Honors College Scholars Recognized by National Organizations

Thursday, September 22, 2016

Three UNCW Honors College students have been recognized by national organizations for their research and academic excellence.

Senior Audrey Taylor is among four students in the U.S. selected as a 2016 Portz Scholar. Jin-Si Over was a recipient of an “Outstanding Oral Presentation” award at the recent NOAA Hollings Science & Education Symposium. Kory Enneking, marine biology and environmental studies, was selected as the Marine Aquarium Societies of North America Undergraduate Scholarship winner for 2016-17.

Taylor’s research paper was among 42 papers reviewed by the Portz Awards and Grants Committee. Her research uses the chemistry of ancient plant compounds to investigate past climate change, which ultimately contributes to a better understanding of current and future climate dynamics, said Taylor, a geography major and UNCW Distinguished Research Scholar. Her thesis demonstrates the ecological sensitivity of the central Portuguese coast and its vulnerability to North Atlantic climate change. She will present her paper at the National Collegiate Honors Conference in Seattle on Oct. 15. The Portz Scholars Program began in 1990 to enable NCHC to acknowledge John and Edythe Portz’s many contributions to Honors education.

Senior Jin-Si Over, a UNCW Wilmington Fellow and UNCW Distinguished Undergraduate Research Scholar, was a recipient of an “Outstanding Oral Presentation” award at the recent NOAA Hollings Science & Education Symposium. Her paper, “Quantifying Shoreline Change Using Aerial Orthophotogrammetry in a Regime of Rising Sea Level,” was recognized in the “Resilient Coastal Communities” division.

Over, a geology major and oceanography minor, was among the 163 students who presented during the three-day symposium. The Ernest F. Hollings Undergraduate and Educational Partnership Program with Minority Serving Institutions Undergraduate Scholars conducted 10-week paid internships with NOAA. The scholars represented more than 85 universities in the U.S. The internships culminated with the scholars presenting their results at the annual symposium in Silver Spring, MD.

Senior Kory Enneking, the recipient of the Marine Aquarium Societies of North America Undergraduate Scholarship, will receive a $4,000 scholarship. The award was presented to Enneking at the 28^th annual Marine Aquarium Conference of North America in San Diego on Sept. 10. The scholarship is presented annually to an outstanding undergraduate student who is seeking a degree in a marine science field, is active in the marine aquarium hobby and has a strong record of academic excellence.

Audrey Taylor