Two science majors and a communication major won first place honors in the annual Undergraduate Research Competition at Coastal Carolina University. The awards will be formally presented at the Honors Convocation on Thursday, May 5, at 6 p.m. in Wheelwright Auditorium. The public is invited to the convocation.

Abby Boytos, Briana Laws and Rachel Hansen took top honors for their presentations. Seventy-five presentations were delivered by students from more than 20 majors. Students presented alone or in teams, and a few presented their work on two different projects. The presentations were judged by more 70 faculty judges, and the award categories and number of awards in each category were determined based on the numeral distribution of topics and presentation formats.

The following students placed first or second in their respective categories:

Poster Presentations (all subjects)

First place: Boytos, psychology major with faculty research mentor Terry Pettijohn, "The Effects of Religion and Career Priming on Problem-Solving Persistence in College Students"

Second place: Nelda Glaze, elementary education major with faculty research mentor Catherine Scott, "The Relationship between Assigned Homework and its Purposes"

Third place: Stephen Penton, computer science and applied mathematics major with faculty research mentor Erin Hackett, "Ocean Surface Effects on Refractivity Inversions Using Genetic Algorithms"

Oral Presentations: Science

First place: Laws, biochemistry major with faculty research mentor Sharon Thompson, "Obstructive Sleep Apnea: Testing the Accuracy of the SLEEPMED Questionnaire"

Second place: Meghan Troup, marine science majors with faculty mentors Erin Hackett, Diane Fribance and Roi Gurka, "Decreased Mixing Conditions during Low Oxygen Events in Long Bay, South Carolina: 2006-2014"

Third place: Christopher L. Pierpont, marine science and biology major with faculty research mentor Michelle Barthet, "Characterization of an Essential Chloroplast Protein"

Oral Presentations: Business, Education, and Humanities and Fine Arts

First place: Hansen, communication major with faculty research mentor Amanda Grefski, "The Inalienable Right to a Peaceful Death" Second place: Taylor O'Hara, English major with research mentor Cynthia Port, "Consumerism in the City: The Ways in Which Fashion is Both Limiting and Empowering in 'Sex and the City'" Wheelwright Auditorium is located at 108 Spadoni Park Circle on the Conway campus.