When surveyed, college graduates from American universities consistently report that direct interaction with faculty, especially on research projects, is one of the most impactful experiences of their undergraduate years. 

Along with internships (highlighted in “True North” fall 2017), opportunities to engage in undergraduate research (highlighted in “True North” spring 2018) prepare students to become professionals and community leaders, whether the students go directly into the job market or indirectly through graduate school (highlighted in “True North” fall 2018). 

The opportunity for undergraduate students to travel to present their research at academic conferences is a key factor in preparing them for success in whatever comes next. The following examples highlight some of the CAS students who have recently presented their research at academic conferences. 

Aberdeen and the broader Northern community have been amazing partners supporting scholarships and providing opportunities for internships. Support for undergraduate research and travel to present at academic conferences will build on that strong foundation and position our students for even greater success. 

 

Greg Fred, a Northern alum who majored in history, presented a paper titled “Father Pierre-Jean De Smet: Black Robe Mediator” at the 2017 USD Student History Conference in Vermillion. The paper was originally written for Dr. Grettler’s HIST 480 class.

 

Brianna Geigle, a junior majoring in medical lab science with a minor in chemistry and a pre-med focus, gave a presentation titled “Analysis of the Induction of DNA Double Strand Breaks by Genetically-Related Strains of Pseudomonas syringae” at the National Collegiate Honors Council conference in Atlanta in November.

 

Josh Haan, a senior majoring in history, presented a paper titled “The Odd Couple: The Reconciliation of Thomas Jefferson and John Adams” at the 2017 USD Student History Conference in Vermillion. The paper was originally written for Dr. Grettler’s HIST 480 class.

 

David Hales, a senior majoring in history, delivered a paper titled “Cold War as Imperial Inheritance: The U.S., Britain, and the 1953 Iranian Coup” at the 2018 USD Student History Conference in Vermillion. The paper won an award for Best Cold War Paper and was based on a paper Hales wrote for a class taught by Dr. Ric Dias. Two other students, Rachel Smith and Lauren Paatela, participated in the conference, commenting on papers. The students were accompanied by Drs. Ric Dias and David Grettler.

 

Parker Heger, a sophomore chemistry major with minors in psychology and philosophy and a pre-med focus, gave a presentation titled “The Effects of Beer Draft Tubing on Biofilm Formation” at the 2018 SD EPSCOR Undergraduate Research Conference in July in Pierre.

 

Pedram Homayounpour, a biology major with a pre-med focus, prepared a poster presentation titled “Effects of Anti-epileptic Drugs on Danio rerio Development” for the S.D. Academy of Sciences meeting in Brookings at SDSU. The poster, prepared in collaboration with Dr. Alyssa Kiesow, professor of biology, was also presented at the NSU Undergraduate Forum, and the abstract was published in the Proceedings of the S.D. Academy of Science. 

 

Matt Mayfield, senior psychology major with a minor in chemistry and pre-med focus, presented his research at the National Collegiate Honors Council conference in Atlanta in November. Mayfield’s presentation was titled “Effects of Bacteriophages, Zingerone, and Vanillic Acid on Biofilms Formed by Stenotrophomonas maltophilia.”

 

Zack North, a political science major with a minor in public history, traveled to Pierre to represent NSU at the S.D. Legislature Undergraduate Research Poster Session in February 2018. North, who was accompanied by archivist Sarah Jones and Dr. David Grettler, professor of history, researched and processed NSU’s archival collection of Fine Arts event records as part of a summer internship in archival management. North is now enrolled in the MLA/Archival Management program at Simmons College in Boston. 

 

Miranda Ristau, a biology major with a pre-physical therapy focus, graduated last spring and is currently enrolled in USD’s physical therapy doctoral program. While at Northern, Ristau prepared a poster presentation titled “The Effects of BPA on Xenopus laevis” for the S.D. Academy of Sciences meeting in Brookings at SDSU. The poster, prepared in collaboration with Dr. Alyssa Kiesow, professor of biology, was also presented at the NSU Undergraduate Forum, and the abstract was published in the Proceedings of the S.D. Academy of Science.