trustees members. A department head or dean nominated each student, Kinkead said.
Julia Nielsen, a senior studying biology, said, “I think [Posters on the Hill] is a chance to show the Legislature that undergraduate research, an activity that takes place outside the classroom, is an important part of the college experience. It is also a good chance for undergrads to present their research.”
Nielsen is presenting her research on the quality and distribution of soil-organic carbon in rangeland and forest soils and the factors it has in influencing global warming/global change. She has been working on this research since fall semester.
Kinkead said, “Some students have been working on their projects for two years or so, and for others it has been much more recent. They have to have a project that will show results.”
The students showcased their work on 3-by-4 printed illustrations in the Capitol rotunda, Kinkead said.
They presented a wide range of research. Kelly Douglas presented her research on how triangulation supports positive effects of wraparound services for Utah youth with serious emotional disturbances. Timothy Davis researched the results of oxygen levels in welding sanitary stainless steel tubing. Christine Merrill and Marriner Merrill designed and constructed a flow-through thermoacoustic cooler.
Lara Anderson, a senior studying mathematics and physics, did her research on biconformal supergravity.
Anderson said, “My research was on creating a new class of supergravity models. It describes really big things, like the black hole, and really small things at the same time.”
Anderson plans on using her research when she pursues her master’s degree at USU next year. She has been researching biconformal supergravity for a little more than two years and hopes to submit a paper on it for publication.
Many students who participated in Posters on the Hill plan to use research for endeavors in the future. Dan Chivers, a senior studying electronics and computer technology, hopes to market his research on automatic tracking systems for digital satellite television.
“We learn as we go, and we’re not completely finished with it yet,” Chivers said.
Students who complete research projects have opportunities to present their work at the annual, on-campus Student Showcase, the National Conference on Undergraduate Research and the national Posters on the Hill, Kinkead said.
Brent Miller, vice president for Research, said, “Our faculty and students are in partnership to continue the USU tradition, started over a century ago, of engaging in research that benefits our communities, our state and our world.”
Nielsen said, “I feel better prepared and better qualified to apply for jobs and grad schools after I graduate than I would had I not had the undergrad research experience.”
–mmackay@cc.usu.edu