Honors Students Receive Awards to
Fund Research and Creative
Projects
This spring semester, 46 Honors students were recipients of competitive awards to fund for their research and creative projects. Thirty eight students were recipients of Honors awards to fund their thesis projects, while eight students received funding through the Syracuse Office of Undergraduate Research and Creative Projects (SOURCE) for their pre-thesis projects.
Congratulations to all the award recipients!
Honors Award Recipients
Angelique Bey
College of Arts & Sciences/Newhouse School of Public Communications
Major(s): Spanish Language, Literature & Culture/Television Radio & Film
Project Title: Telling Silenced Stories: AfroLatinx Representation in Film
Faculty Mentor: Prof. Gail Bulman
Alyssa Grzesiowski
College of Arts & Sciences
Major(s): Chemistry/ Forensic Science/ Spanish Language, Literature, and Culture
Project Title: Temperature-Sensitive Copolymer Functionalized Magnetic Nanoparticles for DNA Binding
Faculty Mentor: Prof. Mathew Maye
Brady Iles
College of Arts & Sciences
Major(s): Biology
Project Title: Artvisim in Latin America
Faculty Mentor: Prof. Gail Bulman
Claire Bandet
College of Arts & Science/Maxwell School
Major(s): Biology/Environment, Sustainability and Policy
Project Title: Microbial Associations and Nitrogen Fixation of Switchgrass
Faculty Mentor: Prof. Mark Ritchie
Catherine Campbell
College of Arts & Sciences
Major(s): Chemistry (Medicinal)/ Physics
Project Title: Characterization of the N-Protein
Faculty Mentor: Prof. Alaji Bah (SUNY Upstate)
Cheyene Muenzel
College of Arts & Sciences
Major(s): Chemistry/Forensic Science
Project Title: Formation of Redox-Responsive Antimicrobial Metallo-hydrogels
Faculty Mentor: Prof. Olga Makhlynets
David Harvey
College of Arts & Sciences
Major(s): Biology
Project Title: Biomimicry Applications to Improve Upon the Common Surgical mask
Faculty Mentor: Prof. David Althoff
Elizabeth Kauma
College of Arts & Sciences/Newhouse School of Public Communications
Major(s): Art History and Magazine Journalism
Project Title: Death Dying and Illness
Faculty Mentor: Prof. Melissa Chessher
Emily Michaels
College of Arts & Sciences/School of Information Studies
Major(s): Psychology/Information Management & Technology
Project Title: Roles of routine, flexibility and gender in online freelancing
Faculty Mentor: Prof. Steven Sawyer
Elizabeth Barash
Maxwell School
Major(s): Political Science
Project Title: Analyzing Voter Information, Political Socialization, Participation, and Engagement of Formerly Incarcerated Individuals in Vermont
Faculty Mentor: Prof. Shana Gadarian
Elena Figler
College of Arts & Sciences
Major(s): Biotechnology
Project Title: Effects of CO2 and herbivore grazing on native and invasive Yellowstone grass species in nutrient-rich and nutrient-poor environments
Faculty Mentor: Prof. Katie Becklin
Michaela Martin
College of Arts & Sciences
Major(s): Biology
Project Title: Glucose Concentrations in the Brain Across Memory Systems, Lifespan, and Sexes
Faculty Mentor: Prof. Paul Gold
Mary Ross
College of Arts & Sciences
Major(s): Biology
Project Title: The Role of Daf-12 in the Regulation of Osm-9 in C. Elegans
Faculty Mentor: Prof. Sarah Hall
Nicholas Ihley
College of Arts & Sciences/Maxwell School
Major(s): Biotechnology/ Environment, Sustainability, and Policy
Project Title: Effect of Transcription Factors on the Expression of GAUT12 and GT8D
Faculty Mentor: Prof. Heather Coleman
Samuel McClintic
College of Arts & Sciences/Maxwell School
Major(s): Biotechnology/ Environment, Sustainability, and Policy
Project Title: Characterizing Tree Demography, Climate, and Soil Conditions of Upper Timberlines in the Adirondacks
Faculty Mentor: Prof. Martin Dovciak (SUNY ESF)
Shiharu Yamashita
College of Arts & Sciences
Major(s): Psychology
Project Title: Mindfulness for Prejudice Reduction in Schools
Faculty Mentor: Prof. Joshua Felver
Tillie Morrisette
College of Arts & Sciences
Major(s): Biotechonology
Project Title: Design of Microgels for Encapsulation of Human Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells (hiPSCs)
Faculty Mentor: Prof. Era Jain
Taylor Drabick
College of Arts & Sciences
Major(s): Biology
Project Title: Val66Met BDNF Single Nucleotide Polymorphism: Interactions and Implications on Learning and Memory
Faculty Mentor: Prof. Donna Korol
Thomas Shaw
College of Arts & Sciences/Newhouse School of Public Communications
Major(s): Psychology/ History/ Photojournalism
Project Title: Correlational Relationship Between Trauma and Attachment: The Moderating Role of Help Seeking Behavior
Faculty Mentor: Prof. Brittany Jakubiak
Tenzin Norzin
College of Arts & Sciences
Major(s): Psychology/Biology
Project Title: Drosophila Evolutionary Phenomics
Faculty Mentor: Prof. Scott Pitnick
Alexander Metcalf
College of Engineering & Computer Science
Major(s): Aerospace Engineering
Project Title: Investigation of a Piston Engine and Solid Oxide Fuel Cell Combined Hybrid Modular Powerplant for Unmanned Aerial Vehicles
Faculty Mentor: Prof. Jeongmin Ahn
Christopher Stawarski
College of Engineering & Computer Science
Major(s): Aerospace Engineering
Project Title: Analysis of Flight and Mechanics of Disc Golf Equipment
Faculty Mentor: Prof. John Dannenhoffer
Elizabeth (Libby) Cultra
College of Engineering & Computer Science
Major(s): Environmental Engineering
Project Title: “The Living Roof”, a Green Roof Lesson Plan and Education Project
Faculty Mentor: Prof. Cliff Davidson
Elizabeth Wall
College of Engineering & Computer Science
Major(s): Chemical Engineering
Project Title: Exploration of Cathode Materials for a Calcium Ion Battery
Faculty Mentor: Prof. Ian Hosein
Lindy Melegari
College of Engineering & Computer Science
Major(s): Bioengineering
Project Title: Rational Design and in vitro Screening of Monomeric Peptides with Multi-Agonism to Simultaneously Treat Diabetes and Obesity
Faculty Mentor: Robert Doyle
Savannah Wujastyk
College of Engineering & Computer Science
Major(s): Environmental Engineering
Project Title: Dry Deposition of Airborne Chemical Pollutants onto a Green Roof
Faculty Mentor: Prof. Cliff Davidson
Victoria Hathaway
College of Engineering & Computer Science
Major(s): Bioengineering/Neuroscience
Project Title: Neonatal and pediatric minimally invasive portable kidney dialysis machine for use in resource limited settings.
Faculty Mentor: Prof. Pun To Yung
Caroline King
Falk College/Maxwell School
Major(s): Public Health/Policy Studies
Project Title: Long-term care legislation and the Affordable Care Act: Intent, effectiveness, and recommendations
Faculty Mentor: Prof. Bhavneet Walia
David Williams
Maxwell School
Major(s): Policy Studies
Project Title: Transforming Education: A Digital Toolkit for Student Success
Faculty Mentor: Prof. Austin Zwick
Lily Datz
Maxwell School/Newhouse School of Public Communications
Major(s): Geography/Magazine News and Digital Journalism
Project Title: Exploring the Island of Nevis Through Magazine Journalism: The Nevisian Magazine
Faculty Mentor: Prof. Harriet Brown
Allison Weiss
Newhouse School of Public Communications
Major(s): Broadcast & Digital Journalism
Project Title: How Central New York Farmworkers Receive Their Information
Faculty Mentor: Prof. Keren Henderson
Gaurav Shetty
Newhouse School of Public Communications/Maxwell School
Major(s): Newspaper and Online Journalism/International Relations
Project Title: The Challenges of Climate Reporting
Faculty Mentor: Prof. Melissa Chessher
Ryan Peiffer
Newhouse School of Public Communications
Major(s): Advertising
Project Title: Do Blockbuster Movies Need Blockbuster Advertising?
Faculty Mentor: Prof. Kevin O’Neill
Anastacia Puertas
College of Visual & Performing Arts
Major(s): Film
Project Title: Blood Sisters
Faculty Mentor: Prof. Alex Mendez-Giner
Connor Johnson
College of Visual & Performing Arts
Major(s): Acting
Project Title: Bid Day
Faculty Mentor: Prof. Ricky Pak
Emily Graham
College of Visual & Performing Arts
Major(s): Music Composition
Project Title: Scoring for the Screen
Faculty Mentor: Prof. Natalie Draper
Kaitlyn Philavanh
College of Visual & Performing Arts/College of Arts & Sciences
Major(s): Film
Project Title: Epoch
Faculty Mentor: Prof. Alex Mendez-Giner
SOURCE Grant Recipients
Monica Ciaffi
College of Arts and Sciences
Major(s): Biology/Neuroscience
Project Title: Age-related Changes in Regulation of Lactate Production by Astrocytes in Rat Brains
Faculty Mentor: Prof. Paul Gold
Michael Geiss
Maxwell School
Major(s): Policy Studies
Project Title: Design of polyethylene glycol hydrogels for the sustained release of the small molecule inhibitor iNOS for treatment of osteoarthritis
Faculty Mentor: Prof. Era Jain
Abigail Johnson
College of Arts & Sciences
Major(s): Biology/Neuroscience
Project Title: Exploring the Effects of Vitamin D Supplementation on Pre-Symptomatic Mecp2-Mutant Mice
Faculty Mentor: Prof. Jessica MacDonald
Emma Liptrap
College of Engineering & Computer Science
Major(s): Civil Engineering
Project Title: Hydraulic Performance of an Extensive Green Roof
Faculty Mentor: Prof. Cliff Davidson
Mariana Perez Lugo
Falk College
Major(s): Nutrition Science
Project Title: Investigating the Role of Fish Oil on Paternal Obesity
Faculty Mentor: Prof. Latha Ramalingam
Connor Ritchie
College of Visual & Performing Arts/College of Arts & Sciences
Major(s): Music Composition/Math
Project Title: The Colimitation Theory of Mutualism
Faculty Mentor: Prof. Kari Segraves
Jacqueline Ritz
College of Arts & Sciences/School of Education
Major(s): Spanish Language, Literature and Culture/ Spanish Education
Project Title: Integrating Anatomical Model References in the Teaching of the Pronunciation of Spanish and English as a Second Language
Faculty Mentor: Prof. M. Emma Ticio Quesada
Neha Tummalapalli
Architecture
Major(s): Architecture
Project Title: Spaces of Shelter
Faculty Mentor: Prof. Lori Brown
