Clandestine serial numbers, cloning an enzyme for a potential future dietary supplement and the health of rural versus urban streams for aquatic invertebrates were among topics covered Wednesday at the 10th annual Columbia College Science Symposium.
Students filled Brouder Science Center with posters representing their research, explaining it to the dozens of visitors who approached.
More than 50 student research projects were represented.
Nicholas Pouk, a senior in forensic science and biology from St. Peters, was receiving a lot of attention for his project, “Using carbon dot nanocomposites towards a clandestine serial number stamping method.”
Carbon dots are a biological marker that can be melted into a type of plastic and applied to items to be marked, Pouk explained.
He envisions it being used to serial numbers on firearms that aren’t visible without using a specific wavelength of ultraviolet light.
Law enforcement can be supplied with the location on the firearm of the serial number and the wavelength needed to view it, he said.
It can be used as an anti-counterfeit method for bank notes, he said.
“It’s also cheap and simple,” Pouk said, noting another benefit.
He has a job lined up after graduation as a necropsy technician with Alta Sciences in Columbia.
Kristin Kelly, A Columbia senior in biology did her research on cloning malate dehygrogenase.
“It’s an important enzyme,” Kelly said.
The protein that results could be used as a dietary supplement, she said.
“It’s kind of like a vitamin,” she said.
She’s’ enrolled in the biomedical sciences master’s degree program at the University of Missouri, where she will study the immune system’s effects on cardiac performance after a heart attack.
Her research won the symposium’s Top Research Proposal award.
Nick Grabner, an Asland senior in biology, won the Department of Natural Sciences, Mathematics and Computer Science Award. He also was the keynote speaker at the symposium.
His researched looked at the health of invertebrates and water quality in urban and rural streams.
The urban stream is Flat Branch Creek in downtown Columbia and the rural stream is Turkey Creek, between Columbia and Ashland, one of the creeks in the Three Creeks Conservation Area.
Water quality was better in Turkey Creek, based on measures including oxygen and Ph levels.
“Alkalinity was high and it had lower phosphates,” Grabner said of Turkey Creek.
The invertebrate information was inconclusive, he said. There were more invertebrates in Flat Branch Creek, but a bigger variety in Turkey Creek.
Adrienne Mason, a senior in forensic chemistry from Searcy, Arkansas, presented her research on the reliability of eyewitness evidence.
It has been established previously that eyewitness evidence is not at all reliable and has resulted in many wrongful convictions, Mason said. Groups like The Innocence Project has worked to reverse many convictions using DNA evidence.
In her research, she staged a disruption in a classroom. A woman entered the room and loudly chastised the instructor for not meeting deadlines, then left.
“They overall did best on hair color,” Mason said. “They scored lower on height and clothing.”
There were 25 students in the class, but two were eliminated. One declined to participate and the other knew the intruder personally.
“This field needs more research,” Mason said.
Columbia College biology professor Brad Sharp said the symposium is a good opportunity for students to present their research to a wide audience.
“It gives the student the ability to present their data,” Sharp said. “It’s something that’s really important in the science field.”
Roger McKinney is the Tribune’s education reporter. You can reach him at rmckinney@columbiatribune.com or 573-815-1719. He’s on X at @rmckinney9.