National Conference on Undergraduate Research April 11-13, 2013 CONFERENCE PROGRAM Table of Contents Schedule of Events ........................................3 UW-La Crosse Open Houses ..................28-29 Letter from the Chancellor ............................5 Plenary Speakers ...................................30-31 NCUR® Information .......................................5 FAN Sessions .............................................32 NCUR® 2013 Logo Information .....................5 SESSIONS: NCUR® Oversight Committee ........................6 Visual Arts Exhibits in the Art Gallery ......34 Acknowledgements ...................................7, 9 Performing Arts Sesions .........................35 General Information ...............................10-12 Oral Sesions ............................................36 Wireless Access ..........................................14 Poster Sessions ....................................108 Transportation Information .........................16 Index .........................................................162 Session Information ...............................19-22 By Institute ............................................162 Professional Courtesy .................................22 By Presenter ..........................................166 NCUR® Proceedings ....................................23 By Subject .............................................178 Activities/Excursions ..............................25-26 NCUR® 2013 Personal Planner .................180 Special Sessions for Students ....................27 La Crosse Walking Map ............................184 With more than 70 national rankings and more than 200 academic programs, the University of Kentucky is a beacon, lighting the path forward in everything from agriculture to athletics. Nestled in the heart of Kentucky’s Bluegrass Region, UK prepares students for lives of leadership, meaning and purpose by opening the doors of opportunity, led by world-class faculty and researchers who are working every day to make Kentucky and the world better. We believe learning takes place where your creative fires are sparked and where your studies match your passions – where you “see blue.” That is the Kentucky Promise. It is as relevant today as it was at our founding in 1865. We honor that promise by opening the doors to your potential. #see blue www.uky.edu An Equal Opportunity University Schedule of Events | 3 Wednesday, April 10, 2013 Friday, April 12, 2013 4-9 p.m. Registration: 7 a.m.-5 p.m. Registration: Cartwright Center, Valhalla-Gunning Addition Cartwright Center, Valhalla-Gunning Addition 6:50-9:10 p.m. Evening Excursion 7:30-10 a.m. Continental Breakfast: Centennial Hall, Hall of Nations & Mitchell Hall, Gym Thursday, April 11, 2013 8:30-9:50 a.m. Poster 5 Session: Mitchell Hall, Fieldhouse 7 a.m.-5 p.m. Registration: Oral 5 Sessions: Classrooms Cartwright Center, Valhalla-Gunning Addition Performing Arts Sessions: Centennial Hall 7:30-10 a.m. Continental Breakfast: 10-11:15 a.m. Plenary Speaker Hazel Barton: Centennial Hall, Hall of Nations & Mitchell Hall, Gym Recreational Eagle Center 9-10:20 a.m. Poster 1 Session: Mitchell Hall, Fieldhouse 11 a.m.-1 p.m. Lunch: Mitchell Hall, Gym Oral 1 Sessions: Classrooms 11:30 a.m.- Fan Sessions 2: Centennial Hall & Wimberly Hall 10:30 a.m.-Noon Opening Ceremony & Plenary Speaker Will Steger: 12:30 p.m. Student Special Sessions 2: Cartwright Center Recreational Eagle Center • Preparation for and Application to Graduate and 11 a.m.-1 p.m. Lunch: Mitchell Hall, Gym Professional Schools — Room 339 Noon-1 p.m. Fan Sessions 1: Centennial Hall & Wimberly Hall • Journal of Young Investigators: The Premier Student Special Sessions 1: Cartwright Center Undergraduate Research Journal — Room 332 • Preparation for and Application to Graduate and 1-5 p.m. Graduate and Professional School Fair: Professional Schools — Room 339 Mitchell Hall, Fieldhouse • Training and Educational Opportunities for Students in 12:30-1:50 p.m. Poster 6 Session: Mitchell Hall, Fieldhouse Developmental Biology and Physiology — Ward Room Oral 6 Sessions: Classrooms • Journal of Young Investigators: The Premier Performing Arts Sessions: Centennial Hall & Undergraduate Research Journal — Room 332 Center for the Arts 1-5 p.m. Graduate and Professional School Fair: 2-3:20 p.m. Poster 7 Session: Mitchell Hall, Fieldhouse Mitchell Hall, Fieldhouse Oral 7 Sessions: Classrooms 1:15-2:35 p.m. Poster 2 Session: Mitchell Hall, Fieldhouse Performing Arts Sessions: Center for the Arts Oral 2 Sessions: Classrooms 3:30-4:50 p.m. Poster 8 Session: Mitchell Hall, Fieldhouse 2:45-4:05 p.m. Poster 3 Session: Mitchell Hall, Fieldhouse Oral 8 Sessions: Classrooms Oral 3 Sessions: Classrooms Performing Arts Sessions: Center for the Arts Performing Arts Sessions: Centennial Hall 4-5:30 p.m. NCUR® Oversight Committee Reception: Cleary Center 4-6 p.m. UW-L Open Houses 6-8:30 p.m. Evening Excursion 4:15-5:35 p.m. Poster 4 Session: Mitchell Hall, Fieldhouse 5:30-8:30 p.m. International Banquet: Oral 4 Sessions: Classrooms Recreational Eagle Center (doors open at 5 p.m.) Performing Arts Sessions: Centennial Hall 4-9 p.m. Evening Excursions Saturday, April 13, 2013 7:30-10 a.m. Continental Breakfast: Centennial Hall, Hall of Nations & Mitchell Hall, Gym 8 a.m.-Noon Registration: Cartwright Center, Valhalla-Gunning Addition 8:30-9:50 a.m. Poster 9 Session: Mitchell Hall, Fieldhouse Oral 9 Sessions: Classrooms Performing Arts Sessions: Center for the Arts 10-11:15 a.m. Plenary Speaker Bill Miller: Recreational Eagle Center 11 a.m.-1 p.m. Lunch: Mitchell Hall, Gym 12-5 p.m. Afternoon Excursion NCUR® Information | 5 What is NCUR®? The National Conferences on Undergraduate Research (NCUR®), established in 1987, is dedicated to promoting undergraduate research, scholarship and creative activity in all fields of study by sponsoring an annual conference for students. The idea for a national conference open to all undergraduates was Letter from the Chancellor conceived and first implemented at the University of North Carolina at Asheville (UNCA) in 1987. The first conference drew more than It’s my honor to welcome you to the University of 400 participants from schools across the country. Now in existence Wisconsin-La Crosse, your host for the 27th National for over 20 years, the conference regularly hosts more than 2,500 Conference for Undergraduate Research (NCUR®). students and their faculty mentors to present their research through We are a vibrant learning community rich with multi- posters, oral presentations, visual arts and performances. talented students, faculty and staff. Our warm and In addition to providing a forum for student presentations and friendly campus is situated between towering bluffs performances through its annual conference, NCUR® also: and the mighty Mississippi River. The natural beauty of the 7 Rivers Region on the Upper Mississippi • Organizes workshops for faculty and administrators who support makes this one of the most scenic areas in the undergraduate research and creative activity on campuses across the country country. • Collaborates with other national organizations in support of As a leader of a higher educational institution, undergraduate research and the improvement of undergraduate I understand the importance of research for education undergraduates. Over the past 20 years, there • Publishes a proceedings of the conference has been tremendous growth in undergraduate research at all types of institutions from community • Sponsors, with the Council on Undergraduate Research (CUR), colleges to research universities. What once was an annual institute for Undergraduate Research Program primarily an activity undertaken by faculty at research Directors institutions has become a tool to revitalize curricula • Sponsors special projects on issues relating to the goals of the as well as an important pedagogy for teaching and organization engaging undergraduate students. For this reason, the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse is honored to host NCUR® once again! When we hosted NCUR® in 2009, it proved to be an exceptional event. We are excited to welcome more than 3,000 students, ® faculty and administrators from around the country NCUR 2013 to our campus for NCUR® 2013. Logo Information This gathering of young scholars welcomes presenters from all institutions of higher learning and Appreciation for the from all corners of the academic spectrum. Because La Crosse Area has been of this annual conference, NCUR® creates a unique present from the days of environment for the celebration and promotion our earliest inhabitants. of undergraduate student achievement, provides When the giant glaciers models of exemplary research and scholarship, of the Ice Age retreated and helps to improve the state of undergraduate north, they left the La Crosse area virtually untouched. education. I commend all of you for your hard work In the 17th century, European settlers made their way through and scholarship and thank you for sharing your the rugged limestone formations and the narrow valleys until they knowledge with us. reached the edge of the 500-foot bluffs overlooking the Mississippi River Valley. There, Lt. Zebulon Pike, an American soldier and explorer, saw the Winnebago Indians playing a game with sticks that Sincerely, resembled a bishop’s crozier (or la crosse in French). Soon, “Prairie La Crosse” became a major trading post, as commodities, freight, and more settlers arrived in the area. The NCUR® 2013 logo features two bridges