News Release

IWV Campus

Cerro Coso Students Present Research Projects at State Conference

March 24, 2009

Ian Chafin and Nathan McGuire, both members of Cerro Coso Community College's Honors Program, presented their research at the Annual Honors Transfer Council of California (HTCC) Research Conference at UC Irvine Saturday, February 28, and their conference presentations will be published as part of the research conference.

Ian's presentation, entitled "Easy to Play, Hard to Feel," explores how modern distortion and tonal experimentation shape expression in rock music, a point which he demonstrated by playing two versions of "The Star Spangled Banner" on guitar.

Nathan's presentation, "Creatine: A Safe Supplement or a Fraudulent Marketing Scheme?" examines the questionable effectiveness, possible psychological impacts, and potential health risks of synthetic creatine consumption.

Dr. Christine Swiridoff, Cerro Coso's Honors Program Coordinator, accompanied the students to the conference. "Both Ian's and Nathan's presentations were wonderful and represented Cerro Coso well at the UC Irvine Undergraduate Research Conference. We are very proud of their accomplishments," Swiridoff said.

"The conference publications will also help both students once they transfer," Swiridoff continued. "Hopefully their research, conference presentations, and abstract publications will help open up more opportunities for internships or research at their future universities. As graduates of Cerro Coso's Honors Program and presenters at the HTCC conference, they stand a good chance to compete for these opportunities."

CAPTION: Cerro Coso students Ian Chafin and Nathan McGuire, members of the Cerro Coso Honors Program recently presented their research findings at the Annual Honors Transfer Council of California Research Conference.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT:
Natalie Dorrell, Public Information (760) 384-6260