Road Trip...National Conference on Undergraduate Research

What does it take to get ten student presenters to the National Conference on Undergraduate Research in Asheville, North Carolina?  First it starts with professors and dedicated students working on research projects, applying to be a part of the conference, being accepted, and then figuring out how to get there.  In this case, we loaded up ten students (from biology, art, and psychology) and two profs into a twelve passenger van and spent many hours on the road.

The conference was held at the University of North Carolina Asheville, which was the perfect place to be this time of year with beautiful flowering trees everywhere.  We were able to explore talks and posters from a variety of fields, get new research ideas, take in a few sights, and support the work of Trinity students.  

Eric Los describing his survey of animal biodiversity on Trinity's campus.

Lauren Kuipers presenting her poster on the plants of Trinity's wildflower basin.

On the drive home, we made a short stop into the far eastern section of Great Smoky Mountains National Park and enjoyed the beauty of God's creation together.

Yellow trillium (Trillium luteum), which is found only in the Smokey Mountains area

Dwarf crested iris (Iris cristata)