URCD showcases undergraduate research

MSU Office of Undergraduate Research and Creative Discovery hosted the Undergraduate Research Symposium April 13-14.

Anastasia Elder, director of the URCD, said the annual event gave undergraduate students a chance to share and showcase their research.

“In research, a way to disseminate work through presentations and posters is typical of what scholars in academic fields do,” Elder said.

The symposium began with posters in the fields of physical sciences, engineering, arts, humanities and social sciences. The first day concluded with oral presentations for arts and humanities projects.

The second day focused on poster presentations for biological sciences and engineering, as well as the three-minute research pitch competition.

According to Elder, the three-minute research pitch competition was based on a national graduate-level organizing competition called the three-minute thesis.

“That one encourages students to communicate about the technical aspects of their work, but to a late audience so that way, they're going to be judged and evaluated based on how well they can communicate what is important and interesting,” Elder said.

As for the poster and oral presentations, Elder said these students also had the opportunity for their work to be judged and evaluated.

Volunteer Center, a program run through SLCE.

“We were able to take three groups up to Amory to help. The United Way of Northeast Mississippi informed us they didn’t need help with debris cleanup like they originally thought, and instead needed help in the distribution center,” Jones said. “We ended up sorting through the donations and packing the grocery bags to get them out to the folks in the community as fast as possible. We were able to help them jump ahead at the center.”

Jones said that a campuswide water drive helped supply Amory with bottled water after a boil-water notice was put in place.

Changes in the water condition of the Mississippi Sound have led to a decline in seafood production, as well as the degradation of coastal ecosystems along the Gulf Coast.

Pete Melby, a retired professor of MSU's College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, said changes in the salinity of the Mississippi Sound are leading to the decline of oysters, dolphins, sea turtles and other animal populations. “Biloxi was once known as the seafood capital of the world and now there are no wild oysters,” Melby said. "For the past 20 or so years there has been a decline in seafood being harvested in Mississippi.”

Melby said one reason for the decline in wildlife populations is due to pollution and freshwater released by the Bonnet Carre Spillway. This spillway is opened to alleviate the swelling of the Mississippi River. When opened, it transfers trillions of gallons of freshwater into the brackish Mississippi Sound, offsetting a natural balance of the water’s salt content.

Melby also said the general level of salt in the Mississippi Sound has increased over time, causing harm to the species already adapted to the brackish water. Wildlife in the Mississippi Sound faces a constantly shifting salinity level.