Florah Mhlanga, Ph.D., professor of animal science, and Michael Nicodemus, Ph. D., assistant professor of environmental science, along with three A&E undergraduate students attended the 107th meeting of the Southern Association of Ag Scientists in Orlando, Fla. Melanie Shinsky, junior animal industry and business major from Farmington, N.M., and Jason Davis, senior animal science major from Harrison, Tenn., competed in the oral presentation competition sponsored by the Animal Science section of the SAAS. Colton Laws, senior environmental science major from Clyde, Texas, competed in the inaugural undergraduate research poster competition in the Agronomy section.
“Our students know how science works and how to express themselves scientifically, which is not always the case with undergraduate researchers,” Nicodemus said. “I think often undergrad research amounts to students doing the grunt work and never really understanding why. Our students have much more ownership over their work.”
A&E is proud to report that Laws won first place in the poster competition and Davis won third place in the oral presentation competition. Dylan Wann (ENVR, ’08), who is pursuing his MS in Sustainable Agriculture at UGA, took top place honors in the graduate student competition.
“I gained a lot of confidence in my field of study by presenting in front of several seasoned professionals in the animal science community,” Davis said.
Davis presented on the use of a naturally occurring source of sulfur to control gastrointestinal nematodes in small ruminants. Shinsky presented on utilization of tropical forage legumes to supplement a sudangrass diet fed to growing small ruminants.
“I realized that I could be much more professional than I usually see myself,” Shinsky said. “It was great to have professors from other universities come up to me after I presented and tell me I did a good job. It was also really cool to realize that ACU has a good reputation with some big state schools.”
Laws made his presentation over the comparison of warm season legume production under drip irrigation in the summer in a semiarid region of West Texas.
“I gained valuable experience from this convention,” Laws said. “This was the first time I have presented any of my own academic work and I will be able to draw from this experience if I ever get another opportunity.”
There are many benefits for students to participate in undergraduate research and public presentations.
“Another benefit for our students is the opportunity to network with scientists and other student-scientists in the field,” Nicodemus said. “Our students have made numerous contacts with professors, some of which have led to graduate work with those individuals.”
Despite our size, A&E shines in the area of undergraduate research compared to other schools.
“A&E is certainly a force to recon with,” Mhlanga said. “Our department compares very well with other departments mostly from large research institutions in terms of conducting quality research.”
“I would highly recommend students to participate in undergraduate research opportunities because it allows you take what you’ve learned in the classroom and put it into practice,” said Davis. “The hands on experience, taking ownership of an actual research project, and the opportunity to articulate your findings to professionals in that field is something that most undergraduate do not have the opportunity to participate in.”
We thank the College of Arts and Sciences Dean’s office, the Undergraduate Research Office, the Office of Research and Sponsored Programs, Dr. Ira Hill and Dr. Kent Anderson for their support in helping get our students to this point.
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