Students Present Their Research at BigSURS Conference

This past weekend, April 13-14, Liberty University hosted the 8th Big South Undergraduate Research Symposium.

 

BigSURS showcases the work of undergraduate students who have conducted research in a number of academic fields throughout the Big South Conference and Region 2000 institutions.

 

Students were greeted Friday in the Center for Worship Concert Hall by a gospel rendition of “You are the Everlasting God” by gospel choir LU Praise, followed by a short welcome from Liberty Provost Ron Hawkins.

 

“You’re a little bit like salt and light,” Hawkins said. “If we don’t have young, inquiring and curious minds looking at problems … then we don’t have the world that you want to have.”

 

Afterwards, participating students from Liberty and other Big South universities gave oral presentations on the research they have conducted for a small panel of judges. Research topics were widespread, including presenters in the fields of history, philosophy, biology, psychology, art and music, to name a few.

 

Blake Davis, a pre-law student at Liberty University, gave a presentation on his research into the 1807 treason trial of Aaron Burr.

 

Davis explained that historians for the past two centuries have depicted Aaron Burr in a negative light, and Burr’s alleged treasonous actions are nothing more than conspiracy theories.

 

“Research is all about pursuing a better version of the truth,” Davis said. “We know the base outline of history, but sometimes you have to go back and look at the actual details.”

 

Caleb Brown, another Liberty student studying philosophy, gave a presentation highlighting the ethical value of the Affirmative Action program. He argued that by using Aristotle’s Virtue Ethics, we can view Affirmative Action in a way that everybody can agree on.

 

“I think it’s a topic that not a lot of people have given thought about,” Brown said. “And, in reading some of the literature, I thought that I could make a contribution and provide some new insight.”

 

After taking some questions from the judges, Brown gave his unique perspective on the value of research.

 

“It’s kind of like getting to cheat,” Caleb Brown said. “You’re getting the Sparknotes on what a bunch of different people have learned.”
Friday afternoon, BigSURS held an art exhibition showcasing the work of student artists in the Jerry Falwell Library.

 

Campbell University student Mathew Thompson displayed his pencil drawing of Scarlett Johansson that he created by using an art technique called grid method.

 

“You essentially have this ‘Battleship’ checker board to see where the crucial lines and details intersect a coordinate line,” Thompson said. “It helps you break up the canvas into much easier pieces to draw out.”

 

In the following award ceremony, Liberty junior Yesenia De La Cruz took first place in both the 2-D and 3-D art categories, tying for first in the 2-D and winning the 3-D for her sculpture “Head of Eji Makoto.”

 

After Friday’s events, students were treated to evening activities at the Snowflex Center, the Montview Bowling Alley and the LaHaye Ice Center.

 

Saturday continued with more oral presentations and a poster session where students stood by poster presentations of their research and answered questions.

 

The symposium ended with an address from Keynote Speaker Todd Zakrajsek, an associate research professor at the University of North Carolina School of Medicine, on the impact of young researchers on society.

 

“Research happens throughout our lives … we form good questions and then we investigate,” Zakrajek said. “What might be influenced from a future research project? I see no limits there.”