URCA 2018 Call for Abstracts: Due Jan. 26

The Undergraduate Research and Creative Activity Symposium Committee is pleased to announce the Call for Abstracts for the Eighth Annual College of Arts and Sciences Undergraduate Research and Creative Activity (URCA) Symposium. This event will highlight the research, scholarly, and creative activities of students throughout the College of Arts and Sciences, and will be held on Wednesday, April 11, 2018. Please consider submitting your work to the Symposium!

All students who are declared majors in a program within the College of Arts and Sciences are invited to participate in this year’s Symposium. Group projects in which some members are majoring outside of the College of Arts and Sciences will be considered by the URCA Committee. Current students, as well as December 2017 graduates, are welcome to present their work. Presenters may choose to give an oral presentation, poster presentation, exhibition, or performance. All presentations should have a significant research or creative component; examples of such include, but are not limited to, summer research conducted at Ashland University or elsewhere, results of independent study projects, thesis work, literary readings or analysis, musical or theatrical performances, and exhibitions of artwork.

All abstracts submitted require approval of a faculty sponsor who is familiar with the student’s work and can attest to the quality of the work. At the time of submission, students will indicate who their faculty sponsor is. The URCA Symposium committee will then contact the sponsor via e-mail to confirm that the sponsor has viewed and approved the abstract. In approving a submission, a faculty sponsor is indicating that the abstract meets the faculty sponsor’s standard for professional work, and that the abstract is print-ready. Submissions that have not been approved by a faculty sponsor will not be accepted for presentation.

Students who wish to present at the Symposium should contact a College of Arts and Sciences faculty member who can act as a faculty sponsor. When the project is ready, the student should work with the faculty sponsor to prepare an abstract in Microsoft Word and email that Word document to the URCA Symposium Committee at au.urca@gmail.com. Students must copy their faculty sponsors on the email that contains the submission. The deadline for submitting abstracts is 5 p.m. on Friday, January 26, 2018. This deadline is firm.

A complete submission must include ALL of the following:

1. Name of Student Presenter(s)
2. Campus AND Home Addresses of Student Presenter(s)
3. Class Year (e.g. junior, senior) and Major(s) of Student Presenter(s)
4. Name of Faculty Sponsor
5. College of Arts and Sciences program in which the work is focused (e.g. Biology, Psychology, Music)
6. Title of the Presentation
7. Preferred Format of Presentation (Poster Presentation, 12 Minute Performance, 12 Minute Oral Presentation, or Art Exhibition)
8. Special Equipment Required (PCs and projectors are provided; if no other equipment is needed, please indicate “No special equipment needed”)
9. Body of the Abstract (250 words or fewer)
10. Anticipated Scheduling Conflicts for Symposium on 4/11/18 (e.g. COBE/COE/CON class meetings, athletic events, or other commitments that cannot be moved on this date; if none, please indicate “No scheduling conflicts anticipated”)

Students who would like to see examples of acceptable abstracts may view abstracts from the prior years’ events on URCA blog (http://ashlandurca.blogspot.com). Additionally, these submission instructions and helpful hints for preparing submissions will be archived on the blog. The URCA committee will hold an abstract writing workshop in January in order to assist students in polishing their abstracts. In the meantime, should you have any questions about presenting at the Symposium or the abstract submission process, please don’t hesitate to contact Dr. Jeff Weidenhamer at jweiden@ashland.edu. Questions may also be directed to members of the URCA Symposium Committee:

URCA Symposium Committee
Dr. Christopher Burkett, History/Political Science
Dr. Christopher Chartier, Psychology
Dr. Hilary Donatini, English
Prof. Scott Garlock, Music
Prof. Wendy Schaller, Art
Dr. Gordon Swain, Mathematics

URCA 2018: Wed., April 11

Save the Date for the 2018 Undergraduate Research and Creative Activity Symposium for Wednesday, April 11.  

Emily Law Models Impact of Squeezed Light on Quantum Noise

Courtesy Caltech/MIT/LIGO Laboratory

Physics and Mathematics major Emily Law will present at the 12:45 p.m. poster session at URCA on April 11. As advised by her faculty sponsor, Dr. Rodney Michael, she will explain "the Advanced Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory (LIGO), (which) is dedicated to detecting cosmic gravitational waves and determining their astronomical origin. LIGO has recently made several detections of black hole mergers by measuring laser fluctuations in the arms of its interferometer." She will also "describe a computational code that calculates the quantum noise in (a) prototype experiment...(eventually leading to) understanding the effects of squeezed light on quantum noise (which) will allow for better observations of gravitational waves in the future."

Music Quartet Demonstrates Performance without a Conductor

At the 2 p.m. URCA session in the Trustees Room, Chanel Bluntschly, Michael Byndas, Joshua Thompson and Jason Wolf (Environmental Science, Actuarial Science, Music Education and Geology majors, respectively) will explain and demonstrate through a music quartet performance the communication skills needed to perform without a conductor. 

With Dr. Thomas Reed as their faculty sponsor, the students play as a saxophone quartet without a conductor and must take on the responsibilities of changes in tempo, stops and starts, volume, and every other aspect of a piece. As the players move with each other, listening to the other musician’s parts, a circuit is completed which allows music to be made. To help demonstrate the skills that their ensemble has developed, there will an explanation of techniques to watch for followed by a presentation of a few excerpts to illustrate these skills.

Isabella Steiner Investigates Salamanders

Biology major Isabella Steiner will reveal the results of her study "A Population on its Way Out? Investigating the Population Size and Ploidy of Ambystomid Salamanders at the Ashland University Black Fork Wetlands" on Tuesday at the 2017 URCA Symposium during the 11:45 a.m. poster session in the Alumni Room.

With support from her faculty sponsor, Prof. Merrill Tawse (Biology/Toxicology), Isabella asked the question whether the ambystomid salamanders is a stable, increasing or a declining population. After trapping, counting and categorizing the salamanders, they were then tested for polyploidy (occurrence of additional sets of chromosomes). Find out the results at #URCA2017.

Wirtz Argues for Fair Treatment of Syrian Refugees

Triple major Emily Wirtz (Psychology, Creative Writing, Religion) will present her arguments for the acceptance and fair treatment of Syrian refugees at URCA's 2 p.m. session in the Trustees Room on April 11. Titled "Am I My Brother’s Keeper?": A Catholic Response to the Refugee Crisis and Wrongful and Assimilation and sponsored by religion professor Dr. Craig Hovey, "This research project addresses some of the moral and political issues relating to the Syrian refugee crisis from a Roman Catholic perspective." In her abstract, Emily further explains that she was drawn to this issue due to the experience that she had during a summer internship at the Dorothy Day Catholic Worker House, which allowed her to peek into the modern world of a refugee and recognize the humanity that Catholic Christians are called to see.

Courtney Wade Presents Her Study on Ohio Prehistoric Artifacts

With faculty sponsors Dr. Dolly Crawford and Dr. Nigel Brush, geology major Courtney Wade will give an oral presentation of her project "GIS to Model the Distribution of Archeological Artifacts as a Function of Environmental Variation in Ohio" at the April 11, 3:15 p.m. session in the Convocation Center's Trustees Room. 

As described in her research abstract, "Flint projectile points are tools that Prehistoric American Indians used near their campsites. These artifacts were made using techniques unique to the Holocene time periods known as Thebes and Dovetail. Many artifact locations are known in Ohio, but little is known about the correlation between artifact manufacture and environmental conditions present at the time. A geographical information system (GIS) was used to map locations of projectile points and to create estimates of artifact densities. Results suggest that the location of Holocene communities in Ohio were strongly influenced by the climate. These results can help to provide additional insight into movement patterns of human settlements in Ohio during this time."

Alicia Jones Combines Art & Psychology for URCA Presentation

With a double-major in fine art and psychology, Alicia Jones used her knowledge and experiences to develop her oral presentation titled "Behind Closed Doors: What We Bring to the Table." Sponsored by Professor Keith Dull, Alicia explains in her presentation, "I draw inspiration from the struggles and negative events that I have experienced in my own life or have witnessed in another’s. The process of making art is therapeutic and helps me deal with my own thoughts and emotions on these troubles in a healthy manner. Difficulties I focus on are depression, drug abuse, alcoholism, domestic violence, self-harm, suicide and eating disorders. However, I use symbols like children and dandelions to help maintain an element of hope throughout." Hear Alicia's presentation on Tuesday, April 11 at 10:30 a.m. in the Trustees Room of the Myers Convocation Center.

Linville Explores Profiling Research for Serial Killers & Rapists

Criminal justice major Aimee Linville will give her URCA oral presentation titled "Profiling Serial Killers and Serial Rapists" on April 11 at the 10:30 a.m. session in the Convocation Center's Faculty Room. Under the guidance of her faculty sponsor, Professor Marc Hedrick, Aimee has found that "Research suggests that these types of offenders may share a similar set of characteristics ... (and) has shown that there are some similarities in offenders’ pasts, in their characteristics, and in their crimes." In her presentation, she "will examine the research that has been done to determine the usefulness of profiling theories, which include the classical and positive schools, rational choice theory, and routine activity theory."

History/Political Science Major Kicks off URCA Presentations

History/Political Science major Joey Barretta will kick-off the 2017 URCA Symposium on April 11 at 9 a.m. with his presentation titled: "Was Martin Luther King Jr. the Frederick Douglass of the Twentieth-Century?" Sponsored by faculty member Dr. Emily Hess, Barretta will compare and contrast the two most prominent African American thinkers in the history of the United States. Below is a portion of his presentation abstract.

...Both sought to elevate the condition of their race in a society in which prejudice was entrenched. In my presentation, I will compare the methods each used to bring about equality for their race. The majority of Douglass’ public life was focused on bringing about equality by ensuring the principles proclaimed by the American Founders would be fully realized. Douglass’ approach hinged upon great men leading this nation to elevate the American people before, during, and immediately following the abolition of slavery and throughout the Civil War and Reconstruction. Dr. King’s method was not so much a hearkening to the American Founding, but rather a mission to make the love of Christ manifest on Earth and in so doing equality would come. King stressed that appealing to reason alone would prove insufficient due to man’s sinful nature, so his movement would focus on nonviolence and appeal to the heart rather than the mind alone. I assert that while the methods of Douglass and King seem radically different, many of the outcomes of what they sought to achieve were similar, but must also be examined in their historical context.

2017 URCA Schedule & Abstracts Released

Hear Ye! Hear Ye!

The 2017 Undergraduate Research and Creative Activity (URCA) Symposium schedule and abstracts are now posted. The annual event sponsored by the College of Arts & Sciences will be held on Tuesday, April 11 from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. in the Myers Convocation Center. All presentations are free and open to the public.

Come and be amazed by the work that our students have accomplished from profiling serial killers and rapists, to the extraction and analysis of toxic alkaloids from Jimsonweed in hay and silage, revisiting the relationship between religion and altruism, demonstrating a chamber ensemble's performance without a conductor and MORE.

The event will offer 52 oral, poster and exhibition presentations from 62 students representing 15 different departments throughout the College of Arts & Sciences.

Abstract preparation workshop - January 17th

The URCA Organizing Committee will hold a workshop to assist students with abstract preparation on Tuesday, January 17^th at 8pm in room 217 Kettering. 

The deadline for abstracts for this year’s URCA Symposium is Friday, January 27^th.  Example abstracts from previous years are posted on the URCA blog at http://ashlandurca.blogspot.com/. 

If you have any questions about URCA or the abstract submission process, please contact Dr. Jeff Weidenhamer at jweiden@ashland.edu.