Undergraduate Research Day at the Capitol, sponsored by the UM System, gives 10 UMSL students the chance to present their research to state legislators in Jefferson City. (Photo by August Jennewein)

A contingent of 10 University of Missouri–St. Louis undergraduate students will get the chance to present their work to state legislators at Undergraduate Research Day on Thursday in the rotunda of the Missouri State Capital in Jefferson City.

The event, sponsored by the University of Missouri System, gives 44 students from the system’s four universities an audience with state lawmakers to show off the fruits of faculty/student collaboration at UMSL, the University of Missouri–Columbia, the University of Missouri–Kansas City and Missouri University of Science and Technology in Rolla.

“As the state’s only public research university, our students are provided unique opportunities to work alongside our talented faculty to conduct cutting-edge and groundbreaking research on our four campuses every day,” UM System President Mun Choi wrote in a letter to legislators. “These experiences, which range from science to medicine to the humanities, help to prepare our students for graduate and professional studies at prominent universities as well as careers in leading industries.”

UMSL’s 10 representatives come from the departments of psychological sciences and chemistry and biochemistry. They are:

• Drake Anderson, senior, psychology: “Undergraduate Research Opportunities: Paving the Way for the Next Generation of Scientists.” Faculty supervisor – Assistant Professor Bettina Casad
• Kristin Briggs, senior, biochemistry: “How a Small Plant Can Make a Big Difference in Agriculture.” Faculty supervisor – Associate Professor Bethany Zolman
• Joshua Evans, senior, psychology: “Is Self-Imposed Alienation Among Veterans Real and What Does it Mean?” Faculty supervisor – Associate Professor Matthew Taylor
• Stephanie Faulkingham, senior, psychology: “Individual Differences in Neural Rhyme Effects.” Faculty supervisor – Assistant Professor Suzanne Welcome
• Melissa Growney, senior, psychology: “Does How Words Sound Influence Judgments About How They Are Spelled?” Faculty supervisor – Welcome
• Elizabeth Koellner, junior, and Heather Lange, senior, psychology: “Undergraduate Research Opportunities: Paving the Way for the Next Generation of Scientists.” Faculty supervisor – Casad
• Alan Scheibel, senior, chemistry: “Glow Chemistry: Fluorescent Metallofluorenes in Materials Chemistry and Biochemistry.” Faculty supervisor – Associate Professor Janet Braddock-Wilking
• Evan Stephenson, research assistant, chemistry: “Transition Metal Complexes: A New Wrench for the Toolbox.” Faculty supervisor – Associate Professor Eike Bauer
• Madilynn Woodham, junior, psychology: “Stress in Student Leaders and its Potential Effect on Universities and Students.” Faculty advisor – Assistant Teaching Professor Kate Votaw

For more information on Undergraduate Research Day, click here.