Mount Allison's annual Summer Undergraduate Research Fair a success
2011-09-21 13:45:55
On Friday, September 16 Mount Allison's ninth-annual Summer Undergraduate Research Fair (SURF) took place in the Avard Dixon Building – bringing together student researchers to present their findings to their peers and professors. The student-run event was created by alumnus and Rhodes Scholar Kyle Hill ('06) in his first year.
Presenter, poster winner, and 2011 coordinator Marisa Smith says, “SURF was a great success this year! We had a total of 28 participants, which is a large increase from last year. We also held a new draw for all of the participants for a one-hour flight for three students in a Cessna 172, which will fly around the Mount Allison campus and other parts of southeast New Brunswick.”
Smith’s project was entitled "Next Generation of Nuclear Reactors," which included research on the chemical reaction of the hydrogen atom with water under sub-and supercritical conditions and was supervised by chemistry and biochemistry professor Dr. Khashayar Ghandi.
Oral presentations and posters presentations were showcased in the sciences, social sciences, and the arts.
Third-year geography student Emily Hogan's summer research project with geography and environment professor Dr. Colin Laroque was to develop an interdisciplinary resource for a grade two class that uses tree rings and other aspects of trees to teach different subjects in environmental science and sustainability.
"We pretty much started at zero," says Hogan. "I learned so much, from power tool operation to navigating the design program, as well as the practical side of teaching from working as an assistant teacher with the class that will be piloting the book in a few weeks. I met a lot of really interesting people on campus. It was one of those 'it takes a a village' style projects."
Laroque, who had five students presenting at SURF this year, says, "It is really like a parenting thing. Today is show day, kind of like Emily is going out to do her first ballet recital."
Fourth-year international relations student Rebecca Dixon spent her summer in Delhi, IN researching what platforms exist for public consultation in urban development projects.
She says, "SURF is really important because it gives students a chance to practice presenting their research. Having to explain it orally to other people really helps you understand it yourself. I also found one of the most challenging parts was condensing it down into a 10-minute presentation, but that is also a useful exercise."
English professor and first-year SURF judge Dr. Karen Bamford believes this forum is an excellent way to congratulate students on their summer research.
"It is wonderful encouragement to invite students to have this extra opportunity. Having the possibility of spending a summer doing research at the undergraduate level is a great privilege," she says.
To read more on the presentation topics, visit SURF.
This year’s winners were:
Science oral presentations:
1st - Fraser Burns (chemistry) – “Ionic Liquids as Synthetic Mediums”
2nd - Cecilia Jennings (geography) – “Odes of joy, or sounds of silence? A dendrochronological investigation of an old violin”
3rd - Lee MacDonald (physics) – “ Leak-Detection System for a Heavy Gas Cherenkov Detector”
Arts oral presentations:
1st - Christina Free (philosophy) – “The Ethics of Goldman Sachs, from the Perspectives of Smith and Friedman”
2nd - Rebecca Dixon (international relations) – “Emerging Forms of Community Engagement in Urban Renewal Projects, New Delhi, India”
3rd - Emily Hogan (geography) – “Hemlock Holmes: Tree Detective – Creating an Interdisciplinary Educational Resource Based on Tree Rings
Poster:
Marisa Smith (chemistry) – “Next Generation of Nuclear Reactors”
Flight winners:
Maggie MacMichael
Fraser Burns
Ari Silburt