Fall 2025 Research and Creativity Conference | |
| We are delighted to announce the winners of the Fall 2025 Research and Creativity Conference: | |
Best Poster Presentation | |
| First Place: | Jenna Moranelli, Victor Sandoval, Christopher Fullard, Audra Shaw “Enhancing Information Technology and Cybersecurity Student Communication Skills Through Immersive AR/VR and AI-Driven Simulations Using Virtual Speech” Faculty Advisor: Jennifer Breese |
| Honorable Mention: | Abby Ingold “Gene Therapy-Principles, Applications, and Challenges” Faculty Advisor: Kristal Tucker |
Best Oral Presentation | |
| First Place: | Mira Hardman "Composing Liberation" Faculty Advisor: Michael Vicaro |
| Honorable Mention: | Ymani Merritt Bates "Is Abnormal Psychology Truly Abnormal?" Faculty Advisor: Jennifer Croyle |
Best Art/Creative work | |
| First Place: | Tapashya Ghimirey "Before the Frost" Faculty Advisor: Lori Hepner |
| Honorable Mention | Acelynn Cole "Foraging in the Art of Basketry" Faculty Advisor: Lori Hepner |
Audience Choice | |
| First Place: | Jenna Moranelli, Victor Sandoval, Christopher Fullard, Audra Shaw “Enhancing Information Technology and Cybersecurity Student Communication Skills Through Immersive AR/VR and AI-Driven Simulations Using Virtual Speech” Faculty Advisor: Jennifer Breese |
| Honorable Mention: | Lauren Gaydos "Every Breath is Shared with the World" Faculty Advisor: Lori Hepner |
Spring 2025 Research and Creativity Conference | |
| We are delighted to announce the winners of the Spring 2025 Research and Creativity Conference: | |
Library Undergraduate Research Awards | |
| First Place: | Aubree Sample, “Socioeconomic Disparities in Second-Hand Smoke Exposure and Childhood Asthma Risk” Faculty Advisor: Dr. Kristal Tucker |
| Second Place: | Emma Campbell, “How Does Knowing Your Fate Affect You” Faculty Advisor: Professor MaryEllen Higgins |
| Third Place: | Emma Gatto, “P.E.S.T Analysis of Open AI” Faculty Advisor: Dr. Young Han Bae |
| Honorable Mention: | Marcus Gillespie, Damon Gamble, Bjorn Sigurdson, Mckay Ross, “Meta Cambridge Analytics Scandal” Faculty Advisor: Professor Rosemary Martinelli |
| Honorable Mention: | Ashley McKernan & Kody Hynes-McCutcheon, “Visual Injustice of the Voiceless: Animal Cruelty” Faculty Advisor: Professor MaryEllen Higgins |
| Honorable Mention: | Eva Wilstermann-Luna, “Abortion in Bioethics: The Balance of Rights and Both Perspective” |
Creativity in the arts and humanities category | |
| First Place: | Emma Campbell, “How Does Knowing Your Fate Affect You” Faculty Advisor: Professor MaryEllen Higgins |
| Second Place: | Chazdine Harmon, “The Impacts of Ehlers-Danlos” Faculty Advisor: Professor Lori Hepner |
| Honorable Mention: | Gabriella Tokar, “Photography in the Eye of Gary Winogrand” Faculty Advisor: Professor Lori Hepner |
STEM Category | |
| First Place: | Elisabeth Hager, “Improving Student Reasoning by Facing Misconceptions” Faculty Advisor: Dr. Beth Lindsey |
| Second Place | Aubree Sample, “Socioeconomic Disparities in Second-Hand Smoke Exposure and Childhood Asthma Risk” Faculty Advisor: Dr. Kristal Tucker |
| Honorable Mention | Brent Creehan, Ryan Orosz & Xavier Kelly, “When Safety Fails: The Deepwater Horizon Disaster and Its Aftermath” Faculty Advisor: Professor Rosemary Martinelli |
Judges Award | |
| First Place: | Aubree Sample, “Socioeconomic Disparities in Second-Hand Smoke Exposure and Childhood Asthma Risk” Faculty Advisor: Dr. Kristal Tucker |
Audience Choice | |
| First Place: | Ashley McKernan & Kody Hynes-McCutcheon, “Visual Injustice of the Voiceless: Animal Cruelty” Faculty Advisor: Professor MaryEllen Higgins |
Fall 2024 Research and Creativity Conference | |
| We are delighted to announce the winners of the Fall 2024 Research and Creativity Conference: | |
Library Undergraduate Research Awards | |
| First Place: | Aubree Sample, “Health Disparities in Urban and Rural Communities” Faculty Advisor: Dr. John Peles |
| Second Place: | Emma Gatto, “Market Research Generation for Car Rental Coach” Faculty Advisor: Professor Bernie Cerasaro |
| Honorable Mention: | Emma Campbell, “From Diagnosis to Transplant: Social Workers as Lifelines for IPF Patients” Faculty Advisor: Professor Kiera Mallett |
| Honorable Mention: | Eva Wilstermann-Luna, “Advance Care Planning in the Appalachian Rural Region: A Qualitative Study” Faculty Advisor: Dr. Andrea Stevens |
Creativity in the arts and humanities category | |
| First Place: | Chazdine Harmon, “Nature's Embrace of the Nittany Lion” Faculty Advisor: Professor Lori Hepner |
| Second Place: | Kody Hynes-McCutcheon and Ashley McKernan, “Small World Under the Lens” Faculty Advisor: Professor Lori Hepner |
| Honorable Mention: | Jonathan Tudor and James Richmond, “Life of a Spruce Tree” Faculty Advisor: Professor Lori Hepner |
| Honorable Mention: | Ymani Merritt- Bates, “Is Weed the New Cigarette?” Faculty Advisor: Dr. Katherine Mclean |
STEM Category | |
| First Place: | Olivia Huber, “Myth or Fact? We Only Use 10% of our Brain” Faculty Advisor: Dr. Elizabeth Mazur |
| Second Place | Eva Wilstermann-Luna and Tasneem Ekhtiar, “Significance of Telomeres on Aging” Faculty Advisor: Dr. Kristal Tucker |
| Honorable Mention | Aubree Sample, “Health Disparities in Urban and Rural Communities” Faculty Advisor: Dr. John Peles |
Judges Award | |
| First Place: | Eva Wilstermann-Luna, “Advance Care Planning in the Appalachian Rural Region: A Qualitative Study” Faculty Advisor: Dr. Andrea Stevens |
Audience Choice | |
| First Place: | Brady McNew and Gabe Kendrick, “An Artistic Take on our Ecosystems at PSUGA” Faculty Advisor: Professor Lori Hepner |
Spring 2024 Research and Creativity Conference | |
|---|---|
| We are delighted to announce the winners of the Spring 2024 Research and Creativity Conference: | |
Library Undergraduate Research Awards | |
| First Place: | Emma Gatto and Gabby Tokar, "ChatGPT Usage in Higher Education" Faculty Advisor: Dr. Zack Furness |
| Second Place: | Aubree Sample, "Ginko Biloba and Memory" Faculty Advisor: Dr.Kristal Tucker |
| Honorable Mentions: | Tasneem Ekhtiar, "Ozempic: Drug for Diabetes and Weight Loss" Connor Vogelsinger, "The Future of Warfare?" |
Creativity in the arts and humanities category | |
| First Place: | Jaylin Wescott, Alyssia Tucker, Brandon Graham, "PSU Student Perceptions on Campus Police" Faculty Advisor: Dr. Kate McLean |
| Second Place: | Ymani Merritt Bates, "Lego Therapy" Faculty Advisor: Dr. Zack Furness |
| Honorable Mention: | Emma Gatto and Gabby Tokar, "ChatGPT Usage in Higher Education" Faculty Advisor: Dr. Zack Furness |
Judges Award | |
| First Place: | Aubree Sample, "Ginko Biloba and Memory" Faculty Advisor: Dr.Kristal Tucker |
STEM Category | |
| First Place: | Korrine McCutcheon, "Number of Hours Slept and Its Effect on Obesity" Faculty Advisor: Dr. Kristal Tucker |
| Second Place: | Brooke Weber, "Statistical Analysis of Knee Brace Functionality using MATLAB" Faculty Advisor: Dr. Fernando Soto |
| Honorable Mention: | Chelsea Sala, "Methodical Differences in Florescence Lifetime Image Microscopy (FILM) Analysis Part 2" Faculty Advisor: Dr. Kristal Tucker |
Audience Choice | |
| First Place: | Jaylin Wescott, Alyssia Tucker, Brandon Graham, "PSU Student Perceptions on Campus Police" Faculty Advisor: Dr. Kate McLean |
Fall 2023 Research and Creativity Conference | |
|---|---|
| We are delighted to announce the winners of the Fall 2023 Research and Creativity Conference: | |
Library Undergraduate Research Awards | |
| First Place: | Dawn Rees, "Assessing Effective Community Engagement Strategies to Reduce Incidents of Crime and Violence in Clairton, Pennsylvania" Faculty Advisor: Dr. Christopher Robinson and Dr. Rikell Ford |
| Second Place: | Brooke Beisler, "Mary Cassatt on American Impressionism and Culture" Faculty Advisor: Dr. James Jaap |
| Honorable Mention: | Damon Gamble, Carla Hudson, and Chris Klinger, "Informational Retirement Plans for Young Professionals" Faculty Advisor: Professor Rosemary Martinelli |
| Honorable Mention: | Aubree Sample, "RNA interference (RNAi) of C. elegans |
Honors Category | |
| First Place: | Emma Campbell, "Incorporating I.P.F. Health Education into Social Work Preparation and Training" Faculty Advisor: Dr. Christopher Robinson |
| Second Place: | Hailey Cote, "Student Experiences in Intergenerational Programs" Faculty Advisor: Dr. Elizabeth Mazur |
| Honorable Mention: | Eva Wilstermann-Luna, "Revealing the Details of the Tardigrade Brain Anatomy Through Immunohistochemistry" Faculty Advisor: Dr. Kristal Tucker |
STEM Category | |
| First Place: | Brooke Weber, "Teaching the Physiological Applications of Electricity and Magnetism" Faculty Advisor: Dr. Beth Lindsey |
| Second Place: | Chelsea Sala, "Methodologial Differences in Florescence Lifetiem Image Microscopy (FILM) Analysis" Faculty Advisor: Dr. Kristal Tucker |
| Honorable Mention: | Connor Vogelsinger, "Fantastic Forces & How to Find Them" Faculty Advisor: Dr. Eric Lipsky |
Audience Choice Category | |
| First Place: | Jason Shank, Cameron George, RyAnn Ulaky, Jacob Ghetian, "Work Satisfaction Based on Modality" Faculty Advisor: Professor Rosemary Martinelli |
| Second Place: | Brian Woods, Giovanni Scott, Justin Scheibner, Michael Ryan, "Networking: Online vs In-Person" Faculty Advisor: Professor Rosemary Martinelli |
| Honorable Mention: | Emma Campbell, "Incorporating I.P.F. Health Education into Social Work Preparation and Training" Faculty Advisor: Dr. Christopher Robinson |
Spring 2023 Research and Creativity Conference | |
|---|---|
| We are delighted to announce the winners of the Spring 2023 Research and Creativity Conference: | |
Library Undergraduate Research Awards | |
| First Place: | Kourtney Kelly, "Reviewing Pain Differences Between Sexes" Faculty Advisor: Dr. Andrea Stevens |
| Honorable Mention: | James Frankel, "A Lesson in Mass Persuasion (featuring Former President Trump)" Faculty Advisor: Dr. Michael Vicaro |
Creativity in the arts and humanities category | |
| First Place: | David Emro, "Applying Techniques of Award Winning Photographers to Create a Unique Set of Photographs" Faculty Advisor: Professor Lori Hepner |
| Second Place: | Connor Vogelsinger, "A World of Colors and Emotions" Faculty Advisor: Professor Lori Hepner |
Honors Category | |
| First Place: | Elisabeth Hager, "Can You Be Right-Brained or Left-Brained?" Faculty Advisor: Dr. Elizabeth Mazur |
| Second Place: | Kayla Kerr, "Masculinity and Mental Illness: Understanding the Stigma" Faculty Advisor: Dr. Michael Vicaro |
| Third Place: | Ethan Galley, "A History of McKeesport" Faculty Advisor: Professor Lori Hepner |
STEM Category | |
| First Place: | Carson Flynn, "Comparing Standard Theory and CAD Stress Calculations" Faculty Advisor: Dr. Eric Lipsky |
| Second Place: | Jasiya Hudson, "Agonist-Antagonist Systems Effects on Heart Rate on Daphnia magna" Faculty Advisor: Dr. Andrea Stevens |
| Third Place: | Nicolas Boyer and Evelyn Siler, "Improving the Performance of Micro Wind Turbines" Faculty Advisor: Dr. Fernando Soto |
Audience Choice Category | |
| First Place: | Steven Dickman IV and Justin Lang, "Student Perceptions of Law Enforcement" Faculty Advisor: Dr. Sandra Trappen |
| Second Place: | Genevieve Gralewski, "Exploring Applied Behavioral Analysis" Faculty Advisor: Dr. Jennifer Croyle |
| Third Place: | Adric Northam, Eduardo Cruz, and Juan Pablo Romero Vasquez, "Predictions of Wind Speed in Briceburg, CA" Faculty Advisor: Dr. Fernando Soto |
Fall 2022 Research and Creativity Conference | |
|---|---|
| We are delighted to announce the winners of the Fall 2022 Research and Creativity Conference: | |
Library Undergraduate Research Awards | |
| 1st Place: | Genevieve Gralewski "Exploring Psychopathy and Antisocial Personality Disorder" Faculty Advisor: Dr. Jennifer Croyle |
| 2nd Place: | Neila Raveen "Exploring the Neurobiology Behind Opioid Addiction" Faculty Advisor: Dr. John Peles) |
| Honorable Mention: | Kennedy Henderson, Ryan Gaydos, Collin McPherson, and Jon Novakowski "Uber Everywhere: Does Uber Even Care?" Faculty Advisor: Professor Rosemary Martinelli |
| Honorable Mention: | Ethan Galley "All Eyes on Climate Change" Faculty Advisor: Professor Lori Hepner) |
| Honorable Mention: | Nicolas Boyer and Evelyn Siler "Investigating Fischer-Tropsch Synthesis" Faculty Advisor: Dr. Fernando Soto) |
Creativity in the arts and humanities category | |
| 1st Place: | Jacob Riggs "A Not-So-Nice View" Faculty Advisor: Professor Lori Hepner) |
| 2nd Place: | Amber Bhandari, Doug Painter, Sam Parsons, and Narayan Subedi "Will Gawker Ever Learn" Faculty Advisor Professor Rosemary Martinelli |
Honors Category | |
| 1st Place: | Chiara Harris "Environmental Literacy" Faculty Advisor: Professor Lori Hepner |
| 2nd Place: | Lillian Barker "Barker-Recycling Into Art" Faculty Advisor Professor Lori Hepner |
Teaching International Category | |
| 1st Place: | Connor Vogelsinger "The Art of Death and Rebirth in the Natural World" Faculty Advisor: Professor Lori Hepner |
| 2nd Place: | Hailey Cote "Acknowledging Indigenous Identity and Influence in Science, Art and our Connection with the Earth" Faculty Advisor: Professor Lori Hepner |
STEM Category | |
| 1st Place: | Neila Raveen "The Neuropharmalogical Impact Behind Vaping" Faculty Advisor: Dr. John Peles |
| 2nd Place: | Nicolas Boyer and Evelyn Siler "Investigating Fischer Tropsch-Synthesis" Faculty Advisor: Dr. Fernando Soto |
Audience Choice Category | |
| 1st Place: | Kourtney Kelly "Comparison of Harmful Effects and Potential Therapeutic Uses of Vaping Products" Faculty Advisor: Dr. John Peles |
| 2nd Place: | Brooke Beisler "Exploring Feminism and Ecofeminism Across Contemporary Artists" Faculty Advisor: Professor Lori Hepner |
