UD Students attended the regional research symposium and mentoring conference.
On Saturday, October 21, 22 University of Delaware students affiliated with the Resources to Inspire Successful Engineers (RISE) program from the College of Engineering and two UD students from the College of Arts and Sciences attended the 21st annual Philadelphia Louis Stokes Alliance for Minority Participation (LSAMP) research symposium and mentoring conference.
The Greater Philadelphia region of LSAMP comprises nine partner institutions — Cheyney University, Lincoln University, Delaware State University, Community College of Philadelphia, Rowan University, Drexel University, University of Pennsylvania, University of Delaware and Temple University. The annual research symposium is an opportunity for students from each of the partner institutions to network with their peers and attend professional development workshops.
In addition to a poster session, LSAMP conference attendees were able to network with their peers from LSAMP’s partner institutions, hear keynote presentations and attend professional development workshops.
Of the 24 UD student attendees, four students presented their research during the conference’s poster presentation:
Atif Bacchus, a sophomore and honors student majoring in biological sciences, presented their research on “Deconstructing a Hot Spot of Advanced Breast Cancer Among Women in Wilmington: An Exploratory Study on Root Causes.”
Emmanuel Ortiz, a chemical engineering sophomore and honors student, presented “Shale Gas to Diesel Fuel: Characterizing Alumina-supported Indium Catalysts” and received first place in the engineering category.
Sage Schiff, a first-year civil engineering and honors student, presented his findings on “Sustainable Mobility and Accessibility Regional Transportation Equity Research (SMARTER).”
Oviyanna Umoh, a sophomore studying neuroscience and psychology and an honors student, presented “Connecting the Dots from Genetic Variation to ALS” and received first place in the Life/Biological Sciences category.
Emmanuel Ortiz (left), a chemical engineering sophomore, and Oviyanna Umoh, a sophomore studying neuroscience and psychology, received first place for their poster presentations in the Engineering and Life/Biological Sciences categories respectively.
Student travel and logistical support was provided in part by the RISE program. Housed in the College of Engineering, RISE’s goal is to empower minority students to succeed in college and beyond through providing them with a support network and various career advancement opportunities. As underrepresented students in STEM fields face scholarly challenges related to their fields of study, they may also face other challenges such as enduring racial biases and feelings of isolation. To support underrepresented students so they can succeed in their personal and professional lives, the RISE program exists and provides STEM students with support, community and a sense of belonging within academia.
LSAMP is named after Louis Stokes, a civil rights pioneer who served 15 terms in the United States House of Representatives. He was the first African American congressman elected in the state of Ohio and served as the chair of various committees — including the Congressional Black Caucus and the House Ethics Committee. The annual LSAMP symposium honors his legacy by providing career enrichment to underrepresented students in the STEM fields.
Article by Jess Gardner