Physics and Astronomy
Quantum Key Distribution (QKD) is a cutting-edge cybersecurity protocol that utilizes superposition and quantum measurement to detect an eavesdropper. However it is currently not widely avai…
Cellular and Molecular Biology
Cellular proliferation and differentiation are fundamentally regulated by the physical landscape of the chromatin. In the intestine, a highly regulated molecular process maintains homeostasi…
Earth and Environmental Sciences
This research study served to understand whether the chemical glyphosate, found in commercial herbicides, is a threat to the keystone species phytoplankton, and thus whether it is a threat t…
Microbiology
The objective of this research was to test the effect of endophytic bacteria on growth of fungus, Botrytis cinerea. Branches from mango were cut into 5-6 centimeter pieces, surface sterilize…
Plant Sciences
Mangroves are critical members of tropical coastline ecosystems. They offer residence to various aquatic biota and protect the coastline from erosion due to their high root density. In the c…
Earth and Environmental Sciences
Title: What is the effect sound waves have on plant root physiology and photosynthesis? Purpose: To test the effects of sound pollution on photosynthesis, and plant root physiology. Methods:…
Earth and Environmental Sciences
The watersheds in the western United States experience many anthropogenic impacts, this project focuses on the Jordan River watershed (sourcing north of Utah Lake, running through Salt Lake…
Behavioral and Social Sciences
This project measured implicit bias in high school students. I collected data by administering 903 surveys. Minority candidates scored overall approval ratings that were ~.3 points higher th…
Robotics and Intelligent Machines
Garment classification is a typical first step for carrying out cloth manipulation tasks. This is a challenging feat for neural networks due to clothing’s easily deformable state, which caus…
Energy: Sustainable Materials and Design
Petroleum-based engines use carbon-based non-renewable energy sources, and electric options have low range and slow refuel speeds. This experiment focused on designing, engineering, and prod…
Environmental Engineering
The Mississippi River is a huge untapped kinetic energy source that flows at a rate of 1.6 million gallons of water per second. Meanwhile, burning fossil fuels produces 35 billion gigatons o…
Plant Sciences
Nations across the world cannot produce their own crops due to their non-arable land. The research conducted in this experiment put simple and efficient systems of hydroponics to the test. T…
Plant Sciences
Approximately 40% of all agricultural production is lost due to pests. HR4 (HOMOLOG OF RPW8 4) confers resistance to Myzus persicae, more commonly known as the green peach aphid (GPA), which…
Chemistry
Gamma Hydroxybutyrate (GHB) and its precursor Gamma Butyrolactone (GBL) are easily accessible, Class C drugs, commonly used in drug-facilitated sexual assault cases. Existing technologies fo…
Chemistry
Microplastics are plastic particles that are less than 5mm long that come from the breakdown of larger plastics and the use of synthetic polymers in manufacturing, and have been shown to hav…
Computational Biology and Bioinformatics
Second Award
With the lowest 5-year survival rate (9%) among all types of cancer, pancreatic cancer is considered one of the most lethal diseases in the world. Current conventional treatments often fail…
Computational Biology and Bioinformatics
Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV2) is a viral disease that has caused a major global pandemic. There are many developing treatments for SARS-CoV2 including vaccines…
Computational Biology and Bioinformatics
Embryonic development is a universal process that is elucidated amongst healthcare professionals and researchers in the field of obstetrics. During particular stages of development, families…
Computational Biology and Bioinformatics
With thousands of Mendelian-inherited diseases, new bioinformatics technology such as WES has been implemented to identify causal genes and variants within patients. Even with modern technol…
Computational Biology and Bioinformatics
Despite the immense promise of cancer immunotherapies, there are significant challenges to overcoming treatment resistance and improving efficacy. Strategies such as the combination immunoth…
Computational Biology and Bioinformatics
Nearly seven million individuals in the U.S. have Essential Tremor (ET), making it one of the most common neurological disorders. Current ET research aligns it with a Purkinje cell disorder…
Microbiology
Almost 10 million cancer-related deaths occur every year, with costs totaling $208.9 billion. Chemotherapy, the currently accepted treatment for cancer, causes significant economic losses, a…
Computational Biology and Bioinformatics
Immunotherapy activates the body’s immune response against cancers by inhibiting interactions between cancer cells and T-cells (cells that fight against foreign substances or in this case, c…
Microbiology
Bacterial biofilms are complex and structured surface-attached bacterial communities held by a matrix of extracellular polymeric substances. Biofilms pose a significant threat to healthcare…
Physics and Astronomy
High-mass stars (stars with masses above 8 times the mass of the Sun) generate great amounts of energy, more than several thousand times the energy generated by the Sun. At present, the mech…
Robotics and Intelligent Machines
Oil spills have become a major problem in waterways around the world, more specifically, the Gulf of Mexico. With increasing risks and effects, the necessity of oil containment has become a…
Biomedical and Health Sciences
Third Award
Mus musculus (mice) are often used to model the human immune system and to develop healthcare treatments because mouse immunology accurately recapitulates many aspects of the human immune sy…
Cellular and Molecular Biology
Knee osteoarthritis (OA) is a degenerative joint disease in which the cartilage within the joint gradually wears away, leading to pain, stiffness, and swelling of the knee. About 10% of men…
Plant Sciences
Fishing is one of the top outdoor activities in America. In South Dakota, over 170,000 fishing licenses were sold in 2020. With the thousands and thousands of fish people catch, that means t…
Animal Sciences
Due to asthma, I was prescribed prednisone a lot when I was young. After my 7th grade physical, my growth showed a decrease from the 50th percentile to the 20th percentile. My doctor suggest…