Hannah McSwain could have settled for a strong capstone project with Dr. Ahmad Ghafarian in fall 2020. That simply is not how she works. The senior from Ellijay, Georgia, pursuing a degree in computer science wanted to get more ideas to further her research on cloud-level network security. McSwain applied and was accepted to present her research at the Consortium for Computing Sciences in Colleges' Southeastern Conference in January.

Emily French, a second-year University of North Georgia (UNG) Doctor of Physical Therapy (DPT) student, has been selected as an American Physical Therapy Association (APTA) Centennial Scholar. She is one of two scholars from the APTA's research section and one of 100 total APTA Centennial Scholars. Coinciding with APTA's 100th anniversary in 2021, the APTA Centennial Scholars are part of one-time, yearlong program to help build a cadre of future APTA leaders at the component and national levels to support the organization's collective quest for a diverse and prepared leadership pool.

More than a dozen students were awarded grants from the Center for Undergraduate Research and Creative Activities (CURCA) at UNG. The annual mini-grants will fund 10 different research projects in the areas of psychological science, chemistry, biology, anthropology, physics, and English.

A handful of University of North Georgia (UNG) students presented their research during the part-virtual and part-traditional Research on Contemporary Composition (ROCC) conference on Oct. 24-25.

Twelve UNG students were awarded internships or Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU). The National Science Foundation (NSF) funds a large number of opportunities for undergraduates to work in the research programs of higher education institutions while science-based centers fund internships.

For the first time in her collegiate career, University of North Georgia (UNG) rising senior Elizabeth Noble wrote a research paper not for class but for publication. It was published in the journal Quaternary Science Reviews.

The University of North Georgia's Faculty Undergraduate Summer Engagement (FUSE) grants are funding research projects in 2019, but they are not the only ones. For the first time, four faculty members of psychological science received the American Psychological Association's Summer Undergraduat Psychology Research Experience (SUPRE) grants. SUPRE and FUSE grants allocate funds for UNG faculty to conduct research with undergraduate students who have little to no research experience.

More than 250 college students, faculty and staff members from across the Southeast participated in the Georgia Undergraduate Research Conference Nov. 3 at the University of North Georgia's (UNG) Gainesville Campus. This was the first time UNG hosted the regional conference.

Macey Jarrard and Tony Sacchitello, recent graduates who earned bachelor's degrees in middle grades education at the University of North Georgia (UNG), have gained a wide audience for their research about the Dahlonega Science Festival. They were able to share their research at multiple conferences.

University of North Georgia (UNG) faculty members David and Jessica Patterson, alumna Kayla Allen, and twelve undergraduates searched for late Pleistocene-aged fossils by digging holes adjacent to a water canal in Brunswick, Georgia. Funded through a UNG Presidential Incentive Award, the trip in late May and early June yielded a few marine fossils such as stingray teeth and small bone fragments, which were sent to Georgia College & State University (GCSU). GCSU wil house the fossils, and its students will collaborate with UNG students to create a Coastal Georgia Fossil Database, which will feature new and existing fossil collections.

One University of North Georgia (UNG) ecology class and lab spent tracking turtles and studying their habitat hooked the interest of UNG senior Jessica Martin. Now, the 19-year-old Alpharetta woman is part of an undergraduate research project at UNG that studies the home range and habitat use of 21 Eastern box turtles, which are vulnerable for extinction, in Gainesville.

Political Science major Mary Catherine Olive was chosen by University of North Georgia (UNG) President Bonita Jacobs to serve as the 2016-17 UNG Fellow to the Center for the Study of the Presidency and Congress.

Two senior criminal justice majors presented their research as University of North Georgia (UNG) representatives at the annual meeting of the Criminal Justice Association of Georgia in October at Clayton State University in Morrow.