The 2026 University of New Mexico McNair Scholars Research Conference

Session #6, 11:50 a.m. to 12:10 p.m. SUB Top Floor, Various Rooms
-----Scroll to the bottom to view abstracts in the Sched App or PDF----
Presentations:
Araujo , Makani  - Major: Environmental Science, New Mexico State University
Oral Presentation Session #6, Room: Acoma A
Title: Investigating the Fate-and-Transport of Ammonium in Treated Produced Water (TPW)

Bebo, Jasmine - Major: Biology, University of New Mexico
Oral Presentation Session #6, Room: Trailblazer/Spirit
Title: Mapping Parasite Diversity: Uncovering Pinworms in Southwestern Lizards

Gomez, Victoria - Major: Cognitive Neuroscience, Harding University
Oral Presentation Session #6, Room: Santa Ana A
Title: The Role of Adverse Experiences in Emotional Responses

Hoskins-Warner, Nasya - Major: Psychology/Criminology, Concord University
Oral Presentation Session #6, Room: Acoma B
Title: The Emotional Impact of Unsolvable Anagram Tasks: A Study in Learned Helplessness

Lozada Gonalez , Everardo - Major: Electrical Engineering Technology, Michigan Technological University
Oral Presentation Session #6, Room: Lobo B
Title: Freshwater Sensor Integration in Lake Superior

Martinez Jr., Luis Abraham - Major: Finance and International Business, West Texas A&M University
Oral Presentation Session #6, Room: Fiesta B
Title: How do Cultural Immersion Experiences Effect College Students’ Professional Development Skills?

McDemos, Shane - Major: Chemistry, Cal Poly Humboldt
Oral Presentation Session #6, Room: Lobo A
Title: Water Adsorption on Mineral Aerosols

Nevarez, Alexis - Major: 1. Criminal Justice 2. Political Science 3. Psychology, University of Arizona
Oral Presentation Session #6, Room: Luminaria
Title: The Impact of Empathy-Based Immigration Appeals on Political Efficacy and Support for Undemocratic Actions

Ortega Guzman, Ruby - Major: Psychology, University of Northern Colorado
Oral Presentation Session #6, Room: Santa Ana B
Title: The Impact of Student Support Services: Sense of Belonging as a Factor in College Persistence 
 
Pompa, Princess  - Major: Criminology and Political Science, Our Lady of the Lake University
Oral Presentation Session #6, Room: Fiesta A
Title: Democracy on Trial: U.S. Resilience and Regression

Serna, Jade - Major: Biology, University of New Mexico
Oral Presentation Session #6, Room: Isleta
Title: Investigating Axon Degeneration and Inflammation in Zebrafish Models of Olfactory Damage

Oral Presentation Information for presenters:

• Format: 12-minute presentation, and 3 minutes for Q&A (15 min. total).  Please do not go over your allotted time so that everyone can have a full 15 minutes.
• Organization of presentations:  To enhance your presentation experience at our conference, there will be evaluators and moderators (faculty, staff and grad students) in attendance that will fill out evaluation forms to provide feedback to presenters. Therefore, your presentation will be at the exact time and location as it appears in the schedule. We will not deviate even if there is a no-show.
• Please bring your presentation saved onto a thumb drive/USB drive.  Please arrive at your presentation room early, locate the moderator and ask them to assist you in copying your presentation to the laptop desktop before the session begins.  Then eject your USB drive.  Open up your presentation and make sure it works properly.
• For more information about presentation format, equipment, etc click this link