Students enrolled in the School of Arts and Sciences and the School of Agriculture and Natural Resources at Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College celebrated National Undergraduate Research week by presenting their research in conferences across the United States.

Biology majors Jeremy Paradice from Moultrie, Jessica Wade from Douglas, David Howell from Fitzgerald, Caleigh Eberhardt from Orange Park, Fla., and Frank Garcia from Ty Ty presented their posters at the Association of Southeastern Biologists conference in Memphis, Tenn.  Garcia won third place for Excellence in Undergraduate Research. These students were accompanied by their advisors, Dr. Kingsley Dunkley, Dr. Ben Gahagen, Dr. Bal Khatiwada, and Matthew Aderholt.

Another group of ABAC biology majors which included Kristi Guerrero from Moultrie, Garrett Pierzchajlo from Tifton, Ashton Mckinnon from Fitzgerald, and Dominique Cook from Plant City, Fla., presented their work at the national Experimental Biology conference in Orlando, Fla. They were accompanied by their mentors, Dr. Heather Cathcart, Dr. Andrew McIntosh, Dr. Leslie Pryor-McIntosh, and Dr. Keetra Branch.

For the first time ever, ABAC also had students accepted into the National Council for Undergraduate Research (NCUR) conference, a prestigious national conference where students from top colleges and universities from around the country present their research. ABAC had eight students accepted, more than any other state college in Georgia.

“I’m so proud of our students,” said Dr. Jordan Cofer, Interim Dean of the School of Arts and Sciences. “Our students were just as good or better than students from some of the top universities in the country. They represented ABAC really well.”

Among the students presenting at NCUR were History and Government majors Jesse Page from Athens and Karmen Tovar from Lenox, Agriculture major Slaton Lunsford from McDonough, Agribusiness major John Taylor Elliott from Barney, Biology majors Emily Jackson and Hannah King from Tifton, and Agricultural Education majors Audrey Hawk from Sharpsburg and Sydney Conley from Ellijay. 

Dr. Russell Pryor, Dr. Michael Maw, Dr. Alex McLemore, Dr. Chris Beals, Dr. Hans Schmeisser, and Amy Warren advised these students.