UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Students and faculty judges worked together to make the 2021 Undergraduate Exhibition for Research, Inquiry, and Creative Activity another successful virtual event.
Even with the pandemic often disrupting research projects over the previous 14 months, more than 190 students across many academic fields, and from many Penn State campuses, presented their work to 140 faculty judges.
Each year, Undergraduate Education and University Libraries recognize the top-scoring students in different categories. Some awards come with a cash prize.
2021 Undergraduate Exhibition for Research, Inquiry, and Creative Activity winners
Gerard A. Hauser Award
Vancie Peacock, College of Agricultural Sciences, “Life-cycle assessment of integrated anaerobic digestion with hydrothermal carbonization”
University Libraries Undergraduate Research Award for Excellence in Information Literacy
The John Sr. and Kimlyn Patishnock Undergraduate Research Award: Excellence in Information Literacy
Grey Rochon, College of the Liberal Arts, “Codependency and Relationship Dimensions”
First Place
Taylor Pust, Eberly College of Science, “Histological analysis of cellular components for in vitro thrombus formation using Chandler loop and Carstairs’ stain”
Second Place
Erica Mi, College of Information Sciences and Technology, “Supporting COVID-19 Supply Allocation through Visual Analytics”
Third Place
Shane Ward, College of Engineering, “Effects of VAD-Induced Shear Rates on Platelet Adhesion”
Honorable Mentions
Maria Schultheis, College of Agricultural Sciences, “The Future of Photovoltaic Technology: Using Amino Acids as Molecular Electronics”
LuzKarla Rodriguez, College of Agricultural Sciences, “Defining the Epidemiology, Clinical Presentation, and Diagnostics for Acute Canine Anaplasmosis, an Increasingly Prevalent Tick-borne Disease in Pennsylvania”
Anna Wickenheisser, College of Health and Human Development, “No association between carrying the dopamine transporter (DAT) 9 allele and alcohol consumption in college students”
Haojun Li, College of Engineering, “Twenty Years Projections of Plasmodium falciparum R561H Frequencies in Rwanda”
Joseph Razon, College of Engineering, “Progress on Characteristically Induced Proton-Irradiated 2DMs: A Compassed Review”
Arts and Humanities
First Place
Gabrielle Herman, College of Health and Human Development, “Language Identification in Lengua Palenquera and Spanish”
Engineering
First Place
Joseph Razon, College of Engineering, “Progress on Characteristically Induced Proton-Irradiated 2DMs: A Compassed Review”
Second Place
Jay Sim, College of Engineering, “Reinventing Foundry in a Box for the 21st Century”
Third Place
Karim Barsom, College of Engineering, “Evaluating Printing Parameters to Optimize the Direct Ink Writing Process for Barium Titanate”
Health and Life Sciences
First Place
LuzKarla Rodriguez, College of Agricultural Sciences, “Defining the Epidemiology, Clinical Presentation, and Diagnostics for Acute Canine Anaplasmosis, an Increasingly Prevalent Tick-borne Disease in Pennsylvania”
Second Place
Sage Saum, College of Agricultural Sciences, “Evaluating Dietary Shifts of the Flathead Catfish due to Size Differences”
Third Place
Jenna Phillips, Penn State Berks, “Monitoring Equine and Rider Activity During Various Gaits with Actigraph”
Physical Sciences
First Place
Joshua Gershey, College of Agricultural Sciences, “Combined effects of climate change and competition on tree survival and growth of Juglans nigra natural populations”
Second Place
Samantha Grecco, Eberly College of Science, “The effect of the small RNA RyhB on the structure of its mRNA targets”
Third Place
Kyle Batra, Penn State Wilkes-Barre, “Scaling laws for stagnant-lid convection with a buoyant crust”
Social and Behavioral Sciences
First Place
Mykala McGill and Rachel Kosaka, Penn State Altoona, “Public Support for School Security Measures: An Analysis of Public Perceptions of School Security Measures and their Regional Variants among Pennsylvania Residents”
Second Place
Karleigh Veglia, College of the Liberal Arts, “Masculinity Threat and Anti-Fat Attitudes”
Third Place (tie)
William Dervin, Penn State World Campus, “Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) and the Relation to Chosen Adult Altruistic Professions”
Jazzmine McCauley, Penn State Altoona, “Assessing Student Perceptions of Inquiry-guided Learning Taught Through Mixed-mode Instruction During the Pandemic”
Oral Presentation and Performance
First Place (tie)
Salvatore DeFeo and Genesis Muñoz Arias, Penn State Berks, “Undergraduate Student Perspectives on Gender and Social Support for Criminal Justice Careers”
Tucker Johnson and Amber Lucas, College of Arts and Architecture, “Wears and Tears: Imagining Lost Futures and Listening to Ghosts”
Third Place
Elinor Farber, College of the Liberal Arts, “Conflicting Identities: Algerian Jewish Migration to France as a Result of the Algerian War, 1954-62”
Peter T. Luckie Awards for Outstanding Juniors
Science and Engineering
David Auerbeck, College of Engineering, “Potential Capabilities of the Different MOF MIL-53 Structures to Absorb Cannabinoids”
Social and Behavioral Sciences
Alicia Williams, Penn State Altoona, “Perceptions of Sex Crimes: Does Offender Gender Matter?”
The Undergraduate Exhibition is coordinated by Undergraduate Education, the academic administrative unit that provides leadership and coordination for University-wide programs and initiatives in support of undergraduate teaching and learning at Penn State. Learn more about Undergraduate Education at undergrad.psu.edu.
