Symposium visitors included NIU President Dr. Lisa C. Freeman.
One of the hallmarks of an NIU education is hands-on learning, and the benefits couldn’t have been more apparent than during this spring’s Conference on Undergraduate Research and Engagement (CURE).
NIU’s annual undergraduate research symposium and professional development conference attracted 122 student participants and included 100 formal presentations of faculty-mentored undergraduate research, artistry and engagement projects.
The research symposium was held on Tuesday, April 26. Using posters and exhibits, students from all colleges showcased projects they are completing or have completed as part of a capstone or senior project, community engagement project or course, independent study or funded research and artistry program.
Student projects highlighted their work on such topics as filmmaking, obesity, food insecurities, engineering processes, worker stress, autophagy in brain cells, use of novel biomarkers, literacy in personal finance and interventions for students with disabilities.
In 2021, CURE became the new name for Undergraduate Research and Artistry Day (URAD) and the Community Engagement Showcase (CES). The 2020 and 2021 events were held virtually.
“After a two-year hiatus, it felt good to be able to offer the in-person undergraduate research symposium,” said Destiny McDonald, acting director of the Office of Student Engagement and Experiential Learning.
“There’s a special energy you feel from the students and attendees that you just don’t get from a virtual setting,” she added. “We were proud to be able to expand CURE by offering free virtual professional development sessions for undergraduate students, replicating the experience that one would have if they participated in a conference within their field.”
Detailed descriptions of all student presentations are available on the CURE website. CURE award winners were announced May 5, and they are listed below with links to their projects.
Arts, Design and Performing Arts Award Posters
- 1st place: Parker Otto
Slacking, Dazed and Rocking: A Study of Richard Linklater
Faculty mentor: Laura Vazquez - 2nd place: Hannah Schaumberg
Food Insecurity Among College Students
Faculty mentor: Billie Giese - 3rd place: Nickolai Glover
The Prevalence of Female Composers in the ILMEA All-State Choir Curriculum
Faculty mentor: Mary Lynn Doherty
Biological and Chemical Sciences Award Posters
Fernanda Montoya took second place in the category of Biological and Chemical Sciences Award Posters.
1st place: Matthew Ramlow
Autophagy in Human Brain Cancer Cells
Faculty mentor: Linda S. Yasui- 2nd place: Fernanda Montoya
Comparative Transcriptomic Study Between Cyanobacteria that Contain Chlorophyll d and Those that Lack Chlorophyll d
Faculty mentor: Wesley Swingley - 3rd place: Divyaprasanna Udumula
Stoichiometric Approach to Quantitative Analysis of Antibodies
Faculty mentor: Irina Nesterova
Business and Entrepreneurship Award Posters
- 1st place: James McCue
The Future Foundations Project
Faculty mentor: Matthew Benning - 2nd place: Brian McGuire, Grace Dale and Jacob Smith
Identifying the Drivers of Turnover and Retention During the Great Resignation
Faculty mentor: Mahesh Subramony - 3rd place: Caitlin Hensley
How The Interlacing of the Psychology of greed and Corporate Economics Affects Working Class Americans
Faculty mentor: Alan Polansky
Education Award Posters
- 1st place: Katie Krogman
Taxonomy of Intensive Intervention in Reading – Dosage and Behavioral Support
Faculty mentor: Rachel Donegan - 2nd place: Aidan Bengford
Positivity in Disability Representation in Modern Feature Film
Faculty mentor: Natalie Andzik - 3rd place: Marcye Meisinger
Inclusion in Early Childhood
Faculty mentor: Stephanie N. DeSpain
Engineering Award Posters
- 1st place: Connor Murphy
Simulations of Non-Spherical Particles for Managing Mass Flow Within a Belt-Driven Hopper
Faculty mentor: Nicholas Pohlman - 2nd place: Cristian Gonzalez and Naomi Cross
Design of an Automatic Sampling System for Aquatic Microorganisms
Faculty mentor: Sachit Butail - 3rd place: Lucas Achilli
Energy Potential for Municipal Solid Waste Generation in Illinois Counties
Faculty mentor: Mahdi Vaezi
Environmental and Physical Sciences Award Posters
- 1st place: Ethan Bader
Corkscrew Light: Production and Photography of Vortex Beams and Light Patterns Using a Digital Micromirror Device
Faculty mentor: Phillipe Piot - 2nd place: Jasmine Mathew and Jessica Mathew
Seasonal Differences of Prevalence, Intensity, and Abundance on Trematode Parasites in the Mississippi River
Faculty mentor: Jennifer Koop
Health and Human Services Award Posters
Dioco Reyes took first place in the category of Health and Human Services Award Posters.
1st place: Dioco Reyes
Enteric Dysbiosis and the Prospective Use of Novel Biomarkers for the Evaluation of Inflammatory Bowel Disease Severity
Faculty mentor: Masih Shokrani- 2nd place: Xinyi Ye
Exploring the Spatial Association between Obesity and Selected Underlying Factors Among Adults in the United States
Faculty mentor: Xuwei Chen - 3rd place: Tashara Thomas
Increasing Self-Efficacy of Mindful Eating Among Food Pantry Neighbors
Faculty mentor: Julie Patterson
Humanities Award Posters
- 1st place: Anna Scanlan
Background Variables and Spanish-Language Proficiency Measures: Exploring Relationships for Second-Language and Heritage Language Learners
Faculty mentor: Mandy Faretta-Stutenberg - 2nd place: Alberto Briones-Salazar
Analyzing State Legislation and Access for Undocumented Students Higher Education
Faculty mentor: Simon Weffer - 3rd place: Gwendolin Bresnan
Popular Music and History: An Interconnected Narrative
Faculty mentor: Jessamine Cooke-Plagwitz
Mathematics and Computational Sciences Award Posters
- 1st place: Lila Zayed
JLootBox: An Agent-Based Model of Social Influence and Gambling in Online Video Games
Faculty mentor: John Murphy - 2nd place: Rami Lake
FaceShield: Using Machine Learning to Prevent Face Touching on a Commercially Available Smartwatch
Faculty mentor: Pratool Bharti
Social and Behavioral Sciences Award Posters
- 1st place: Alex Amidei
The Effects of Social Bonding on Stress in a Sample of Aging Prairie Voles
Faculty mentor: Angela Grippo - 2nd place: Étienne Beckemeyer
Investigating the Role of N-Methyl-D-Aspartate Receptor Antagonism in Neurocognition Using an Operant Based Behavioral Flexibility Procedure
Faculty mentor: Leslie Matuszewich - 3rd place: Sarah Sentovich and Rosina Walker
Influence of Stress on Negative Affect: The Role of Personality
Faculty mentor: Rachel Saef
Faculty Mentor of the Year awards
- Anitha Saravan, assistant professor of nursing
- Emerson Sebastião, assistant professor of exercise science
