Ten students present research at national conference

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April 20, 2015

Ten students from the College of Saint Benedict and Saint John's University presented research at the 29th annual National Conference on Undergraduate Research (NCUR) April 16-18 at Eastern Washington University.

NCUR is an interdisciplinary conference where students representing universities and colleges from around the U.S. and internationally present their research and creative works in oral, poster and performance/visual arts presentations.

The mission of NCUR is to promote undergraduate research scholarship and creative activity done in partnership with faculty or other mentors as a vital component of higher education.

The team of Laura Fox (CSB senior, communication major, Franklin, Minnesota) and Lillia Khelif (CSB senior, communication, Howard Lake, Minnesota) made an oral presentation, "An Organizational Analysis of a Residential Healthcare Facility Through Prescriptive and Descriptive Approaches."

The remaining students made poster presentations:

  • Andrea Guajardo Villar (CSB senior, nutrition, Jalisco, Mexico) presented "What is the General Understanding of Dietary Iodine and the Adequacy of Iodine Concentration in Household Iodized Salt in Rural and Urban Jalisco, Mexico?";
  • Micayla Westendorf (CSB junior, biology, Duluth, Minnesota), Emily Hodorff (CSB junior, environmental studies, Plymouth, Minnesota) and Siri Berg-Moberg (CSB junior, biology, St. Paul, Minnesota) presented "The Effect of Water Depth on Sea Urchin Abundance and Variety of Species in La Loberia Bay, Isla San Cristobal, Galapagos Islands, Ecuador";
  • Robert McCarthy (SJU senior, biology, Omaha, Nebraska) and Brooke Piepenburg (CSB junior, biology, Willmar, Minnesota) presented "White- and Yellow-Tailed Damselfish and Their Effect on Algal Biodiversity";
  • Ryan O'Gara (SJU senior, biology, Mahtomedi, Minnesota) presented "Kidney Function of Ictidomys Tridecemlineatus During Diuresis and Antidiuresis";
  • Connor Piechota (SJU senior, biology, Sioux City, Iowa), presented "Galapagos Sea Lion Behavior Differences in Relation to Human Exposure."

Linda Tennison, associate professor of psychology, and Kristina Timmerman, instructor of biology, attended the conference with the students.