The 2021 Undergraduate Exhibition
Presenting your work gives you an opportunity to share your research findings, receive valuable feedback on your work, and contribute to the scholarly conversation.
April 14 - 16, 2021
Due to Covid-19 restrictions, this year's Undergraduate Exhibition will be held virtually. It will take place from noon on April 14 through 5 PM on April 16. Due to concerns over intellectual property rights, presentations will only be available for viewing during this window of time.
Background
Penn State's annual Undergraduate Exhibition communicates and celebrates the participation of undergraduate students from across the University in scholarly inquiry, research, and creative endeavors.
Undergraduates from all Penn State campuses are eligible to enter one of four formats for sharing research and creative inquiry:
- Undergraduate Exhibition for Research, Inquiry, and Creative Activity
- Traditional research poster
- Oral research presentation – five-minute presentation for disciplines or projects for which traditional research posters are not traditionally used (e.g., an original piece of visual art)
- Performance – five-minute performance (e.g., music; writing or poetry reading; dance, theatre)
- Engagement Experience Poster Exhibition
- Posters highlighting and reflecting on student engagement achievements (NOT a research poster)
In addition to the Undergraduate Exhibition at University Park, exhibitions and research fairs are regularly hosted across the Commonwealth. Please see our Getting Help section for campus-specific resources.
2021 Event Program
2021 Award Recipients
GERARD A. HAUSER AWARD
- Vancie Peacock, College of Agricultural Sciences — Life-cycle assessment of integrated anaerobic digestion with hydrothermal carbonization
ARTS AND HUMANITIES
First Place
- Gabrielle Herman, College of Health and Human Development — Language Identification in Lengua Palenquera and Spanish
ENGINEERING
First Place
- Joseph Razon, College of Engineering — Progress on Characteristically Induced Proton-Irradiated 2DMs: A Compassed Review
Second Place
- Jay Sim, College of Engineering — Reinventing Foundry in a Box for the 21st Century
Third Place
- Karim Barsom, College of Engineering — Evaluating Printing Parameters to Optimize the Direct Ink Writing Process for Barium Titanate
HEALTH AND LIFE SCIENCE
First Place
- LuzKarla Rodriguez, college unknown — Defining the Epidemiology, Clinical Presentation, and Diagnostics for Acute Canine Anaplasmosis, an Increasingly Prevalent Tick-borne Disease in Pennsylvania
Second Place
- Sage Saum, College of Agricultural Sciences —Evaluating Dietary Shifts of the Flathead Catfish due to Size Differences
Third Place
- Jenna Phillips, Penn State Berks — Monitoring Equine and Rider Activity During Various Gaits with Actigraph
PHYSICAL SCIENCES
First Place
- Joshua Gershey, College of Agricultural Sciences — Combined effects of climate change and competition on tree survival and growth of Juglans nigra natural populations
Second Place
- Samantha Grecco, Eberly College of Science — The effect of the small RNA RyhB on the structure of its mRNA targets
Third Place
- Kyle Batra, Penn State Wilkes-Barre — Scaling laws for stagnant-lid convection with a buoyant crust
SOCIAL AND BEHAVIORAL SCIENCES
First Place
- Mykala McGill and Rachel Kosaka, Penn State Altoona — Public Support for School Security Measures: An Analysis of Public Perceptions of School Security Measures and their Regional Variants among Pennsylvania Residents
Second Place
- Karleigh Veglia, College of the Liberal Arts — Masculinity Threat and Anti-Fat Attitudes
Third Place (tie)
- William Dervin, Penn State World Campus — Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) and the Relation to Chosen Adult Altruistic Professions
- Jazzmine McCauley, Penn State Altoona — Assessing Student Perceptions of Inquiry-guided Learning Taught Through Mixed-mode Instruction During the Pandemic
ORAL PRESENTATION AND PERFORMANCE
First Place (tie)
- Salvatore DeFeo and Genesis Muñoz Arias, Penn State Berks — Undergraduate Student Perspectives on Gender and Social Support for Criminal Justice Careers
- Tucker Johnson and Amber Lucas, College of Arts and Architecture — Wears and Tears: Imagining Lost Futures and Listening to Ghosts
Third Place
- Elinor Farber, College of the Liberal Arts — Conflicting Identities: Algerian Jewish Migration to France as a Result of the Algerian War, 1954-62
PETER T. LUCKIE AWARDS FOR OUTSTANDING JUNIORS
Science and Engineering
- David Auerbeck, College of Engineering — Potential Capabilities of the Different MOF MIL-53 Structures to Absorb Cannabinoids
Social and Behavioral Sciences
- Alicia Williams, Penn State Altoona — Perceptions of Sex Crimes: Does Offender Gender Matter?
UNIVERSITY LIBRARIES’ UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCH AWARD: EXCELLENCE IN INFORMATION LITERACY
John Sr. and Kimlyn Patishnock Grand Prize
- Grey Rochon, College of the Liberal Arts — Codependency and Relationship Dimensions
First Place
- Taylor Pust, Eberly College of Science — Histological analysis of cellular components for in vitro thrombus formation using Chandler loop and Carstairs’ stain
Second Place
- Erica Mi, College of Information Sciences and Technology — Supporting COVID-19 Supply Allocation through Visual Analytics
Third Place
- Shane Ward, College of Engineering — Effects of VAD-Induced Shear Rates on Platelet Adhesion
Honorable Mention
- Maria Schultheis, College of Agricultural Sciences —The Future of Photovoltaic Technology: Using Amino Acids as Molecular Electronics
- LuzKarla Rodriguez, college unknown — Defining the Epidemiology, Clinical Presentation, and Diagnostics for Acute Canine Anaplasmosis, an Increasingly Prevalent Tick-borne Disease in Pennsylvania
- Anna Wickenheisser, College of Health and Human Development — No association between carrying the dopamine transporter (DAT) 9 allele and alcohol consumption in college students
- Haojun Li, College of Engineering —Twenty Years Projections of Plasmodium falciparum R561H Frequencies in Rwanda
- Joseph Razon, College of Engineering — Progress on Characteristically Induced Proton-Irradiated 2DMs: A Compassed Review
Eligibility
- Current undergraduate
- Endorsed by a Penn State research mentor
Application
Applications for the Undergraduate and Engagement Experience Exhibitions are submitted through InfoReady. Applications for the Undergraduate Exhibition for Research, Inquiry, Creative Activity, and Engagement Experiences are submitted here.
Questions about the Undergraduate and Engagement Experience Exhibitions should be directed to Alan Rieck, associate vice president and associate dean for undergraduate education, at 814-863-1864 or ajr83@psu.edu.
Timeline
The application cycle for the Undergraduate and Engagement Experience Exhibitions will open on Monday, January 17 and close on Sunday, March 20 at 11:59 pm.
Guidelines and Criteria
Judge Registration Form
Please create an account and register to judge the Exhibition.
Judging Rubrics
Awards
Gerard A. Hauser Award
The Gerald A. Hauser Award is given to the exhibition entry judged to be the best overall. Named in honor of a former director of Penn State's honors program, it is accompanied by a $500 prize.
Category Awards
First, second, and third place is awarded in each of the Exhibition’s entry categories, including arts and humanities, course-based projects, engineering, health and life sciences, physical sciences, social and behavioral sciences, and oral presentations and performances.
Peter T. Luckie Award for Outstanding Juniors
The Peter T. Luckie Award for Outstanding Juniors is sponsored by the Undergraduate Research and Fellowships Mentoring office and the Penn State Chapter of Phi Kappa Phi National Honor Society. The award recognizes an outstanding junior entry in each of the three following areas: health and life sciences, humanities and social sciences, and physical sciences and engineering. Each award is accompanied by a $200 prize.
Information about the Penn State chapter may be found at www.phikappaphi.psu.edu.
University Libraries' John Sr. and Kimlyn Patishnock Undergraduate Research Award: Excellence in Information Literacy
The University Libraries' John Sr. and Kimlyn Patishnock Undergraduate Research Award: Excellence in Information Literacy recognizes scholarly work based on a foundation of careful background research and literature review. The award is given to entries that demonstrate excellence in information literacy through the following: showcasing your research process and strategies; selection of sources that contribute to your argument and ideas; social, ethical, or economic considerations in accessing information; and credit and proper citation for any quotes, tables, graphs, images, and other content displayed.
Information on this award and the judging rubric may be found at the Libraries' website or by contacting Student Engagement Coordinator Hailley Fargo (hmf14@psu.edu).