Honors Students Chosen for Research Presentations at National Conference
November 05, 2018
Ten students in the Angelo State University Honors Program have been selected to present their research projects at the 53rd annual National Collegiate Honors Council (NCHC) Conference Nov. 7-11 in Boston, Mass.
The NCHC Conference annually highlights student and faculty research presentations from across the nation, and provides training and development for honors program administrators and student leaders. The national submission process for student research projects is highly selective, with hundreds of honors students from throughout the U.S. submitting proposals each year.
Three ASU students will make oral presentations in the highly competitive Student Independent Research Panels. Only 17 research papers were selected from a nationwide applicant pool for the oral presentation panels. Presenting papers for ASU are:
- Evelyn Burch, senior political science major from Clinton, Md. – “Projecting Power: China and the United States’ Struggle for Dominance in the Era of Xi and Trump”
- Cassandra Schultz, junior English major from Seminole – “Let Them Eat Damnation: Agony and Ecstasy in Puritan New England”
- Talon Shoemake, senior English major from Deweyville – “Redefining Machiavellianism in Henry V: Hal’s Heroic Theatricality”
Eight ASU students have been selected to present in the research poster competition, including:
- Parker Adamson, junior physics major from Plainview – “Effects of Multiple Cycles of Microwave-Irradiation on Multi-walled Carbon Nanotubes”
- Evelyn Burch, senior political science major from Clinton, Md. – “GIS Applications for Political Science Research: Mapping Territorial Disputes and Military Power Projection in the Asia-Pacific”
- Molly Burns, junior biology major from Glen Rose – “Identifying Correlations Between Genetics and Host Range in Specialist and Generalist Bacteriophage”
- Angela Chen, senior biology major from Helotes – “The Role of Long Non-Coding RNA in Estrogen-Sensitive Breast Cancer”
- Clancy Collom, senior chemistry major from Earth – “Identification of Affibody Molecules that Target Crotalid Snake Venoms and Targeted Protein Identification”
- Jodi Erickson, senior English major from Corpus Christi – “’A Sun that Leaves No Shadows’: Camus’s Philosophy in Fiction”
- Baxter Krug, junior chemistry major from De Leon – “PAH Detection, Utilizing LDPE with Fluorescence Detection”
- Luke Meyer, senior English teaching major from Cuero – “Ready to Engage: Helping Prepare Students for Academic Freedom”
Additionally, four members of the ASU Honors Student Association (HSA) leadership team will attend the NCHC Conference to engage with other student leaders from across the nation to highlight ASU projects and garner ideas from their peers. Representing ASU are:
- Nathan Blair, marketing major from Kerrville
- Allie Denham, biology major from Bandera
- Allee Nix, biology major from Liberty Hill
- Chatta Russell, biology major from San Angelo
Parker Adamson, a physics major from Plainview, will be ASU’s student representative to the NCHC Board of Directors, and Evelyn Burch is ASU’s nominee for NCHC Student of the Year. Dr. Shirley Eoff, ASU Honors Program director; Taylor Ball-Watson, program coordinator; and Erika Munoz, office manager, will accompany the students and participate in professional development seminars.
This year’s conference is themed “Learning to Transgress,” and the NCHC anticipates thousands of students and faculty hailing from all 50 states and several other countries to be in attendance. The plenary speaker will be bell hooks, the noted feminist theorist, cultural critic, artist and writer.
While in Boston, the ASU students will also have the opportunity to explore the city through the NCHC’s City as Text Program, take part in a Story Slam and Student Open Mic Night, and attend general sessions on the best practices and unique innovations in honors education.