The sixth annual Undergraduate Research Conference for Missouri University of Science and Technology students was held April 8 on campus.

The students worked individually or in groups on research projects directed by faculty mentors. Individuals or groups received cash prizes for first place ($750), second place ($500) and third place ($250).

The following undergraduate students were honored for oral presentations in the engineering division:

First place — Andrew Adams, a senior in civil engineering from Nixa, Mo.; Benjamin Brannon, a junior in electrical engineering from Nashville, Tenn.; and Cory Brennan, a senior in civil engineering from Belleville, Ill.; “Concentrating Photovoltaic and Thermal Collector,” directed by Dr. Stuart Baur, assistant professor of civil, architectural and environmental engineering.

Second Place — Andrew Heckman, a senior in mechanical engineering from St. Louis, “Modeling of Plasma Actuator Body Force,” directed by Dr. Joshua Rovey, assistant professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering.

Third place — Jeffrey Ahrendts, a senior in computer engineering from Sunrise, Fla., “Latency and Area Measurement and Optimization of Asynchronous Nanowire Crossbar System,” directed by Dr. Minsu Choi, associate professor of electrical and computer engineering.

The following undergraduate students were honored for oral presentations in the sciences division:

First place — Nathaniel Carter, a senior in chemical engineering from St. Louis, and Megan Oldroyd, a senior in chemistry and applied mathematics from St. Louis, “A Systematic Investigation into the Hydrothermal Degradation of Biomass as a Renewable Alternative Fuel Source,” directed by Dr. Klaus Woelk, associate professor of chemistry.

Second place — Karen Schilli, a junior in biological sciences from Ste. Genevieve, Mo., “Genomic Analysis of the BCA Sequence 3 Gene Family in Glycine Max,” directed by Dr. Ronald Frank, associate professor of biological sciences.

Third place — Stephen Jackson, a senior in computer engineering and computer sciences from Platte City, Mo., “Visualization of Deadlock Detection via Dihomotopic Progress Shell Decomposition,” directed by Dr. Bruce McMillin, professor of computer science.

The following undergraduate students were honored for oral presentations in the social sciences division:

First place — Samantha Schussele, a senior in nuclear engineering from Rolla, “Statistical Analysis of Baseball Attendance after a White Flag Trade,” directed by Dr. Michael Davis, associate professor of economics.

Second place — Angela Hundt, a senior in psychology from Rolla, “The Dark Side of Leadership Personality among Developing Military Officers,” directed by Dr. Jim Martin, associate professor psychology.

The following undergraduate students were honored for oral presentations in the arts and humanities division:

First place — Adam Smith, a senior in history and economics from Buffalo, Minn., “The Rescue of the Danish Jews,” directed by Dr. Shannon Fogg, assistant professor of history and political science.
Second place — Amanda Amsden, a senior in English and technical communication from Salem, Mo., “Like, What’s the Deal With Like?”, directed by Dr. Eric Bryan, assistant professor of English and technical communication.

The following undergraduate students were honored for posters in the sciences division:

First place — Ashley Muehler, a senior in biological sciences from Pacific, Mo., and Crystal Halloran, a junior in biological sciences from Fort Leonard Wood, Mo., “Use of Endophytic Bacteria for Growth Promotion and Toxicity Resistance in Leachate Treated Poplar Trees,” directed by Dr. David Westenberg, associate professor of biological sciences.

Second place — Nichole Hurd, a junior in chemical and biological engineering from Kearney, Mo.; Meghan Ray, a junior in chemical and biological engineering from Havana, Ill.; and Daniel Roush, a junior in biological sciences from Jefferson City, Mo.; “Isolation and Implementation of the Electron Shuttling Pathway from Geobacter into Escherichia coli,” directed by Dr. David Westenberg, associate professor of biological sciences.

Third place — Drew Menke, a senior in biological sciences from Berger, Mo., “Phosphorus Dynamics in an Ozark Stream and a Hyper-Eutrophic Lake in East Central Missouri,” directed by Dr. Dev Niyogi, associate professor of biological sciences.

The following undergraduate students were honored for posters in the research proposal division:

First place — Caroline Fernandez, an undergraduate in geology, “The Role of Preexisting Basement Structures During Continental Collision: Insights from Analog ‘Sandbox’ Modeling,” directed by Dr. John Hogan, associate professor of geological sciences and engineering.

Second place — Kathryn Boardman, a senior in geological sciences and engineering from Salem, Mo., and Crystal Twenter, a junior in geological sciences and engineering from Sedalia, Mo., “Fold Classification of the Kalabsha and Seyal Fault Region,” directed by Dr. John Hogan, associate professor of geological sciences and engineering.

Third place — Dominique Nocito, a freshman in chemistry from St. Louis, “Measurement of the Production of Beta-1,4-endoglucanase by Genetically Engineered Bacteria,” directed by Dr. Harvest Collier, vice provost of undergraduate studies and professor of chemistry.

The following undergraduate students were honored for posters in the engineering division:

First place — Timothy Peters, a senior in mechanical and aerospace engineering from Maryland Heights, Mo., “Effects of Mechanical Tolerances on Realized Attenuation,” directed by Dr. Walter Eversman, Curators’ Professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering.

Second place — Pei Chuen Chia, a senior in petroleum engineering from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, “Modeling Preformed Particle Gel Swelling (PPG) and Deswelling Kinetics,” directed by Dr. Baojun Bai, assistant professor of geological sciences and engineering.

Third place — Travis Hemsath, a senior in civil, architectural and environmental engineering from St. Charles, Mo., and Matthew Struemph, a senior in civil engineering from Rolla, “IED Crater Repair for Enduring Route Remediation,” directed by Dr. John Myers, associate professor of civil, architectural and environmental engineering.

The following undergraduate students were honored for posters in the social sciences division:

First place — Leslie Hagen, a senior in psychology from Rolla, “Predictive and Convergent Validity of Ability-Based Emotional Intelligence Assessments,” directed by Dr. James Martin, associate professor of psychology.

Second place — Ashley Nelson, a senior in psychology from Rolla, and Travis Gibson, a senior in psychology from Rolla, “Development of a Survey Assessing Attitudes Toward Genetic Research,” directed by Dr. Jacqueline Bichsel, assistant professor of psychology.

Third place — Jodi Paul, a senior in psychology from St. Charles, Mo., and Lauren Summerville, a senior in psychology from Fenton, Mo., “Cognitive and Personality Predictors of Attitudes Toward Genetic Research,” directed by Dr. Jacqueline Bichsel, assistant professor of psychology.

The 2010-2011 Opportunities for Undergraduate Research Fellows were also announced. The university will provide financial support for research in the coming year to the following:

— Nichole Hurd, a senior in chemical and biological engineering from Liberty, Mo.; Meghan Ray, a senior in chemical and biological engineering from Havana, Ill.; and Daniel Roush, a junior in biological sciences from Jefferson City, Mo.; “Microbial Fuel Cell,” directed by Dr. David Westenberg, associate professor of biological sciences.

— Emily Briggs, a senior in mechanical engineering from Mission, Kan.; Luke Jones, a junior in mechanical engineering from Monett, Mo.; Matthew Ortel, a junior in mining engineering from Mahomet, Ill.; and Chris Vincent, a senior in mechanical engineering from Washington, Mo.; “Mine Exploration Platform,” directed by Dr. Douglas Bristow, assistant professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering, and Dr. Kwame Awuah-Offei, assistant professor of mining and nuclear engineering.

— Jedidiah Hobbs, a junior in electrical engineering from Clever, Mo., and David Madsen, a junior in computer engineering from Rolla, “Web Accessible Pharmaceutical Database,” directed by Dr. Joe Stanley, associate professor of electrical and computer engineering; Dr. Bijaya Shrestha, associate teaching professor of mining and nuclear engineering; Dr. Randy Moss, professor of electrical and computer engineering; and Dr. William Van Stoecker, adjunct assistant professor of computer science.