National Conference on Undergraduate Research
Western Carolina University has established itself as a national leader in undergraduate research and has a long-standing tradition of acceptance and participation in the National Conference on Undergraduate Research.
Students accepted to NCUR have the opportunity to present their undergraduate research along with peers from across disciplines. Since 1987, NCUR has been a flagship conference for undergraduate researchers to share, celebrate, and promote their research achievements.
Twenty-nine abstracts from WCU students were accepted to NCUR for the event scheduled April 4 – 8, 2022 conference. The conference will be held virtually this year. Primary student presenters are acknowledged below by the College and Department they will represent. Congratulations to these students and their faculty mentors
College of Arts & Sciences
Biology
Annotation and analysis of the ImpL2 gene in multiple Drosophila species
Presenter: Lorien Helm
Faculty Sponsor: Indi Bose
Detecting Autophagy with Flux Inhibitor Controls: The State of Autophagy Research in the Field of Biomaterials
Presenter: Melissa Rogers
Faculty Sponsor: Heather Coan
Chemistry and Physics
Regeneration of Ground Peanut Hull Biosorbent after Methylene Blue Uptake
Presenter: Emma Auch
Faculty Sponsor: Carmen Huffman
Exoplanet Transit of Qatar 1b
Presenter: Joseph Mintah
Faculty Sponsor: Enrique Gomez
English
“I Feel Really, Really Good”: Carmen Maria Machado and Body Dysmorphia
Presenter: Caitlyn Cable
Faculty Sponsor: Brian Railsback
What It Means to Be a Parent in Jesmyn Ward’s Sing, Unburied, Sing
Presenter: Cameron Perry
Faculty Sponsor: Brian Railsback
Apples and Androids: Don DeLillo’s Look into Humanity’s Reliance on Technology in The Silence
Presenter: Elliott Kerns
Faculty Sponsor: Brian Railsback
The Horror of Silence
Presenter: Gabrielle Fraga
Faculty Sponsor: Brian Railsback
Lincoln in the Bardo: George Saunders and 19th Century Influences
Presenter: Grace Chastain
Faculty Sponsor: Brian Railsback
A Fictional Existence: Dissociation Through Postmodernist Literature in “The Husband Stitch” and “Once Upon a Time in Georgia”
Presenter: Gretchen Thomas
Faculty Sponsor: Brian Railsback
Lessons on Living from the Dead: George Saunders’ Lincoln in the Bardo
Presenter: Madelin McEuen
Faculty Sponsor: Brian Railsback
Here Be Monsters: Poe and Baratashvili’s Exploration of the Mind
Presenter: Victoria Grasty
Faculty Sponsor: Brian Railsback
Women and Self-Esteem: Carmen Maria Machado’s Indictment of Society’s Beauty Standards
Presenter: Aimee Roberts
Faculty Sponsor: Brian Railsback
Philosophy & Religion
The White Witch and White Wizard: Prideful Evil in Narnia and Middle-Earth
Presenter: Elias Hutchinson
Faculty Sponsor: John Whitmire
Redemption and Penance: Physical Humiliation, Bodily Harm, and Death Not Included
Presenter: Nathan Travis
Faculty Sponsor: Katharine Mershon
Untitled
Dominique Buteau
Political Science & Public Affairs
Multinational Review of the Long-term Effects on Education after Pandemics
Presenter: Aran Brunette
Faculty Sponsor: Ingrid Bego
Family Issues and the Correlation Between Media and Congressional Hearings
Presenter: Emma Blankenship
Faculty Sponsor: JoBeth Shafran
College of Business
School of Economics, Management, and Project Management
Drivers of Continuous Improvement Effectiveness During Covid-19: Evidence from the Nigerian Healthcare System
Presenter: Fuad Hassan
Faculty Sponsor: Bukola Bakare
College of Education and Allied Professions
Psychology
Internalized Homonegativity: Interactions Between Childhood Maltreatment and Religiousness
Presenter: Jessica Bell
Faculty Sponsor: David Solomon
College of Engineering and Technology
School of Engineering and Technology
A Design Methodology For a Rack and Pinion Type Wave Energy Converter
Presenter: Brayden Beaver
Faculty Sponsor: Bora Karayaka
Thermal Analysis of a Glassblowing Furnace
Presenter: Jake Toney
Faculty Sponsor: Martin Tanaka
Battery Size Optimization of a Hybrid Generation Framework which includes Small Modular Reactors and Renewables
Presenter: Lindsey McGregor
Faculty Sponsor: Bora Karayaka
3D Bioprinter with Double Extruding Capabilities under a Pneumatic System Capable of Printing a Number of Bio and Hyrdo-gels
Presenters: Morgan Patton, Devin Berry
Faculty Sponsor: Nazmul Ahsan
Radiation Shield Optimization for a Californium 252 Source
Presenters: Rylan Paye, Lauren Bryson, Jordan Davis
Faculty Sponsor: Joseph Tang
College of Fine and Performing Arts
School of Art and Design
Research into Interactive Design
Presenter: Christina Perry
Faculty Sponsor: Mary Anna LaFratta
Approaching Design for Health, the Role of the Built Environment, and Our Aging Population Living Within Poverty in Western North Carolina (WNC).
Presenter: Joslyn Stinson
Faculty Sponsor: Shelby Hicks
How Does Student Intuition or Knowledge Align with Proper Mudras?
Presenter: Thomas Odell
Faculty Sponsor: Richard Tichich