South’s Honors College Sends Record Contingent to National Conference
Posted on December 10, 2025
University of South Alabama Honors College students and several faculty recently attended the National Collegiate Honors Council Conference in San Diego, California.
Dr. Doug Marshall, dean of the Honors College, said this was the largest contingent the college has ever sent to present at the conference.
“We had 16 students and four faculty attend the conference,” Marshall said. “Each student presented their mentorship research in poster sessions, competing with undergraduate researchers from all over the country.”
Of the national student participants, USA Honors College students Dev Mehta and Aden Patel won a fourth-place award in the health sciences category. Their presentation was titled “Contamination of Thermoplastic Medical Devices by Antibiotic-Resistant Bacteria in the Presence of Artificial Perspiration.”
In addition, student Suhas Patil led a separate presentation session on a CPR initiative he started at South, which aims to teach all incoming first-year students how to perform bystander CPR and to use an automated external defibrillator.
“This conference provided the opportunity for South students to share a variety of ideas and experiences with students from other schools about how they can better serve students at their respective universities,” Marshall said. “Faculty attendees engaged in similar networking and idea-sharing. Overall, it was a productive opportunity for idea-sharing and problem-solving with other honors students, faculty and administrators.”
Before the conference opened, Marshall participated in the Partners in the Parks program, in which he and 12 other honors college directors and deans from around the country camped in Joshua Tree National Park for three days to share ideas and strategies and to perform service for the National Park.
Honors College students attending the National Collegiate Honors Council Conference were, Suhas Patil, Dev Mehta, Hannah Lawley, Lucy Orr, Bailey Baxter, Mary Helene Marmande, Zachary Chancey, Aden Patel, Omar Molokhia, Cambridge Cooper, Emilie Dedeaux, Genevieve Batman, Priscilla Foster, Riana Taylor, Manisha Gangasani and Grayson Glenn.
Faculty attending were Honors Faculty Fellow Dr. Annemarie Guzy, associate professor of English; Fellowship Coordinator Dr. David Forbes, professor of chemistry; and Director of Undergraduate and Honors Research Dr. Padamalini Thulasiraman, associate professor of biomedical sciences.
