Update: Aali Javid and Francisco Garcia won the Region VI "Best Paper" in their respective categories of presentation. The award comes with $250 (four awards were given out total). Garcia won for Mathematics/Computer Science, while Javid won for Health Sciences.
Three student members from University of the Sciences’ Alpha Chi Honor Society recently presented at the
Alpha Chi National Convention in San Diego, Calif., held from March 31—April 2, 2011. Francisco Garcia ComSci’11, Suzanne George BI’11, and myself were accompanied on the trip by Dr. Alison Mostrom, associate professor of biological sciences and the University’s Alpha Chi chapter sponsor. Dr. Suzanne Murphy, dean of Misher College of Arts and Sciences and Dr. Rodney Wigent, dean of College of Graduate Studies sponsored the presentations.
(from left to right: Aali Javid BI’10/PharmD’11, Dr. Alison Mostrom, Suzanne George BI’11, and Francisco Garcia ComSci’11)
The convention, themed “Go West, Alpha Chi”, drew more than 400 honor students from over 80 colleges and universities across the nation. Overall, there were 270 student presenters. Student papers, readings, performances, and exhibits were the centerpiece of the convention and offered students an opportunity to gain valuable presentation experience and have a strong resume-booster.
Vying for the “top presenter” prize of $200, Garcia presented Nature-inspired Algorithms, George presented Using Two-dimensional Gel Electrophoresis for the Analysis of Proteins, and Javid presented Stuttering: The Pathophysiology, Treatment, and Implications of a Surprisingly Debilitating Disorder.
Heather Triplett Biehl, winner of the 2011 Distinguished Alumni Award gave the convention’s keynote address entitled, Living a Life of ‘Intelligence’. Biehl inspired students with her vast life experiences which have included working as a strategic analyst with the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) for 10 years, serving as a senior political analyst for the Office of Near East and South Asian Analysis, as a senior Iraqi analyst and on Iranian and counterterrorism issues and lastly writing the National Counterterrorism Implementation Plan for the CIA. In 1989, as a student member of Alpha Chi, Biehl presented a paper at the Alpha Chi Convention in New Orleans.
Alpha Chi continued their Literacy Service Project titled One Book at a Time as chapters donated over 800 new children’s books to the Thomas Jefferson Elementary School in San Diego. For the second year, the project was done in collaboration with Reading is Fundamental (RIF). Due to an illness, Carol H. Rasco, CEO of Reading is Fundamental was unable to attend and speak at the conference; however, Dr. Judy Cheatham, vice president for literacy services at RIF presented The Power of a Book.
Next year’s convention will be held March 22-24, 2012, in Baltimore, Md., at the Hyatt Regency.
Alpha Chi is a national general scholarship society which recognizes academically outstanding students in the top 10 percent of their class. The Pennsylvania Kappa Chapter at University of the Sciences is open to students of all majors, expect those which are eligible for Rho Chi and Psi Chi membership (students are eligible for selection into only one of these honor societies).
For more information about Alpha Chi Honor Society, please contact Dr. Alison Mostrom at a.mostro@usciences.edu.