Past Symposium Award Recipients

 PRESENTATIONS WITH DISTINCTION

(Alphabetical by first student author's last name)

 “Standardized histological protocol to characterize cochlear synaptopathy in chinchillas after noise or blast exposure” presented by Maria Catalina Aceros; mentored by Fernando Aguilera De Alba; Michael G Heinz

“Sustainable Manufacturing of Aerospace Composite Structures using High-performing Bio-based Epoxy Systems” presented by Luis Mariano Avalos Campa; mentored by Isabelle Schaekel; Jonathan J Wilker

“Bridging Electrical and Optical Characterization of Gallium-Doped ZnO for Tailorable Epsilon-Near-Zero Photonics” presented by Saishri Bagde; mentored by Alexandra Boltasseva; Miroslava Marinova Marinova; Kyu Ri Choi

“Engineering Technology: How Do Entry Pathways Relate to Preparation, Satisfaction, and Career Confidence?” presented by Japteg Singh Bamrah; Charis Knoerr; mentored by Anne M Lucietto

“Targeting Pro-Inflammatory Macrophages via Sialylated Nanocarriers for Treatment of Rheumatoid Arthritis” presented by Gabrielle Marie Barrido; mentored by Marxa Figueiredo; Gabriel Steven Harris; Kurt Ristroph

“Photoelastic Gel Pad for Vision-Based Tactile Sensing” presented by Samuel Timothy Bibeau; mentored by Yu She; Md Rakibul Islam Prince

“Functional analysis of putative chromatin assembly factors in Arabidopsis” presented by Duncan Patrick Blank; mentored by Joe Ogas

“High-Resolution Cellular STA using Ribosome Alignment” presented by Anna Boeva; mentored by Kristy Rochon; Samuel Hartzler; Lauren Ann Metskas

“Improved Radiation Testing Methodology and Characterization of COTS Memory Devices with varying Memory and Package Size” presented by Louis Vincent Buonaiuto; mentored by Andrew Owen Fewell; Peter Bermel

“Investigating the biocatalytic activity of SavA/B homologs in S. pristinaespiralis via heterologous expression in E. coli” presented by Phoebe Burrell; mentored by Elizabeth I Parkinson; Manuela Frias Gomez

“Experimental Characterization of Vent-Gas Ignition During Lithium-Ion Battery Thermal Runaway” presented by Nicolas Bustamante; mentored by Li Qiao; Samarpan Farmer

“Comparison of scanning electron microscopy and histological observations of human aorta tissue” presented by Bea Olivia Cabot; mentored by Shubh Parag Mehta; Cortland Hannah Johns; Craig Goergen; Benjamin Landis

“FractureTAU: A Spatiotemporal-Attention Deep-Learning Surrogate for Long-Horizon Fracture Forecasting in Microstructures” presented by Juan I Cantarella; mentored by Kyle Henry Jung; Marisol Koslowski; Joshua Mark Block

“Evaluation and Analysis of Low-GWP Refrigerant-Lubricant Miscibility for Ultra-Low Temperature Applications” presented by Emma Caron; mentored by Riley Bradley Barta; Ganesh Brammanayagam venkatesan

“Complex biological process modelling using Bayesian Optimization” presented by Eeshwar Ram Chalasani; mentored by Linlin Li

“Source Differentiation of RP2040 and ESP32 Development Boards Using Non-Destructive Chemical and Surface Analysis” presented by Owen Chen; mentored by Peter Bermel

“Modulation of Mechanical, Injectable and Degradation Characteristics of MMP Cleavable Microgels to Advance Tissue Repair” presented by Daniel Chi Hsien Chen Sandi; mentored by Jun Kim; Taimoor Hasan Qazi

“Development of G-Quadruplex Database for Structural and Comparative Analysis” presented by Sebastian Cruz; mentored by Jinho Jang; Danzhou Yang

“Project Rosa: An Off-Grid Edge Computing Gateway for Agricultural Data” presented by Pavle Duric; mentored by Fabio Andres Castiblanco Rubio; Yaguang Zhang; Andrew Balmos; James V Krogmeier

“Couples Perceptions of Family Functioning in Military Families with a PTSD Service Dog: A Convergent Mixed Methods Analysis” presented by Tatum Reese Ebbeskotte; mentored by Leanne Nieforth

“Exploring Rm62 involvement in aging as a regulator of R-loop homeostasis” presented by Kendra Eller; mentored by Hana Hall; Geethma Lirushie Tellambure Vithanage; Kendall Cottingham

“Effect of UV Intensity and Particle Type on the Cure Depth of Photocurable Molding Powders” presented by Kym-Danny Dyah Francis; mentored by Ismar Leonel Chew; Monique Suzanne McClain

“Investigating Solvent and Processing Effects on ROY Polymorph Crystallization for Pharmaceutical Intermediate Purification” presented by Andrew Lucas Freuman; mentored by Kari L Clase; Stephen Robert Byrn; Daniel T Smith

“Geographic Robustness for Agricultural Earth Observation Foundation Models through Post-Hoc Adaptation” presented by Akshith Garapati; mentored by Dharmendra Saraswat; David Iseri Inouye; Rajiv Ranjan

“An Empirical Study of LLM-Driven Microwave Circuit Design” presented by Elijah Goodman; mentored by Dan Jiao; Hongyang Liu

“Geometric Control of Drug Release in Additively Manufactured Dosage Forms Using Vibration-Assisted Printing” presented by Vincent John Graciano; mentored by Bren H Legarreta; Diane Collard; Steven F Son

“A Comparative Life-cycle Assessment Workflow for Interpreting Divergence in Early-Stage Building Carbon Estimates” presented by DANIEL SEARS GREGORY; Hope Rockmore-Johnson; mentored by Soowon Chang; Deniz Besiktepe; Heung Jin Oh

“Evaluation of Control Strategies for Drone Path Tracking and Cooperative Multi-Agent Exploration of Indoor Environments” presented by Ediz Guzey; mentored by Shreyas Sundaram; Younggil Chang

“Using SAM2 for Floe Size Distribution Analysis” presented by Caleb Carr Hamilton; mentored by Yue Meng

“Association Between Hemodynamics and Vessel Wall Enhancement in Intracranial Aneurysms” presented by Diego Alejandro Hernandez Acosta; mentored by Vitaliy L Rayz; Farshid Goudarzian; Grace Elizabeth Palahnuk; Defne Ekici

“RNA expression reveals heat shock resistance genes in distinct potato cultivars” presented by Valeria Raquel Hernandez Barboza; mentored by Michael R Gribskov

“Digital Inline Holographic Particle Tracking Velocimetry for High-Image-Density Particle Erosion Characterization” presented by Yi Yang Hsu; mentored by Daniel Robert Guildenbecher; Amy Chang

“Political and Military Aspects of NATO's Flexible Response” presented by Robert Humphreys; mentored by Austin Rory Cooper

“Development of an Endothelial Microfluidic Chip Model as a Platform for Drug Delivery Studies in Cancer” presented by Delfina B Jackson; mentored by Arezoo Ardekani; Elham Saberian; David Perez Herrera; Rizwan Ullah

“Vision-Based Runway Detection” presented by Kabir Jain; mentored by Sabine Brunswicker; Jayanth Shreekumar

“Uncovering Structural Determinants of Substrate Scope in a Peptide Cyclase Enzyme Family” presented by Lucas O Johnson; mentored by Elizabeth I Parkinson; Paisley Lilliana Jeannette; Zachary Logan Budimir

“Exploration of Finetuning Methods for Deep Learning-Based Aortic Root Segmentation on Echocardiography” presented by Julia Kang; mentored by Shubh Parag Mehta; Craig Goergen; Benjamin Landis

“Laser-Profilometry-Driven Digital Twin System for Defect Detection during Automated Fiber Placement” presented by Rohan Kelkar; mentored by Dianyun Zhang; Yao Sun

“Cognitive Effects of Exoskeleton Use on Hazard Identification Performance in Construction Workers” presented by Ahmed Khan; mentored by Hyewon Seo; Behzad Esmaeili

“Uncovering the Role of the scs Pilus Within the Complex Surface Architecture of Stenotrophomonas maltophilia” presented by Ian Kim; mentored by Seema Mattoo

“Targeting ASC Filament Formation as a Therapeutic Strategy for Alzheimer's Disease” presented by Erwin Kingston; mentored by Andrew D Mesecar; Nidhi Walia

“Analysis of Laser Wakefield Acceleration and the Beam-Loading Effect in Higher Dimensions” presented by Keegan M Kita; mentored by Alexander Gregory Sinelli; Allen L Garner

“Creating Connected Pathways in Iron: Engineering Interconnected Porous Networks Through Magnesiothermic Reduction” presented by Emily Danielle Kushner; mentored by Joseph Flanagan; Jihoon Park; Sudipta Mondal; Kenneth H Sandhage; Kevin P Trumble

“Synthesis of novel ligands to improve reactivity and selectivity of organometallic reactions through electric field catalysis” presented by Sophia Madrazo; mentored by Anna Elizabeth Davis; Gabriel Jordan Lovinger

“Understanding Coronary Artery Disease and Atherosclerosis Through the Language of Fluid Dynamics” presented by Dhruva Magesh; mentored by Ernest Francis Talarico, Jr.; Thach Nguyen

“Customs and courtesies: Preliminary qualitative analysis of an equine-assisted learning program for military veterans” presented by Kelly Marie Makovic; mentored by Leanne Nieforth; Sarah Jean Reega

“Advancing Better Therapies: Screening Pyrrolopyridine-Hydrazone Derivatives Against Clostridioides difficile” presented by Katrina Mason; mentored by Ahmed Abdelkhale Hassan

“Understanding the Optical Properties of MXenes” presented by Vedha Masuraha; mentored by Babak Anasori

“A systematic review of EEG research on error processing in schizophrenia” presented by Seona James Mathew; Lorellei Estella ro Fletcher; Morgan Denae Furlow; mentored by Daniel J Foti

“Producing Rocket Fuel on Mars: A Thermodynamic Analysis of Separating Perchlorate Salts from Martian Brine” presented by Sahda Mohammadu Haroon; mentored by Xavier I Morgan-Lange; David Warsinger

“Selective Delamination of Lithium-Ion Battery Cathodes Using Mild Alkaline System for Direct Recycling” presented by Sohyun Moon; mentored by Mahmudul Hoq; Hosop Shin

“The Influence of Drought Conditions on Freshwater Mussel Movement in Indiana Rivers” presented by Eva Corinne Morie; mentored by Jacob Daniel Hosen; Alexander Charles Collins

“Pulse-Flow Reverse Osmosis” presented by Taher Mustafa Mukadam; mentored by Ali Naderi Beni; David Warsinger

“Microchip integration of a novel communications technology” presented by Lucas Munoz; mentored by Walter Daniel Leon-Salas

“Exploring the Structure and Function of Ceg14, a Legionella pneumophila Effector Protein, and its Binding Partners” presented by Isabel M Owens; mentored by Shalini Iyer; Chittaranjan Das; Nuela Enebechi

“Enhancing the Mechanical Reliability of Free-Standing Laser-Induced Graphene through Process and Material Design” presented by Elena Paias Ferreira; mentored by Wenzhuo Wu; Pedro Henrique de Souza Barbosa

“Spatial Optimization of Intracortical Ultramicroelectrode Stimulation” presented by Evelynn Marie Papez; mentored by Elizabeth Tarami Su; Kevin John Otto

“Examining the effects of foliar-applied Bacillus subtilis on tomato phyllosphere microbiome and disease outcome” presented by Madeline Marie Peterson; mentored by Lori Hoagland; Laura Elisa Garcia Giraldo

“DAQnuc: Per-Atom and Per-Residue Quality Assessment for Nucleic Acid Models from Cryo-EM Density Maps” presented by Isaiah Philip; mentored by Genki Terashi; Daisuke Kihara

“Structural Insights into a Plant-Derived Antihypertensive Cyclic Peptide” presented by Verasha Pomart; mentored by Lisa S. Mydy

“Enriching a Novel Protein Modification by 2-Hydroxyglutarate” presented by Christopher Powell; mentored by Weiguo Andy Tao; Shakhzodjon Uzokboev

“Segmentation and Validation of Computed Tomography Scan Measurements on Equine Laryngeal Cartilages” presented by Vianca A. Rios Brito; mentored by Michelle L Tucker

“Development of a Reflective Solar Concentrator with a Steerable Beam and No Cosine Loss” presented by Ava Robinson; mentored by Walter Daniel Leon-Salas

“VISIBLE: Visualizing Infant Developmental States Through Noninvasive Multisensory Bioelectronics” presented by Andrea Rocha Barajas; mentored by Dhiya eddine Belkadi; Muhammad Mustafa Hussain; Min Sung Kim; Yusuf Kolawole Adebakin

“Characterization of Strain Acquisition in Thermoreversible Acrylic Gels Using Rheo-Particle Image Velocimetry” presented by Zachary Ryan Roeder; mentored by Kendra A Erk; Evan R Williams; Matthew Kaboolian

“The Emerging Role of Agentic AI in Transportation and Logistics” presented by Reyam Roumeih; mentored by Reem Khir

“Bistable Auxetic Patterns and their use in non-cooperative space object detumbling” presented by William James Rowe; mentored by Yuto Tanaka

“Characterization of Dual dsDNA tetrahedra assembly conditions” presented by Nasser H Sanwari; mentored by Grigorii Aleksandrovich Rudakov; Tamara L Kinzer-Ursem; Leopold Noel Green

“Structural and Electronic Investigation of ACIGS Chalcopyrites using Density Functional Theory” presented by Yutika Vasudeo Sawant; mentored by Arun Kumar Mannodi Kanakkithodi

“Twisted Two-Dimensional Devices Yield Novel Quantum Phenomena” presented by Timothy A Schmiedl; Diya Shivpuje; mentored by Yihang Zeng; Nemanja Ninkovic

“Developing a Human Astrocyte Model to Study the Role of VPS35 in Alzheimer's Disease” presented by Leonel Baskin Sesuraj Baskin; mentored by Matthew Thomas Tegtmeyer

“Visual Representations of Speech Decoding” presented by Muhammad F Shaaban; mentored by Joseph Gerard Makin

“Molecular thresholds for activation and fratricide by anti-B7-H3 CAR T cells” presented by Nicole Shashurin; mentored by Shalini T Low-Nam

“A Non-Invasive Acoustic Sensing System for Sleep Bruxism Screening” presented by Aaruni Singh; mentored by Saeed Mohammadi; Babak Ziaie

“Optimization of a Folate Conjugated Fully Modified miR-34a for Enhanced Stability, Uptake, and Activity” presented by Aindri Abhishek Singh; mentored by Shreyas Ganesan Iyer; Andrea L Kasinski

“Inert-Atmosphere Assembly of Encapsulated Air-Sensitive vdW Heterostructures with Machine-Learning Layer Identification” presented by Manaswini Singh; mentored by Tiancong Zhu

“Peri-wound Microvascular Function and the Feasibility of Heat Therapy in Patients with Neuroischemic Foot Ulcers: Pilot Study” presented by Robert Scott Sorensen; mentored by Bruno Tesini Roseguini

“Characterization of Cathodic Arc Neutralization for Hall-Effect Thruster Beams” presented by Christopher Robert Stemporzewski; mentored by Alexey Shashurin

“Differential Vulnerability of Excitatory and Inhibitory Synapses to Acrolein-Mediated Oxidative Damage” presented by Maheen Syed; mentored by Nikita Krishnan; Shatha Jameel Mufti; Riyi Shi

“Developing a Gate Boosted Pulse Generator to Drive Gas Discharge Tube Based Nonlinear Transmission Line System” presented by Luke Alexander Trahin; mentored by Allen L Garner; Alexander Gregory Sinelli

“Impact of Chronic Variable Stress on Neurobehavioral Function Following DMM Surgery in Mice.” presented by Xander L Tuttle; mentored by Dianne Little

“Design and Noise Characterization of a Low-Noise Voltage Preamplifier for Nanovolt-Scale Measurements” presented by Shashank Varamballi; mentored by Leonid P Rokhinson

“Multimode Entanglement in Attosecond Controlled Squeezed Light” presented by Sreeram Vengalloor Madhavan; mentored by Niranjan Hirisave Shivaram; Russell Lee Zimmerman

“Identifying Drug Treatments for Functional Recovery After Spinal Cord Injury in Zebrafish” presented by Raveena Venkateshwaran; mentored by Daniel Suter; Jorge Emanuel Hernandez Dominguez

“Beyond Diameter: Biomechanical Phenotyping of Pediatric Aortic Root Dilation Across Etiologies” presented by Julian Vuong; mentored by Shubh Parag Mehta; Craig Goergen; Benjamin Landis

“Cellulose Nanocrystals as a Biotemplate for Gold Nanomaterial Synthesis” presented by Raina Wang; mentored by Chao-Hsiang Chang; Michael T Harris

“Tracing Independent Origins of Tyrosine Kinase Activity in the NEK Kinase Family” presented by Alexander Webb; mentored by Brian Metzger

“Modulating MicroRNA Expression to Elucidate Their Roles in Soybean Nodulation Using a Hairy Root System” presented by Makenna Wevick; mentored by Jianxin Ma; Leonie Marie Trabert

“Characterization of Benzothiazolium Ligand Binding to MYC G-quadruplex DNA using Biophysical Methods” presented by Lorelei B Xia; mentored by Jinho Jang; Danzhou Yang

“Optimization of solvent based direct recycling for electrode delamination” presented by Ty Richard Yaguchi; mentored by Hosop Shin; Mahmudul Hoq

“Effects of Cancer-Associated Fibroblasts on Pancreatic Cancer Cell Migration Under Hypoxic Conditions” presented by Ambhranee Yakkundi; mentored by Chi Zhang

“Validating Eye-Tracking Biomarkers for Autism Diagnosis in Low- and Middle-Income Countries” presented by Sunny Yoon; mentored by Brandon Keehn

“SCOUT: An in-vivo Methane Sensing System for Real-time Monitoring of Enteric Emissions in Cattle” presented by Zihan O Zeng; mentored by Yuelin Deng; Upinder Kaur

“NASA Hydrogen Drone Refueling Project” presented by William Zheng; mentored by Holman Lau; Li Qiao