Mississippi College and Tougaloo College Undergraduates Partner at Research Symposium

MC chemistry professor Trent Selby and Bre Holmes, president of the MC student chapter of the American Chemical Society

Research dealing with Alzheimer’s disease, autism, and alternative medicines remain popular research topics for college students nationwide. The impact of climate change, methods of destroying cancer cells, studies of neonatal intensive care units are other subjects attracting studies on campuses.

On April 12, undergraduates from Mississippi College and Tougaloo College will present their latest research findings at a conference on the Clinton campus. The 16^th annual symposium is open to students in all disciplines doing undergraduate research.

Students from the two nearby Mississippi institutions will make poster and oral presentations in natural sciences, social science, humanities along with education.

MC’s student chapter of the American Chemical Society received a $1,000 grant from ACS and $300 more from its Mississippi section to help pay for the sessions. Other funds for the Spring symposium are coming from student chapter fund raisers.

Breanna Holmes serves as president of the American Chemical Society chapter on the Clinton campus. She successfully applied for the grants coming to the university.

“This is a great honor,” said Mississippi College chemistry professor Trent Selby. “We received one of only three available grants from ACS for this purpose.”

An Albertville, Alabama resident, Holmes is a former chemistry major who recently switched to electrical engineering.

Holmes leads an American Chemical Society student chapter at Mississippi College with 122 members. MC’s organization ranks among the best in the nation. The group engaged in more than 100 events in 2017-18 to rank 5^th best in the USA.

The ACS remains the world’s largest scientific society. The Washington-based professional development society consists of 150,000 members in over 140 nations.

To be eligible to receive symposium awards in April, students must submit an abstract of 1600 words or less to Mississippi College chemistry professor David Magers by a March 7 deadline.