Connor White, an Honors biology student from the Jackson County Campus, presents “Breaking Vallisneria Seed Dormancy with Gibberellic Acid” at the Mississippi Academy of Sciences (MAS) conference in Hattiesburg Feb. 21-22.
Thirty-eight students in the Honors College at Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College’s Jackson County and Jefferson Davis campuses made presentations at the Mississippi Academy of Sciences (MAS) conference in Hattiesburg February 21-22. Student research ranged from increasing germination in seeds and cancer-distress screening to developing health-related and marine education resource guides.
In addition to making presentations at the conference, abstracts of the students’ work will be published in the MAS Journal, along with scientific research from other students and researchers from Mississippi universities, research facilities and colleges.
The students involved in the research and presentations are members of the Honors biology classes at the MGCCC campuses. Student presenters from the Jefferson Davis Campus were Samantha Allen, Chris Aguire, Robert Buntyn, Murakmai Carpenter, Bethany Cuevas, Kaitlyn Dumal, Hunter Garcia, Jared Gloria, Jamie Hanna, Megan Hines, Reonnia James, Courtney Kirkman, Mary Kirkman, Matthew Knight, Nicholas Matthews, Kishana McKnight, Cornell Peck, Chase Vizzini, Kyle Watros and Iris Nguyen. Jackson County Campus student presenters were Connor White, Marc Leggett, Fatma Mohy El-Din, Jordan Reed, C’aria Dilworth, Olivia Drawdy, Cory Martin, Sarah Rhea, Tina Nguyen, Ashley Blanton, Katelyn Nguyen, Kristin Shepperd, Kelly Slater, Aliesha Barlow, Cody Thompson, Eric Suddeth, Christina Adams and Paige Fayard.
Dr. Fran Marchette, Honors biology director, says her students focused on researching and creating resource guides for educational use. “Our student projects were service-learning (science-in-action) activities,” she says. “These consisted of developing field guides for the Institute for Marine Mammal Studies in Gulfport and a community outreach project with Gaston Point Elementary in Gulfport. Our Honors biology students are some of the best students I get to work with at the college.”
Dr. Lena Melton, Honors biology director at the Jackson County Campus, says her students participate in internships where they help conduct research. “Dr. Sharon Walker and I started the Honors Biology Internship program at the Jackson County Campus during the fall semester of 1989,” she says. “It is an incredible program in which almost 500 students have participated, giving them an increased awareness and understanding of humans and our environment. And working with MAS, it has ultimately provided a mechanism for educational, scientific and technological transfer.”
Each year, MAS holds an annual meeting to present addresses, symposia, workshops, scientific papers and exhibits of interest to its members. Research papers are presented in divisional meetings, which include agriculture and plant science; cellular, molecular and developmental biology; chemistry and chemical engineering; geology and geography; health sciences; marine and atmospheric sciences; mathematics; computer science and statistics; microbiology and immunology; physics and engineering; psychology and behavioral neuroscience; science education; and zoology and entomology. The annual meeting provides a forum for members to exchange ideas and information.
Jennifer Harris, at podium, and Kishana McKnight, right, present “Guidebook of Plants Found on Ship Island” at the Mississippi Academy of Sciences (MAS) conference in Hattiesburg on February 21-22. Harris and McKnight are both Honors biology students from the Jefferson Davis Campus.
Enjoyable article about our on going research program.