Students shine 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 20 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 critical discovery and innovation. They also provide students with a unique experience to showcase their research and accomplishments to the Ohio State community and beyond.
36th Annual Edward F. Hayes Graduate Research Forum
Four College of Engineering students took home top awards for outstanding oral and poster presentations and three received honorable mentions at the 2022 Hayes Forum, held March 4, 2022. It allows top graduate researchers at Ohio State to showcase findings and innovations to the broader academic community.
Four students were recognized in the engineering oral presentations category. Nina Tang, a graduate student in biomedical engineering, earned top honors for her project, “Non-Viral Reprogramming of Diseased Intervertebral Disc Cells via Engineered Extracellular Vesicles reverts Pathogenesis of Low Back Pain: An In-Vivo Study." Chemical engineering graduate student Faiz Nisar Khan took second place, and biomedical engineering graduate students Luke Lemmerman and Sunny Kwok received honorable mentions.
In the engineering poster presentations category, Srija Chakraborty, a graduate student in biomedical engineering, received first place for “Enhancing natural killer cell homing to melanoma organoids in a tumor-on-a-chip platform via induction of tumor cell-secreted chemokines." Biomedical engineering graduate student Brendan Fuller earned an honorable mention.
Basar Ozbilen, a graduate student in city and regional planning, was awarded second place in the social and behavioral sciences poster category for his project, “Designing Pandemic Resilient Cities: Exploring the Impacts of the Built Environment on Infection Risk Perception and Subjective Well-Being.”
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.
27th Annual Denman Undergraduate Forum
More than 160 Ohio State graduating senior undergraduates presented their research endeavors in 10 categories on March 8 in Pomerene Hall during the 27th Richard J. and Martha D. Denman Undergraduate Research Forum.
“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.
Showcasing research projects from Ohio State’s brightest undergraduates, the Denman recognizes winners in each category as determined by faculty or alumni reviewers. Seven Buckeye engineers earned honors in three categories at the 2022 Denman Forum.
Aerospace engineering majors Timothy DeFranco and Calvin Chandler, earned top honors in the engineering and technology category with their project, “Investigation into the Diffusion Bonding (DB) of 316L Stainless Steel (SS) with Boron Carbide for Nuclear Thermal Propulsion (NTP) Applications.” Nathan Gajowski, an electrical and computer engineering major, and mechanical engineering major Chen Liu took second and third place respectively.
Shannon Dixon, a food, agricultural and biological engineering major earned first place in the earth and beyond category with her project, “The Effect of Long-term Temperature and pH Stress on Symbiodiniaceae Density in Montipora capitata, Porites lobata, and Porites compressa Coral.” Engineering physics major Chance Carafice took second place.
In addition, biomedical engineering major Pratima Prabala earned third place in the innovation in medicine category for her research project.
For a full list of Denman winners, visit the forum website.
13th 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. Nineteen students presented their projects, including research on water filtration optimization, the effect of online learning on students’ social networks, design and application of soft robotic actuators, radiation detectors and indoor air quality modeling [view students’ abstracts and presentations].
Held virtually in April, students submitted video presentations that were assessed by nine 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.
Mechanical engineering major Kevin Uth earned first place for his project, “Hybrid Electric Aircraft Propulsion System Design and Performance Modeling and Simulation Tool Development.”
Second place went to Adam Pelfrey, a chemical engineering major, for “Blending Polylactic acid with Natural Rubber and Chain Extenders as a Sustainable Packaging Solution.”
Chemical engineering major Sahiti Tamirisakandala earned third place for “Molecular Dynamics of Block Copolymer Electrolytes: Effect of Tethering Anions.”
Three students received honorable mentions: mechanical engineering major Zhengcan Wang, industrial and systems engineering major Matthew Esser and civil engineering major Troye Sas-Wright.
Students who are interested in participating in research can learn more about the benefits and find tips on getting involved on the undergraduate research page.
by Candi Clevenger, College of Engineering Communications, clevenger.87@osu.edu
