Thirteen University of Wisconsin Oshkosh students—including two pursuing triple majors— are heading to Kennesaw State University in Georgia to offer poster sessions and oral presentations at the National Conference on Undergraduate Research April 11-13.
Senior Madeline Hass, of Neenah, who is majoring in German, history and philosophy, will give an oral presentation on “How Art Helps Us Understand: A Neo-Cognitivist Theory of the Value of Art.” Working on the project with philosophy professor Laurence Carlin on the Oshkosh campus, Hass expands on the idea that the value of art stems from its ability to help us gain greater understanding.
Sophomore Kaila Vander Wielen, of Kimberly, who is majoring in business management, marketing and English, will speak on the “Complexity of Creator and Creation Relationships.” She is working with William Gillard, an English professor on the Fox Valley campus, to consider the relationship between creator and creation across a number of writings from Genesis to Frankenstein and Pinocchio.
Additional students presenting their research at the national conference include:
- Aminata Bojang , a biology senior from Madison, working with faculty mentor Courtney Kurtz on “Examining White Adipose Tissue to Detect and Quantify Mast Cells.”
- Monica Fieck, a psychology senior from Appleton, working with faculty mentor Sarah Kucker, on the “Effect of Social Factors on Child Language Acquisition.”
- Jason Lopez, a biology junior from Chicago, Illinois, working with faculty mentor Brant Kedrowski, on “Synthesis of (R)- and (S)-2-Methylproline.”
- Khaila Miles-Semons, an English junior from Milwaukee, working with faculty mentor Michelle Kuhl on “Together but Unequal: Perceptions on the White-Black Sisterhood from 1830 to 1870.”
- Sarah Reed, a sociology senior from Green Bay, working with faculty mentor Paul Van Auken on “Environmental Factors and Refugee Resettlement Success in the Fox Valley.”
- Megan Rose, a physics senior from Green Bay, working with faculty mentor Nadia Kaltcheva on “Extra-Solar Planets from Citizen-Science Astronomy.”
- Hayley Vandenboom, a biology senior from Shiocton, working with faculty mentor Lisa Dorn on “Evolution of Plant Responses to Unpredictable Environments.”
- Angie Vickman, a biology senior from Wrightstown, working with Dorn on “Epigenetic Influences on Plant Responses to the Environment.”
- Amanda Vue, a social work senior from Wausau, working with faculty mentor Orlee Hauser on “Hmong Adults’ Attitudes on Dating Violence within Their Community.”
- Mike Watson, a physics senior from Phoenix, Arizona, working with Kaltcheva on “Physical Parameters of Luminous O-B Stars.”
- Katelyn Wulff, a nursing junior from Theresa, working with Michael Jasinski on “The Availability of Dental Care for Wisconsin’s Impoverished: Effects of the Urban-Rural Divide.”
Bojang, Fieck, Lopez, Miles-Semons, Reed, Vue and Wulff also took part in McNair Scholars, a federally funded TRIO Program for students interesting in pursuing graduate studies.
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