The College of Natural and Applied Sciences (CNAS) hosted the 2020 CNAS Undergraduate Research Symposium Nov. 12-16.  

We are grateful to all who took part in the event and would like to offer special recognition to all who won awards at the symposium. 

About the award winners 

Award winners at the symposium include: 

Biology: Cell biology/microbiology/genetics 

1st place – Victoria Davenport 

Davenport presented “An assessment of InP/ZnS as potential anti-cancer therapy: Quantum dot treatment induces stress on HeLa Cells.”  

Her faculty advisor is Dr. Kyoungtae Kim, associate dean of CNAS. 

2nd place – Nayeon Son 

Son presented “How does NLRP2 Control Fetal Development?”  

Her faculty advisor is Dr. Christopher Lupfer, assistant professor of biology. 

Honorable Mention – Glory Ehie 

Ehie presented “Myosin 2’s effect on Vps10 and Snc1 traffic.”  

Kim is her faculty advisor.  

Biology: Ecology/wildlife/conservation 

1st place – Kaylene Reyes 

Reyes presented “Does the elemental composition of North American grapevines reflect their environmental adaptation?” 

Her faculty advisor is Dr. Laszlo Kovacs, professor of biology. 

2nd place – Abilene Mosher 

Mosher presented “Bumble bee buzz pollination behavior is elicited, but likely not manipulated, by anther chemical cues.”  

Her faculty advisor is Dr. Avery Russell, assistant professor of biology. 

Chemistry 

1st place – Giselle Campos 

Campos presented “NMR Studies of Poly(Ethylene Glycol) – Poly(Lactic Acid) (PEG-PLA) Block Copolymer Micelles at Different Temperatures.”  

Her faculty advisor is Dr. Keiichi Yoshimatsu, assistant professor of chemistry. 

2nd place – Autumn Pilarski 

Pilarski presented “1H solution NMR analysis of a non-palindromic DNA sequence containing a U:G mismatch.”  

Her faculty advisor is Dr. Gary Meints, associate professor of chemistry. 

Geology 

1st place – Hannah Eads 

Eads presented “Importance of coarse sediment for assessing metal contamination from historical mining in Big River, SE Missouri.”  

Her faculty advisor is Dr. Robert Pavlowsky, distinguished professor of geography. 

2nd place – Dorian DeHart 

DeHart presented “Analysis of Sulfates (Nephelometric) and Chlorides (Titrimetric/Argentometric) within the Springfield Shallow Aquifer.” 

His faculty advisor is Dr. Melida Gutierrez, professor of geology. 

Hospitality leadership 

1st place – Chelsey Traylor 

Traylor presented “Tourists’ Perceptions of Dominican Republic.” 

Her faculty advisor is Dr. Yoshimasa “Nancy” Kageyama, assistant professor of hospitality leadership. 

Physics, astronomy and materials science 

1st place – Meredith Vogel 

Vogel presented “Orbit Perturbations of Habitable Zone Planets and Implications for Habitability.” 

Her faculty advisor is Dr. Sarah Morrison, assistant professor of astronomy. 

2nd place – Yadira Gaibor 

Gaibor presented “Constraints on Warm Jupiter Formation and Evolution from Planetary Companions.” 

Morrison is her faculty advisor. 

Honorable Mention – Tyler McGilvry-James 

McGilvry-James presented “Reference-Free Interatomic Potential Development and Modeling of Transition Metal Carbides.” 

His faculty advisor is Dr. Ridwan Sakidja, professor of physics. 

Congratulations, all!