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University of North Georgia (Â鶹ÊÓƵ) students Atticus Tomcho and Mary Dickens teamed up with their advisor, Dr. David Patterson, to win the best poster award in the Earth Sciences section at the 100th annual Georgia Academy of Science Conference. Tomcho and Dickens are each pursuing a degree in biology.

The event was held March 3-4 at Georgia College & State University in Milledgeville, Georgia.  Â鶹ÊÓƵ had a total of 10 posters and one oral presentation reflecting the work of 16 students and 15 faculty members. 

Tomcho, a senior, and Dickens, a sophomore, presented their project "Late Pleistocene ecosystem evolution in southeastern North America: A transdisciplinary approach using fossil American alligator enamel isotopes." Their work explored contemporary biological responses to climate change and human population expansion by comparing alligator teeth from 60,000 years ago to modern alligator teeth.

"It feels very good to win and see all the work paid off. I'm excited to see where it goes from here," Tomcho said. "I'll plan on using this to apply for graduate school, where I want to study biology, maybe the paleo or wildlife ecology route."

In addition to Tomcho’s and Dicken’s two-hour presentation, the students were also able to listen in on several talks, network with experts in the field, and gain valuable insight on the activities students interested in graduate school should be working on to meet their goals.