Dozens of students presented their research projects to the public during the 19th annual Undergraduate Research Conference at Missouri S&T this April.

The conference featured exhibitions from students in a variety of majors. Students were required to prepare either an oral presentation or a poster summarizing their research and had to be ready to take questions from judges and conference attendees.

First-place winners were awarded a cash prize of $500. Second- and third-place finishers received $250 and $100, respectively. Prizes for group projects were split equally among group members.

Six students were awarded Opportunities for Undergraduate Research Experiences (OURE) Fellows Scholarships for ongoing interdisciplinary research projects; the six students who won for 2022-2023 were awarded final scholarship payments. The OURE Fellows program provides funding to support research combining two or more academic disciplines or fields of study. For more information, visit experientiallearning.mst.edu/ourefellows.

For more information about the Undergraduate Research Conference, visit experientiallearning.mst.edu/ugrc.

Oral Category:

Engineering:

• First Place: Allie Dingfield, a junior in mechanical engineering from Blair, Nebraska, for research titled “Density Fluctuations Measurements in Supersonic Flow.” The research advisor is Dr. Davide Viganò, assistant professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering.  
• Second Place: Zachary Baldwin, a senior in architectural engineering from Clinton, Missouri, for research titled “Feasibility of Using Hemp Fiber Reinforcement in 3DPC.” The research advisor is Dr. Nicolas Libre, associate professor of civil, architectural and environmental engineering.
• Third Place: Joshua Gary, a senior in aerospace engineering from Lake St. Louis, Missouri, for research titled “New Testing Capabilities of the S&T Supersonic Tunnel.” The research advisor is Dr. Davide Viganò, assistant professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering.

Sciences:

• First Place: Rosalee Brown, a sophomore in chemical engineering from Rolla, Missouri, for research titled “Quantifying Asphalt Binder UV Effects with Relaxome.” The research advisor is Dr. Klaus Woelk, associate professor of chemistry.
• Second Place: Tylor Cheatham, a senior in environmental science from Rolla, Missouri, for research titled “Water Quality Profiles in Two Rolla Ponds.” The research advisors are Dr. Dev Niyogi, professor of biological sciences, and Dr. Mark Fitch, associate professor of environmental engineering.
• Third Place: Samuel Schrader, a senior in physics from Hailey, Idaho, for research titled “Visualization of Ultracold Atomic Samples.” The research advisor is Daniel Fischer, associate professor of physics.

Social Sciences:

• First Place: Daniel Stutts, a non-degree seeking student from Rolla, Missouri, for research titled “Test-Optional Policy’s Impact on Statewide ACT Scores.” The research advisor is Dr. Jikhan Jeong, assistant professor of economics.
• Second Place: Love Gami, a sophomore in information science and technology from Janakpur, Nepal, for research titled “CO2 Pricing Impact on Partially Regulated Market.” The research advisor is Dr. Yishu Zhou, assistant professor of economics.
• Third Place: Jessica Frame, a senior in psychology and biological sciences from Rolla, Missouri, for research titled “Modality’s Effect on Aesthetic Ratings of Poetry.” The research advisor is Dr. Amy Belfi, associate professor of psychological science.

Poster Category:

Arts and Humanities:

• First Place: Brileigh Cates, a junior in applied mathematics from Poplar Bluff, Missouri, for research titled “Gender and the Billboard Top-40 Charts 1958-2023.” The research advisor is Dr. David Samson, professor of music.
• Second Place: Joely Hall, a sophomore in psychology from Ozark, Missouri, for research titled “Neurodivergence & Artificial Intelligence (AI) in Writing.” The research advisor is Dr. Jossalyn Larson, associate teaching professor of English and technical communication.
• Third Place: Ben Brown, a sophomore in chemistry from St. Louis, for research titled “The Search for the Akwamu People, 1729-1733.” The research advisor is Dr. Justin Pope, assistant professor of history.

Engineering: Individual Projects

• First Place: Henry Tien, a senior in mechanical engineering from Lee’s Summit, Missouri, for research titled “Development of Perturbation Device for pHHI Research.” The research advisor is Dr. Yun Seong Song, associate professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering.
• Second Place: Gracie May James, a senior in nuclear engineering from House Springs, Missouri, for research titled “TNT Equivalence of Binary Energetics.” The research advisor is Dr. Catherine Johnson, Robert H. Quenon professor of mining and explosives engineering.
• Third Place: Noah Sparks, a senior in chemical engineering from Jackson, Missouri, for research titled “Ionizable Lipid Nanoparticles Characterization.” The research advisor is Dr. Hu Yang, Linda & Bipin Doshi department chair and professor of chemical and biochemical engineering.

Engineering: Group Projects

• First Place: Preston Carroll, a senior in electrical engineering from Nixa, Missouri; Benjamin Cuebas, a senior in electrical engineering from Springfield, Missouri; and Justin Fausto, a senior in electrical engineering from Pleasant Hope, Missouri, for research titled “Deconstructed 555 Timer for Engineering Education.” The research advisor is Dr. Rohit Dua, associate teaching professor of electrical and computer engineering.
• Second Place: Kaylee Denbo, a senior in environmental engineering from Rolla, Missouri; and Briannah Spisak, a sophomore in environmental engineering from Rolla, Missouri, for research titled “Analysis of 1,4 Dioxane in Plants.” The research advisor is Dr. Joel Burken, chair and Curators’ Distinguished Teaching Professor of civil, architectural, and environmental engineering.
• Third Place: Rebekah Floyd, a senior in architectural engineering from O’Fallon, Missouri, for research titled “Using VR Technologies in Built Environment Education.” The research advisor is Dr. Stuart Baur, assistant chair and associate professor of architectural engineering.

Sciences: Individual Projects

• First Place: Kamden George, a junior in biological sciences from Vienna, Missouri, for research titled “Drug Loading and Release Based on Aerogel Morphology.” The research advisor is Dr. Chariklia Sotiriou-Leventis, chair and professor of chemistry.
• Second Place: Emily Cahill, a junior in chemical engineering from Ellisville, Missouri, for research titled “FeDoped Zeolite for Propane Dehydrogenation Catalyst.” The research advisor is Dr. Amitava Choudhury, associate professor of chemistry.
• Third Place: Joshua Caruso, a senior in computer science from Ballwin, Missouri, for research titled “Improve Labeling-Efficiency for Active Learning.” The research advisor is Dr. Ardhendu Tripathy, assistant professor of computer science.

Sciences: Group Projects

• First Place: Amelia Markwell, a sophomore in biological sciences from Chesterfield, Missouri; and Sophia Nicolette Militante, a first-year student in biological sciences from Palo, Philippines, for research titled “Microbe Emulation: Cell-Cell Communication.” The research advisor is Dr. David Westenberg, Curators’ Distinguished Teaching Professor of biological sciences.  
• Second Place: Charles Green, a junior in biological sciences from Kansas City, Missouri; and Elena Zobel, a sophomore in biological sciences from O’Fallon, Missouri, for research titled “C. elegans Populations in the Presence of P. pacificus.” The research advisor is Dr. Andrea Scharf, assistant professor of biological sciences.
• Third Place: Matthew Dominicis, a senior in computer engineering and computer science from Ellisville, Missouri; Gabriel Riddle, a junior in physics from Kidder, Missouri; Parineeta Puja Saha, a junior in computer science from Rolla, Missouri; and Mason Toombs, a senior in physics and computer science from Arnold, Missouri, for research titled “T Gates on a Quantum Circuit to Achieve Randomness.” The research advisor is Dr. Avah Banerjee, assistant professor of computer science.

Social Sciences

• First Place: Akira Durbin, a sophomore in psychology from Saint Robert, Missouri, for research titled “Stimuli-Evoked Spontaneous Recall, Ages 18-35 vs 65-85.” The research advisor is Dr. Amy Belfi, associate professor of psychological science.

OURE Fellowships

Final scholarship payments awarded to:

• Megan Benkendorf, a senior in applied mathematics from Cape Girardeau, Missouri, for research titled “Numerical Studies on Bose-Einstein Condensates.” The research advisor is Dr. Yanzhi Zhang, associate professor of mathematics and statistics.
• Erik Bergstrom, a senior in biological sciences from Riverside, Missouri, for research titled “Mathematical Analysis of C. elegans Population Dynamics.” The research advisor is Dr. Andrea Scharf, assistant professor of biological sciences.
• Grace Duong, a senior in environmental engineering from St. Louis, for research titled “Floating Treatment Wetlands for Zinc Phytoremediation.” The research advisors are Dr. Mark Fitch, associate professor of environmental engineering and Dr. Dev Niyogi, professor of biological sciences.
• Jessica Frame, a senior in psychology and biological sciences from Rolla, Missouri, for research titled “Modality’s Effect on Aesthetic Ratings of Poetry.” The research advisor is Dr. Amy Belfi, associate professor of psychological science.
• Steven Karst, a senior in computer science and physics from Ballwin, Missouri, for research titled “Enhancing Galaxy Surveys with Machine Learning.” The research advisor is Dr. Shun Saito, assistant professor of physics.
• Clare Koerkenmeier, a senior in biological sciences from Aviston, Illinois, for research titled “Data Analysis Pipeline of C. elegans Dynamics.” The research advisor is Dr. Andrea Scharf, assistant professor of biological sciences.

Students selected for the 2024-25 OURE Fellows, and awarded a $2,000 scholarship:

• Tylor Cheatham, a senior in environmental science from Rolla, Missouri, for research titled “Phytoremediation of Nonpoint Source Pollution.” The research advisors are Dr. Dev Niyogi, professor of biological sciences, and Dr. Mark Fitch, associate professor of environmental engineering.
• Matthew Dominicis, a senior in computer engineering and computer science from Ellisville, Missouri, for research titled “TA Theoretical Framework for Comparing RLHF Method.” The research advisor is Dr. Ardhendu Tripathy, assistant professor of computer science.
• Gracie May James, a senior in nuclear engineering from House Springs, Missouri, for research titled “TNT Equivalence of Binary Energetics.” The research advisor is Dr. Catherine Johnson, Robert H. Quenon professor of mining and explosives engineering.
• Amelia Markwell, a sophomore in biological sciences from Chesterfield, Missouri, for research titled “A New Genetic Tool for Quorum-Sensing Ba.” The research advisor is Dr. David Westenberg, Curators’ Distinguished Teaching Professor of biological sciences.
• Joshua Santy, a senior in physics from Plattsburg, Missouri, for research titled “Amorphous Transparent Oxide P-type Semiconductors.” The research advisor is Dr. Julia Medvedeva, professor of physics.
• Noah Sparks, a senior in chemical engineering from Jackson, Missouri, for research titled “Lung Cancer Drug Study using ALC Nanoparticles.” The research advisor is Dr. Hu Yang, Linda and Bipin Doshi department chair and professor of chemical and biochemical engineering.

About Missouri University of Science and Technology

Missouri University of Science and Technology (Missouri S&T) is a STEM-focused research university of over 7,000 students located in Rolla, Missouri. Part of the four-campus University of Missouri System, Missouri S&T offers over 100 degrees in 40 areas of study and is among the nation’s top public universities for salary impact, according to the Wall Street Journal. For more information about Missouri S&T, visit www.mst.edu.