One way to continue to build your research skills is to apply for the Erickson Discovery Grant to fund an independent project of your own choosing and then present a poster of your work. The Erickson Discovery Grant is designed to provide summer funding to start, continue, or finish an independent project. An independent project can be on any topic but should be one that is your idea or one where you are taking the lead. You should not be proposing to spend your summer primarily assisting a graduate student or faculty member in completing their project.
The University Libraries has created this worksheet to help you in starting to identify potential research questions and mapping out your project.
The 2022 Erickson Discovery Grant application deadline has passed.
Background
The Rodney A. Erickson Discovery Grant Program, named in honor of Penn State's seventeenth President, supports undergraduate student engagement in original research, scholarship, and creative work under the direct supervision of a research mentor.
The Erickson Discovery Grants are directed to student-initiated projects in the arts, engineering, humanities, sciences, and social sciences that provide experience in all facets of the research, scholarship, or creative processes. This includes conceptualization of a question or focus, proposal writing, identification and implementation of methods, and communication of results (reporting, exhibition, or performance). Projects should be primarily the student's own work; although the project may be related to the supervising faculty member's research or scholarly interests, it should not simply provide assistance to faculty work.
Grants may be used to cover living expenses and project costs (supplies, materials, books, specialized software, travel for the purpose of data collection, etc.). Note: Funds will be deposited to student accounts and therefore may have an impact on student aid or be applied to outstanding charges.
Eligibility
- Current undergraduate
- Must have at least one semester remaining after the funded summer
- Research must have a Penn State mentor
- Not have accepted an Erickson Discovery Grant previously
- Work outside of the proposed project must be limited to fifteen hours per week. The grant is designed to offer enough funding so that your project can be your main focus.
Application
The 2022 Erickson Discovery Grant application deadline has passed.
A completed application consists of the following:
- Two-page research proposal (single- or double-spaced) that addresses the following:
- The question or goal to be addressed and its relevance to the discipline or field. Proposals for creative projects should describe the academic nature of the work.
- The methods or processes that will be used to address the question or goal
- Why the project is of interest to the student and their preparation to complete it
- How supervision by the faculty member will contribute to the student’s project
- Name and contact information of the research supervisor, so that the supervisor can be contacted to provide a letter of support that includes an evaluation of the proposal and the student’s ability to complete the project
Citations supporting the research topic may be included with the research proposal as a separate, third page.
Review Criteria
Applications are reviewed by faculty within your area of expertise. Review criteria include:
- Scholarly nature – Does the project involve research, scholarship, or creative work? (Educational or personal enrichment activities – e.g. study abroad, travel unrelated to research, projects not grounded in an academic discipline, etc., do not apply.)
- Student engagement – Did the student help to frame the question or focus of the project and will the student activities involve the major steps in the research or creative process? (Projects should not merely provide assistance to the faculty supervisor's work.)
- Faculty collaboration – Will the faculty supervisor provide a level of supervision that guides the student's work and adds value to the project?
- Faculty recommendation – Does the faculty supervisor consider the project worthwhile academically and endorse the student's ability to complete it?
Timeline
The competition cycle for the 2022 Erickson Discovery Grant opened on October 25, 2021, and closed on February 13, 2022.
Questions about the Erickson Discovery Grant Program should be directed to Alan Rieck, associate vice president and associate dean for undergraduate education, at 814-863-1864 or ajr83@psu.edu.
Previous Recipients
2021
Austin Albright, Harrisburg - Impact of Honor Concerns on Emotional Suppression and Mental Health
Sophie Anderlind, Behrend - The Investigation of Cortisol’s Effects of Iron Transport Proteins in Placental Cells
Shravan Asthana, Eberly College of Science - Investigating the Role of RBM8a in Synapse Formation – A Glial Lens
Brittany Bacorn, Beaver - Does Social Media Usage Effect Symptomatology for Those with Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder during the COVID-19 Pandemic?
Harshraj Bandyopadhyay, Eberly College of Science - Study of localized cooling of Photomultiplier Tubes using Thermoelectric Cooling devices
Taylor Berek, College of Engineering - Investigation of the Subpopulation Change of Protein DDLB Caused by Synonymous Mutations via Cryo-EM
Mihir Bhatnagar, College of Engineering - Exomoon Habitability around M-Dwarfs using Retrograde Orbits
Rachel Blansfield, College of Liberal Arts - The Association Between Adult Attachment Style and the Therapeutic Alliance: A Meta-Analytic Study
Abriana Cain, College of Health and Human Development - The Effect of Physical Activity and Energy Restriction on Tumor Hypoxia and Blood Vessel Normalization in the 4T1.2 Murine Breast Cancer Model
Mitchell Corsi, College of Earth and Mineral Sciences - Stormwater Treatment Using Biochar in Extreme Climate Events
Alyssa Curry, College of Agricultural Sciences - Impacts of Spring Brood Manipulation on Varroa Mite Populations in Honey Bee Colonies
Sydney Danso, Eberly College of Science - Frequency of giant pulse detection from the crab nebula pulsar
Molly Ehrig, Eberly College of Science - Effect of Signaling Molecules on Strain Diversity of the Euprymna-Vibrio Symbiosis
Gregory Ellsworth, College of Engineering - Rockfall Monitoring in PA
Geneva Flarend, Eberly College of Science - Examining the Effects of Stress on Opioid Use Behaviors
Anna Foltz, Eberly College of Science - Gene Trapping in Drosophila melanogaster
Kaylee Foor, College of Liberal Arts - Disparities by Race and Ethnicity in Anxiety and Depressive symptoms and the role of Stressors related to Education
Quentin Hales, Eberly College of Science - Numerical Solutions to the Forced Soliton Equation
Jack Ibinson, College of Agricultural Sciences - The Role of IRE1a and p53 in UVB Sensitivity of Human Keratinocytes
Abbey Kollar, College of Engineering - Investigating Nutrient and Chemical Recovery from Recycled Aqueous Phase of Hydrothermal Liquefaction
Mengde Liu, College of Engineering - Stochastic Simulations of Resistance to Targeted Therapies in Cancer Suggest a Tradeoff Between Evolutionary Trajectories
Sindy Liu, Eberly College of Science - Impact of pH on Phase-Separated Droplets as RNA Compartments
Nicole Lookfong, Harrisburg - Endocannabinoid Pharmacology of PTSD
Tara Lyons, Eberly College of Science - Theoretical Studies of Metallic Clusters on Nanographene for Future Materials
Katherine McRury, College of Arts and Architecture - Living with Nature: An Ethical Model for Coexistence-based Architecture
Abigail Melendez, Behrend - Understanding Lepidopteran (Butterflies and Moths) Biodiversity on the Penn State Behrend Campus by Collection and Identification Utilizing DNA Barcoding Technology
Eilene B. Deng, Eberly College of Science - Identification of Regions of DSIF Involved in NELF Recruitment
Jacob Moyer, Eberly College of Science - Somatostatin Neuropeptide, A Potential Therapeutic for Binge Drinking Behavior and Anxiety
Lauren Onweller, College of Engineering - Identifying Cancer Biomarkers and Developing Targeted CAR T Cell Therapy to Treat Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia
Aayushi Patel, Harrisburg - Exploring the antimicrobial potential of cannabinoids derived from Cannabis sativa (industrial hemp)
Vanessa Peduzzi, College of Agricultural Sciences - Treatment of Acute Myelogenous Leukemia in Mice Through Administration of Δ12-prostaglandin-J2 Floating Matrix Tablets
Hannah Perrelli, College of Earth and Mineral Sciences - Weaponizing Water: How Colonial Policy Has Exacerbated the Disproportionate Devastation of COVID 19 in the Navajo Nation
Jack Piazza, Eberly College of Science - Investigating the Relationship Between Algorithmic Randomness and Uniform Distribution Modulo One
Chloe Roberts, College of Agricultural Sciences - Evaluating Ixodes scapularis burdens on Sylvilagus floridanus in suburban central Pennsylvania
Kelsey Ruhlman, York - Expression and function of SETDB1 in the ovaries of the common house spider, Parasteatoda tepidariorum
Tanner Sherry, College of Engineering - Impedance-Based Method for Monitoring Extracellular Space Dynamics During Spreading Depolarization
G. Michael Shott Jr., Berks - Beats, Rhymes and Life: An Autoethnography
Jordan Sigler, College of Liberal Arts - Coming Face-to-Face with Depression: The Impact of Depression Severity on Emotion Perception
Maria Smereka, Eberly College of Science - Optimizing the AggTag Fluorogenic Detection Method with SNAP- and Sortase-tags
Emily Snow, College of Engineering - Effects of Nanofiber Orientation on Cell Morphology and Early Osteoinductive Regulation for Human Mesenchymal Stem Cell Differentiation
Elizabeth Soucy, College of Health and Human Development - The Effect of Cortisol in Human Lactation and Milk Composition
Edward Joseph Spagnuolo, College of Earth and Mineral Sciences - The Only Known Fossil Floras of Paleogene Pakistan: Unraveling the India-Asia Collision Through Paleobotany
Zachary Stein, College of Arts and Architecture - Implementing Kinetic Movement Into Ceramic Art
Jacquelyn Stochel, College of Health and Human Development - Collecting Concreteness Rating Data in Older Adults
Rebecca Stroschein, College of Health and Human Development - Evaluation of an Online Training to Support Interaction Between Individuals using Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC) and Healthcare Professionals
David Taglieri, College of Education - Urban Street Networks: Roundabouts vs. Traditional Intersections
Olivia Tancredi, Eberly College of Science - Investigating the Effects of Nanoparticle Surface Chemistry on Charge Transfer and Photocatalytic Reactivity
Matthew Venable, College of Engineering - Development of Novel Citrate Polymer based In Situ Injectable Orthopedic Composites
Natalie Walter, College of Arts and Architecture - The Architecture of Decay
Zhijie Wang, Eberly College of Science - Effect of Hofmeister Ions on Optical Properties of Rhodamine 6G
Lauren Willett, Eberly College of Science - Interpreting Young Stellar Object Accretion Signatures from the VIRUS Spectrograph
Tanner Wolf, Eberly College of Science - Ring Opening Metathesis Polymerization of Sterically-Hindered Cyclophanes
Alexander Wu, College of Arts and Architecture - A Comparative Analysis of Mozart’s “Prussian” Quartets and Beethoven’s Op. 5 Cello Sonatas
Grant Zemanek, Eberly College of Science - Can Habitat Management Help Non-Target Species?
2020
Brooke Arner, College of Agricultural Sciences — The Role of Dietary Selenium in the Gut Microbiome of an IBD Infection Model
Leonardo Batista Capaverde Silva, College of Earth and Mineral Sciences — Studying the propulsion of particle adsorbed emulsion systems
Kyle Batra, College of Earth and Mineral Sciences and Eberly College of Science — Applying Scaling Laws for Stagnant Lid Convection With Buoyant and Negatively Buoyant Crusts to Determine Exoplanet Habitability
Nicole Bush, Eberly College of Science — Co-Amorphous Systems: A way to Improve Drug Solubility
Jason Cherry, College of The Liberal Arts — Soil and Steel: East German Economic Reconstruction
Julia Cipparulo, Eberly College of Science — Elucidating Gene Expression Changes Implicated in Major Depressive Disorder
Owen Courtney, Eberly College of Science — Exploring a Requirement for Mitochondrial Function in Cancer Cell Motility Through Challenging Physical Environments
Nina De Luna, College of Agricultural Sciences — Investigating the role of selenium and B cell selenoproteins in humoral immunity
Julia Edelmann, College of Arts and Architecture — Art History as a Resource for Art Curriculum in K-6 Art Programs
Emily Eiss, Behrend — Status of the methylome in Solanum tuberosum tubers treated with sprout inhibitor 1,4-dimethylnaphthalene
Elinor Farber, College of The Liberal Arts — Algerian Jewish Migration to France Archival Research
Danny Glickman, Eberly College of Science — Control of Gold Nanoparticle Synthesis in Polydimethylsiloxane
Nina Gold, College of Arts and Architecture — Two Cultures, One Cabaret: Understanding the Influence of Traditional French Cabaret on Modern American Cabaret
Erica Hanes, College of Health and Human Development — Transmission of Trauma: Cultural Values of Holocaust Survivor Offspring
Ruochuan Huang, Eberly College of Science — RNA folding under in vivo-like condition
Christopher Hudson, Eberly College of Science — Effect of heme on redox-regulated Eag1 K+ channels at the voltage sensor/pore
Austin Huynh, York — Development of CRISPR technology to study the genetics of circadian rhythms in the common house spider, Parasteatoda tepidariorum
Chyvonne Jessick, College of Agricultural Sciences — Assessing the Impact of Bird Strike Frequency on The Pennsylvania State University Campus
Lydia Jordache, Eberly College of Science — Investigating the Roles of 2',3'-cNMPs in Prokaryotic Stress Response
David Kennedy, College of Engineering — Antibiotic Removal by Modified Hairy Nanocellulose
Zineb Kobi, College of The Liberal Arts — Thank you study
Timothy Kuklis, Lehigh Valley — Green Thumb on A Red Planet
Gannon Lenhart, College of Engineering — Exploring Monopole Interactions
Xianqing Li, College of Earth and Mineral Sciences — Effect of Strain and Surface Energy on the Phase Formation of 2D Electronic Materials
Annie Liu, College of Arts and Architecture — Aural Distractions in Musical Performance: A Quantitative Exploration of Attention and Behavior
Anthony Mannarino, College of Engineering — Osgood-Schlatter Disease as a Model for Studying Structure-Function Relationships in the Knee Joint Extensor Mechanism
Eli Mertick Sykes, Eberly College of Science — Degradation of Protein Aggregates via Small Molecule Activation of Autophagy
Kennedy Miller, Eberly College of Science — Characterization of Lanmodulin Homologs as Lanthanide-Binding Proteins
Brock Molloy, Eberly College of Science — Using honey bee collected pollen as an early indicator for viral plant diseases impacting crops in Pennsylvania
Joseph Molnar, College of Engineering — Combustor Flow Field Characterization with Acoustic Forcing, Swirl Fluctuation, and Centerbody Inclusion for Flow Structure Control in Gas Turbine Systems
Vitaliy Mykhnyak, Abington — Investigation of gamma ray radiation on WSE2
Casssandra Nunez, College of Engineering — Studying the Effect of Environmental Stressors on Bacterial Motion using Time-resolved Monitoring of Optical Scattering
Laurena Olsen, Eberly College of Science — The Effects of Natural RNA Modifications on G-Quadruplex Formation
Emma Orloski, College of The Liberal Arts — Magic Mirror on the Wall: Gratitude Alters Self-Image and Aids Cognitive Behavioral Therapy
Ann Marie Paterno, Eberly College of Science — Nano-Mesh Materials Produced through Anodized Impure Aluminum
Serenah Pauliuc, Berks — Characterization of the Durability of Bio-Based Composites for Construction Applications
Jenna Phillips, Berks — Sensor Placement for Monitoring Both Equine and Rider Activity
Taylor Pust, Eberly College of Science — Investigation of Adhesion Characteristics on Lodged Thromboemboli and Cerebral Arteries
Joseph Razon, Abington — Investigation of Defect Chemistry in 2D Materials
Josie Rice, Harrisburg — Characterization of the role of the long non-coding RNA MEG3 in the autophagy of human glomerular epithelial cells following injury induced by high glucose
Lauren Rickert, College of Arts and Architecture — How Isabella d’Este’s collection reflects women’s patronage during the Renaissance
Oliver Rose, College of The Liberal Arts — The Victorian Red Pill: A Genealogy of the Neoreactionary Movement and its Ideology
Serena Schade, Berks — Effects of Online Social Network on College Students’ Attitudes towards Physical Activity
Matthew Schubach, Eberly College of Science — Synthesis of Catalytically-Active Organic Nanoparticles
Maria Schultheis, College of Agricultural Sciences — The Future of Photovoltaics: Using Amino Acid Chains as Molecular Electronics
Jay Sim, College of Engineering — Reinventing Foundry in a Box for the 21st Century
Harman Singh, College of Earth and Mineral Sciences — Examining the Relationship between Flooding and Land Use Land Cover in Kochi through a Mixed Method Approach
Taylor Slusser, College of The Liberal Arts — The Role of Eternity in Scriptural Interpretation within the Epistle to the Hebrews
Courtney Smith, College of Information Sciences and Technology — Using Social Media to Perform Parasocial Relationships with Celebrities
Kelly Snyder, College of Nursing — Examining the Effect of a Growth Mindset on Personality Faking
Josephine Soddano, Eberly College of Science — Investigating the Effect of Race on Courtroom Dynamics
Shivani Sowmyan, College of Health and Human Development — Analysis of Structural Brain Imaging Data in Pediatric Samples —The Impact of Using Adult vs Pediatric Templates in Data Processing
Thomas Starr, Eberly College of Science — Characterizing the Single Molecule Dynamics of Cellulases in the Presence of Multiple Cellulose Degrading Enzymes
Carolyn Telfer, Eberly College of Science — Proposed Mechanism for Conversion of 4-chloro-lysine into 4-chloro-allyl-lysine via BesC
Bruce Tirrell, College of The Liberal Arts — The Effect of Gender Diversity and Geographic Dispersion on Continued Interdisciplinary Collaboration in NSF-Funded Teams
Alexander Trevelino, College of Agricultural Sciences — Economic Efficiency of Different Lighting Systems in Hydroponic Production of Lettuce
Cristina Valentina Craescu, Eberly College of Science — Catalysis-Induced Mobility of Enzyme-Bound Lipid Bilayers
Makarand Wadagave, College of Earth and Mineral Sciences — Studying Oxidation of WSe2 in ambient conditions via Raman Spectroscopy, Photoluminescence imaging, and Scanning electron microscopy
Yuyang Wang, Eberly College of Science — Investigating the photocatalytic properties of ZnSe Mn2+ nanoparticles
Thomas Weidman, Berks — The role of PKA in regulating CPT1 splicing in the Drosophila fat body
Colin Williams, College of Engineering — Nonlinear ultrasonics for characterization of fracture toughness in steel alloys
Huntur Woodard, York — Identification of Molecular Markers for Western Fence Lizard (Sceloporus occidentalis) and the Effects of Wild Fire on Western Fence Lizard Genetic Diversity
Keaton Wright, Fayette — Determination of Trajectories of Magnetic Monopoles
2019
Kaylee Aaron, University College — The Need for Status: An Evolutionary Explanation for Mental Health Issues from Social Media Use
Ethan Adams, Berks — Protein Folding through Generative Adversarial Networks
Alexa Anderson, College of Health and Human Development — Language, Screens, and Development
Rachel Bartlett, Eberly College of Science —The Influence of Adolescent Social Stress on Opioid Receptor Gene Expression
Lena Becker, College of the Liberal Arts — Exploring the Relation Between Adult Attachment Relationship Functioning and Personality Disorders
Elizabeth Bell, Capitol —Stream Restoration’s Efficiency in Abating Excess Nutrients and Heavy Metals
Joseph Binkin, College of Engineering —Using Design as a Research Method to Investigate Issues of Equity and Bias in AI-enabled Hiring Systems
Hayden Bock, College of Agricultural Sciences — Influences of polyculture cropping systems on weed success
Isabel Brady, College of the Liberal Arts — These Boots are Made for Walking, But Where Do They Rest? Urban Accommodation & Architecture for Rome-Bound Pilgrims in Siena, Italy
Amanda Rose Byrd, College of Earth and Mineral Sciences — The Relationship Between Water Stress and Marcellus Legacy Fund Investment in Pennsylvania Municipalities
Lauren Chamberlain, Eberly College of Science — Synthesis of Photocatalysts for applications in Surface Chemistry and Heterogeneous Catalysis
Yu-Jen Chiu, College of Earth and Mineral Sciences — Orientational Effects on Complex Emulsion Droplet Chemotactic Interactions
Carley Danielson, College of the Liberal Arts — C.R.E.A.T.E. Meaningful Learning: A Strategic Investigation of the Pedagogical Efficacy of Primary Literature-Based Undergraduate Education in Psychology
Autumn Deitrick, College of Engineering — Optimizing the Weir Equation for Nature-Like Fish Passages
Nicholas Alexander DiNunzio, Behrend — An Investigation on the Effects of Elastic Recovery on Sheet Metal During Bend-Stretch Forming
Jonathan Ehring, Capitol —Dispersion of Carbon Nanotubes Using Surface Active Agents
Victor Ficarra, University College — Using Neural Networks to Generate Daily Fantasy Sports Lineups
Kelan B Fogarty, University College — Synthesis and Characterization of a Series of Metal Containing Isobutyl POSS Compounds
Kristina Franklin, Altoona — Does personality type predict exercise behavior in zebrafish, Danio rerio, a common animal model of human disease
Cameron Franz, College of Earth and Mineral Sciences — Understanding Equity and Producer Risk in Cherry Value Chains of Morocco
William Fullerton, College of Earth and Mineral Sciences — Developing Viable Polymer Electrolyte Membranes
Nicholas Gigliotti, College of Earth and Mineral Sciences — Encapsulation of ceramide in calcium phosphosilicate nanoparticles to treat run away inflammatory responses in the lungs of pediatric patients
Lindsey Goodnight, College of Engineering — Development of Rapid, Array-formatted Electrochemical Antibacterial Susceptibility Testing (ECAST)
Anna Graef, College of Arts and Architecture — Shino Glazing: Contemporary American Adaptations of Traditional Japanese Techniques
James Graef, College of Agricultural Sciences — Analyzing International Public Transit Operational Procedures
Alyssa Grube, College of Engineering — Current and Power Generation of Hyperthermophilies in Two-Chamber Microbial Fuel Cells, Engineering
John Gurklis, College of The Liberal Arts — Historical Preservation and Development at Khan al-Umdan: Acre (Akko), Israel
Hayley Hurt, University College — Exploration of Epigenetic Effects on Offspring Behavior, Infection Rate, and Methylation Patterning in a Beetle-Tapeworm System
Bradley Irizarry, University College — Glowing spiders; using PiggyBac transposable elements to localize and alter specific genes in the common house spider
Edward Issertell, Eberly College of Science — Elucidating the Order of Metal Binding Between EF-hands in Lanmodulin
Anam Jafri, College of Earth and Mineral Sciences — Understanding Microscopic and Macroscopic Properties of Graft Copolymers
Basel Karim, Eberly College of Science — Detection of Protein Refolding via a Reverse Environmentally-Sensitive Fluorescent Probe
Siddharth Karthikeyan, Eberly College of Sciences — Functional Analysis of Genes in the 15q11.2 CNV Deletion and Associated Phenotypic Outcomes
Annalyse K Kehs, College of Engineering — The use of Satellites to Survey Small-holder Farmers Fields
Kathryn King, Eberly College of Science — Elk K+ channel modulation and neuronal signaling
Yuran Kong, College of Earth and Mineral Sciences — Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC) for Nickel-Aluminum Alloys
Kalei H Kowalchik, University College — Nurses Perceptions of Palliative Care and the Impact it has on Palliative Care Referrals in the Acute Care Setting
Nicholas Kuhn, Altoona — EDG Transverse Flux Motor
Victoria Leger, Eberly College of Science — Caught in the Act: Duty Cycles of Accreting Compact Objects
Yihao Lin, College of Engineering — An Investigation of Carbon Nanotubes as Enzyme Delivery Vectors
Nicholas Litak, Eberly College of Science — Magnetic Properties of Alkanethiolate-Protected Gold Nanoparticles
Kathryn Luteran, College of Agricultural Sciences — Analysis of the role of Miwi2 dependent regulation of histone modifications in stress erythropoiesis
Amanda Martin, Berks — Erickson Discovery Grant Screenplay Proposal
Aileen McKinstry, College of the Liberal Arts — Justice Scalia's Enduring Constitution: An examination of Modern-day Originalism as it Compares to the Original Intent of the Founding Fathers
Matthew Mouck, Eberly College of Science — Bioinformatic Discovery of Novel Riboswitches in the Human Gut Microbiome
Lily Murray, College of the Liberal Arts — Lesbian History Archival Research
Magnus Murray, Berks — Instrumented Frisbee to Study the Aerodynamics of Frisbees
Guinevere Vanbuskirk Oliver, Eberly College of Science — Biophysical and Biochemical Characterization of Mitochondrial Transcription in the Presence of STAT3 and TEAD4
Courtney Page, College of Agricultural Sciences — Investigation into the regulation of [1, 25(OH)2D3] by CPY24A1 and the impact on T cell proliferation
Jay Pendyala, Eberly College of Science — A Mechanistic Study of LipA's Fe-S cluster Regeneration
Philip P Ratnasamy, Eberly College of Science — Understanding Light Touch Sensation in Class III DA Drosophila Neurons
Lily Qing Lian Robinson, College of Agricultural Sciences — Role of IRE1α Mutations in Cancer Pathogenesis
Samuel Rovito, College of Agricultural Sciences — Mechanisms in Receptor Binding Preference of H3N2 Influenza with Regards to Potential Mammalian Transmission
Katelyn Rudisill, Eberly College of Science — Understanding How Cdk5 Localizes Essential Proteins for Proper Neuronal Function in Class 1 DA Drosophila Neurons
Juan Alexander Sanchez Caba, University College —The influence of developmental starvation on neurotransmitter levels and behavior in the common house spider, Parasteatoda tepidariorum
Lauren Sarko, Eberly College of Science — Functional Annotation of Uncharacterized Protein “Mosquito Defect” (PY17X_0719100) in Plasmodium yoelii
Steven Schneible, College of the Liberal Arts — Brief Encounters with Hideous Diseases: The Fiction of David Foster Wallace as Experiences of Psychopathology
Cody Shakespeare, Eberly College of Science — Simulating the Resonant Chains of HR-8799 and GJ-876
Jessica Smith, Eberly College of Science — Development of High Strength, Rapidly Degradable Bone Composites for Treatment of Osteoporosis
Lucy C Spicher, College of Engineering — 3D Printed Occupational Therapy Devices: Establishing a Market in Developing Communities
Amira Spikes, Abington — Trash or Treasure?: The Effects of Date Label Perception on Food Sustainability
John Patrick Stein, College of Earth and Mineral Sciences — Templated Synthesis of Nanoparticles in Diblock Copolymer Colloidal Systems
Rachel Danielle Swope, Eberly College of Science — Identifying a Reporter for Dendrite Regeneration in Neurons of the Drosophila Peripheral Nervous System
Emily Thyrum, Eberly College of Science — Improved modeling of Cherenkov light produced by neutrino interactions in the South Pole ice
Israel Tucker, Altoona — Forced Migration and Human Rights: Approaching Global Issues with Young Children in Classroom Settings
Cassidy Ulanowicz, Behrend — Determining the Parasite Community of Invasive Snails Species in Erie, Pennsylvania
Andrew White, College of Engineering — Complex Design of Heat Sinks using Additive Manufacturing
Joshua Ian Wolgamuth, University College — The Impact of Fire on Lizard Malaria Prevalence and Diversity in Northern California
Chen Ta Yu, College of Earth and Mineral Sciences — Investigates a new approach for recovering rare-earth fission products from molten chlorides using liquid metals to reduce nuclear waste
Anthony Zhang, Eberly College of Science — Integrated Curriculum: Teaching Math Through Music
Yinqi Zhang, Eberly College of Science — Learning the Dynamics of Substance Abuse in Social Networks
Xinye Zhao, College of Earth and Mineral Sciences — Theoretical Prediction and Investigation of Voltage and Energy Density of Fluoride-Based Batteries
2018
Troy Adams, Eberly College of Science — Age Estimation Model From DNA Methylation and Accuracy Under Variable Strain Using Nanopore Sequencing
Julio Aira IV, Abington — Sustainability and Testing of 3-D Printing Prosthetic Socket
Jacob John Alexander, Behrend — Study of the Elastic Recovery and Residual Hoop Stress in Steel-Aluminum Rings
Vivek Anil, College of Engineering — Graphene-based Scaffold for Neuron Regeneration Study
Audrey Arner, Eberly College of Science — The functional and evolutionary genomics of sexual dimorphism in Homo sapiens
Eric Louis Baker, College of Engineering — Determining Causes of Attrition in Engineering Graduate Students Through Natural Language Processing
Bridget Baksa, Berks — Multi-Objective Spatial Clustering with Multiple Constraints
Rebecca Anne Barnes, College of the Liberal Arts — Switching between languages that share the same vocabulary: What keeps them apart
Celeste Marie Belknap, College of Arts and Architecture — Nina Makarova’s Symphony in D Minor: a study of her composition in the context of political and gender oppression
Emily R. Blaker, University College — The Effects of School Stress on Student-Athlete Academics and Sport Enjoyment
Nathaniel Andrew Bledsoe, Eberly College of Science — Activation of Factor XII in Respect to Cardiovascular Biomaterial
Andrew Sean Blount, Eberly College of Science — Detecting Anti-Neutrinos with WATCHMAN
Anna Pauline Brogan, Eberly College of Science — The Investigation of Antiprotozoal KKL-8692 as a trans-Translation Inhibiting Compound for Antimicrobial Use
Cole Tyler Brown, Behrend — A Tale of Terrestrial Origins: A Hypothesis for Water on the Primordial Mars
Kathryn K. Bruce, University College — The evolutionary and molecular mechanisms of sexual size dimorphism in the common house spider, Parasteatoda tepidariorum
Rebecca Bussard, Eberly College of Science — Analyzing Deformation of Telica Volcano through the Use of Remote Sensing Data
Darcy Chia Calabria, College of the Liberal Arts — The Relationship between Cult and Iron Smithing at Phoenician Tel Akko, Israel
Mia Elizabeth Caputo, College of the Liberal Arts — Self-Resemblance and the Cross-Race Memory Effect
Sabrina Anne Carrozzi, College of Engineering — On-Demand 3-D Printing Thermally Cured Polymer Nanoparticle Composites
Julia Catena, Eberly College of Science — Determining the Tissue Specificity of an NAD+ Biosynthetic Enzyme in C. elegans
Ian David Chamberlain, University College — The Physiological and Environmental Effects of Caffeinated Compost on Green Beans
Yumih Chang, College of Arts and Architecture — Documentation and Multimedia Display Creation on Keisuke Oka's ‘Arimasuton-Biru’ for New Media and Architectural Studies
Carlos M. Curay, Eberly College of Science — The Correlation of Spontaneous Seizures to Cardiac Damage in Epileptic Rat Models
Ryan Michael Czekaj, College of Arts and Architecture — Primary Source Research for Elgar’s ‘Three Characteristic Pieces’
Lauren Echols, College of the Liberal Arts — Syntactic ambiguity resolution in Spanish speakers and Spanish-English bilinguals
Victor David Ellis, Eberly College of Science — Mechanism Of Recombination In Enteroviruses
Emma Stephanie Gogarnoiu, Eberly College of Science — KH protein domains and how they bind to Fe (II)
Chujie Gong, College of Engineering — A 3-D Image-based Study of Biomechanics for Glenoid Implant and Bone
Nakul Grover, College of the Liberal Arts — Impact of immigration in South Asia: Burmese immigrants in Bangladesh and migration to India
Mindy Sarah Gruzin, University College — Evolutionary consequence of genome duplication on developmental expression of octopamine receptor in the common house spider, Parasteatoda tepidariorum
Catherine Elise Hanagan, College of Earth and Mineral Sciences — Tectonics, Magmatism, and Climate Change: Investigating the Location and Magnitude of North America-Eurasia plate motion in Iceland
Tice Ryan Harkins, Eberly College of Science — Characterizing Flow and Clotting in PDMS Channels Using Micro-Particle Image Velocimetry
Michael T. Heigh, Eberly College of Science — Using Pectin Mutants in Arabidopsis thaliana to Better Understand Plant Cell Growth
Corey Herr, Eberly College of Science — Hardware Development and Data Analysis for LZ Dark Matter Detector
Raymond Lawrence Hoy, College of the Liberal Arts — Analyzing Student Usage and Attitudes Towards Green2Go to Promote a More Cost Effective To-go Container
Ya-Lin Huang, College of Engineering — CTC Recognition by Image Processing for FMSA Liquid Biopsy
Maria Rose Hudock, College of Engineering — Softshell Turtle Collagen for the Development of a Lung Tissue Scaffold
Kailash Jayachandran, Eberly College of Science — Determining the Mechanism of NeuroD1 Mediated Reprogramming of Astrocytes into Glutamatergic Neurons
Catherine Karbasiafshar, Eberly College of Science — Exploration of suppressor mutations in a Bacillus subtilis strain deficient for NusA
Annalyse K. Kehs, College of Engineering — Application of Artificial Intelligence to Detect Lycorma delicatula
Itsuhiro Ko, College of Agricultural Sciences — Detecting mobile DNA movement between host and parasitic plant, a potential mechanism of HGT
Nicole Grace Laganke, Eberly College of Science — Investigating the Lethality in NAD+ Deficient nmrk-1 Caenorhabditis elegans in Environments of Oxidative Stress
Joash Malakani Lake, Eberly College of Science — Wolbachia Infection: Understanding the Requirements between Aedes aegypti and Wolbachia
Samantha Long, University College — How Student Satisfaction and Motivation in School is affected by Negative Life Events
Gregory Paul Lutz, University College — Exploring the Physiological Causation of Parasitic Host Manipulation
Fabiola Maldonado, Eberly College of Science — Neural Excitability and Inflammation in High Fat Diet Induced Depressive-Like Brain States
Kathryn Lynn Mayberry, College of the Liberal Arts — Reclaiming Disabled Poetry; William Carlos Williams' Late Work
Phoebe McClincy, College of Earth and Mineral Sciences — Primordial Black Holes as a Dark Matter Candidate
Christian Murphy, College of Engineering — Proposal for Automated Design for Additive Manufacturing Optimization through Machine Learning
Jeremy Mysliwiec, Eberly College of Science — Analysis of a two-population chemotaxis model with competitive dynamics
Lane Z. Naugle, College of Agricultural Sciences — Testing the effect of anthropogenic noise pollution upon nesting songbird communication channels and reproductive success
Vance Noah, Behrend — Synthesis and Biochemical Evaluation of Piperine Amide Analogs for Acetylcholinesterase Inhibition
Danielle Marie Reilly, University College — Using Evolutionary Relevant Fear Stimuli to Enhance Memory
Colton Ruggery, Eberly College of Science — The Effects of the α3β4 Nicotinic Acetylcholine Receptor Antagonist, 18-Methoxycoronaridine (18-MC), on Alcohol-Related Behaviors
Emily Sellinger, Eberly College of Science — Predicting Lyme disease Cases Using Mouse Trap Sales
Rachel E. Shriver, College of Education — Más Que Mojitos: Reciprocity within Global Conversations Course
Benjamin Simonson, Eberly College of Science — Life-history trade-off between immunity and thermoregulation in bumblebees
Jessica Jean Smith, Eberly College of Science — Development of Citrate/Magnesium Phosphate Dual Network Injectable Composites for Orthopedic Tissue Engineering
Emily C. Snell, Eberly College of Science — In Vitro and Ex Vivo profiling of Antibiotic Properties of Tetrazole Analogs that Target trans-Translation
Danielle Judy Spewak, College of Arts and Architecture — Reality Destination
Steven G. Stamm, Berks — Reduction of Drag by Adding Longitudinal Grooves
Michelle Suhendra, Eberly College of Science — Functional Characterization of PF13_0114, an ApiAP2 transcription factor in malaria parasite P. falciparum
Lichen Sun, College of Engineering — Design of Low Leakage Pouch Cells for Electric Double-layer Capacitor (EDLC) Applications
Jonathan Frances Thomas, Eberly College of Science — In vivo analysis of the RNA binding domain of the transcriptional pausing factor, NELF
Gavin Turner, Eberly College of Science — Characterization of the FaRLiP Phycobilisome Complex by Knockout Mutagenesis in the Cyanobacterium Synechococcus sp. PCC 7335
Seth Wilcox, College of Education — Large Scale Keyphrase Evaluation via Crowdsourcing
Madison I. Winkowski, University College — Pharacological characterization of dopamine receptors in the common house spider, Parasteatoda tepidariorum
Madeline Winn, College of Agricultural Sciences — Programmed Cell Death Proteins as CL Saviors: Examining the Role of PD-1 and PD-L1 in Luteal Rescue
Stephen Daniel Worrell, College of Agricultural Sciences — Characterizing IRE1alpha Dependent Leukocyte Recruitment Signaling in UV Induced Inflammation
Amanda Yaya, Eberly College of Science — Investigation of Interictal Hemodynamics in Rat Models Using Oxygen-Sensing Electrodes
Philip Navin Zachariah, Eberly College of Science — A Fly on the Wall: Bridging the Gap Between Penn State Research Laboratories and the Student Community
Chenzhang Zhou, Altoona — Why Phonons Behavior in Transition Metal Dichalcogenides Matter
Everett Zofchak, College of Engineering — Synthesis of Polymeric Nanostructures Via Order-Order and Disorder-Order Transition