Students showcase research, experiences

More than 300 students presented their research projects for visitors and a panel of judges during the UIC Student Research Forum April 11, which was held in conjunction with Impact Day at the UIC Forum. For Impact Day, students highlighted their work in internships, study abroad and more.

UIC students showcased their capstone projects, research and impactful experiences April 11 at the UIC Student Research Forum and Impact Day.

During the event at the UIC Forum, 300 students presented their research projects for visitors and a panel of judges, and for the Impact Day portion of the event, about 60 students highlighted their work outside the classroom — from career development and internships to study abroad and service. The event was sponsored by the Office of the Vice Chancellor for Research, in conjunction with the Office of the Vice Provost for Undergraduate Affairs, Honors College and the Center for Student Involvement.

Stephanie O’Neal, a biomedical visualization graduate student, presented her work on the ways students absorb information using a diagram that showed how HDL cells are carried.

“Our group wanted to study the most beneficial way to teach students complicated material,” O’Neal said.

Sarah Malone’s work aimed to raise awareness of sexual assault, based on consent, communication and autonomy.

“Rape culture is prominent in all factions of our society,” explained Malone, a Ph.D. student in criminology, law and justice.

Jolene Del Rosario, a kinesiology graduate student, worked on a research project measuring motivation among working students. She found that the numbers of hours worked does not affect the motivation in students, which was a surprising outcome.

“I read an article previously about achievement and work in students, which is where I found my influence to pick this topic,” she said.

Winners from the Student Research Forum include:

Graduate students

Art/Design/Humanities and Social Sciences

First place: Angel Gao, biomedical and health information sciences

Business/Computer Science/
Mathematics and Engineering/Physical Sciences

First place: Navid Saneie, mechanical and industrial engineering

Life Sciences

First place: Chun-Hao Huang, kinesiology and nutrition

Undergraduate students

Art/Design/Humanities

First place: Franziska Andonopoulos, gender and women’s studies

Business/Computer Science/
Mathematics and Engineering/Physical Sciences

First place: Sindhu Konkapaka, medicinal chemistry and pharmacognosy

Life Sciences

First place: Usama Malkana, biological sciences

Second place: Efstathia Loukenas, anatomy and cell biology

Third place: Gelique Ayala, neurological sciences

Social Science

First place: Qaswa Hussaini, psychology

Second place: Mariel Rancel, chemistry

Third place: Yuwa Edomwande, envinromental and occupational health
sciences

UIC IMPACT DAY WINNERS

Outstanding Oral Presentations

First place: Stella Udoetuk and Ronahy Alzagha

Second place: Majestic Jordan, Jacqueline Alexander and  Lillian Nwigwe

Third place: Katherine Xie and Colin Xu

Outstanding Poster Presentations

First place: Andriy Suden

Second place: Saarah Na’Allah

Third place: Jose Hernandez