Undergraduate Research Conference Talk & Poster Presentations
Senior MEFB student, Gabrielle Jarrett, impressed the judges at the 2024 UNH Undergraduate Research Conference (URC) with her original research presentation entitled “Patterns of microplastic deposition in salt marshes of the Hampton-Seabrook Estuary” (Fig 1). The URC is the largest of its kind in the US and this year boasted over 130 student presenters and well over 300 guests, family members, graduate students, and faculty in attendance. The judging panel, which is comprised of faculty members across each of the four departments of the College of Life Science and Agriculture, commented on the rigor of Gabrielle’s experimental design, the quality of her vibrant visual presentation, but above all, her poised and effective science communication. Her attention to detail earned her First Prize among stiff competition in the oral presentations with a generous cash award of $500 (Fig 2).
Gabrielle honed her talk through many practice sessions with member of our Lab as well as feedback from the URC Committee, who generously offered all the speakers a forum to practice in the days leading up to the event. Her thoughtful incorporation of feedback, coupled with her skills and creativity, made for a stellar presentation. Gabrielle’s parents were able to attend the oral presentation in person, and view the poster presentation sessions along with several members of our Lab. This work served as her Senior Capstone Experience and the data set she generated earned her co-authorship on a peer-reviewed publication (Brown, Moore, et al 2024) lead by DBS Chair, Bonnie Brown.
Fellow lab member and Junior MEFB student, Kailey Little, also made a strong showing at the event with a poster presentation outlining her research under the mentorship of the Moore Lab Masters Candidate, Alexandria Sangermano. Kailey’s poster, entitled “Snap, Crackle, Pop: The effect of environmental factors on sound production by the grass shrimp (Palaemonetes spp.) in a New England Salt Marsh” fielded enthusiastic participant interest and gave Kailey an ideal platform to share her research experience and science communication skills (Fig 3).