TECHNICIAN
thursday april
11 2013
Raleigh, North Carolina
technicianonline.com
ALEX CAO/TECHNICIAN
George Chandler, junior in mechanical engineering, talks about creating stronger organic solar cells at N.C. State’s Undergraduate Research Symposium. The event took place at the McKimmon Center on Wednesday. “I want to find out a way to make these solar cells stronger,” Chandler said.
Capping off a year of student research
Alexandra Kenney Staff Writer Undergraduate students from nearly every college at N.C. State presented their academic research at the 22nd Annual Undergraduate Research Symposium at the McKimmon Center on Wednesday. Students from different disciplines, including the humanities and the arts, gathered to present posters of their research to judges, faculty and peers. Two sessions, one at 10:30 a.m. and the other at 12:30 p.m., were held and more than 400 students participated overall. Students who participated submitted an abstract and created a poster based on their research, which will later be judged based on various criteria. A winner will then be chosen from each depart-
ment. The winners selected in the symposium are invited to the annual Sigma XI ceremony and dinner, held April 17 in the College of Veterinary Medicine Atrium. Judy Day, associate director of Undergraduate Research, said the event highlights and rewards student work. “The symposium allows students to present the studies they have created in their discipline,” Day said. “Students are given a chance to share what they have learned with faculty, administration and fellow students.” Students could register for the symposium alone or in a group, but all undergraduate students were required to work with a mentor for their research. Graduate students could be listed as authors of the research, but a faculty member or grad student mentor helped and guided each
piece of research. “Sometimes students come up with an idea completely on their own, and then approach a mentor to help with research,” Day said. “Some students are working on projects that are a subset of research their mentor has already been working on. We also have some students that submitted their senior design projects to the symposium this year.” Joseph Murray, a senior in mathematics, researched a new method for sports ranking. Murray presented his research in the second session of the symposium. “My research is specifically about sports ranking methods and modifying them to improve their predictive accuracy,” Murray said. “Algorithms that tend to rank teams fairly don’t always provide accurate predictions. My research focused on adding several components to improve retroactive pre-
dictive accuracy of these ranking methods.” Murray said he became interested in the study because of his major. “I got interested in this research because it’s based in linear algebra and matrix theory, which is essentially my specialty in the field of Mathematics,” Murray said. “I find that once I get on a roll and get deep into the research, I can’t pull myself away from it. It’s that interesting.” Hannah Gardner, a senior in zoology, researched swine with diabetes. Her research was also featured in the second session of the symposium. “My research was about behavioral changes and body dimensional changes in swine that were induced with diabetes,” Gardner said. “The goal was to see if the pigs with a higher blood-glucose average differed in behavior and
Churches join fight for marriage equality Liz Moomey Staff Writer
Several local churches are protesting the ban on same-sex marriages in N.C. by discontinuing marriage ceremonies. Pullen Memorial Baptist Church on Hillsborough Street and Green Street Church in Winston-Salem are examples of local churches protesting current marriage laws. Although Green Street received state-wide media coverage in March after they announced they would not perform heterosexual marriages, Pullen Memorial made the decision more than a year ago. In November 2011, in a unanimous vote, the Pullen Memorial decided to forgo all marriages until, “marriages between same-sex couples and opposite-sex couples will be treated equally.” According to Justine Hollingshead, director of the GLBT Center at N.C. State, other churches, like St. Frances of Assisi in Raleigh, have come out in support the GLBT community, even if their particular religion is known to be against it. “St. Frances of Assisi is affirming their support of the GLBT community, but because they are connected to the Catholic Church they can’t perform same-sex weddings,” Hol-
lingshead said. Hollingshead said she thinks Green Street Church is under the for some churches, a removal of United Methodist Church, which Amendment One, which prohibited limits marriages, weddings and holy same-sex couples to marry, or the unions to heterosexual couples. Defense of Marriage Act is going to The church decided to fray from have much of an impact on whether the head church, because “we, the churches allow same-sex marriage leaders of Green Street Church, see ceremonies. people in same-sex relationships “I think it will help in the sense of as completely worthy of the Sacra- allowing same-sex marriages to ocment of Marriage,” cur, because all this according to a press goes back to that statement. contractual obliga Hollingshead tion that a marriage said she believes provides for,” Holthat religion and lingshead said. law are being mud Some churches died together when may continue the it comes to samed isa l lowa nce of sex marriage. same-sex marriag “When you look es, even if Amendat t he religious Justine Hollingshead, director ment One is repiece, that is just moved or Defense of the GLBT Center one piece of a wedof Marriage Act was ding ceremony,” Hollingshead said. ruled unconstitutional. Although the church may disal “I think that there will still be low same-sex marriage, it has no ef- churches that will say they are not fect on obtaining a marriage license. performing wedding ceremonies, “It is not uncommon, particu- and that is their right to do that as a larly at this point, where there are religious entity,” Hollingshead said. churches saying we won’t perform Hollingshead said she think same-sex marriage ceremonies,” younger people will be the ones to Hollingshead said. “That doesn’t drive churches to think about their mean that as same-sex couples you stance on allowing same- sex marcan’t go to the marriage bureau in riages. Washington D.C., for example, and “When you are looking across the get a marriage license.” board at people your age that you
“[Young people] view it more as inequality when someone in the community can’t get married”
body dimension than those with a lower blood-glucose average.” Aside from being helpful to the students involved with the symposium, Day pointed out another benefit. “This event is open to the public, and other students are encouraged to come to see if undergraduate research is right for them,” Day said. “Students will be able to talk directly to peers who have done research, see how it benefited them, see what is going on in their major, and hopefully it will spark their interest.” Students who are finishing their research through the end of the school year will also have a chance to show their work. The 12th Annual Summer Undergraduate Research Symposium will be held July 31 in the McKimmon Center.
insidetechnician
ORGANIZATIONS AGAINST AMENDMENT ONE • • • • • • • • • •
ACLU-NC Equality NC Faith in America Human Rights Campaign Replacements, Ltd. Self-Help Southerners On New Ground Association of Welcoming and Affirming Baptists College Democrats of North Carolina Commitment NC
all are far more open-minded, far more at the place to say ‘this is really less than an issue who can get married and who can’t,’” Hollingshead said. “You view it more as inequality when someone in the community can’t get married.” Rev. Nancy Petty of Pullen Memorial Baptist said in a press statement the church supports human rights and it is their duty to speak out against oppression. “(Pullen Memorial’s) statement today on marriage equality continues their long-standing tradition of speaking out on behalf of God’s love, compassion, and justice in the world,” Petty said.
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