NCUR to Pilot Dual Poster Award Program
Garon Smith ( 5kB Mar10 10) The coordinators of this year's National Conferences on Undergraduate Research (NCUR) at the University of Montana are initiating a dual poster award to encourage students to convey an understanding of the real-world applications of their research. The dual poster award is a joint effort by The University of Montana and the National Center for Science and Civic Engagement (NCSCE). The posters will be featured at the upcoming NCUR meeting at the University of Montana - Missoula in April, where David Burns, NCSCE's executive director, will give the keynote. Funds will be dedicated for awards for students willing to prepare a "general public" version of their project. Garon Smith, a longtime leader in the SENCER community and professor at the University of Montana, is coordinating the NCUR meeting.
This program reflects the thought that an important aspect of scholarship, research and creative activities is the communication of its significance to the rest of the world and the lesson that the initial stage of every scholarly or creative project is finding the financial support to make it happen. If researchers are not able to articulate the importance or uniqueness of their ideas to funding agencies, they may never have a chance to conduct the experiments, examine historical documents, or realize their artistic visions. Researchers need to be able to describe their work with sufficient clarity so that not only proposal reviewers can understand it, but also elected officials, media reporters and the general public.
Students will also prepare two abstracts for publication. The first version will be written as appropriate for a discipline-specific conference, a poster that conveys the quality and sophistication of the results and includes technical and/or disciplinary terminology. The second version of the abstract will be free of jargon and will spend more time explaining what the results of the work signify, as opposed to the methods used.
Immediately following the NCUR meeting in Missoula, Garon Smith will present an overview of the program and results from the meeting at NCSCE's Washington Symposium and Capitol Hill Poster Session. He will be joined by students who prepared dual posters to discuss the impact of this project on their work.
To help students prepare their dual abstracts, Garon prepared two examples, included below:
Technical First Version:
Title: Utilizing Three-Dimensional Fluorescence's Red-Shift Cascade Effect to Monitor Mycobacterium PRY-1 Degradation of Aged Petroleum Joseph F. Sinski, Bradley S. Compton, B. Shea Perkins and Michael C. Nicoson
Abstract: Samples of Mycobacterium PRY-1 inoculated motor oil are subjected to three-dimensional fluorescence spectroscopy to document the shifting of excitation/ emission maxima as the solutions undergo serial dilutions. Effects such as self-quenching of individual polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and energy transfer between PAHs combine to produce large red-shifts in the resulting fluorescence emission spectra. This process is repeated over a series of weeks and is compared to preceding spectra to gauge the microbial degradation of the petroleum. Results show a two-fold, or 75%, PAH contaminant degradation by Mycobacterium PRY-1 over a 140-day growth period.
General Public Second Version
Title:Cleaning Up Oil Spills with the Right Microbe - Mycobacterium PRY-1 Joseph F. Sinski, Bradley S. Compton, B. Shea Perkins and Michael C. Nicoson
Abstract: An undesirable by-product of fossil fuel use is the release of toxic substances when environmental spills occur. Luckily, some soil organisms can digest these compounds and render them harmless. This study demonstrates how a specific microbe, Mycobacterium PRY-1, can rid the soil of toxic components in oil spills. Petroleum contains many harmful fused-ring molecules (polycyclic aromatic hydro-carbons or PAHs) that give off a characteristic fluorescent glow when illuminated with ultraviolet light. The nature of the fluorescence changes as oil ages or is diluted. It creates a 4-dimensional fingerprint and allows a sample's toxicity to be evaluated. Our results show that the microbe removed 75% of the toxic compounds in 140 days.
- Article courtesy of Garon Smith