Academy Students Share Findings at NCSSSMST Student Research Conference

by Rachel Metcalfe, Academy Avatar

For six rising seniors at the Academy, the beginning of their summer started with a bang.

Shortly after the conclusion of their junior years, they traveled to Annapolis, Maryland, for research presentations at the National Consortium for Specialized Secondary Schools of Math, Science, and Technology (NCSSSMST) Student Research Conference.  These students prepared and presented research, while also enjoying the sights of the beautiful Naval Academy campus.

For Sammi Hawtrey, a senior from Boone County, the conference provided another opportunity to share her findings from work accomplished during her junior year.  “I wanted to attend to have another opportunity to present my research and also hear about the other research that students similar to myself have been doing all over the country,” she said.

114 students were in attendance presenting on a variety of topics, ranging from nanoparticles to rugby to sound waves.  A combination of oral and poster presentations took place over two days during the conference. The six Gatton attendants were evenly split between the two presentation formats. Participants Andrea Eastes, Lori Lovell, and Sammi Hawtrey all reported on their genome research that they had completed over the previous two semesters at the academy. Jack Ferguson showed off his chemistry expertise, while Ben Rice presented his physics research and Nick Zolman informed the others about his astronomy breakthroughs.

When they weren’t presenting, students took yard tours of midshipmen training boats, visited the Naval Academy Museum, and mingled with all the other students at the conference from 24 participating member consortium schools. The students also played recreational sports with the midshipmen and learned from them how life at sea works. Additionally, students were able to partake in a laser light session with a Naval Academy professor, studying how light passes through different objects. The experience was an excellent way for the students to see the academy as a possible college option as well.

Although there were lots of neat experiences, attendee Nick Zolman decided that his favorite part was when the head of the conference approached him after he had presented to discuss his research. “He was really interested in my study about supernovae in the CANDELS Hubble Space Telescope and wanted to learn more,” he said.

Hawtrey fondly listed her time on the Yard Patrol boat as the most memorable part of the conference. “I loved seeing the living quarters and engine room. The captain even let me drive,” she added.

The research conference was a success for the Gatton Academy students. Hopefully more will continue to present their findings at conferences like these, and gain not only research experience, but also academic advancement from the other students and their presentations.

Student presentations at the conference included:

• Andrea Eastes (’12) of Mayfield gave an oral presentation titled “Isolation of the Bacteriophage Liberi”
• Jack Ferguson (’12) of Union presented a poster titled “Synthesis of Fluorescein Isothiocyanate Functionalized Nanoparticles”
• Samantha Hawtrey (’12) of Union presented a poster titled “Isolation, Characterization, and Annotation: the Acquisition of a Novel Bacteriophage Genome”
• Lori Lovell (’12) of Florence gave an oral presentation titled “Isolation of Novus, a Novel Bacteriophage Isolated from Florence, Kentucky”
• Benjamin Rice (’12) of Somerset  presented a poster titled “Gamma-ray Spectra in Neutron-Based Explosives Detection Systems”
• Nicholas Zolman (’12) of Mount Sterling gave an oral presentation titled “A Light in the Darkness: Finding Type Ia Supernovae in the CANDELS Hubble Space Telescope Survey”

NCSSSMST, Rachel Metcalfe, Student Research Conference