Geography had a strong showing at Scholars Day this year with geography undergraduates and students mentored by geography professors presenting papers and posters. Three students won awards for their research. Martin Aucoin won 2nd prize in the paper competition along with a cash prize of $400. Victoria Knaupp and Stephen Ramsey received $250 and $150 for placing second and third in the poster competition, respectively.

Papers

• Martin Aucoin (Mentor: Matthew Fry) - Farmers' Markets and Foodsheds: Mapping Perceptions of Place and Community in the Dallas Local Foods Movement
• Nikki Chochrek (Mentor: Joseph Oppong) - Lung Cancer Mortality in Texas Counties, 1999-2010
• Wes Hellman (Mentor: Joseph Oppong) - The Spatial Distribution of Emphysema Mortality in Texas
• Kyle Willett (Mentor: Joseph Oppong): West Nile Virus in Dallas County, Texas
• Joseph Billeaudeaux (Mentor: Joseph Oppong): Vulnerable People and Places - Being Black is a Risk Marker for HIV in Texas

Posters

• Jennifer Barnett (Mentor: Paul Hudak) - Determining Favorable Habitat for Ligustrum spp. and the Effects it Has on Mature Trees in North Texas
• Victoria Knaupp (Mentor: Lisa Nagaoka) - Trashy Research for a Greener World: An Evaluation of Recycling Rates across Campus
• Sarah McCracken (Mentor: Alexandra Ponette-González) - The Delicate Relationship between Wildfires and Carbon Storage in the Boreal Forest
• Stephen Ramsey (Mentor: Lisa Nagaoka) - To Recycle or Not to Recycle: Evaluating the Impact of Choice
• Catherine Smith (Mentor: Paul Hudak) - An Analysis of Groundwater Levels in Denton County, Texas: Historical Trends and Projections
• Michael Watkins (Mentor: Bruce Hunter) - The Risks of Food Deserts in DFW

From left to right: 1st row - Alicia Gray, Nikki Chochrek, Angie Holliday; 2nd row - Martin Aucoin, Mike Watkins, Stephen Ramsey, Jennifer Barnett, Victoria Knaupp, Wes Hellman, Sarah McCracken

Paper and poster award winners Victoria Knaupp, Stephen Ramsey and Martin Aucoin