Junior wins first prize at national research conference

First Prize for giving the best oral presentation on went to to junior Christine Ander, a chemistry major from Medina, N.Y.,  at the 4th annual Inspire Conference at the University of Southern Mississippi.

The conference featured 20 oral presentations and 40 poster presentations from undergraduates throughout the U.S. Christine received a $200 prize as part of her award.

Her presentation focused on research in polymer science she performed last summer at Case Western Reserve University in the laboratory of Professor Christoph Weder.  Her work involved the incorporation of various dye molecules into a polymer matrix. Read more about that here.

At SUNY Fredonia, Christine carries out undergraduate research with Professor Philip Kumler, who noted that polymer systems she worked on  "have potential use as sensors that will respond, via a color change, to various stimuli, such as temperature change or stretching."

Christine plans to return to Case Western Reserve this summer (2007) to continue her research with Professor Weder.

The Inspire Conference was founded at the University of Southern Mississippi specifically for undergraduate students who are doing research in polymer science or materials science.