DENNIS ODA / DODA@STARBULLETIN.COM Dawn Nakagawa gave a PowerPoint presentation titled "Female Lawyers in Hollywood Movies: The Price She Pays to Practice Law" on Saturday during Symposium 2006, a showcase of undergraduate research.

Academic showcase

UH students share the results of research projects at Symposium 2006

After sampling recreational water in Kailua for bacteria as a state Health Department intern, University of Hawaii-Manoa senior Katie Kamelamela said she would not swim at Kailua Beach.

The 66 presentations and 75 posters at the East-West Center ranged from topics such as conditioning in honeybees and America's holy wars to the changing position of women in Japan, intelligent sensor networks for extreme environments and the use of green messages on the Internet to enhance the environmental movement.

Kamelamela's timely topic was "Suburban Swimming: What are the bacteria levels in the recreational waters of Kailua?"

She said she was surprised that while there are high levels near the sewage plant, she obtained higher readings near the Hamakua Canal.

That is because of accumulated bacteria from runoff from houses, which "have a lot of dogs and no water from behind to push the water downstream," she said.

Kamelamela, majoring in Hawaiian studies and botany, plans to pursue a master's degree and work "to help the Hawaiian community."

Scott Clark, majoring in international interdisciplinary studies, said he tried to separate himself from hype and political arguments to present "A Critical Analysis of the United States' Case for the Second Gulf War."

"Aside from two congressional resolutions, most laws indicate the war was illegal," he commented, discussing his poster.

Clark is graduating in two weeks with a degree in international relations and conflict resolution, and plans to go to law school for a degree in international law. He hopes to work for the United Nations.

Laura Jenkins, a UH junior, carefully studied a poster by psychology major Eli Tsukayama entitled "High-achieving Students: Self-efficacy, Self-discipline, Time Perspective, and Time Invested in School."

Although she is a candidate for the honors program in English with a 4.0 grade point average, she said, "I think I'm a hare trying to be a tortoise."

Biology major Osler Andres described his research with mice looking for more effective vaccines to protect against tuberculosis. The present vaccine does not protect ethnically diverse populations appropriately, he said.

His project, analyzing different proteins for immunizations, suggests a better method of developing vaccines, he said.

James Caron, director of the UH-Manoa Honors Program, was impressed with how the young researchers handled questions from faculty members and students listening to their presentations.

"You can't script those," he said, explaining that learning how to present themselves professionally is part of the program's goal.

The symposium is supported by the Manoa chancellor and vice chancellors for Academic Affairs and Research and sponsored by UH honors and science programs.