First Undergraduate Research Showcase Highlights Student Excellence

More than 350 students, faculty, staff and guests gathered for the first Undergraduate Research Showcase highlighting the range of undergraduate research and scholarship across the College.

The showcase featured 110 students as part of the poster presentations and lightning talks that spanned a wide range of disciplines, underscoring both the breadth of research taking place and the professionalism students bring to their work. Dean Grabill joined attendees in celebrating student achievement and engaging with presenters throughout the event.

As part of the event, awards for best poster and lightning talk honored students for excellence in research, communication and creativity.

• Luca Pasceri, Chemistry
• Andrew Cuzzacrea, Earth Sciences
• Aidan Maturo, Economics
• Basil Thomas, English
• Jacob Wojtowicz, History
• Caden Holland, Mathematics
• Na'Dia Carter, Philosophy
• Ryan Lane and Caden Giardino, Psychology
• Grace Markey, Speech and Hearing Sciences
• Kendra Richardson, Speech and Hearing Sciences

• First Place: Liana Sicroff, Biological Sciences
  “Is phosphorylation of the deacetylase Hst1 impacting virulence in Candida glabrata?”
• Second Place: Rani Patel, AI and Society
  “Synchronization in networks of networks with applications to epilepsy”
• Third Place: Katherine Kremer, Psychology
  “Joint Impact of Executive Function and Emotion Regulation on Aggression Subtypes in Early Childhood”

The showcase gave undergraduate researchers the opportunity to share their work, receive feedback, and build confidence as emerging scholars.

The event was organized by Smita Samanta, director for undergraduate student research in the college; the faculty committee and showcase judges include Justin Bruner, associate professor, Department of Philosophy; Elizabeth Clizbe, associate clinical professor, Department of Chemistry; Lindsay Hahn, associate professor, Department of Communication; Trina Hamilton, associate professor, departments of Geography and Environment and Sustainability; Joyce Lacy, clinical associate professor, Department of Psychology; Jess Poulin, teaching professor, Department of Biological Sciences; Justin Read, associate professor of Spanish and Portuguese, Department of Romance Languages and Literatures; Nitasha Sehgal, associate teaching professor, Department of Biological Sciences; Alexis Thompson, clinical assistant professor, Department of Psychology; Sama Waham, assistant professor, Department of Media Study; and Alexandra Zirkle, assistant professor, Department of Jewish Thought.