URA 2019-2020 Awardees

Undergraduate Research Awards for 2019-2020 have been awarded to 75 student research projects involving 82 students from disciplines and departments across campus. Click on the names below to read the abstracts that summarize each research project, and mark your calendars to attend Undergraduate Research and Creative Achievement Day on Wednesday, April 22, 2020 to see these students present their research findings.

Laylo Abdurahmonova
“Landmark Discrimination in Neogonodactylus oerstedii (Stomatopoda)”
Computer Science and Electrical Engineering
Dr. Thomas Cronin

Naseem Ahmadi
“The Effect of Bilingualism on Cognitive Development Through Various Stages of Life”
Modern Languages, Linguistics and Intercultural Communication
Dr. Renee Lambert-Bretiere

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Ghina Ammar *
“Trait Anger as a Moderator in the Relationship between Discrimination and Heart Rate Variability in Emerging Adults”
Psychology
Dr. Danielle Beatty Moody

“The Role of Arnold White in the Shift from Religious/Cultural Antisemitism to Racial Antisemitism in Late 19th century Britain”
History
Dr. Dan Ritschel

Octavia Ashton
“Two Passions in One”
Visual Arts
Ms. Corrie Parks

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Shehar Yar Awan
“Domain-based analysis of human protein methyltransferase, SMYD3”
Biological Sciences
Dr. Erin Green

Mickayla Bacorn *
“Comparing English as a Second Language (ESL) Education and the Importance of Location in the United States and Colombia”
Modern Languages, Linguistics and Intercultural Communication
Dr. Tania Lizarazo

* Center for Social Science Scholarship Undergraduate Research Awardee

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Barna Baierna
“Characterization of essential fungal biomass degradation functions employed by soil bacteria”
Biological Sciences
Dr. Jeffrey Gardner

Elshaday Behailu
“The Effect of the CREB gene on the immune response of Drosophila after suppression of the NF-KB protein complex”
Biological Sciences
Dr. Fernando Vonhoff

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Tony Cano
“Informal Resettlement of Internally Displaced People in Cartagena, Colombia: A Visual Exploration and Oral History”
Political Science
Dr. Felipe Filomeno

Connor Cataldo
“Roman Trade in the Dodecanese”
Ancient Studies
Dr. Melissa Kutner

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Dylan Chao
“ASMRtist: Art in Relaxation”
Visual Arts
Mr. Tim Nohe

Catherine Chonai
“Mathematical Model of Muscle Atrophy”
Mathematics and Statistics
Dr. Bradford Peercy

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Emilia Cieslak
“3D Printing Workflow and Production for Stopmotion”
Visual Arts
Ms. Corrie Parks

Caroline Cocca
“Computer Vision for the Advanced Energetic Pair Telescope (AdEPT)”
Computer Science and Electrical Engineering
Dr. Don Engel

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Jimmy Coleman
“An Algorithm for Inter-Calibration and Super-Resolution of Satellite Imagery”
Computer Science and Electrical Engineering
Dr. David Chapman

Faith Davis
“The Incidence of Pursuing Healthcare After Receiving Health Screening in Baltimore City”
Sociology, Anthropology, and
Health Administration and Policy
Ms. Katie Birger

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Sarah Driver
“History of the Parlor Piano”
History
Dr. Melissa Blair

Mikhail Dorfman
“Refining the Technical Design of a Do-it-Yourself Assistive Technology System for Audio Therapy”
Information Systems
Dr. Foad Hamidi

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Riki Egoshi
“Investigating the Roles of Circadian Genes LNK1 and LNK2 in Plant Defense”
Biological Sciences
Dr. Hua Lu

Anna Feerick
“Novel passive sampling method for per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances”
Chemistry and Biochemistry
Dr. Lee Blaney

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Rebecca Ferguson *
“Baltimore’s Adopt-a-Lot Program, Community Land Precarity & Gentrification”
Geography and Environmental Systems
Dr. Dillon Mahmoudi and Dr. Dawn Biehler

* Center for Social Science Scholarship Undergraduate Research Awardee

Gabrielle Franks
“Producing an Extended Play Compact Disc (EP) Release: A Multinational Collaboration”
Music
Mr. Alan Wonneberger

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Ronnita Freeman
“Blackface/Brava”
Theatre
Dr. Susan McCully

Omar French
“A Deep Look at Jets from Black Holes with the Very Large Array”
Physics
Dr. Eileen Meyer

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Josh Galita
“An Algorithm for Inter-Calibration and Super-Resolution of Satellite Imagery”
Computer Science and Electrical Engineering
Dr. David Chapman

Emily Godfrey
“Contemporary Dance Summer Research”
Dance
Ms. Carol Hess

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Ellen Gulian
“Creating a THz-TDS Imaging System to Detect Defects in Metal Armor”
Physics
Dr. Michael Hayden

Jaylan Hall
“Creating a Quadruped Robot with Walking and Wheeled Capabilities”
IEEE UMBC Student Branch
Dr. Fow-Sen Choa

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Brianna Harper
“An Astrological Analysis of Hilma af Klint”
Visual Arts
Dr. Preminda Jacob

Lauren Harris
“Innovative light-emitting diode reactor for rapid assessment of antibiotic photolysis kinetics”
Chemical, Biochemical, and Environmental Engineering
Dr. Lee Blaney

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Anna Hartman
“Rhetoric of Uprising: Press Discourse of Maryland Race Uprisings from 1845-2015”
English
Dr. Lindsay DiCuirci

Christian Hartman
“Performing in Endless Mountain Music Festival Orchestra”
Music
Ms. Gita Ladd

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Asmaa Hasan
“Phenotypic Characterization of the prkA Gene Product in Aspergillus nidulans”
Chemical, Biochemical, and Environmental Engineering
Dr. Mark Marten

Kayla Hinderlie *
“Trait Anger as a Moderator in the Relationship between Discrimination and Heart Rate Variability in Emerging Adults”
Psychology
Dr. Danielle Beatty Moody

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Rudolph Holley
“Characterization of Flexible Tellurium-based Thermoelements Doped with Gold Nanorods”
Mechanical Engineering
Dr. Deepa Madan

Sophia Hu
“Automated Registration of Planarian Gene Expression Patterns”
Biological Sciences
Dr. Daniel Lobo

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Ben Hyatt
“Modeling the Release of Drug Molecules with the Reaction-Diffusion Equation”
Mathematics and Statistics
Dr. Muruhan Rathinam

Rahul Kamdar
“Optimizing T-Cell Activation Using a Plate Bound Substrate”
Chemical, Biochemical, and Environmental Engineering
Dr. Gregory Szeto

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Erick Kengni
“An Algorithm for Inter-Calibration and Super-Resolution of Satellite Imagery”
Computer Science and Electrical Engineering
Dr. David Chapman

Peter Kostriken
“Paying to Play, Playing to Live: A Digital Ethnography of Transnational Gold Farming Between the United States and Venezuela”
American Studies
Dr. Sarah Fouts

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Avantika Krishna
“Nicotine and Common E-cigarette Flavoring Agents alter Taste bud morphology and Taste Preference: Anatomical and Behavior studies”
Biological Sciences
Dr. Weihong Lin and Dr. Tatsuya Ogura

Priya Krishna
“Inhibiting Gal3 using a Novel Therapeutic Molecule to Prevent Prostate Cancer Progression and Metastasis”
Biological Sciences
Dr. Charles Bieberich

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Gerson Kroiz
“Analysis of the Introduction of a Calsequestrin Species in a System of Partial Differential Equations that Model the Calcium Dynamics of a Cardiomyocyte”
Mathematics and Statistics
Dr. Matthias Gobbert and Dr. Bradford Peercy

Michael LaScola
“Generation and Analysis of dp1 Mutants in the Green Alga, Volvox carteri”
Biological Sciences
Dr. Stephen Miller

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Ayodele La Veau
“Art Therapy”
Theatre and Psychology
Ms. Eve Muson

Karan Luthria
“Utilizing A Machine Learning Phenotype Clustering Algorithm to Generate a Concrete Understanding of Disease-Variant Associations”
Biological Sciences
Dr. Maricel Kann

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Genevieve Madden *
“Mixed Methods Analysis of Frame Propagation in Current Feminist Social Movements”
Political Science
Dr. Ian Anson

* Center for Social Science Scholarship Undergraduate Research Awardee

Olufolake Ashley Majekodunmi
“Behavioral and Physiological Effects of E-cigarette Flavorings in TRPM5 and TRPM5-KO Mice: Altered Taste Preference and Immune Response”
Biological Sciences
Dr. Weihong Lin and Dr. Tatsuya Ogura

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Robert Maxwell
“Examining the Mediating Role of Children’s Behavioral Self-regulation between Maternal Positive Affect and Children’s Socio-emotional Outcomes among Asian American Preschoolers”
Psychology
Dr. Charissa Cheah

Rosie McNeely
“Information Has Come to the Attention of the Civil Service Commission that You are a Homosexual. What Comment do You Care to Make?: The LGBT Community During the Cold War”
Visual Arts
Dr. Meredith Oyen

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Olivia Mills
“Authorship in Animation and Sequential Art”
Visual Arts
Mr. Evan Tedlock

Tyler Moore
“The Relationship between Parents’ Acculturation and Children’s Literacy-Related Activities in Three Immigrant Groups”
Psychology
Dr. Susan Sonnenschein

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Rachel Morin
“Real Time Observations of Single Particle Chemical Reactions”
Physics
Dr. Matthew Pelton

Maya Mueller
“Comparing Predictive Data Assimilation Methods on S-I-R Epidemic Forecasts”
Mathematics and Statistics
Dr. Bedrich Sousedik

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Sarah Natterman
“Literary Re-memorializations of Political Movements of the 1980s in South Korea”
Modern Languages, Linguistics and Intercultural Communication
Dr. Kyung-Eun Yoon

Zak Newberry
“Effect of Lambda Red Recombinogenic Proteins on Cas9-Mediated Homology Directed Repair”
Biological Sciences
Dr. Charles Bieberich

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Zachary Nicholas
“Deciphering Cultural Roles and Social Pressure on Parents of Children with Special Needs”
Sociology, Anthropology, and
Health Administration and Policy
Dr. Bambi Chapin

Ayla Novruz *
“Trait Anger as a Moderator in the Relationship between Discrimination and Heart Rate Variability in Emerging Adults”
Psychology
Dr. Danielle Beatty Moody

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Cheyenne Oliver
“The Effect of Neural Network Plasticity and Synaptic Refinement on Drosophila melanogaster”
Biological Sciences
Dr. Fernando Vonhoff

Ryan Oliver
“Sexual Status and Naïve Ethanol Odor Preference in Drosophila”
Biological Sciences
Dr. Fernando Vonhoff

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Hye Jin Park
“Contributions of Parental Control and Self-Regulation Skills to Korean American Children’s Behavioral Outcomes”
Psychology
Dr. Charissa Cheah

Jennifer Park
“Toward Better Inhibitors of Influenza Virus”
Chemistry and Biochemistry
Dr. Paul Smith

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Steve Park
“Testing the Effect of Bacteria on the Brain Level by using Fruit Flies”
Biological Sciences
Dr. Fernando Vonhoff

Shirin Parsa
“β-Amyloid Aggregation Kinetics in the Presence of Microglial Cells in 3D Culture Conditions”
Chemical, Biochemical and Environmental Engineering
Dr. Gregory Szeto

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Jade Phan
“Toward Better Inhibitors of Influenza Virus”
Chemistry and Biochemistry
Dr. Paul Smith

Ozair Qazi
“East Asian mothers’ psychological distress, parenting, and their children’s behavioral adjustment: The moderating role of marital relationship”
Psychology
Dr. Charissa Cheah

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Jonathan Rodman
“Exploring the Soundscape Ecology of the Charles Village Neighborhood in Baltimore”
Individualized Study
Dr. Bernard Lohr

Jay Ruiz
“A Comprehensive Analysis of Academic and Industrial Theatrical Casting Policies: Developing a Model for National Study”
Theatre
Ms. Chelsea Pace

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Alexandra Seas
“Cyclosporine A Nanoparticles for Treatment of Systemic Lupus Erythematosus”
Chemical, Biochemical and Environmental Engineering
Dr. Gregory Szeto

Fatimah Shaalan
“Will the American Dream Survive Beyond the First-Generation?”
Economics
Dr. Lisa Dickson

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Jonathan Sikora
“Repertoire Size in Male and Female Eastern Bluebirds”
Biological Sciences
Dr. Kevin Omland

Joshua Slaughter
“The Incidence of Pursuing Healthcare After Receiving Health Screening in Baltimore City”
Sociology, Anthropology, and
Health Administration and Policy
Ms. Katie Birger

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Taylor Steen
“Her Father is Waiting: An Animated Graphic Novel of the Human Condition”
Visual Arts
Ms. Corrie Parks

Katherine Sublett
“Integrative Platform for Predictive Health Outcomes and Survival Rates in Concordance with Individual Health Diagnostics”
Information Systems
Dr. Sanjay Purushotham

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Danilo Symonette
“Exploring the use of Machine Learning for Teamwork Analysis”
Computer Science and Electrical Engineering
Dr. Don Engel

Kent Taguba
“Atlas of Gene Regulatory Networks for Planarian Body Patterning”
Biological Sciences
Dr. Daniel Lobo

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Raychel Thress
“The Movement of Otherworldly Creatures”
Visual Arts
Ms. Corrie Parks

Jordan Troutman
“A Fair Evalutation of the Effectiveness of the Violence Risk Appraisal Guide”
Information Systems
Dr. James Foulds

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Mei-Lian Vader
“2019 Toyota Mobility Challenge”
Information Systems
Dr. Ravi Kuber

Inaya Wahid *
“Trait Anger as a Moderator in the Relationship between Discrimination and Heart Rate Variability in Emerging Adults”
Psychology
Dr. Danielle Beatty Moody

* Center for Social Science Scholarship Undergraduate Research Awardee

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Brian Woronowicz
“Development of Conceptual Design for Displacement Amplification Mechanism (DAM) Using Design Optimization Technique”
Mechanical Engineering
Dr. Soobum Lee

Omer Yildirim
“Behaviour of Religious Nones in Western European Countries”
Political Science
Dr. Carolyn Forestiere

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