Students present at conference for undergrads

By Shena Sanchez '08

College students typically reserve their Saturdays to rest from a week's worth of studying, extracurricular activities and work. But one Saturday in October, 18 Roanoke students dedicated their day to representing the College at the Middle Atlantic Regional Conference of Undergraduate Scholarship (MARCUS) held at Sweet Briar College.

"MARCUS is an opportunity to give undergraduate students the chance to share their research," says Dr. Benjamin Huddle Jr., chemistry professor. "Our students will go to MARCUS as practice; then we'll take them to other conferences that are more specific to their disciplines."

The conference had 85 students presenting from 16 colleges and universities. Roanoke had the third best attendance with 13 students present, following the host Sweet Briar College and Christopher Newport University. Poster sessions were given by 11 students and oral sessions by two.

"Professors from other institutions were impressed," Huddle says. "They wanted to know what Roanoke is doing for us to have so many students attend the conference and do such a good job." Prior to MARCUS, Huddle says he noticed the presenters were anxious, but at the end of the conference they walked away with a newfound confidence in their abilities.

"I was very pleased with our student participation," says Huddle. "The oral presenters were very professional, interesting and confident, and the posters were excellent quality. They were the kind of posters that you could take to a professional meeting."

The presenters were comprised of summer scholars, honors and URAP students. Each submitted an abstract for approval prior to participation in MARCUS. Attendance at the conference was funded by the College's summers scholars, honors and URAP programs.

Presentations included "Body and Soul: The Anatomy of Martyrs in Early Christianity" by Nickolas Montgomery '09, "Appalachian Dirt: A Fresh Start for Local Agriculture" by Phillip Hash '08 and Jessica Dooley '09, "Applying Calculus to the AIDS Epidemic in Cuba" by Danielle Shiley '09 and "Gill Chamber Hydrostatic Pressure is Unequally Distributed in the Blue Crab" by Matthew Bryant '08.

"Every presenter worked with a faculty member, which is one of Roanoke College's strong points," Huddle says. "One of the best things we do here is work with students."