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KANSAN.COM
Award-winning undergraduate students present at second annual Image of Research competition
▶ SAMANTHA SEXTON @Sambiscuit
The University of Kansas Libraries rounded out the second annual Image of Research competition on March 22 with presentations from three award-winning undergraduate students. The students presented short lectures about their research, why it interests them, and what they hope will come from it in the future.
The Image of Research competition asks undergraduate students involved in some kind of academic research on campus to submit photos that illustrate what their research means to them via Instagram or the Library website.
The competition focused on celebrating "the role undergraduate studies play in research and innovation at KU," Michelle Reed, undergraduate learning specialist for University Libraries said.
"We're asking students to look, engage with, and share the research that interests them and to help show how they contribute on campus," Reed said.
The event started with a short talk by Josh Bolick, scholarly communications librarian for University Libraries. Brolick spoke about the importance of social media and having an "online presence" but also about using that presence
effectively.
"The goal of the Image of Research competition is to celebrate the diversity of undergraduate research by challenging undergraduate researchers to reflect on what that research means to them and how you represent that." Bolick said.
Bolick described how, as an undergraduate program, the Image of a Research competition is a "phenomenal opportunity" to branch out and create a unique and marketable personality online.
"We all have digital identities and you can exert influence on your identity by being proactive and giving shape to the results of research in your areas," Bolick said.
Bolick was followed by Mackenzie Bloom, a junior majoring in biology and genetics who won the "Research is a Process" Award acknowledging her multiple submissions that demonstrate the "iterative and dynamic nature of the research process."
Bloom, an undergraduate research assistant, shared slides illustrating her work quantifying stem cell numbers in mouse colon tissue.
"Colon cancer is the second leading cause of cancer related death," Bloom said. "In our group we are trying to understand the
different malfunctions in the cell that lead to cell divisions, specifically in colon cancer."
Bloom went into detail concerning the importance of her research and how it could one day lead to a greater understanding of the causes of cancer. Her award-winning images showed the process of her research.
Another student presenter, Amber Norris, a senior majoring in Spanish with a pre-med focus, was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis her sophomore year and said she has dedicated her studies to addressing the "invisible illness" and hopes to one day cure it entirely.
"I became an advocate for myself," Norris said. "My disease progressed fairly quickly and what started out as an ear infection ended up with paralysis of my entire right side for about two months. I was told I would be that way for the rest of my life, but I decided that I had to get behind the disease and figure out what was going on and what my best treatment options were."
Norris said her diagnosis was a blessing in disguise, giving her something to put her passion and effort into while at the University. In her photo, Norris shows Tysabri, which is one of the very few drugs that can be used to treat MS and describes how it has allowed her to advance her research as well as keep her "flare-ups" in remission for two years. Norris was awarded the Story of Research Award for establishing a "textual connection" between her photo and her research.
Alex Robinson/KANSAN
The last student to present his research was Bryce Tappan, a senior majoring in Chemistry, who won
Amber Norris, a pre-med student and Spanish major, discusses her experience facing Multiple-Sclerosis and how she used research and her power as a pre-med student to cope with it.
Tappan's image, a beaker of a deep blue chemical known as azulene, shows his research - exploring the possibility of creating molecular electronics.
the Vision Award. Tappan's photo has been recognized as an "outstanding submission for its originality and creativity."
Ada Emmett, head of the Office of Scholarly Communications and Copyright, ended the event by congratulating the undergraduate students.
"It's the new step in nanotechnology," Tappan said. "If we place the azulene between two metal atoms, it can essentially act as a wire, allowing a charge, or electron, to pass through."
"The research that you're all doing here at KU will help launch you into your professional world
and someday, down the line, your contributions may have a real impact on the world and may help a patient or a doctor and may really make a difference." Emmett said.
Students who could not attend the event include grandprize winner Austin Petz, a senior studying chemical engineering and pre-med, who submitted a photo of algae converted into biocrude oil, and Jackson Young, a senior studying mathematics and physics who submitted a photo of a fellow undergraduate student working on the same research with him. Young was awarded the Open for Collaboration Award for expressing the spirit of Open Access and advancing discovery by "advocating for and supporting open access to scholarship."
- Edited by Mackenzie
CONNER MITCHELL
@ ConnerMitchell10
On Wednesday, Student Senate Rights Committee members debated general funding bills for student organizations and amended Senate committee membership requirements to give members of the newly-formed Multicultural Student Government equal representation.
Two drafts of the Code of Student Rights and Responsibilities were presented to
members of the Rights Committee to approve and send to Full Senate next week for final approval. One draft was submitted by University administration and one was submitted by the Student Rights Student Code Subcommittee. The Code written by the subcommittee was approved to be reviewed at Full Senate next week.
Here are three takeaways from Wednesday's committee meetings:
1. Members of the new Multicultural Student Government were given equal representation on the Student Senate Campus Fee Review Subcommittee. If approved by Full Senate, the bill will increase the size of the committee from 12 to 24 members.
Another bill will give jurisdiction of the Multicultural Education Fund to the Multicultural Student Government. Finance Committee Chair Tyler Childress said most students are not aware of the fee, so this change would make the fee more "viable" across campus.
2. Rights Committee and University Affairs Committee members approved a resolution opposing the Kansas state legislature's Senate Bill 519 and House Bill 2737. The legislation, also known as the Student Privacy Act, stipulates transgender students must use restrooms that align with the gender they were assigned at birth, regardless of the gender they identify with.
"We put this resolution together to be proactive and get ahead of the situation," said Stephonn Alcorn, govern-
sent relations director.
3. Rights Committee members voted to move forward with presenting the Student Code of Rights and Responsibilities draft composed by the Student Rights Student Code Subcommittee, instead of the draft by administrators. Committee members proceeded to add multiple amendments to the chosen draft, which moves to Full Senate next week and requires a two-thirds majority approval.
- Edited by Madi Schulz
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