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Students earn top awards at regional research symposium

Liberty University’s first-place winners from the Big South Undergraduate Research Symposium (from left): Matthew Dalton, Jon Bateman, Anna Snyder, and John Flores.

At the Big South Undergraduate Research Symposium (BigSURS), held April 10-11, four Liberty University students received first place awards for their presentations and posters. More than 200 students from 19 institutions competed in the event held at Campbell University.

“I am thankful that the Provost’s Office supported us to make this trip — Dr. Hawkins’ office fully funded 14 Honors students to attend this BigSURS conference,” said Dr. Jim Nutter, director of the honors program. Nutter has worked with five of the students, both in classes and through coaching the Quiz Bowl Team. “Our students were all very thankful to be able to present their research among other student-scholars. Our Honors students demonstrated that they can compete with the most gifted and talented college students in the Big South. Earning four first-place awards — in a variety of disciplines — demonstrates the strong research, writing, and oral communication skills that our Honor students possess.”

Liberty’s first place winners included: junior Matthew Dalton, in biomedical sciences, for his presentation “Significant Up-regulation on Mir-17 in an Alzheimer’s Disease Mouse Model;” senior Jon Bateman, in social sciences, for his presentation “‘A One-in-a-Billion Chance’: The Transformative Effect of Stan Lee and Spider-Man on American Popular Culture;” senior Anna Snyder, in linguistics, for her presentation “A Comparative Study of Compounding and Noun Incorporation;” and sophomore John Flores, in accounting and history, for his presentation “Funding Terror.” All of these students are in Liberty’s Honors Program.

First-place winners from Liberty University’s Undergraduate Research Symposium (from left): Kerry DiGiacomo, Amanda Hazy, Grant McClure (not pictured from team: Suzanne Allen), and Forrest Ansell (not pictured from team: Grant Barkley and Caroline Conklin). (Photo courtesy of Cooper Pasque)

While students were competing at the BigSURS on Saturday, 75 more Liberty undergraduate students from a variety of disciplines had the opportunity to present their research during Liberty’s Undergraduate Research Symposium in the Jerry Falwell Library. The symposium included 17 presentations, 16 posters, and eight artistic exhibits that were presented to students, faculty, and several College For A Weekend guests. Awards, including $100 Visa gift cards, were given to the top presentations. The following students received first place awards: Forrest Ansell, Grant Barkley, and Caroline Conklin, best social sciences presentation for “Spiritual Attitudes and Values in Young Children;” Amanda Hazy, best physical and life sciences presentation for “Gene Expression and Alzheimer’s Disease: Development and Diagnosis;” Kerry DiGiacomo, best arts and humanities presentation for “‘To Teach and Delight’: The Literary Significance of John Calvin’s ‘Institutes of the Christian Religion;’ and Grant McClure and Suzanne Allen, best poster for “Gas Chromatography Mass Spectrometry Analysis of Algae: The Fuel of Our Future.”

“The Undergraduate Research Symposium gives students the opportunity to showcase their best projects,” said Dr. Carey Roberts, associate dean of the College of Arts & Sciences and chair of the History Department. “Having the symposium in conjunction with CFAW reflects the kind of public attention we want to draw to these efforts. Through their research, our students are making a lasting difference in our culture right now, even before they graduate.”

The symposium was part of Liberty’s Undergraduate Research Week, which featured a number of events, including a lecture, titled “Climate and Energy Policy, the Poor, and Biblical Earth Stewardship,” from Dr. Cal Beisner, founder and national spokesman of the Cornwall Alliance for the Stewardship of Creation.

Liberty University hosts its Undergraduate Research Symposium in the Jerry Falwell Library on April 11, 2015.
Liberty University held its 2015 Undergraduate Research Symposium in the Jerry Falwell Library on April 11. (Photo courtesy of Tyler Bernas)
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