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THE UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCH SYMPOSIUM

EVENT OVERVIEW

The Undergraduate Research Symposium (URS) offers students a platform to present faculty-guided research and creative projects. This bi-annual event brings together students from various departments, colleges, and institutions for poster and oral presentations. It serves as a distinctive opportunity for students to share their research within the Mississippi State University community.

The URS occurs annually in the spring and is complemented by the Undergraduate Research Showcase in the summer. Both events are organized by The Office of Undergraduate Research and Creative Discovery and the Shackouls Honors College, alongside other sponsors supporting undergraduate research.

SPRING 2025 URS

The Spring 2025 Undergraduate Research Symposium took place on April 9th and 10th in the ballroom of the Colvard Student Union. This URS saw the highest ever number of student presenters and attendees!

STUDENT PRESENTERS

The Spring 2025 URS showcased a wide array of interests and backgrounds. Student presenters hailed from 55 distinct academic majors and 8 colleges. Notably, Psychology (30) and Biochemistry (31) had the highest student participation rates. Additionally, there were participants from three area high schools and two other higher education institutions.

STUDENT PRESENTERS

PRESENTERS BY COLLEGE

CALS - College of Agriculture & Life Sciences

BCoE - Bagley College of Engineering

CAS - College of Arts & Sciences

CFR - College of Forest Resources

CoB - College of Business

CoE - College of Education

AA - Academic Affairs

CAAD - College of Art, Architecture, & Design

PRESENTERS BY YEAR

BY HONORS AFFILIATION

STUDENT PRESENTERS

62% of projects received funding

43% of projects were for class credit

93% of particpants are considering future research

STUDENTS’ FACULTY MENTOR AFFILITATION

CAS - College of Arts & Sciences

CALS - College of Agriculture & Life Sciences

C&I - Centers and Institutes

BCoE - Bagley College of Engineering

CFR - College of Forest Resources

CoE - College of Education

CAAD - College of Art, Architecture, & Design

CoB - College of Business

XMSU - External to Missisippi State University

SHC - Shackouls Honors College

CVM - College of Veterinary Medicine

PROJECT EVALUATION

We enlisted 108 faculty, staff, and graduate students from different departments at Mississippi State University to volunteer as project evaluators. These evaluators offered valuable feedback to student presenters through written comments. This constructive feedback aimed to enhance students' research communication skills and motivate them to engage in future research projects.

Participated in the Engineering and Physical Sciences session

Participated in the Business & Economics, Social Sciences, Education, Humanities, and Arts, Music, & Design session

Since the Undergraduate Research Symposium (URS) is frequently a student's initial experience presenting research to the public, we take pride in the current project evaluation method. It promotes ongoing development and nurtures enthusiasm for future participation in research and creative ventures.

Participated in the Biological & Life Sciences session

Students received multiple comment cards from evaluators from diverse academic backgrounds

PROJECT EVALUATION

Special thanks to all of our faculty, staff, and graduate student evaluators for your contributions to undergraduate research!

Afra Anan Bhuiyan

Alaina M Richardson

Amin Ghanbari

Angelica Abdallah

Azeezat Abdulraheem

Carrie Vance

Chathuri Peiris

Curtis Coleman

Daniel Egerson

Divya Rose

Emma Schultz

Faria Noshin

Francis W. Kiemo

Hashani P. Abeysinghe

Hemraj Kathayat

Ishmael Apachigawo

Jean Feugang

Jing Yang

Joshua Mitchell

Kirandeep Gill

Meng Yang

Mercy Ogunruku

Naflath Thenveettil

Nasir Qadir

Nauman Ahmed

Oladayo Apalowo

Oluwabori Adekanye

Pat Wooden

Prattay Dey

Renganathan Gandhimeyyan

Rezwan Tanvir

Rezwana Rahman Setu

Robert Lamb

Ruchita Bhattarai

Ruth Festus

Sahar Rostami

Serge Leugoue Kameni

Shainy Sambyal

Shirley Guo-Ross

Taylor Heckman

Tibor Pechan

Udara M. Kuruppu

Vandana Dharan

Varsha Shastry

Varsha Singh

Waqar Shafqat

Yasas Gamagedara

Hannah Purcha

Sujita Balami

Jordan Smink

Biological and Life Sciences

Biochemistry, Nutrition and Health Promotion

Plant and Soil Sciences

Computational Biology

Biochemistry, Nutrition and Health Promotion

Chemistry

Biochemistry

Chemistry

Wildlife, Fisheries, and Aquaculture

Wildlife, Fisheries and Aquaculture

Pathobiology and Population medicine

Geosystems Research Institute

Agricultural Sciences and Plant Protection

NMREC - Pontotoc Station

Chemistry

Comparative Biomedical Sciences

Physics and Astronomy

Animal and Dairy Sciences

Geosystems Research Institute

Institute of Genomics, Biocomputing, and Biotech

Comparative Biomedical Sciences

Biochemistry, Nutrition, and Health Promotion

Sustainable Bioproducts

Plant and Soil Sciences

Forestry

Sustainable Bioproducts

Biochemistry, Nutrition and Health Promotion

Comparative Biomedical Sciences

Agricultural Science and Plant Protection

Biological Sciences

Plant and Soil Sciences

Biological Sciences

Biochemistry, Nutrition and Health Promotion

Chemistry

Plant and Soil Sciences

Agricultural Science and Plant Protection

Pathobiology and Population Medicine

Animal and Dairy Sciences

Comparative Biomedical Sciences

Wildlife, Fisheries and Aquaculture

Institute for Genomics, Biocomputing and Biotechnology

Chemistry

Wildlife, Fisheries, and Aquaculture

Wildlife, Fisheries and Aquaculture

Plant and Soil Sciences

Forestry

Agricultural and Biological Engineering

Agricultural Science and Plant Protection

Comparative Biomedical Sciences

Biological Sciences

Ayantha Senanayaka

Cassia Caballero

Christopher R. Hudson

Haifeng Wang

Hwan Hee Park

Jaydon Gibson

Julie Jessop

Mikias Gugssa

Nathaniel A Bosque

Nayeon Lee

Santhana Boopalan

Abhishek Panchadi

Jessica Lewis

Umesh Chandra Biswas

Jessica Drewry

Chiranjibi Shah

Aqil Tariq

Mohammad Abdus Shahid Rafi

Hadi Mazruee Kashani

Hannah Lawson

James Kelley

Olalekan Olabode

Olufemi Farotimi

Samadhi Nawalage

Amy Moe-Hoffman

Niroshani Abeynayake

Sandra Orozco Aleman

Kuan-Ming Huang

Bingyan Hu

Heriberto Gonzalez Lozano

Nwafor Amalachukwu Caroline

Kristin Javorsky

Nisarga C Shivanankarappa

Andy Parra-Martinez

Allison Jaeger Berena

David Ademule

Grace Olaitan

Iva Ballard

Ju Young Lee

Kayla Pineda

Phuc Xuan Nhi Nguyen

Steffi Hung

Stephanie Hyche

Uyanga Bazaa

Tanner Grubbs

Samjhana

Becky Smith

Nishat Shermin

Jeffrey Nyabor

Amadeo Fosu Panyi

Morgan Scallorn

Christian Flow

Jeremy Montgomery

Judy Middleton

Don Shaffer

Matt Peaple

Corinne Kennedy

Wade Leonard

Engineering

Physical Sciences

Business & Economics

Education

Social Sciences

Humanities, Arts, Music & Design

Center for Advanced Vehicular Systems

Agricultural and Biological Engineering

Center for Advanced Vehicular Systems

Industrial and Systems Engineering

Mathematics and Statistics

Agricultural and Biological Engineering

Swalm School of Chemical Engineering

Civil and Environmental Engineering

Agricultural and Biological Engineering

Center for Advanced Vehicular Systems

Comparative Bio Sciences

Plant and Soil sciences

Civil Engineering

Computer Science and Engineering

Agricultural and Biological Engineering

Northern Gulf Institute

College of Forest Resource

Electrical and Computer Engineering

Chemistry

Jackson State University

Chemistry

Sustainable Bioproducts

Geosciences

Chemistry

Finance and Economics

Agricultural Economics

Marketing, Quantitative Analysis, & Business Law

Finance and Economics

Classical and Modern Languages

Teacher Education and Leadership

Kinesiology

Counseling Higher-Ed, Ed-Psych, and Foundations

Psychology

Sociology

ITIDCCL

Marketing, Quantitative Analysis, and Business Law

School of Human Sciences

Quality Enhancement Plan

Psychology

Classical & Modern Languages and Literatures

Office of Research Development

Communication

Psychology

Forestry

Agricultural Economics

Geosciences

Communication

Agricultural Economics

Anthropology and Middle Eastern Cultures

History & Shackouls Honors College

The Graduate School

ORED

English

Shackouls Honors College

MSU Libraries

College of Veterinary Medicine

SPECIAL AREA COMPETITIONS

In Spring 2025, the URS included 15 Special Area Competitions intended to acknowledge excellence in student scholarship within specific disciplines and categories- four of them being hosted for the first time. These competitions were supported by various undergraduate research partners at Mississippi State University.

Student projects received recognition from Special Area Competitions

-..3Minute Research Pitch

- BCoE Undergraduate Research Award

-..Biomedical Research Competition

- CALS/MAFES URSP

--Climate Change and Society Research Award

- Institute for the Humanities Award

-..CFR & FWRC Award

- Data Science Undergraduate Research Award

-..Gulf Coast Research Award

- Humanities in the World Competition

-..MSU Libraries Research Award

- Psychological Science Award

-..Public Health Research Competition

- Tomorrow Builder Award

-..ERDC Research Award

The Special Area Competitions were sponsored by: The Graduate School, Bagley College of Engineering, the Department of Agricultural and Biological Engineering, the College of Veterinary Medicine, the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, the Mississippi Agricultural and Forestry Experiment Station, the Department of Geosciences, the College of Arts and Sciences, the College of Forest Resources, the Data Science Academic Institute, the Gulf Scholars Program, the Department of English, MSU Libraries, the Department of Psychology, the Social Science Research Center, Theta Tau Professional Engineering Fraternity, and the Center for Advanced Vehicular Systems.

3MINUTE RESEARCH PITCH

EVENT SPONSORS

We would like to extend a thank you to our sponsors! The contributions of these partners enable The Office of Undergraduate Research and Creative Discovery to successfully host the URS.

For more information about the event, the copy of the digital booklet, and photo gallery of the event, visit the Spring symposium page on our website:

https://www.urcd.msstate.edu/

SPECIAL AREA COMPETITION S WINNERS

The Spring 2025 Undergraduate Research Symposium featured ﬁfteen Special Area Competitions, designed to provide discipline and category-speciﬁc recognition of excellence in student scholarship, sponsored by a variety of undergraduate research partners across Mississippi State University.

3Minute Research Pitch

Bagley College of Engineering Undergraduate Research Award

Sponsored by the Bagely College of Engineering

Undergraduate engineering projects are eligible to receive the Visual Display of Information or Cross-Disciplinary Research Award.

VISUAL DISPLAY OF INFORMATION WINNER

Kyler Colip (17), Mentor: Vilas Shinde, Aerospace Engineering

Optimization of Ionization Probability for Electric Space Propulsion

CROSS-DISCIPLINARY RESEARCH WINNER

Madelyn Berry (5), Mentor: Keith Koenig, Aerospace Engineering

Development of a Low-Cost System for the Detection of Wildﬁres

Psychological Science Award

Sponsored by the Department of Psychology

Selection criteria for this award include signiﬁcance to the ﬁeld of psychology, innovation, approach, and presentation.

FIRST PLACE TIE

Rachel Apperson (206), Mentor: Allison Jaeger Berena, Psychology

The Earth is Like a Peach: Understanding the Impact of Analogies on Learning from Geoscience Texts

Emily Dew (223), Mentor: Allison Jaeger Berena, Psychology

Visualizing vs. Generating: How Diagram Modality Affects Learning and Metacomprehension

Biomedical Research Competition

Sponsored by the Department of Agricultural & Biological Engineering and the College of Veterinary Medicine

This competition is for students in the life sciences and/or engineering who have conducted research related to preventing, diagnosing, or treating a human medical condition.

Aidan Gerber (113), Mentor: Barbara Kaplan, Comparative Biomedical Sciences

Potential for a Combination of Antidepressant, Probiotic, and Plant-Derived Compound as a Treatment for Multiple Sclerosis

Annamarie Thompson (169), Mentor: Trey Howell, Comparative Biomedical Sciences

Roles of the Pregnane X Receptor and Gender in the Immunometabolic Proﬁle of Murine Bone Marrow-Derived Macrophages

Eromosele Eigbe (19), Mentor: Rahel Miralami, Center for Advanced Vehicular Systems

Optimizing Semi-open Catheter Shunt Designs for Hydrocephalus Treatment

Institute for the Humanities Award

Sponsored by the College of Arts and Sciences

The humanities competition recognizes outstanding student work that highlights the insights and values of humanities scholarship.

Anne Louise Phillips (277), Mentor: Matt Peaple, Shackouls Honors College

Unrest and Distraction: Fascism in Cabaret and The Great Dictator

HONORABLE MENTIONS

Rowan Feasel (271), Mentor: Tommy Anderson, Shackouls Honors College

Plath's "Mythological Method:" Poetry about Parents

Nathon Shelton (183), Mentor: Jenna Klein, Department of Music

A Sisterly Bond: The Life, Legacy, and Musical Inﬂuences of Nadia and Lili Boulanger

US Army Corps of Engineers Engineer Research and Development Center (ERDC) Award

This award recognizes excellence in research relevant to the challenges that face the Corps of Engineers, the Army, and the Nation.

Zeedan Khan (38), Mentor: Chuangchuang Sun, Aerospace Engineering

Koopman-Inspired Learning-Based Control of Soft Robotic Actuators

Jayla Travis (58), Mentor: Christopher Hudson, CAVS Research

Decoding Mobility: CAN Bus Data Interpretation for Vehicle Control

Martina Hoffman Meyer (31), Mentor: Christopher Hudson, CAVS Research

Assessment of Autonomous Vehicle Localization

College of Forest Resources and the Forest & Wildlife Research Center Award

Sponsored by the College of Forest Resources

This award recognizes excellence in research performed within the CFR/FWRC.

Parker Hansen (118), Mentor: Courtney Siegert, FWRC - Forestry

Exploring how soil microbial amendments alter root structure across six poplar genotypes

Logan Collom (95), Mentor: Andy Kouba, FWRC - Wildlife, Fisheries, & Aquaculture

Ultrasonography as a Biological Sex Identiﬁcation Method in Captive Hellbenders (Cryptobranchus alleganiensis): A Case Study

Lily Ciel Behnam (86), Mentor: Kristine Evans, FWRC - Wildlife, Fisheries, & Aquaculture

Assessment of Olfactory Recognition of Mates in Zebra Finches

Humanities in the World Competition

HONORABLE MENTIONS

Connor McOlgan (275), Mentor: Dhanashree Thorat, English

The Spectacle of The War on Terror

Elena Harman (273), Mentor: Eric Vivier, English

Manipulation and Identity in Shakespeare's The Taming of the Shrew

MSU Libraries Research Award

Public Health Research Competition

Sponsored by the Social Science Research Center

This award is designed to highlight the important work that undergraduate students at MSU are doing in public health.

Avery Tate (257), Mentor: Holli Seitz, Communication

From Image to Inﬂuence: Examining the Impact of Image Type, Source, and Disease on Social Media Vaccine Messages

Siddhi Pathak (245), Mentor: Cliff McKinney, Psychology

Negative Life Events and Depression: How Maternal Authoritarian Parenting Styles Inﬂuence Anxious/Depressive Problems

Arisa Washington (262), Mentor: Brittany Lancaster, Psychology

Does parental education affect BMI change in a pediatric obesity treatment?

Katie Roman (250), Mentor: Kathleen Ragsdale, Social Science Research Center

Evaluating Acceptability of Four Flavors of Dried Fish Powder-Fortiﬁed ComFA+Fish Instant Porridge to Address Stunting Among At-Risk Children in Rural Zambia

Data Science Research Award

Sponsored by MSU Data Science Academic Institute

This award recognizes excellence in undergraduate research relevant to data science.

BASIC DATA SCIENCE RESEARCH PROJECT - HONORABLE MENTION

Emma Claire Spradling (255), Mentor: Jonathan Barlow, Data Science

Measuring Personality Coherence in LLMs: Stability of Directed Personiﬁcation Across Standardized Assessments

OUTSTANDING USE-INSPIRED DATA SCIENCE RESEARCH PROJECTS

Zachary Barbre (4), Mentor: Gang Li, Mechanical Engineering

Enhanced Wind Energy Forecasting using an Extended Long Short-Term Memory Model

Reid Sewell (50), Mentor: Andy Perkins, Computer Science and Engineering

GNNs for Network Classiﬁcation in Single Cell RNA Sequencing Data

OUTSTANDING APPLIED DATA SCIENCE RESEARCH PROJECTS

Mason Cole Beard (85), Mentor: Galen Collins, Biochemistry Nutrition Health Promo

Do Ubiquitin Conjugates Activate Ddi2?

Samantha Blocker (90), Mentor: Will Davis, Agricultural Economics

Investigating Health Events in Dairy Cattle

Joshua King (192), Mentor: Catherine Shi, Mathematics & Statistics

The Money Behind March: Linking Financial Metrics to NCAA Basketball Success

DATA SCIENCE INNOVATION AWARD

Joshua King (192), Mentor: Catherine Shi, Mathematics & Statistics

The Money Behind March: Linking Financial Metrics to NCAA Basketball Success

CALS/MAFES Undergraduate Research Scholars Program (URSP)

HONORABLE MENTIONS

Savana Ashley (80), Mentor: Maryam Mohammadi-Aragh, Ag & Bio Engineering

The impact of spatiotemporal environment in a poultry incubator on eggshell surface E. coli and aerobic bacteria populations

Kelsey, Mazeres (140), Mentor: Leyla Rios de Alvarez, Animal & Dairy Science

Second Kiko Buck Performance Test in Mississippi

Piper Bratton (91), Mentor: Guihong Bi, Plant and Soil Sciences

Plant Biostimulants for Sustainable Production of Specialty Crops

Grace Gough (234), Mentor: Jessica Benson, School of Human Sciences

The M.E.N.T.O.R. Project: Understanding Student Needs for Mentorship and Networking

Brandon Bernard (87), Mentor: Peixin Fan, Animal & Dairy Science

In Vitro Assessment of the Neuroactive Potential of the Rumen Microbiome

Climate Change and Society Research Award

Sponsored by the Department of Geosciences

This award recognizes research that addresses climate change and its societal impacts.

Caleb Bowman (62), Mentor: Boniface Fosu, Geosciences

Validating Gridded Hydroclimate Datasets Against Station Observations for Agricultural Applications in the Mississippi Delta

Tomorrow Builder Award

Sponsored by Theta Tau Professional Engineering Fraternity

This award recognizes one engineering undergraduate who uses their research to help solve problems of critical importance to society.

Swarup Bhattarai (9), Mentor: Gray Turnage, Geosystems Research Institute

Towards Cost Effective Autonomous Mapping of Invasive Aquatic Plants Using Deep Learning and a GPU Enabled Microcomputer

Gulf Coast Research Award

WINNERS

Victoria Greene (116), Mentor: Michael Sandal, FWRC

Microplastic and Mesoplastic Quantiﬁcation in Cartilaginous Fishes in the Northern Gulf of Mexico

Aven Brasher (179), Mentor: SaMin Han, Landscape Architecture

Backyard Bayou: Enhancing Coastal Mississippi for Nature, People, and Play

The

Ofﬁce

of Undergraduate Research

and Creative Discovery extends gratitude to all Special Area Competition sponsors and judges for supporting student research.

Special thanks to the following individuals, who created and hosted these competitions.

Jonathan Barlow, PhD

Daniel Carruth, PhD

Anna Marie Clay, PhD

Mary Dozier, PhD

Jamie Dyer, PhD

Steve Elder, PhD

Kristine Evans, PhD

Boniface Fosu, PhD

Cory Gallo, PhD

Meg Marquardt, PhD

K.C. New

Morgan Robinson, PhD

Holli Seitz, PhD

Tristen Sellers

Meghan Wolf

The Summer 2025 Undergraduate Research Showcase will be held on July 31st in the Colvard Student Union!

Scan here to access more information about undergraduate research and creative discovery (URCD).

Special thanks to all of our Shackouls Honors College staff and student workers for their help in hosting the biggest URS yet!

Dr. Anastasia Elder, URCD Director & Associate Dean of the Shackouls Honors College

Morgan Elmore, URCD & Shackouls Honors College Graduate Assistant

Spring 2025 URS Report

THE UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCH SYMPOSIUM

EVENT OVERVIEW

SPRING 2025 URS

STUDENT PRESENTERS

STUDENT PRESENTERS

PRESENTERS BY COLLEGE

PRESENTERS BY YEAR

BY HONORS AFFILIATION

STUDENT PRESENTERS

STUDENTS’ FACULTY MENTOR AFFILITATION

PROJECT EVALUATION

PROJECT EVALUATION

SPECIAL AREA COMPETITIONS

Student projects received recognition from Special Area Competitions

3MINUTE RESEARCH PITCH

Sponsored by the Graduate School

EVENT SPONSORS

SPECIAL AREA COMPETITION S WINNERS

3Minute Research Pitch

Bagley College of Engineering Undergraduate Research Award

VISUAL DISPLAY OF INFORMATION WINNER

CROSS-DISCIPLINARY RESEARCH WINNER

Psychological Science Award

FIRST PLACE TIE

Biomedical Research Competition

Institute for the Humanities Award

HONORABLE MENTIONS

US Army Corps of Engineers Engineer Research and Development Center (ERDC) Award

College of Forest Resources and the Forest & Wildlife Research Center Award

Humanities in the World Competition

HONORABLE MENTIONS

MSU Libraries Research Award

Public Health Research Competition

Data Science Research Award

BASIC DATA SCIENCE RESEARCH PROJECT - HONORABLE MENTION

OUTSTANDING USE-INSPIRED DATA SCIENCE RESEARCH PROJECTS

OUTSTANDING APPLIED DATA SCIENCE RESEARCH PROJECTS

DATA SCIENCE INNOVATION AWARD

CALS/MAFES Undergraduate Research Scholars Program (URSP)

HONORABLE MENTIONS

Climate Change and Society Research Award

Tomorrow Builder Award

Gulf Coast Research Award

WINNERS

The

of Undergraduate Research