Spring 2025 URS Report

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THE UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCH SYMPOSIUM SPRING 2025 - TELLING OUR STORY

TABLE OF CONTENTS Event Overview...............................................................................................................2 Student Presenters.......................................................................................................3 Project Evaluation.........................................................................................................6 Special Area Competitions.........................................................................................9 Event Sponsors.............................................................................................................11 Special Area Competition Winners........................................................................12

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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!

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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.

286 Total Submissions

108

Biological & Life Sciences

81

Social Sciences, Education, and Business & Economics

62

Engineering

19

Humanities and Art, Music, & Design

16

Physical Sciences

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STUDENT PRESENTERS

P R E S E N TE R S BY CO LLEG E 100

80

81 71

71

60

CA LS - College of A gri culture & Li fe Sci ences BCoE - Bagley College of Engi neer i ng CAS - College of A rts & Sci ences CF R - College of Forest Resources CoB - College of Busi ness CoE - College of Educati on A A - A cademi c A ffai rs CA A D - College of A rt, A rchi tecture, & Desi gn

40 21

20 0

CALS

BCoE

CAS

CFR

P R E S E N TE R S BY Y E A R Other 3.3%

Freshman 5.2%

14

13

CoB

CoE

Sophomore 12.2%

Junior 27.6%

8

AA

CAAD

PRES E NTER S BY HONOR S A F F I L I ATI ON Yes 42.7% No 57.3%

Senior 51.7%

9

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STUDENT PRESENTERS 62% of projects received funding 43% of projects were for class credit 93% of particpants are considering future research

STUD EN TS’ FACU LT Y ME NTOR A F F I L I TATI ON

77

CAS

71

CALS

37

C&I

34

BCoE

21

CFR CoE

12

CAAD

11

CoB

5

XMSU

5

SHC

3

CVM

3 0

10

20

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

30

40

50

60

70

80

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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.

26

Participated in the Engineering and Physical Sciences session

32

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

50

Participated in the Biological & Life Sciences session

Students received multiple comment cards from evaluators from diverse academic backgrounds

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.

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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 Biological and Life Sciences Biological and Life Sciences Biological and Life Sciences Biological and Life Sciences Biological and Life Sciences Biological and Life Sciences Biological and Life Sciences Biological and Life Sciences Biological and Life Sciences Biological and Life Sciences Biological and Life Sciences Biological and Life Sciences Biological and Life Sciences Biological and Life Sciences Biological and Life Sciences Biological and Life Sciences Biological and Life Sciences Biological and Life Sciences Biological and Life Sciences Biological and Life Sciences Biological and Life Sciences Biological and Life Sciences Biological and Life Sciences Biological and Life Sciences Biological and Life Sciences Biological and Life Sciences Biological and Life Sciences Biological and Life Sciences Biological and Life Sciences Biological and Life Sciences Biological and Life Sciences Biological and Life Sciences Biological and Life Sciences Biological and Life Sciences Biological and Life Sciences Biological and Life Sciences Biological and Life Sciences Biological and Life Sciences Biological and Life Sciences Biological and Life Sciences Biological and Life Sciences Biological and Life Sciences Biological and Life Sciences Biological and Life Sciences Biological and Life Sciences Biological and Life Sciences Biological and Life Sciences Biological and Life Sciences 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 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

PAGE 8 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 Engineering Engineering Engineering Engineering Engineering Engineering Engineering Engineering Engineering Engineering Engineering Engineering Engineering Engineering Engineering Engineering Engineering Physical Sciences Physical Sciences Physical Sciences Physical Sciences Physical Sciences Physical Sciences Physical Sciences Physical Sciences Business & Economics Business & Economics Business & Economics Business & Economics Education Education Education Social Sciences Social Sciences Social Sciences Social Sciences Social Sciences Social Sciences Social Sciences Social Sciences Social Sciences Social Sciences Social Sciences Social Sciences Social Sciences Social Sciences Social Sciences Social Sciences Social Sciences Social Sciences Humanities, Arts, Music & Design Humanities, Arts, Music & Design Humanities, Arts, Music & Design Humanities, Arts, Music & Design Humanities, Arts, Music & Design Humanities, Arts, Music & Design 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 Chemistry Jackson State University Chemistry 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

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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.

44

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.

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3MINUTE RESEARCH PITCH Sponsored by the Graduate School The 3 Minute Research Pitch (3MRP) competition tasks students with delivering a concise verbal presentation of their research and its importance within a three-minute timeframe. Inspired by the Three Minute Thesis (3MT) graduate competition, this initiative aims to enhance research communication abilities. Listed below are the student participants who not only presented during the URS but also took part in the 3MRP competition on the afternoon of April 9th.

Rachel Apperson - The Earth is Like a Peach: Understanding the Impact of Analogies on Learning from Geoscience Texts Mary Barnes - Urban-Rural Disparities in Teen Birth Rates: Examining Contributing Factors and Policy Implications Autumn Baukman - Exploring the Effectiveness of Online Classes in College Education Zachary Barbre - Enhanced Wind Energy Forecasting using an Extended Long Short-Term Memory Model Cole Beard - Do Ubiquitin Conjugates Activate Ddi2?

Brandon Bernard - In Vitro Assessment of the Neuroactive Potential of the Rumen Microbiome Karlene Deng - Addressing the Accounting Pipeline Leak: Tackling Socioeconomic Barriers to Entry and Retention Emily Dew - Visualizing vs. Generating: How Diagram Modality Affects Learning and Metacomprehension Ellen DuPre - The Impact of Screen Size on Desire to Self-Improve Eromosel Eigbe - Optimizing Semi-open Catheter Shunt Designs for Hydrocephalus Treatment Nicole Esquibel - Helpful or Harmful: The Effect of Strategy Training on Spatial Visualization Claire Green - Creating a phenology wheel for the Southeast Region Madelynn Green - Traveling Jack: Tracing Settler Identity through Appalachian Folklore Surabhi Gupta - Predictive modeling for deep-sea corals using geophysical data Savannah Jones - Emergency Wetlands Resources Act: Policy Analysis and Future Directions Jacob McGee - The Evolution of Membrane-Bound Toll-Like Receptors within Cyprinodontiformes (Teleostei) Madeline Merry - Analyzing Spring Versus Fall Calving in the Black Prairie Region of Mississippi Emily Montgomery - Physical activity in older adults with regular Pickleball participation Katie Roman - Evaluating Acceptability of Four Flavors of Dried Fish Powder-Fortified ComFA+Fish Instant Porridge to Address Stunting Among At-Risk Children in Rural Zambia Janiya Rutherford - Food Safety and Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) Curriculum Targeting Low-Literate Fishers, Processors, and End-Consumers in Rural Zambia: Evaluation Results Spencer Sanderson - An Examination of the Profitability of Various Soybean Marketing Strategies for Mississippi Delta Producers Jimmy Sieja - Examining Reverse Brain Drain in the United States: The Impact of Remote Work Availability Arisa Washington - Does parental education affect BMI change in a pediatric obesity treatment?

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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.

MORE INFORMATION 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/

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SPECIAL AREA COMPETITIONS 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 Sponsored by The Graduate School

The 3Minute Research Pitch challenges undergraduates to present their research topic in just three minutes and with a single slide.

Claire Green (115), Mentor: Priyadarshini Chakrabarti Basu, Entomology Creating a phenology wheel for the Southeast Region

Mary Barnes (209), Mentor: Ayoung Kim, Agricultural Economics Urban-Rural Disparities in Teen Birth Rates: Examining Contributing Factors and Policy Implications

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

PEOPLE’S CHOICE Visualizing vs. Generating: How Diagram Modality Affects Learning and Metacomprehension

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 Sponsored by the Department of English

This competition invites undergraduate students to share research that shows how the humanities can help understand important global issues.

Haylee Mormon (276), Mentor: Dhanashree Thorat, English “I’m Only White in America”: Performing Ethnicity Post-9/11 and in Mohsin Hamid’s The Reluctant Fundamentalist

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 Sponsored by MSU Libraries

This award is designed to recognize undergraduate student research that incorporated the use of library resources and/or services.

Julia Null (152), Mentor: Manuel Ruiz Aravena, FWRC - Wildlife, Fisheries, & Aquaculture Analysis of Seasonal and Sex-Based Variations in Endoparasitic Communities of Southeastern Rodent Populations

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) Sponsored by CALS/MAFES

This award recognizes excellence in research from students in the 2024-2025 CALS/MAFES URSP. Spencer Sanderson (195), Mentor: Will Maples, Agricultural Economics An Examination of the Profitability of Various Soybean Marketing Strategies for Mississippi Delta Producers

Krystell Cecilia Charles Fajardo (94), Mentor: Shecoya White, Biochemistry Nutrition Health Promo Development of Blueberry-Based Dairy and Non-Dairy Ice Cream

Harper Evers (226), Mentor: Tommy Phillips, School of Human Sciences Adolescent Identity Development and Consumer Behavior: A Study on Female College Students' Fashion Purchasing Behavior

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 Sponsored by the Gulf Scholars Program

The Gulf Coast Research award highlights projects that address issues facing the Gulf Coast.

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

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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 Boniface Fosu, PhD Daniel Carruth, PhD Cory Gallo, PhD Anna Marie Clay, PhD Meg Marquardt, PhD Mary Dozier, PhD K.C. New Jamie Dyer, PhD Morgan Robinson, PhD Steve Elder, PhD Holli Seitz, PhD Kristine Evans, PhD Tristen Sellers Meghan Wolf

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SAVE THE DATE 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).

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

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

Morgan Elmore, URCD & Shackouls Honors College Graduate Assistant