Thursday, March 21, 2019

UNCW will welcome nearly 200 students and faculty from across the state to campus March 22-23 for the 116th annual North Carolina Academy of Science Meeting.
 
"Hosting the NCAS annual meeting provides UNCW with an opportunity to showcase its commitment to applied learning," said Jess Boersma, associate dean for student success, policy and undergraduate scholarship in the College of Arts and Sciences.
 
The university previously hosted the NCAS meeting in 2002, and David Webster, CAS senior associate dean for graduate programs, research and innovation, served as the conference organizer. Dean Aswani Volety envisioned bringing the meeting back to UNCW in 2019 after speaking with NCAS board members such as President Jean-Luc Scemama (ECU) and Karen Guzman (Campbell University), Boersma said.
 
“The meeting creates connections among researchers from across the state, encouraging them to come to campus to learn from each other, and introduces students and faculty from other institutions to UNCW,” he added.
 
According to Boersma, Webster and the meeting’s keynote speaker, Stuart Borrett, interim associate provost of research and a professor in the Department of Biology and Marine Biology, are keen faculty mentors dedicated to supporting the next generation of researchers.
 
The meeting is open to NC high school, undergraduate, graduate and doctoral students as well as post-docs and faculty members from institutions across the state. The opening session and poster presentation will begin at 6 p.m. in the Burney Center. See the meeting schedule for more information.
 
UNCW senior Samantha Fisher, an honors student majoring in marine biology, is presenting “Developing a polar science curriculum for 9th-12th grade students” under the guidance of Steven D. Emslie, professor of marine ornithology and paleoecology.
 
UNCW was recently elevated from “Master’s Colleges & Universities: Larger Programs” to “Doctoral Universities: High Research Activity” status, according to the Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education. This classification recognizes the university’s efforts to advance research and scholarly activities, as outlined in UNCW’s Strategic Plan.
 
-- Mary Ann Fearing ’19 and Andrea Monroe Weaver
 
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