Program Allows First-Generation Students to Work with Researchers
UNLV McNair Scholars Institute Teams Undergraduates with Top Faculty on Research to Foster Opportunities for Graduate Education
UNLV engineering student Juan Plata is the kind of undergraduate student graduate schools fawn over — a near perfect grade point average, influential member of his college's honor society, and a published researcher in the challenging field of biomedical engineering.
A first-generation college student and recent Colombian immigrant, Plata is one of 15 undergraduate students chosen to spend the summer working with top UNLV researchers as part of the McNair Scholars Institute. Coordinated through the UNLV Center for Academic Enrichment and Outreach, the federally funded institute aims to diversify the ranks of American faculty by providing access and research opportunities for first-generation and underrepresented college students.
Plata, who spent last summer with the institute researching molecular techniques that could result in reliable mobile sampling of DNA, hopes his academic success leads to a future in research and serves as a message to other underrepresented students that a career in higher education is possible.
"Latinos are underrepresented in science and engineering, and the McNair program not only offered an opportunity to get a head start on my graduate studies, but also a chance to share what I've learned with other minority students considering a career in research," said Plata.
He'll spend this summer working with engineering professor Woosoon Yim on a project examining ways to improve airway flow for people with obstructive sleep apnea.
Students will share the results of their research during the annual McNair Scholars Symposium Oct. 22 at UNLV. In addition to the research component, participants attend professional and financial aid workshops, doctoral studies preparation seminars, and have an opportunity to present their work at regional and national research conferences. Below is a list of participating students and their research topics. For more information on the McNair Scholars Institute, go to http://caeo.unlv.edu/Programs/McNair.
2008 UNLV McNair Scholars
- Kathleen Bell (Fine Arts) — First hundred years of filmmaking in Las Vegas
- Ava Bookatz (English) — Dynamics of chaos-theory in Thomas Bernhard's Heidenplatz
- Vascheral Carter (Education) — How music education affects academic performance
- Nydia Diaz (Cultural Studies) — La Malinche's role in Latin America women's literature
- Kimberly Hackstock (Social Work) — Kinship liaison and relative-child caregivers
- Amris Henry-Rodgers (Psychology) — Post-traumatic stress disorder in U.S. soldiers
- Shaida Jetha (Psychology) — Emotional memory and aging
- Julio Luna (Psychology) — How 6- and 12-month-old infants categorize faces
- Charles Mao (Business) — Effect of patents on innovation and access to pharmaceuticals
- Juan Plata (Engineering) — Biomedical engineering: Obstructive sleep apnea
- Sandra Ramos (Pschology) — Correlation between exotic dancers and childhood abuse
- Precious Rideout (Criminal Justice) — "Stop snitching" mind-set on criminal justice process
- Benjamin Watrous (Psychology) — Anxiety and bipolar disorders and neuro-cognitive deficit
- Chet Whitley (Kinesiology) — Effect of retrolocomotion on low back and hamstrings
- Ilse Zuniga (Political Science) — Examination of the powers and working of Federal Reserve
