Quinnipiac University international business students Briana Nash, of Stamford, and Marcin Mazurek, of Derby, received the Sigma Xi Undergraduate Research Award at the 2013 Sigma Xi Student Research Conference and annual meeting held Nov. 9 in Research Triangle Park, N.C.
The students’ research project, titled ​“Bridging Cultural Values to Economic Well-Being,” beat out 12 other presentations to claim top honors in the undergraduate division’s behavioral and social sciences category. Their research and presentation focused on how culture impacts economic development.
“We are proud of the quality of research our undergraduate business students are doing, and particularly the great work of Briana and Marcin which was recognized at this national interdisciplinary conference,” said Robert Engle, professor of international business at the School of Business and the students’ faculty adviser.
The conference featured more than 140 presentations from high school, undergraduate and graduate students in the fields of science and engineering.
“What I liked most about the conference was that I found it as an opportunity to bridge scientific minds and business,” Nash said. ​“I met so many brilliant minds and heard so many wonderful ideas that I do not think are recognized nearly enough in the world.”
Mazurek also appreciated the conference’s collaborative atmosphere. ​“I think what made the largest impression on me during the conference was the energy and openness of other students, judges and staff, and how really interesting and interconnected all of these diverse topics were,” he said. ​“One of the bigger takeaways for me was the feeling that instead of keeping different fields like business and science and engineering separate, we should try to bring them more together.”
Sigma Xi is an international, multidisciplinary research society whose programs and activities promote the health of the scientific enterprise and honor scientific achievement. There are nearly 60,000 Sigma Xi members in more than 100 countries around the world.
