CAS to hold inaugural Undergraduate Research Showcase

The undergraduate research, scholarship and creative work within the College of Arts and Sciences is collaborative and innovative, spanning across a wide variety of disciplines. While each year hundreds of college students are engaged in faculty-mentored experiential learning and research experiences, this year, they have a new opportunity to share their work with peers and faculty members.  

The college is hosting its first Undergraduate Research Showcase featuring the work of undergraduate students across the arts, humanities, social sciences, natural sciences and mathematics. The event, from 12:30–5 p.m. April 10 in 210 and 215 Student Union, will include 112 student participants, nearly a dozen two-minute lightning talks and almost 100 posters. Participants and attendees will spend the afternoon learning, connecting and celebrating each other’s accomplishments.

“It’s an excellent opportunity for our students to see themselves as integral members of UB’s lively research community," says Smita Samanta, director for undergraduate student research in the college.

The college’s Student Research Advocates will participate in the event. The advocates are selected students who are involved in research, scholarship or creative work and share their experiences while encouraging their peers to get involved to help foster a strong culture of undergraduate research across the college.

Research advocate Katie Kremer, a psychology major and music minor will present a two-minute lightning talk, “Joint Impact of Executive Function and Emotion Regulation on Aggression Subtypes in Early Childhood.”

“Participating in this event is an incredible way for me to share my research with the UB community and hopefully encourage other students to become involved with research projects in the college,” says Kremer. “Doing undergraduate research has been one of the most impactful parts of my time at UB, and I truly cannot recommend the experience enough,” she adds.

Additional two-minute lightning talks:

• Carsyn Bonesteel: “The evolutionary and functional impact of the human-specific acyl-CoA thioesterase (ACOT1) gene duplication.”
• Ori Edgar: “A Conceptual History of Idolatry.”
• Gavin Glaser: “Childhood Abuse and Health in Midlife: What Role Do Adult Offspring and Romantic Partners Play.”
• Rani Patel, Student Research Advocate: “Synchronization in networks of networks with applications to epilepsy.”
• Owen Penhollow, Student Research Advocate: “Manufacturing Identity: A Model of Emergent Segregation with Social Learning and Complex Identity.”
• Liana Sicroff: “Is phosphorylation of the deacetylase Hst1 impacting virulence in Candida glabrata?”
• Samantha Treadway: “Measuring anxiety-like behaviors in rats using machine learning-based phenotyping.”
• Kendric Warrick: “Live Performance in Musical Theater is More Than Just Entertainment.”
• Jonathan Stasi-Welsh: “Development of a multidimensional 19F-NMR database in methanol and water for the identification of emerging organofluorinated contaminants in the environment.”
• Anna Zheng: “Linking AI-Enhanced LDCT and AI-Based Environmental Modeling to Address Lung Cancer Disparities in China.”

The poster session will include several research advocate presentations, including posters by Rachel Hayek, physics major and math minor; Aisaha Makama, chemistry and political science major; and Kris Ogilvie, biological sciences major.

“What excites me most about the showcase is it unites students from all disciplines in a vibrant space to share their work,” Samanta adds. “The wide range of student-led research and creative work will be truly inspiring and motivate peers to imagine their own research paths.”

As part of the event, lightning talks and posters presentations will be judged. Three monetary awards, sponsored by the scientific research honor society Sigma Xi, will be given for first, second and third place for “Best Lightning Talk.” In addition, 10 awards for "Excellence in Poster Presentation" will be awarded, and select students will be invited to share their work at the Celebration of Student Academic Excellence on April 30. To learn more about the event, visit the college’s Undergraduate Research Showcase webpage.

The event is organized by Samanta; the faculty committee and showcase judges include Justin Bruner, associate professor, Department of Philosophy; Elizabeth Clizbe, associate clinical professor, Department of Chemistry; Lindsay Hahn, associate professor, Department of Communication; Trina Hamilton, associate professor, departments of Geography and Environment and Sustainability; Joyce Lacy, clinical associate professor, Department of Psychology; Jess Poulin, teaching professor, Department of Biological Sciences; Justin Read, associate professor of Spanish and Portuguese, Department of Romance Languages and Literatures; Nitasha Sehgal, associate teaching professor, Department of Biological Sciences; Alexis Thompson, clinical assistant professor, Department of Psychology; Sama Waham, assistant professor, Department of Media Study; and Alexandra Zirkle, assistant professor, Department of Jewish Thought.