During students' first year in the program, students concentrate on completing independent research projects under the guidance of a faculty mentor. The project culminates in oral presentation at a national conference and preparation of a manuscript for publication. For the research competition, a blind review panel of non-McNair faculty and staff members evaluates each project for excellence in scholarship and written presentation of the research.
Recipients of this year's McNair Research Awards:
First place ($1,000 scholarship): Olivia Bobbitt, "Stages of Racial Identity Development Among Multiracial Undergraduates," mentored by Clifford Leek, Ph.D., an assistant professor of Sociology.
Second place ($600 scholarship): Yessica Berumen Martinez, "Assessing LatinX Colorism and Skin Tone Dating Preferences," mentored by Kyle Anne Nelson, Ph.D., the chair of and a professor of Sociology.
Third place ($400 scholarship): Theresa Schwartz, "Determining Dietary Niche in Primates Using Portable X-Ray Fluorescence," mentored by Marian Hamilton, Ph.D., an assistant professor of Anthropology.
Honorable mention ($200 scholarship): Andrea White, "How the Chameleon Effect Impacts Introverted and Extraverted in Social and Academic Settings," mentored by Cassendra Bergstrom, Ph.D., an assistant professor of Psychological Science.
Honorable mention ($200 scholarship): Yessica Rodriguez, "Quantification of Male and Female Feather Temperature in Relation to Color in American Robins (Turdus Migratorius)," mentored by Lauryn Benedict, Ph.D., the associate director and a professor of Biological Sciences, and Karina Sanchez, a Biological Sciences graduate student.
