Judges Choice

Arts & Humanities

Kyle Aulow, Oswmer Louis, and Nicole Mariutto
Marching Forward
Mentor: Dr. Robert Cassanello (Department of History)

John Lancaster
Politicizing Health: The Nazis’ Forgotten Anti-Smoking Campaign and Twentieth Century Eugenics
Mentor: Dr. Amelia Lyons (Department of History)

Sarah Schreck, Tara Currier, Aleece Betts, and Estella Gong
Power Plays: Using Theatrical Techniques to Enhance Bystander Prevention Training
Mentor: Sybil St. Claire (Theatre)

Maegan Alexis Trinidad
If it May Please the Court: Manipulating Rhetorical Components of Opening Statements to Maximize Effectiveness
Mentor: Dr. Marcy Galbreath (Department of Writing and Rhetoric)

Education

Desia Bacon
Preventing Hazing at UCF by Teaching Leadership, Ethics and Group Responsibility
Mentor: Dr. Stacey Malaret (Higher Education and Policy Studies)

David Foresman
Representations and Impacts of Transgender and Gender Nonconforming Ideals in Children’s Literature for Young Children
Mentor: Dr. Sherron Killingsworth Roberts (Teaching, Learning, and Leadership)

Christine Parsons
The Effects of Using Academic Coaching Strategies to Support STEM Students With Executive Function Disabilities
Mentor: Dr. Matthew Marino (Department of Child, Family and Community Sciences)

Engineering, Optics and Photonics, and Computer Science

Joshua Bowren
Fully Autonomous Real-Time Autoencoder-Augmented Hebbian Learning through the Collection of Novel Experiences
Mentor: Dr. Kenneth Stanley (Department of Computer Science)

Sierra Condo and Leslie Simms
Measurement of Eardrum Compliance at Varying Intracranial Pressures
Mentor: Dr. Hansen Mansy (Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering)

Samuel Deane and Michael Sedlack
Platform for Combined Extreme Environments
Mentor: Dr. Ali Gordon (Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering)

Minh-Chau Le
The Influence of Biomaterial Scaffold Properties on Breast Cancer Cell Morphology and Proliferation
Mentor: Dr. Stephen Florczyk (Department of Materials Science and Engineering)

Erik Ninnemann
High-Speed Imaging of the Dynamics of H2\O2 Ignition at Low to Moderate Temperatures in a Shocktube
Mentor: Dr. Subith Vasu (Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering)

Rebecca McLean
Nanoparticle-driven Forward Osmosis Modification for Mitigating Membrane Biofouling in Algae Separation
Mentor: Dr. Woo Hyoung Lee (Department of Civil, Environmental, and Construction Engineering)

Aaron Santomauro
Mechanical Properties of 3D Printed PLA Under Uniaxial Compressive Loading
Mentor: Dr. Ali Gordon (Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering)

Owen Thomas and Lauren Brads, and Cameron Douglas
An Airport Security Queuing Network: How to Optimize Passenger Throughput
Mentor: Dr. Zhisheng Shuai (Department of Mathematics)

Health Sciences

Lovely Davilmar
Exploratory Assessment of Relationship between Masculinity and Substance Use in Young Adult and Adolescent Males
Mentor: Dr. Michael Rovito (Department of Health Professions)

Ryan Garwood
The Impact of Arthritis on the Health-Related Quality of Life in Individuals at the University of Central Florida
Mentor: Dr. Suha Saleh (Department of Health Professions)

Amanda Wimmersberg
Exploring the Relationship Between Symptom Management and Distress in Pediatric Oncology Nurses
Mentor: Dr. Victoria Loerzel (Department of Nursing)

Life Sciences

Milagros Baylac
Investigating the Evolutionary Relationships of Mole Skinks in Florida
Mentor: Dr. Christopher Parkinson (Department of Biology)

Alexia Bossan
The Function of FGD4 and Its Role in the Development of Drug-Resistant PCa
Mentor: Dr. Ratna Chakrabarti (Burnett School of Biomedical Sciences)

Baggio Evangelista
Alpha-Synuclein: Insight to the Hallmark of Parkinson’s Disease as the Target for Molecular Diagnostics and Therapeutics
Mentor: Dr. Yoon-Seong Kim, Dr. Kenneth Teter (Biomedical Sciences)

Jeanine Garcia
Ponatinib as a Potential Therapeutic Drug for Neurofibromatosis Type 2
Mentor: Dr. Cristina Fernandez-Valle (Biomedical Sciences)

Nickolas Kessler
Bacteria That Resist Centrifugal Force
Mentor: Dr. Sean Moore (Burnett School of Biomedical Sciences)

Bridget Vincent
Stopped in Their Tracks: Assessing the Effects of Anthropogenic Barriers on Gopherus polyphemus
Mentor: Dr. Christopher Parkinson (Department of Biology)

Jadzia Bracamonte, Andres Diaz, Nicholas Conway, and Kevin Marin
Overcoming Inhibition: An in vitro Model of the Glial Scar and its Implications on Axonal Regeneration After Spinal Cord Injury
Mentor: Dr. Alicia Hawthorne (Burnett School of Biomedical Sciences)

Heather Holman
Targeted Delivery of a Therapeutic Protein for Neurodegenerative Diseases
Mentor: Dr. Kiminobu Sugaya (Burnett School of Biomedical Sciences)

Bailey Mourant
Targeting Fatty Acid Synthase-II Protein Interactions as a New Way to Kill TB
Mentor: Dr. Kyle Rohde (Burnett School of Biomedical Sciences)

Keisha Persaud
Measuring Real Time Contractile Function of In-Vitro Myocytes on Cantilever Chips in Microfluidic System Through a Non-Invasive Methodology
Mentor: Dr. James Hickman, Dr. Carlota Oleaga (Department of Chemistry)

Michelle Prophete
Effect of K562 Plasma Membrane-bound Interleukin-2 Protein on the proliferation of Natural Killer cells and their cytotoxicity against cancer cells
Mentor: Dr. Alicja Copik (Department of Molecular and Microbiology)

Yvelande Raymond
Urbanization is a Buzz Kill: Urban Environments on Bee Species Activity and Diversity
Mentor: Dr. Patrick Bohlen (Department of Biology)

Trellane Willis
The Effects of E-cigarettes and Nicotine on Cell Signaling in Esophageal Cancer
Mentor: Dr. Claudia Andl (Burnett School of Biomedical Sciences)

Physical Sciences and Mathematics

Christopher Botelho, Hanna Reed, and Henry Chang
Cholera in Haiti: Mathematical modeling of education campaign impacts on disease dynamics
Mentor: Dr. Zhisheng Shuai (Department of Mathematics)

Dylan Bruce
Gallai-Ramsey Numbers for Cycles of Length Seven
Mentor: Dr. Zi-Xia Song (Department of Mathematics)

Giovanna Pope
Lithium-Ion Conductivity Studies in Covalent Organic Frameworks Functionalized with oligo(ethylene oxides)
Mentor: Dr. Fernando Uribe-Romo (Department of Chemistry)

Maren Tomcsak
Characterization of Condom Lubricants by DART-TOFMS
Mentor: Dr. Candice Bridge (Department of Chemistry)

Behnaz Davoudinasab
Using Low-Coherence Interferometry to Monitor Cell Invasion in an in Vitro Model System
Mentor: Dr. Aristide Dogariu (Department of Optics)

Lauren Gandy
Mechanistic Investigations on Organic Color Spot Tests for Smokeless Powders
Mentor: Dr. Candice Bridge (Department of Chemistry)

Thomas Rechtman
Effects of Outgoing Longwave Radiation on Climate Change and Ecology
Mentor: Dr. Ram Mohapatra (Department of Mathematics)

Darian Smalley
Field Orientation Independent Convective Flows in Quasi 1D Magnetic Fluid Driven by Horizontal Magnetic and Temperature Gradients
Mentor: Dr. Weili Luo (Department of Physics)

Social Sciences

Kendra Castleberry
The Perceived Impact of Colorism
Mentor: Dr. Amy Donley (Department of Sociology)

Lucy Clement La Rosa
Afghanistan’s Nexus of Drug and Terror
Mentor: Dr. Houman Sadri (Department of Political Science)

Mariah Deramo
Dare to Breastfeed
Mentor: Dr. Amy Donley (Department of Sociology)

Melissa Gomez
Analysis of Collagen Extraction from Bahamian Hutia to Determine Domestication Patterns
Mentor: Dr. Peter Sinelli, Dr. Lana Williams (Department of Anthropology)

Fernando Montalvo
Examining Individual Attitudes towards Virtual Agents as Social Companions
Mentor: Dr. Janan Smither, Dr. Daniel McConnell (Department of Psychology)

Juliana Snowden,Victoria Priola, and Lucas Pettinati
Old Lighthouse Site at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station
Mentor: Dr. Neil Duncan (Department of Anthropology)

Jacquelyn Fernandez
So Many Millennials, So Little Votes: Insight from Millennials on Post-Election America
Mentor: Dr. Amy Donley (Department of Sociology)

John Granger and Natalie Alessi
Trends in Workload and Performance: An Analysis of Three Instructional Strategies Within a Virtual Environment
Mentor: Dr. Crystal Maraj (Simulation and Training)

Selena Leonardo
Behavioral Interventions for Smoking Cessation Used by Daily Smokers
Mentor: Dr. Julia Soulakova (Burnett School of Biomedical Sciences)

Heidi Obediente
It’s Not Men or Women, It’s Balance
Mentor: Dr. Kerstin Hamann (Department of Political Science)

Angel Sanchez
Florida Dept. Of Corrections Systematically Undercounts Hispanics: An Empirical Estimate Of Hispanics In FDOC And Its Impact On Felony Disenfranchisement
Mentor: Dr. Bruce Wilson (Department of Political Science)

Tessa Treadwell
African American Mothers’ Perceptions of Breastfeeding Information and Support from Healthcare Providers
Mentor: Dr. Shannon Carter (Department of Sociology)

Audience Choice

Christopher Arias
The Missing Components in Social Media Marketing
Mentor: Dr. Caroyln Massiah (Department of Marketing)

Cheniene Clemens and Meghan Dougherty
A Hidden Threat: Survey of Microplastic Abundance and Distribution Around Glover’s Reef Atoll, Middle Caye, Belize
Mentor: Dr. Linda Walters (Department of Biology)

Barbara Mendez Campos
Use of a Music and Memory Program by Dementia Caregivers
Mentors: Dr. Denise Gammonley, Dr. Tracy Wharton (School of Social Work)

Brian Strevens, Leo Shane, Jennifer Sawicki, Catherine Harms, Dani Burton, and Tyler Chartier
Malawi Time & Motion Study for Efficiency in HIV/AIDS Healthcare Service Delivery
Mentor: Dr. Pamela McCauley (Department of Industrial Engineering and Management Systems)

Peer Choice

Heather Holman
Targeted Delivery of a Therapeutic Protein for Neurodegenerative Diseases
Mentor: Dr. Kiminobu Sugaya (Burnett School of Biomedical Sciences)

Peter San Pedro
Cardiotrophin-1 Increases Astrocyte Proliferation in Neural Stem Cells and Oligodendrocyte Progenitor Cell Cultures
Mentor: Dr. Stephen Lambert (Burnett School of Biomedical Sciences)