The CCU Undergraduate Research Competition is a spring tradition at Coastal Carolina University. This year, students and faculty mentors from 28 different majors and all university colleges have worked to produce 116 presentations, including 63 oral presentations and 53 poster presentations. These are the results of months, and in some cases, years of effort on undergraduate research projects, and demonstrate the strength of experiential learning at CCU. Presentations were judged by dozens of faculty judges, and prizes were awarded in the following categories.
Oral Presentations: Natural and Applied Sciences
- 1st Place: Alex Foster, Modeling Protection Strategies Against Chikungunya Virus on Reunion Island (Applied Mathematics major, Research Mentor: Igor Erovenko)
- 2nd Place: Nicholas Coleman, Association behavior between sand tiger sharks (Carcharias taurus) and round scad (Decapterus punctatus) may be mutually beneficial (Marine Science major, Faculty Mentor: Erin Burge)
- 3rd Place: Jeremy Evans and Hailey Wimmenauer, Breaking Suicide and Depression (SAD) Initiative: Examining the Correlation between Screen Time and Mental Health (Public Health major, Faculty Mentor: Sharon Thompson)
Oral Presentations: Humanities and Fine Arts, Business, and Education
- 1st Place: Brenna Wiinanen, The Continuation of a Composition of an Unfinished Mozart Flute Concerto (Music major, Faculty Mentor: Donald Sloan)
- 2nd Place: Dara Potts and Amelia Dobbs, Popular Culture, Shakespeare, and Gender (Theatre major, Faculty Mentor: Robin Russell)
- 3rd Place: Olivia Dimatteo, Museum Semiotics (Communication major, Faculty Mentor: Kyle Holody)
Poster Presentations: Physical and Biological Sciences
- 1st Place: Whitney Davis, The Effects of Marine Natural Products on the Microenvironment of Pancreatic Cancer (Biology/Marine Science major, Research Mentor: Esther Guzman)
- 2nd Place: Mary Akers and Alyssa Leclaire, Ecosystem Engineers or Engineered by the Ecosystem? (Marine Science majors, Faculty Mentor: Juli Harding)
- 3rd Place: Lillian Rios-Brady, Detection of Newly Synthesized Membrane Proteins in Isolated Squid Axoplasm from Loligo pealeii (Marine Science major, Research Mentor: Miguel Holmgren)
Poster Presentations: Health and Behavioral Sciences, Humanities, and Education
- 1st Place: Julie Emory, Nicole Moravitz and Lyle Ciardi, The Solar Impact: The Work of the Solar Ambassadors in Promoting Renewable Energy Sources (History/Intelligence and National Security Studies, Marine Science, and History majors, Faculty Mentor: Pamela Martin)
- 2nd Place: Tessa Taylor, College Freshmen Behaviors and Perceptions about E-Cigarettes (Public Health major, Faculty Mentor: Elizabeth Carter)