Who says professors and grad students are the only ones who can conduct thoughtful, interesting, and in-depth research? UNC Asheville students shatter that myth every semester when they present their undergraduate research, creative projects and community engagement work at the Undergraduate Research Symposium, this year held on Tuesday, Nov. 23, 2021. The symposium featured 144 presentations by 180 presenters, under the guidance of 54 faculty mentors, representing 18 disciplines and programs. Here is a small sampling of the kinds of projects students presented:
Members of UNC Asheville’s Music in Life and Culture Club spent this semester researching and creating a “prepared piano.” The process of “preparing” a piano intends to modify the sound of the piano in a way that can be reversed without damaging the instrument. While the piano keyboard itself remains unchanged, the keys of the prepared piano no longer produce a familiar and uniform range of sounds; rather, each key is programmed to mimic a particular member of a percussion ensemble using an assortment of materials placed between the piano strings. Students Zach Brackett, Nicholas Davenport, Arlen A. Fox-Helbig, Jack St. Jean, David McKelvey, Elina Misiyuk, and Jonah Unks modified a piano using diagrams designed by composer John Cage.
Biology student Amelia Ham has been researching the method of mining antibiotics from natural products—an especially important issue, as there has been a lack of novel antibiotic discovery since the 1980’s has resulted in the rapid increasing presence of antibiotic resistant bacteria. It’s now a global health concern. Ham’s research includes an overview of the history of antibiotic resistance, priority pathogens, streamlined and new research techniques, as well as research of extracting a novel antibiotic from a Herbaspirillum species of bacteria that is capable to inhibiting both Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli.
Spanish language and literature students took part in various community engagement projects, including partnering with local nonprofit Bounty and Soul, a community-based nonprofit that focuses on providing access to fresh produce and wellness education, to translate and transcribe LGBTQIA+ oral histories; building bibliotequitas, or Spanish-language Little Free Libraries; and working with Latinx families and their students at North Buncombe Middle to create a more inclusive environment and assist with any language barriers.
Mandatory arbitration agreements bind an employee to resolve disputes—including civil rights claims such as discrimination—through arbitration, a process that operates privately, outside both the court system and public eye. As such, arbitration forums offer fast, affordable solutions to disputes that may otherwise be public, expensive, and slow to resolve in court. Although arbitration may save time and money, data suggests that outcomes favor companies, and may be unfavorable to employees in other ways. Management student Alexis Baker’s research explores the need for federal and state legislators to prioritize arbitration reform.
Art student Issabella Losskarn created a series of paintings that explores gender stereotypes and ideas related to traditional gender roles. Referencing stylistic choices and practices of artists affiliated with movements such as photorealism and pop-art, her body of work manipulates distinctly familiar and absurd gendered imagery—like soft, blonde hair swirled like noodles around a fork and spoon—to create a set of universally relatable visual metaphors, that encourage audiences to examine the current discourse surrounding issues gender-related issues.
See all the projects presented at the Fall 2021 Undergraduate Research Symposium here, and learn more about undergraduate research at UNC Asheville here.
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