4/5/2007 - Thirty-one Western Carolina University undergraduate students and four faculty members will be traveling to the West Coast on Thursday, April 12, to join representatives from more than 300 other colleges at the 21st annual National Conference on Undergraduate Research, being held this year at Dominican University in San Rafael, Calif.

A total of 2,200 undergraduates are expected at the conference, which will include about 1,200 oral presentations and 700 poster presentations during its two-and-a-half days of activities.

The WCU contingent will fly from Asheville Regional Airport to San Francisco on the morning of April 12 and check into hotel rooms in San Rafael. The students will be accompanied by Brian Railsback, dean of WCU’s Honors College; Steve Carlisle, Honors College associate dean; Lori Seischab, assistant professor of biology; and John Whitmire, assistant professor of philosophy and religion.

WCU will be well-represented at the conference. The university ranked eighth in the nation this year in the number of student abstracts accepted for presentation.

Students attending NCUR have a choice of participating in a poster session or giving a 15-minute oral presentation in front of an audience of conference attendees, Railsback said. Those who give oral presentations usually participate in a panel discussion involving their topics of research. WCU students also will attend poster sessions and sit in on other students’ presentations.

While in California, the WCU contingent will have an opportunity to see San Francisco, Railsback said. The students and faculty members are planning on taking part in a conference-sponsored evening cruise on San Francisco Bay, and they will have some time to tour the city before flying back home on Sunday, April 15.

The 29 WCU students who will be presenting at NCUR are listed, along with their hometown; class and major at WCU; the title of their presentation and the name of their faculty sponsor.

Megan McBeth Barbero of Clemmons - junior, communication with a concentration in public relations and marketing, “Who’s to Blame: An In-Depth Critique of Influential Speeches Via the Guilt-Redemptive Cycle,” James Manning.

Carmen Elizabeth Batchelor of Rock Springs, Wyo. – junior, biology, “Fragmentation of Hyaluronate, Purification of the Fragments, Preparation and Characterization of their Iron (III) Complexes,” Lori Seischab and Jack Summers.

Sharhonda Antoinette Bell of Charlotte – senior, biology with a pre-professional concentration, “Restoring Culture Through Biology: Correlating Environmental and Genetic Factors of River Cane Stand to Optimal Traits for Cherokee Craft-Making,” Katherine Mathews.

Amanda Lee Buchanan of Andrews – graduated in May 2006 with bachelor’s degree in biology, “Sampling and Identification of Microorganisms from Wild Elk (Cervus Elaphus),” Sean O’Connell.

Amy Elizabeth Cagle of Concord – senior, chemistry, “Authenticity Determination: Spectroscopic Analysis of Traditional Cherokee and Modern Synthetic Dyes,” Scott Huffman.

Candace Renee Cratty of Jupiter, Fla. – senior, hospitality and tourism, “Investigating the Relationship Between Employee Satisfaction and Service Guarantee in the U.S. Lodging Industry,” Kyuho Lee.

Stephen Allan Dickson of Raleigh – junior, political science, “The Legalization and Patentability of the Creation of a Human/Animal Chimera,” Ann Buchmann.

Briana Greene Fulenwider of Cullowhee – graduated in December 2006 with bachelor’s degree in psychology, co-presenting “Inattentional Blindness in a Cell Phone Conversation,” Winford Gordon.

Bethany Rebecca Hartshorn of Fletcher – junior, nursing, co-presenting “How Learning Styles and Environmental Factors Affect Learning at Western Carolina University,” Bart Andrus.

Nicholette Louise Heim of Greensboro – senior, nursing, “Nursing for the Betterment of Man: Nietzsche’s Philosphy as a Guide for Nursing Practice,” John Whitmire.

Dante Rashad Hill of Durham – junior, business administration and law, co-presenting “How Learning Styles and Environmental Factors Affect Learning at Western Carolina University,” Bart Andrus.

Christina Renee Hukill of Greensboro – senior, business administration and law, co-presenting “Dictionaries and the Death Penalty: A Case Study of Alleged Jury Misconduct,” Debra Burke.

Dominique Fitima Keaton of Jacksonville – junior, geology and political science, co-presenting “How Learning Styles and Environmental Factors Affect Learning at Western Carolina University,” Bart Andrus.

Lynsie Victoria Lamitie of Cullowhee – graduated in December 2006 with bachelor’s degree in English, “Echoes of Milton in Emerson’s ‘Self Reliance,’” Mimi Fenton.

Guy Maxwell Long IV of Lenoir – senior, political science, “Following the Money Trail: Examining Financial Sources in Competitive and Non-Competitive 2006 U.S. House Races,” Christopher Cooper.

Ryan Joshua Norton of Franklin – senior, English literature and philosophy, “All You Need to Know: Plato’s Noble Lie in Action,” John Whitmire.

Teresa Anne Nowlin of Kernersville – senior, psychology and sociology, “Undergraduate Student Participation and Perception of Campus Groups,” Kathleen Brennan.

Justin Seth Perryman of Andrews – senior, history, “Black, White or Gray?: The Relationship Between Western North Carolina and the Confederacy, 1850-70,” Laura Cruz.

Benjamin Paul Reese of Lenoir – freshman, mathematics and computer science, “Gunter Grass’s Tin Comic Book,” Brian Railsback.

Kinsey Jane Roten of Asheville – freshman, nursing, “The Evolution of Social Order: Personally and Nationally,” Brian Railsback.

Caleb Adam Rushing of Troy – junior, history, “Acid of the Masses: The Religion of LSD in the 1960s,” Laura Cruz.

Benjamin L. Sheeham of Huntersville – junior, history, “Fireboat Walks on Mountains: Railroads and the Transformation of Sioux Culture, 1830-90,” Laura Cruz.

Courtney Rose Swartwout of Franklin – graduated in December 2006 with bachelor’s degrees in communication and political science, “Religious Affiliation and Congressional Voting on Stem Cell Research,” Christopher Cooper.

Stacey Michelle Thrall of Marion – graduated in December 2006 with bachelor’s degree in business administration and law, co-presenting “Dictionaries and the Death Penalty: A Case Study of Alleged Jury Misconduct,” Debra Burke.

Shane Michael Tussey of Lexington – senior, psychology, co-presenting “Inattentional Blindness in a Cell Phone Conversation,” Winford Gordon.

Jennifer Lynn Veilleux of Palm Coast, Fla. – senior, English literature and religion, “The Psychoanalytic Experience of Creation in ‘Paradise Lost,’” Mimi Fenton.

William Seth Wade of Raleigh – freshman, philosophy, “On the Development of the Post-Modern Situation Through the Lens of the Industrialization of Respective Nations” and “On the Intertextuality Between ‘Rosencrantz and Guildensterm are Dead’ and ‘Fight Club’ (film),” John Whitmire and Laura Wright.

Emily Ann York of Cullowhee – graduated in May 2006 with bachelor’s degree in biology, “Comparison of Bulk Soil and Hemlock Rhizosphere Bacterial Assemblages Assessed by Different Screening Methods,” Sean O’Connell.

David Scott Young of Waynesville – junior, philosophy, “The Master Morality: Alive, Well and Living in Your Town,” John Whitmire.

Other students in the WCU contingent will be Phillip Martin Chandler, a freshman communication major from Snellville, Ga., who will serve as Honors College photojournalist; and Erin Elizabeth Ponder, a sophomore nursing major from Asheville, who will serve as an assistant.