Thank you to all the students who participated in the 2023 Undergraduate Research Symposium and to all the research mentors, staff, family, and friends who supported the event. The Office of Undergraduate Research is proud to showcase the awards for outstanding presentations and honorable mentions below:
Oral / Performance Presentations
What is Aging Independently and What's a Robot Got to do with it? (Outstanding)
Megan Bily, Senior, Interdisciplinary Health Sciences, AHS
(Research Mentors: Wendy Rogers, Kinesiology & Community Health & Megan Bayles, Human Factors & Aging Laboratory)
Cripping the Bechdel Test: Standards for Evaluation of Disability Representation in Film (Outstanding)
Ruby Elbert, Senior, Disability Studies & Spanish, LAS
(Research Mentor(s): Catherine Prendergast, English)
Partitioning of Small Hydrocarbon Molecules Between the Vapor and the Polyethylene Melt in Polymer Upcycling Processes (Outstanding)
Chinmay Sahasrabudhe, Sophomore, Chemical Engineering, LAS
(Research Mentor(s): Baron Peters, Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering)
Zumbi: The Name of a Hero and What It Meant to Colonial Forces (Outstanding)
Caroline Da Rocha Birnfeld, Sophomore, History, LAS
(Research Mentor(s): Marc Hertzman, History)
We Tell Stories: The Influence of Traditional Yoruba Performance in Contemporary Theatre (Outstanding)
Jaylon Muchison, Junior, Theatre, FAA
(Research Mentor(s): Kristen Pullen, Theatre)
Virtual Reality Lab to Teach the Physics of Transmission Lines (Honorable Mention)
Alexander Romanov, Senior, Engineering Physics, ENG
(Research Mentor(s): Raluca Ilie, Electrical & Computer Engineering)
A Participatory Design Approach to Develop a VR-Based Electrocardiogram Training Simulator (Honorable Mention)
Arnav Shah, Junior, Computer Science, ENG
(Research Mentor(s): Harris Nisar, Industrial & Enterprise Systems Engineering & Lawrence Angrave, Computer Science)
Poster Presentations
Science and Technology
Hg UMEs: A Tool for Developing Next-Generation Batteries (Outstanding)
Curtis Althaus, Sophomore, Chemistry, LAS
(Research Mentor(s): Rodriguez-Lopez, Chemistry)
Influence of the Gut-Microbiome and Diisononyl Phthalate (DINP) Exposure on Uterine Development in Mice (Outstanding)
Vanessa Salgado, Senior, Animal Sciences, ACES
Jacqui Nguyen, Junior, Molecular & Cellular Biology, LAS
(Research Mentor(s): Romana Nowak, Animal Sciences)
Theoretical Investigations into Photoluminescent Au25@Ag Bimetallic Nanoclusters (Honorable Mention)
Aidan Lindsay, Sophomore, Chemistry, LAS
(Research Mentor(s): Christine Aikens, Kansas State University)
Cells and Molecules
Auditory Behavioral Differences in Genetically-distinct Rat Models of Autism Spectrum Disorders (Outstanding)
Sarika Kumar, Junior, Molecular & Cellular Biology, LAS
(Research Mentor(s): Benjamin Auerbach, Molecular & Integrative Physiology & Noelle James, Molecular & Integrative Physiology)
Identifying Neuropeptides in the Pain Perception Pathway Using Tandem-Mass Spectrometry and Bioinformatics (Outstanding)
Aniket Joglekar, Sophomore, Molecular & Cellular Biology, LAS
(Research Mentor(s): Elena Romanova, Chemistry & Jonathan Sweedler, Chemistry)
Exploring Novel Ene-Reductase Function for Enzymatic Synthesis of Privileged Scaffolds (Honorable Mention)
Megan Zhou, Junior, Bioengineering, ENG
(Research Mentor(s): Huimin Zhao, Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering & Guangde Jiang, Institute for Sustainability, Energy & Environment)
Health and Wellness
Daily Sound Level Exposure for Preterm Infants in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (Outstanding)
Lauren Vicencio, Senior, Interdisciplinary Health Sciences, AHS
(Research Mentor(s): Brian Monson, Speech & Hearing Science)
Accelerometer-measured Physical Activity and Sedentary Time Are Not Associated with General Intelligence in College-Educated Adults with Overweight and Obesity (Outstanding)
Anne-Farah Usman, Junior, Molecular & Cellular Biology, LAS
(Research Mentor(s): Dominika Pindus, Kinesiology & Community Health & Bryan Montero, Kinesiology & Community Health)
Persistent Exposure to Paraben Mixture Inducing Premature Development of Uterus (Honorable Mention)
Zainab Umardeen, Senior, Molecular & Cellular Biology, LAS
(Research Mentor(s): Indrani Bagchi, Comparative Biosciences & Ritwik Shukla, Comparative Biosciences)
Social Science and Behavior
Racial/Ethnic Identity and Self-Reported Openness to Experience Among Online and In-Person Learners (Outstanding)
Aparajita Vemuri, Junior, Psychology, LAS
(Research Mentor(s): Amos Jeng, Educational Psychology & Michelle Perry, Educational Psychology)
Intersectionality and Teen Dating Victimization: A MAIHDA Analysis (Honorable Mention)
Rachel Sun, Sophomore, Psychology, LAS
(Research Mentor(s): Morgan Stutts, Psychology & Joseph Cohen, Psychology)
Data, Information, and Machine Learning
Qualitative Coding: Assessment and Implementation for Contextual Technical Decision Making (Outstanding)
Cathy Li, Senior, Chemical Engineering, LAS
Annabelle Epplin, Senior, Electrical Engineering, ENG
Samuel Gerstein, Freshman, Computer Science, ENG
(Research Mentor(s): Emily Lawson-Bulten, Agricultural & Biological Engineering & Abhiroop Chattopadhyay, Electrical & Computer Engineering)
Investigating Sample Bias Towards Languages in Audio Super-resolution (Honorable Mention)
Austin Lu, Senior, Systems Engineering & Design, ENG
Arya Nallanthighall, Senior, Computer Engineering, ENG
(Research Mentor(s): Kanad Sarkar, Electrical and Computer Engineering & Manan Mittal, Electrical and Computer Engineering)
Food Systems
Ancient vs. Commercial Tomatoes Under Abiotic and Biotic Stress (Outstanding)
Lily Coy, Freshman, Undeclared, DGS
(Research Mentor(s): Esther Ngumbi, Entomology)
What are the Physiological Differences in Soybean Variations Under Free-air Carbon Dioxide Enrichment (FACE)? (Honorable Mention)
Jayce Carlson, Senior, Natural Resources & Environmental Sciences, ACES
(Research Mentor(s): Lisa Ainsworth, Plant Biology & Christopher Montes, Plant Biology)
Language, Culture, and Society
Digital Tokens for Research Transparency and Participant Engagement: A Mixed Methods Study (Outstanding)
Anjali Yedavalli, Sophomore, Integrative Biology, LAS
(Research Mentor(s): Marielle Gross, Johns Hopkins Berman Institute of Bioethics & Amelia Hood, Johns Hopkins Berman Institute of Bioethics)
Exploring the Relation between Job Satisfaction and Personality: The Mediating Role of Work Stress (Honorable Mention)
Rishitaa Dutta, Junior, Psychology, LAS
(Research Mentor(s): D. A. Briley, Psychology)
Learning and Development
Learning To Sign Through Games: An ASL STEM Vocabulary App (Outstanding)
Mona Jawad, Senior, Bioengineering, ENG
Amy Lee, Senior, Bioengineering, ENG
Sumayyah Hussain, Junior, Mechanical Engineering, ENG
Anisha Jog, Sophomore, Computer Science, ENG
Aneesh Nagalkar, Freshman, Computer Engineering, ENG
(Research Mentor(s): Holly Golecki, Bioengineering)
Exploring the Relationship Between Rate of Change of Skin Carotenoid Levels and Development in Toddlers (Honorable Mention)
Shaina Medjes, Junior, Kinesiology, AHS
Jenya Varaniuk, Sophomore, Chemistry, LAS
(Research Mentor(s): Laura Rosok, Neuroscience Program & Naiman Khan, Kinesiology & Community Health)
Nature, Life, and Environmental
Brochosomes: Investigating and Characterizing Naturally Produced Nanoparticles (Outstanding)
Kyle Gray, Senior, Chemical Engineering, LAS
(Research Mentor(s): Charles Schroeder, Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering & Gabriel Burks, Materials Science & Engineering)
Designing a Renewable Energy Model (Honorable Mention)
Matthew Krauss, Sophomore, Civil & Environmental Engineering, ENG
(Research Mentor(s): Roman Makhnenko, Civil & Environmental Engineering)
