Fifth Undergraduate Research Conference to be held Friday, Nov. 14

Wayne State University's Office of Undergraduate Research will host the fifth annual Undergraduate Research Conference on Friday, Nov. 14, 8:30 a.m. - 2 p.m. in the McGregor Memorial Conference Center on Wayne State's main campus. The event is free and open to the public.

This conference showcases the university\'s best undergraduate research projects and allows student researchers to share their work through panel and poster presentations.

Many students are recipients of Undergraduate Research Grants, and all work closely with faculty mentors. The conference will provide this year's more than 100 participants with an excellent opportunity to gain presentation experience.

During the conference research from the hard sciences, social sciences and performing arts will be represented. Previous presentation topics include Gender and Dose Dependant Effects of Toluene Abuse on the Locomotor Activity of Rats; Implementation of a Voter-Verifiable Receipt System; and the short film Images of the City: from Hart Plaza to City Hall.

Examples of this year's presentations include:

William Bryan of Harrison Township presenting: For God and Country? The Social, Political and Economic Causes of Counter-Revolution in Western France intends to show that counter-Revolution in western France, in the period after the Revolution to Napoleon, was not primarily a religious revolt, but a social, economic and political one.

Cevan Castle of Detroit will present Green Means Business. Her project explores small-scale urban agriculture and related sustainability projects as business initiatives in Detroit.

Sara Cole of Detroit asks What is the Impact of an Environmental Field Study on Young Children? Cole's work observes that nature is a fantastic place for children to play and develop, but also a great place for children to learn. Many teachers shy away from using the outdoors as a teaching medium, but studies are starting to uncover its benefits - and how much better it might be than traditional methods based indoors. This study tests the impact of a field study by interviewing young children (ages 5-9) before and after their participation in the Pond Study program at the Environmental Interpretive Center in Dearborn.

Valerie Mika of Sterling Heights presenting: Use of New Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) Techniques to Detect Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI), which explores how new new MRI technology can be used to detect TBI, so that patient treatment can occur immediately. Mild traumatic brain injury is a serious issue for people who have been assaulted, in a car accident, or have injured their brain during athletic activity. It is very important to be able to spot TBI in patients because TBI can affect speech or motor skills if left undetected.

For more information, contact Adam Herman at (313) 577-4621 or aherman@wayne.edu.

The Office of Undergraduate Research, housed within the Irvin D. Reid Honors College, invites students from disciplines across the university - hard sciences, social sciences, performing arts and humanities - to participate in undergraduate research. Undergraduate research puts theory into practice as you work on projects and are mentored by full-time faculty who are leaders in their field.

The Irvin D. Reid Honors College exemplifies Wayne State University's commitment to the urban experience and to the enrichment of teaching, service and research. It is the mission of Honors to promote informed, engaged citizenship as the foundation for academic achievement in a diverse global environment.


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