Biochemistry
Fourth Award
Life formed on Earth 4 billion years ago using RNA to store genetic information, but how RNA first synthesized is unknown, due to no enzymes. RNA bases underwent repeated wet-dry cycles in v…
Energy: Physical
This project, the Roadside Wind Converter, was a concept that my partner and I wanted to prove: Can the wind energy from cars be captured from a wind turbine like structure and turn that win…
Robotics and Intelligent Machines
This project involved the development of autonomous Micro Aerial Vehicles (MAVs) that use a multi-sensorial localization system to navigate and deliver payloads. As a continuation project, i…
Earth and Environmental Sciences
The goal of this project is to simulate the application and use of limestone in acidic riparian systems, and how it positively impacts water chemistry from toxic tributaries within the Upper…
Engineering Mechanics
People in the United States spent an estimated $2.7 billion replacing lost items in 2017, while identify theft claimed 15.4 million victims, at a cost of $16 billion to the US economy, in 20…
Earth and Environmental Sciences
This experiment focuses on the effect of sargassum on marine pH. By keeping sargassum in different treatments with varying initial pH, I measured pH, salinity, and ammonia over 19 days in si…
Engineering Mechanics
An overlooked conflict in the today’s world is children dying in hot cars. Therefore, the purpose of this experimentation is to improve on making a self cooling car seat prototype model and…
Earth and Environmental Sciences
Many ecologically important marine organisms have shells and skeletons composed of calcium carbonate (CaCO3). The decline of coral reef growth and viability due to ocean acidification is esp…
Engineering Mechanics
Pollution in large water bodies threatens freshwater reservoir supply, aquatic life, and indirectly poses risks for humans. Current solutions addressing large-scale water body pollution are…
Biomedical Engineering
Many people do not know when to reapply sunscreen, if at all, greatly contributing to the increase in melanoma incidence worldwide. While many health organizations recommend reapplication ev…
Biomedical Engineering
SAVIUTS (Sensory Aid for the Visually Impaired Using Time-of-flight Sensors) is a sensory aid device that has the potential of impacting millions of lives around the world. Traditional visua…
Cellular and Molecular Biology
In traditional Chinese medicine, sea cucumbers are commonly eaten to treat blood and kidney problems, which is why it was hypothesized that the sea cucumber species Holothuria cinerascens an…
Physics and Astronomy
Extraterrestrial gravity is a unique force that impacts Earth’s tides. Measuring the impacts of gravity are most often observed with tides but still require further research to determine the…
Biomedical and Health Sciences
Being the second most common cancer in both men and women, and having an average 5-year survival rate of only 17.7%, lung cancer is a high-incidence disease with low survival. The currently…
Computational Biology and Bioinformatics
Lesions, or abnormalities in tissue, are common and can be very severe. Before they become lethal, it is imperative that they are properly scanned and detected, so that proper measures can b…
Environmental Engineering
More than 8 tons of plastic enters waterways as pollution. Plastics degrade over generations and slowly breakdown into micro pieces which are eaten by marine life and eventually by humans. H…
Behavioral and Social Sciences
Past research has shown that athletes have higher susceptibility to multiple concussive events after initial injury. Novel understanding of the detrimental effects of multiple concussions ha…
Energy: Physical
The purpose of this project was to design a device that would rotate solar panels to an angle where they can obtain the maximum amount of sunlight in one day. It is really important to look…
Translational Medical Science
This study will evaluate the efficacy of the herbal supplement Withania somnifera (Ashwagandha root) for treatment of depression, anxiety and stress. The American Psychological Association s…
Microbiology
Fourth Award
Background: Glyphosate, the main chemical in popular weed killers, is found in common foods such as breakfast cereals, bread-products, eggs, and snack foods. Glyphosate blocks a necessary am…
Translational Medical Science
In the U.S., over 20 million cases of healthcare associated infections (HAIs) are reported, contributing to $3 trillion in healthcare costs and 5.9 million tons of waste annually. HAIs are c…
Systems Software
Solid State Drives (SSDs) are increasingly replacing traditional computer hard drives. However, SSDs are controlled by potentially vulnerable firmware, and users cannot directly confirm if t…
Biomedical and Health Sciences
Myocardial fibrosis is a significant global health problem associated with nearly all forms of heart disease. It is primarily caused by hypertrophic scarring of the heart’s ECM through patho…
Earth and Environmental Sciences
Objective: I was curious to see if watersheds with melting glaciers would have a greater early fall streamflow than watersheds without glaciers. Methods: I selected study watersheds in the S…
Chemistry
Purpose: Currently, in the pharmaceutical industry, the most prominent carrier system for drug encapsulation is liposomal technology. With a 10% drug loading efficiency, this technology has…
Animal Sciences
Fourth Award
Alzheimer’s disease is an irreversible neurodegenerative disorder that causes progressive cognitive impairment in patients. Millions of people around the world are impacted by this fatal dis…
Engineering Mechanics
Standing desks seem to be the craze nowadays but when I looked around for a portable desk to use in the field, I couldn’t find one. This prompted me to design something that would be compact…
Physics and Astronomy
Most thermal reduction technology utilizing phase-change materials (PCMs) focuses on employing organic or metallic PCMs, but not both. This study reports a synergistic transient effect –time…
Translational Medical Science
Tumor-mediated immunosuppression allows tumors to hide from the immune system and avoid recognition. One way of reversing this suppressive microenvironment is to activate antigen-presenting…
Embedded Systems
Fourth Award
In 2018, Indonesia was hit with one of the deadliest earthquakes in its history, measured at a magnitude of 7.5. More than 1,000 died and as many as 5,000 remain missing. Current victim trac…