TWENTY McNAIR SCHOLARS WRAP UP SUMMER RESEARCH EFFORTS

(KINGSVILLE, August 1, 1996) - Twenty Ronald E. McNair scholars at Texas A&M University-Kingsville recently presented results of six-week summer research fellowships aimed at encouraging them to attend graduate school.

The presentations, which covered topics from Mexican-American culture to the purification of snake venom, were given to a crowd of nearly 75 students, faculty, family and friends present at the First Annual Ronald E. McNair Scholars Banquet held at the campus Student Union Building.

The Ronald E. McNair program is named for the second African-American to fly in space, who died, along with six other astronauts, in a fiery explosion Jan. 28, 1986, aboard the space shuttle Challenger. Dr. McNair was nationally recognized for his work in the field of laser physics.

The program was established by Congress and funded through a U.S. Department of Education grant.

Recent studies indicate low-income, first generation college students or minority students are typically underrepresented in graduate education, according to Mary Gonzalez, Assistant Director of the A&M-Kingsville McNair program. The objective of the McNair program is to break the cycle and encourage these students to pursue graduate study.

"The (program) tries to single out the students who are really qualified but probably just need a little more encouragement," said Dr. Leslie Hunter, A&M-Kingsville history professor and McNair mentor. "We're trying to identify bright young men and women who would likely go on to become professors." Students who successfully complete the program also end up becoming positive role models for their peers, Hunter added.

The McNair program was first funded at 14 universities nationwide in 1989. It was introduced at A&M-Kingsville on Oct. 1, 1995 at which time only three other Texas universities were funded. Ninety universities in the country presently offer the McNair program.

Through the McNair program, students attend skill-building seminars and other activities that help prepare the juniors and seniors to be candidates for the following summer's research component. The students work under the direction of graduate mentors who support and supervise the students' research program -- a relationship critical to the program. A select number of students receive stipends to conduct research from disciplines in which they will pursue graduate study.

Students are also prepared for graduate school admission through help with writing application letters, tutoring for entrance exams and help with obtaining financial aid information.

McNair scholars who participated in the recent Summer 1996 research component include Carla Chapa of Corpus Christi and Javier Morin of Alice, under the guidance of Dr. Sandra Schreffler, who gave an oral presentation on "Mexican Spanish in South Texas: A Study of Language Contact and its Effects on Subject Pronouns;" Rosa Morales of Corpus Christi, under the guidance of Dr. Leslie Hunter, on "America's Migrant Children and Education;" Rosemary Rubino of Kingsville, under the guidance of Dr. Guadalupe Thompson, on "The Politics of Bilingual Education;" Michael Hernandez of Corpus Christi and Sylvia Sanchez of Kingsville, under Dr. Rongdong Wang, on "Solving Differential Equations Using Maple;" Nii Adjei of Austin, under Dr. Chun Leung, on Principles of Artificial Intelligence;" Gustavo Perez of Rocksprings, under Dr. Prasad Gavankar, on "Surface Estimation for Machined Parts;" Dora Arevalo of Brownsville, under Dr. Carlos Corleto, on "the Effect of Razor Notching Techniques on the Fracture Toughness of Polymeric Material;" Lorene Lozano of San Antonio, under Dr. Mario Medina, on "Residential Energy Savings;" Mireya Mares of Eagle Pass, under Dr. Guadalupe Thompson, on "Social and Historical Experiences of Mexican Americans in the Southwest;" Ana Valdez, also of Eagle Pass, under Dr. Leslie Hunter, on "The Revolution at Texas A&I: Mexican American Students Political Mobilization;" Simon Cisneros of Houston, under Dr. Rongdong Wang and Dr. David Cecil, on "Electrical Circuit Analysis with Graph Theory;" Craig Perez of Beeville, under Dr. Carlos Corleto, on "Impact Tensile Testing of Polymers;" Xavier Aranda of San Antonio, Gloria Chapa of Hebbronville, Maria Perez-Johnson of Bishop and Luis Soto of Eagle Pass, under Dr. John Perez, on "The Purification of Venom for the Production of Monoclonal Antibodies;" Chelo Vela of Bishop, under Dr. Mario Medina, on "The Study of Flow Around Immersed Bodies;" and Norma Laurel of Corpus Christi, under Dr. Mauro Castro, on "Polymers and Viscosities."

Several McNair students will be attending an August conference in Michigan where their research efforts will be presented to other McNair scholars.

-TAMUK-
-Mary McAdam