Undergraduate students display their research posters in the Shelby Center for Science and Technology in the first face to face session since 2019.
Michael Mercier / UAH
Forty-five projects, and the undergraduates who conducted the work, were recognized for excellence in research and creative scholarship at the eighth annual Research Horizons Poster Session held March 8 at the Shelby Center for Science and Technology at The University of Alabama in Huntsville (UAH), a part of the University of Alabama System.
The event marked a return to face-to-face poster sessions, the first since 2019. New this year was the change to an undergraduate-specific event, with graduate students holding a separate event the previous day. Judges from each of the colleges previewed posters in advance and were also able to interact with undergraduate presenters during the two-hour poster session.
"We’re really excited to be back to face-to-face interaction and giving undergraduates a chance to share their research and creative projects with the local and campus community,” says David Cook, director of undergraduate research at UAH.
“Dissemination is an important part of inquiry-based learning, and it’s the reason that Research Horizons was launched eight years ago,” Cook says. “This year, we were able to give undergraduates their own platform to present in person, and they did a fantastic job. I’d like to thank all of the participating students and their mentors for making the event a great success.”
2022 Research Horizons Poster Session winners
College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences
First place
- Nathaniel Branham (Computer Science)
- “The Interdisciplinary Undergraduate Experience (INCLUDE)
- Mentor: Dr Kristin Weger (Psychology)
Second place
- Brendan Lang (History)
- “The Rhetorical Landscape of Public Memory in Alabama”
- Mentor: Dr. John Saunders (Communication Arts)
Third place
- Sean Berry (BFA Studio Art)
- “The Exposure of Time: The Birth and Evolution of Photography in Northern Alabama” Mentor: Mr. Jose Betancourt (Art-Photography)
College of Business
First place
- Austin Higginbotham (Accounting and Finance)
- ”The Curious Case of Firm Performance: Why Do Companies Reverse the Year Order of their Graphs in Annual Reports?”
- Mentor: Dr. Milton Shen (Accounting)
College of Education
First place
- Austin Nall (Kinesiology), co-authors: Chris Carter and Lindsey Palmer
- “Muscle Activation for Superficial Muscles of the Hamstrings, Low Back and Quadriceps Muscles During a Front, Back, and Zercher Squat in Young Adults”
- Mentor: Dr. Paul Whitehead (Kinesiology)
Second place
- Jessica Culver (Sport and Fitness Management)
- “Dignity, Autonomy, and Comfort: Female Athletes and Their Uniforms”
- Mentor: Dr. Michael Craw (Kinesiology)
College of Engineering
First place
- Thomas Clark (Aerospace Engineering)
- “Development of Bio-Inspired Flapping Wing Vehicle”
- Mentor: Dr. Chang-kwon Kang (Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering)
Second place
- Shivani Patel (Aerospace Engineering), co-author: Alexander Blair
- “Developing a Mission Ontology for the Alabama Burst Energetics eXplorer”
- Mentor: Dr. Dale Thomas (Industrial & Systems Engineering and Engineering Management)
Third place
- Daniel Duke (Chemical Engineering, Biotechnology Concentration)
- “Brownian Dynamics of Interacting Anisotropic Magnetic Nanoparticles”
- Mentor: Dr. Isaac Torres-Diaz (Chemical and Materials Engineering)
College of Nursing
First place
- Autumn Schreiner (Nursing)
- “Piecing Together the Puzzle of Anxiety and Autism Spectrum Disorder: The Relationship between Anxiety and ASD”
- Mentor: Mrs. Katherine Morrison (Nursing)
College of Science
First place
- Areeb Mohammed (Computer Science)
- “Understanding Team Behavior and Response in Stressful Situations”
- Mentor: Dr. Vineetha Menon (Computer Science)
Second place
- Christopher San Miguel (Biology)
- “Optimization of Taq DNA Polymerase Production in Bacteria”
- Mentor: Dr. Joseph Ng (Biology)
Third place
- Todd McKinney (Atmospheric Science)
- “Analysis of UAH Air Mass Sources for the 2021 year using HYSPLIT with Python”
- Mentor: Dr. Mike Newchurch (Atmospheric and Earth Science)
Winners of the Oral Competition (So You Think You Can Research)
First Place
- Todd McKinney (Atmospheric Science)
- “Analysis of UAH Air Mass Sources for the 2021 year using HYSPLIT with Python”
- Mentor: Dr. Mike Newchurch (Atmospheric and Earth Science)
Second place
- Ella James (Physics)
- “Azimuthal Phase Gradient Optical Elements”
- Mentor: Dr. Don Gregory (Physics)
Third place
- Alexis Underwood (College Academy Student-Undeclared)
- “Nonwhite and Nonmale Nerds: The Largest yet Most Underrepresented Group”
- Mentor: Mrs. Daniela Cornelius (English)
