Winners of the 12th annual Undergraduate Symposium announced

Northern Arizona University announced the winners of the 12th annual Undergraduate Symposium, celebrating students’ academic achievements, ongoing research and creative works. This year’s symposium took place in a virtual format and presentations from the week can be viewed online.

The College of Environment, Forestry, and Natural Sciences (CEFNS) and the College of Engineering, Informatics, and Applied Sciences (CEIAS) presented specific awards to their participants. Additionally, a People’s Choice Award was selected for each category.

CEFNS awarded the following for each department:

  • Hanna Zigo, Investigating Potential Ancient Inverted Valley Networks on Mars,” First place award for the Department of Astronomy and Planetary Science. This award is made possible through the contribution of Henry Hooper.
  • Lauren Mason-Sarantopulos and Joshua Rihs, “Effects of Elevated Water Temperature on Growth, Reproduction, and Survival Across Generations of Native Amphipods in Northern Arizona.” Department of Biological Science. This award is made possible through the contribution of the Craig Family Elevate Award for Sciences.
  • Mitchell Bryant, “Molecular Methods to Reveal the Success of Gene Editing,” Second Place Award for the Department of Biological Science. This award is made possible through the contribution of the Craig Family Elevate Award for Sciences.
  • Lora Verslius, An important opportunistic pathogen for cystic fibrosis patients, Burkholderia vietnamiensis, appears common in the environment of the southern US,” third place award for the Department of Biological Science. This award is made possible through the contribution of the Craig Family Elevate Award for Sciences
  • Joseph Espinoza, Presence of Neurotoxic Metals in Pesticides and Potential Adverse Health Effects in Agricultural Workers in Yuma County,” First Place Award for the Department of Biological Science-Exercise Science. This award is made possible through the contributions of the Begovac Experiment Award in Recognition of Outstanding Pursuit of New Knowledge Through Experimentation.
  • Kelsey Garden and Alujjage Anuththara, “Exploring Structure-Function Relationships: The Impact of Polymer Electrolyte Ordering on Ionic Conductivity,” First Place Award for the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry. This award is made possible through the contribution of the Begovac Experiment Award in Recognition of Outstanding Pursuit of New Knowledge Through Experimentation
  • Chloe Frechette, “Sylver Coinage Digraph Analysis,” First Place Award for the Department of Mathematics and Statistics. This award is made possible through the contributions of the Begovac Experiment Award in Recognition of Outstanding Pursuit of New Knowledge Through Experimentation
  • Cameron Chacon, “Geohazard of a Potential Rim Collapse at Devils Kitchen: Risk to Visitors at an Active Sinkhole In Sedona, Northern Arizona,” First Place Award for the School of Earth and Sustainability-Geology. This award is made possible through the contributions of the Begovac Experiment Award in Recognition of Outstanding Pursuit of New Knowledge Through Experimentation
  • Jordyn Williamson, “The potential impacts of a temperature control device on the reintroduction of Colorado pikeminnow in Grand Canyon: A literature review,” First Place Award for the School of Earth and Sustainability-Environmental Studies. This award is made possible through the contributions of the Begovac Experiment Award in Recognition of Outstanding Pursuit of New Knowledge Through Experimentation
  • Casey Hensen, “Exploring the novel use of soil biota to germinate the Las Vegas bear poppy,” First Place Award for the. School of Forestry. This award is made possible through the contributions of the Begovac Experiment Award in Recognition of Outstanding Pursuit of New Knowledge Through Experimentation.

CEIAS awarded outstanding capstones in each of their departments.

  • Juan Arias, Changhao Ji, Paige Mace, Brit Riggs, Electrical Engineering
    • Cave Climate Monitor
  • David Hammond, Chase McLeod, Mishael Umlor, Civil-Environmental Engineering
    • Remediation of E. Coli Contaminated Surface Water in Arizona Via Fungi
  • Brandon Bass, Tyler Hans, Daniel Johnson, Dakota Saska, Sage Lawrence, Elaine Reyes, Mechanical Engineering
    • Northrop Grumman Standoff Project

The following recipients received the People’s Choice Award for their colleges.

  • Azher Almomen, College of Arts and Letters
    • “Revitalizing Orphanage Design to Nurture and Support Children with AIDS”
  • Mohammad Altarfa, Mohammad Alzaher, Raymond Holgate, CEIAS
    • “Conservation of Energy Through Wearable Devices”
  • Alicia Seibert, College of Health and Human Sciences
    • “Early Ambulation in the Intensive Care Unit”
  • Paige Thompson, CEFNS
    • “Seed and Germination Traits of Native Grassland Species”
  • Leah Weich, College of Social and Behavioral Sciences
    • “Conversations Between the Bars: The Criminal Treatment of Mental Illness in One Arizona Jail”
  • Buck Blankenship, College of Education
    • “Peer Mentoring Effects on Retention of At-Risk Students on Academic Probation”
  • Joseph Amazuwa Chirwa, Graduate College
    • “Innovation Hubs to Build Urban and Rural Resilience in Communities in Malawi-Paradigm Shift to Developing Countries”
  • Emma Winn, Honors College
    • “Illustrating Change: A Self Portrait of the Disposable Tourist’s Landscape Through an Exploration of Environmental Empathy”
  • Justin Case, Green Fund
    • “Testing the Effectiveness of PET Plastic-Eating Microbes at NAU”

In The W.A. Franke College of Business there was a tie between two group projects.

  • Brianna Alvarado, Taylor Andrews, David De Moss, Briana Fierro, Jordyn Even and Autumn Layden
    • “Market Research on the Awareness and Perception of Mental Health Disorders”
  • Cheyenne Ashbaugh, Joyceln Edwards, Joshua Ranker, Connie Rasmussen and Travis Zale
    • “Non-Alcoholic Distilled Spirits and their Effect on Mixology”