Students present research projects at Harvard University conference

A group of 10 Liberty University undergraduate students presented research at the National Collegiate Research Conference (NCRC) at Harvard University on Jan. 20-22, the largest student-run research conference in America.

They joined more than 500 students from over 100 universities across the nation, representing  Liberty’s Department of English, Department of History, Department of Mathematics, the School of Health Sciences, and the School of Education. Their presentations ranged from quantum mechanics and computing, to social inclusion in elementary classrooms, to the impact of stand-up comedy in the 1970s.

“Our students conducted themselves very well,” said Dr. David Snead, a history professor and one of the faculty sponsors at the event. “Their presentations demonstrated careful and well-crafted research, and their ability to articulate difficult concepts in an understandable way was quite impressive. I was proud of how well they represented their departments and Liberty as a whole.”

This year marked the second time Liberty has sent students to this prestigious conference and the first time Liberty students attended it in person.

In addition to presenting their own research, students heard from five distinguished keynote speakers: Cora Dvorkin Ph.D., associate professor, Department of Physics, Harvard; William Shih Ph.D., professor, Department of Biological Chemistry and Molecular Pharmacology, Harvard; Gabriela Soto Laveaga Ph.D., professor of the history of science and the history of Mexico, Harvard; Emery Brown M.D., Warren M. Zapol Professor of Anaesthesia, Harvard Medical School; and Matthew Meyerson M.D., director of cancer genomics, Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard.

Liberty students who attended are: Kathryn Alley, Ethan Snyder, Isaac Hanna, Ernesto Ugona Santana, Reagan Nelson, Efosa Osayamwen, Amanda Works, Joshua Kim, Jaedon Wilkinson, and Emily Brophy.

The trip was made possible by  Liberty’s Center for Research & Scholarship.