Skidmore researchers earn engagement prize
An enthusiastic group ready for pre-dawn
departure
Nearly 100 students from seven colleges and universities attended the annual New York Six consortium鈥檚 undergraduate research conference, hosted at St. Lawrence University this year, in late September. And 25% of the students came from Skidmore鈥攁 testament to their collective enthusiasm for their work and for the sharing of their experiences and findings.
The other five member institutions were Clarkson, Union, Siena, Colgate, and SUNY-Potsdam. The conference included oral presentations and poster sessions in research fields from the sciences to the social sciences to the humanities ().
鈥淥ur students were really engaged because they know how worthwhile the experience is,鈥 says chemistry professor Reba Howard, who attended with Jody-Ann Facey 鈥14 and Erika Riederer 鈥14. 鈥淪kidmore students really like talking about their research; they鈥檙e disappointed if people don鈥檛 ask them questions. And they鈥檙e eager to ask questions too. They understand it鈥檚 not good science if they don鈥檛 communicate it well.鈥
Bob Turner, a government professor and director of Skidmore鈥檚 Faculty-Student Summer Research Program, was impressed that all the students were on time鈥攁nd mostly smiling鈥攆or the 5:30 a.m. bus departure from the Skidmore campus. And he adds, 鈥淚 loved overhearing snippets from their conversations with their counterparts: 鈥榃hat kind of assay did you use? How do you control for pH in the soil? I love your experimental design.鈥 They weren鈥檛 so much students as fellow scholars admiring each other鈥檚 work.鈥
鈥淭he conference was amazing鈥攁n excellent opportunity to network with fellow undergraduate researchers,鈥 says Nile Nair 鈥15. He produced a poster on his investigations into how the bacterium Bacillus halodurans encodes two distinct pathways for the synthesis of a genetic enzyme. This was Nair鈥檚 second consecutive summer with chemistry professor Kelly Sheppard, who he says is an 鈥渁mazing mentor who encourages me to think outside the box when we encounter bumps along the way.鈥
A chance to relax and refuel鈥攕tudents enjoy
dinner at the NY6 conference
Angelo Gonzalez 鈥15 presented which analyzes and builds the case for food as a significant contributor to the Latinization of American culture. He built the project鈥檚 Web site in collaboration with Spanish professor Viviana Rangil. At the conference, he says, 鈥淚 talked with students who also had an interest in computer science, and we shared a lot of neat tips and tricks with each other. It was really nice to see students talking passionately about their research projects, and at the same time being interested in my food project as well.鈥 (For more on Gonzalez鈥檚 work, click here.)
Turner reports that, even after their 15-hour day, including six hours on the road, the students exited the bus saying that the experience was 鈥渁wesome.鈥
Skidmore鈥檚 conference participants:
Ariel Alperstein 鈥14, 鈥淒ual Pathway for Bdellovibrio bacteriovorus Asparaginyl-tRNA Formation,鈥 with mentor Kelly Sheppard, assistant professor of chemistry
Mark Benhaim 鈥14 and Israel Da Silva 鈥15, 鈥淓xpanding the Genetic Code With Pyroglutamate,鈥 with mentor Kelly Sheppard, assistant professor of chemistry
Spencer Berstler 鈥15, 鈥淪ynthetic Strategies in the Organic Chemistry Laboratory,鈥 with mentor Kara Cetto Bales, senior teaching associate in chemistry
Emily Carbone 鈥14, 鈥淢itochondrial Dysfunction in Spinocerebellar Ataxia Type 1,鈥 with mentor Sarita Lagalwar, assistant professor of neuroscience and Susan Kettering Williamson 鈥59 Professor of Neuroscience
Michael Coffel 鈥14 and Renee Schapiro 鈥15, 鈥淗emispheric Specialization and Self-Relevant Stimuli Mediate Emotional Stroop Effects,鈥 with mentor Denise Evert, associate professor of psychology
Jody-Ann Facey 鈥14, 鈥淢odulation of a Bacterial Proton-gated Ion Channel by 18-methoxycoronaridine,鈥 with mentor Rebecca Howard, assistant professor of chemistry
Melanie Feen 鈥16, 鈥淒iscriminating Nature of the Aspartyl-tRNA Synthetases from Three Human Pathogens,鈥 with additional authors Denise Garofalo 鈥13 and Mohammed Islam 鈥15 and mentor Kelly Sheppard, assistant professor of chemistry
Olivia Frank 鈥16, 鈥淯nderstanding UPK: A Case Study in New York,鈥 with mentor Hope Casto, assistant professor of education studies
Mohammed Islam 鈥15, 鈥淒iscriminating Nature of the Aspartyl-tRNA Synthetases from Three Human Pathogens,鈥 with mentor Kelly Sheppard, Assistant Professor of Chemistry
Elise Taverna 鈥14 and Sara Brandt 鈥14, 鈥淣on-Medical Use of Prescription Drugs among College Students,鈥 with mentor Robert M. Hallock, visiting assistant professor of neuroscience
Angelo Gonz谩lez 鈥15, 鈥淐omida Latina: Spanning Cultures, Building Bridges,鈥 with mentor Viviana Rangil, associate professor of Spanish
Maura LaBrecque 鈥14, 鈥淎re All Artificial Sweeteners Created Equal? with mentor Robert M. Hallock, visiting assistant professor of neuroscience
William Miller 鈥15, 鈥淪ynthesis of 3-Penten-2-One: Use in the Undergraduate Organic Chemistry Laboratory, with additional author Brian Geraghty 鈥14 and mentor Kara Cetto Bales, senior teaching associate in chemistry
Stefani Mladenova 鈥14, 鈥淒ual Routes for S. Aureus Asparaginyl-tRNA Formation,鈥 with mentor Kelly Sheppard, assistant professor of chemistry
Nilendra Nair 鈥15, 鈥淒ual Routes for B. Halodurans Asparaginyl-tRNA Synthesis,鈥 with mentor Kelly Sheppard, Assistant Professor of Chemistry
Erika Riederer 鈥14, 鈥淎lcohol Modulation of a Eukaryotic Ligand-Gated Ion Channel of Known Structure,鈥 with mentor Reba Howard, assistant professor of chemistry
Kara Rode 鈥15, 鈥淭he Role of Mediator in Transcription of Inducible Genes in Saccharomyces cerevisiae,鈥 with mentor Randy Morse, a professor at the Wadsworth Center in Albany
Berke Tinaz 鈥16 and Camille Yongue 鈥14, 鈥淓xperimental Manipulation of Primary Cell Wall and Morphological Plasticity in the Unicellular Green Alga Penium margaritaceum,鈥 with additional author Julie Ochs 鈥14 and mentor David Domozych, professor of biology
Sibin Wang 鈥16, 鈥淯rine-based Diagnostic Assay for Malaria,鈥 with mentor Kimberley Frederick, professor of chemistry
