Students win Outstanding Presentation Awards at Online Undergraduate Research Symposium


LAWRENCE — The University of Kansas recently hosted the 23rd annual Undergraduate Research Symposium online.  The Online Undergraduate Research Symposium website features over 200 student presentations from disciplines all across campus.

“The winning research and creative projects would be an accomplishment any year, but this year students put together impressive and informative presentations under unique circumstances,” said Alison Olcott, director of the Center for Undergraduate Research and associate professor in geology.

The Undergraduate Research Symposium is organized through the Center for Undergraduate Research.  Student presentations can still be viewed online.

Outstanding Presentation Awards

Volunteer judges selected 20 presentations to receive Outstanding Presentation Awards, listed below. Each presentation will receive $50.

The 2020 Outstanding Presentation Award winners are listed by name, major, hometown, project title, mentor name and mentor department:

Natalie Babich, a psychology major from Wichita, “Exploring Symptom Pathology in Men with Eating Disorders: A Latent Profile Analysis,” mentored by Kelsie Forbush and Kara Christensen, clinical psychology

Mariam Balogun, a chemical engineering major from Lagos, Nigeria, “Depolymerization of Polyethylene Terephthalate Plastics by Ozonolysis,” mentored by Bala Subramaniam, chemical engineering

Maya Bluitt, a behavioral neuroscience major from Lenexa, “Do Flavin Monooxygenases Function in the Celsr/Flamingo Pathway During Neural Development?,” mentored by Brian Ackley, molecular biosciences

Connor Bryant, an ecology, evolution & organismal biology major from Topeka, “Effects of Artificial Preservatives Upon Drosophila sturtevanti Lifespan During Periods of Food Stress,” mentored by Jennifer Gleason, ecology & evolutionary biology

Annabel Dolan, a global & international studies and French major from Woodland, California, “Defining Climate-Displaced Persons Under International Law,” mentored by Brian Lagotte, global & international studies

Steven Duke, a global & international studies major from Rocklin, California, “Water Diplomacy: Analyzing International Relations between Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan with Regards to Transboundary Water Resources,” mentored by Brian Lagotte, global & international studies

Dasha Frank, a biochemistry major from Tonganoxie, “Effect of Vitamin C on Glycogen Phosphorylase b,” mentored by Roberto De Guzman, molecular biosciences

Bhavna Gupta, a behavioral neuroscience major, “Detection of 5-Fluorouracil Using High-Pressure Liquid Chromatography Coupled with Electrochemical Detection in Zebrafish Brain,” mentored by Michael Johnson and Romana Jarosova, chemistry

Hannah Harman, a pharmacy major from Topeka, “Activity of Delafloxacin Alone and in Combination with Polymyxin B against Multidrug-Resistant Achromobacter xylosoxidans in a Cystic Fibrosis Sputum Model,” mentored by Nicholas Britt, pharmacy practice and internal medicine

Molly Knake, an architecture major from Norfolk, Nebraska, “Down the Rabbit Hole: Museum for Conspiracy Theorists,” mentored by Kapila Silva, architecture

Aaron Michalicek, an architecture major from St. Louis, “Museum of Afrofuturism,” mentored by Kapila Silva, architecture

Chandler Nauta, a photo media and visual communication design major from Frisco, Texas, “80 Days,” mentored by Elise Kirk, photography

Lexie Paige, a chemistry major from St. Louis, “Optimization of the Electrophoretic Separation and Electrochemical Detection of Nitrated and Non-Nitrated Species Related to Alzheimer’s Disease,” mentored by Susan Lunte and Kelci Schilly, chemistry

Grace Price, global & international studies and Chinese major from Overland Park, “Unifying China: The Impact of Citizenship Education on Identity,” mentored by Brian Lagotte, global & international studies

Matthew Santoyo, an aerospace engineering and German major from Ventura, California, “Hier spreken wi Hamborger Plattdüütsch! Investigating Educational Efforts to Revive and Preserve Low German in the Hanseatic City of Hamburg,” mentored by Lorie Vanchena, German studies

Sarah Shorter, a women, gender & sexuality studies major from Kansas City, Missouri, “The Queerbook Project; Queer Identity and Experiences in Religious High Schools,” mentored by Stacey Vanderhurst, women, gender & sexuality studies

Abigail Simonson, a music therapy major from River Falls, Wisconsin, “Neuro Development of Music Characteristics in Fetal and Neonate Development,” mentored by Deanna Hanson-Abromeit, music therapy.

Emily Sonsthagen, a speech-language-hearing and psychology major from Olathe, Conversational Turns and Child Vocalizations as Potential Predictors of Word Learning Success in Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder, mentored by Nancy Brady and Christine Kosirog, speech-language-hearing

Kelly Wood, Emiley Fletcher, Joey Shondell, Brooks Davis, Garrett Campion, and William Schmidt, environmental studies majors, The West-Campus Prairie Restoration Project, mentored by Kelly Kindscher, environmental studies

Hailey Young, a biology major from Overland Park, mentored by Yinglong Miao and Apurba Bhattari, molecular biosciences and computational biology

Wed, 05/13/2020

author

Nicole Perry

Media Contacts

Nicole Perry

Center for Undergraduate Research

785-864-3391