Three students from the University of Minnesota Crookston traveled to Oklahoma to present at the 32nd annual National Conference on Undergraduate Research (NCUR) held at the University of Central Oklahoma. The conference, held in early April, was an opportunity for the students to showcase their undergraduate research projects.

The students presenter, joined by Assistant Professor Megan Bell, included Hannah Riveland, a senior from Moorhead, Minn., majoring in exercise science and wellness; Maggie Perrel, a recent alumna from New Germany, Minn., who double majored in biology and health sciences, and Maggie Mills, a junior majoring in communication from Lake City, Minn.

Formal presentations during the four-day conference were given by Hannah Riveland and Maggie Perrel on the “Effects of Anthropogenically-Derived Antibiotics on Microbial Distribution and Diversity” and Maggie Mills on “Evaluating Mediated Communication within Romantic Relationships.” Faculty mentors for Maggie Perrel and Hannah Riveland were Associate Professor Brian Dingmann and Teaching Specialist Karl Anderson. Bell was the faculty mentor for Maggie Mills.

The National Conference on Undergraduate Research 2018 conference theme, Connection to Place, recognizes the increasing need for direct relevance of an educational experience to the communities that await the college graduate in 2018 and beyond.

Background

The idea for a national conference open to all undergraduates was conceived and first implemented at the University of North Carolina at Asheville (UNCA) in 1987. The first conference drew more than 400 participants from schools across the country. Now in existence for 30 years, the conference has become the leading conference for undergraduate research, hosting 3,500-4,000 students and their faculty mentors each year. One of the only conferences of its kind within the world, it provides students and faculty mentors from all disciplines the ability to present their research through posters, oral presentations, visual arts and performances. The conference is hosted at a different university across the U.S. each year.

The University of Minnesota Crookston now delivers 34 bachelor's degree programs, 22 minors, and 40 areas of emphasis on campus as well as 14 degree programs entirely online.  These degrees are offered in the areas of agriculture and natural resources; business; liberal arts and education; and math, science and technology.  With an enrollment of 1,800 undergraduates from more than 20 countries and 40 states, the Crookston campus offers a supportive, close-knit atmosphere that leads to a prestigious University of Minnesota degree.  "Small Campus. Big Degree."  To learn more, visit www.umcrookston.edu.

In the photo, left to right, are Maggie Perrel, Maggie Mills, and Hannah Riveland