Aaron Seidel, a senior geoscience/applied mathematics major at Indiana University of Pennsylvania, recently made history by becoming the first IUP student to win at the annual Undergraduate at the Capitol Pennsylvania poster competition.
Under the guidance of his faculty advisor, Greg Mount, Department of Geoscience, Seidel displayed his poster, “Application of Ground Penetrating Radar and the Complex Refractive Index Model to Estimate Methane Dynamics of Semi-Natural Environments,” in the STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) Division. He was awarded third place for his efforts.
The competition was held April 17, 2018, at the East Wing Rotunda in the Capitol Complex in Harrisburg.
The third-place award adds to an already impressive semester for Seidel, a native of Cleveland, Ohio. In March, he was chosen as a winner of the Goldwater Scholarship, becoming the eighth IUP student to win the prestigious national scholarship.
Seidel, a student in the Cook Honors College, was one of three IUP students who presented posters at the Undergraduate at the Capitol competition, which allows undergraduate students enrolled in Pennsylvania's colleges and universities to showcase their research talents. Kiera Estes (chemistry) presented on “Design, Synthesis, and Spectroscopic Studies of a Ru(II) Polypyridyl Complex Containing Bulky Ligands,” and Angellica Sterling (sociology) showed her project, “The Influence of Self-Perceived Preparedness and Self-Efficacy on College Students' Academic Success.”
Participating students spent the day at the capitol, where they shared experiences with each other and had the opportunity to meet and speak with some of the state's top legislators.