SNHU hosted the sixth annual Undergraduate Research (UG) Day on April 5 to showcase research done by undergraduate students through panels, roundtables and poster sessions. The first presentation session began at 9:30 a.m. with a collection of panels focusing on research topics such as science and technology, conservation and healthcare in New Hampshire and student success. Undergraduate students spoke about their topics and what they gathered from their research.
After the presentations, the students offered the audience time to ask questions about their panels. Senior Jacqueline Capobianco has been involved with Undergraduate Research Day for three years. She presented with the Inquiry Scholars about the methods faculty at SNHU use to gather student feedback about the effectiveness of their teaching and how this feedback influences their practice.
“We chose this question because we wanted to look at the professor side regarding evaluations,” said Capobianco.
“Professors constantly collect types of formal and informal feedback all the time. There needs to be a mid-semester evaluation implemented so professors can make a change earlier for their students.”
There were also roundtables at this time, focusing on robotics in healthcare services and humanities, moderated by Dr. Aaron Collins and Professor Trisha Prevett. The next presentation session began at 11 a.m. and included panels focusing on research topics in business and ethics along with social issues among college students. The round tables in this session included discussions on topics such as robotic personal assistants and controversies in sports.
The final presentation session began at 1:45 p.m. Students presenting in this session focused their research topics on finance, literature and domestic and international market issues. The two roundtable sessions included students who explored issues in weather and environment as well as education.
Following the three presentation sessions, poster sessions were held in the Gustafson Center from 3-4:30 p.m. Students displayed their research topics and could interact with their audiences to explain the purpose of their studies. Junior Stephanie Anderson chose to do a poster presentation on her topic and enjoyed the opportunity to answer specific questions and have one on one conversations about the information presented on the poster.
Anderson, a dual major in fashion merchandising and management and psychology, focused on the economic, social and psychological factors and their effects on corsets as a fashion trend.
“I chose this topic because I’m really passionate about corsetry and fashion in general,” said Anderson.
For the first time this year, students from St. Anselm College and Daniel Webster College were allowed to submit research proposals and attend the Undergraduate Research Day along with SNHU students to showcase their research. Karah Kaffel, a senior at St. Anselm, attended this conference to conduct a poster presentation on deforestation in Brazil and Indonesia and its effect on their economy.
“As an international business major, everyone always looks at the negative effects of deforestation, but I wanted to look at how it can be helpful for the economy in these third world countries,” said Kaffel.
Senior Joshua Raymond and juniors Joseph Chouinard, Aidan McCracken, Matthew Goldstein and Savanah Many from Daniel Webster College were also present at the poster presentations to display their research on financial machine learning. These students had been working on their project for over a year and have written a program to help predict the stock market. Undergraduate Research Day allowed students from SNHU, St. Anselm and Daniel Webster to display the research they have conducted throughout the year.
Capobianco hopes that her experience with Undergraduate Research Day will help her when she pursues educational research.
“I have learned so many skills like not being afraid to speak publicly, teamwork, collaboration, time management and how to become an overall better researcher,” said Capobianco.
Victoria Berube and Ryan Wilson came in first place for both the Formal Oral Presentations and the Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics category. They presented “The Effects of Self-Driving Vehicles Using Mathematical Modeling.”
First place for the Poster Presentations went to Saint Anselm College student, Brenden Cain, who presented “The Significance of Financial Literacy in Emerging Market Development: The Case of India.” Nathaniel Fournier was first place in the Work in Progress category with his “Education Paradox: The Opportunity Cost of U.S. Professional Soccer.” The group that came in first place for the Community Based Research included Megan Mayers, Kendra McCarran, Alyssa Kelly and Samantha Townsend for “Building a Bridge to Confidence
