Published on October 26, 2021 by Sean Flynt  
The seal of Samford University
The seal of Samford University

Undergraduate research and professional mentoring are key emphases of Samford University’s Howard College of Arts and Sciences (HCAS). Five HCAS students were recently chosen to present their faculty-mentored research at 2021 Southern Conference (SoCon) Undergraduate Research Forum (SURF) Conference at Wofford College Oct. 29-30.

Georgia Buchanan, Merritt Cahoon, George (Whitman) Kent, Chloe Pappa, Aubrie Strange and Sarah Thomas will join 150 students, faculty and staff from all 10 SoCon institutions for the two-day event featuring research projects in the arts, humanities, and STEM disciplines.

Communication and media student Georgia Buchanan (mentor Julie Hedgepeth Williams) will present “A Story is Born: A study on the historical relationship between American Television and the pregnancy narrative.”

Math and computer science student Merritt Cahoon (mentor Ishfaq Ahmad) will present “Robot-ouille: The In-Home Cooking Assistant that Serves Independence with Food.”

Communication and media student Aubrie Strange (mentor Clay Carey) will present “Acknowledging the Accent: Broadcast news speech style and its effect on personal confidence in natural manner of speech."

Biological and environmental sciences student Sarah Thomas (mentor David Johnson) will present “Further molecular characterization of novel planarian (Phagocata sp.) from Blount County, Ala.”

Psychology students George (Whitman) Kent and Chloe Pappa (mentor Kimberly Wood) will present “Social Media and Anxiety’s Effect on Critical Thinking.”

Samford psychology professor Amanda Hiles Howard and Human Development and Family Science chair Kristie Chandler will accompany the students to Wofford College as faculty liaisons.

 
Samford is a leading Christian university offering undergraduate programs grounded in the liberal arts with an array of nationally recognized graduate and professional schools. Founded in 1841, Samford is the 87th-oldest institution of higher learning in the United States. Samford enrolls 6,101 students from 45 states, Puerto Rico and 16 countries in its 10 academic schools: arts, arts and sciences, business, divinity, education, health professions, law, nursing, pharmacy and public health. Samford fields 17 athletic teams that compete in the tradition-rich Southern Conference and ranks 6th nationally for its Graduation Success Rate among all NCAA Division I schools.