Buckeye engineers excel at Hayes, Denman and college research forums
College of Engineering undergraduate and graduate students showcased their research prowess at three university research forums this spring, with 25 being recognized for their work in a variety of disciplines.
The Hayes Graduate Research Forum, Denman Undergraduate Research Forum and Undergraduate Research Forum for Engineering and Architecture foster student engagement in the critical discovery of new knowledge. They also provide students with a unique experience to showcase their research and accomplishments to the Ohio State community and beyond.
35th Annual Edward F. Hayes Graduate Research Forum
Seven College of Engineering students took home awards for outstanding oral and poster presentations at the virtual 2021 Hayes Forum, held April 9. It allows top graduate researchers at Ohio State to showcase findings and innovations to the broader academic community.
Three students were recognized in the engineering oral presentations category. Spencer Stahl, a graduate student in aerospace engineering, earned top honors for his project, “Advances in Modeling Supersonic Jet Noise for Vertical Take-Off and Landing Aircraft.” Biomedical engineering graduate students Sunny Kwok and Zheng Hong Tan earned second and third place, respectively.
In the engineering poster presentations category, Faiz Nisar Khan, a chemical engineering graduate student, received first place for “Mixing dynamics characterization in a jet mixing reactor for controlled nanoparticle synthesis.” Second place went to Tricia Oyster, a biomedical engineering graduate student, and industrial engineering graduate student Sandeep Srinivasan received third.
Cemantha Lane, a graduate student in biomedical engineering, was awarded first place in the biological sciences poster presentations category for her project, “Phospho-ablation of cardiac sodium channel Nav1.5 mitigates susceptibility to atrial fibrillation and improves glucose homeostasis under conditions of diet-induced obesity.”
A collaboration between The Ohio State University's Council of Graduate Students, Graduate School and Office of Research, the Hayes Graduate Research Forum awarded nearly $14,000 in cash prizes to winners this year to support students’ research and professional development. For a full list of winners, visit the forum website.
26th Annual Richard J. and Martha D. Denman Undergraduate Forum
More than 180 Ohio State senior undergraduates presented their research and creative endeavors in 21 categories at the first virtual Denman Forum in the event’s history.
“The Denman Forum highlights the need and importance of undergraduate research, a cornerstone for students to pursue more significant and meaningful research to better prepare them in dealing with the complex processes and sophisticated problems that exist in today’s world,” said longtime forum supporters Rick and Marte Denman.
Twelve Buckeye engineers earned honors in eight categories at the weeklong 2021 forum held in early April. Students were evaluated by multiple reviewers on their presentation and research process.
Benjamin Rudzinski, a chemical and biomolecular engineering major, took top honors in the engineering life sciences category with his project, “Kinetics of Pd supported on swellable organically modified silica (SOMS) catalysts during hydrodechlorination of trichloroethylene in aqueous phase.” Chemical and biomolecular engineering major Justin Hopkins and biomedical engineering major Stavan Shah took second and third place respectively.
Welding engineering major Jacque Berkson earned first place in the engineering physical sciences category with his project, “Effects of a Binary Argon-Helium Shielding Gas Mixture on Ultra-Thin Features Produced by Laser-Powder Bed Fusion Additive Manufacturing.” Andrew Schellenberg, a mechanical and aerospace engineering major, earned second place and third went to Tom Ballas, a computer science and engineering major.
Zanna Leciejewski, an environmental engineering major, was awarded first place in the environment and climate sciences category for “Comparison of Microcystin-LR Degradation by UV222 and UV254 via ELISA, UPLC-PDA, and LC-HRMS.”
Biomedical engineering major Mukul Govande earned first place in the medical technology and informatics category with his project, “Prioritization of Potential Targets in a Massive Multiplex CRISPR Screen.”
Madison Hart, a biomedical engineering major, was awarded first place in the understanding health outcomes category for “IFN-y and CD4+ T cells are key factors in the development of novel, antibody-suppressor CD8+ T cells.”
Three other students placed in the top three in their respective categories. Materials science and engineering major Tessa Gilmore placed second in the innovations in technology, mathematics and physics category, computer science and engineering major Milly Mason earned third place in the human experiences category, and food, agricultural and biological engineering major Emily McDonel was awarded third place in the innovations in medical treatment category.
For a full list of Denman winners, visit the forum website.
12th Annual Undergraduate Research Forum for Engineering and Architecture
Hosted by Ohio State’s College of Engineering, Knowlton School of Architecture and Tau Beta Pi, the Undergraduate Research Forum encourages students from all engineering and architecture disciplines to share their research, regardless of the stage of progress. Thirty-eight students presented their projects, including research on automated plant disease detection, battery performance, predicting the agricultural impact of drought, wind turbine modeling and using chemical looping technologies to recycle plastic [view the program to learn more].
Held virtually for the second year in a row, students submitted video presentations that were assessed by 44 volunteer faculty and graduate student judges. The judges recognized six students for their exemplary research and presentation skills. Each winner received an Amazon gift card.
“The participants did a great job of enthusiastically showcasing their research through high-quality narrated video presentations,” said Forum Chair Daniel McCormick, a mechanical engineering major. “While it was unfortunate that this year’s forum could not be an in-person event, the presenters demonstrated their ability to adapt and communicate effectively with their audience regardless of the format.”
First place went to Jacob Fillinger, a chemical engineering major, for his project, ”Conversion of Polyethylene Waste Plastic to Syngas with a Chemical Looping Approach.”
Biomedical engineering major Nadja Marin earned second place for “Strategies Behind Underlying Bimanual Force Sharing in Humans.”
Third place went to Xiaoran Zha, a mechanical engineering major, for “Numerical Investigation of a Hydrokinetic Turbine Performance.”
Three students received honorable mentions: engineering physics major Chance Carafice; environmental engineering major Alexandra Ng; and mechanical engineering major Caffrey Yu.
