Six UW Oshkosh students presented at the National Conference on Undergraduate Research (NCUR) April 8–10 at the Long Beach convention center in Long Beach, California.
NCUR is an interdisciplinary conference where students from universities and colleges around the world present their research and creative works in oral, poster and performance/visual arts presentations.
UWO students Lydia Medina, Willem Flaugher, Peter Berry, Emma Smith, Adam Sobieski and David Makar all showed their presentations at the NCUR convention.
Sobieski presented on “Laboratory Life Cycle Maintenance of the Soft Tick Ornithodoros tartakovskyi.”
“The goal of my research was to highlight life history events of that species of tick within a laboratory setting,” he said.
Sobieski said he learned a lot from the convention and that NCUR is a high energy environment with lots of people interested in your research.
“Attending NCUR allowed me to improve my presenting skills at a poster symposium, as well as learn about all other kinds of research undergrads are doing across the country,” he said. “It is truly astonishing what the human mind is capable of.”
Smith also said she gained valuable experience from NCUR like understanding what it is like to travel and to present your research to peers from around the country.
“It was very rewarding to get to travel and present at a national research conference like NCUR,” she said. “There were students from all different academic disciplines from all over the country to interact with and learn from. I learned how to better interact with my academic peers as well as with other faculty and with recruiters from various institutions and companies to make myself stand out as an asset and learn what there is to offer as I move forward with my academic career.”
Smith presented a thesis research project that she completed as part of her Honors program curriculum.
“It was a molecular genetics project looking at if the function of a particular protein within plant cells was conserved from the same protein found in animal cells that is well characterized/studied,” she said.
Berry gave a visual demonstration of stellar magnitude using lasers and polarizers and said that presenting at NCUR was a great way for him to showcase his work.
“It was a good experience to get to explain my research to others who don’t have my physics background,” he said. “I had to practice a different way of explaining my work.”
Flaugher’s photo presentation aimed to personify census data and explore community response to gentrification in segregation in Milwaukee and River West Harambee neighborhoods.
“My project, ‘The Places In Between,’ delved into the heart of Milwaukee’s neighborhoods, capturing the untold stories of resilience and community amidst the shadows of gentrification and segregation,” he said. “Through this research, I sought to challenge stereotypes, dismantle prejudice, and amplify the voices of those often overlooked, ensuring that every citizen of Milwaukee is seen, heard, and valued.”
Flaugher said that NCUR meant a lot to him because he was able to expand his knowledge on different topics with his peers.
“Attending the conference and presenting my research enriched my understanding while facilitating meaningful connections with fellow scholars in my discipline.”
