CUGR announces student award winners
The University of Maine’s Center for Undergraduate Research (CUGR) has announced the winners of Academic Year fellowship programs.
Supported by the Office of Vice President for Research and Dean of the Graduate School, CUGR provides several fellowship programs including the UMaine Institute of Medicine, UMaine Artificial Intelligence, and Maine Space Grant Consortium (MSGC) fellowships. Undergraduate proposals will be awarded $1,500 each.
This year’s CUGR Fellowship award winners are:
- Evan Bess, Biomedical Engineering, “Novel Method of Measuring Bone Density Using Audible Sound,” advised by Michael Mason
- Ian Birchler De Allende, Marine Science, “Mitochondrial Genome Sequencing of New England Sea Slugs, Dendronotus frondosus, Doto coronata, and Flabellina verrucosa,” advised by Erin Grey
- Bivek Bista, Mechanical Engineering, “Hybrid Carbon Nanotube based Catalytic Materials as a Biochemical Sensor,” advised by Sharmila Mukhopadhyay
- Meghan Boos, Biomedical Engineering, “Top-Down Approach to Super Flexible and Antibacterial Wood,” advised by Yingchao Yang
- John Burnell, Biochemistry, “Mitochondrial Toxicity of Antimicrobial Agent Cetylpyridinium Chloride,” advised by Julie Gosse
- Delaney Burns, Studio Art, “Thuja occidentalis: Exploring Maine’s “Tree of Life,” advised by Andy Mauery
- Maxwell Burtis, Mechanical Engineering, “The Performance Assessment of a Lighter-than-air Drone for Glacial Research in the Juneau Icefields, Alaska,” advised by Wilhelm Friess
- Noa Buzby, Ecology and Environmental Sciences, “How Did Extinct Ice Age mega-herbivores Affect Soil Nutrient Cycling?,” advised by Jacquelyn Gill
- Wyatt Cannell, Molecular and Cellular Biology, “Transcriptional Targets of Nuclear Factor Kappa B (NF-kB)-Mediated Inflammation Following Influenza A Virus Infection,” advised by Benjamin King
- Stella Cashman, New Media, “20-Sided Story,” advised by Jon Ippolito
- Lara Chern, Mechanical Engineering, “Durability Testing of a Marine Composite Sample for Wave Energy Converters,” advised by Richard Kimball
- Rebecca Collins, Chemistry, “Catalysis of Enantioselective Chiral Phosphates,” advised by Matthew Brichacek
- Stella Cotner, Engineering Physics, “Effects of Harsh Environmental Conditions on Mechanical and Physical Behaviors of Tough and Stretchable Hydrogels for the Benefit to Optical Fiber Technology,” advised by Siamak Shams Es-haghi
- Wendy Crosier, Political Science, “Maine Community Energy Action Network,” advised by Sharon Klein
- Laura Curioli, History, “Credit Claiming in the Modern Age: Media Influence on Counterterrorism Operation,” advised by Asif Nawaz
- Andre Daigle, Microbiology, “Discovering Novel Bacteriophages to Better Understand Drug Resistance of Mycobacteria Pathogens,” advised by Sally Molloy
- Elyse Daub, Ecology and Environmental Sciences, “Linking Molecular Deadwood Inhabiting Fungi to Carbon Dioxide Flux of Decomposing Coarse Woody Debris,” advised by Pete Avis
- Kathleen Davis, History, “Mitigation or Obstruction: Investigating the Use of Development Aid in Mitigating Climate Change and Addressing Climate Migration,” advised by Nicholas Micinski
- Tyler Delargy, Computer Science, “Real Time Reality – 3D Scanning and Full-Body Tracking,” advised by Terry Yoo
- Dominique DiSpirito, Political Science, “A Study On The Future of Food Recycling Laws in Maine,” advised by Robert Glover
- Zachary Doherty, Civil and Environmental Engineering, “Geosmin and 2-Methylisoborneol Removal Through Ultraviolet and Nanobubble Interaction,” advised by Onur Apul
- Jon Donnelly, Computer Science, “Deformable ProtoPNet: Human Interpretable Deep Learning with Spatial Invariance,” advised by Chaofan Chen
- Aaron Dustin, Psychology, Mediation of the Religion-Prejudice Link,” advised by Jordan LaBouff
- Gunnar Eastman, Computer Science, “Scientific Terminology Extractor (SciTex),” advised by Torsten Hahmann
- Mustafa Elhefnawi, Biochemistry, “The Regulation of Autophagy During GPCR Signaling,” advised by Joshua Kelley
- Connor Firth, Mechanical Engineering, “Human Fall Prevention Using Single-Camera Depth Mapping and a Real-time Feedback System,” advised by Babak Hejrati
- Emma Fitzpatrick, Animal and Veterinary Sciences, “Relationships Between Plumage Phenotypes and Parasite Infections in Barn Wwls (Tyto alba),” advised by Pauline Kamath
- Audrie French, Microbiology, “Investigating Role of Bacteriophage in Black Soldier Fly Larvae Pathogen Suppression,” advised by Edward Bernard
- Molly Glueck, English, “Reconstructing the Romantic Legacy: Annotating the Sublime, Imagination, and Freedom through Black Studies,” advised by Elizabeth Neiman
- Julianna Grampone, Biochemistry, “Interferon Response Genes Role in Tissue Damage Post Influenza A Virus,” advised by Benjamin King
- Riley Grindle, Molecular and Cellular Biology, “Neutrophil Inflammatory Regulation via Differentially Expressed MicroRNA during Influenza A Virus Infection,” advised by Benjamin King
- Grace Harman, Microbiology, “Effects of Vibrio parahaemolyticus and Aeromonas hydrophila on the Development of Black Soldier Fly Larvae,” advised by Edward Bernard
- Matthew Harzewski, Computer Science, “Turtlebot Navigation,” advised by Vikas Dhiman
- Samuel Holbrook, Biology, “Modeling Tropical Glacier Extent Over Time,” advised by Alice Doughty
- Jacob Holbrook, Biomedical Engineering, “Diffusive Properties of Cellulose Nanomaterial Hydrogels,” advised by Michael Mason
- Jacob Hotaling, New Media, “Short Film Experience with QR,” advised by Jon Ippolito
- Miao Hu, Mechanical Engineering, “Advanced Design of 3D Printing Head for Aligning Wood Fibers into Three-dimensional Structures,” advised by Yingchao Yang
- Kimberly Hunt, Music (Piano) Performance, “Sergei Rachmaninoff’s Interpretive Architecture,” advised by Phillip Silver
- Conner Ingalls, New Media, “Digital instrument “Slap-Box,” advised by Nathaniel Aldrich
- Sydney Jackson, Marine Science, “Assessing Non-invasive Methods for Characterizing Marine Mammal Genetic Diversity Through Environmental DNA,” advised by Kristina Cammen
- Nicholas Johnson, Finance, “Measuring China’s Footprint in the American Economy,” advised by Stefano Tijerina
- Mackenzie Ladd, Mechanical Engineering, “Characterization of Electrically Conductive Filament for FDM 3D Printing,” advised by Brett Ellis
- Jasmine Lamb, Communication Sciences and Disorders, “Promoting Health for Sipayik through Alternative Energy Solutions,” advised by Sharon Klein
- Noah Lambert, Computer Engineering, “Artificial Intelligence for Energy Efficiency,” advised by Drew Hooke
- Jessica Liggiero, Civil Engineering, “Microplastics Research,” advised by Onur Apul
- Hannah Maurais, Biochemistry, “Determining the Role of Paratox in Streptococcus agalactiae: Virulence and Bacterial Fitness,” advised by Melody Neely
- Jacob Mealey, Computer Engineering, “Ad-Hoc Positioning with Wearable Devices,” advised by Mike Scott
- Sarah Meyer-Waldo, Mechanical Engineering, “A Dance of Life: teshuvah – to turn towards one’s self,” advised by Samantha Jones
- Abigail Muscat, Marine Science, “Identifying Umbrella Species to Inform the Conservation of Intertidal Areas in Acadia National Park,” advised by Brian Olsen
- Hector Orellana, Microbiology, “The Role of McProf in M. chelonae Antibiotic Resistance,” advised by Sally Molloy
- Jinyoung Park, Chemistry, “Isolation and Analysis of Glycosaminoglycans Using TEAB Auxiliary,” advised by Matthew Brichacek
- Alexandra Peary, Nursing, “How Physical Activity Implementation Strategies Have Changed in Schools During the COVID-19 Pandemic,” advised by Kelley Strout
- Zachary Pecora, Animal Veterinary Science, “Prevalence, Distribution, and Risk Factors of Anaplasma Bacterial Infections in Maine Moose,” advised by Pauline Kamath
- Lauren Potter, History, “Holocaust Ghettos Project,” advised by Anne Knowles
- Zoe Prats, Psychology, “No More Excu-SES: It’s Time to Address Class and Cognitive Function,” advised by Rebecca MacAulay
- Maxwell Prybylo, Computer Science, “Pri-Con: A Usable Privacy-Conscious Intelligent Agent,” advised by Sepideh Ghanavati
- Kaitlynn Raye, Communication Sciences and Disorders, “Improving Patient Satisfaction Among Communication Impaired Adults,” advised by Nancy Hall
- Samuel Roberts, Environmental Science, “Comparison of Climate Change Patterns Among the Wild Blueberry Fields in Five Major Wild Blueberry Production Counties of Maine,” advised by Yongjiang Zhang
- Amanda Sandberg, Biochemistry, “Evaluating Ca2+ Related Drugs for Inhibition of JC Polyomavirus Infection,” advised by Melissa Maginnis
- Elyeah Schweikert, Wildlife Ecology, “Glacier Modeling to Represent Previous Glacier Size and Climate in the Cairngorms National Park,” advised by Alice Doughty
- Emma Sperry, Biomedical Engineering, “Designing a Functional Trunnion Prototype for Attachment of an Artificial Leg to a Femoral Implant to Be Used For Osseointegrated Prosthetics,” advised by David Neivandt
- Kaitlyn Stewart, New Media, “Swipper: A Swipe to Shop Platform,” advised by Jon Ippolito
- Samantha Sudol, Psychology, “Sleep Disturbance, Mood State, and Cognitive Performance,” advised by Michael Robbins
- Averi Taylor, Animal and Veterinary Sciences, “Validating the Precision and Accuracy of a Bluetooth-enabled pH and Temperature Data Logger to Monitor Ruminal pH in Ruminally Cannulated Dairy Cattle,” advised by J. J. Romero
- Alexandria Thompson, Earth and Climate Sciences, “Assessing Mg/Ca as a Key to Past Ocean Temperature in the Southern Jordan Basin, Gulf of Maine,” advised by Katherine Allen
- Jillian Trujillo, Art History, “Sounds of Maine,” advised by Justin Wolff
- Samuel Vaccaro, Mathematics, “Ultimate Truths and Their Relation to the Limits of Human Understanding,” advised by Robby Finley
- Evan Warburton, Biochemistry, “Uncovering the Mycorrhizal Connections Between Mature Trees and Seedlings of Ancient Red Spruce Forests on a Coastal Maine Island,” advised by Peter Avis
- Katie Westbrook, Earth and Climate Science, “Cosmogenic Isotope Analysis of Basal Sediment found in Mt. Hunter Ice Cores,” advised by Karl Kreutz
- Basel White, Biomedical Engineering, “An Exploratory Analysis on the Measurement of the Hurst Exponent through the Use of the Power Spectrum and 2D WTMM Methodology on Monofractal and Multifractal Images,” advised by Andre Khalil
- Alex Wilkins, Chemistry, “Synthesis and Analysis of Neuromelanin Formed from Decarboxylated Brominated Eumelanoids Monomers,” advised by Matthew Brichacek
- Willow Wind, Communication, “Communication Goals and Practices of Trans- and Gender Non-conforming Individuals and Their Impact on Mental Health,” advised by Liliana Herakova
- Kelvy Zucca, Physics, “Design, Construction, and Investigation of a Small Polarimeter,” advised by David Batuski
- Everett Zuras, Chemistry, “Effect of Experimental Parameters on Size and Catalytic Performance of Water-Stable Gold-Aryl Nanoparticles,” advised by Alice Bruce
For more information, visit the CUGR website or email cugr@maine.edu.