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UVI students showcase summer research

Posted by CaribShout on August 2, 2009 at 10:40pm

Daily News Photo by CHRIS WALSH: UVI student Odari Thomas explains using mathematical models to digitally reproduce the human voice at the Summer Research Symposium. ST. THOMAS - University of the Virgin Islands students were animated and engaged as they showed off the results of their mathematical and scientific research projects Friday at the seventh annual Summer Research Symposium. Twenty-five students in the university's science and math division participated in two summer programs - the Summer Sophomore Research Institute and the Summer Undergraduate Research Experience - which teamed the students up with professors and graduate students to conduct research on a wide range of subjects. Dozens of people milled around the UVI administration building Friday, approaching the eager students who were standing next to their displays waiting to explain the details of their research. Many of the research projects centered on marine biology. Projects included using DNA samples to see if the orange cup coral is an introduced species in the Caribbean, observing the aggressiveness of spotter cleaner shrimp in contrast to other species and studying the acclimatization of snapping shrimp to the Caribbean corkscrew anemone. Jan-Alexis Barry said he loved spending the summer researching alarm responses in sea urchins. He tested several species of sea urchins to see if they ran away when one of their natural predators, a helmet shell, was placed in the vicinity. Barry wanted to see if the urchins could smell or otherwise sense the predator, but found that they did not. "This experiment has never been done before," Barry said. The spiny sea creatures can sense light and dark, but not predators unless one of their own has been caught and there is the scent in the water. "The experience was fun, it was awesome. I think I had the most fun of anyone here," Barry said. "I got to swim every day, which I love, and I figured out something that no one else did. I felt like I contributed to the scientific world." Projects in the math related fields included research on "weird numbers," mathematical ways to reproduce the human voice digitally, using an algorithm to solve gate assignment problems at King Airport and mining census data to create marketing strategies. Cassandra Benjamin and Shantell Adams worked with professor Joseph Gaskin on a logarithmic series accelerator - a new formula used to obtain a mathematical product faster than a previously used formula. The logarithmic scales are used by engineers in building structures. "By getting what we want faster, we get efficiency," Adams said. Tancia Bradshaw, a biology major at UVI, worked on an ongoing research project studying the bacteria found in a sheep's reproductive system. As an incoming sophomore, the summer program was her first exposure to scientific research. "It was a real learning experience," she said. "I really did enjoy working with the graduate students and working on a long-term project." The Summer Sophomore Research Institute provides research opportunities to 10 sophomores or rising juniors majoring in science, mathematics or engineering. The students spend six weeks working with a faculty research mentor to learn basic research methods and techniques. They participate in workshops on research methods, perform library research, use computer and Internet resources and learn how to present research through poster and oral presentations. The Summer Undergraduate Research Experience is an eight-week research program open to UVI students majoring in science, mathematics or engineering. Students are paired with faculty members doing research in an area of interest to the student. Students in the Summer Bridge2Calculus Program attended the presentations and received their certificates for their participation in their own summer program. The Summer Bridge2Calculus Program is for incoming UVI students who are pursuing careers in science, mathematics, engineering, technology or medicine but have not mastered calculus, which is necessary to pursue their studies. Many of the students in the Summer Bridge2Calculus Program will participate in the other two research programs during their time at UVI. Funding for all three summer programs is provided through a grant from the National Science Foundation's Historically Black Colleges and Universities Undergraduate Program. - Contact Aldeth Lewin at 774-8772 ext. 311 or e-mail alewin@dailynews.vi.

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