On November 20, Seaver College students presented their research alongside their faculty mentors at the Southern California Conference for Undergraduate Research (SCCUR). In total, 18 students participated in this year’s conference with the help of eight Pepperdine faculty members.
The Southern California Conference for Undergraduate Research is a one-day, annual conference that celebrates the best multi-disciplinary research, scholarship, and creative work of undergraduates in Southern California.
Pepperdine University will host next year’s Southern California Conference for Undergraduate Research, the first conference in-person since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. Stella Erbes, divisional dean of the Humanities and Teacher Education Division and associate professor of teacher education, is the faculty chair of the planning committee.
“The Waves were well represented at the 2021 Southern California Conference for Undergraduate Research. Students from the disciplines of Natural Science, Social Science, and Business presented professionally designed posters and articulate papers that explained their original research,” Erbes shares. “Pepperdine looks forward to hosting this conference in-person in 2022.”
Congratulations to the following students and their faculty mentors:
| Student(s) | Faculty Mentor(s) | Project Title |
| Jordy Cass, Taylor McSpadden | Cooker Storm and Hunter Paris | “The Anatomy of Differences: diversity in human anatomy curriculum” |
| Margaret Tajirian, Benjamin Juarez | Tomas Martinez | “Developing a Dental Trauma-Anxiety Measure Comparing U.S. and International Care” |
| Ann Rogers | Jay Brewster | “Activation of Endoplasmic Reticulum Stress Signaling Pathways by Carbon Black Nanoparticles” |
| David Guzman | Thomas Vandergon | “Polyethylene Terephthalate Nanoplastic Uptake and Stress Effects on Primary Human Umbilical Vein Endothelial Cells” |
| Kyle Osornia | Thomas Vandergon | “Cytotoxic Effects of Polystyrene Nanoplastics with Adsorbed Propranolol” |
| Caleb Nielebeck, Anthony Adducci II | Javier Monzon | “Hungry Like the Wolf: Do Northeastern Coyotes Occupy the Ecological Niche of Extirpated Eastern Wolves?” |
| Jordyn Regier, Mayra Hernandez, Camille Sicango | Stephen Davis and Helen Holmlund | “Substrate Type Affects Dehydration Rate and Final Desiccation Tolerance of Fern Gametophytes” |
| Camille Sicangco, Mayra Hernandez, Jordyn Regier | Stephen Davis and Helen Holmlund | “Variation in soil respiration with vegetative type conversion and water availability in the Santa Monica Mountains” |
| Lucian Himes | Javier Monzon | “Does Boldness Increase with Urbanization in Coyotes?” |
| Daniel Anderson | Howard Jean-Denis | “Motivations and Outcome for Student Entrepreneurs” |
| Sang Hyo Kim, Lauren Dedmon, Mark Pangilinan, Jahred Quan | Javier Monzon | “A Novel Experimental Method Reveals the Effects of Climate on Survivorship and Host-seeking Behavior of Medically Relevant Ticks” |