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  1. Home
  2. Academics
  3. The Honors Program

Research and Creativity Conference

Overview:

Penn State Greater Allegheny hosts two Student Research and Creativity Conferences annually, providing a platform for students to showcase their research projects and creative achievements. These conferences are sponsored by the Honors Program. Students collaborate closely with faculty advisors throughout the project development process. While most projects are presented in poster format, alternative presentation formats are also accepted.

Faculty judges and conference attendees vote on projects across several award categories, including Honors, Creativity, Library Literacy, STEM, and People's Choice.

Note: All Honors Options require a poster or video presentation, except for freshmen or sophomores enrolled in a 400-level course.

Fall 2025 Research and Creativity Conference

DATE COMING SOON....
12:15 to 1:15 p.m.
Student Community Center


Previous Research and Creativity Conference Winners

Spring 2025 Research and Creativity Conference

We are delighted to announce the winners of the Spring 2025 Research and Creativity Conference at Penn State Greater Allegheny:
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 PlaceAubree Sample, “Socioeconomic Disparities in Second-Hand Smoke Exposure and Childhood Asthma Risk”
Faculty Advisor: Dr. Kristal Tucker
Honorable MentionBrent 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 at Penn State Greater Allegheny:
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 PlaceEva Wilstermann-Luna and Tasneem Ekhtiar, “Significance of Telomeres on Aging”
Faculty Advisor: Dr. Kristal Tucker
Honorable MentionAubree 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 at Penn State Greater Allegheny:
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"
Faculty Advisor: Dr. Kristal Tucker

Connor Vogelsinger, "The Future of Warfare?"
Faculty Advisor: Dr. Zack Furness

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 at Penn State Greater Allegheny:
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 at Penn State Greater Allegheny:
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 at Greater Allegheny
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

Undergraduate Research and Fellowship Mentoring

  • The Honors Program
    • Honors Program Invitation Response Form
    • Research and Creativity Conference
    • Honors Courses
    • Honors Independent Study
    • Request an Honors Option for Non-Honors Courses
  • Penn State Undergraduate Clinical Research Training Program
  • Science and Engineering Course-Based Undergraduate Research Experiences (SECURE)

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Contact Information:

Phone: 412-675-9000
Email: [email protected]

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