AMES, Iowa – For the second year, Iowa State University students will present their research at the National Conference on Undergraduate Research.
NCUR, held April 4-7 at the University of Central Oklahoma, brings together about 4,000 students from across the nation to present their scholarship and creative research in their disciplines.
This year, 51 Iowa State students from 26 different majors were selected to present their research at the conference – nearly quadrupling the number chosen last year.
Students attending also will be able to participate in one of the largest graduate school fairs in the nation, in addition to networking and professional development workshops.
Svitlana Zbarska, coordinator of Iowa State’s undergraduate research program, works with ISU students who are participating in NCUR. Last year, 13 students represented Iowa State at the University of Memphis.
“It is a great opportunity for students to meet other undergraduate researchers, master their presentation skills and learn more about graduate schools,” Zbarska said. “Iowa State will have strong representatives at the National Conference on Undergraduate Research.”
Iowa State students selected to present their research at NCUR, along with their hometowns, majors and research titles are:
- Steven Abramsky, Kieler, Wisconsin, industrial design, “Instructional Heuristics in Innovative Educational Practices”
- Souparni Agnihotri, Bangalore, India, electrical and computer engineering; Omar Taylor, Miramar, Florida, computer engineering; Yazan Okasha, Dubai, United Arab Emirates, electrical and computer engineering, “Fast Algorithms for Recommender Systems”
- Courtney Beringer, Asbury, mechanical engineering, “Solar Apparel”
- Siyu Bi, Seattle, Washington, mechanical engineering, “Atomic Force Microscopy Study Revealed Velocity-Dependence and Nonlinearity of Nanoscale Poroelasticity of Eukaryotic Cells”
- Jacqueline Blaum, Bettendorf, physics, “Study of IC 443: An Extended Source in the Galactic Plane” and “Exploring the Transient Optical Sky with LSST”
- Alexander Blum, Clear Lake, architecture, “Landscape, Architecture, and Spirituality at the Remote Monastic Communities of Mount Athos”
- Hawa Conteh, Algona, psychology, “Blanket Inoculation of Attitudes”
- Vivian Cook, Ames, performing arts, “Climate Change Theatre Action at Iowa State University”
- Alexander Criswell, Mahtomedi, Minnesota, physics, “Orbiting Extragalactic Bodies and the Evolution of Exponential Profiles in Galactic Disks”
- Harrison Daubitz, Cedar Rapids, history, “Geneva to Berlin: Nikita Khrushchev and Diplomatic Interplay Between the USSR and Western Powers During the Cold War Era 1955-1962”
- Thomata Doe, Des Moines, nutritional science, “Evaluation of a Nutrition Education Program: Buy Eat Live Healthy’s Suitability and Usefulness to Refugees”
- Benjamin Dralle, Osage, nutritional science and genetics, “Childhood Obesity Treatment in Iowa: Primary Care Providers’ and Residents’ Practices and Attitudes”
- Sydney Edwards, Urbandale, biology, “Center of Excellence, In-Core Cross Disciplinary Glossary”
- Sha’Kurra Evans, Dubuque, sociology, “Race, Public Opinions, and Capital Punishment”
- Noah Garwood, Dysart, industrial design, “Assessing Role of Visual Note-Taking in Large Lecture Classrooms”
- Grace Gasser, Eau Claire, Wisconsin, biology, “Characterization of Immortalized Wildtype Microglial Cells (WTMCL)”
- Josua Gonzales-Neal, Tomball, Texas, software engineering, “Literary Review of the Security for the Internet of Things Survey”
- Lucas Goodman, Montezuma, animal ecology, “Effects of Flowering Plant Species Richness on Arthropod Order Richness in Grassland Ecosystems”
- Thomas Hansen, Ames, animal ecology, “Effect of Cull Tags on Stress Levels of Largemouth Bass”
- Sammy Hassan, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, civil engineering, “Bioprotective Layer for Corrosion Control” and “Novel Capacitive CFRP Sensor for Structural Health Monitoring”
- Jordan Hildebrand, Bismarck, North Dakota, mechanical engineering, “Student Video Viewing Behaviors in an Online Undergraduate Mechanics of Materials Course”
- Jace Holton, Waterloo, mechanical engineering, “Calibration Method for Spinning Fringe Projection”
- Colette Kocek, La Grange Park, Illinois, industrial design, "Design thinking in engineering course design”
- Emily Kozik, St. Charles, Illinois, liberal arts and sciences specials, “A Novel Platform for Development of Cell Delivery Strategies Using Poly (E-Caprolactone) Microfiber Scaffold Implants Into the Zebrafish CNS”
- Hyunseo Lee, Ames, art and design, “Fashioning Anti Environments: The Subversive Work of Rei Kawakubo and Yohji Yamamoto”
- Ye-Lim Lim, Busan, South Korea, psychology, “The Effect of Vitamin B12 Deficiency on Cognitive Impairment”
- Josephina Matteson, Newton, community and regional planning, “Critical Urban Forms: Involving Youth in the Planning Process”
- Liam McDermott, Gowrie, physics, “Quantitative Model of the Advanced Near-Field Optical Microscope for Nanomaterial Characterization”
- Ethan Owens, Lake City, biology, “Human vs. Machine Game Playing”
- Laura Pesquera Colom, Toa Alta, Puerto Rico, biology, “Recovery of Adult Neural Stem Cells from Alginate Hydrogels”
- Jenna Petersen, Pine Island, Minnesota, kinesiology and health, “Effectiveness of Motivational Interviewing for Different Personalities in College Students”
- Abraham Polonia Suarez, Carolina, Puerto Rico, mechanical engineering, “Stamped-Graphene Biosensors on Biodegradable and Disposable Substrates”
- Kendall Reynolds, Overland Park, Kansas, industrial design; and Blake Conant, Johnston, industrial design, “Engineering Students’ Perceptions on the Impact and Value of Design Thinking”
- Enrique Rubio Delgado, Des Moines, civil engineering, “The Tale of Two Devastating Earthquakes in Mexico City”
- Autumn Rudlong, Ham Lake, Minnesota, food science, “Effect of Ultra Violet Light Blocking Film Technology on the Retention of Vitamin C and Beta-Carotene in Fresh Spinach”
- Aimee Schulz, Becker, Minnesota, genetics, “Inbreeding Depression in Wild Maize Populations (Zea Mays SSP. Parviglumis) Subject to Habitat Degradation in Southwest Mexico”
- Takao Shibamoto, Tokyo, Japan, computer engineering, “Primer Server – A Web Application to Design Primers for the Amplification of Unique DNA Targets in Complex Genomes”
- Alexis Slade, Waukee, agricultural engineering, “Effects of Woodchip Bioreactors on Water Quality”
- Neel Solanki, Pune, India, horticulture, “A Low-Input Alternative Healing System for Grafted Tomato Transplants”
- Eric Spahr, Cary, Illinois, industrial engineering; and Kevin Lin, Council Bluffs, industrial engineering, “In-Situ Quality Inspection for Micro/Nanoscale Additive Manufacturing System Based on Electrohydrodynamic Inkjet Printing Using Machine Vision”
- Kaylinn Taggart, Council Bluffs, architecture; Zach Thielen, Bellevue, architecture; and Laura Michaelson, Dakota Dunes, South Dakota, mechanical engineering, “A Mobile Diagnostics Lab for Interdisciplinary Climate Research”
- Bradyn Thompson, Morton, Illinois, construction engineering, “Studying Motivations for Adopting Solar Photovoltaic Technology in Chile: An Analytical Hierarchical Process Approach”
- Nayelie Valenzuela, Maurice, public relations, attending but not presenting
- Kellie Walters, Mount Vernon, industrial design, “Hegemony in Industrial Design: A Study of Gendered Communication Styles”
- Faleesia Willis, St. Louis, Missouri, biology, “Examining the Architecture of Focal Adhesion Kinase”