Four Hollins University students were recognized for their outstanding research presented April 3 at the 32nd Annual Blue Ridge Undergraduate Research Conference at Ferrum College in Ferrum, Virginia.
Thirteen Hollins students participated, presenting seven research posters, Director and Professor of Environmental Studies Renee Godard said. Participating institutions included Johnson University, Milligan University, King University, Franklin & Marshall College, Sweet Briar College, Ferrum College, Eastern Tennessee State University, Georgia State University, Lincoln Memorial University, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and the University of Tennessee, Knoxville.
Two Hollins presentations received top honors: Best Biology Poster and Best Physical Science award.
“The students learned a lot and did an amazing job representing Hollins,” Godard said.
Natalie Tollison ’27 and Anna Starman ’26 won Best Biology Poster for “Measuring Foraging Load Size and Activity in Leaf-cutter Ants in Rural and Urban Ecuador.” Their research investigated how time, weather, and human disturbance affect leaf-cutter ant foraging activity.
Su Gursoy ’28 and Emily Bryant ’28 won the Best Physical Science award for “Synthesis and Characterization of Heteroleptic Copper(I) and Silver(I) Complexes with Fluorinated Bipyridine and Phenanthroline Ligands.” Their research focused on organic light-emitting diodes, or OLEDs.
Also attending the conference were: Assistant Professor of Biology Shaun Davis, Gianna Jones ’28, Abbie Miller ’28, Esther Frederickson ’28, Sabrina Gubbels-Wingo ’28, Grace Glerum ’27, Finley Bolt ’27, Grasyn Herbst ’27, Holly Hylton ’26, and Karli Craighead ’26.
