Five West Virginia University studentsfour of whom are majors in the Eberly College of Arts and Sciencesare among the 14 finalists for West Virginia’s Undergraduate Researcher of the Year.

The award, along with citations for two runners-up, will be presented by the West Virginia Experimental Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (WV EPSCoR) and the National Science Foundation at the Second Annual Undergraduate Research Day at the State Capitol in Charleston on March 1. The first place winner will receive $1,000, with $500 going to the first runner-up and $300 to the second runner-up.

The competition, which is sponsored by the Council on Undergraduate Research, NASA WV Space Grant Consortium, WV EPSCoR and the West Virginia IdeA Networks of Biomedical Research Excellence (WV-INBRE), is designed to showcase the best undergraduate research among West Virginias college and university students. Finalists were selected from the 72 student researchers chosen as participants in the program. All 72 research projects will be displayed in the State Capitol, and the students will have the opportunity to present their work in poster format to members of the State Legislature and Executive Branch as well as the general public from 9:30 a.m. until 2 p.m. Tuesday, March 1.

The Eberly College of Arts and Sciences finalists, their research project titles and faculty advisers are:

• John Deal, computer science/information technology major from Kingwood,Fractal Analysis of Fingerprints,adviser: Dr. Charles Jaffe, professor of chemistry.

• Kristina Lebedeva Davis, biology major from Morgantown,Endotoxin (LPS) or Inflammation (TNF-a) Induce SOCS -3 mRNA Expression in Cardiac Myoblasts,adviser: Dr. Linda Vona-Davis, visiting assistant professor of biology.

• John Martin, III , chemistry major from McMechen,The Dynamics of the Guiding Center Atom,adviser: Dr. Charles Jaffe, professor of chemistry.

• Ryan Murphy, physics major from Philippi,Absorption Spectroscopy of Helium Ions in a Helicon Plasma Source,adviser: Dr. Earl Scime, chair of WVU s Department of Physics.

WVUs fifth finalist is College of Engineering and Mineral Sciences student Nathan Berry Ann of Morgantown. His project is entitled,Study of Gallium Nitride Overgrowth Techniques using Metal Organic Chemical Vapor Deposition.

Undergraduate Research Day at the Capitol is an opportunity for our undergraduate students to showcase their research accomplishments,Dr. Fred King, Associate Dean for Research and Graduate Studies, pointed out.Often, these projects, the culminating experience of their education, contribute significantly to our fundamental understanding of the world around us as well as our ability to solve problems facing that world. The experience is enriched by their interaction with faculty mentors who are the leaders in their chosen fields of scholarship.

Other educational institutions that produced finalists include WVU Institute of Technology, Alderson Broaddus College, Bluefield State College, University of Charleston, Shepherd University and Marshall University.

For more information on Undergraduate Research Day at the Capitol, contact Dr. Fred King, associate dean for research and graduate studies, Eberly College of Arts and Sciences, at Fred.King@mail.wvu.edu or 304-293-4611.