FER @ National Conference on Undergraduate Research
The FER Department had four outstanding students that represented the college in this past National Conference on Undergraduate Research (NCUR) held in Long Beach, CA. This conference allows selected students to display their research, scholarship, and creative activity in all fields of study. This is an annual event that gives our students the opportunity to learn from all disciplines through promoting a culture of development of networking, gaining professional development, and honing into their research skills.
Nick Berenson (he, him, his) – Environmental Sciences (BS), Economics (BS). Nick worked with Dr. Erin Sills, Dr. Rajan Parajuli, and 2 PhD candidates.
Nick’s research project and experience @ NCUR: My research was on Urbanization and Community Forestry: Assessing Changing Forest Dynamics and Livelihoods, which studies how people change their dependence on community forests as their proximity to urban influence shifts. I learned a lot about how to accurately present scientific information, communicate with peers about my research, and how to interact with other researchers. Additionally, I got to network with other undergraduates and read about their projects, which helps me gain more insight in the collaboration and connectedness of the scientific community. I was impressed with my peers’ presentations and it made me realize how grateful and lucky I am to have this opportunity, I will definitely cherish it forever.
Andrea Putri – Environmental Technology & Management (BS), Minor: Environmental Toxicology. Andrea worked with Dr. Angela Allen.
Andrea’s research project and experience @ NCUR: I have been working on the water quality issues with Dr. Allen for almost a year. We are focusing on continuous monitoring of several parameters at Little Rock Creek in Southeast Raleigh. Myself and other students (Dom Zecca and Jada West) have been performing and analyzing data to not only present to the community but at conferences as well. NCUR Conference was my first national conference, so I am grateful for that opportunity to present our work. These types of experiences give me the chance to create new connections with other like-minded students/professionals.
Dominic Zecca – Environmental Technology & Management (BS), Minors: Biological Sciences and Anthropology. Dominic worked with Dr. Angela Allen.
Dominic’s research project and experience @ NCUR: I did my research with Dr. A and Andrea Putri, and we focused on water quality in Southeast Raleigh. We wanted to see what the effects of urbanization are in this historically marginalized community of Raleigh and if there was a difference in water quality between our sites in Southeast Raleigh and other sites around Raleigh. At the conference, we were able to present our research to a wide variety of students and professors with varying degrees of environmental health knowledge. Furthermore, we were able to connect with everyone we talked to in some way, as water quality and urbanization are issues many places around the US are addressing. This conference was an exciting opportunity to represent NC State and meet new people from all over the US, and it is an experience that I would recommend to other people who are thinking about getting into research or wanting to attend conferences while being a part of the NC State experience.
Text provided by Dr. Angela Allen, Nick Berenson, Andrea Putri and Dominic Zecca.