Midwestern State University student Alexandria Weiskircher Stevenson was chosen as one of 60 students nationwide to present her research at Posters on the Hill in Washington, D.C. April 17-18.

Alexandria is a three-semester EURECA (Enhancing Undergraduate Research Creative Activities) scholar and current graduate student in the Kimbell School of Geosciences. She is the first MSU Texas student to present at Posters on the Hill. Her research mentor is Dr. Jonathan Price, Chair and Prothro Distinguished Associate Professor of Geological Science.

Alexandria's childhood love of rocks and minerals became more focused during Price's spring 2016 petrology class and a field trip to the Wichita Mountains. She became interested in Quanah granite, with its stunning outcrops near Elk Mountain, and decided to map and characterize the different textures seen on its margin to constrain its emplacement history. Her resulting research presentation, "Magmatic Timing in an Ancient Rift," received the award for Best Poster Presentation in the fall 2017 Undergraduate Research and Creative Activity Forum held at MSU Texas.

The Council on Undergraduate Research (CUR) sponsors Posters on the Hill each spring, giving students the opportunity to present their projects to members of Congress on Capitol Hill in an effort to illustrate the importance of undergraduate research. CUR, founded in 1978, is a national organization of individual and institutional members representing more than 900 colleges and universities. Hundreds of students nationwide apply to present at Posters on the Hill.

Dr. Marcy Brown Marsden, Dean of the College of Science and Mathematics at MSU Texas, and Dr. James Johnston, Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs, will sponsor the travel to Posters on the Hill. MSU is an enhanced institutional member and all faculty, staff, and students may join CUR at no cost under the MSU membership.

Contact the Office of Undergraduate Research at 940-3974-6274 for more information.