MANSFIELD, PA—Under a constant drizzle on the morning of October 3, 327 students from around the nation began to arrive at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC). For the 18th consecutive year, UMBC would become host to students from twenty states and over 50 universities for a research symposium in the chemical and biological sciences.
Amidst hundreds of scholars toting sleek carrying cases for their posters that morning, four students from Tioga County clambered out of a pickup truck with their poster in a garbage bag. Martin Holdren, Megan Terrel, Joseph Mandeville, and Emily Edwards, all chemistry students, were at UMBC to present research on Marcellus Shale Gas Drilling and Tioga County Well Water Quality.
The four were representing Mansfield University for the first time at the symposium. Despite the unassuming garbage bag, once the poster was unfurled Mansfield would shine as brightly as any university present.
Two poster sessions with 250 unique research projects on display were held with a host of judges, professors, and guests interacting with the students behind the research.
When it was all said and done, the MU group took second place for their poster. Their research project was supervised by Shaker Ramasamy, professor and chair of the Chemistry and Physics Department, and Assistant Professor Michele Conrad.
An array of research ranging from belly button microbiota to nanotechnology in solar cells was presented by a diverse group of undergraduate students at the symposium.
“The students not only had the opportunity to teach others about the research being done at Mansfield, but to learn from their brightest peers from around the nation,” Edwards said.
Vast networking opportunities were available at the symposium, and the students conferred with professors and research mentors from a variety of universities.
“Perhaps the best way to summarize the symposium experience is with a quote spoken
that day by UMBC president Freeman A. Hrabowski III, ‘Did I ask a good question today?,’” Edwards said. “This message resonated throughout the day as questions were asked and curiosities satisfied. Mansfield was proudly represented by a group of students who have no plans to stop asking questions, and have been inspired to work even harder to excel.”
To learn more about studying Chemistry at MU, go to mansfield.edu/chemistry-physics/