STEM Symposium at Rowan College at Burlington County April 29

Students in the newly renamed Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) program at Rowan College at Burlington County will present the findings from their year-long research at the annual Undergraduate Research Poster Symposium on Friday, April 29 at the Mount Laurel campus, 12:30 p.m.-3 p.m. The symposium is in Room 320 at Laurel Hall.

Thomas Plummer, a Lockheed Martin Fellow, who is responsible for all cybersecurity and tactical programs within Lockheed Martin’s Mission Systems and Training, will be the guest speaker at 2 p.m.

“Rowan College at Burlington County’s Undergraduate Research Program challenges students at a level that cannot be found at most two-year institutions,” Rowan College at Burlington County President Paul Drayton said. “RCBC’s Undergraduate Research Program, and honors courses that will begin this fall, along with our partnership with Rowan University, a top research university, gives our students incredible opportunities in the STEM field that is well beyond what their peers can find at similar institutions.”

Students and faculty will discuss their innovative and original research projects in the fields of physics, chemistry, biology, engineering, and computer science.

This includes Newton’s Bench, which took first place in the Rowan College at Burlington County division at the college’s Startup Star competition in March.

The bench is a a kit of materials that enables students to take college-level physics courses online and perform the lab portion at home.

The kits are currently being sold in the college bookstore and students can now sign up for Principles of Physics I (PHY 110 and PHY 111) and General Physics I (PHY 210 and PHY 211), offered this fall, and complete the entire course, both the lecture portion and the lab portion, online.

The bench was created by students Daniela Velez, Jasvir Gill and Josh Eberle, with the help of Rowan College at Burlington County Physics Lecturer Greg Perugini.

“The skills obtained by the students in the Undergraduate Research Program can also be applied to internships with companies like Lockheed Martin, which supports the program, coursework at four-year institutions like Rowan University, and future STEM careers,” Rowan College at Burlington County Chemistry Instructor Dr. Laura Stewart said. “Undergraduate research at RCBC allows students to earn practical hands-on experience and gives them great advantages.”

Additional student research projects, overseen by Rowan College at Burlington County Biology Lecturers Dr. Katharine Milani and Jennifer Rienzi, were recently showcased at the STEM C2 Research Summit at Bergen Community College.

Groups of students analyzed the levels of mercury in Burlington County fish and the levels in wild-caught versus farm-raised salmon. Their findings will also be presented in the form of posters at the symposium on Friday.

Other projects at Friday’s symposium include a probe that could land on one of Jupiter’s moons, the study of the degradation of over-the-counter pharmaceutical products, the kinetics of chemical reactions, the creation of a random number generator circuit for security applications, a device that would allow the blind to see via a three dimensional tactile system, and the use of big data analytics tools in cyber situational awareness and defense.

Projects will be presented in a non-competitive poster format.

Food will be provided. This event is free and open to the public.

For more information on RCBC’s Undergraduate Research Program, please visit rcbc.edu/ugr.

The attached image was provided by Rowan College at Burlington County: (Left to right): Rowan College at Burlington County students Jasvir Gill, Daniela Velez, and (far right) Josh Eberle, with the help of (third from left) RCBC Physics Lecturer Greg Perugini, created “Netwton’s Bench,” a kit of materials that enables students to take college-level physics courses online and perform the lab portion at home.