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Thirteen University of Wisconsin Oshkosh student scholars presented their research Tuesday at the fall 2017 Ronald E. McNair Showcase.

Much of the work on display took place over the summer as part of the McNair Post-Baccalaureate Achievement Program to help first-generation students and underrepresented minorities realize their  potential by acquiring the skills needed to go to graduate school.

Students are paired with faculty mentors to help them navigate the research process.

“They have discovered the joy and struggle of academic inquiry and their lives will never be the same,” said Cordelia Bowlus, UWO’s McNair Scholars program director.

The students presenters included:

  • Leigh Hayes, senior, of Greenville, “A Test of the Metric Method for Estimating Sex Using the Human Radius,” with assistant anthropology professor Jordan Karsten;
  • Brianna Langs, junior, of St. Francis, “Comparative Analysis on Successful Classroom Strategies That Have Closed the Achievement Gap in Order To Offer Alternative Standards of Fairness in Standardized Test Composition and Interpretation,” with senior English lecturer Crystal Mueller; 
  • Santidra Love, senior, of Milwaukee, “Modeling Human Obesity with Ground Squirrels, with assistant biology professor Courtney Kurtz;
  • Deanna Luttenberger, junior, of Fond du Lac, “The Effect of Circadian Rhythms on False Memories in Visual and Audio Short- and Long-Term Memory,” with assistant psychology professor Justyna Olszewski;
  • Aimee Maher, senior, of Oshkosh,”Paint on Glass: Effects of Polymers on Viscosity and Adhesion to Non-Porous Surfaces,” with chemistry professor Jennifer Mihalick;
  • Andrew Miller, senior, Kaukauna, “The Limits of Exoplanet Detection by Amateur Astronomer,” with assistant astronomy professor Barton Pritzl;
  • David Morser, senior, of Kaukauna,”Homogeneous Metallicity Estimates of F-Type Dwarf Stars and Open Cluster,” with astronomy professor Nadejda Kaltcheva;
  • Holly Post, senior, of Fond du Lac, “Understanding Substrate Specificity in Glycoside Hydrolase Family 5,” with assistant biochemistry professor Christopher Bianchetti;
  • Alyssa Scott, senior, of Schofield, “The Effect of Technology Use on Children’s Language Acquisition,” with assistant psychology professor Sarah Kucker; 
  • Bonnie Smith, senior, of Oshkosh, “Learning in a Digital Age: Online Instruction for Student Populations Diagnosed with Emotional Behavioral Disabilities Compared with Other Students Diagnosed with Special Needs and their Non-Disabled Peers,” with special education professor Thomas Fischer;
  • Darlene Swenson, senior, of Oshkosh,”Liicugtukut Alutiiq: ‘Learning Alutiiq’ Evaluating the Methodologies of Alutiiq Language Revitalization Programs,” with assistant English professor Pascale Manning;
  • Aracely Torres, senior, of Fond du Lac, “Free Trade Versus Protectionist Economic Policies and Social Unrest in Mexico,” with assistant political science professor Michael Jasinski; and
  • Admiral Wieland, a senior, of Oshkosh, “A Comparative Study of the Committees To Investigate Commercialized Vice in Chicago and Wisconsin during the Progressive Era,” with associate women and gender studies professor Susan Rensing.

Besides the research component, McNair scholars are offered additional services and seminars, such as academic and career development, GRE application and preparation and graduate site visits.

Find out more about McNair’s impact for students in the following video:

 

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