Several MWCC students presented at the 30th Annual Massachusetts Undergraduate Research Conference, held at UMass Amherst on April 19, 2024. This conference features student presentations on research projects that they developed as part of their degree. The conference brings together students and their faculty mentors from public colleges and universities throughout the state, and included over 800 presenters from over 60 content areas. While most student presenters are seniors, several community colleges participate as well, highlighting the importance of research and the development of student work early in their academic careers. In order to be accepted for this conference, students had to submit an abstract for review, complete tehri research, and design a poster that summarized their work. At the conference, students explained their research and answered questions from attendees. In addition to three MWCC student presenters, MWCC faculty George LoCascio served as a faculty mentor on a presentation by a student from FSU whose research project was conducted with Professor LoCascio at MWCC.
MWCC’s student presenters included:
Anthony Gonzalez
Faculty Sponsor: Daniel Soucy
A Critique of Moral Nativism as a Justification for Ethical Structuralism
Anthony’s presentation examined an argument on moral nativism that has recently been developed by several scholars, arguing that the appeal to moral nativism may be insufficient for many reasons.
Veronica Blythe Shalom Grubb
Faculty Sponsor: Daniel Soucy
Comparative Analysis of Malaria Vaccines: A Literature Review
Veronica’s presentation discussed the development of recent vaccines for malaria, offering material to educate laypeople about the need for malaria vaccines, the challenges with vaccination against Plasmodium, the mosquito that spreads the disease, and the progress being made.
Roland Wesley Larsen
Faculty Sponsor: Daniel Soucy
Debord, Baudrillard, and Authentic Social Relations in the Digital Age
Roland’s presentation examined the works of Guy Debord and Jean Baudrillard on matters of socioeconomics, authenticity, media, and the process of how information is relayed, focusing on authenticity in social relations.
Maxwell Bollous (former MWCC student, now at FSU)
Faculty sponsor: George Locascio
Effects of Smokewater Germination on Little Bluestem Development
Research conducted in the MWCC greenhouse demonstrated that exposure to smoke derived from plants may support conservation efforts, even in New England, which may prove important with the increasing frequency of fire due to climate change.