IN, United States of America

Permaximize

Third Award

Robots and computers are now essential tools in today’s society that automate tasks in every field. Programmers utilize the concepts of machine learning (ML) and Artificial Intelligence (AI)…

The Effect of Epoxy Resin Liners on Bisphenol A Contamination of Canned Foods

Fourth Award

Bisphenol A (BPA) is present in a variety of consumer products and has been linked to numerous health effects in humans. Especially in food and beverage containers, the inner epoxy liner of…

The Effect of Expression of miRNA-15b on the Migration of Glioblastoma Multiforme

Translational Medical Science

Glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) is a highly malignant astrocytoma due to an elevated reproductive rate and plentiful blood flow to the region. It is resistant to conventional treatments, and n…

The Green Algae, Chlorella vulgaris, Mitigates Detrimental Effects of Methylmercury in Zebrafish

Third Award

Modern society has become dependent on electronics. With rapidly advancing technology, devices quickly become obsolete and are often improperly disposed in landfills. These electronics conta…

Therapeutic Evaluation of Griseofulvin in a Mouse Model of Choroidal Neovascularization

Biomedical Engineering

Abnormal blood vessel growth, termed neovascularization, causes diseases such as wet-age related macular degeneration (wet AMD), leading to blindness. Wet AMD is a chronic eye disease that c…

The Role of Frienship Networks and Motivational Goals in Interracial Interactions

Systems Software

Increased globalization has led to more diversity in the United States, yet, people are often reluctant to initiate interracial interactions. These interactions may engender identity threate…

Using Pharmacogenetics to Determine the Role of the Orexin System in Panic-Associated Behavior and Physiology

Biochemistry

Background: Orexin is a neuropeptide that is exclusively synthesized in the perifornical hypothalamus, which is a brain region that when stimulated elicits panic-associated behavior in roden…

Adhesive Elastin-based Proteins as Soft-tissue Surgical Glues

Developing a viable soft tissue adhesive can eliminate the needs for sutures, which often cause further tissue damage in clinical settings. Adhesives that demonstrate biocompatibility, funct…

A Study of Leaf and Root Extracts from Invasive Species Lonicera maackii on Microbial Growth

Lonicera maackii, also known as Amur honeysuckle, is an invasive deciduous shrub that is commonly found in the mid-Atlantic region of the United States. This invasive species is an ecologica…

Autonomous Motion Planning for Hyper-Redundant Modular Robotic Systems using State Estimation, Obstacle Avoidance, and Intelligence Locomotion Algorithms

A successful robot is defined as one that is able to sense the characteristics of its environment, plan autonomous motions, and perform these actions. Thus far, research in Modular Snake Rob…

A Warning System Based on Sensor Technology and Chemical Analysis to Detect Distracted Driving

Over 1,100 people in the U.S. are either injured or die from distracted driving crashes everyday. Distractions can be visual (eyes off road), manual (hands off wheel), or cognitive (mind off…

Chemo-immunotherapy of Cancer with Adjuvants

Translational Medical Science

Do chemical adjuvants inhibit murine lymphomas (like 2C3) and mammary carcinomas (like 4T1)? Cancer therapy currently involves surgery, chemotherapy, and radiation. Surgery does not ensure c…

Circle Fitting Algorithm Optimization through the Iterative Hough Transform

Detection of an object, such as a line or a circle, is one of the major components of computer vision applications. The Hough Transform utilizes a voting procedure to identify arbitrary obje…

Computational Assessment of the Role of Repeat Sequences in Splicing of the Human RNA Transcript During HIV-infection

TDP-43, a protein functioning in transcription and pre-mRNA splicing regulation, is known to cause exon skipping on the CFTR and apoA-II genes by binding to TG-repeat motifs 12 bases or long…

Effect of Cisplatin on Gene Expression Over Time in Lung Cancer Cells

Biomedical Engineering

Lung cancer affects the lives of many people with over 200,000 new cases diagnosed every year. Cisplatin is one drug that has been used to combat the cancer. A major hurdle in cisplatin’s ef…

Effect of Time-dependent Gain and Loss in a PT-Symmetric Optical Waveguide Array

Fourth Award

Quantum systems are typically treated as closed systems and hence described by hermitian Hamiltonian matrices. However, the discovery that a non-hermitian Hamiltonian can have real eigenvalu…

Effects of Treatment of Reduced Glutathione on Budding and Feeding Rates in Hydra littoralis

Behavioral and Social Sciences

The freshwater organism, Hydra littoralis, has served as an effective model for biochemical, behavioral, reproductive, and environmental studies. When well-fed, hydra reproduce asexually by…

Engineered Intraocular Injection Guide (IIG): Pain Reduction in Ophthalmic Disease Treatment

Biomedical Engineering Fourth Award

Purpose: Millions of intraocular injections are given each year. I developed a novel device (the Intraocular Injection Guide, IIG) to improve patient comfort during intraocular injections by…

Harnessing the Prokaryotic CRISPR/Cas Foreign DNA Defense System for Antiviral Therapy in Canine Fibroblast Tumor Cells

Translational Medical Science

CRISPR/Cas is a prokaryotic defense system that produces complexes that target themselves to and degrade specific foreign nucleic acids, such as virus DNA. The CRISPR/Cas bacteria Streptococ…

Is Lithium a Safe Power Source?

The purpose of this experiment was to understand and determine whether single use lithium batteries had operational restrictions that could cause them to be dangerous in use. The batteries w…

Missense Mutations in Colorectal Cancer: Targeting Pathways in Early vs. Late Stages--Could There be a Role for Early Intervention with Better Outcomes?

Translational Medical Science

Colorectal cancer arises from genetic aberrancies classified as driver mutations, which actively promote disease progression, and passenger mutations that provide no evident selective growth…

Paper Texts versus Electronic Texts in Terms of Reading

Biomedical and Health Sciences

Technology enthusiasts claim that the digital age is coming and no one can stop it. Schools and businesses across the world are switching to use electronic tablets instead of paper. Unfortun…

Photoelectrochemical Properties of 2-D Transition Metal Dichalcogenides(TMDCs) Functionalized with Porphyrins

Energy: Sustainable Materials and Design Fourth Award

Recently, cutting edge 2-D materials have emerged in the field of photovoltaics for light energy conversion. Graphene, the 2-D version of graphite, has a high carrier mobility, transparency,…

Solving World Hunger: One Family at a Time

The topic I researched was the production of green beans using bags of soil. I chose this topic because my grandfather was having both of his knees replaced in early spring and would not be…

The Guardian Angel "Heroic Acts, Taking Flight"

Law enforcement agencies are always looking for new ways to protect their officers in the most efficient way. To ensure the safety of law enforcement officers in hostile situations new devic…

The Medicinal Effects of Juglone

The purpose of this project is to test the effects juglone has on bacteria found in the body. If the bacteria are adversely affected, then juglone has an effect external from the soil. The b…

The Role of Bacillus subtilis on Algae Blooms for the Survival of Aquatic Ecosystems

The purpose of this project is to find a more efficient, environmentally safe way to reduce algae bloom growth. If algae growth is decreased by the growth of the bacteria, Bacillus subtilis,…

The Role of Syk Protein Kinase in Stress Granule Dynamics of Cancer Cells

Translational Medical Science Third Award

Syk, spleen tyrosine kinase, consists of two Src homology 2 (SH2) domains and a single catalytic domain that mediates downstream signaling cascades. Recently, Syk has been shown to be recrui…

Using Hydrophobic Microporous Layers and Enhanced Air Flow to Reduce Methanol Crossover in a Direct Methanol Fuel Cell

Due to the finite supply of fossil fuels and the ecological dangers associated with their use, there has been a push in recent years to find new ways of efficiently producing energy. The dir…

Year Two of Production of Hydrogen Gas from C. reinhardtii: Parameter Analysis for Eventual Implementation

As I originally chose this project to combine my love for biology, namely photosynthesis, and my concern for environmental issues, I chose a project based on Chlamydomonasreinhardtii, a phot…