JACKSON, Tenn. — April 27, 2007 — More than 150 students will present research findings April 30 as part of 51社区鈥檚 Scholarship Symposium.
The university鈥檚 Undergraduate Research Program sponsors the annual event. Presentations are open to undergraduate and graduate students who have completed a collaborative, innovative scholarly project during the current academic year.
The program鈥檚 goal is to provide students with the opportunity to work with a faculty mentor on a research project. More than 40 faculty members participated with students in this year鈥檚 symposium.
鈥淭he privilege for students to participate in this level of serious exploration and research is usually reserved for graduate study,鈥� 51社区 President David S. Dockery said. 鈥淭he entire project is an affirmation of the quality of Union students and the serious investment that Union faculty members provide for these students.鈥�
Among the presentations scheduled:
- Jeremy Sullivan, Josh Shrewsberry and Zack Jackson, 鈥淎utonomous Robot Design.鈥� The team has designed and built a robot that will catch up to 21 dropped ping pong balls and fire those balls through a 10-inch hoop.
- Laura Dancy, 鈥淗uman Trafficking in Latin America.鈥� The research project focuses specifically on the trafficking of sex slaves, Latin America鈥檚 vulnerability, the difficulty in correcting the problem and what can be done to help.
- Alex Scarbrough, 鈥淢etropolitan Government: Why do Madison County and City of Jackson Residents Support or Oppose the Idea of Consolidated Government Between the City of Jackson and Madison County?鈥� This project is based on a survey of randomly selected county and city residents and aims to pinpoint the reasons why citizens oppose or support the idea of metropolitan government.
- Amber Roberts, 鈥淚t鈥檚 All Greek to Me.鈥� This physics research project was dedicated to the instruction of physics at the high school level. It includes a series of mini-labs that can be taken down and executed by a student at a desk or at home.
- Barbara Reynolds and Carrie Jones, 鈥淩emembering Those Who Can鈥檛: Demanding Best Care Practices for Tennesseans Affected by Alzheimer鈥檚.鈥� The researchers argue for passage of the proposed legislation to create a Tennessee Alzheimer鈥檚 Disease Task Force to review current standards of care for people with the disease.
About 125 presentations will be held at various locations around campus beginning at 12:30 p.m. For more information, contact Suzanne Barham at (731) 661-5378.