The third annual Undergraduate Scholars Forum took place April 1 at IUP, showcasing student research and artistic creations across disciplines. Following is a list of award recipients from the conference.
Best Presentation Awards
Awards were presented for Best Presentation from each of the nineteen concurrent sessions at the forum. The Best Presentation in Session winners were as follows:
- Thomas Melvin and Angelo Manifest
Department of Biology
“Science Where Students Develop Their Own Labs: A Model of Inquiry”
- Lauren Venturino
Department of Economics
“The Practiced and the Preached: An Analysis of State Divorce Rates and Religious Participation”
- Lindy Kopicki
Department of Sociology
“Gender Differences in Preference for Community Pull Factors”
- Jeremy DeLuca
Department of Music
“The Evolution of the Marching Arts”
- Janelle Porter
Department of Food and Nutrition
“Local Determinants of Malnutrition in Bolivian Children”
- Beth Leverett
Department of Chemistry
“A Crystallographic Detective Story: Solving the Li2ZnSnS4 Structure”
- Raymond Elliott
Department of History
“Seeking Social Change: The Role of African-American Churches During the Civil Rights Movement”
- Sonya Seitz
Department of Art
“Disability Awareness and Documentation Through Art”
- Julianne Gillespie
Department of Health and Physical Education
“Physical Activity and Depression/Anxiety Levels”
- Sean Olson
Department of Computer Science
“Measuring Digital Image Similarity Using a New Histogram-Based Approach”
- Loni Yatsko
Department of Sociology
“Buzz Cuts and Poly-Blends: How Lesbian Self-Concepts are Affected by Lesbians in the Media”
- Aaron Treher
Department of Art
“Evolutionary Understanding”
- Alicia Rich
Department of Anthropology
“Who’s the Boss: Female Competition, Conflict, and Alliances During Transfer of Western Lowland Gorilla Females”
- Natalia Kaniasty
Department of Theater and Dance
“Dramatizing Interview Material: Strategies of Documentary Drama”
- Courtney Cullen
Department of Art
“The Critique”
- Mara Iverson
Department of History
“Hues of Heresy: A Contextual Analysis of the Galileo Affair”
- Mandy Moser
Department of Criminology
“Juvenile Justice: A review of Juvenile Transfer”
- Laura Heiman
Department of History
“Buying History: A Historical Analysis of Museum Funding”
- Charles Stanavich
Department of Political Science
“Private Military Companies: A Question of Integration”
Best Poster Awards
Awards were presented for Best Poster from each college.
College of Education and Educational Technology
Stephanie Fitzpatrick
Department of Special Education and Clinical Services
“School Counseling Needs of the Deaf and Hard of Hearing”
College of Health and Human Services
Ginger Lucas, Kevin Martincic, and Robert Ritenour
Department of Criminology
“Community Re-entry after Imprisonment”
College of Natural Sciences and Mathematics
Kenneth Glassford
Department of Biology
“Roles of p53 and BCL-2 as Localized Prostate Cancer Indicators, Using Immunohistochemical Analysis”
College of Humanities and Social Sciences
Kasie Pletcher
Department of Sociology
“I Can Do Anything You Can Do Better: Gender and Perceptions of Leadership Effectiveness”
College of Fine Arts
Jessica Sabol
Department of Theater and Dance
“The Beauty Queen of Leenane”: Unearthing a Culture, Cultivating a Story”
Eberly College of Business and Information Technology
Mallory Blaniar, Anthony Almond, and Paul Valdiserri
Department of Management
“The Economic Effects of Mardi Gras on New Orleans Business Structure”
Interdisciplinary/Synthesis
Robert Roche, Pierino Delli Bovi, Craig Peterson, and Hansen Wijaya
“Making a Great City Better”
Best Performance Award
Michael Dooley
Department of Music
“Ilijas: Odd Meter and Odd Technique”
Best Bibliography Awards
The IUP Libraries presented awards for the Best Bibliography for a Submitted Paper or Presentation.
First Place, Best Overall Sources
Sasha M. King
First Runner-Up, Best Scientific Sources
Kalin Trevor McDannell
First Runner-Up, Best History Sources
Gina Anne Russo
Honorable Mention, Best Innovative Sources
Lauren Bazala
Sylvia Choi
Sean Riffle
Honorable Mention, Best Visual Arts Sources
Alisha McCurdy
Honorable Mention, Best Music Sources
Tracey Baker
Undergraduate Juried Art Exhibit Awards
The College of Fine Arts sponsored the Juried Art Exhibit awards.
First Place
Jason Brown, “Child in Play”
Second Place
Matt Madonna, “Reverse Evolution”
Third Place
Melissa Clutz, “Chestnut”
Fourth Place
Kyla Groat, “Silhouette”
Honorable Mentions
- Stephen Nachreiner, “Wood Stool”
- Joshua Kosker, “The Dreaming”
- Joshua Kosker, “Use Me”
- Stephanie Zini, “The Dance of the Twisted Souls”
- Nicole Adams, “00925457”
Dean’s Award
Jason Brown, “Child in Play”
Sigma Xi Best Science Poster Awards
Sigma Xi presented awards for the Best Science Poster.
First Place
Antonio Scatena
Polymerase Chain Reaction: Amplification of RNA from Tomato Mosaic Virus
Second Place
Jason Wallach
Social Modulation of HVc auditory response in Taeniopygia guttata, Zebra finch
Third Place
Caitlin Williamson
Homology Modeling of Influenza A Virus Polymerase Basic 2 Subuint
Common Freshman Reader Awards
Common Freshman Reader Essay Winners
First-Year Student Essay Winner
Nicholas Haynos
First-Place Upper Class Student Essay Winner
Ian Duckworth
Second-Place Upper Class Student Essay Winner
Christina Roberts
Honorable Mention Essay Winners
- Anthony Blair
- Marianne Gumbosky
- Jordan Pacific
- Lauren Venturino
Creative Works Creativity Award
Monika Hofmann
Creative Works Content Award
