SWAG��Ƶ

Winners of the SWAG��Ƶ 2014 Student Research and Scholarship Symposium have been announced.  The symposium was held Friday, May 2nd at the Alfond Forum on the Biddeford Campus.

This annual symposium, now in its 15th year, allows students to present their research, classroom projects, art work, or other work done at SWAG��Ƶ in eitheran oral presentation, poster, presentation, or artistic display format.

Oral Presentations

Thirty-five oral presentations were made this year.  The presentations covered topics ranging from “Colored Water:  How Varying Light Regimes Affect Guppy Behavior” to “Hollywood’s Invention of the Native American and the Myth of the Cowboy as History,” from “A Study of Classical Japanese Death Poetry” to “Prenatal Origins of Placenta Previa.”

Honors Presentations

Among the oral presentations were five Honors Theses presentations by the following students:  Natalie Ingram, “The Effect of Temperature on the Gestation and Survivability of the Little Skate (Leucoraja erinacea)”; Liese Carleton, “Hormonal and Morphological Changes in the Shell Gland of an Oviparous Elasmobranch (Leucoraja erinacea); Janithri Wickramamayake “Involvement of Arachidonic Acid Signaling in the Synthesis of Inducible Compounds in Brown Macroalgae;” Nicole Hunter “Harbor Seal (Phoca vitulina) Pup Behavioral Consistency;” and Tara Boag, “Age and Size at Sexual Maturity of the Black Dogfish (Centroscyllium fabricii).”

Poster Presentations and Art Displays

Additionally, there were eighty-four poster presentations and art displays, including “Landscape Photography and Nature Writing,” “The Effects of Attendance on Home Game Contest Outcomes,” “The Effect of Exercise on Self-Perception,” and “Investigation of the Role of Annexin A4 in Regulating MOR.”

Awards

Each award winner will receive a certificate and monetary award from the Office of the Dean of the College of Arts & Sciences.

Oral Presentation

• First Prize: Lindsey Lavin – “An Exploration of Preference for Shoaling in the Presence of an Orange Stimulus in Trindadian Guppies (Poecilia reticulata)”
• Runner Up: Daniel Eggleston, Cecelia French, and Stephanie Beeckel – “Psychological and Autonomic Effects of Art Making in College-Aged Students”

Honors Thesis Presentation

• First Prize: Tara Boag – “Age and Size at Sexual Maturity of the Black Dogfish (Centroscyllium fabricii)”

Artistic Exhibit

• First Prize:  Kate Hruby – “Beauty or Destruction: An Artistic Photo Campaign for Fossil Fuel Divestment”

Poster Presentation

• First Prize: Sam Peterson – “Sea Level Rise in the Saco River Estuary”
• Runner Up (tie): Jessie Roh – A King and His Fool: An Analysis of Shakespeare's Use of Characters as Social Commentary;
  Cassandra Simmons, Maria Kuehl, & Emily Mitchell – “The Role of the Perirhinal Cortex in the Formation of Fearful Memories in the Developing Rat”

View a Schedule of Presentations