Robotics and Intelligent Machines
Fourth Award
Modern Deep Neural Networks (DNNs) are potent catalysts for scientific-industrial impact. To maximize performance and hypothesis space, however, DNNs involve excessive parameters – impeding…
Computational Biology and Bioinformatics
The role of deep learning in the recognition of morphological structures in histopathological data is heavily stunted by extreme variations that may exist in the datasets that these deep lea…
Engineering Technology: Statics & Dynamics
Purpose: My project was on the light reflectivity of geometric shapes. The hypothesis was if a light wave strikes an object, the reflectivity is determined by the shape and the color of the…
Mathematics
Second Award
Knot theory is the mathematical study of tangled loops of string. Over the last 50 years, a number of applications have been found. For instance: molecules created with the same atoms, but s…
Mathematics
For any given curve, integration is the customary method for determining the area under the curve. However, finding the actual length of the curve is a far more complex task and one rarely e…
Biomedical Engineering
Fourth Award
Stroke is a significant health problem, imposing a growing burden on patients, families, and healthcare systems. Many stroke patients experience diminished confidence in walking independentl…
A stroke is defined as a neurologic deficit arising from an interruption in blood supply to the brain. According to the World Health Organization, over 15 million people suffer from strokes…
Materials Science
Wood is a common building material due to its wide availability, light-weight properties, and strength under stable conditions. However, a major susceptibility is in its inability to withsta…
Computational Biology and Bioinformatics
GABAA receptor (GABAAR), a pentameric ligand-gated ion channel, is activated by GABA, a major inhibitory neurotransmitter in the human brain. GABAAR dysfunction is implicated in several CNS…
Earth and Environmental Sciences
Fourth Award
Limu (seaweed) is critical to Native Hawaiian ecosystems and culture. With limited prior research, the first part of this study examined the effects of ZnO mineral sunscreens on endemic Hawa…
Limu (seaweed) is critical to Native Hawaiian ecosystems and culture. With limited prior research, the first part of this study examined the effects of ZnO mineral sunscreens on endemic Hawa…
Microbiology
The overuse of antibiotics in medicine is a growing problem, as it leads to an increase in the number of drug-resistant strains of bacteria. According to the WHO, this is one of the greatest…
This experiment’s purpose was to determine if the presence of common microplastics (polyethylene (PE), polyamide (PA), and polyethersulfone (PES)) would impact the growth of Chenopodium quin…
Earth and Environmental Sciences
Atmospheric greenhouse gas concentrations of both carbon dioxide (CO2) and methane (CH4) are increasing at a decennial rate of +34 parts per million for CO2 and +70 parts per billion for CH4…
Chemistry
Third Award
Water biopollutants such as insects, parasites, and microbes have wreaked havoc in the global health and development. They have grown resistant to traditional disinfectants such as chlorine…
Chemistry
In this work, a comparative study of chemical template synthesis of Cu microtubules in PET template was carried out using environmentally friendly non-toxic reducing agents, namely ascorbic…
Energy: Sustainable Materials and Design
Lithium ion batteries (LIBs) have become an important energy storage power system in the world due to their safety, high heat resistance, environmental-friendliness and limited memory effect…
Biomedical Engineering
The detection of extremes in health is imperative to the preservation of human life. From the staple stethoscope in every medical institution, to as simple a scale in someone’s bathroom, acc…
Biomedical and Health Sciences
Fourth Award
Glioblastoma Multiforme (GBM) is not only a ruthless cancer but also the most common form of cancer diagnosed in adults. Despite currently available treatment strategies and emerging therapi…
Chemistry
More than two people die from skin cancer every hour, and most melanomas are caused by the sun. Many people ignore the necessity of sunscreen in their everyday lives, opting to only use it i…
Environmental Engineering
Third Award
The utilization of pesticides to protect agricultural productions and insect infestations for health and hygienic purposes has raised great concerns in the literature associated with soil, w…
Retinal health is often overlooked and seen as a privilege, not a necessity. Although there are a variety of machine learning-based solutions and retinal specialists to diagnose these ailmen…
Systems Software
The current gold standard to restore vision to patients suffering from retinal degenerative diseases is through retinal prostheses. However, these FDA-approved implants are limited to low-re…
Bioplastics have long been an area of interest, since they are more environmentally friendly than petrochemical- based plastics. Bioplastics can be more widely adopted if they can meet the p…
Engineering Technology: Statics & Dynamics
Globally, commercial aviation generates one billion tons of CO2 emissions annually. Fuel consumption is 30.1% of the airline budget. While current practices automate the complex handoffs fro…
Globally, commercial aviation generates one billion tons of CO2 emissions annually. Fuel consumption is >30% of the airline budget. While current practices automate the complex handoffs from…
Earth and Environmental Sciences
As temperatures near 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial times, scientists warn that the Earth will start seeing some of the most catastrophic effects of climate change. News headlines…
Energy: Sustainable Materials and Design
Electrical interruptions plague St.Croix and many other Caribbean locations. St.Croix averages two electrical interruptions per property a month. A way to mitigate those interruptions would…
Environmental Engineering
Second Award
Agricultural tile drainage, a method of providing drainage for fields, can cause large amounts of nutrients to be leached out of fields. Nutrients can be absorbed into the rainwater, which i…
Environmental Engineering
According to World Health Organization, by 2030, climate change is expected to cause approximately 250,000 additional deaths annually. One of the most critical factors leading to increased c…