UNK held its annual Student Research Day, where undergraduate and graduate students presented their work in front of faculty, fellow students and community members. Over 200 students, the majority being undergraduates, participated in the event through poster and oral presentations.
These students have been preparing for Student Research Day throughout the academic year, with many students having worked on their projects for several years.
“The culmination of that (project) is the presentation of their work at Student Research Day,” said Dawn Simon, director of Undergraduate Research and Creative Activity.
Students presented their research or creative activities through oral presentations and posters. Each student is judged by two faculty members and awards are presented at the end of the day.
Simon said this program deepens students’ understanding of their own work. They learn how to talk about their work with someone who may not be familiar with the subject matter.
Many of these students will continue their research or creative projects. The feedback they receive on Student Research Day helps them improve their work for future presentations or publication.
Emily Flowers, a senior majoring in biology, researched how natural compounds, such as black seed oil and thymoquinone, may be used to reduce the metastasis or growth of triple negative breast cancer cells. She began working on her project a year and a half ago and has been mentoring other biology students who will continue her research after she graduates.
“It’s a bummer that they’re not statistically significant results, but they’re still notable,” Flowers said. “And so, it’s something that we can keep looking at in the future.”
Bryce Sutton, a student studying wildlife biology, researched nontraditional methods of assessing antler asymmetry in white-tailed deer. Sutton’s research was mentored by Brian Peterson, a wildlife biologist and coordinator of UNK’s online biology master’s program.
“It’s nice working with different people from different fields,” Sutton said. “You kind of get different viewpoints of everything.”
Like many of the students who presented their work on Student Research Day, Flowers and Sutton are involved in the Undergraduate Research Fellows program, where students receive funding for research or creative activity projects. Others participated in the Summer Student Research Program, where students work under the guidance of a faculty member.
Creative activity projects were also showcased on Student Research Day.
Abby Trantham, a sophomore majoring in language arts 7-12 education with minors in Spanish and creative writing, wrote a fantasy novella titled “Amor Fati” and read an excerpt from one of the scenes for her presentation. Trantham hopes her novella will be her debut publication.
The research and creative activity projects provide students with an experiential learning opportunity and the ability to dive deeper into their areas of interest.
“One of the things that we do best at UNK is provide these kinds of experiences for students,” Simon said. “Students get hands-on experience.”
