Students showcase research at world’s largest undergrad symposium

From psychology and chemistry to communications, history, art, divinity, and more, a group of 61 Liberty University students will present posters, oral presentations, and artistic projects as they showcase their research at the National Conference on Undergraduate Research in Atlanta this week. NCUR is the largest symposium of its kind in the world, drawing approximately 4,000 undergraduate students representing every academic field and discipline.

Liberty’s Center for Research & Scholarship, supported by the Office of the Provost, made the trip possible. It is the university’s first appearance at NCUR. Students attending this year are representing Liberty’s College of Arts and Sciences, School of Health Sciences, School of Communication and Digital Content (SCDC), School of Visual & Performing Arts, School of Behavioral Sciences, and Helms School of Government.

“The center is pleased to be able to facilitate participation in NCUR, demonstrating LU’s commitment to academic achievement,” said Darren Wu, the center’s associate director. “NCUR is an outstanding opportunity for our undergraduate students to showcase their achievements in research, scholarship, and creative activity on a national stage.”

He said students will also have the opportunity to submit manuscripts for publication in the conference proceedings.

Kennesaw State is hosting the conference this year, and Wu added that with Liberty Athletics recently joining Kennesaw in the Atlantic Sun Conference, he is excited about exploring possible research collaboration between it and other ASUN schools.

Junior psychology student Josiah Hunsberger looks forward to sharing his research studying the differences between empathy and personality characteristics among graduate medical and counseling students.

“NCUR is a national conference with many applicants, so being accepted to present was amazing,” Hunsberger said.

He added that he appreciated the faculty support and direction his team received during the project, which gave him a deeper appreciation for research.

“The psychology department has been supportive of the research and also helpful in preparing the team for presentation,” Hunsberger said. “[The project] has given me a respect for all other forms of research. Due to participating in the synthesis of original research, I decided to change my plans for graduate school to quantitative psychology.”

Robert Goodwin, a senior SCDC student, will be presenting a new communication theory he developed with three classmates. The theory explores how news broadcasts, the threat of global terror, and government digital surveillance affect people’s views on privacy.

“The biggest thing that I have learned about research is that while research can be conducted by an individual, the research done by a team is stronger,” he said.  “[My teammates] Abby Brewer, Hanna Bathrick, Kasey Lange, and myself each had differing areas of expertise when we started this project together. Each of us had a piece of the puzzle, but without working together, we wouldn’t have been able to build a picture as full or beautiful as we did.”

Liberty students will also showcase projects next week on campus as the university hosts its annual Research Week. A total of 232 student projects will be featured in the event, which kicks off in the Jerry Falwell Library terrace at 11:45 a.m. on Monday, April 15, with a keynote message from Dr. Byron Spradlin, president of Artists in Christian Testimony International, about the role of creativity in research. The speech will be followed by a mass poster presentation session.