2023 Awardees

* indicates Audience Choice winner. The Audience Choice Award is for the best Soundbite, which is a two-minute overview of their work presented as one slide to the audience.

		Brandon Tapia “Simulations to Predict Temperature and Plasticization Effects for Gas Separation in 3D CANAL Ladder Polymers” Virginia Tech				Camila Cersosimo “Development and characterization of spray-dried quercetin-loaded nanocomposite microparticles (Q-nCmP) for the mitigation of pulmonary inflammation” University of Rhode Island
		Dien Nguyen “Interfacial competition between surfactant and polymer excipients on a drug nanocrystal surfaceInterfacial competition between surfactant and polymer excipients on a drug nanocrystal surface” Massachusetts Institute of Technology				Duncan Hill “Evaluating the Mesh Size of Block Copolymer Gels via Dynamic Light Scattering” Bucknell University
		Emily Carpenter “Real Time Electrochemical Impedance Spectroscopy Analysis on Anaerobic Electrochemically Active Bacteria Using Optimized Python Predictions” University of South Carolina				Gigi Wang* “PAL 2.0: A Physics-Driven Bayesian Optimization Framework for Material Discovery” Johns Hopkins University
		Hannah Snider “Characterizing the Claisen Condensation of Diethyl Succinate” Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology				Hannah Uhl “Separation of HFC-32 and HFC-125 Using Imidazolium Based Ionic Liquids + Polyvinyl Acetate Ionic Liquid Polymer Membranes” University of Kansas
		Katie Traynelis “High Throughput Mapping of Epigenetic Enzyme Activity” North Carolina State University				Luisa Dell “Investigating Configurations of Two Quorum Sensing Systems” University of California – Berkeley
		Matt Mellor “Synthetic, Compartmentalized Colloids for Tunable, Biomimetic Structures” University of Rhode Island				Mia Sisul “Comparing Corrosion Rates of Bio-Graphene Coated Metals Using Electrochemical Analysis and Experimental Weight Loss Testing” The University of Tulsa
		Nicole Babineau “Towards greener production of complex molecules: enhancing triterpenoid production in yeast via PAH1 gene mutation” University of Minnesota – Duluth				Matthew Zhang “Engineering Peptides and Hydrogels with Controlled Degradation for Biological Applications” University of Delaware
		Ryan Mann “Melt-Blended Ternary Polymer-Clay Composites for Additive Manufacturing” Virginia Tech				Sara Olsen “Investigating the Effects of Surface Stiffness and Viscoelasticity on Human Mesenchymal Stem Cell Immunomodualtory Potenial” Clarkson University
		Sofia Luna “The impact of matrix stiffness on the drug response of brain metastatic breast cancer spheroids” The University of Alabama				Saurav Padhye “Using in silico and in vitro techniques to model aerosol behavior in pediatric upper airways” University of Delaware
		Tiba Hamza “Design of Hydrogels Containing Acoustic Cavitation-Induced Mechanochemistry” California Institute of Technology				Timilehin Oluwole “Determining the Oil Content of Seaweeds Native to Connecticut for Biofuel Production” University of New Haven
		Titus Szobody “Developing Ionic Liquid-Based Mirrors for Next Generation Space Telescope Optics” North Carolina State University				Walker Radford “Peptide synthesis optimization of Alzheimer’s Abeta42 and designer peptide assemblies” Georgia Institute of Technology
		Warren Callen “Using lipophilic dyes to examine lipid nanoparticle structures with and without nucleic acid loading” Worcester Polytechnic Institute				Zihan Lin “Designing W-SiC compositionally graded films for extreme irradiation environments” Princeton University

2022 Awardees

* indicates Audience Choice winner. The Audience Choice Award is for the best Soundbite, which is a two-minute overview of their work presented as one slide to the audience.

Christopher Allen
“Engineering Improved Bipartite Repressors for CRISPR-Based Gene Regulation in Cancer Cells”
Georgia Institute of Technology

Karim Al Zahabi
“Rheological Evaluation of Artificial Saliva Formulations and Substitutes”
University of Illinois – Chicago

Anastacia De Gorostiza
“Understanding the Nucleation and Growth of CsPbI3”
University of Texas – Austin

Ethan Frey
“Laser Patterning of an Egaln-Graphene Composite for Stretchable Electronics”
NC State University

Andrea Goertzen
“Systems-level Modeling Illustrates Metabolic Landscape of Diseases”
University of Nebraska – Lincoln

Mariel Gomez
“Synthesis of Novel α-1,3-Glucan Polymer Derivatives for Amorphous Solid Dispersion Technologies”
Virginia Tech

Ishika Govil
“Rational Design of Molecular Glues for Targeted Protein Degradation”
University of Delaware

Richard Huang*
“Elastic Turbulence Homogenizes Fluid Transport in Stratified Porous Media”
Princeton University

Winnie Huang
“Determining Sequence – Structure Relationships of Calcium-Responsive Repeat Proteins”
Stanford University

Aubry Hymel
“Lignin-Zein Composite: Synthesis, Three-Dimensional Printing, and Microbial Degradation”
Louisiana State University

Aidan Kindopp
“Aggregation Reduces Subcellular Localization and Cytotoxicity of Single-Walled Carbon Nanotubes”
University of Rhode Island

Teng-Jui Lin
“Quantifying Microglia Morphology Across Neuroinflammatory Rat Models with Unsupervised Machine Learning”
University of Washington

Samuel Mercer
“Plasmonic Effects Direct Gold Catalysts for Photocatalytic Methane Oxidation”
University of New Hampshire

Jason Ogbebor
“Ultrasonic Study of Water Confined in Nanoporous Glass”
New Jersey Institute of Technology

Stephanie Pecaut
“Efficient Electrochemical Nitrate Reduction to Ammonia on Novel Catalyst Ruthenium-dispersed Copper Nanowires”
Rice University

Maxwell Polanek
“Investigating the Effect of Mineralized Collagen Scaffolds on the Immunomodulatory Capacity of Human Mesenchymal Stem Cells Under Varying Co-culture Conditions”
University of Illinois at Urbana – Champaign

Michelle Quan
“Analysis of Iron(iii) Doped Silica Nanorods Synthesized with Various Iron Reagents”
The University of Minnesota – Twin Cities

Alyssa Rorie
“Wastewater Remediation: Comparing the Direct and Indirect Oxidation of Phenol”
North Carolina A&T sState University

Malena Rybacki
“Ligand Removal Energetics Control CO2 Electroreduction Selectivity on Atomically Precise, Ligated Alloy Nanoclusters”
University of Pittsburgh

Jasmine Tran
“Predicting Octanol/Water Partition Coefficients for the SAMPL7 Challenge Using SM12, SM8, and SMD Solvation Models”
Miami University

Donovan Vincent Jr.
“Optimization of Microfluidic Droplet System for Single-Cell Encapsulation”
Manhattan College

David Webster
“The Impact of Ceramic Particles on Ionic Conductivity in Composite Polymer Electrolytes”
University of Notre Dame

Ke Wen
“Engineering Stiffness Tunable Methacrylated Gelatin Hydrogels to Model Glycocalyx-Expressing Endothelium”
Northeastern University

Victoria Yang
“Surface Requirements for Optimal Biosensing with Disposable Gold Electrodes”
Massachusetts Institute of Technology

2021 Awardees

* indicates Audience Choice winner. The Audience Choice award is for the best soundbite, which is a two-minute overview of their work presented as one slide to the audience.

** indicates Audience Choice Runner-Up winner.

Michael Bibbey
“Photocrosslinkable Affibodies for Efficient Cancer Treatment and Proliferation Inhibition”
University of Colorado Boulder

Carrie Bishop
“Epigenetic Effects of Extracellular Matrix Stiffness on Cardiac Fibrosis”
University of Colorado Boulder

Quinn Gallagher
“Modulating Heterochromatin Formation for Direct Cell Reprogramming”
University of Pennsylvania

Lauren Gerbereux
“Optimizing Hypoxia-Inducing Cryogels for Hypoxic Cell Culture Conditions”
Northeastern University

Cyrus Haas
“Identifying escape mutants on the SARS-CoV-2 Spike receptor binding domain using yeast screening”
University of Colorado Boulder

Daniel Haller
“Inducible Directed Evolution (IDE) of Complex Phenotypes in Bacteria”
North Carolina State University

Jacob Hewes
“Formulation Design in Histone Peptide Nanocarriers”
University of Delaware (Honors College)

Isaac Hopwood
“Mechanical characterization of Cu and Ni based metals produced via hydrogel enabled additive manufacturing”
University of Arkansas

Melanie T. Huynh
“Adsorbed xenon propellant storage: are nanoporous materials worth the weight?”
Oregon State University

Olivia Irvin
“Developing a Diversifying Base Editor in Saccharomyces cerevisiae”
Georgia Institute of Technology

Sonia Li
“Aquatic Photochemistry of Plastic Debris Materials: Oxidation of Polypropylene and Polyethylene”
University of Minnesota- Duluth

Julia Miller
“Engineering Stem Cells with CRISPR to Improve β-Cell Differentiation In Vitro”
Washington University in St Louis

Edward Neves
“Biomaterial-based tumor models to analyze the role of glioma extracellular matrix in therapeutic efficacy”
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Greta Olsen
“Physical Property Characterization of Ionic Liquids Using a High-Pressure View Cell”
University of Kansas

Nicholas Sbalbi
“Solvent-Assisted Reshaping of Multicomponent Colloids”
University of Massachusetts Amherst

Ava Self
“Human Manganese Superoxide Dismutase-Functionalized Reduced Graphene Oxide for Cancer Therapy”
Pennsylvania State University

Aditya Shah
“Elucidating Structure-Function Relationships for Carbon Capture Materials Using Data Mining and Machine
Learning”
The University of Texas at Austin

Julia Simon**
“Optimizing Electrochemical Stripping Reactor Components for Wastewater Treatment and Sensing Applications”
Stanford University

Nicholas Snyder
“Modeling electrode geometry changes in zinc-based batteries using COMSOL Multiphysics”
University of California, Los Angeles

Hrishikesh Srinivasan
“Tin Oxide-Carbon Composite Anodes for High-Capacity Lithium-Ion Batteries”
The University of Texas at Austin

Alexis Voulgaropoulos*
“Effects of early geometric confinement on the transcriptomic profile of human cerebral organoids”
North Carolina State University

John Weiss
“Pyrolysis of Co-N-C Electrocatalysts for the Oxygen Reduction Reaction”
University of South Carolina – Columbia

Cindy Wong
“Energy Storage with Seawater Electrolysis: Ability of Oxide Coatings to Manipulate Selectivity Towards
Oxygen/Chlorine Evolution at a Buried Interface”
Oregon State University

Maxim Zhelyabovskiy
“Phase-Transitional Catalyst-Assisted Membraneless ZnI2 Aqueous Battery”
Georgia Institute of Technnology

2020 Awardees

Lucas Attia
“Evaluation of UiO-66 Nanoparticles as Pulmonary Drug Delivery Vehicles”
University of Delaware

Elizabeth Bury
“Characterization of the Mechanical and Electrical Behavior of Galinstan Dispersions and Host Matrices”
University of Alabama

 

Chi Cao
“V8C7 as a Catalyst for the Oxygen Evolution Reaction”
The University of Texas at Austin

Caitlin Carmody*
“Ballistic Seed Dispersal in Leafy Spurge”
Montana State University

 

Ivy Chen
“Engineering Yarrowia lipolytica for Production of Medium Chain Methyl Ketone”
University of Wisconsin, Madison

Emily Doyle
“Polysulfide Dissociation Mechanisms and Self-Discharge within Magnesium Sulfur Batteries”
The University of Notre Dame

 

Sydney Floryanzia
“Fabrication of a 3D Microfluidic Co-culture Model of the Blood-Brain Barrier”
North Carolina State University

Amous C.H Goh
“Process safety incidents across 14 industries”
Purdue University

 

Mira Khare
“Methane Absorption Simulation Benchmarking in Metal Organic Framework Compounds”
Oregon State University

Kathy Feng Liu
“Harnessing chiral self-assembly for helical mesogenic actuators”
Stanford University

 

Joshua McGee
“Microfluidic Synthesis and Purification of Protein Nanoparticles”
University of Massachusetts, Amherst

Emma Peterman
“Integrating Computational and In Vitro Modeling Techniques to Elucidate Mechanisms of Pulmonary Drug Delivery”
University of Delaware

 

Lauren Simitz
“Rheological Characterization of Oxidized Carbon Black Suspensions in Aqueous Salt Solutions for Use in Flowable, Capacitive Deionization Electrodes”
Northwestern University

James Sinoimeri
“Hypoxia-Inducing Cryogels for Preclincial Anticancer Drug Screening”
Northeastern University

 

Pranav Thacker#
“Towards the engineering of robotic tactility”
North Carolina State University

Hansen Tjo
“Charge Density Roles in Polyelectrolyte-Micelle Self-Assembly”
University of Massachusetts, Amherst

 

Luke Tomasovic
“Designing a Broadly-Neutralizing S. aureus Vaccine by Nanopatterning Cytotoxic Antigens”
Georgia Institute of Technnology

Luis Mario Trevisi
“Controlling Silica Encapsulation of Iron Oxide Magnetic Nanoparticles via Modified Stöber Strategies”
University of Oklahama

 

James Wang
“Investigation of Non-ribosomal Peptide Synthetases and Chlorinases in the Ochratoxin A Biosynthetic Pathway”
University of California, Los Angeles

John White
“Novel Electrodeposition Methods for Palladium-Zinc Alloys as Catalysts for Ethanol Oxidation”
University of Alabama

 

Brendan Wirtz
“Detection of lithium plating on graphite electrodes in lithium-ion batteries using differential voltage profiles”
University of California, Berkeley

Juliana Yang
“Application of a Novel Electrochemical Biosensing Platform ESSENCE for Breast Cancer Detection”
New Jersey Intitute of Technology