Past Symposia
5th Annual Virginia-North Carolina LSAMP Alliance Symposium
Johnson C. Smith University
March 25 to March 26, 2012
Johnson C. Smith University will be hosting the 5th Annual Virginia-North Carolina LSAMP Alliance Symposium beginning Sunday, March 25, 2012 - Monday, March 26, 2012. The symposium will host Faculty, Staff, and Undergraduate Students from each of our alliance partners (University of Virginia, Bennett College, Elizabeth City State University, George Mason University, St. Augustine's College, Virginia Commonwealth University, Virginia Polytechnic Institute & State University), to further our goals of increasing the quality and quantity of underrepresented minority (URM) students successfully completing undergraduate degrees in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields and who are well-prepared to pursue graduate school and careers in the STEM fields.
VA-NC LSAMP is a National Science Foundation (NSF) sponsored program with the mission to significantly increase the number of underrepresented minorities pursuing degrees in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM).
Undergraduate research is a key focus of the LSAMP program and the conference will allow undergraduate students from all eight university campuses the opportunity to present research to conference attendees as well as members of the JCSU community. In addition to the poster session, students and staff will lead and attend workshops focusing on increasing community among URM students in STEM, getting involved in research and internship, and preparing for post graduate opportunities.
7th Annual VA-NC Alliance Research Symposium
Elizabeth City State University
April 6 to April 7, 2014
Keynote Speaker: Dr. Daphne Y. Rainey
Dr. Daphne Y. Rainey recently joined North Carolina Central University (NCCU) as Director of the new Integrated Biosciences PhD Program. Before joining NCCU, she served as Executive Director of STEM Advancement and Special Assistant to the Associate Vice Chancellor of Academic Affairs at NC A&T State University where she worked to create a continuum of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) education for grades 9-12 through undergraduate studies. Dr. Rainey brought her passion for STEM education from her work at the National Science Foundation. As Program Director with the National Science Foundation's Division of Undergraduate Education, Dr. Rainey served to develop faculty and institutional capacity in current trends in undergraduate education in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics at the undergraduate level. There, she served as program lead for the Presidential Awards for Excellence in Science, Mathematics and Engineering Mentoring Program and as one of the team of program directors for the Math and Science Partnership Program dedicated to developing science and math capacity at the K-12 grade levels by incorporating University faculty. Prior to her work in STEM education, Dr. Rainey was a Bioinformatics Researcher at Virginia Tech, and in the plant biotechnology industry in The Netherlands. She received her PhD in Biology from the University of Colorado, and graduated with Bachelor of Science from the University of Minnesota.
8th Annual VA-NC Alliance Research Symposium
George Mason University
March 29 to March 30, 2015
Keynote Speaker: Dr. Mark J. T. Smith
Mark J. T. Smith received his B.S. degree from MIT and his Ph.D. degrees from the Georgia Institute of Technology, all in Electrical Engineering. He joined the Electrical and Computer Engineering (ECE) faculty at Georgia Tech in 1984, where he remained for the next 18 years. Although he worked primarily on the Atlanta campus, he also spent several terms during 1991-93 on the European campus in Metz, France. Smith also served a four year term as the Executive Assistant to the President of Georgia Tech during his time there. In January, 2003, he joined the faculty at Purdue University as Head of the School of Electrical and Computer Engineering. A current member of the board, Smith has been engaged with the national ECE Department Heads Association, where he has served as Secretary/Treasurer, Vice President, and President from 2005-2008.
In 2009, Smith was named Dean of the Purdue University Graduate School. Presently, he is a member of the Board of Directors and the Executive Committee for the Council of Graduate Schools and a member of the GRE Board of Directors. Additionally, Smith is the Co-PI and architect of the CIC AGEP grant titled “Professorial Advancement Initiative,” is a member of the Purdue University ADVANCE team, and was the former PI of the Midwest Crossroads AGEP grant.
Smith’s scholarly interests are in the area of digital signal processing. Over the years, he has supervised and graduated 30 Ph.D. students. He holds the Michael & Katherine Birck endowed chair in ECE at Purdue, is a Fellow of the IEEE, and is a former IEEE Distinguished Lecturer. He has six patents and has authored or co-authored more than 260 publications, including six international standards publications. Smith is the co-author of two introductory books, Introduction to Digital Signal Processing and Digital Filtering; co-author of the graduate level textbook, A Study Guide for Digital Image Processing; co-editor of the book, Wavelets and Subband Transforms; and editor of a new book, GPS for Graduate School – Students Share Their Stories.
In addition to professional service, teaching, and research, Dr. Smith’s past includes training and competition in the sport of fencing. He was a national champion of the United States in 1981 and 1983 and is a two-time member of the U.S. Olympic team (1980 and 1984).
Congratulations to the following 2015 presentation winners!
Oral Presentations
First Place - Olivia Leaven, Bennett College, Serious Psychological Distress Disparities by Sex and Age
Second Place - David Vasquez, Virginia Tech, Examining the relationship between dominance status and disease transmission in house finches
Third Place - Alia Woffard, Elizabeth City State, Early Effects of Chloroquine in Embryonic Chickens
Poster Presentations
First Place - Korey Smith, Johnson C. Smith University, Examining working memory capacity and neural activity in prefrontal and posterior parietal cortices
Second Place - Ama Agyapong & Tanviben Patel, Elizabeth City State, Optical Properties of Niobium (Nb) and Tantalum (Ta) Doped Vanadium Dioxide (VO2) Thin Films
Third Place - Tai'Brionne Dozier, Johnson C. Smith University, Developmental Cannabinoid Exposure Alters MAP2 and Nf-200 Expression in Zebra Finch Song Regions
6th Annual VA-NC Alliance Research Symposium
Virginia Commonwealth University
April 21 to April 22, 2013
Keynote Speaker: Dr. Stephanie G. Adams
Dr. Stephanie G. Adams is currently professor and department head of the Engineering Education Department in Virginia Tech's College of Engineering where she has served in this position since August 2011. Dr. Adams is a highly accomplished scholar and administrator in the world of engineering education.
Adams is a past recipient of a National Science Foundation CAREER Award, given to support her goal of designing, developing, and validating a model for the facilitation of effective teaming in the engineering classroom. She also received the American Society of Engineering Education's 2008 DuPont Minorities in Engineering Award. In 2006, she was an invited participant at the U.S. Frontiers in Engineering Symposium hosted by the National Academy of Engineering.
Adams' resume also includes a 3-year stint at Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) where she served as associate dean for undergraduate studies and associate professor of mechanical engineering. Prior to joining VCU, Dr. Adams spent 10 years at the University of Nebraska at Lincoln from 1998 until 2008. She started as an assistant professor of industrial and management systems engineering, and within four years moved to an administrative track. In 2002 she joined the university's graduate studies office as interim associate dean and special assistant to the dean. In 2004, she was promoted to the assistant dean for research in engineering. In 2007 she was named the associate dean for undergraduate education.
Concurrently, from 2005 until 2007 Adams also served as a program officer with the National Science Foundation's Division of Engineering Education. Her responsibilities at the government agency included organizing and conducting review panels on a variety of topics related to research in engineering education. She also managed the division's budget of some $10 million. She simultaneously spent the 2005-06 academic year as an American Association for the Advancem ent of Science/National Science Foundation Science and Engineering Policy Fellow.
Adams is an honors graduate of North Carolina A&T State University, where she earned her bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering in 1989. In 1991 she was awarded her master's degree is systems engineering from the University of Virginia, and she received her doctorate in interdisciplinary engineering from Texas A&M in 1998.
She holds membership in a number of organizations and presently serves on the American Society of Engineering Education's Board of Directors and on the National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration Interdisciplinary Scientific Environmental Technology Cooperative Science Center's Advisory Board at North Carolina A&T State University.
2013 Symposium winners L to R: 2nd place poster winner, Derrick Williams, Jr. (SAU); 1st place oral winner, Esther Jackson (GMU); 3rd place poster winner, Ellie Okwei (U.Va.); 2nd place oral winner, Alysha Simmons (VT); 1st place poster winner, Jancarla Ocampo (VT); 3rd place oral winner, Brittnei Hall (ECSU).