The 11th annual Undergraduate Student Symposium took place on April 8 in the Alvin Sherman Library from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. Students presented posters and papers on their research to judges from the Farquhar College of Arts and Sciences.
As part of the symposium, the fifth annual Student Film Festival was held in the second floor of the library.
“I am pleased that we have broadened the definition of scholarship to include the visual arts and other creative works,” said Don Rosenblum, Ph.D., dean of the college.
Winners in the poster, paper and film categories were announced during an award ceremony in the Performance Theater in the Don Taft University Center.
The ceremony began with a welcoming speech from Rosenblum, who thanked the students for their submissions and the faculty for their support.
There were several first place winners in the paper category, including Nergess Taheri, senior biology major, who won for her presentation of “Artscience: A Study of the Human Arterial and Venous Systems.” She said that for her project she combined her two loves by carving the circulatory system into a linoleum block.
“I just wanted a better model for the anatomy labs. I didn’t expect to win,” she said. “It was a really interesting and unique experience. It definitely gave me a new perspective on the arterial and venal systems.”
Luz Gonzalez Reiley and Aisha Haniff won first place in the poster category for “Expression of AT1, AT2 receptors and a non-AT1, non-AT2 angiotensin II binding site in rat brain after endothelin-1 induced ischemic stroke.”
Rosenblum said the college received a record number of submissions in the poster category. He said more than 60 students submitted posters and the college selected 49 to be presented at the symposium.
At the ceremony, the American Association of University Women presented an award. The organization selected Rajeswari Murugan for her presentation “A Cardiac Arrhythmogenesis Model: Spiraling Out of Control,” as the recipient of their annual scholarship.
Juan Sebastian Gallo, senior English major and Arts and Entertainment editor at The Current, won first place in the Undergraduate Student Film Festival for his 10-minute comedy “A Perfect Day.”
George L. Hanbury II, NSU president, attended the symposium and spoke with some of the presenting students. Rosenblum said Hanbury was impressed with the students’ confidence and knowledge of their work.
All participants received a certificate and an Undergraduate Student Symposium key chain.
Rosenblum said, “Our students take this opportunity seriously and dozens of them go on to present their work at national conferences. This is not a practice or rehearsal.”
