Students present research at monthly Brown Bag seminar.
Wes Mayle
Issue date: 4/28/09 Section: News
| |
|
In the fall 2007 semester, Andy Hauger, chair of the Department of Chemistry and Physics, along with two other professors, attended a conference in Atlanta where they got the idea to have students present research on a monthly basis, usually on the first Friday of the month.
"We basically got some ideas on how to institutionalize undergraduate research on our campus," Hauger said. "There were a lot of different ideas and concepts. One of which was to have sort of a showcase, a monthly seminar like this. So, we decided to call it…the Student Research Brown Bag."
The reason behind the concept is for students and faculty around campus to understand the kind of research work that students are doing. Also, Hauger said, it is a tool to showcase the students.
"There are really good speakers generally," said Hauger of the students who have presented at the seminar in the past.
The April 24 edition of the Brown Bag featured three speakers and a lot of technical difficulties.
First up was Rebecca Harris, a senior history major. Her presentation was on the history of syphilis, especially the epidemic that occurred in fifteenth century Europe.
"(The presentation) is recognizing that this kind of the historical record," Harris said. "(Syphilis) is not just a modern problem. People have been asking the same questions (such as)'how do you cure it,' for a long time. They didn't find a cure until the advent of antibiotics. It's interesting to know that sort of thing."
The second presentation was introduced by Walter Evans, professor of English. He began by joking during lunch that it was nice to hear about the effects of syphilis. He then said the upcoming presentation was on the topic of incest.
Actually, it was the presentation of "Antigone," a play about a girl who is the product of incest in ancient Greece. It was performed by Augusta State University students in the Fall 2008 semester. For the Brown Bag, it was actually a showcase of the filmmaking acumen of Chris Pope, a communications major. He filmed the play.
The presentation was interrupted by a 20 to 30 minute delay in which both the audio and projector malfunctioned.
Although the presentation finally commenced, audio was only able to be heard through the laptop in which the DVD was playing. The play was shortened into small segments for the presentation.
The third and final presentation was on the Synthesis of N-substituted analogues of a potent Human Herpes Virus 6 Inhibitor. It was presented by Gary Schwarz, a recent graduate of Augusta State's biology department.
The purpose, according to Schwarz' slideshow, was to synthesize N-substituted analogues of a new Human Herpes Virus inhibitor, which was developed by Augusta State professor Chad Stephens, who also served as research director for the project.
Hauger said he is trying to get more departments involved in the seminar. In the past, topics have ranged from science-oriented, all the way to public relations and history.
Be the first to comment on this story