The 2026 University of New Mexico McNair Scholars Research Conference

Session #5, 11:25 to 11:45 p.m. SUB Top Floor, Various Rooms
-----Scroll to the bottom to view abstracts in the Sched App or PDF----
Presentations:
Barcelona, Jamison - Major: Chemical Engineering, Engineering Physics, University of Colorado Boulder
Oral Presentation Session #5, Room: Lobo B
Title: Kinetic Modeling of Thiol-Yne Polymerizations

Cervantes, Leelu - Major: Psychology, University of Arizona
Oral Presentation Session #5, Room: Fiesta B
Title: How History Shapes Perception: Understanding Different Perceptions of Native Americans

Chavarria, Casandra - Major: Psychology, University of Arizona
Oral Presentation Session #5, Room: Santa Ana B
Title: Buscando el Sueño Mexicano: The Educational Goal Setting Behaviors of Mexico’s Returning Students

Guerrero, Adriana - Major: Kinesiology, Our Lady of the Lake University
Oral Presentation Session #5, Room: Isleta
Title: The Relationship Between Handgrip Strength and Cardiovascular Risk Factors in Older Women

Jones, Alissa - Major: Biochemistry and psychology, University of New Mexico
Oral Presentation Session #5, Room: Acoma A
Title: Prenatal Alcohol Exposure Alters Neuroimmune Gene Networks in a Brain Region-Specific Manner

King, Mikaela - Major: Atmospheric Science, University of Northern Colorado
Oral Presentation Session #5, Room: Lobo A
Title: Climate Change and Corn: Investigating Temperature and Precipitation Impacts on Yellow Dent Corn Harvest Timing across Iowa, Illinois, Minnesota, and Nebraska

Pellegrino, Sofia - Major: Psychology, New Mexico State University
Oral Presentation Session #5, Room: Acoma B
Title: Can people remember other's emotional intensity?

Poole, Joyce - Major: Art History / Visual Art, Northeastern Illinois University
Oral Presentation Session #5, Room: Fiesta A
Title: Portraiture - A tool for socioeconomic change

Smith, Heaven - Major: Psychology, California State University, Monterey Bay
Oral Presentation Session #5, Room: Santa Ana A
Title: "The Skills Employers Consider Important Were Refined by Some Students During the Pandemic"

Tavarez, Clara - Major: Chemistry, University of Maryland, College Park
Oral Presentation Session #5, Room: Trailblazer/Spirit
Title: Stabilizing CODEx: Evaluating Locking Techniques for Cryogenic Buffer Gas Cooling Cavity Ringdown Spectroscopy

Valdovinos-Arevalo, Lesly - Major: Human Nutrition and Food Systems, Washington State University
Oral Presentation Session #5, Room: Luminaria
Title: How Students with a Migrant Background Perceive Agriculture and the Influence It Has on Their Career Paths Presentation Canceled.

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