Graduate and Undergraduate Award Winners

We are proud to announce the outstanding achievements of our students and mentors for the Symposium of Student Scholar awards. These awards recognize excellence in research at Kennesaw State and presentation at both undergraduate and graduate levels, as well as the exceptional mentorship provided by our esteemed faculty members. Highlighted below are the top presentations and the dedicated individuals behind them. 

Join us in celebrating their accomplishments and contributions to their respective fields of study!

Spring 2024

  • "Multiple Myeloma: Increase Longevity and Quality of Life through Early Detection"

    Undergraduate Student(s):  Desyne Martinez
    Research Mentor(s):  Susan Hardy & Gene Ray
    Research Mentor's Department: School of Data Science and Analytics

  • "Parakeet Lost: Casting Light on North America’s Forgotten Native Parrot"

    Undergraduate Student(s):  Chantelle Chapman
    Research Mentor(s):  Jonathan Fisher
    Research Mentor's Department: School of Art & Design

  • "Geometry Optimization and Energetics Analysis of Cyclo[10]Carbon Structures via Ab Initio Methods"

    Undergraduate Student(s):  Ben Gibbas, Jose Gutierrez-Cardenas, & Kyle Whitaker
    Research Mentor(s):  Martina Kaledin
    Research Mentor's Department: Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry

  • "Resin-based versus Glass Ionomer Dental Sealants: A Detailed Literature Review for Cost-Effectiveness Analysis"

    Graduate Student(s): Jayden Ayash & Pritam Deb
    Research Mentor(s): Christina Scherrer
    Research Mentor's Department: Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering

  • "Exploring Neural Networks for Breast Cancer Tissue Classification"

    Graduate Student(s): Stephen Jacobs
    Research Mentor(s): Md Abdullah Al Hafiz Khan
    Research Mentor's Department: Department of Computer Science

  • "Evaluating the Health Benefits and Cost-Effectiveness of Dental Sealant Reapplication among Children and Adolescents"

    Graduate Student(s): Pritam Deb & Jayden Ayash
    Research Mentor(s): Christina Scherrer
    Research Mentor's Department: Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering

  • Outstanding Undergraduate Research Mentor: Award: Ayse Tekes, Associate Professor

    Department: Department of Mechanical Engineering

 

Fall 2023

  • "Developing Non-toxic and Biodegradable Peptide Based Sunscreen"

    UnderGraduate Student(s): Lexie Thrasher
    Research Mentor(s): Mohammad Halim
    Research Mentor's Department: Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry
  • "Design and Development of Remote Operated and Soft Biomimetic Amphibious Mud Skipper"

    UnderGraduate Student(s):  Sungchan Cho, Lucas Schwenck, Connor Talley, Britt Walker, and Rafael Juarez
    Research Mentor(s):  Ayse Tekes
    Research Mentor's Department: Department of Mechanical Engineering
  • "Under the Wig: A Critique on the Usage of Boy Actors in the Renaissance"

    UnderGraduate Student(s):  Christopher Nastasi
    Research Mentor(s):  Jim Davis
    Research Mentor's Department: Department of Theatre and Performance Studies
  • "Population Genetic Structure of Tricolored Bats (P. subflavus) in the Coastal Plains of the Southeastern U.S."

    Graduate Student(s): Laura Henderson
    Research Mentor(s): Thomas McElroy
    Research Mentor's Department: Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Organismal Biology
  • "Impact of Traffic on Air Pollutant, PM10 in and Around Schools"

    UnderGraduate Student(s): Lily Wisner and Ali Rana
    Graduate Student(s): Thaddeus Peake
    Research Mentor(s): M.A. Karim and Parth Bhavvsar
    Research Mentors' Department: Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering
  • "Modulation of Optoelectronic Properties of Electron Rich Pyrrolopyrroles via Peripheral Alterations"

    Graduate Student(s):  Lillian Daniel
    Research Mentor(s): Graham Collier
    Research Mentor's Department: Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry

Spring 2023

  • "The Symbiotic Relationship of Screenplay and Storyboard: Arguing For the Crucial Role of Screenplay in Animation"

    Undergradute Student: Aaron Bell
    Research Mentor: Anna Weinstein
    Research Mentor's Department: Department of English
  • "Operation Enduring Freedom: Improving Mission Effectiveness by Identifying Trends in Successful Terrorism"

    Undergradute Student: Dalton Shaver
    Research Mentor: Susan Hardy, Austin Brown, and Herman Ray
    Research Mentor's Department: School of Data Science and Analytics
  • "The Big Five and Informant Behavior: Can Personality Predict when Students Snitch?"

    Undergradute Student: Cortney Calligan
    Research Mentor: Jennifer Willard
    Research Mentor's Department: Department of Psychological Science
  • "Elucidating Raman Spectra of Molecules Through ab initio Classical Molecular Dynamics Simulations"

    Gradute Student: Oluwaseun Omodemi
    Research Mentor: Martina Kaledin
    Research Mentor's Department: Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry
  • "The ManhattAnt: Identification and Dietary Ecology of a Recently Introduced Urban Ant in New York City, Lasius emarginatus"

    Gradute Students: Samantha Kennett and Bernhard Seifert
    Gradute Students: Clint Penick and Todd W. Pierson
    Research Mentor's Department: Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Organismal Biology
  • "Acute Effects of a Brisk Walk on Muscle Function and Balance in Females"

    Gradute Students: Melanie Antonio, Breanna McDonald, Micah Poisal, William Reed, and Lacey Harper
    Research Mentor: Garrett Hester
    Research Mentor's Department: Department of Exercise Science and Sport Management

  • Outstanding Undergraduate Research Mentor Award: Eric Albrecht, Associate Professor

    Department: Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology

Fall 2022

  • "Synthesis, Characterization, and In-Vitro Analysis of Antiviral Peptides Targeting the Spike Protein of Sars-CoV-2 and Angiotensin Converting Enzyme 2"

    UnderGraduate Students: Ryan Faddis, Josefa Wulf, and Grace Kurniawan
    Research Mentor: Mohammad Halim
    Research Mentor's Department: Chemistry & Biochemistry
  • "Unmanned Aerial System Design for Civil Engineering Operations – A VIP Study"

    UnderGraduate Students: Ezra Robles, Harrison Vicknair, Derek Price, Logan Westra, George Pitcock, Joshua Diamond, Bhuvan Saraswat, Jeremiah Prayor, and Fon Saliki
    Research Mentor: Adeel Khalid
    Research Mentor's Department: Industrial and Systems Engineering
  • "Mrs. Packard: How Misogyny and Ableism Intersect Historically and in the Present"

    UnderGraduate Student: Macy Cardwell
    Research Mentor: Marlon Burnley
    Research Mentor's Department: Theatre & Performance Studies
  • "Understanding the Contributions of Hormonal Contraceptives and Cortisol Levels to Fear Learning in Women"

    UnderGraduate Student: Sahil Bardai
    Research MentorS: Ebony Glover and Sharon Pearcey
    Research Mentor's Department: Psychological Science
  • "Nanocomposites for Applications in Ultracapacitors-Based Energy Storage Systems"

    Graduate Student: Duy Pham
    UnderGraduate Students: Jake Irvin, Jacob Dileonardi, Ben McKinney, and Mason Cox
    Research Mentor: Ashish Aphale
    Research Mentor's Department: Mechanical Engineering
  • "Object Detection and Tracking: Deep Learning-Based Framework with Euclidean Distance, IoU, and Hungarian Algorithm"

    Graduate Students: Md Jobair Hossain Faruk
    Research MentorS: Hossain Shahriar and Maria Valero
    Research MentorS' DepartmentS: Information Technology
  • "EEG-MI Training Elimination"

    Graduate Students: Mohammad Naser
    Research Mentor: Sylvia Bhattacharya
    Research Mentor's Department: Engineering Technology

Spring 2022

  • "Development of Aqueous Compatible Organic Semiconducting Polymers"

    UnderGraduate Students: Sarah Chang
    Research Mentor: Graham Collier
    Research Mentor's Department: Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry
  • "'Change is Brewing': Women Finding Liberation in the Performative Rituals of Modern Paganism"

    UnderGraduate Student: Katie Nelson 
    Research Mentor: Tom Fish
    Research Mentor's Department: Department of Theatre and Performance Studies
  • "Analysis of Vertebrae Pathologies of Grave A650 Chryssi Island, Crete, Greece"

    UnderGraduate Student: Abbey E. Bartmess
    Research Mentor: Susan Smith
    Research Mentor's Department: Department of Geography and Anthropology
  • "Finding Undervalued Pitch Metrics at Coors' Field Using a Random Forest Classifier"

    Graduate Students: Andrew Plant
    Research MentorS: Joe DeMaio and Bob Vanderheyden
    Research MentorS' Department: School of Data Science and Analytics
  • "New Ant in the Big City: Known Natural History of Lasius cf. Emarginatus in its Native Range and Potential Impacts of Recent US Introduction"

    Graduate Students: Samantha M. Kennett
    Research Mentor: Clint Penick
    Research Mentor's Department: Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Organismal Biology
  • "Characterizing the Microbial Assemblages of Perimyotis Subflavus in Traditional and Non-Traditional Hibernacula and Screening Community Members for Antagonism with Pseudogymnoascus Destructans"

    Graduate Student: Jordyn Upton
    UnderGraduate Student: Jeremy Kaluza
    Research Mentor: Christopher Cornelison
    Research Mentor's Department: Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology
     

  • Outstanding Undergraduate Research Mentor Award: Garrett Hester, Associate Professor

    Department: Department of Exercise Science & Sport Management

Fall 2021

  • "Using a Motion Compensating Tracking System to Study the Behavior of Fire Ants"

    UnderGraduate Students: Kevin Le and Todd Morgan
    Research Mentor: Dal Hyung Kim
    Research Mentor's Department: Mechanical Engineering
     
  • "Corrosion Prevention on Aluminum Alloy"

    UnderGraduate Students: Andrea Brenner
    Research Mentor: Bharat Baruah
    Research Mentor's Department: Chemistry and Biochemistry
     
  • "Analysis of Unplanned Perioperative Hypothermia Effects on Post-Operative Delirium through the Use of Biomarkers"

    UnderGraduate Students: Justin Machado, Benjamin Ryle, Nicolle Sorto-Reyna, and Taniyah Wright
    Research MentorS: Doreen Wagner, Sharon Pearcey, and Susan M.E. Smith
    Research MentorS' DepartmentS: Nursing, Psychology, and Molecular and Cellular Biology
  • "Joint Latency-Energy Optimization Scheme for Offloading in Mobile Edge Computing Environment Based in Deep Reinforcement Learning”

    Graduate Student: Jui Mhatre
    Research Mentor: Ahyoung Lee
    Research Mentor's Department: Computer Science
     
  • "Guest Who - An Analysis of For Your Consideration by Christopher Guest”

    Graduate Student: Will Amato
    Research Mentor: Anna Weinstein
    Research Mentor's Department: English
  • "Knockdown of the PRC2 Complex Rescues Developmental Defects Caused by Inappropriate Inheritance of Histone Methylation in C. Elegans"

    Graduate Student: Sydney Morgan
    Research Mentor: Brandon Carpenter
    Research Mentor's Department: Molecular and Cellular Biology
  • Schrödinger’s Sour

    Sarah Muncy (Biology major), Kaiti Craven (Biology major), and Anish Patel (Finance and Marketing major)
  • Journey of a Neutrophil

    Mackenzie Holbrook (Illustration and Ceramics major), Christopher Boon (Mathematics major), Jasmine Carter (Biology major), Linh Luong (Mechanical Engineering major), and Giovanni Reyes (Biology major)
     
  • The Dance of Translation

    Ariel Owens (Anthropology major) and Alexis Rumbaugh (Biochemistry major)
     

Spring 2021

  • "Walking the Line: Planned Trajectory of Autonomous Cars on Driver Takeover Behavior"

    UnderGraduate Students:  Patrick Kielly, Eunice Baek, Amali Kahaduwe, Violet Filatova, Shane Howard, Angie Son Pulido
    Research MentorS: Kyung Hun Jung, Jack Labriola
    Research MentorS' DepartmentS: Psychological Science, Technical Communication & Interactive Design
     
  • "Double Helix"

    UnderGraduate Student: Katie Patrick
    Research MentorS: Caroline Clark, Andrea Knowlton
    Research Mentor Department: Dance
  • "Women Genre Writers in Television and Film"

    UnderGraduate Student: Gabrielle Jones
    Research Mentor: Anna Weinstein
    Research Mentor Department: English
     
  • "Synthesis and Characterization of a Novel Family of Bis-NHC Metal Complexes"

    Graduate Student: Simon Young
    UnderGraduate Student: Cameron Wulfsohn
    Research Mentor: Daniela Tapu
    Research Mentor Department: Chemistry and Biochemistry
  • "Scaling Properties of Honeycomb across Social Bees and Wasps"

    Graduate Student:  Grace Cope
    Arizona State University Collaborators: Derek Goss, Dhruv Bate
    Purdue University Collaborator: Nikhilesh Chawla
    Other Collaborator: Alex Grishin
    Research Mentor: Clint Penick
    Research Mentor Department: Ecology, Evolution, and Organismal Biology
     
  • "College Students' Mental Health Help-Seeking Behaviors"

    Graduate Student: Rachel Johnson
    Research MentorS: Monica Nandan, Brian Culp, Dominic Thomas 
    Research MentorS' DepartmentS: Social Work and Human Services, Health Promotion and Physical Education, and Information Systems

  • Outstanding Undergraduate Research Mentor Award: Charles Parrott, Associate Professor 

    Department: Department of Theatre and Performance Studies

Fall 2020

  • "The Evolution of Shostakovich’s Compositional Style in his String Quartets"

    UnderGraduate Student: Garrett Clay, Music Education Major, College of the Arts
    Research Mentor: Edward Eanes
    Research Mentor Department: School of Music
  • "Detecting Bacterial Species from Next Generation Sequencing Data Derived from Ancient Human Skeletal Samples"

    UnderGraduate Student: Ariel Owens, Anthropology Major, College of Humanities and Social Sciences
    Research Mentor: Tsai-Tien Tseng
    Research Mentor Department: Molecular and Cellular Biology
  • "Community Level Physiological Profiling of the Longleaf Pine Savannah Microbiome"

    UnderGraduate Student: Gavin Treadaway, Biology Major, College of Science and Mathematics
    Research Mentor: Ramya Rajagopalan
    Research Mentor Department: Molecular and Cellular Biology
  • "Do Urbanization and Weather Shape the Timing of Breeding in European Starlings?"

    UnderGraduate Student: Emma Maltos, Environmental Science Major, College of Science and Mathematics
    Research Mentor: Sarah Guindre-Parker
    Research Mentor Department: Ecology, Evolution and Organismal Biology
  • "The Contribution of the Body, Pectoral Fins, and the Ribbon Fin to Turning Maneuvers of a Gymnotiform Swimmer"

    Graduate Student: Olivia Hawkins, Master of Science in Integrative Biology, College of Science and Mathematics
    Research Mentor: Christopher Sanford
    Research Mentor Department: Ecology, Evoution and Organismal Biology
  • "r-LSTM: Time Series Forecasting for COVID-19 Confirmed Cases with LSTM-based Framework"

    Graduate Student: Mohammad Masum, Ph.D. in Analytics and Data Science, College of Computing and Software Engineering
    Research Mentor: Hossain Shahriar
    Research Mentor Department: Information Technology

  • "Parkinson Symptom Simulation in Virtual Reality for Empathy in Medical Education"

    Graduate Student: Songqiao Yu, Master of Science in Computer Science, College of Computing and Software Engineering
    Research Mentor: Joy Li
    Research Mentor Department: Software Engineering and Game Design
  • "A Review of Grey and Academic Literature on Program Evaluations for Public, Private, and Nonprofit Sector Agency Use"

    Graduate Student: Eliza Galvez, Master of Social Work, Wellstar College of Health and Human Services 
    Research Mentor: Darlene Xiomara Rodriguez
    Research Mentor Department: Social Work and Human Services

Spring 2020

  • "Detection and Identification of Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Fungi and Surrounding Microbiome in Two Riparian Tree Species"

    UnderGraduate Students: Lindsey Gard, Sarah Andrews, Brian Sassi, Grace Krueger, Tori Quillen, Ian Thomasson, Josh Inneh, Daphney Fievre, Sara Grimm, Geoffrey Eger 
    Research MentorS: Paula Jackson, Thomas McElroy, Joel McNeal    
    Department: Ecology, Evolution and Organismal Biology
  • "The Model Holistic: The Application of the Adaptive Cycle to Rust-Belt-Cities"

    UnderGraduate Student: Marysia LaRosa               
    Research MentorS: Edwin Akins, Elizabeth Martin-Malikian         
    Department: Architecture
  • "Blade Optimization for Ground Level Low Speed Wind Turbines"

    UnderGraduate Student: Ryan Foster   
    Research Mentor: Adeel Khalid 
    Department: Systems and Industrial Engineering
  • "A Simulation of the Dangerous Spread of COVID-19 Without Isolation"

    Graduate Student: Kory Illeyne        
    Research Mentor: Joe DeMaio     
    Department: Statistics and Analytical Sciences
  • "Sex Differences in Plantar Flexor Strength and Contractile Properties after Isometric and Dynamic Fatigue"

    Graduate Students: Phuong L. Ha, Benjamin E. Dalton, Michaela G. Alesi    
    UnderGraduate Students: Tyler M, Smith, Anna G. Conroy   
    Research MentorS: Garrett M. Hester, Trisha A. VanDusseldorp, Yuri Feito       
    Department: Exercise Science and Sport Management
  • "Wrongful Convictions and False Confessions: An Analysis of Exoneration Cases"

    Graduate Students: Alex Goldstein, Amber Goden  
    UnderGraduate Students: Dana Bowen 
    Research Mentor: Jennifer Willard    
    Department: Psychological Science

  • Outstanding Undergraduate Research Mentor Award: Jennifer Willard, Professor

    Department: Department of Psychological Science

  • "Exploring Cedar Songmaker's Native Identity in Louise Erdrich's Future Home of the Living God"

    UnderGraduate Student: Cadi Martin
    Research Mentor: Miriam Brown Spiers
    Department: English and Interdisciplinary Studies

Spring 2018

  • "Understanding the Regulation and Activity of Hyaluronidase Produced by Aeromonads"

    UnderGraduate Student: Monica Sowder
    Research MentorS: Donald McGarey, Pyeongsug Kim
    Department: Molecular and Cellular Biology
  • “'And the Point Is?' An Analysis of Intact Projectile Points from a Middle Woodland Period Site"

    UnderGraduate Student: Will Heflin
    Research Mentor: Terry Powis
    Department: Geography and Anthropology
  • "Assessing Gender Differences in Sexual Trafficking Attitudes and Myth Acceptance"                         
    UnderGraduate Students: Elizabeth Perry, Jonathan McFarland, Mandy Losito, Meghean Teefy, Alexandria Goldstein
    Research MentorS: Dorothy F. Marsil, Corinne McNamara
    Department: Psychology
  • "Cyber Security of American Nuclear Facilities"

    UnderGraduate Student: Jake L. Massingill
    Research MentorS: Eduardo Farfan, Jungkyu Park, Tien Mun Yee
    DepartmentS: System and Industrial Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Civil and Construction Engineering
  • “A Mathematical Model for the Effect of Domestic Animals on Human African Trypanosomiasis (Sleeping Sickness)”

    UnderGraduate Student: Sagi Shaier
    Research Mentor: Meghan Burke
    Department: Mathematics
  • "War over Water: The Battle That Has Been Simmering for Decades"

    Graduate Student: Kelly Linz
    Research Mentor: Nancy Pullen
    Department: Geography and Anthropology
  • "Microbial Voltage-gated Ion Channels"

    Graduate Student: Kevin Bennett
    Research Mentor: Tsai-Tien Tseng
    Department: Molecular and Cellular Biology
  • "Imprimatur: A Poetry Reading"

    Graduate Student: Valerie Smith
    Research MentorS: Tony Grooms, Ralph Wilson, JoAnn LoVerde-Dropp
    Department: English
  • "Flight and Jump Muscles Respond Differently to Experimental Cachexia and Impaired Insulin Signaling"

    Graduate Student: Matthew Giedd
    Research Mentor: Anton Bryantsev
    Department: Molecular and Cellular Biology

Spring 2017

  • “The Relationship Between Childhood Trauma Exposure and Fear-Potentiated Startle”

    UnderGraduate Students: Cheyenne Ashley, Luana Scienza, Rebekah Fallin, Jesse Edmond, Jasmine Williams, Tiana Britton, Jamie Miller
    Faculty Mentor: Ebony Glover
    Department: Psychology
  • “Analysis of General Chemistry Lecture Discourse Regarding Gases and its Effect on Students’ Perception of Chemical Representations at the Macroscopic, Submicroscopic, and Symbolic Levels”

    UnderGraduate Students: Amber Gallimore, Isaac Brozino, Joshua Sukumar, Kersten Forsberg
    Faculty Mentor: Michelle L. Head
    Department: Chemistry and Biochemistry
  • “Decoding the X: Discovering the Black Experience”

    UnderGraduate Student: Skylar Resna Jackson
    Faculty Mentor: Angela Farr Schiller
    Department: Theatre and Performance Studies
  • “Using Fear-Potentiated Startle to Examine Sex-Related Factors in Test Anxiety”

    UnderGraduate Students: Rebekah Fallin, Luana Scienza, Bethany Wyman, Nhat Nguyen, Jesse Edmond, Jasmine Williams, Tiana Britton, Jamie Miller
    Faculty MentorS: Ebony Glover and Sharon Pearcey
    Department: Psychology
  • “Prevalance and Incidence of Health Risk Factors Among Adolescent Girls”

    UnderGraduate Students: Kylah Pollard, Sarai Bauguess
    Faculty Mentor: Mohammed Chowdhury
    Department: Statistics and Analytical Sciences

Spring 2016

  • “Fibonacci Number of the Chorded Cycle”

    Students: Denise Hernandez and David Richmond
    Faculty Mentor: Joe DeMaio
    Department: Mathematics
  • “Quest for Success: On Campus Housing Versus Off Campus Living at Kennesaw State University”

    Student: Jesica Montoya
    Faculty Mentor: Brandon Lundy
    Department: Geography and Anthropology
  • “Thermal Analysis of Borosilicate Glass for its Biological Applications"

    Students: Gregory Humble and Johnathon Ard
    Faculty MentorS: Kisa Ranasinghe and Rajnish Singh
    Department: Physics
  • “To the Evolution: Cultural Dialogue in the Contemporary American Musical"

    Student: Elliott Folds
    Faculty Mentor: Angela Farr Schiller
    Department: Theatre and Performance Studies