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Revolution and rap: Augsburg student researches Arab Spring

Cantrall_research“Music is more than organized sound; it can be a message from the heart of humanity,” according to Robert Stacke, Augsburg College associate professor of music. “Music can motivate a population in a manner that words alone cannot do. It is a powerful tool that can inspire political action and send its message to the world.”

Since 2010, political protests and revolts have erupted in more than a dozen Arab nations, and one of the American media’s most significant impacts on the demonstrations came from a medium that is, perhaps, least expected. Continue reading “Revolution and rap: Augsburg student researches Arab Spring”

Augsburg College students share research findings

URGOconferenceNearly three dozen undergraduate students will present findings from their on-campus research during the URGO Summer Research Conference from July 25-26.

Augsburg College’s Office of Undergraduate Research and Graduate Opportunity (URGO) provides summer research grants for students interested in professional study. Students further classroom learning with critical thinking and thoughtful analysis through faculty-led research that complements their degree programs.

This year, students’ topics include how individuals use tattoos to reflect self identity; studies of the motion of Daphnia magna, a water flea; the influence of rap music in the Arab Spring revolutions; and the expression of gender nonconforming identities, among others. Continue reading “Augsburg College students share research findings”

Sorum presents winning poster at AAAS annual meeting

sorum_aaasAt the 2012 American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) international meeting in Vancouver B.C., biology major Alex Sorum won the student poster competition in the medicine and public health category. Alex won with his poster titled, “Effects of Airway Epithelial Secretions on Pseudomonas aeruginosa Biofilm Formation” which presented the research he did as a Sundquist Scholar with biology assistant professor Jennifer Bankers-Fulbright during 2011.

Sorum did research on the bacteria, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, a bacteria that affects about 80 percent of cystic fibrosis patients by the age of 18. The bacteria is difficult to treat because it forms a biofilm in the lungs that protects it against antibiotics and white blood cells. He harvested secretions from a non-cystic fibrosis lung model and applied them to the bacteria to test whether the lung secretions would inhibit the formation of the biofilm. Continue reading “Sorum presents winning poster at AAAS annual meeting”

Representing Augsburg at our nation's Capitol

anthony_curThis spring during Undergraduate Research Week, Jeremy Anthony, a senior mathematics major, represented Augsburg College in the Council on Undergraduate Research Posters on the Hill event. This event held each year in Washington, D.C. showcases the research of 75 undergraduate students from colleges and universities across the country.

Anthony was one of 700 applicants who were selected to present his research at the Capitol. Mathematics professor John Zobitz, who was Anthony’s research adviser, said that the council chose projects that represented good examples of undergraduate research and also highlighted government support. Continue reading “Representing Augsburg at our nation's Capitol”

URGO Summer Research Oral Presentations

urgo_researchThis week, some of Augsburg’s undergraduate researchers will share the work they have been engaged in over the summer.

The office of Undergraduate Research and Graduate Opportunity (URGO) provides summer research grants for students interested in graduate or professional study. The program encourages undergraduate students to conduct research because it displays an understanding of current questions in a field, the ability to collaborate with others, and the persistence necessary to meet the demands of graduate study. Continue reading “URGO Summer Research Oral Presentations”

2009 URGO Summer Research Abstracts

urgo_researchersSome Augsburg students are discovering that summer isn’t just for working a few part-time jobs or perfecting one’s beach volleyball technique. This summer, 32 students will conduct research through the URGO program. And they’re not just studying algae growth. With their faculty mentors, this group is taking on topics like Minnesota’s percussion legends, saliva, Augsburg’s relationship with our neighbors, conspiracy fiction, aquatic insects, and the relationship between religiosity and depression…to name a few.

URGO—the office of Undergraduate Research and Graduate Opportunity—provides summer research grants for students interested in graduate or professional study. The program encourages undergraduate students to conduct research by requiring an understanding of current questions in a field, the ability to collaborate with others, and the persistence necessary to meet the demands of graduate study. Continue reading “2009 URGO Summer Research Abstracts”

What I did on my summer vacation

urgo_summer While the rest of us are enjoying a quiet afternoon on the lake or seeing the latest summer blockbuster, 16 Augsburg students will be in the lab or the library conducting research. Perhaps one of them will be blazing a trail to Augsburg’s next Nobel prize.

URGO — the office of Undergraduate Research and Graduate Opportunity — provides summer research grants for students interested in graduate or professional study. The program encourages undergraduate students to conduct research by requiring an understanding of current questions in a field, the ability to collaborate with others, and the persistence necessary to meet the demands of graduate study. Continue reading “What I did on my summer vacation”