North Central College sets record in number of students, proposals at national conference

North Central College will send a record 59 students to the 29th annual National Conference on Undergraduate Research (NCUR) to be held April 16-18 at the Eastern Washington University in Cheney, Wash.

NCUR is an interdisciplinary conference where students representing universities and colleges from around the world share their research and creative works in oral, poster and performance/visual arts presentations. Some 391 academic institutions will participate in this year’s NCUR gathering of young scholars.

North Central College places in the top 2 percent (No. 8 of 391) of the nation and the most accepted proposals of any college or university in Illinois. With 59 students giving 52 accepted undergraduate presentations, this participation is the most ever in College history.

The research projects presented by students cover a range of some 30 academic fields, from biochemistry, German and political science to education, international business, athletic training and more.

Of special note: 30 presenting students are College Scholars, 12 participated in North Central’s Summer Undergraduate Research Colloquium, 20 projects are honors theses, eight projects were funded by Richter Grants, and 33 North Central College faculty from 18 departments served as research advisors for the students.

The students chosen to present at NCUR 2015 are Eva Allen, Mirachelle Anselmo, Marissa Bartz, Kaytlyn Becker, Emily Bishop, Christopher Boffa, Shana Border, Brett Breshears, Kayla Brooks, Alexander Cairo, Christina Carstens, Megan Cave, Mariana Cury, Rachel DiPietro, Michele Dobbs, Jennifer Drace Schneider, Claire Elsey, Margaret Fraser, Gregory Garofalo, Seth Gierhart, Nathaniel Gingrich, Alexis Gramera, Thomas Halverson, Katrina Healey, Margaret Heldt, Elizabeth Hoffman, Marissa Holaway, Emily Hollingsworth, Jonathon Kingzette, Hannah Kramer, Kelleigh Kuehl, Emily Labedz, Shelby Lauzon, Olivia Lopez, Katherine Madel, Alexis Marsh, Daniella Martinez, Rebecca Marusarz, Cory McCleave, Kevin McMahon, Travis Morrison, Anthony Nuccio, Robert Oberschneider, Kedryn Orrison, Desury Paredes, Jacquelyn Pfaff, Meghan Pickett, Marissa Post, Molly Reese, Jack Ryan, Sarah Schoonhoven, Larynn Schumaker, Kyle Swanson, Abigail Van Hook, Sarah Vanderheyden, Tyler Ward, Matthew Wilke, Allison Wright and John Wunderlich.

To learn more about the conference, visit cur.org/ncur_2015.    

At North Central College, students join a community that fosters independent and collaborative research, giving them opportunities to experience problem solving and project development in ways rarely experienced by undergraduates. Students also get to communicate the results of their work in local, national and international publications and conferences, like NCUR.