Georgetown: Four undergraduates and one faculty member from the Faculty of Natural Sciences, University of Guyana (UG) will be attending the Florida International University (FIU) McNair Scholars Research Conference at the FIU’s Modesto A. Maidique Campus from October 14 to 16, 2015.
This is the first time in the 12 years of the programme at FIU that the UG has been invited to participate. The students were selected from amongst the best of the undergraduate researchers in each department of the Faculty. Students were required to submit an abstract of their research for oral presentation or poster display for evaluation by the conference committee. All submissions from the University of Guyana to the FIU were accepted.
The students are expected to share their research and explore graduate studies possibilities. Aneska Gaindalall from the Department of Biology, will give an oral presentation of her research on the Antifungal Effects of Apple Cider Vinegar on Malassezia furfur, which is the causative agent for a range of dermatological conditions including dandruff. Dayshawn Billingy from the Department of Chemistry compared the cyanidation process and gravity concentration method for the separation of Gold from its ore. While Sheikh Mohamed from the Department of Computer Science, will present on the usability and security of using video within a graphical password authentication scheme. Billingy and Mohamed will give oral presentations as well as display posters. Mia Pierre from the Department of Mathematics, Physics and Statistics will be present a poster on her ongoing research on degree options in the pure sciences and their excepted utility.
The students will be accompanied by Ms Medeba Uzzi, former Assistant Dean in the Faculty.
The Faculty views the students’ participation as an opportunity to highlight the valuable scientific work its undergraduates conduct annually. It is also an opportunity for the students to gain exposure, build international networks and explore graduate study options in the USA.
Consideration is being given to making the participation in the FIU McNair Scholars Research Conference a part of the Faculty’s annual agenda, and to use it to motivate students to a higher level of performance in undergraduate research.
The Faculty also plans to commence an annual research showcase in January 2016 to make its research known to the Guyanese populace and expose its graduates to potential employers.
The Faculty of Natural Sciences is grateful for the opportunity to participate in this conference and for the support of the University of Guyana, Guyana Geology and Mines Commission and Caribbean Airlines Limited for their generous contributions which made the students particpation possible.
The UG representatives departed on Wednesday, October 14, 2015.
The McNair Scholars Research Conference is an annual activity under that FIU’s ‘Ronald E. McNair Post Baccalaureate Achievement Program’ funded by the United States Congress. The programme was named after Ronald E. McNair, an American physicist and astronaut who was killed when the space ship ‘Challenger’ disintegrated soon after take-off in January 1986.
Ronald McNair is known for challenging segregation laws in South Carolina at age nine in order to access library books. By the time of his death at age 35, he had earned a PhD from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), had been awarded three honorary doctorates and held the distinction of being the second African American and first Baha’i to travel in space.
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