Agricultural & Environmental Sciences Category (9 posters)
Winner: Microbial Growth of Hydrocarbon Degrading Organisms in Produced Water. Adrian Romero, Shawn T Grushecky, Zachary Freedman and Edward F Peltier. (Adrian, a Chemical Engineering major at the University of Kansas, was a participant in the Undergraduate Water and Energy Systems Scholars program.)
Biological Sciences Category (17 posters)
Winner: Characterizing Plasmid Functional Roles within Tsetse Fly-Associated Symbiotic Bacteria. Noah J. Spencer, Miguel E. Medina Munoz, and Rita V.M. Rio. (Noah, a Biology major and Honors student at WVU from Morgantown, WV, was a participant in the SURE program.*)
Runner Up: Tissue Specific Nitrogen Metabolism by Retina and Retinal Pigmented Epithelium. Brianna Ritz, Rong Xu, and Jianhai Du. (Brianna, a Biology major at West Liberty University, was a participant in the Summer Undergraduate Vision Research Fellowship program.)
Engineering Category (15 posters)
Winner: Multi-Source Domain Adaptive Segmentation of Microscopy Images. Jacob Restanio, Liam Mcgoldrick, and Gianfranco Doretto. (Jacob, a Computer Engineering major at WVU from Houston, PA, was a participant in the SURE program.*)
Runner Up: Quantifying United Nations Sustainable Development Goals Using GREENSCOPE Indicators. Carlie B. Ramsayer, Selorme Agbleze, Gerardo J. Ruiz-Mercado, and Fernando V. Lima. (Carlie, a Chemical Engineering major and Honors student at WVU from Madison, WV, was a participant in the SURE program.*)
Health Sciences Category (20 posters)
Winner: Making a Case for Treating Substance Use Disorder: A Family Disease. Brittany T. Smith, Michael R. Brumage, Keith Zullig, and Elizabeth Claydon. (Brittany, a Public Health major at WVU from Morgantown, WV, was a participant in the SURE program.*)
Runner Up: Developing novel biomarker-based in vitro pertussis toxin neutralization assay to evaluate protective antibodies. Caleb Kisamore, Dylan Boehm, M. Allison Wolf, William Witt, and F. Heath Damron. (Caleb, an Immunology and Medical Microbiology major and Honors student at WVU from Morgantown, WV, was a participant in the IMMB Research Internship program.)
Human Engagement Category (8 posters)
Winner: Between two worlds: power, politics, and noblewomen in early modern Europe. Jessica Hogbin and Matthew Vester. (Jessica, a History, Italian & Religious Studies triple major and Honors student at WVU from Hedgesville, WV, was a participant in the SURE program.*)
Neuroscience Category (10 posters)
Winner: Timing of Audiovisual Integration in Individuals with Autism. Kingsly C. Jonathan, Paula J. Webster, John Bassler, Sijin Wen, Frum Chris, James W. Lewis, and Shuo Wang. (Kingsly, a Biomedical Engineering major and Honors student at WVU from Cross Lanes, WV, was a participant in the SURE program and was funded via an NSF LSAMP STEM Pathways and Research Alliance Phase III grant.)
Physical Sciences Category (19 posters)
Winner: Zirconium Compounds as Earth-Abundant Alternatives for Precious Metal Photosensitizers. Rebecca Rutherford, Dylan Leary, Jordan Martinez, and Carsten Milsmann. (Rebecca, a Chemistry major at Fairmont State University from Nellis, WV, was a participant in the NSF-funded Chemistry REU program.)
Runner Up: Demonstration of Semi-permanent Cationic and Anionic Surface Coatings for Capillary Electrophoresis. Alyson K. Fulton, Courtney J. Kristoff, and Lisa A. Holland. (Alyson, a Chemistry major at Shippensburg University from Fairfield, PA, was a participant in the NSF-funded Chemistry REU program.)
Social & Behavioral Sciences Category (9 posters)
Winner: Associations between Parental Attachment, Delaying Gratification, and Substance Use in Adolescents. Malinda Smith, Amy Gentzler, Tyia Wilson, and Jeffrey Hughes. (Malinda, a Psychology and Social Work double major at Barton College, was a participant in the APA funded Summer Undergraduate Psychology Research Experience.)
Category winners and runner ups from the 2019 Summer Undergraduate Research Symposium held at West Virginia University on July 25, 2019. More information about the annual summer symposium, including the 2019 abstracts, can be found here.
*Funding for the 2019 Summer Undergraduate Research Experience (SURE) program, which administers the symposium, was provided in part by (i) the West Virginia Research Challenge Fund through a grant from the Division of Science and Research, Higher Education Policy Commission, (ii) the WVU Office of the Provost, and (iii) the Davis College of Agriculture, Natural Resources and Design; the Eberly College of Arts and Sciences; the Statler College of Engineering and Mineral Resources; the Honors College; the Health Sciences Center; the Colleges of Business and Economics, Creative Arts, and Physical Activity and Sports Sciences; the Departments of Biology and Chemistry; and the Office of Undergraduate Research.
