A meeting of young competitive minds was held Thursday in the University Business Center where undergraduate students from around the Central Valley shared their research.
The 34th annual Central California Research Symposium in some ways evokes memories of the science fairs from middle school and high school with poster boards and oral presentations.
Photo by Roe Borunda / The Collegian
In this academic competition, however, it took months of dedication for the formally clad students to eventually present research projects with far more complex information than the science fairs of years past.
One thing that remains the same is how it feels to defend your research against the prying questions of judges.
“Nerve wracking,” said UC Merced student Vu Dinh with a smile.
A fellow UC Merced student nearby who was still waiting to present agreed.
“Hopefully I don’t get too nervous,” Stacey Van said. “I usually get a little nervous.”
Van made the trip to Fresno State to present her work on a “cardiac patch” that is surgically transplanted on the area that’s damaged after a heart attack.
“I first heard about the symposium from my friends who presented here last year and they said it was a really good experience.” Van said.
Adjustments were made to the traditional presentation lineup. In the previous 33 years of the symposium there was a gathering of up to 160 undergraduate, graduate and professional presenters.
“We always had graduate, undergraduate and professional presentations, and that has proved to be a very interesting way to do it,” said Dr. Thomas McClanahan, co-chairperson for the symposium and the associate vice president for research at Fresno State. “There’s a packed house here. In fact, we’ve become a victim of our own success.”
There are now separate symposiums for undergraduate and graduate students.
“We now have as many undergraduates who present, that includes both oral presentations and poster presentations, than we had graduates, undergraduates and professionals combined 10 or 12 years ago,” McClanahan said. “This has grown very rapidly and the quality of the presentations each year gets better and better. We have outgrown the building.”
The presentations varied from a discussion about a multiethnic Spider-Man to the beliefs and practices of Hmong women regarding childbirth to microbial verification of milk’s “best by” date.
“It gives students a real experience of what it is like and how demanding that can be when you’ve worked a year,” McClanahan said. “Just imagine, you have a very complicated project with all kinds of connections to it, presumably you can talk for hours about it, and you have to essentially boil it down into that period of 10 or 12 minutes.”
Fresno State senior Manuel Jacquez won outstanding undergraduate oral presentation from the Office of the Provost at California State University, Fresno, for his research on the topic of a multi-ethnic Spider Man.
Jacquez argued that while the industry has taken steps to break away from traditional racial depictions of its characters, it is important for popular literature to avoid stereotypes and completely embrace other cultural identities. With millions of readers just in the United States, Jacquez recommended the writers of these stories take the advice of Uncle Ben from Spider Man, who said that, “with great power comes great responsibility.”
“The significance of popular literature is that it influences our next generation,” Jacquez said. “With great selling power comes great responsibility.”
Other Fresno State winners from the symposium included:
Ӣ Davin Youngclarke Memorial Award for presenter who best addresses a community issue with use of sophisticated and sound research methods: James Stinecipher
Ӣ American Chemical outstanding science presentation: Maya Castro de la Torre.
Ӣ California School of Professional Psychology at Alliant International University outstanding poster: Nawras Samaan
Ӣ California School of Professional Psychology at Alliant International University honorable mention poster: Alexander Nardocci
Ӣ University California San Francisco Fresno Medical Education and Research outstanding undergraduate oral presentation: Nick Vizenor
Ӣ Office of Research and Sponsored Programs at California State University, Fresno outstanding undergraduate: Elaina Aceves
Ӣ Office of the Provost at California State University, Fresno, outstanding undergraduate poster: Nicole Hoke
Ӣ Outstanding Math Undergraduate: David Heywood
Ӣ Honorable Mention undergraduate poster: Adrienne Olaivar