This year, the annual Celebrate Undergraduate Research and Creativity Showcase (CURC), hosted by CSU TILT, held a virtual “iPoster” session  that yielded 13 awards for research conducted by Warner College undergraduate students.

The showcase features work from undergraduates at Colorado State University’s eight colleges as well as students from visiting institutions ranging from CSU Pueblo to the University of Wisconsin System.

CURC entries are from every discipline and are judged by faculty, graduate students and professionals across a wide range of disciplines. The poster session offers students an opportunity to showcase what they have learned as a result of their scholarly research, scientific inquiry or creative endeavors.

Warner College students from the Skills for Undergraduate Participation in Ecological Research (SUPER) Program took home 10 percent of the 70 awards given, including “Best in Show” and several “highest honors” and “high honors” awards.

The SUPER Program brings together teaching from the Department of Ecosystem Science and Sustainability (ESS) with research mentoring performed largely by Natural Resource Ecology Laboratory (NREL) scientists. The two-semester SUPER program prepares students for research-oriented jobs and graduate school by equipping them with time management, communication and data management skills.

Students then embark on a research project with a mentor from Warner College to guide them from literature review through research and presentation of results and experiences. Students can then present their research projects at poster sessions like CURC.

SUPER student Ryan Bridges took home three awards for two posters submitted. His SUPER poster was titled “Understanding Rainy Season Onset and Cessation in Western Uganda,” which won a WCNR College award and a second-place award from The Energy Institute.

Bridges said participating in a virtual session was a different experience, but the platform worked well in that he was able to see everyone’s work digitally. The experience did however provide some obstacles.

“The difficult part about the virtual presentation was not being able to work alongside my mentors and team members in person. Keeping in touch online was a challenge, but overall I think we created some pretty cool posters,” he said.

What Bridges said helped him to succeed in the iposter session was his work with his SUPER mentor Jonathan Salerno and his mentor Steven Fassnacht, both professors at Warner College of Natural Resources.

“Steve and Jonathan provided great support and feedback. Their guidance and expertise really allowed me to pave my own path and discover what I wanted to pursue for research for my projects.”

Stacy Lynn, SUPER instructor and research scientist at NREL, said the wins for SUPER program students reflect their commitment to undergraduate research in the area of ecology.

“These posters take a great commitment from both students and the mentors who guide and teach them,” Lynn said. “Their accomplishment in the CURC showcase highlights the SUPER program’s success in mentoring their undergraduate research.”

The following are CURC awards earned by Warner College Undergraduates:

 

Name	Poster Title	Mentor(s)	Award
Damian Moya Dept: ESS SUPER Student	How Weather and Precipitation Effects Pronghorn Use of Water Guzzlers in the Northern Utah Test and Training Range	Jennie Anderson; Christi Gabriel; Helen Trice	Best in Show
Alexa Binkley Dept: FWCB	Shelter or not to shelter: the effects of cover varieties on juvenile Burbot growth rates	C. Myrick; B. Vaage	Highest Honors
Emma Balunek Dept: ESS SUPER Student	Priority Area Survey of Colorado’s Newest State Park	David Anderson	Highest Honors
Ryan Bridges Dept: ESS SUPER Student	Understanding Rainy Season Onset and Cessation in Western Uganda	Jonathan Salerno	High Honors
Sierra Simpson Dept: ESS SUPER Student	Stakeholder Perspectives in Advance of a Discussion on Wolf Reintroduction in Colorado ‘a Social Science Analysis’	Mireille Gonzalez	High Honors
Marcee Meinhardt Dept: FWCB	Historic Fresh Snow Density in Fort Collins, Colorado, USA	Steven Fassnacht	High Honors
Naomi Stevens Dept: ESS SUPER Student	Amphibian Recognition Techniques and Effect on Population Dynamics	Randall Boone	High Honors
Katherine Millman, Dept: FWCB	Juvenile Mexican night-sergeant (Abudefduf declivifrons) populations affected by tide pool depths at Los Cerritos Beach in Baja California Sur, Mexico	Kate Huyvaert	College Honors
Kaitlyn Langemeier Dept: FRS	Hemp Virome Revealed and an Insider’s Look at Beet Curly Top Virus Distribution in Colorado	Judith Chiginsky; Punya Nachappa; Cris Argueso	College Honors
Ryan Bridges Dept: ESS	Local Forecast Accuracy and the Implications to Smart Irrigation Technology	Steven Fassnacht	College Honors
Sydney McAndrews Dept: FWCB	Characterization of tyrosine kinase receptors from the Y-organ transcriptome of the blackback land crab, Gecarcinus lateralis	Don Mykles; Vanessa Bentley	College Honors
Chenfan Li Dept: ESS	Ants in Yellowstone National Park	Sarah Whipple; Gillian Bowser	College Honors
Ryan Bridges Dept: ESS SUPER Student	Understanding Rainy Season Onset and Cessation in Western Uganda	Jonathan Salerno	Energy Institute Award – Second Place

The SUPER program is designed for Colorado State University (CSU) sophomores and juniors who are interested in gaining experience in ecological research. For more information, visit the SUPER program website. 

To view all submitted posters and see the full list of CURC award winners, visit the Celebrate Undergraduate Research and Creativity website.