The Office of Graduate Studies, the Office of Undergraduate Research and Fellowships, as well as the Office of Research and Economic Development held the 2024 Student Research Days Poster Sessions and Creative Exhibitions.
More than 120 graduate students and 200 undergraduate students participated in these sessions in addition to a week-long celebration of student research and creative activity. Graduate students who were awarded competitive prizes for their scholarship and presentation skills received $400.00 toward travel grants to present their research regionally or nationally as well as support other research costs. Undergraduates were awarded prizes valued at $250.00 sponsored by their academic colleges. Additionally, five undergraduate students were recognized by the University Honors Program for their research.
Nearly 100 faculty, postdoc and graduate student volunteer judges met with students during morning and afternoon sessions and evaluated their presentations.
Graduate Awards
Rafael Amorim Bertacini (Brazil; studying Textiles, Fashion Merchandising and Design) “Interweaving Cross-Disciplinary Narratives in Fashion: Exploring the Integration of Fashion, Industrial Design, Identity, and Art Through Handbags”, adviser: Michael Burton
Matthew Boeding (Papillion, Nebraska; studying Computer Engineering) “A Novel Framework for OT Protocol Vulnerability Discovery leveraging insights from Formal Modeling, Network Simulation and On-Device Testing”, adviser: Hamid Sharif
Emily Chapman (York, Nebraska; studying Music Education) “Preparing the Next Generation of Music Educators: Illuminating Motivations of Mentor Teachers”, adviser: Rhonda Fuelberth
Brianna DeValk (Elk River, Minnesota; studying History) “Citizenship Taken: Recovering Married Women’s U.S. Citizenship on the Northern Great Plains, 1907-1957”, adviser: Kenneth Winkle
Nosakhare Idiaghe (Nigeria; studying Engineering Education) “Exploring the Impact of Professor and Peer Relationship on Mental Health of Undergraduate Engineering Students”, adviser:
Allison Johnson (Rockford, Illinois, studying Educational Studies (Science Education)) “Preservice Elementary Teachers’ Voices: Challenges to Implementing Integrated STEM Teaching and Learning ”, adviser: Deepika Menon
Isabel Kuebler (Brookings, South Dakota; studying Psychology) “Alcohol drinking in rats is differently modulated by the type of sugar added: regulation by melanin-concentrating hormone”, adviser: Ken Wakabayashi
Tanessa Morris (Canada, studying Natural Resources Sciences) “Effect of Biomass Water Dynamics in Cosmic-Ray Neutron Sensor Observations: A Long-Term Analysis of Maize-Soybean Rotation in Nebraska”, adviser: Trenton Franz
Sadia Sharmeen (Bangladesh; studying Chemistry) “Multisite Interactions of Thiazolidinedione Drugs with Human Serum Albumin Studied by using High-performance Affinity Microcolumns”, adviser: David Hage
Sanket Shinde (Lincoln, Nebraska; studying Entomology) “Fall armyworm (Spodoptera frugiperda) oral secretions modulate defense responses in sorghum”, adviser: Joe Louis
Bibek Tiwari (Nepal; studying Physics and Astronomy) “Spherulite-enhanced Macroscopic Polarization in Molecular Ferroelectric Films from Vacuum Deposition”, adviser: Xiaoshan Xu Kashish Verma (studying Entomology) “Altering lignin biosynthetic pathway modulates sorghum defense against sugarcane aphids”, adviser: Joe Louis
Sethe Zachman (Lincoln, Nebraska; studying Sociology) “American Perspectives on the Legitimacy of Transgender Identities”, adviser: Kelsy Burke
Undergraduate College Awards
Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources
- Will Hernandez (Lincoln, Nebraska, studying environmental science), “Changes in Soil Development Over 60 Years of Crop Production in Nebraska,” adviser: Judith Turk
Architecture
- Elise Benson (Lincoln, Nebraska, studying architecture), “Operational Landscapes of the Great Plains,” adviser: David Karle
Arts and Sciences
Laura Kirshenbaum (Omaha, Nebraska, studying biochemistry in the Honors Program), “Expanding the Dynamic Range of Methanosarcina acetivorans through Recombinant Expression of the T7 Promoter System,” adviser: Nicole Baun
Morgan Madsen (Lincoln, Nebraska, studying geology in the Honors Program), “Two Newly Identified Propagator Wakes in Southern Cascadia,” adviser: Irina Filina
Juliana Quattrocchi (Lincoln, Nebraska, studying economics in the Honors Program), “Mobility’s Impact on Healthcare Work Arrangements: Evidence from a Late-Night Bus Expansion,” advisers: Mitch Herian, Daniel Tannenbaum, and Brenden Timpe
Luke Skrabal (Omaha, Nebraska, studying biology and history in the Honors Program), “Comparison and Optimization of Extracellular Vesicle Isolation Methods for Use in Nonviral Gene Delivery,” adviser: Angela Pannier
Kai Waddell (Lincoln, Nebraska, studying microbiology in the Honors Program), “Exploring the Interaction of HCMV UL5 with Host Cellular Genes ANKRD13A and ST3GAL1,” adviser: Lindsey Crawford
Business
- Jessica Chen (Lincoln, Nebraska, studying computer science and economics in the Honors Program and in the Raikes School), “Innovation Intelligence Modeling,” adviser: Mitch Herian
Education and Human Sciences
- Abbie Summers (Norfolk, Nebraska, studying communication science disorders in the Honors Program), “What are Social Communication Differences Between Autistic Males and Female?,” adviser: Ciara Ousley
Engineering
Maria Carter (David City, Nebraska, studying biological systems engineering), “The Novel Genes Shared between Arabidopsis thaliana and Maize in the Process of Nonphotochemical Quenching Regulation,” adviser: Katarzyna Glowacka
Emily Fitzpatrick Chloe Mann (McKinney, Texas, and Alliance, Nebraska, studying mechanical engineering and civil engineering respectively), “Developing Culturally Competent Engineers: Enhancing First-Year Engineering Curriculum,” adviser: Jessica Deters, teammate: Chloe Mann
Brennan Harms (Hebron, Nebraska, studying mechanical engineering), “Development of Microfluidic Device Using 3D Images of Insect Wings,” adviser: Sangjin Ryu
Kaitlin McKenzie (Rosemount, Minnesota, studying chemical engineering), “Sustainable Production of Wool Textile-Based Supercapacitors Using MXenes,” adviser: Mona Bavarian
Simon Thengvall (Omaha, Nebraska, studying mechanical engineering), “Additive Manufacturing and Plating Processes for Aerospace Environments,” adviser: Carl Nelson
Fine and Performing Arts
Hailey Anderson (Cedar Bluffs, Nebraska, studying music composition), “Integrating Ferroelectric CuInP2S6 with MoS2 Field Effect Transistor,” adviser: Xia Hong
Marina Kushner (Lincoln, Nebraska, studying art history and criticism), “Pete’s Satin Celadon, Single Oxide Tests,” adviser: Peter Pinnell
Journalism and Mass Communications
- Kathryn Holling (Crete, Nebraska, studying advertising and public relations), “University of Nebraska-Lincoln Email Communications and Its Impact on Undergraduate Students,” adviser: Lydia Coulson
Undergraduate Honors Awards
Best Communication — This award recognizes an honors student researcher who displayed the best communication skills in sharing their research: Laura Kirshenbaum (Omaha, Nebraska, studying biochemistry and microbiology) “Expanding the Dynamic Range of Methanosarcina acetivorans through Recombinant Expression of the T7 Promoter System,” adviser: Nicole Buan
Interdisciplinarity — This award recognizes an honors student researcher who made the best use of interdisciplinary approaches and/or methods: Pyper Haarala (Omaha, Nebraska, studying actuarial science), “Gender, Disability, and Crime: A Research-Based Creative Writing Project,” adviser: Pascha Sotolongo Stevenson
Long-Term Contributions to the Field — This award recognizes an honors student researcher whose work displayed the most potential for significant long-term contributions to the discipline of study: Luke Skrabal (Omaha, Nebraska, studying biological sciences and history), “Comparison and Optimization of Extracellular Vesicle Isolation Methods for Use in Nonviral Gene Delivery,” adviser: Angela Pannier
Most Original — This award recognizes an honors student researcher whose research question or approach to answering the research question displayed the most originality: Harper Gordman (Omaha, Nebraska, studying psychology), “Beyond Words: Illuminating Holocaust Survivors’ Stories Through Multimedia,” adviser: Beth Dotan
Real-World Impact — This award recognizes an honors student researcher whose work displays the most significant and immediate potential for real-world impact: Juliana Quattrocchi (Lincoln, Nebraska, studying economics), “Mobility’s Impact on Healthcare Work Arrangements: Evidence from a Late-Night Bus Expansion,” advisers: Mitch Herian, Daniel Tannenbaum, and Brenden Timpe
