22nd Annual Undergraduate Research and Creative Activities Fair

Saturday, April 13, 2024
Adler Athletic Complex

Presentations and Results

Business/Information Sciences and Technology

  • First Place: Steven McKimm, Logan Dermont, Cameron Piscioneri, Shane Reigert, Gabriel McFadden—“Evaluating Cybersecurity Challenges in EVSE Systems: From Vulnerability Identification to Prevention Strategies”
  • Second Place: Bradley Kaufman, Anthony Hammill, Hans Esteban, Luke Murray, Justin Moore—“Evaluating and Enhancing Security in Code Generated by ChatGPT: A Baseline for Safer Software Development”
  • Third Place: Lauren Peng—“Optimizing Managerial Approaches Through Plasticity”

Engineering and Physical Sciences

  • First Place: Casey Hess—“Investigation and Determinant Analysis of High-Speed Tennis Ball Impact Dynamics”
  • Second Place: Alexis Dell—“Oxidative Cross-Coupling of Monolignols and Model Peptides”
  • Third Place: Prisha Chanana—“Effect of Ceramics and Energetic Additives on Regression Rate of HTPB-Based Solid Fuels in a Hybrid Rocket”

Health, Life, and Behavioral Sciences

  • First Place: Nicole Flanders—“Yearly variation in the population density and reproduction of an aquatic invader, Potamopyrgus antipodarum”
  • Second Place: Gracie Harlow—“Substrate preference between competing snail species in Millbrook Marsh, Centre County, PA”
  • Third Place: Chloe Mazza—"How Does Repeated Exposure to Testing Conditions and Individual Differences in Temperament Affect Spatial Cognition in the common minnow (Phoxinus phoxinus)"

Internship Posters

  • First Place: Audrianna Barnes—“Senior Internship: Long-term Care vs Pediatric Physical Therapy”
  • Second Place: Lyric Koelle—“Kinesiology Exercise Science Internship”
  • Third Place: Robert Frankosky—“UPMC Radiology Technician Internship Experience”

Social Sciences I

  • Tied for First Place: Jahdon Jerome—“Does Imagery Improve Free Throw Shooting Accuracy in Male Basketball Players?”
  • Tied for First Place: Justin Hedges—“Imagery Free-Throw Training in Division III Male Basketball Players”
  • Third Place: Rebecca Reeder, Hailey Burchfield—“Examining Associations Between Fathers' Involvement and Adult Sons' Attitudes Toward Relationships”

Social Sciences II

  • First Place: Ziwei Lin, Makaylah Bangura, Jazzmine McCauley, Deyana Dye—“Media Exposure vs. Lived Experiences with Police: What Influences Attitudes?”
  • Second Place: Makaylah Bangura, Ellee Garver, Yusra Haroon, Lily Reid, Riley Fegley, Shannette Wahor—“Rape Myth Acceptance: Does Endorsement Influence Sentencing Decisions?”
  • Third Place: Lam Vo, Pamela Lantz—“Men's Parental Care and Mental Health Symptoms in Early Fatherhood”

Oral Presentations—Research

  • First Place: Philip Chamberlin—“Estimating Bandgap Energy of Nanoarchitectured and Conventional Materials for Solar Cell Application”
  • Second Place: Rebecca Reeder—"University Students' Attitudes Towards the Use of AI in Education"
  • Third Place: Angela Bunk—“Active Noise Canceling Headphones”

Oral Presentations—Internships

  • First Place: Pamela Lantz—“Helping Myself and Others: Animal Assisted Care”
  • Second Place: Stephanie Dale—“Securing and Mending Families”
  • Third Place: Camryn Kurilla—“Therapy Through the Mind of an Intern”

Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging

  • First Place: Travis Saylor—“Immigration Narratives of Loss and Belonging”
  • Second Place: Ziwei Lin, Makaylah Bangura, Jazzmine McCauley, Deyana Dye—“Media Exposure vs. Lived Experiences with Police: What Influences Attitudes?”
  • Third Place: Caroline Downey, Olivia Ronan—“Reproductive Information and Fathers’ Negativity Toward their Children’s Sexual Orientation Disclosures”

Libraries Award

  • Tied for First Place: Lauren Peng—"Optimizing Management Approaches Through Plasticity"
  • Tied for First Place: Travis Saylor—"Immigration Narratives of Loss and Belonging"

Sustainability Award

  • First Place: Giovanni Napolitano, Kara Bailen, Robert Ethan Reed—"Mechanical Roadway System for Capturing Wasted Energy of Vehicles and Conversion to Electrical Energy"
  • Second Place: Ziwei Lin, Deyana Dye, Makaylah Bangura, and Jazzmine McCauley—"Media Exposure vs. Lived Experiences: What Influences Attitudes"
  • Third Place: Makaylah Bangura, Riley P. Fegley, Ellee Garver, Lily G. Reid, Yusra Haroon, & Shannette Wahor—"Rape Myth Acceptance: Does Endorsement Influence Sentencing Decisions?"

Excellence in Undergraduate Research and Creative Activities Mentoring Award

Ed Levri, Head of the Division of Mathematics and Natural Sciences; Interim Head of the Division of Business, Engineering, and Information Sciences and Technology; and Professor of Biology