April 22, 2010
McNair/Early Identification/GO-MAP Spring Research Conference set for April 30 – May 1.
Are there genes that eliminate the side-effects of popularly used antibiotics? Is there a link between Facebook usage and psychological disorders? How does racial socialization within African-American families impact identity? Can we efficiently utilize piezoelectric and servo energy harvesting systems to reduce E-waste?
Such questions and more will be addressed by UW faculty or students at the 18th annual Pacific Northwest Ronald E. McNair/EIP/GO-MAP Spring Research Conference, Friday April 30, and Saturday May 1, at the Husky Union Building.
It’s a research conference where students, faculty, and staff convene to share intellectual ideas, engage in a variety of discussions and build collegial relationships. You can learn more online here.
The conference is sponsored each year by the McNair Program, a federally funded TRIO program that offers graduate preparation services to 25 low-income, first-generation and underrepresented students a year to familiarize them with the culture of graduate education. Also sponsoring is the UW Early Identification Program (EIP) for Graduate Studies. The Graduate School’s Graduate Opportunities & Minority Achievement Program (GO–MAP), a vehicle for undergraduate scholars to connect with colleagues in graduate education, also supports this conference.
The conference attracts McNair scholars from colleges and universities in the Pacific Northwest and across the country. This year, approximately 95 undergraduate McNair scholars and colleagues from nine regional and national universities will be in attendance. These include Cleveland State, Portland State, UC-Davis, UC-Santa Barbara, University of North Colorado, Westminster College, Boise State, Evergreen College and Heritage University.
Also participating will be 28 UW undergraduates representing the McNair Scholars, Presidential Scholars, Boeing Scholars, and EIP Scholars programs.
There will be concurrent paper presentations and poster presentations in the two-day conference. These will highlight student research that they have conducted throughout the year in collaboration with a faculty mentor.
That’s where you’ll hear, for instance, the psychology student Ashley Daines discuss “ERP Response to Faces and Objects in Infants at High and Low-Risk for Autism Spectrum Disorder.” Or astronomy and physics student Thomas Gomez on the discovery of “Planetary Nebulae in the Milky Way Halo.” Or you can hear anthropology student Irene Alvarado discuss the link between U.S./Mexican border culture and underground smuggling operations during the 1930s.
This year’s keynote address will be delivered by Habiba Ibrahim, UW assistant professor from the Department of English. Ibrahim received her doctorate in English from the State University of New York (SUNY) at Albany. Her areas of specialization include African-American literary criticism and theory of the twentieth century, cultural studies — specifically racial representations in popular culture – and black feminist criticism and theory. The keynote address will be during the lunch reception on Friday, April 30 in the Husky Union Building.
The second day of the conference will feature a panel discussion with five UW faculty members discussing the topic, “Who Do You Admit? Who Do You Fund? Who Do You Mentor?” This will be from 10:30 a.m. to noon in 108 HUB. Participating will be Brian Fabien, professor of mechanical engineering; Danilo Pozzo, assistant professor of chemical engineering; Alexes Harris, assistant professor of sociology; Naomi Murakawa, professor of political science; LeiLani Nishime, professor of communication; and Adam Warren, professor of history.
This event presents a unique opportunity for undergraduates to be exposed to the scholarly work of fellow McNair/EIP students who are making a contribution to the scholarly and intellectual atmosphere at the University.
The EIP Program has held this conference since 1992. The McNair program was founded in 1994 and joined the conference in 1999.
If you would like more information about the Early Identification Program and Ronald E. McNair Scholars program at the UW, please visit online at here or e-mail uwmcnair@u.washington.edu.
