Outstanding students recognized at third annual Summer Research Symposium

The top three student poster presenters were selected at the third annual Summer Research Symposium, the culminating event for the Charlotte Research Scholars program. More than 80 undergraduate students competed in the poster presentation on scholarly topics across a number of disciplines.

The winners were Jenna Brown, Nadia Clifton and Hunter Reavis.

Brown’s poster, entered in the natural sciences and public health category, was “Quantitative Stability/Flexibility Relationships in the Class-C b-Lactamase Enzyme Family.” Dennis Livesay, bioinformatics and genomics, was Brown’s mentor.

In the education, humanities, social sciences and social work category, Clifton won for “A Study of the Princess Augusta Sophia (1768-1840) Collection at the Atkins Library.” Kirk Melnikoff and Alan Rauch, English, were Clifton’s mentors.

Reavis’ “Effects of Cryosurgery on Breast Cancer Cell Viability in the Presence of an Adjuvant” topped the engineering, technology and computing category. Charles Lee, mechanical engineering and engineering science, was Reavis’ mentor.

Honorable mention went to:

“Using Children’s Literature to Teach the Holocaust in Charlotte-Mecklenburg Middle Schools”
Presenter: Katherine Galindo
Mentor: Sarah Minslow

“Fighters Now Farmers on the Front Lines: Agricultural Production of the British Expeditionary Force, 1917-1919”
Presenter: Thomas Grover
Mentor: Heather Perry

“Across the Bravo: U.S.-Mexico Relations after the Mexican Revolution, 1920-1924”
Presenter: Sean Kane
Mentor: Jurgen Buchenau

“Private Subscription Libraries in Nineteenth Century England: Manchester, Leeds and Newcastle”
Presenter: Melanie Carty
Mentor: Alan Rauch

“Utilizing Hybrid Nano-Composite Materials to Increase Specific Capacitance for Supercapacitor Applications”
Presenter: James Mitchell
Mentor: Jordan Poler

“Targeted Nanoparticle Therapy of Epithelial Ovarian Cancer Cells Utilizing CAOV-3 Specific Aptamers”
Presenter: Tien Truong
Mentors: Craig Ogle and Christine Richardson

The Charlotte Research Scholars summer program began in 2012; it was designed for high-achieving undergraduate students to gain research experience and professional development in their field(s) of interest. The program provides funding for 50-plus rising seniors to participate in the nine-week initiative. Scholars receive one-on-one, faculty-guided research training and participate in weekly professional development sessions to better prepare them for graduate school or a career in research.

UNC Charlotte’s the Office of Academic Affairs, Charlotte Research Institute, the Duke Energy Special Initiatives Fund and the Graduate School provide support for the Charlotte Research Scholars program.

Photo (by Aaron Cress) Nadia Clifton, Hunter Reavis, and Jenna Brown received top honors for posters at the third annual Summer Research Symposium.