A research team of computer science and math majors from UNA were recently chosen from from more 3,500 submissions to present their projects at the 2013 National Conference on Undergraduate Research (NCUR). The conference will take place April 11-13 at the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse in La Crosse, Wis.

“This is a nationally recognized undergraduate research conference where our students will present their work to faculty and peers from over 300 universities and colleges from around the globe,” said Cynthia Stenger, interim chair of the UNA department of mathematics. “This experience will change their perception of the discipline and what they can contribute to it. We are also going to represent UNA and Alabama in a positive way.”

The team set out last fall to teach on projectile motion through a computer simulation and a model rocket launch. The students will now have an opportunity to present their work and publish a research paper, Stenger said.

“At this point, the Math/CS research teams are writing up their results in papers and preparing their LaTeX Beamer presentations,” she said. “There have been a lot of bumps in the road, but anything worth accomplishing is going to be difficult. The reward of seeing our students immersed in a mathematics or CS problem is worth any of the challenges we have faced.”

James Jerkins, instructor of computer science, said learning to conduct research without the constant guidance of an instructor is a difficult but necessary challenge for the team to become a community of scholars. Finding money to support the conferences has also been a challenge, Stenger said.

“When we started, we didn’t expect to have such a large team in the first year,” she said. “Without the support of UNA administration, we could not have had 12 students present last fall and could not have these 10 presenting this spring.”

Stenger said she expects students to be inspired by the success and hard work of the current team.

“We expect that new projects will come from this exchange of ideas,” she said. “The most exciting part for me is seeing the students start to delve deeply into a mathematical concept, to see them take ownership of the mathematical idea and use it in new and innovative applications. I know it sounds corny, but that is what excites a teacher.”

Patrick Lindsay, a senior who writes the team’s computer simulation, said he has learned a lot about his field of study for later in life. He said he has also been able to use his participation in the research as his capstone project for the Honors Program.

“This is the first time I’ve been to a real academic conference, so I’m pretty excited about it,” he said. “We’re going to take this to Florence High School and teach a few lessons with it to see if a lesson based around the simulation is more effective than a standard lecture. I’m pretty confident it will be, but I’m looking forward to seeing some results.”

Atticus Wright, also a senior honors student, said he works on both the education and rocket sides of the project to build a custom flight computer that will help collect data for the lesson and presentation.

“When it comes to the research, we try and split teaching the lesson so that each of us plays a part,” Wright said. “Education fascinates me because it plays such a crucial and profound role in shaping who we become. Through our efforts, we hope to make undergraduate research a bigger emphasis at UNA.”