The Fall 2021 semester at McMurry marked a return to campus courses with fewer COVID accommodations than in the previous year. As a result, research activities were back on track for our courses, faculty, and Research Teams. As we ramp back up in our research, we are finding more activity and participants. You will note in this Research Summit there is a greater presence of Course-based Undergraduate Research Experiences (CUREs), open-ended investigations performed by students in regular catalog courses to expose students to research and whet their appetites for greater involvement through the remainder of their McMurry careers. To say early returns on these course-based projects have been extremely positive would be a great understatement.

Also, last spring we rolled out a pilot of the Certificate in STEM Research for those whose projects encompass all aspects of research – preparation, execution, analysis, interpretation, and peer-reviewed communication before a professional audience at the state or national level. This semester, one student has completed all components of the certification process and will receive the award. The STEM Research Certificate microcredential program recently received campus approval and will become a fixture for high achieving STEM students in the years to come. The Excellence in STEM Research medallion awarded to these deserving students will be worn at Commencement as an indicator of this achievement. These awards are sponsored by corporate partner Intuitive Systems, Inc., maker of VUMIE Online software.

Now, its time to reveal our Fall 2021 Title V Research Summit participants and their projects…

An evaluation rubric useful for scoring each presenter is found here.

For some of our projects, you can click on the NAME of the student(s) to see their video introduction, and click on the words LINK TO ABSTRACT or LINK TO POSTER to bring these up for review.

Research Summit Events – December 3, 2021

Oral Presentation: Biology Department Internship

Alliana Villalpando: “Public and Community Health Internship: Abilene-Taylor County Public Health Department” (Dr. Benoit, Biology) LINK TO ABSTRACT

Oral Presentation: Biology Honors and STEM Research Certificate Awardee

This student will provide an oral presentation over her work in pursuit of Departmental Honors in Biology. She also has succeeded in completing required elements of a research project meriting receipt of the STEM Research Certificate. She will receive the silver Intuitive Systems Medallion to wear proudly at Commencement.

Kimber Boyles: “Biodiversity of Herptile Fauna in Callahan County, Texas”. Presented at the Southwestern Association of Naturalists Meeting, Spring 2021 (Dr. Brant, Biology) LINK TO ABSTRACT

Poster Presentation: Senior Capstone

Cassie Garcia: “Mercury Levels in Meal Replacement Shakes” (Prof. Wright, Human Health Science) LINK TO POSTER

Poster Presentations: Research Teams Students

  • Daniel Ice: “Butterflies of Firebase Libby”. (Dr. Brant, Biology) LINK TO POSTER
  • Rebecca Blankenship: “Beetles of Firebase Libby”. (Dr. Brant, Biology) LINK TO POSTER
  • Luke Marshall: “Amphibians of Firebase Libby”. (Dr. Brant, Biology) LINK TO POSTER
  • Deanna Williams: “Birds of Firebase Libby”. (Dr. Brant, Biology) LINK TO POSTER
  • Madison Morgan: “Drone Photography of Firebase Libby”. (Dr. Brant, Biology) LINK TO POSTER
  • Courtney Mayo, Tatum Lindeman, Keshia Hinton: “Identifying Best Cell Phone Sanitization Procedures”. (Prof. Wright, Human Health Science) LINK TO POSTER
  • Sydnee Biscoe, Kelleigh Brooks: “Identification of Fungal Species in Breast Milk and Infant Stool”. ( (Prof. Wright, Human Health Science) LINK TO POSTER

Poster Presentations: Course-based Undergraduate Research Experiences (CURES)

  • Faith Archambeau, Madison Hansen, Mikayla Henderson, Mackenzie Farias “Using Macroinvertebrates as Water Quality Indicators in Urban Streams of Abilene” (Environmental Geology, Dr. Blackwell) LINK TO POSTER
  • Sydnee Biscoe, Madison Morgan “Mutational Analysis of APC Gene” (Molecular Biology, Dr. O’Connell) LINK TO POSTER
  • Benny Todd, Nichole Doyle “Mutational Analysis of APC Gene” (Molecular Biology, Dr. O’Connell) LINK TO POSTER
  • Cassie Garcia “Mutational Analysis of APC Gene” (Molecular Biology, Dr. O’Connell) LINK TO POSTER
  • Dustin Ledesma, Christian Oliver ““Mutational Analysis of APC Gene” (Molecular Biology, Dr. O’Connell) LINK TO POSTER
  • Jennifer Troung “Mutational Analysis of APC Gene” (Molecular Biology, Dr. O’Connell) LINK TO POSTER
  • Anelisa Valenzuela “Mutational Analysis of APC Gene” (Molecular Biology, Dr. O’Connell) LINK TO POSTER
  • Bailey Carlson, Brooke Cox, Deanna Williams, Kaylie Vasil “Impact on Skin Cleansing Resulting from Addition of Abrasives to Hand Soaps” (Microbiology, Dr. Wilson) LINK TO POSTER
  • Esmeralda Gallegos, Caryn Lawrence, Cortlynn Boone, Olivia Bryant “Efforts to Increase Effectiveness of Hand Soaps by the Addition of Household Chemicals“ (Microbiology, Dr. Wilson) LINK TO POSTER
  • Christian Oliver, Christopher Brown, Brandi Winslow, Jenna Jeffrey “Influence on Antibiotic Resistance Observed for Skin Bacteria Following Growth on Media with Animal Fats” (Microbiology, Dr. Wilson) LINK TO POSTER
  • Benny Todd, Reid Smith, Hope Schoeneman, Corbin Whitsell “Changes in Antibiotic Resistance Among Skin Bacteria Exposed to Ultraviolet Light” Microbiology, Dr. Wilson) LINK TO POSTER
  • Cassie Garcia, Michael Imariagbe, Keshia Hinton, Hannah DeFriend, Lidia Hernandez, Christen Bazile “Hand Hygiene Effectiveness” (Public Health, Prof. Wright) LINK TO POSTER
  • Daniel Morey, Abraham Salazar “Population of Bacteria Found in Keurig Coffee Makers” (Nutrition, Prof. Wright) LINK TO POSTER
  • Lidia Hernandez, Marcela Munoz, Keshia Hinton, Nicholas Kuykendall, Bailey Speck “Identification of Mercury Levels in Baby Food” (Nutrition, Prof. Wright) LINK TO POSTER
  • Courtney Mayo, Brianna Garcia, Richard Hernandez “Bacterial Growth on Stainless Steel Tumblers“ (Nutrition, Prof. Wright) LINK TO POSTER
  • Brooke Boyer, Abigail Barzyk, Ashlyn Pozorski “Nutrition Among College Athletes and Non-Athletes” (Nutrition, Prof. Wright) LINK TO POSTER

Physics Oral Presentations

These are oral presentations of senior research students from Physics.

Austin Bridwell “Plastic Grinder” (Dr. Keith) LINK TO ABSTRACT

Eduardo Contreras “Engine Diagnostics and Repair” (Dr. Keith) LINK TO ABSTRACT

Derek Hostas “Does Spider Tack Truly Make a Difference?” (Dr. Keith) LINK TO ABSTRACT

Megan Martinez “Architecture of Bamboo” (Dr. Keith) LINK TO ABSTRACT

Jessy Villagomez “Bluetooth Two-Way Communication Device” (Dr. Keith) LINK TO ABSTRACT