SPRING 2021 UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCH SYMPOSIUM WINNERS
The projects presented at the Spring 2021 Virtual Undergraduate Research Symposium can be viewed at symposium.foragerone.com/msus21urs.
Arts and Humanities
1st Place - Joseph Newell: Dickinson, Displacement, and her use of Defense Mechanisms to Cope with Psychological Trauma (Mentors: Dr. Lara Dodds and Dr. Dhanashree Thorat, English)
2nd Place - Lindsey Downs: Loss, Reckless Behavior, and Jane Austen's Realism in Sense and Sensibility and Persuasion (Mentor: Dr. Kelly Marsh, English)
Biological Sciences and Engineering
1st Place - Reese Dunne: Development and Implementation of a Magnesium-Based Finite Element Degradation Model for Orthopedic Implants (Mentor: Dr. Matthew Priddy, Mechanical Engineering)
2nd Place - Hannah Scheaffer: The Interference of PGD2 in the IL4 Anti-Inflammatory Pathway in THP1 Macrophages (Mentor: Dr. Matthew Ross, Comparative Biomedical Sciences, Center for Environmental Health Sciences, College of Veterinary Medicine)
3rd Place - James Warren: Bioprinting and evaluation of PLGA-KGN scaffolds as an augmentation to microfracture (Mentor: Dr. Steve Elder, Agricultural and Biological Engineering)
3rd Place - Sarah Hobbs: Characterization of Antifungal Activity of Strain A against aflatoxin producer Aspergillus flavus (Mentor: Dr. Shien Lu, Biochemistry, Molecular Biology, Entomology, and Plant Pathology)
3rd Place - Anna Gamblin: Annual Coastal Bird Community Response to Natural Vegetation Succession on Dredge-Spoil New Round Island (Mentor: Dr. Raymond Iglay, Wildlife, Fisheries, and Aquaculture)
Physical Sciences and Engineering
1st Place - Hailey Jamison: Sorption of As(III) Using Fe3O4 Nanoparticles Dispersed on Guadua chacoensis Bamboo (Si-char) and Its Redox Transformations (Mentor: Dr. Todd Mlsna, Chemistry)
2nd Place - Nirmal Bhatt: Thermo-Mechanical Modeling of Tubular Receivers for Solar Energy Storage (Mentor: Dr. Like Li, Mechanical Engineering)
3rd Place - Grace Williams: Determination of Mechanical Properties of Sandwich Composite Components (Mentors: Dr. Rani Sullivan and Mr. Robert Wolz, Aerospace Engineering)
3rd Place - Nathan Frey: Computational analysis of benzene-fused and extremely twisted pyrene-fused N-heterocyclic germylenes and boranes (Mentor: Dr. Edwin Webster, Chemistry)
3rd Place - James Dye: Acoustic Levitator in Motion (Mentors: Dr. Zhenhua Tian and Dr. Jichul Kim, Aerospace Engineering)
Social Sciences
1st Place - Emily Davis: Implementing Empathy in Future Healthcare Workers: Injury and Illness (I2) Simulation (Mentors: Dr. David Buys, Mrs. Ann Sansing, and Ms. Jasmine Harris-Speight, Food Science, Nutrition, and Health Promotion)
2nd Place - Nicole Mejia: Do You Care about Clutter?: Hoarding and Apathy (Mentor: Dr. Mary E Dozier, Psychology)
3rd Place - Khirsten Wilson: Bystanders to Bullying: Coping Mechanisms Involved in Challenging Hostile Workplace Dynamics (Mentor: Dr. H. Colleen Sinclair, Psychology)
3rd Place - Maya McWilliams: Exploring the Relationship between Food Insecurity and Asthma in Mississippi (Mentors: Dr. Bizu Gelaye and Dr. Mary M. Wesley, Epidemiology, Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health, Delta Scholars Program)
Community Engagement Research Track
**Sponsored by the Center for Community-Engaged Learning
1st Place in Arts and Humanities - McKenzie Johnson: Ethical and Empathetic Research in Architectural Education (Mentor: Alexis Gregory, School of Architecture)
1st Place in Biological Sciences and Engineering - Cristina Griffith: Precision Agriculture Technologies for Small Farmer Adoption (Mentors: Dr. Jeff Johnson and Dr. John Wes Lowe, Agricultural Economics and Agricultural & Biological Engineering)
1st Place in Social Sciences - Kristin Williford: Food Insecurity and Anxiety Among Mothers During COVID-19 (Mentor: Dr. Rahel Mathews, Food Science, Nutrition, and Health Promotion)
Public Health Research Competition
**Sponsored by the Department of Food Science, Nutrition and Health Promotion
1st Place - Nicole Mejia: Do You Care about Clutter?: Hoarding and Apathy (Mentor: Dr. Mary E Dozier, Psychology)
2nd Place - Amy Pham: The Relationship between Obesity and Sleep Quality in College Women (Mentors: Dr. Terezie Tolar-Peterson and Nicole Reeder, Food Science, Nutrition, and Health Promotion)
3rd Place - Emily Davis: Implementing Empathy in Future Healthcare Workers: Injury and Illness (I2) Simulation (Mentors: Dr. David Buys, Mrs. Ann Sansing, and Ms. Jasmine Harris-Speight, Food Science, Nutrition, and Health Promotion)
3rd Place - Katie Evans: Efficacy of Plant-Based Antimicrobial against Foodborne Salmonella spp. in Hummus Stored at Refrigerated and Abusive Temperatures (Mentor: Dr. Shecoya White, Food Science, Nutrition and Health Promotion)
Theta Tau Tomorrow Builder Award
**Sponsored by Theta Tau Professional Engineering Fraternity
Shanika Musser: Potential of biochar for the removal of waterborne microbial contaminants (Mentor: Dr. Benjamin Magbanua, Rula School of Civil and Environmental Engineering)
