2025 SURCA Abstract Book

Summer Undergraduat e Research and Creat ive Act ivit ies Program Abstract Booklet 2025

The Summer Undergraduate Research and Creative Activities (SURCA) program offers a high- impact experience through faculty- mentored undergraduate research, collaborative engagement, and a student- faculty learning community.

Students and faculty from all colleges and schools at Widener University participated in this program and presented their projects.

SURCA Symposium Friday, Sept ember 26, 2025 Universit y Cent er At rium

SEPTEMBER 26, 2025 Dear SURCA Symposium Att endee, Welcome to t he 16t h Annual SURCA Symposium! The Widener SURCA communit y had anot her w onderf ul summer! The w eekly lunches w ere abuzz w it h interdisciplinary chatt er and suppor t . We had experiences t hat f ocused on professional and personal development , relat ionships, consent and inclusion. SURCA cont inues to make campus buzz, even in t he summer. This summer was evidence of t he pow er of t he SURCA program and t he Widener communit y at large. Each project you w ill see today w ill leave an impression on you. The student s and f acult y mentors w ere t ruly impressive and shines a light on t he impor t ance of f acult y-student project s, interdisciplinary w ork, and high-impact pract ices in educat ion.

We t hank t he Widener Administ rat ion f or t heir suppor t of t he program. We had anot her record-breaking summer. We had our highest student and f acult y par t icipat ion in t he hist ory of t he program, w it h 100 undergraduat e student s and 48 f acult y ment ors par t icipat ing. We had represent at ives f rom t he College of Ar t s & Sciences, School of Engineering, College of Healt h and Human Services, School of Business Administ rat ion, and t he School of Nursing par t icipat ing in SURCA t his summer. This ef f or t result ed in 68 post er present at ions t his evening, w hich nearly matches our all-t ime high.

Our Summer Program host s event s int ended t o creat e last ing connect ions and w orking relat ionships amongst our f acult y and student s. Our par t icipant s had t he oppor tunit y to hear f rom Widener communit y members on t opics of inclusion, relat ionships, consent & boundaries, and how t o navigat e t he ever -changing professional w orld. Our group spanned all colleges and schools at t he Undergraduat e level at Widener; t hey had t he oppor tunit y t o hear f rom alumni and t heir peers in dif ferent disciplines. Our engaging event s t ook a holist ic approach, f ocusing on scholarly and professional development in equal measure as personal development .

We engaged in act ivit ies t hat f ost ered cross-disciplinary discussions and collaborat ions by highlight ing project s and t he connect ions bet w een t hem. Ot her act ivit ies included St ars and S?mores, a t alk w it h President St acey Robinson about how invaluable relat ionships are, a career development session, and a t rivia game.

We also w ant to t hank t he f acult y. They t ake t ime f rom t heir summer t o play a large & act ive role in SURCA. They ment or, t hey lead discussions, and t hey help f acilit at e t he program. Wit hout t hem, t his program w ould not exist , t hey are t he backbone. We are gratef ul for t heir suppor t , and t heir cont ribut ions t o t heir student s and t he Widener communit y.

We hope you t horoughly enjoy learning more about t he program and t he project s f rom t his summer!

Wit h sincerit y and warmt h, Drs. M ike Corcoran and Rob M ishur, SURCA Program Co-direct ors

Widener University Summer Undergraduate Research and Creative Activities Program

SYM POSI UM SCHEDULE Opening Remarks: 3-3:15 pm SESSI ON A: 3:15-4:15 pm SESSI ON B: 4:30-5:30 pm Aw ards Ceremony: 6 pm

STUDEN T PRESEN TATI ON SCHEDULE SESSI ON A BI OCHEM I STRY/ M OLECULAR BI OLOGY/ BI OM EDI CAL ENGI N EERI NG A Bordarrampe 25 BI OCHEM I STRY/ M OLECULAR BI OLOGY/ BI OM EDI CAL ENGI N EERI NG B M cHenry 8 Barnes/Kpuyuf 14 Naing 26 St iles 31 BI OLOGY/ EN VI RON M EN TAL SCI ENCE A Alvi 2 Banner/Chery/Wallon 5 Burrell 9 Taylor 32 BI OLOGY/ EN VI RON M EN TAL SCI ENCE B Harper 17 Kopaczynski 22 CHEM I STRY/ CHEM I CAL ENGI N EERI NG Brow n 7 Burrell 9 Campbell 11

ENGI N EERI NG A At iyah/M owad 4 Castellano 6 Cooney 10 ENGI N EERI NG B Arra/Campanella 3 M ar t inez 24 Salient Faust a 28 HUM AN I TI ES/ BUSI N ESS Allen 1 Bhatt a 15 Keryluk 21 Sembhi 29 M ATH/ PHYSI CS/ COM PUTER SCI ENCE Lot f i 23 Okonkw o 27 Butt 34 SOCI OLOGY/ SOCI AL SCI ENCE A Deeble 13 Hackney 16 Shaw 30 Walls 33 SOCI OLOGY/ SOCI AL SCI ENCE B Davis/Hemphill/Williams 12 Holland 18 Jean 19 Kennedy 20

Widener University Summer Undergraduate Research and Creative Activities Program

SYM POSI UM SCHEDULE STUDEN T PRESEN TATI ON SCHEDULE SESSI ON B BI OCHEM I STRY/ M OLECULAR BI OLOGY/ BI OM EDI CAL ENGI N EERI NG A Dickson 3 Janneh 20 Kang 22 M arcellino 24 BI OCHEM I STRY/ M OLECULAR BI OLOGY/ BI OM EDI CAL ENGI N EERI NG B Francis/Purpura 5 Anderson 6 Grossman/D'A ngelo 17 BI OLOGY/ EN VI RON M EN TAL SCI ENCE A Brow n 15 Goodman/Adams-Campeau 16 Guerrieri/Chapman 18 BI OLOGY/ EN VI RON M EN TAL SCI ENCE B Rodgers 29 Sillah 30 Simmons 31 CHEM I STRY/ CHEM I CAL ENGI N EERI NG Hegar t y 19 Young 33

ENGI N EERI NG A Blake 8 Callahan 10 Duong/Wannamaker 13 ENGI N EERI NG B M eyers/Weber 25 Priore 27 Verhagen 32 HUM AN I TI ES/ BUSI N ESS Dondo 12 Ezeiruaku 14 Richmond 28 M ATH/ PHYSI CS/ COM PUTER SCI ENCE Anderson 6 Dauphinee 11 Johnson 21 Pat el 34 SOCI OLOGY/ SOCI AL SCI ENCE A Ayadi 1 Baker 2 Bust raan 7 Cerrat o/Kut lus/Small/Tolassi 9 SOCI OLOGY/ SOCI AL SCI ENCE B Bar nes 4 Kouroupis 23 Pf eifer/Rodriguez 26

Widener University Summer Undergraduate Research and Creative Activities Program

2024 SURCA Symposium Winner s BI OCHEM I STRY

Emily M cHenry (Advisors: Dr. Rober t M ishur, Dr. M ichael Tonef f ) Evaluating the cytotoxicity of novel phosphaplatins in breast cancer cells BI OLOGY/ EN VI RON M EN TAL SCI EN CE

EN GI N EERI N G/ COM PUTER SCI EN CE/ PHYSI CS

Lillian Rejrat (Advisor : Dr. Babak Eslami) Experimental investigation on the effect of humidity on 3D-printing polymers using multi-frequency AFM? techniques: ABS and PLA

Cameron Simmons (Advisors: Dr. Bruce HUM AN I TI ES Grant , Dr. Hemlat a M ist ry) Elizabet h M ar t in (Advisor : Dr. Thomas Wilk) DNA barcoding of fungi using genomic ribosomal RNA sequences

Infected knowledge: The ethics of using illicit research from Unit 731

CHEM I STRY/ CHEM I CAL EN GI N EERI NG

Ryan Schlosser (Advisor : Dr. Loyd Bast in) Development of a greener method for bromination of chalcones ENGI N EERI NG/ COM PUTER SCI ENCE A

Noah West (Advisor: Dr. William Nagel)

SOCI AL SCI EN CE/ SOCI AL WORK A

Chr ist ie Bernier, Wendy Dorsainvil (Advisor : Dr. Nancy Blank) Do the crime, do the time: Understanding youth court and impact of juvenile incarceration SOCI AL SCI EN CE/ SOCI AL WORK B

Control of dual stage actuators for 3D printing

I ndw ija Bhatt a (Advisor : Dr. M ar ia Luiza Pinho)

ENGI N EERI NG/ COM PUTER SCI ENCE B

Assessing the economic impact of street vendor removal policies in Kathmandu: Implications for entrepreneurship, local economy and societal well-being

Ella Sprankle (Advisor: Dr. Babak Eslami) Analysis of annealed PEEK powder using atomic force microscopy

SOCI AL SCI EN CE/ SOCI AL WORK C

Sarah Coupland (Advisor : Dr. Robin Goldberg-Glen) Identifying the Ignored Demographic ?

Analyzing Aspects of Anti-Semitism in Social Work Literature Across Various Spectrum

Widener University Summer Undergraduate Research and Creative Activities Program

ABSTRACTS Under st anding M ot iv at ion in Cr eat iv e Wr it in Jada Allen Research Advisor: Prof. Jayne Thompson When it comes to daily w rit ing habit s, a quest ion t hat st ill lingers is w hat keeps individuals mot ivated to w rite consistent ly. The study conducted looked at t he correlat ion bet w een w rit ing and mot ivat ion among individuals ranging f rom high school student s to adult s. The purpose was to determine w het her people w ho t ry to w rite daily act ivit ies are most likely to achieve t heir goals due to int rinsic mot ivat ion or ext rinsic mot ivat ion. Using a qualit at ive approach, dat a was collected f rom numerous ar t icles about individual experiences w it h daily w rit ing and dif ferent plat forms such as NaNoWriM o. Then a mini study was conducted w here par t icipant s w ho par t icipated in ?Final Friday?shared t heir experiences w it h t heir w rit ing goals.

The f indings revealed t hat for many, ext rinsic mot ivat ion was more prevalent t han int rinsic mot ivat ion. Also show ing t hat t he lack of int rinsic mot ivat ion made achieving t heir daily w rit ing goals more dif f icult .

Vitis riparia and Solidago rugosa. While no single invasive species dominated t he site, t he overall presence of non-nat ive plant s suggest s increasing invasive pressure compared to previous years. The West Field ser ves as a valuable living laboratory for ecological educat ion about urban biodiversit y value and management by engaging student s in act ive restorat ion st rat egies. These f indings highlight t he impor t ance of sust ained monitoring and proact ive management to preserve ecosystem biodiversit y and resilience. How ever, w it h Widener Universit y no longer having an on-site f ield manager at t he arboretum, t he site f aces f uture risks of neglect , reduced biodiversit y, and diminished educat ional oppor tunit ies. Cont inued invest ment in restorat ion and ecological stewardship w ould ensure t hat Taylor Arboretum remains bot h a model of urban conservat ion and a resource for t he surrounding communit y.

Gir ls w ho cr eat e: Ex plor ing Gener at ive AI Thr ough Ar t & Et hics Tamiya Anderson Research Advisor: Dr. Yana Kortsarts

I nv asiv e Species Assessment and Bior est or at ion in t he West Field of Tay lor Ar bor et um Hashir Alvi Research Advisor: Dr. Bruce Grant Urban ecosyst ems are increasingly t hreatened by invasive species, habit at dest ruct ion and f ragment at ion, and neglect , yet t hey play a crit ical role in biodiversit y conservat ion and human w ell-being. The Taylor Arboretum, a 33 acre green space w it hin urbanized sout heast er n, PA, provides ecosystem services such as air and wat er f ilt rat ion, f lood regulat ion, and pollinator suppor t . Biodiversit y research by Dr. Bruce Grant has been ongoing cont inuously in t he West Field since 1994, and w e cont inue w it h t his study by measur ing plant diversit y and ident if ying rest orat ion pr iorit ies. Surveys conducted in June recorded plant species across sample plot s, w it h par t icular att ent ion to invasive and non-nat ive species.

Several invasive or aggressive t axa w ere ident if ied, including Spiraea japonica, Allium vineale, Taraxacum officinale, alongside nat ive but dominant species such as

As ar t if icial intelligence (AI ) becomes par t of everyday lif e, it is impor t ant for young people to see bot h it s creat ive potent ial and it s et hical challenges. This project studied four categories of generat ive AI : text , image, music, and video t hrough hands-on use, comparison, and research using t he ACM Digit al Library. Each category w as review ed for accessibilit y, educat ional value, and abilit y to inspire creat ivit y. The project also looked at et hical issues such as bias, misinf ormat ion, and ow nership of creat ive w ork. The goal w as to design a beginner -f riendly AI curriculum f or Girls Camp t hat int roduces par t icipant s to t hese tools w hile encouraging t hem to t hink about how AI af fect s societ y. The research w ill conclude w it h a 50-minut e w orkshop w here par t icipant s w ill t ry each categor y, make small project s, and discuss real-w orld impact s. This project aims to give young w omen bot h creat ive skills and crit ical t hinking to become t hought f ul digit al creators and f uture leaders in technology.

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ABSTRACTS PLA Filament Recy cling Sy st em Jeffrey Arra, Nicholas Campanella Research Advisor: Dr. Steven Pagano This research invest igat es w het her modif icat ions to t he basic design of a PLA f ilament ext ruder can enable t he recycling of old 3D print ed par t s w it hout requiring a separat e f ilament ext ruder and gr inder. By integrat ing t he recycling process into a single device, t he goal is to reduce cost , improve accessibilit y, and promote a more environment ally sust ainable approach to reusing PLA component s. To achieve t he creat ion of such a device, t he group focused on t he development and design of a t ranspor t at ion component to move PLA bet w een a t w o-st ep gr inder system. The group approached it s development by creat ing an item list of all par t s necessar y to creat e t he desired PLA recycler. Of t he t w o-par t gr inder system, a hammer gr inder and a Hamilt on Beach Elect ric Burr Cof f ee Gr inder w ere chosen to complete t he comminut ion process. Once t he par t s w ere received, t he cof fee gr inder was t ested by placing manually reduced PLA par t s int o t he gr inder and discer ning if it comminut ed t he pieces t o t he desired size. Af t er conf irming t he group w as sat isf ied w it h t he result s, all par t s and t he gr inding mechanism of t he cof f ee gr inder w ere measured and modeled w it hin 3D Aut oCAD invent or. Designs and concept s f or t he t ranspor t at ion device w ere modeled w it hin AutoCAD inventor based on t he par t s?models.

I terat ions of t he device w ere pr int ed and test ed for compat ibilit y w it h exist ing par t s. How ever, t he group concluded t hat more t ime w ould need to be dedicat ed to designing t he par t and no f ully f unct ioning iterat ion w as creat ed.

The Pow er of Language and I nf luence Wit hin U.S Polit ics: A Look int o The Tr ump Administ r at ion Jasmine Ayadi Research Advisor: Dr. J. Wesley Leckrone Polit icians and president ial leaders are of t en know n f or t heir appeal t o t he public, t heir policies, or for t heir charact er. One might w onder w het her t he pow er of language and inf luence boost s a president ial candidate and af fect s elect oral out comes. This research examines t hese

topics w it h a specif ic interest in t he current presidency of Donald J. Tr ump. For t his purpose, I studied his past as a celebrit y and his career in polit ics to analyze how t his may have inf luenced his f ame and overall public suppor t .

Addit ionally, I review ed his speaking t act ics and compared t hem to charismat ic leaders of t he past to help underst and vot ing behaviors and suppor ter ment alit ies. I found t hat his usage of social media, conf ident language patter ns, and aut hent ic character all cont ributed to his reelect ion in 2024. From t hese f indings, I w as able to ext ract six dif f erent categories of af f init y for Tr ump, ranging f rom most suppor t ive to least suppor t ive. I decided to call t hem t he 6 Americas of Tr ump". Grouping t he voters helped explain w hat t he reasoning w as behind voters' electoral decision and how Tr ump may have inf luenced t hat . Each cat egor y w as named af ter t he group's general opinion of him bot h as a person and polit ician. From t he most to least suppor t ive, t hese categories are: Evangelical Trump suppor ters, Die-hard Loyalist s, Regular Conservat ives, Disgrunt led Liberals, Never -Trumpers, and Resist ors. I found t hat t he intensit y of t he top t w o categories f it s t he criteria of a personalit y cult . Linking Tr ump's public out reaching t act ics and persona back to t heir exaggerat ed opinion of him. The ot her groups are not as intense but w ere also t ied to Tr ump's prof ile online, his policies, and his general w ay of speaking, w het her t his may be in his f avor or not . Future research may w ant to consider analyzing president ial speeches and specif ic w ord-usage for more in-dept h det ails on how t hat may manipulate or inf luence public opinion.

What is Social M edia?

Sanaiah Baker Research Advisor: Dr. Loretta Simons My SURCA project invest igates t he dif ferent t ypes of content t hat are popular on major social media plat f or ms and t he t rends used by inf luencers. I used randomized samplings by creat ing new account s on I nst agram, TikTok, Snapchat , Pint erest , and YouTube, recording 25 post s per plat form, and view ing every t hird post . These post s w ere categorized by each content t ype, and t hese common t hemes w ere quant if ied to ident if y t rends. My f indings revealed popular content , such as dance challences on

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ABSTRACTS TikTok, lif est yle cont ent on I nst agram, and room makeovers on YouTube. I nst agram and insight into how social media shapes engagement and show s t he highlight st rategies used by inf luencers t o connect w it h t heir audience.

Olf act or y Lear ning Using Thir d I nst ar Dr osophila Lar v ae: Associat iv e Lear ning Thr ough Chemosensor y St imulat ion.

Ashley Banner, Jordy Chery, Laura V. Wallon Research Advisor: Dr. Loretta Williams I n neuroscience, researchers seek to unravel how t he brain shapes behavior, and t his study focuses on chemo-sensat ion and chemosensory learning in larval Drosophila. The olf act or y processes of insect s and mammals are similar, Drosophila serves as a pow erf ul model for invest igat ing olf act ion and lear ning. While t he adult f ly brain is complex, t he larval st age of fers a simpler yet adult -like olf actor y system, making it ideal for demonst rat ing and analyzing evidence of olf act or y lear ning. A behavioral condit ioning technique has been developed in w hich odors are paired w it h a posit ive gust ator y reinf orcer, such as f ructose, allow ing researchers to probe associat ive learning in lar val Drosophila. By comparing t he perfor mance of individuals t rained w it h dif f erent odorant ?reinforcer pair ings (X+/Y? or X?/Y+), t his met hod not only demonst rates robust olf actory learning but also provides a reliable f ramew ork for linking behavior t o underlying chemosensory pat hw ays.

Preliminary result s consistent ly conf ir m t hat larvae can acquire and ret ain olf actor y associat ions, w it h reproducible f indings across t r ials, laborat ories, and invest igat ors, underscoring t he st rengt h and validit y of t his paradigm for uncover ing t he cellular mechanisms of learning. The simplicit y of t he lar val chemosensory syst em, coupled w it h t he exper iment al accessibilit y of Drosophila at genet ic, elect rophysiological, cellular, and behavioral levels, makes t his model an ideal plat f orm for advancing our underst anding of chemo-sensat ion and chemosensor y learning. Using t his larval learning paradigm, researchers can br idge behavioral observat ions w it h synapt ic physiology, deepening insight into t he f undament al interplay bet w een neural f unct ion and behavior.

M odeling Hepat ic Senescence: Doxor ubicin-I nduced Aging in HepG2 Cells Kaila Barnes, Kohlen Kpuyuf Research Advisor: Dr. Aylin Acun Liver disease has emerged as a major global healt h crisis, causing many deat hs annually. From cirrhosis to liver cancer, t hese condit ions of ten progress silent ly unt il t hey become life-t hreatening. Our research focuses on t he aging process of t he liver and it s potent ial impact on ot her organs.

The goal of t he project is to develop a realist ic aged liver model t hat show s similar levels of senescence and ot her age-related challenges. We aged HepG2 liver cells by exposing t hem to Doxorubicin, a chemot herapy medicat ion t hat causes cellular st ress. By varying t he durat ion and concent rat ion of t reat ment , w e discovered dif ferent st ages of senescence and studied how t he cells responded over t ime. Treat ment durat ions vary bet w een 16 hours t o 14 days, and concent rat ions vary bet w een 25nM to 2500nM . Our goal af ter each t reat ment w as to reach about 30-50% cellular senescence. This study focuses on how liver cells mature in t he presence of toxic st ress, and overall, could help us bett er underst and t he early st ages of chronic diseases. As t he number of liver -relat ed diseases increases w orldw ide, underst anding t hese organ systems could be crucial f or predict ing, prevent ing, or addressing damage bef ore it spreads.

Ref r aming M ent al Wellness f or Black /Af r ican Amer ican St udent s at Pr edominant ly Whit e I nst it ut ions: St r engt hs-Based and Cult ur ally Responsive Appr oaches Tymir Barnes Research Advisor: Dr. Marina Barnett Black/Af rican American student s at predominant ly w hit e inst itut ions (PWI s) f ace a unique convergence of systemic barr iers, racialized st ressors, and cultural isolat ion t hat direct ly impact t heir ment al healt h and academic success.

Adverse outcomes for Black males are par t icularly w ell documented: t hey experience dispropor t ionately high rates of incarcerat ion, homicide, exclusionary school discipline, special educat ion placement , t ruancy, dropout , and retent ion. These inequit ies are not only educat ional but

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ABSTRACTS ref lect broader syst ems of racialized oppression t hat under mine social, emot ional, and behavioral w ell-being.

Despit e t hese disparit ies, psychological research has histor ically under represented Black males and too of ten f ramed t hem t hrough def icit -orient ed nar rat ives t hat obscure resilience, achievement , and cultural st rengt hs.

This research situat es t he ment al w ellness of Black student s at PWI s w it hin a broader historical and syst emic context , int egrat ing f indings f rom Promoting the Positive Development of Black Males (School Psychology Review, 2023) and t he Of f ice of M inorit y Healt h?s repor t s on ment al healt h dispar it ies. These sources highlight bot h t he challenges Black student s navigate? including dispropor t ionate exposure to bias, t rauma, and st ructural inequit ies? and t he urgent need to cent er culturally responsive, equit y-dr iven approaches in research and pract ice.

The study argues f or a paradigm shif t f rom risk to resilience, underscoring t he impor t ance of fost ering belonging, af f ir ming racial and cultural ident it y, and implement ing st rengt hs-based pract ices in higher educat ion. Such st rat egies include culturally adapt ed ment al healt h services, peer ment oring programs, systemic bias reduct ion in academic and disciplinary processes, and t he integrat ion of Af rocent ric perspect ives into curricula.

By highlight ing solut ions rat her t han solely def icit s, t his w ork advances a f ramew ork for suppor t ing t he holist ic ment al w ellness and academic achievement of Black/Af rican Amer ican student s, par t icularly Black males, in PWI sett ings. My hope for t his project is for Widener f acult y and st af f members to gain a bett er underst anding and insight ont o how student s of color feel t hat t here is a lack of represent at ion in a lot of areas in administ rat ion as w ell as ment al healt h services.

The People St r at egy : How Face t o Face M ult i-Level M ar k et ing I s Thr iv ing in an AI -Dr iv en Er a ? A Case St udy f r om Philadelphia?s Field M ar k et ing I ndust r y Indwija Bhatta Research Advisor: Prof. Russell J. Figueira As ar t if icial int elligence cont inues to reshape t he market ing landscape, many companies are shif t ing t ow ard

automat ion, predict ive algorit hms, and digit al-f irst out reach. Yet among t hese t ransf or mat ions, f ace-t o-f ace Business-to-Business (B2B) Mult i-Level M arket ing (M LM ) is not only surviving but it ?s t hriving. This study explores t he ongoing relevance and compet it ive edge of in-person, M LM -based sales st rat egies t hrough a case study root ed in a high-perf ormance inter nship w it h a market ing agency represent ing T-M obile in Philadelphia.

Over t he course of one summer, I progressed f rom ent ry-level sales to becoming t he top-performing rep in t he count ry, earning nat ional recognit ion and being f low n out

by T-M obile. Through t his experience, w hich included door -to-door B2B out reach, team t raining, and net w orking w it h reps f rom parallel campaigns for companies like Verizon, I gained a unique, inside-look into how t hese decent ralized f ield market ing of f ices operat e, scale, and out perf orm expect at ions in a tech-heavy market place.

Using a mixed-met hod research approach t hat blends f irst hand f ield experience, inter view s w it h sales prof essionals, and surveys f rom client s, t his paper highlight s how t he human-driven, relat ional nature of M LM and direct market ing dist inct ly st ands apar t f rom AI -pow ered market ing. While AI of fers ef f iciency and scalabilit y, it lacks t he emot ional intelligence, adapt abilit y, and t rust -building essent ial for success in complex B2B environment s. I n cont rast , M LM empow ers individuals t o grow t hrough merit , lead teams, and generat e t angible value t hrough personalized, f ace-to-f ace interact ions.

I mpor t ant ly, t his model also provides oppor tunit ies f or ent repreneurs to climb t he sales ladder and eventually branch out , launching t heir ow n businesses or ventures beyond t he M LM st ructure.

This research posit ions modern M LM as a resilient , high-impact alt ernat ive to t radit ional corporate sales st ructures and impersonal digit al market ing. I t also addresses t he cont roversies and st igmas surrounding M LM models, par t icularly concerns about sust ainabilit y, t ransparency, and recruit ment et hics. The paper concludes w it h st rat egic recommendat ions to evolve M LM -based f ield market ing toward greater legit imacy. These include enhanced t raining programs, clearer and more st ructured career pat hways, increased t ransparency, and closer alignment w it h prof essional sales st andards.

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ABSTRACTS Such improvement s are vit al for M LM and direct sales to become respect ed and sust ainable forces w it hin t he broader market ing ecosyst em.

The I nf luence of Epit helial-M esenchy mal Tr ansit ion and Cell Number on M CF10A Cell Pr olif er at ion Luke Bordarrampe?

Ult imat ely, t his study show s how M LM marketers not only succeed in sales but also gain t he skills and net w orks to launch ot her businesses, demonst rat ing t he model?s potent ial f or long-ter m ent repreneur ial grow t h. The people-f irst st rategies revealed here of f er valuable lessons for marketers across indust ries. By balancing human connect ion w it h t echnological advances, businesses can build more sust ainable and ef f ect ive sales st rategies for t he f uture.

I n Sit u Fused Deposit ion M odel (FDM ) Elect r oplat ing: An Ex pansion of 4D Pr int ing Boston Blake Research Advisor: Dr. Babak Eslami This project expands t he concept of 4D pr int ing, w here external st imuli are applied to enhance or t ransf orm print ed st r uctures, by integrat ing elect roplat ing direct ly into t he f used deposit ion modeling (FDM ) process. A commercial 3D pr int er w as modif ied w it h an aut omat ed plat ing syst em capable of deposit ing copper ont o designat ed regions of a par t w hile it remains on t he build plate. A cust om sof t w are w orkf low w as developed to inser t plat ing commands int o st andard G-code, enabling seamless coordinat ion bet w een pr int ing and plat ing operat ions.

This in-situ approach eliminates post -processing and allow s precise cont rol of plat ed features during f abricat ion.

Beyond surf ace met al plat ing, t he process enabled t he creat ion of embedded conduct ive pat hw ays inside t he polymer mat r ix, ef f ect ively forming circuit s w it hin printed par t s. Elect rical t est ing of t hese t races show ed t hat conduct ivit y increased w it h plat ing t ime, demonst rat ing an adjust able relat ionship. By merging elect roplat ing w it h addit ive manuf acturing in real t ime, t his w ork show s a pat hway t oward mult if unct ional 4D-print ed component s t hat int egrat e st r ucture and elect ronics in a single st ep.

Research Advisor: Dr. Michael Toneff An est imated 90% of cancer -related deat hs are caused by met ast asis, t he process of cancer spreading f rom t he primary tumor site to a dist ant site. I t is hypot hesized t hat met ast asis is promot ed by t he epit helial-mesenchymal Transit ion (EM T). Normal epit helial cells have st rong adhesion to neighboring cells and form a t ight ly packed t issue, w it h a non-invasive phenot ype. Through EM T, cells can change t heir phenot ype f rom a non-invasive, adherent st ate to a highly invasive, mobile, and mesenchymal st at e.

When in t his mesenchymal st ate, t he mobile cells can escape f rom t he primary tumor site and int ravasate int o t he blood st ream. I t is hypot hesized t hat w hen t hese mesenchymal st ate cells ext ravasat e t he blood st ream t hey can escape eit her as a single cell or as small cell clusters.

These met ast at ic cells seed a tumor, but to do t his t hese mesenchymal cells have to reverse t he EM T process t hrough mesenchymal-epit helial t ransit ion (M ET) t o begin prolif erat ing again. I f M ET does not occur, life t hreat ening tumors cannot grow. We hypot hesized t hat EM T w ill reduce cell prolif erat ion and t hat dif ferent cell numbers w ill also af fect prolif erat ion. We used M CF10A mammary epit helial cells as a breast cancer model to test t his hypot hesis. EM T w as induced w it h TGF- ?. The cells w ere t hen seeded at dif ferent densit ies (low, medium low, medium high, and high). Proliferat ing cells w ere ident if ied using EdU, w hich is incorporated into any cells replicat ing t heir DNA. We conf irmed EM T by observing cell morphology. Our dat a show decreased prolif erat ion of bot h EM T and cont rol cells at high cell numbers. Our dat a also suggest s t hat t he EM T signals for cells to become invasive and mobile impairs a cell?s abilit y to prolif erate at medium-low/-high cell numbers, but not at low and high cell numbers. Thus, w hile EM T may inhibit prolif erat ion w hen t here are few er cells present , it may confer a prolif erat ive advant age in tumors w it h high cell numbers.

Underst anding t he dynamics of cell prolif erat ion and it s dependence on phenot ype could help us better underst and how t hose cells behave in pat ient s.

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ABSTRACTS M apping scent chemot y pes of f lor al mimic Symplocarpus foetidus using GCM S and PRI M ER-e Jaheara Brown Research Advisor: Dr. Katherine Goodrich

cabbage. Our w ork suppor ted t he t w o dist inct skunk cabbage chemot ypes based on t he dif ferent ial percent composit ion of 3 impor t ant VOCs: DM DS, cis-bet a ociemene and t rans-bet a ocimene.

Sy nt hesizing New Plat inum-Based Chemot her apy Dr ugs

Pollinat ion is cr ucial t o t he sexual reproduct ion of many f low ering plant s, of ten f acilit ated by visit ing animals (usually insect s) w it h expect at ions of food like nect ar or pollen. Floral mimicry is a phenomenon w here plant s ut ilize visual and olf actor y t rait s to adver t ise a rew ard t hey don?t actually have- a st rategy t hat can successf ully ?t r ick?insect s int o accident al pollen t ransf er, result ing in ovary fer t ilizat ion. Symplocarpus foetidus (common name eastern skunk cabbage) is a f loral mimic w it h a pungent carr ion-like smell mainly att ract ing f ly pollinators seeking rott ing f lesh, f erment ing f ruit s, or dung. Evolut ion of unusual f loral t rait s such as foul odor and dark colorat ion might increase f it ness for a plant since it att ract s ranges of insect s seeking decomposing matt er. Skunk cabbage varies in scent composit ion but f requent ly ident if ied volat ile organic compounds (VOCs) include dimet hyl disulf ide (DM DS), isoamyl isovalerate, sabinene, cis-bet a-ocimene, and t rans-bet a-ocimene,(Goodrich & Gibernau 2024). Some of t hese compounds, w hich occur consist ent ly in skunk cabbage AN D car r ion/yeast /dung, are responsible for t he unique scent prof ile and pollinator audience of S.foetidus.

Tw o chemot ypes of skunk cabbage have been previously ident if ied, one w it h high levels of DM DS car rying a pungent carr ion smell, and t he ot her w it h high levels of cis and t rans bet a ocimene t hat has a mellow more ?t ypical? f loral scent . Studies show t hat w it hin-species evolut ionary shif t s of scent can lead to t he broadening of pollinator audiences and impact overall f it ness (Wenzell, 2024) t hus, w e hypot hesized t hat Chemot ype 1 (more common variant ) w it h high levels of DM DS may be a car rion mimic, att ract ing most ly car rion seeking f lies and Chemot ype 2 (rare) w it h high ocimene percent ages might be att ract ing ot her pollinat or groups such as bees, beet les etc. This summer, w e analyzed patterns w it hin skunk cabbage scent composit ion using GCM S (Gas Chromatography M ass Spect roscopy) t echnology and visualized result s using non-met r ic mult idimensional scaling (N M DS) comparison sof t ware. Ot her lab members conducted a pollinator study to ident if y insect s att racted to VOCs similar to skunk

Lanise Brown, Sarita S. Yadav Research Advisor: Dr. Robert Mishur Cisplat in is a chemot herapy drug t hat is used w idely t hroughout t he w orld to t reat a variet y of cancers like ovarian, test icular, and blader cancer. While cisplat in is highly ef fect ive in t reat ing cancer, it inf lict s many harsh sides ef fect s on it s users including hair loss, t innitus and kidney toxicit y, w hich can limit it s use. By alt ering t he ligands on plat inum-based drugs like cisplat in, t he biological act ivit y, select ivit y, and t herapeut ic index, may be edit ed. Phosphaplat ins, def ined by cont aining a pyrophosphate group, represent one class of next -generat ion plat inum drugs w it h promising t herapeut ic potent ial, w it h t he lead candidat e, PT-112, current ly undergoing Phase I /I I clinical t rials.

I n t his study, w e aimed to synt hesize a ser ies of mixed amine phosphaplat ins. Tw o new compounds w ere synt hesized using pyridine and eit her cyclobut ylamine or cyclopent ylamine. These compounds w ere charact er ized in situ by 13C-N M R, 31P-N M R, and elect rospray ionizat ion mass spect romet ry (ESI -M S). These represent t he f irst know n examples of asymmet rical phosphaplat ins.

Belonging and Br ot her hood: Fir st -Gener at ion Black M en in College at Widener Univer sit y Timothy D. Budd-Parker Research Advisor: Dr. Angela Corbo This project explores t he experience of a f irst -generat ion Black male college student at Widener Universit y, f ocusing on challenges of belonging, engagement in campus organizat ions, and t he role of mentorship. Draw ing on research and personal ref lect ion, t he aut hor examines obst acles f aced by f irst -generat ion Black men in higher educat ion (e.g., lack of f amily guidance and underrepresent at ion), and how involvement in culturally af f ir ming organizat ions (such as Black Greek-letter

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ABSTRACTS f rater nit ies and t he Black M en United suppor t group) can foster persist ence. Literature suggest s t hat ext racurricular involvement and mult iple ment oring relat ionships enhance student s?sense of belonging and ret ent ion (Beeks, 2023; Goodw in & Okojie, 2024; Jar rells, 2024). The aut hor describes init iat ives like t he ?Brot her Bond?ment oring program and ?Brot hers Breaking Bread?communit y event s, w hich ref lect best pract ices in student engagement . The f indings suggest t hat building communit y t hrough brot herhood and ment orship net w orks can t ransf orm t he college journey f rom an isolat ing st ruggle into a shared mission.

Opt imizing a Gr eener Sy nt hesis of M et hy l Est er s & Et her s w it h Dimet hy l Car bonat e Grace Burrell Research Advisor: Dr. Krishna Bhat M et hyl est ers and et hers are commonly synt hesized to be used in many dif f erent areas and indust ries f rom pharmaceut icals t o f ood preservat ives. The t radit ional synt hesis met hods of t hese esters and et hers are Fisher esterif icat ion and Willamson et her synt hesis, respect ively, bot h of w hich include t he use of hazardous reagent s, creat ing a lot of waste, and requiring high amount s of energy t o be conduct ed. Due to t hese large draw backs, scient ist s are looking f or a greener process to replace t he t radit ional met hods. Dimet hyl carbonate w as found to be an exemplar y candidate as a highly economical and environment ally f r iendly met hylat ing reagent . I t has already been used t o met hylate ot her f unct ional groups such as phenols, alcohols, and amines t hrough a green procedure t o of fer a high percent yield of t he desired product w it h a high purit y. We now look to f ind how to conduct a successf ul synt hesis of t hese met hyl esters and et hers using dimet hyl carbonate, a benign base, and a microwave t o conserve energy.

Development of Non-Tr adit ional Suppor t s f or Gr andpar ent Kinship Car egiver s Abigail Bustraan Research Advisor: Dr. Robin Goldberg-Glen Kinship Caregiving refers to t he phenomenon of f amily

members ot her t han a parent t aking over t he role of primary caregiver for a child w hen t he parent cannot f ill t hat role. M any societ al f actors, like pover t y, subst ance abuse, or t he presence of abuse in t he home, can necessit ate anot her member of t he f amily to step in as a kinship caregiver. This role can bring w it h it st ress, f inancial burdens, and legal challenges w it h cust ody disputes. Grandparent s, w ho make up a signif icant por t ion of Philadelphia?s kinship caregivers, f ace a w hole ot her host of challenges due to t heir age, like challenges w it h reparent ing (underst anding how parent ing met hods have changed since w hen t hey raised t heir kids), increased f inancial burden (since t hey may be ret ired or unable t o w ork f ull t ime), and complicat ed f amily dynamics.

Fur t hermore, t he t rauma t hat t hey endured because of w hat ever it is t hat made t heir child unable to be a parent of ten remains unaddressed as t hey t ry t heir best t o navigate parent ing t heir grandchild. The role of Grandparent Kinship Caregivers cannot be overst at ed; t heir choice to step up for t heir grandchild is w hat allow s t hat child to st ay out of t he foster care syst em.

I n connect ion w it h Grand Cent ral, a social ser vice agency dedicated to Grandparent Kinship Caregivers in Philadelphia, t his project is developing a w orkshop geared towards addressing t he needs of Grandparent Caregivers in Philadelphia t hrough psychoeducat ion, mindf ulness, group connect ivit y, and technology t raining. By using non-t radit ional element s of ment al healt h care, t his w orkshop meet s caregivers w here t hey are at and helps t hem build skills in self care, emot ional regulat ion, and processing of emot ions. These skills w ill ult imat ely cont ribute to less burnout for t he caregiver and bett er relat ionships w it h t heir grandchild.

Per f or mance Analy sis of Bin Pack ing Pr oblem?s Adv anced Heur ist ics Abdul Ghani Butt Research Advisors: Dr. Yana Kortsarts, Dr. Edwin Dauber How do you f it t he most items in t he least space? Bin packing opt imizat ion is a f undament al problem af fect ing numerous real-w orld applicat ions f rom logist ics to cloud comput ing. This study syst emat ically evaluated 10 heurist ic algorit hms across 7 problem scales to det er mine

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ABSTRACTS opt imal packing st rat egies. M et hods included test ing algor it hms across array sizes f rom 50 to 500 items, conduct ing 10,000 t rials per conf igurat ion for over 70,000 tot al t est s, and measuring performance using 5 met r ics: average bins, average dif f erence, average rat io, normalized dif ference, and relat ive excess. Result s show ed t hat preprocessing it ems in decreasing order consist ent ly improved algor it hm ef f iciency by 20-25% across all tested algor it hms, w it h per f or mance benef it s increasing at larger problem scales. The best -performing algorit hms w ere First Fit Decreasing and Worst Fit Decreasing, requiring 264 bins on average compared to 339 bins for t he poorest per for mers. These specif ic averages are f rom t he 10,000 t r ials consist ing of 500 items w it h w eight s bet w een 1 to 30 lbs. Future w ork w ill explore genet ic algorit hm approaches to f ur t her opt imize packing st rategies and invest igate hybrid opt imizat ion techniques.

w ere evaluated independent ly. The storage medium surrounded a copper pipe t hat ser ved as t he conduit f or t he heat t ransf er f luid (HTF). The HTF used w as wat er.

Four f in conf igurat ions w ere examined: 10 annular, 20 annular, 4 radial, and 8 radials. Once t he internal temperature reached t he t arget of 50 °C t hroughout t he storage medium, t he temperature w as subsequent ly reduced using t he same heat t ransf er f luid, w hich had been cooled f rom 71 °C to 15 °C. Follow ing each experiment al r un, t he dat a w as analyzed to evaluate improvement s in st orage ef f iciency relat ive to t he benchmark test . The benchmark test involved a storage medium composed solely of f ine-grit silica sand w it h no dispersed copper par t icles, and t he copper pipe in t his case w as a smoot h pipe w it hout f ins. I n conclusion, by losing 10% of t he storage medium and replacing it w it h 10% dispersed copper par t icles t he system charged at a much greater rate.

Enhancing t he Ther mal Per f or mance of a Silica Sand Sensible Heat St or age Sy st em w it h Copper Addit ives and Fins

Conv er sion of Nanopor ous Car bons f r om Plast ic Wast es Lily Campbell Research Advisor: Dr. Dipendu Saha

Connor Callahan Research Advisor: Dr. Saeed Tiari Wit h t he advancement of technology and t he grow ing demand f or cleaner energy, numerous renew able energy met hods have been invest igated. Among t hese, solar pow er represent ed a promising opt ion; how ever, it s intermittent nature limit ed it s reliabilit y. Weat her condit ions, such as prolonged cloud cover, reduced it s ef fect iveness and made it less comparable t o fossil f uels. One approach to improving t he ef f iciency of solar pow er syst ems w as t he incorporat ion of t hermal energy st orage. This act s like a buf fer t o help keep energy product ion consist ent and reliable during inclement w eat her and at nightt ime.

Thermal energy st orage could be cat egorized into t hree primar y t ypes: t hermo-chemical, sensible, and lat ent .

Sensible heat st orage f unct ions by increasing t he inter nal energy of a medium t hrough t hermal input and subsequent ly releasing t his energy by low ering t he medium?s t emperature. The st orage medium employed in t his study was f ine-grit silica sand, w hich, in dif ferent test cases, cont ained 0%, 2%, 5%, or 10% dispersed copper par t icles by mass. Bot h copper w ires and copper spheres

Polyet hylene terepht halat e (PET) is one of t he most w idely used plast ics in packaging and consumer product s. I t s extensive use has led to increasing environment al concerns, including pollut ion, t hreat s to human healt h, and harm to w ildlife. This study explores a t her mo-chemical recycling approach to conver t PET w aste into porous carbon materials w it h potent ial applicat ions in de-pollut ion, cat alysis, energy storage, sensing, and relat ed f ields. Porous carbon w as synt hesized using a salt -templat ing met hod, in w hich PET w as combined w it h varying amount s of inorganic salt s and subjected to cont rolled t her mal t reat ment . During t his process, t he salt ser ved as a template, and subsequent w ashing removed t he salt to generate a porous carbon st ructure. The result ing materials w ere characterized to det ermine pore size dist ribut ion and adsorpt ion capacit y.

Sof t Act uat or s (HASEL) Emma Castellano Research Advisor: Dr. William Nagel Actuat ors are a par t of a machine t hat creates force or

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ABSTRACTS movement w hen t hey obt ain pow er f rom elect ricit y, f luid, or air. M ost actuat ors f ound in daily life are heavy and bulky, w hich makes t hem unsuit able for robot ic systems meant to replicat e biological syst ems. This is w here sof t actuat ors come in, t hey are designed to overcome t hose issues, making t hem more ef f icient in t heir modes of act ivat ion. Sof t actuat ors w ere creat ed around t he 1960s and are used primar ily in biomedical f ields due to t heir similarit ies to t he human muscle. The specif ic sof t actuat ors researched in t his project are called Hydraulically Amplif ied Self -healing Elect rost at ic (HASEL). First invent ed in t he 2010s, it is a cutt ing-edge research technology. HASEL actuat ors use dielect r ic liquids encased in f lexible polymers to def orm under elect r ic f ields, enabling rapid, reversible, and tunable mot ion. Their muscle-like performance, ef f iciency, and scalabilit y surpass pneumat ic and elastomer actuat ors, making t hem ideal f or robot ics, prost het ics, and adapt ive systems. Previous research conducted by anot her group has allow ed f or t he creat ion of HASELs in our ow n space. The focus of t he SURCA project dif fers f rom t he paper because t he f act ors of int erest are in t he manuf actur ing process.

Based on t hese guidelines, t he f abricat ion process w as carr ied out by using polymer f ilm pouches t hat w ere heat -sealed and f illed w it h a dielect ric liquid to form t he actuat or body. Actuat ion could be achieved by high volt age, w hich displaces t he liquid and produces cont rolled deformat ion. The experiment s conducted have show n t hat for t he donut prof ile actuat ors, t he direct ion of t he shell material must f ace inw ard, and t he temperature in t he sealing process must be at least 250° F. Based on t hese result s, ef fect ive HASELs are expect ed to be manuf actured and integrat ed int o int erest ing sof t robot ic systems w it h biomimet ic const ruct ions.

Phant om Flames: Rek indling Connect ions Af t er Ghost ing Maria Cerrato, Kadie Kutlus, Karr Small, Gabriella Tolassi Research Advisor: Dr. Maureen Coyle Ghost ing refers t o ending communicat ion w it h someone w it hout giving an explanat ion. I t is of t en used to avoid conf lict or dif f icult conversat ions but can have negat ive emot ional consequences for bot h par t ies. While much research f ocuses on t hose w ho have been ghosted, less attent ion has been given to ghost ers, w ho may experience

guilt , emot ional dist ress, and even regret . Ghosters may w ant to rekindle, or reconnect w it h, someone t hey previously ghost ed, but exist ing research has yet t o examine ghost ers?perspect ives on rekindling. To address t his gap, par t icipant s in t he current study completed an anonymous survey about t heir ghost ing experiences and t heir desire t o rekindle past relat ionships t hat ended w it h ghost ing.

Themat ic analysis w as used to systemat ically examine par t icipant s?open-ended responses, ident if ying recur ring patterns and ideas t hat help explain par t icipant s? experiences and att itudes. This qualit at ive met hod allow ed t he researchers to uncover underlying f actors inf luencing relat ionship dynamics and t he potent ial for rekindling af ter ghost ing. Dat a collect ion is ongoing, but preliminary responses reveal not able patterns. Studying ghost ing experiences and attempt s to rekindle relat ionships gives insight s into t he f actors t hat can make reconnect ion more or less successf ul and sheds light on t he emot ional and relat ional processes involved.

Char act er izing t et r acy cline r esist ant micr obes f r om gr assland soils Gianna Chapman, Eliana Guerrieri Research Advisor: Dr. Caroline Fortunato Ant ibiot ic resist ance is a major global healt h concer n, yet t he origins and dist ribut ion of resist ance genes in natural soils are not f ully underst ood. Soil microbes naturally produce ant ibiot ics, and neighboring bact eria evolve resist ance mechanisms, making soils impor t ant reservoirs of resist ance genes. Grasslands are ecosystems dominated by grasses and herbaceous plant s w it h few t rees. They suppor t diverse microbial communit ies and play key roles in soil healt h and nut rient cycling. Studying minimally impacted grassland soils can help dist inguish naturally occurring resist ance f rom resist ance driven by human act ivit y, such as agriculture. Soil samples w ere collected f rom t hree nor t heastern Pennsylvania grasslands: Wanamie Recreat ion Area (2022), Nescopeck St at e Park (2023), and Rickett s Glen St at e Park (2023). Samples w ere ser ially diluted and plated on bot h t rypt ic soy agar (TSA) and TSA supplement ed w it h tet racycline (15 µg/mL). Colonies t hat grew w ere isolat ed t hrough st reak plat ing and characterized by colony morphology, Gram st aining, and biochemical test s,

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ABSTRACTS including sugar f erment at ion, mot ilit y, cit rat e ut ilizat ion, and urease act ivit y. Six colonies show ing t he most robust grow t h w ere select ed for DNA ext ract ion using t he DNeasy? Pow ersoil? Pro Kit . PCR w as perfor med to detect specif ic ant ibiot ic resist ance genes. Result s show ed diverse bact erial mor phologies and met abolic prof iles.

Sample 346 (Wanamie) formed yellow colonies on TSA+t et plates and was a Gram-negat ive rod, ferment ing glucose and posit ive f or cit rat e and mot ilit y. Samples M 1 and M 2 (Rickett s Glen) w ere f ilament ous Gram-posit ive rods, consist ent w it h act inobacter ia. Samples 440 (Rickett s Glen), 446 (Rickett s Glen), and 452 (Nescopeck) w ere Gram-posit ive rods w it h var ying sugar ferment at ion and mot ilit y. None of t he isolat es w ere posit ive for t he resist ance genes t est ed. These f indings indicate t hat ant ibiot ic-resist ant bacter ia occur naturally in grassland soils, even in t he absence of livest ock or agriculture, and highlight t he ecological diversit y of resist ance mechanisms in environment al bact erial populat ions.

Cr ossw ind I mpact on Rot or cr af t Lif t and Vibr at ion Gavin Cooney Research Advisor: Dr. Steven Pagano This study invest igates t he aerodynamic perfor mance and vibrat ional response of a rotor syst em?s operat ion under large w ind condit ions. Test ing w as conducted using a rotor test st and f itt ed w it h t hree load cells at t he rot or hub, a torque sensor, and an accelerometer, as w ell as an anemomet er t o measure w ind speed. Using t his test st and, t his study w ill measure t he w ind interf erence t hrough t he analysis of changing patt er ns in rot or torque (a measurement of t ot al aerodynamic resist ance) and st rain patter n (a ref lect ion of var ying forces across t he rotor hub).

The t est procedure w ill involve var ying baseline dat a set s at a range of blade pitches, w it hout and w it h crossw ind condit ions creat ed by t he exhaust of a w ind tunnel. By compar ing f orce and t orque measurement s for var ious blade posit ions, t his study w ill provide insight into t he impact of st rong w ind environment s on rotorcraf t st abilit y, pow er demand, lif t characterist ics, and in-f light safet y, w it h direct applicat ions to UAV, VTOL, and ot her rot orcraf t operat ions in unpredict able environment s.

Lear ning about mat hemat ics educat ion by par t icipat ing in pr of essional r eading gr oups Isabella Dauphinee Research Advisor: Dr. Dana Olanoff Reading groups or book clubs allow individuals to come toget her and learn about a common area of interest .

Par t icipant s in reading groups discuss informat ion, lear n f rom each ot her, and grow bot h individually and toget her.

Reading groups also help individuals gain conf idence and problem-solving skills by providing oppor tunit ies f or par t icipant s to share t heir interpret at ions and quest ions w it hin a suppor t ive communit y, creat ing a sense of belonging for t he members. Reading groups can be a great place to st ar t research, as t hey enable individuals to explore and research a topic and t hen discuss it w it h ot hers w ho share similar interest s. This summer, I par t icipated in t w o prof essional reading groups w it h t eams of mat hemat ics educat ors. The f irst group, comprised of mat hemat ics educat ors w ho had an interest in early childhood educat ion, read and discussed Mathematics Through Play in the Early Childhood Classroom by Amy Noelle Parks. The second group consisted of myself and t w o mat hemat ics teacher educat ors, and w e read Rough Draft Math: Revising to Learn by Amanda Jansen.

Par t icipat ing in bot h groups helped me t hink about dif ferent w ays to focus on teaching mat h to element ary student s, by looking at w ays to connect children?s play t o mat hemat ics, and by t hinking about doing mat h in t he same w ay one t hinks about w r it ing: creat ing a rough draf t , and revising t hat draf t , rat her t han creat ing a f inished product on t he f irst attempt . My advisor and I plan on t rying to incorporate some of w hat w e learned into our f uture teaching.

Social M edia r esponses t o Gun Violence: I nsight s f r om Chest er, Philadelphia, and Camden Alyssa Davis, Adriana Hemphill, Isis Williams Research Advisor: Dr. Michelle Lyttle Storrod Gun violence impact s communit ies in numerous ways, causing t he communit y members to lose loved ones, f riends, neighbors, and f amiliar f aces t hey see ever y day. At t he same t ime, social media has become a major source of infor mat ion, breaking new s, and a w ay for people

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ABSTRACTS to st ay connected w it h t heir communit ies. M any communit y members now use social media to share updat es about gun violence, including aler t ing ot hers to incident s such as gunshot s or inf orming t hem about individuals w ho have been af f ected. To test t his connect ion, our research focused w as on t hree local communit ies t hat have a high rat e of gun violence: Philadelphia, Chest er, and Camden, New Jersey. To collect t his inf ormat ion, a social media account on I nst agram w as creat ed t o t rack w hat communit y groups w ere post ing about f rom M ay 2025 to August 2025. Findings f rom t he social media analysis demonst rat ed t hree t hemes: communit y saf et y, communit y resources, and communit y grieving.

Liv ing Low : M ent al Healt h in Yout h Ty pe One Diabet ics Alexandra Deeble Research Advisor: Dr. Robin Goldberg-Glen Adolescent s diagnosed w it h Type 1 Diabetes f ace complex challenges t hroughout t heir life, as t his disease is not only physically, but ment ally demanding. M ent al healt h and socioeconomic st atus play pivot al roles in disease outcomes, and qualit y of life for t hese children. There has been much research conduct ed on t he physical alienates of Type 1 Diabet es, but few studies have show n t he ment al ef fect s of living w it h t his chronic disease. This research is aimed at invest igat ing how low er income levels cont ribute to bot h poor physical and ment al healt h out comes, and how psychological dist ress can impair self -management behaviors, leading t o w orsened cont rol and increased risk of physical complicat ions.

The caregiver?s role emerges as a crit ical f actor in mit igat ing t hese out comes, w hich t here is even less research int o. How ever, based on t he research t hat has been conduct ed, high levels of caregiver involvement correlat e w it h improved disease management , a higher morale of t he child, and t herefore less ment al and physical harm t o t he adolescent . Caregivers t hemselves may exper ience high levels of st ress, sleep deprivat ion, and emot ional burnout , especially in low -income f amilies. This poster aims t o highlight t he connect ion bet w een caregiver and Type 1 Diabet ic, and how simple involvement in social sett ings increases t he child?s chances of living a longer, healt hier lif e.

Ex pr ession of I sof or m B in Zw, t he Drosophila Or t holog of G6PD, is Absent in an Oregon R (OreR) Fly Line Anand Dickson Research Advisor: Dr. Alexis Nagengast Glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PD) enzyme def iciency result s in acute hemolyt ic anemia caused by t he rapid breakdow n of red blood cells. G6PD is t he rat e limit ing enzyme of t he pent ose phosphate pat hway (PPP) t hat is responsible for t he product ion of nicot inamide adenine dinucleot ide phosphate (NADPH), w hich is used t o produce glut at hione, an ant ioxidant t hat prot ect s red blood cells f rom oxidat ive st ress. Zwischenferment (Zw) is t he Drosophila or t holog of G6PD and produces t hree RNA isoforms, each w it h alt ernat ive t ranscript ion st ar t sit es.

I soA codes for a prot ein t hat is 22 amino acids longer t han t he product of I soB/C due to alt ernat ive st ar t sites. These alt ernat ive st ar t sites and prot ein lengt h variat ion are conserved f rom f lies to humans, suggest ing a f unct ional signif icance. Previous qPCR analysis of mRNA using primers specif ic to I soB det ected product under st ar vat ion condit ions; how ever, recent qPCR result s of st arved and fed samples f ailed to show evidence of I soB in Oregon R (OreR), a w ild t ype f ly line commonly used in t he lab. PCR result s of genomic DNA f rom put at ive CRI SPR induced mut ant s f rom yw;cas9 parent al stocks show I soB product w hile OreR does not . Using dif ferent combinat ions of forward and reverse primers specif ic for t he genomic region surrounding I soB, consistent ly shor ter product s w ere obt ained using OreR template DNA t han f rom yw;cas9. PCR using OreR genomic DNA template w it h primers specif ic to I soB exons (previously designed f or qPCR analysis) also did not amplif y any product . Overall result s suggest a delet ion in t he OreR genome t hat eliminat es t he product ion of t he I soB mRNA product .

Thus, OreR may be a usef ul stock to study t he f unct ion of t he product s of I soA and I soC to better underst and G6PD enzyme def iciency in humans.

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ABSTRACTS Fr om Tr anslat ion t o Tr ansf or mat ion Leticia Clara Eyenga Dondo Research Advisor: Dr. Maria Luiza Pinho I n an increasingly int erconnect ed w orld and in today's globalized economy, mult ilingualism is no longer a sof t skill - it 's a st rat egic asset . Mult ilingualism is more t han a communicat ion t ool - it is a cat alyst for st rategic grow t h, innovat ion, and inclusive leadership. This paper explores how mult ilingual t alent t ransforms global business outcomes across diverse sect ors, including spor t s, hospit alit y, healt hcare, and technology. Through real-w orld examples and sect or -specif ic analysis, w e demonst rate how language f luency enhanced cross-cultural collaborat ion, cust omer engagement , and organizat ional agilit y. This paper argues t hat mult ilingual professionals are not merely t ranslators, but st rategic asset s w ho drive t ransf or mat ion in global ent er prises.

3D M odeling of an FSAE Seat w it h Emphasis on Saf et y and Er gonomics Colin Duong, Christian Wannamaker Research Advisors: Dr. Ria Mazumder, Aaron Selnick I n Formula SAE racecar design, t he driver?s seat is a crit ical interf ace bet w een human and machine, requiring a balance of saf et y, ergonomics, and performance. This w ork present s a met hodology f or 3D modeling an FSAE seat w it h emphasis on driver suppor t , f at igue reduct ion, and regulat or y compliance. The design process begins w it h t he integrat ion of ant hropomet ric dat a, accommodat ing drivers f rom t he 5t h-percent ile female to t he 95t h-percent ile male, ensur ing inclusivit y and comf or t across a w ide range of body t ypes. Prot ot ypes generated t hrough 3D pr int ing allow form and f it verif icat ion prior to composite layup in materials such as f iberglass or carbon f iber, balancing light w eight perfor mance w it h rigidit y to enhance bot h driver safet y and cont rol. The design incorporat es compliance w it h FSAE safet y st andards, ensur ing cor rect belt rout ing, visibilit y, and f irew all integrat ion w hile cont ribut ing to chassis energy management in crash scenarios. Evaluat ion of seat geomet ry and mat erial proper t ies t hrough simulat ion and driver f eedback guides iterat ive opt imizat ion, result ing in a

st ructure t hat minimizes vibrat ion, suppor t s driver comfor t dur ing high-G maneuvers, and reduces f at igue dur ing prolonged operat ion. By unit ing ergonomic science, CAD-based w orkf low, and composit e manuf acturing, t he 3D-modeled FSAE seat achieves a synergy of comf or t and safet y.

Using admissions t r ends and cr edit hour s f or f or ecast f inancial decisions Mesoma Ezeiruaku Research Advisor: Prof. Vaughn Hopkins Widener University?s f inancial health is closely tied to tuition revenue, which depends on student enrollment and course loads. Admissions outcomes? applications, acceptance rates, yield, and enrollment? shape student credit hours (SCH), and SCH in turn drive tuition revenue and resource allocation. This project analyzes admissions and SCH trends from 2020 to 2024 and compares them to audited tuition revenue from FY21to FY24. Data from Widener?s Fact Book and audited f inancial statements were integrated through calculations of effective dollars per credit hour, and Tableau dashboards were developed to visualize key trends and relationships.

Findings show that applications increased by 63%, while yield remained steady at approximately 14%. Undergraduate SCH ranged between 67,000 and 74,000 during the period, with a notable dip in FY23. Despite relatively stable SCH, net tuition revenue declined from $123.3 million in FY21to $114.9 million in FY24, highlighting the growing impact of tuition discounting.

Program-level analysis revealed differences in eff iciency: Nursing and Engineering generated more SCH per student compared to Business programs.

These results indicate that growth in student credit hours does not automatically translate to higher revenue, since f inancial aid policies and program structures moderate tuition outcomes.

This work provides a framework for forecasting f inancial results by linking admissions, SCH, and revenue. Recommended next steps include focusing admissions on high-SCH programs, reducing discounting to strengthen net tuition, enhancing retention to stabilize SCH, and optimizing the program mix based on SCH eff iciency.

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ABSTRACTS The ef f ect of Lion?s M ane mushr oom ex t r act on a Dr osophila model of Alzheimer ?s Disease Houman Fereidouni Research Advisor: Dr. Alexis Nagengast Lion?s M ane mushroom (Hericium er inaceus) has been associat ed w it h neuroprot ect ive ef f ect s, including st imulat ion of t he Nerve Grow t h Factor and pot ent ial t herapeut ic value against neurodegenerat ive disorders. We hypot hesized t hat an ext ract of Lion?s M ane mushroom (LM M ) might slow t he progression of Alzheimer?s Disease (AD). This neurodegenerat ive disease is t he leading cause of deat h in t he Unit ed St ates. To invest igat e t his, w e ut ilized a t ransgenic Drosophila melanogast er model in w hich t he GAL-UAS system drives expression of t he human APP-A?42 gene in t he eye, producing an age-dependent ?rough eye?phenot ype. The UAS-A?42 t ransgene was inser t ed in t w o dif ferent genet ic backgrounds t o allow for comparisons: second chromosome inser t ions w ere in a yw f background (yellow ) and t hird chromosome inser t ions w ere in a w 1118 background (w hit e). The yellow line phenot ype provided superior result s, as t he rough eye phenot ype w as more easily dist inguished, and t hese f lies exhibit ed greater longevit y t han t he w hite line. Food int ake assays conf ir med t hat f lies ingest ed et hanol-based LM M ext ract w it hout adverse ef f ect s, and experiment al groups w ere fed LM M ext ract w hile cont rols received et hanol-yeast mixture. Preliminary f indings suggest t hat LM M ext ract not only enhances f ecundit y but also prolongs lifespan, par t icularly in yellow line female f lies. Ongoing studies w ill f ur t her evaluat e t he pot ent ial of LM M as a t herapeut ic intervent ion f or neurodegenerat ive disease. I n f ur t her exper iment s, t he abilit y of t he f ruit f lies w ill be examined to det ermine t he abilit y of t he f lies to climb to underst and t he ef f ect of muscle-ner ve communicat ion.

I nv est igat ing t he ef f ect s of aged liver secr et ed f act or s on healt hy hear t muscle cells Jah-Vanah Francis, Kamyrn Purpura Research Advisor: Dr. Aylin Acun The liver plays an impor t ant role in regulat ing met abolism, detoxif icat ion, and nut rient st orage. I t s decline w it h age or

disease has been linked to systemic healt h issues, including cardiovascular dysf unct ion. How ever, t he specif ic role of aged liver secret ions on healt hy or aged hear t f unct ion are not know n. Our goal is to f ill t his gap of know ledge by studying t he changes in hear t t issue aging and f unct ion upon exposure to aged liver t issue secret ions. To invest igate t hese interact ions, t he overall aim is to chemically age liver and hear t muscle cells and to develop respect ive 3D t issues of aged hear t and liver. We used human induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) to derive hear t muscle cells since primary hear t muscle cells are not suit able for long ter m culture. iPSCs w ere t haw ed and cultured unt il a desired conf luency w as est ablished and t hen dif ferent iated into cardiomyocytes (iCM s) follow ing a nine-day dif ferent iat ion prot ocol. To induce aging, t he iCM s w ere exposed to 200 µM hydrogen peroxide (H2O2), w hile t he cont rol group remained unt reated. The cells w ere lysed for RNA-isolat ion and RT-qPCR analysis to assess expression of cardiomyocyte specif ic genes and genes act ivated in st ress to conf irm aging. Preliminary result s demonst rate successf ul dif ferent iat ion of iPSCs int o cardiomyocytes as t hey experienced physical changes f rom small, rounded clusters to st retched f iber -like shapes. I n addit ion, t he increased level of st ress related markers af ter t he hydrogen peroxide t reat ment conf irms t he success of mimicking aging in t he hear t cells. Current w ork focuses on aging liver cells, encapsulat ing t hem in a hydrogel t o form aged liver t issue, and assessing t heir interact ion w it h iCM s by applying secret ed f actors f rom t he liver t issue t o hear t cells.

Fly scent pr ef er ences and it s implicat ions f or Symplocarpus foetidus and Asimina triloba pollinat ion Amy Goodman, Declan Adams-Campeau Research Advisor: Dr. Katherine Goodrich Pollinat ion is essent ial for reproduct ive success for many angiosperms. Symplocar pus foet idus (skunk cabbage) and Asimina t riloba (paw paw ) exhibit f loral mimicry of carr ion and fer ment ing subst rates respect ively. They att ract Diptera (t rue f ly) pollinat ors, t hereby dif ferent iat ing t hemselves f rom t he t ypical pollinat ors of bees, butt erf lies, and ot her Hymenoptera and Lepidoptera. This project compared t he f ly t axa caught on t raps using eit her carr ion or fer ment at ion bait . Eight t raps, four of each bait , w ere

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ABSTRACTS set out in a t w o-row checkerboard patt ern at Taylor Arboretum and collect ed af t er 4-5 hours. Compiling past dat a st ar t ing in 2022 w it h t he recent 2025 count s, 14 f amilies of Dipt era are represented across bot h bait t ypes w it h t he most prominent being Calliphoridae, Muscidae, Heleomyzidae, and Fannidae. Wit hin Calliphoridae and Muscidae, t he most numerous species and genera show st rong patt erns indicat ing a preference for eit her carrion or ferment at ion. We also caught Drosophila (f ruit f lies) on bot h fer ment at ion and car rion bait s, suggest ing t hat t he genus could be more generalist t han previously t hought .

Underst anding t he f ly communit y and it s pref erences in Taylor Arboretum across seasons w ill help to ident if y t he pollinators of skunk cabbage and paw paw. Fur t her t rapping t o increase sample sizes and reveal st ronger patter ns in seasons beyond t he summer is ongoing. This project pairs w it h a sister project t hat chemically analyzes t he volat ile organic compounds (VOCs) in Symplocarpus foetidus using GCM S techniques. Shared VOCs bet w een t he bait s and f low ers could indicate t he impor t ant chemical f act ors t hat att ract f lies Sust ainable Biomat er ials f r om Food Wast e Jacob Grossman, Matthew D?Angelo Research Advisor: Dr. LiKang Chin Over 100 billion pounds of food w aste are discarded each year in t he Unit ed St ates, causing environment al and economic impact s. This project explores an alternat ive use for food wast e as biomater ial scaf folds for cell culture models and pot ent ially for t issue engineering. Common produce it ems like st raw berries, broccoli, celery, pot at oes, and car rot s w ere processed w it h detergent s to remove nat ive cells and subsequent ly charact erized for DNA content t o deter mine decellularizat ion ef f iciency.

Decellularized scaf f olds w ere mechanically test ed under uniaxial t ension t o quant if y Young?s M odulus, w hich is a measurement of st if f ness. Finally, food w aste biomat erials w ere seeded w it h f ibroblast cells and evaluated for biocompat ibilit y using bot h a cyt otoxicit y assay as w ell as cell st aining and imaging to visualize t he presence of viable cells. The result s suggest t hat food w aste can be repur posed as sust ainable, af f ordable biomat erial scaf f olds w it h a range of st if f ness values t hat suppor t cell viabilit y.

This research paves t he w ay for f uture development of

ot her eco-f riendly biomedical advances.

Why Knee Joint Replacement s?

Christopher Hackney Research Advisor: Dr. Rhonda Hazell My research explores t he impor t ance and relevance of knee joint replacement s. The knee joint is a crucial joint in t he body t hat helps us to perf orm everyday act ivit ies such as w alking, running, and playing spor t s. There are many st ructures in and around t he knee joint t hat help t he knee to f unct ion. Some of t hese st ructures are muscles, ligament s, and bones. Over t ime, t hese st ructures w ear dow n and become w eaker and may cause pain. This increases t he probabilit y of gett ing a knee implant in t he f uture. Long ter m osteoar t hrit is is t he common cause of w hy someone w ould consider a knee implant . There are many t ypes of knee implant materials t hat could be used surgically. These materials include ceramics, dif ferent met als and polyet hylene. Bef ore t he knee implant s are inser ted into t he natural knee joint , t hey are f irst t est ed w it h a st ress test ing machine. St ress test ing machines help to ensure t hat each par t of a knee replacement is st rong under large amount s of pressure. The par t s of a knee replacement include t he femoral, spacer, and t ibial component s. When t hese t hree st ructures are formed int o a single knee replacement t hey replicate a natural knee.

Each knee replacement has it s advant ages and disadvant ages. The t ype of knee replacement someone get s depends on a person?s physical act ivit y. Overall, knee replacement s help to relieve ar t hr it is pain w hile giving you a new f unct ional knee, and a new out look on life.

Ecological consequences of post -t or nado salv age logging in Ridley Cr eek St at e Par k : I nv asive species out compet e nat ive r ecover y Tyler Harper Research Advisor: Dr. Bruce Grant On October 31, 2019, an EF2 tornado st ruck Ridley Creek St at e Park, causing signif icant damage. How ever, t he subsequent "salvage" logging operat ion proved to be a f ar greater ecological disaster. I nstead of merely removing f allen t rees, t he operat ion pillaged t he ent ire hilltop,

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ABSTRACTS great er ecological disast er. I nst ead of merely removing f allen t rees, t he operat ion pillaged t he ent ire hillt op, creat ing huge f ur row s and causing massive soil loss. This mismanaged logging vast ly exceeded t he original storm damage, creat ing a habit at cat ast rophe. Such intensive logging is know n t o degrade habit at qualit y, reduce biodiversit y, accelerate erosion, and f acilit ate invasive species est ablishment . A 2024 study by Widener student s and Dr. Br uce Grant repor ted t hat t he logging operat ion negat ively impact ed nat ive plant regenerat ion and promot ed invasive species. Building on t heir f indings, our summer 2025 research revisited t he sit e to document species composit ion and evaluate recovery. Using t he same met hods, w e quant if ied t he abundance of t ree seedlings, shrubs, and herbaceous plant s, cat egorizing each as nat ive or invasive. Our dat a highlight how intensive logging can shif t forest regenerat ion t rajectories, f avoring invasive species. I n t he middle of t he f urrow s, 35 unique nat ive species w ere ident if ied, but only 38.6% of t he tot al plant abundance. I n cont rast , 32 unique invasive species accounted f or 53.8% of t he tot al plant abundance. On t he edges of t he f ur row s, t he impact w as slight ly less severe, w it h nat ive plant s comprising 54.0% of t he tot al plant s and invasive plant s making up 44.0%. We also observed t hat invasive vines are out compet ing nat ive shrubs. We predict t hat it may be hundreds of years before t he forest canopy can re-est ablish at t his sit e.

Absor bance and r epr oducibilit y of met al-island f ilms on glass slide Thomas Hegarty Research Advisor: Dr. Domhnall OShaughnessy We invest igat ed how UV exposure correlat ed to increased absorbance on met al-island plat ing made w it h t it anium dioxide subst rat e. M et al-island f ilms consist of t hin f ilms of met al nanopar t icles att ached to a subst rate, commonly a t it anium dioxide sol-gel, by exposure to ult raviolet light .

Prior research has show n t hat t hese met al nanopar t icles for m clust ers of nanopar t icles t hat have dif fering sizes based on cer t ain f act ors, w it h our study focusing on t he t ime of exposure t o UV light . To determine w het her t he process was reproducible, glass slides w ere covered in t it anium dioxide sol gel and had silver bonded to t hem t hrough phot odeposit ion. Fif t een slides w ere exposed to

UV light for f ive dif ferent lengt hs of t ime, w it h t hree slides for each lengt h. These slides w ere tested using UV-Visible spect roscopy scanning, and by removing a por t ion using Scotch Tape, to det ermine how increasing t he exposure t ime af fected t he absorbance and robust ness of t he subst rate. The result s of t he spect rometer and t ape t est s show ed t hat increasing t he t ime t hat a slide w as under t he UV light increased t he absorbance and robust ness of t he slides, but also found t hat t he opacit y of t he t it anium dioxide layer post -annealing also impacted t he absorbance of t he slides, as t ransparent t it anium dioxide layers had higher absorbance t han opaque layers. Future research w ill focus on how ot her met als react w hen exposed to UV light w hen bonded to t he t it anium sol gel, such as copper.

Rev isit ing Tr auma: COVI D-19?s I mpact on LGBTQ+ Older Adult s Who Sur v iv ed t he AI DS Epidemic Ryan F. Holland Research Advisor: Dr. Robin Goldberg-Glen This project delineates init ial steps toward conceptualizing a qualit at ive study designed to invest igate t he mult if acet ed impact of t he COVI D-19 pandemic on LGBTQ+ older adult s w ho previously survived t he HI V/AI DS epidemic. The SURCA fellow ship w as devoted to developing an underst anding of t rauma as it is shaped by intersect ing pandemics and marginalized ident it ies. Through a review of related literature, I w as able to ident if y persistent t hemes of resilience, vulnerabilit y, and cumulat ive adversit y among older LGBTQ+ persons. Employing a narrat ive inquiry approach, t he f uture study aims t o illuminate t he presence and dynamics of secondar y t rauma, draw ing connect ions bet w een par t icipant s?lived experiences dur ing bot h public healt h crises.

I nvest igat ing t he I mpact of Tr auma on t he embr y onic Dr osophila CNS Rashad Janneh Research Advisor: Dr. Hemlata Mistry Underst anding t he format ion and maintenance of t he cent ral nervous system (CNS) requires precise visualizat ion of specif ic prot eins at key development al st ages. The f unct ion of t he CNS requires precise connect ion bet w een neurons and t heir t arget s.

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ABSTRACTS The f r uit f ly, Drosophila melanogast er, is a pow erf ul model organism f or studying nervous syst em development because it is easy t o grow and t here are many genet ic tools available f or research. I mpor t ant ly, 75% of disease-causing genes in humans have a f ly homolog.

I f irst under t ook an immunof luorescent and immunochemist r y approach to label and visualize t arget proteins w it hin t he developing embryonic CNS. To achieve t his, lat e-st age w ild t ype embryos w ere collected. At t hese st ages, t he CNS is almost f ully developed. The embryos w ere t hen prepared for ant ibody st aining. I used t hree dif ferent ant ibodies: ant i-Elav allow ed me to visualize post -mitot ic neurons, ant i-Repo marks glial cells, and ant i-BP102 st ains t he axonal scaf fold w it hin t he CNS. These studies allow ed me to gain a good underst anding of t he st r ucture of t he CNS in embryos. My goal is to deter mine t he ef f ect of injury to t he CNS on Lipr in-a and Rim, t w o proteins impor t ant for synapt ic development .

Liprin-a protein is crucial for scaf folding molecules t hat organize presynapt ic act ive zone, and Rim is t he organizer of t he presynapt ic t erminal. I w ill har vest RNA f rom injured embryos and use qPCR to determine t he impact on lipr in-a and r im gene expression. As a f irst st ep, I have designed pr imers f or t hese genes and test ed t heir ef f icacy. I have ident if ied primer set s t hat I can use in f uture studies to compare gene expression changes in injured vs mock-injured embryos.

Bet w een cult ur e and just ice in Et hiopia Ret hink ing FGM int er vent ions t hr ough a Feminist -Human Right s Lens Ritza Jean Research Advisor: Dr. Thomas Wilk Female genit al mut ilat ion (FGM ) is st ill a w idespread human r ight s violat ion, af f ect ing approximat ely 230 million w omen and girls w orldw ide, w it h a prevalence of 65% in Et hiopia. Despite internat ional condemnat ion under t reat ies such as t he CEDAW, FGM persist s because too deeply ingrained cultural, religious, and pat r iarchal belief s. This study promot es a culturally sensit ive, communit y-led approach to FGM eliminat ion in Et hiopia, combining f eminist and human right s f ramew orks w it h Brian D. Earp's et hical model, w hich pr iorit izes aut onomy and impar t ialit y over moral absolut ism. The study draw s

on successf ul grassroot s inter vent ions like KM G Et hiopia, w hich combines storytelling, economic empow er ment , and open communit y discussion to demonst rate how locally driven ef for t s out perf orm ext ernally imposed ones. A 2024 met a-analysis published in BM C Public Healt h reinforces t his st rat egy by associat ing FGM to ser ious healt h outcomes and emphasizing t he impor t ance of context -aw are intervent ions. By suppor t ing et hical, par t icipat ive met hods t hat are consistent w it h Sust ainable Development Goal 5, t his study provides a reproducible f ramew ork for eliminat ing FGM inter nat ionally w hile balancing cultural relat ivism and universal right s.

Ex plor ing M achine Lear ning Using Py t hon Ryan Johnson Research Advisors: Dr. Yana Kortsarts, Dr. Edwin Dauber M achine Learning is a branch of ar t if icial intelligence t hat uses st at ist ical dat a to recognize patterns and make algorit hmic predict ions w it hout user input . M achine learning technology is used in many dif ferent f ields w it h mult iple applicat ions, such as in speech recognit ion sof t w are, f raud det ect ion, computer vision, and recommendat ion algorit hms. I n t his study, Single Variable and Mult iple Variable Linear Regression are used to predict outcomes f rom t hree dif ferent dat a set s. Linear Regression is a machine learning met hod t hat compares an independent variable/var iables w it hin t he dat aset t o a dependent variable, t he predict ed outcome, t hrough creat ing a line of best f it t hrough t he given dat a. Single Variable Linear Regression uses one independent var iable to create a linear graph f rom w hich t he outcome values are predict ed, w hile Mult iple Variable Linear Regression uses mult iple independent variables to create a plane or hyperplane. Using dat a set s for w ine prices, used car prices, and cereal qualit y, regression models w ere created in Pyt hon, an open-source programming language t hat suppor t s libraries used for creat ing machine learning models, w it h each model being tested for accuracy using R2 as a met ric. The independent variables f rom t he most accurate Single Variable Linear Regression models w ere t hen used to create Mult iple Variable Linear Regression models based on t heir correlat ion.

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ABSTRACTS iAll models w ere compared in terms of accuracy to see w hat t ypes of dat a and dat a patt erns are most ef fect ive n creat ing t he most accurat e Linear Regression models.

I mplicit Bias Tr aining and M at er nal M or t alit y : Ex plor ing Nur sing St udent s?Aw ar eness Mya Kennedy

Conf ir ming CRI SPR/ Cas9-I nduced M ut at ions in Zwischenferment (Zw), t he Drosophila Or t holog of Glucose-6-Phosphat e Dehy dr ogenase (G6PD

Research Advisor: Dr. Jawanza Bundy

Ethan Kang Research Advisor: Dr. Alexis Nagengast Glucose-6-Phosphat e Dehydrogenase (G6PD) is t he rate-limit ing enzyme in t he Pentose Phosphate Pat hway (PPP). PPP is one of t w o major met abolic pat hw ays in red blood cells, w it h t he ot her being glycolysis. Red blood cells exper ience oxidat ive st ress w it h impaired G6PD f unct ion.

As t he most prevalent enzyme def iciency in humans, G6PD def iciency research is impact f ul. To study t he genet ics underlying t he disorder more ef fect ively, researchers used Drosophila melanogaster as a model organism and focused on Zwischenferment (Zw), t he f ruit f ly gene or t holog (relat ed gene) t o human G6PD. The t ranscript ion of Zw makes t hree dif f erent mRNA isoforms: I soA, I soB, and I soC. Pr ior research f ound t hat CRI SPR/Cas9 edit s in exon 2 of Zw shif t ed t he reading f rame and w ere predicted to stop I soA f rom being made. To conf irm t he pr ior result s and discern w het her a more cost -ef f ect ive, user -f r iendly and reliable PCR approach could w ork just as w ell as a high-f idelit y one f or detect ing mut at ions, experiment at ion was done. Genomic DNA w as prepared f rom put at ive CRI SPR-mut at ed and yw ; Cas9 parent al lines, amplif ied via PCR using GoTaq (non-proof reading) polymerase or Phusion (proof reading) polymerase, run on an agarose gel, purif ied and sequenced. The sequencing conf ir med t he expect ed mut at ions in all t hree lines, and result s did not vary bet w een polymerases used; t hus, t he more reliable, non-proof reading GoTaq polymerase is suf f icient in amplif ying t hese genomic preparat ions. Repeat ing exper iment at ion w it h new genomic DNA preparat ions should help boost sequencing conf idence and analysis of Drosophila populat ions should reveal t he ef f ect s of mut at ed lines.

M at ernal mor t alit y rates in t he Unit ed St at es remain dispropor t ionat ely high among Black w omen, w it h implicit bias ident if ied as a signif icant cont ribut ing f actor t o t his disparit y. Nursing educat ion present s a crit ical oppor tunit y to address such biases early, prior to ent r y int o clinical pract ice. This study explores t he impact of an implicit bias t raining w orkshop in enhancing nursing student s?aw areness of implicit bias and it s impact on maternal healt h outcomes among Black w omen. Student s w ill attend a st ructured educat ional session focused on t he relat ionship bet w een implicit bias and racial disparit ies in maternal healt h. Par t icipant s w ill complete a pre-int ervent ion assessment , using t he tools Attitudes Toward Implicit Bias Instrument (ATIBI) and t he Bias in Maternal Healthcare Instrument (BMHI), to evaluat e baseline know ledge related to implicit bias and racial disparit ies in maternal mor t alit y. A post -int ervent ion assessment , ident ical to t he pre-test , w ill t hen be administ ered. Dat a w ill be analyzed to assess changes in know ledge and aw areness. I t is hypot hesized t hat t he t raining w ill result in a st at ist ically signif icant increase in student underst anding of implicit bias and it s role in maternal healt h disparit ies. Findings may suppor t t he integrat ion of implicit bias educat ion into nursing curricula as a st rat egy to mit igate racial disparit ies in maternal mor t alit y.

Discov er ing Taiw an?s Tr ansgender Hist or y Noel Keryluk Research Advisor: Dr. Yufeng Mao My research seeks to study Taiwan?s t ransgender communit y t hrough a historical lens. I n addit ion to reading scholarly and ot her secondary sources, I conducted archival research in Taiwan and inter view s w it h LGBTQ+ right s act ivist s dur ing my t rip to Taipei in August .

Accompanied by Dr. M ao, I visited t he Nat ional Archives in Taiwan to f ind Nat ionalist material on Kong Lingw ei, t he t rans-masculine nephew of Chiang Kai Shek.

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ABSTRACTS I also visit ed t he Grand Hot el, w hich featured a guided tour of t he f or mer residence of Kong, w hose masculinit y shone t hrough w it h each collect ion of guns/hunt ing gear, milit ary memorabilia, and expensive alcohol. How ever, t he hear t of t he Taiwanese t ransgender communit y I found not in t he archives or hist orical sit es but instead hidden amongst t he bust le of everyday life. Businesses and organizat ions like t he Daybreak caf é, Fembooks bookstore, and Taiwan Tongzhi (LGBTQ+) Hot line Associat ion are scatt ered t hroughout Taipei, available to queer folks searching f or polit ical engagement , educat ional resources, or simply a saf e space. At t he Daybreak caf é, queer act ivist s Brian Hioe and Yo-Ling Chen, shared t heir personal exper iences and polit ical insight s as w rit ers and organizers. Yo-Ling, among ot her members of t he nonprof it t apcpr, are w orking to address Taiw an?s most pressing t rans issue: t he eliminat ion of compulsory surger y as a requirement for gender change. This policy t races back t o t he 1950s w hen intersexed Nat ionalist veteran Xie Jianshun w as forced to ?correct ?his gender t hrough a series of invasive surger ies. Taiw an has since become t he f irst Asian count ry to legalize gay marriage in 2019, but Yo-Ling, Br ian, and ot her queer Taiw anese act ivist s know t hat t here is st ill w ork to be done, ref using to let progress be stunted by complacency w it hin t he social nor m.

Sow ing t he seeds of change: Cr eat ing an out door classr oom f or a communit y lear ning par t ner ship in f ull bloom at St et ser Element ar y School Maura R. Kopaczynski Research Advisor: Dr. Bruce Grant For t he past 11 years, Widener Universit y student s in t hree academic service-learning courses (ASC-101, EN GL-101, and BI OL-172) have par t nered w it h Stet ser Element ary School to maint ain a 22-bed garden. This collaborat ive program serves as a living laborat ory, fost ering communit y-based learning f or bot h Widener student s and 5t h graders and Life Skills student s f rom t he school. The project is designed to address syst emic inequit ies in Chest er, PA, an under -resourced urban communit y. I n Chester, 76% of student s live at or below t he pover t y line, and only 10% are project ed t o graduat e f rom college. The program conf ront s t hese challenges, w hich are f ur t her compounded by

dispropor t ionat ely high rates of childhood obesit y and diabetes, as w ell as a 33% incarcerat ion rate for urban Black males. The garden ser ves as a unique educat ional space t hat promot es personal w ellness, urban ecology, and f ood just ice, allow ing student s to co-const ruct know ledge and underst anding. The par t nership provides Widener student s w it h invaluable experience, foster ing empat hy and mot ivat ing t hem to bridge educat ional gaps t hat are st arkly visible at St et ser, w here t he school lacks a librar y, science curriculum, and ar t s programming. To enhance t his program, w e propose creat ing an out door classroom w it hin t he St et ser Garden. This space, featuring t ables, benches, and a gazebo, w ill provide a versat ile learning environment t hat of fers a w elcome respite f rom technology and engages student s w it h hands-on, mult i-sensory experiences. This new element w ill enrich our curriculum w it h act ivit ies like using microscopes, creat ing leaf print s, w r it ing haiku, and engaging in garden-relat ed mat h project s, f ur t her solidif ying t he garden as a pow erf ul context for lear ning.

Combat t ing cr isis w it h communit y : A lit er ar y analy sis of older LGBTQ+ adult s being af f ect ed by t he COVI D-19 and HI V/AI DS pandemic.

Lani Kouroupis Research Advisor: Dr. Robin Goldberg-Glen Older LGBTQ+ adult s, w ho w ere among t he most vulnerable dur ing t he peak of t he HI V/AI DS crisis, are now w it nessing t he cat ast rophe of t he COVI D-19 pandemic.

Research on t he impact of panic and how t rauma-informed care can reduce ret raumat izat ion is st ill lacking. The complexit ies of t rauma can be underst ood, but w e must open doors to t heories w e neglect . Addressing t rauma t hrough t he f ramew ork of sexualit y reveals how fear and st igma become inter nalized, par t icularly for LGBTQ+ communit ies. Older LGBTQ+ adult s and t heir experiences illust rat e how communit y suppor t can interr upt patt erns of ret raumat izat ion and promot e healing. By center ing t heir stories, w e can ref rame healt h care and social services to not only reduce harm, but act ively promot e w ellness and dignit y across aging queer populat ions. These challenges and st rengt hs are present in every communit y and ref lect patterns of t rauma and resilience beyond t he LGBTQ+ experience.

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ABSTRACTS Ex plor ing Glassy Relaxat ion w it h t he Random Ener gy M odel Amine Lotfi Research Advisor: Dr. Xin Du Glasses, e.g. met allic glasses and opt ical f ibers, are amor phous mat er ials w it h diverging relaxat ion t ime. The slow dynamics are of ten analyzed t hrough t heir rugged high-dimensional energy landscapes, w hich illust rate how t he glass syst ems are likely to become t rapped in local energy basins at low temperatures. To invest igat e t he slow dynamics of glasses on t he pot ent ial energy landscapes, w e employed t he Random Energy M odel (REM ), a simplif ied spin model in w hich each conf igurat ion is represent ed by a binar y array and assigned an energy randomly draw n f rom a Gaussian dist r ibut ion. By simulat ing t he dynamics of REM glasses in C++ and analyzing t he result ing dat a w it h Pyt hon, w e successf ully comput ed t he evolut ion of t he energy for glasses w it h dif ferent spin sizes at various temperatures over t ime. Our result s show t hat t he energy decreases over t ime as t he system cont inuously explores conf igurat ions of low er potent ial energy, but t he relaxat ion signif icant ly slow s af ter a cr it ical t imescale, ?. This t imescale marks t he st ar t of an act ivat ed dynamics regime, in w hich t he glass system must overcome local energy bar riers to escape f rom a local energy basin. Our result s are consist ent w it h t he energy landscape t heory. Fur t her more, w e explored t he dependence of t his crit ical t imescale on bot h temperature and t he spin glass size. We f ind t hat t he t ime scale increases linearly w it h larger syst em size, but increases t o a plat eau at low er temperature. These f indings suppor t energy landscape t heory and demonst rat e how simplif ied models capture key features of glassy relaxat ion.

I nv est igat ing t he ef f ect s of br anched-chained k et o acids (BCKAs) on lif espan in Drosophila melanogaster David Marcellino Research Advisors: Dr. Robert Mishur, Dr. Alexis Nagengast I n t his study, w e invest igat ed t he pot ent ial of branched-chain ket o acids (BCKAs) to modulate lifespan

in Drosophila melanogaster. The primary object ive of t his experiment is to det ermine w het her 3-met hyl-2-oxobut yrate, 3-met hyl-2-oxovalerate, and 4-met hyl-2-oxovalerate, administ ered at 10 mM doses, can ext end lifespan in Drosophila by inf luencing met abolic pat hways linked to aging. These compounds have previously been show n to ext end lifespan in Caenorhabdit is elegans, a w idely used model organism f or aging studies. Underst anding t hese mechanisms could uncover t herapeut ic t arget s for age-related diseases.

Survival w as monitored daily to assess potent ial longevit y modulat ion, complement ed by a t riglycer ide assay t o evaluate met abolic healt h.

BCKAs inf luencing lifespan could revolut ionize aging research by uncovering key mechanisms t hat cont rol longevit y. M oving forward, t his project w ill explore varying dosages of t hese BCKAs to det ermine if opt imized concent rat ions yield more prof ound ef fect s on lifespan, potent ially amplif ying t heir impact on met abolic healt h.

Such discoveries could lead to potent ial inter vent ions t hat may help extend t he human healt h span by mit igat ing age-related condit ions like cognit ive decline and chronic diseases, ult imately enabling people to live longer, healt hier lives.

Bax t er Robot ic Wheel-Legs Kristen Martinez Research Advisor: Dr. Xiaomeng Shi Wheel-legged robot s combine t he speed of w heeled robot s w it h t he increased abilit y to t raverse unsmoot h ter rain f rom legged robot s. Leg designs t hat conver t bet w een w heels and leg modules of ten result in high vibrat ion and low carry capacit y for many larger scale robot s. Ot her current designs t hat involve a w heel att ached to t he end of leg link are limit ed in t heir abilit y to handle rough ter rain. This project set s out to decrease t hese negat ive consequences of previous designs and create a w heel-leg design compat ible w it h large remote learning syst ems.

The robot used for t his design is t he Baxter robot creat ed

by Ret hink robot ics. This robot is t w o-armed, 6 foot , and 306 pounds, including t he w eight of it s pedest al. The w heel-leg design needs to suppor t Baxter as it t raverses 7-inch st airs and large cords t ypically found in a lab space.

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ABSTRACTS The design of t he robot consist s of eight robot ic legs, only four of w hich w heels are pow ered by a mot or. This is to ensure t hat t here is alw ays a pow ered w heel driving t he robot f or ward as dif ferent legs lif t to avoid obst acles and step upward. The main component s of each leg are a linear actuat or, a guide rail, and a driving/passive w heel. The mot ion and st ress analysis w ere conducted to verif y t he requirement s of lif t range and st ructural st rengt h w ere met f or t he t ask. The f uture setups include assembling and test ing single robot ic legs and t he w hole mobile plat form, ver if ying t he capabilit y of teleoperat ion/aut onomous navigat ion w it h Baxt er inst alled.

Ev aluat ing phosphaplat in ef f icacy in br east and lung cancer Emily McHenry Research Advisors: Dr. Robert Mishur, Dr. Michael Toneff Plat inum-based chemot herapies, w hile ef f ect ive, are limited by syst emic t oxicit y and t he development of resist ance in many cancers. Phosphaplat ins, a new er class of plat inum compounds, are being invest igat ed to overcome t hese limit at ions. Unlike t radit ional agent s such as cisplat in, w hich rely on labile chlor ide ligands to form DNA adduct s, phosphaplat ins lack t hese react ive groups, potent ially reducing DNA binding and resist ance via DNA repair pat hways. Pr ior studies suggest t hey may act t hrough alt ernat ive mechanisms including ext rinsic apopt ot ic signaling, oxidat ive st ress, and mitochondrial dysf unct ion, t hough addit ional pat hw ays may also be involved. This study evaluat ed t hree phosphaplat ins -(trans- 1R, 2R- diaminocyclohexan) (pyrophosphat o)plat inate(I I ) (RRD2), dicyclobut ylaminepyrophosphatoplat inate(I I ) (cBuAm-2), and dicyclobut ylaminepyrophosphatoplat inate(I I ) (cPnAm-2) -- in t w o human cancer lines: M DA-M B-231t riple-negat ive breast cancer cells and A549 lung cancer cells. Cells w ere t reated w it h increasing concent rat ions of each compound and viabilit y w as measured using M TT assays. I C50 values w ere calculated f rom dose-response curves, w it h phosphaplat ins show ing a broad range of ef f icacy (1.34 ?M to 98.0 ?M ). RRD2 show ed t he st rongest dose-response ef f ect among t he phosphaplat ins t est ed, w it h I C50 values of 3.07 ?M in M DA-M B-231 and 1.34 ?M in A549. Cisplat in?s I C50 values

w ere 14.4 ?M and 6.81 ?M , respect ively. While t hese f indings are promising, dif ferences in t reat ment durat ion limit direct comparisons. Nonet heless, RRD2?s act ivit y highlight s it s potent ial as a lead phosphaplat in for f ur t her research. Future direct ions aim to det ermine t he specif ic mechanisms by w hich phosphaplat ins exer t t heir ef fect s on cancer cells.

For mula SAE suspension compar at iv e st udy Ally Meyers, Kyle Weber Research Advisor: Dr. Babak Eslami Formula SAE (FSAE) is an inter nat ional student engineering design compet it ion w here universit y teams design and race small, open w heeled cars judged on perf ormance, cost , and innovat ion. This project invest igated and compared suspension architectures applied to FSAE vehicles to f ind opt imal geomet ry f or handling, manuf acturabilit y, and perf ormance. The research focused on push versus pull rods on a double w ishbone (Shor t long arm) f ront suspension as w ell as t he dif ference bet w een t he double w ishbone and M acPherson st rut rear designs. Each design w as evaluated by crit eria such as camber gain, roll center height and migrat ion, bump steer, unprung mass, packaging ef f iciency and pit ch cont rol.

Each suspension geomet ry w as modeled in Opt imum Kinemat ics and simulated under condit ions like heave, roll, and pit ch mot ions w hich t hey w ould be exposed to be used on a vehicle. Result s show t hat push-rod designs improve packaging and reduce unsprung mass, w hile pull-rod setups low er t he center of gravit y and aid aerodynamics but require complex tuning and precision.

For rear setups, double w ishbone syst ems had better camber cont rol and roll center st abilit y, w hile M acPherson st rut s of fered simpler packaging w it h reduced tunabilit y.

Future w ork w ill complete modeling of all conf igurat ions, integrate manuf acturabilit y const raint s like mater ial availabilit y and cost , t hen conf irm result s w it h scaled f rame prot ot ype.

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ABSTRACTS The met abolic ef f ect s of omega-3 on a D.melanogaster Alzheimer ?s model

Dat a M ining Techniques and Applicat ions Chukwuebuka Okonkwo

Ye Htet Naing

Research Advisor: Dr. Suk-Chung Yoon

Research Advisor: Dr. Alexis Nagengast Alzheimer's Disease (AD) af f ect s over 55 million people w orldw ide and is project ed to reach 139 million by 2050.

The amyloid hypot hesis suggest s t hat amyloid-? (A?) pept ide deposit ion init iat es neurodegenerat ion t hrough inf lammat ion and synapt ic loss. Omega-3 f att y acids in f ish oil, par t icularly DHA and EPA, have show n neuroprotect ive proper t ies by reducing A? processing and inf lammat ion.

This study invest igated w het her omega-3 supplement at ion and rest r ict ive t ime feeding (RTF) could reduce inf lammat ion and improve out comes in a Drosophila melanogast er model of AD expressing t he A?42 gene. Flies expressing A?42 w ere subject ed to t hree diet ary intervent ions: cont rol diet , omega-3 (f ish oil, FO) supplement at ion, and rest rict ive t ime feeding. Locomotor assays w ere conducted to assess mot or f unct ion decline w it h age. M et abolic analysis measured t riglyceride and glycogen levels in larvae (n=6 males, 6 females per group).

Lifespan analysis t racked sur vival across t reat ment groups. Bot h omega-3 supplement at ion and RTF signif icant ly increased median lifespan compared to cont rols. I n f emales: cont rol (15.75 days), FO (16.80 days), RTF (19.92 days). I n males: cont rol (11.53 days), FO (12.16 days), RTF (14.50 days). Female larvae show ed signif icant ly elevated t r iglycer ide and glycogen levels w it h FO t reat ment , suggest ing sex-specif ic met abolic responses to EPA/DHA conversion or ut ilizat ion. These result s suggest Omega-3 supplement at ion and RTF demonst rat e protect ive ef f ect s against AD pat hology in t he f ly model, w it h RTF show ing t he most pronounced lifespan extension. The sex-specif ic met abolic dif ferences observed war rant f ur t her invest igat ion. Future studies w ill examine inf lammat ion markers in adult f lies to bett er underst and t he neuroprot ect ive mechanisms of t hese diet ary intervent ions.

This research project explores t he f undament al patter ns of dat a mining, focusing on associat ion rule mining, classif icat ion, clustering, and anomaly det ect ion. The study also review s key algorit hms, including AWS and Apr ior i, w hich suppor t t hese techniques. The primary object ive w as to underst and t he various dat a mining patter ns and evaluate t heir relat ive impor t ance across dif ferent applicat ion forms. Findings indicat e t hat associat ion r ule mining is par t icularly valuable in market -oriented companies for uncovering product relat ionships and customer behaviours. I n cont rast , classif icat ion t echniques are more essent ial for predict ive t asks and decision-making processes in diverse indust ries.

AI -Based Cr edit Car d Fr aud Det ect ion Using M ult iple M achine Lear ning Algor it hms Kalpan Patel Research Advisor: Dr. Suk-Chung Yoon Credit card f raud poses a signif icant t hreat to f inancial securit y, w it h f raudulent t ransact ions represent ing less t han 1% of tot al volume, creat ing a challenging class imbalance problem. This project develops an automated f raud det ect ion syst em using mult iple machine lear ning algorit hms and a user -f riendly w eb inter f ace. We implement ed four models Logist ic Regression, Random Forest , XGBoost , and Neural Net w orks on t he Kaggle Credit Card Fraud Detect ion dat aset cont aining 284,807 t ransact ions w it h 30 features. Our met hodology includes dat a preprocessing w it h St andardScaler, 80/20 t rain-t est splitt ing, and evaluat ion using precision, recall, and F1-score met r ics. The solut ion features a St reamlit w eb applicat ion allow ing users to select models, upload dat aset s, and visualize result s. XGBoost demonst rated superior perf ormance in handling imbalanced dat a. This w ork show cases pract ical machine learning skills including dat a preprocessing, model comparison, and w eb development , providing an accessible tool for f inancial inst itut ions to det ect f raudulent t ransact ions.

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ABSTRACTS High on Responsibilit y : Reddit and t he M or al of Cannabis Use Shannon Pfeifer, Isabel Rodriguez Research Advisor: Dr. Matt Reid Cannabis legalizat ion and normalizat ion have expanded across many regions, yet st igma and moral debates persist .

Online f or ums such as Reddit provide unique insight s into how t he public negot iates moralit y, responsibilit y, and et iquett e in ever yday context s. This study examined how Reddit users evaluat e accept able and unaccept able cannabis use across t hemes such as parent ing, relat ionships, neighbor disputes, public use, and ot her dimensions of social lif e. A dat aset of 583 post s w as coded for judgment s of t he original poster and cannabis user (e.g., "not t he asshole," "you're t he asshole"), contextual variables (e.g., legalit y, medical or ment al healt h use, presence of children, landlord or neighbor conf lict s, romant ic relat ionships), and engagement met rics (upvotes, comment s). Frequencies and cross-t abulat ions ident if ied patter ns in responses. Findings indicate cannabis use w as most of t en judged in relat ional and social context s rat her t han st r ict ly legal ones. Conf lict s involving children and romant ic par t ners drew harsher judgment s, w hile medical or ment al healt h use elicited great er sympat hy but less engagement . Alt hough legalit y shaped some evaluat ions, responses w ere more st rongly inf luenced by perceived impact s on ot hers. Overall, t his study highlight s how online communit ies navigate evolving cannabis nor ms and broader cultural negot iat ions around st igma, account abilit y, and accept ance.

Real-Time Speech-To-Speech Chat bot f or Human-Robot I nt er act ion Ethan Priore Research Advisor: Dr. Daniel Roozbahani Chat bot s of fer intuit ive and responsive interact ion bet w een a user and a machine, enabling a user to make request s and commands to a machine w it hout t he need for a t angible int er f ace. To communicate w it h moder n Large Language M odels (LLM ), a program w as developed to t ransf or m input audio to a st ring via VOSK (a local speech-t o-t ext sof t w are module), quer y t he conver t ed

st ring to an Applicat ion Programming I nterf ace (API ) f or a local or online LLM (OpenAI or Ollama), and synt hesize t he response w it h M icrosof t TTS (an online text -to-speech generat or). The pipeline w as w r itten in Pyt hon and opt imized for real-t ime communicat ion. The syst em was designed to be inter rupt ible to allow user override f or urgent request s. To mit igate t he risk of t he chat bot inter pret ing it s ow n audible responses as user inter rupt ions, an external robot ic plat form w as designed and implemented. The plat form ut ilizes a Raspberr y Pi-4B w it h a RespeakerV2 Hat w it h integrated Acoust ic Echo Cancellat ion (AEC) and stereo microphones. A ?head? st ructure w as mounted and driven by dual Dynamixel ser vos, and a speaker located in t he ?mout h?region provides audio out put . The head st ructure resembles ?I ron M an?to encourage users to interact w it h an iconic character. Future research w ill add anot her motorized axis for head yaw, incorporate stereo cameras for machine vision, and enable usef ul commands for external devices.

Pr omot ing Belonging and I nclusiv it y t hr ough t he Br eat he Boar d Out r each Hailey Richmond Research Advisor: Dr. Angela Corbo The Breat he Board promot es ment al healt h resources and st rives to reduce t he st igma of ment al illness. The current conf igurat ion of t he Breat he Board focuses on ser ving graduate and undergraduate student s. The Board also provides advocacy for f acult y suppor t and t raining. This SURCA project conducted a comprehensive evaluat ive t o assess it s current operat ions and develop st rat egies f or enhancing t he promot ion of ment al healt h and w ellbeing across t he universit y communit y. Employing a st r uctured SWOT (St rengt hs, Weaknesses, Oppor tunit ies, Threat s) analysis, t he board systemat ically ident if ied internal and external f actors t hat inf luence it s abilit y to meet t he needs of undergraduate student s, graduate student s, and employees. This analyt ic f ramew ork not only infor med organizat ional priorit ies but also illuminated new oppor tunit ies for out reach, resource integrat ion, and sust ainable program grow t h. The assessment revealed t he potent ial to expand t he board?s reach by leveraging alumni exper t ise, prof essional net w orks, and t ime cont ribut ions t o

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ABSTRACTS st rengt hen t he promot ion of campus resources and w ellbeing init iat ives. Concurrent ly, t he board began pilot ing t arget ed int ervent ions, including dedicat ed of f ice hours w it hin N URS-101Sect ions C and H and FYS101 (for COM S/DM I majors), t o provide direct access to resources and t o embed ment al healt h aw areness w it hin t he academic exper ience. These pilot programs are intended to nor malize dialogue around ment al healt h, reduce st igma, and creat e int ent ional, accessible point s of engagement for student s at varying st ages of t heir educat ional journey.

Future direct ions include broadening collaborat ion w it h key campus par t ners such as WAVE, Campus Safet y, and Human Resources. By integrat ing cross-depar t ment al exper t ise and reinf orcing net w orks of suppor t , t he Breat he Board seeks t o f ost er a holist ic, communit y-w ide approach to ment al healt h promot ion.

Under st anding cy anobact er ia blooms w it hin t he gr eat ponds of M ar t ha?s Viney ar d, M A

Tisbury, and Crackatuxet f rom June unt il Sept ember dur ing 2021 t hrough 2025. Not ably, t hese ponds range f rom f resh to marine w ater. We are current ly using PCR t o amplif y t he 16S rRNA gene, a universal marker gene in bacteria and archaea. We w ill t hen send t he samples out for sequencing and compare t he 16S sequences to a dat abase to match it w it h know n species of cyanobact eria.

I n addit ion, w e sent four DNA samples for met agenomic sequencing, w hich w ill help det ermine t he f unct ional potent ial of t he cyanobacteria communit ies. Analysis of t he met agenomes is ongoing and w e are mining published w ork on cyanobacteria to det ermine specif ic f unct ional genes to analyze in our samples. I n Fall 2025 w e w ill receive new samples to analyze. By det ermining t he t axonomic composit ion and met abolic potent ial of cyanobact eria blooms w e can better underst and w hy t hey occur and w hat can be done to stop t hem.

I nt egr at ing Aut onomous Dr iv ing Technology int o Elect r ic-Pow er ed Wheelchair s f or Enhanced M obilit y

Kealt Rodgers

Makia Salient Fausta

Research Advisor: Dr. Caroline Fortunato Cyanobact eria are phot osynt het ic bact er ia t hat are present on vir tually every cont inent and are t he t heorized ancest or of t he chloroplast . Cyanobact eria are t he base of marine f ood w ebs and provide much of t he oxygen in t he at mosphere. Some species of cyanobacter ia are bloom-f orming, a process by w hich t he populat ion of one or more species increases sharply w it hin a concent rated area. These blooms may produce toxins called cyanot oxins, and in high enough concent rat ions, t hese toxins may cause illness in humans. Our research focuses on t he great ponds of M ar t ha?s Vineyard, M A, because for over six years at least one of t he ponds has experienced a cyanobacterial bloom bet w een July and September. Because blooms may be composed of mult iple microbial species, w e must f irst learn t he microbial composit ion of t he ponds. By deter mining t he makeup of t he microbial communit y in t he wat er during bloom and non-bloom t imes, w e can underst and t he int erbacterial relat ionships w it hin t hese ponds and bett er underst and w hy t hese blooms occur. To deter mine t he microbial composit ion, w e ext ract ed and purif ied DNA f rom w ater samples collected across four ponds in M ar t ha?s Vineyard, M A: Chilmark, Edgar tow n,

Research Advisor: Dr. Xiaomu Song I n t his project , a semi-aut onomous intelligent elect ric-pow ered w heelchair w as designed to suppor t individuals w it h delayed react ion t imes by combining t he t radit ional manual cont rol w it h an autonomous dr iving and ant i-collision system. I n t he manual operat ion mode, t he w heelchair is driven by a joyst ick cont roller t hat direct s motor f unct ion for movement . How ever, w hen t he system det ect s a potent ial collision, it overrides manual cont rol and act ivates t he autonomous driving to prevent t he collision. To achieve a reliable environment al aw areness, t he w heelchair integrates t w o f ront -f acing 3D Light Detect ion and Ranging (LiDAR) sensors, t w o rear -f acing 2D LiDAR sensors, and four ult rasonic sensors (t w o in t he f ront and t w o in t he back). These sensors cont inuously scan t he surrounding area, generat ing real-t ime range dat a to det ect obst acles and predict potent ial collisions. The sensor dat a are processed using an onboard Nvidia Jet son TX2 (embedded AI comput ing module) w it h t he Robot Operat ing system (ROS 1). Pyt hon code w as developed to implement sensor dat a acquisit ion, processing, informat ion f usion, and decision making.

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ABSTRACTS A simult aneous localizat ion and mapping met hod was also implement ed, allow ing t he w heelchair to const ruct a local map of it s surroundings. This enables t he syst em not only to det ect nearby object s but also to ident if y open pat hs and plan saf er t raject ories. Anot her ef f or t w as made to implement a Kalman f ilter to est imate t he w heelchair?s cur rent and f uture posit ions. This predict ive capabilit y allow s t he w heelchair to act proact ively and minimize t he risk of collision. This project demonst rat es how t he mobile robot t echniques can be integrated into a w heelchair to advance saf et y and aut onomy in assist ive mobilit y technologies.

Br idging Digit al and Cult ur al Lit er acy t hr ough St or y t elling: St or ies Like M e Riya Sembhi Research Advisor: Dr. Katia Ciampa The ?Stories Like M e?program w as a f ree, six-w eek summer literacy init iat ive t hat integrated st ructured literacy inst ruct ion, digit al storyt elling, and culturally sust aining pedagogy t o suppor t early literacy development and ident it y f or mat ion among children aged 5?12 at J. Lew is Crozer Librar y in Chester, PA. This qualit at ive case study explores how st r uctured literacy pract ices, culturally relevant pedagogy, and digit al tools intersect to foster student conf idence, nar rat ive development , and engagement . Each w eek, t hemat ic sessions incor porated foundat ional lit eracy skills like pronouncing mult isyllabic w ords or sequent ial language w it h digit al project s using Canva, Google Ear t h, GarageBand, and CapCut . Student s engaged in creat ive expression w hile af f irming t heir cultural ident it ies like how t hey received t heir names or appreciat ing heroes in t heir communit y. Findings reveal f ive key t hemes: st r uctured literacy scaf folds, ident it y-building t hrough names and places, digit al t ools as creat ive enablers, vulnerabilit y and voice, and peer af f irmat ion serve as cat alyst s for culturally inclusive learning. The w ork highlight s t he impor t ance of embedding f undament al literacy skills w it hin ident it y-cent ered inst ruct ion, engaging t he student s in digit al creat ion and expression-based learning t hat t hey can t ake w it h t hem w herever t hey go.

How Env ir onment s Ref lect Self -I dent it y Dana Shaw Research Advisor: Dr. Michael Corcoran From childhood bedrooms to college dor ms to f irst homes, t he spaces w e call home can tell our stories before w e do.

People of ten view t heir living spaces as ext ensions of t hemselves, using t heir homes, bedrooms, and living spaces to communicate values, personalit y, and ident it y. These spaces can become living embodiment s of us. They can also inf luence how w e are perceived by ot hers. This raises an interest ing quest ion. Do individuals intent ionally curate t heir spaces to present an idealized version of t hemselves or does t heir environment reveal w ho t hey t ruly are? Are personal spaces a ref lect ion of w ho someone is or of how t hey w ant to be perceived? This current project explored t he connect ion bet w een personal space and w hat t hat says about us. To invest igate t his, I examined my dor m room as a primary case, analyzing how element s such as color choices, organizat ion, and personal object s embody my ident it y and values. This explorat ion ser ved as a foundat ion and pilot case for our ongoing research looking at t he link bet w een personal spaces and personalit y, par t icularly in t he context of college dorm rooms.

The Endur ing Legacy of Joshua C. Tay lor : The Tay lor Ar bor et um, it s past , pr esent , and f ut ur e?

Faatumah Sillah Research Advisor: Dr. Bruce Grant This poster out lines t he origin, management history, and last ing impact of t he Taylor Arboretum, a living t est ament to founder Joshua C. Taylor?s enduring legacy. Opened in 1946 by t he Chester law yer in memory of his late w if e, Anne Rulon Gray, t he 30-acre arboretum w as est ablished as a public space for environment al educat ion and nature appreciat ion. To ensure it s long-term preservat ion, Taylor also created t he Taylor Foundat ion. Locat ed along Ridley Creek in Wallingford, Pennsylvania, t he arboretum is a cultural landmark and ecological sanctuary, promot ing conservat ion and sust ainable land management . I t s diverse habit at s suppor t a w ide range of nat ive plant s and w ildlife. Beyond it s plant collect ions, it ser ves as a center for ecological research and communit y engagement , ser ving as a living classroom and out door laborator y.

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ABSTRACTS The arboretum?s management has evolved over t ime. From 1993 to 2000, t he Natural Lands Trust oversaw t he proper t y, focusing on ecological preservat ion and educat ion. I n 2016, Widener Universit y acquired t he arboretum t rust account .

The universit y int egrated t he sit e into it s academic programs and now manages it s daily operat ions and long-t er m planning, ensuring t he arboretum cont inues it s legacy of conservat ion. The Taylor Arboretum features notew or t hy t ree collect ions, including Giant Dogw ood (Cornus controversa), Needle Juniper (Juniperus rigida), Daw n Redw ood (Metasequoia), and var ious species of oaks, hollies, and magnolias. The arboretum's var ied plant ings, including Bald Cypress around t he pond and ground-level plant ings of f erns, w ildf low ers, and mosses, create a diverse ecosyst em f or public enjoyment , research, and conser vat ion. At t he moment t he Taylor Arboretum is at an impor t ant crossroad in it s 80 year history: on 30 September 2025, Tom Kirk w ill end his term as preserve manager of t he Taylor Arboretum, and t he f uture of arboretum management by members of Widener 's Facult y and st af f communit ies is cur rent ly uncer t ain.

result s. To accelerate restorat ion, a new init iat ive began in summer 2024: M ay Apple rhizomes w ere t ransplant ed f rom dense clusters by Ridley Creek to t he upland West Woods.

Our 2025 census found t hat t hese t ransplant s w ere successf ul. How ever, an unintended consequence was t he spread of Lesser Celandine (Ficaria verna), as it s t iny tubers w ere also t ransplanted w it h t he M ay Apple rhizomes. We manually removed t he Celandine, aiming t o avoid damaging t he M ay Apples. Our f indings indicat e t hat act ive t ransplant at ion is a necessary and ef fect ive st rategy for rapidly restor ing t his keyst one nat ive species. How ever, it also highlight s t he crit ical need to develop met hods f or removing Lesser Celandine tubers f rom t he soil mat rices before t ransplant at ion to prevent f ur t her spread of invasive species. This project aims to demonst rate t hat act ive t ransplant at ion is vit al for enhancing biodiversit y in urban w oodlands post -invasive removal.

Reclaiming t he Under st or y : A Rest or at ion I nit iat ive f or M ay Apple (Podophyllum peltatum) at Tay lor Ar bor et um

Research Advisor: Dr. Hemlata Mistry

Zahra Simmons Research Advisor: Dr. Bruce Grant Urban green spaces, such as Widener Universit y's Taylor Arboretum, are cr ucial for nat ive biodiversit y but are suscept ible t o invasive species. Over t hree decades, nat ive M ay Apple (Podophyllum peltatum) populat ions in t he arboretum's West Woods have declined due to dense encroachment by invasive English I vy (Hedera helix) and Honeysuckle (Lonicera sp.). A pr ior 2021 study by Widener student s and Dr. Grant init iat ed a long-t er m experiment by manually removing invasive species f rom eleven 9m2 plot s.

Follow -up censuses in 2023 and 2024 show ed t hat t his removal was ef f ect ive, leading to M ay Apple densit y recover y in plot s w here plant s w ere previously present (success driven by clonal grow t h f rom underground rhizomes). How ever, M ay Apple recovery w as ext remely slow in plot s w here it had been completely eliminated, likely due t o low seed germinat ion and seedling est ablishment rat es. Building on t hese f indings, our 2025 project re-censused t he same plot s, conf ir ming t hese

Det er mining t he Genet ic Chr onological Response in a Drosophila M odel f or Spinal Cor d I njur ies Lilly Stiles

I njury to t he cent ral nervous syst em (CNS) disrupt s t issue integrit y and t riggers inf lammat ory responses t hat complicat e repair. I n ver tebrat es, injur y of ten result s in scar format ion, w hich limit s axon regrow t h and t he f ull restorat ion of neuronal communicat ion. The f ruit f ly, Drosophila melanogaster, ser ves as a valuable model organism for studying t hese repair processes due to it s conserved nervous system and annot ated genome. Prior studies in Drosophila lar vae have ident if ied kon, pros, ia-2, and dilp-6 as key glial-specif ic genes regulat ing t rauma.

This project focuses on late-st age Drosophila embryos t o invest igate how t hese genes and t he Notch signaling pat hway cont ribute to CNS repair.

So f ar, I have collected f ly embr yos f rom cont rol, injury, and mock-injury condit ions. From each sample, I ext ract ed RNA and verif ied it s qualit y. The good qualit y RNA was t hen used to synt hesize complement ary DNA (cDNA), w hich act s as t he template for later analysis. Using cont rol cDNA, I tested mult iple primer pairs for each gene of interest and select ed t he most ef f icient pairs for specif ic gene region amplif icat ion. These opt imized primers provide t he foundat ion for ident if ying gene expression

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ABSTRACTS patter ns f ollow ing CNS injury in embryos. M oving for ward, I plan t o ut ilize quant it at ive PCR (qPCR) to measure gene expression changes across injury samples.

This w ill help me achieve my goal of mapping t he molecular event s t hat underlie t he t rauma response and repair af t er spinal cord injury. Ult imately, t hese f indings could cont ribut e t o developing more ef fect ive st rategies for promot ing spinal cord regenerat ion in humans.

A Riv er Tow n Rev iew of Big Timber Cr eek

run at 1000 RPM w it h blade pit ches bet w een 0 and 15 degrees, bot h w it h and w it hout t he w ood obst ruct ion, and lif t and vibrat ion ef fect s w ere measured. Only minor increases in lif t force and vibrat ion in t he ver t ical direct ion w ere observed; w hile not completely negligible, it is unlikely t hat a small por t ion of elevated ter rain w ould af fect rotor perf ormance in a signif icant manner. I t is possible t hat t he ef fect is more observable on large scales, but f ur t her test ing w ould be required to verif y t his.

Candidat e Af f init y Dr iv ing Polit ical Polar izat ion and Tr ibalism in t he US

Lauren Taylor Research Advisor: Dr. Bruce Grant

Sean Walls

The Nat ional Park Service?s Rivers, Trails, and Conservat ion Assist ance Program creat ed a ?toolkit ?for tow ns w it h rivers f low ing t hrough t hem to assess and enhance t heir waterw ays f or recreat ion and tourism oppor tunit ies. The goal of t his project w as to use t his toolkit to perfor m a River Tow n Review of Sout hern New Jersey?s Big Timber Creek. How can t he river be embraced, preserved, and celebrat ed as a resource? Communit y out reach, local w orkshops, volunt eer sourcing, and a ?f resh set of eyes? w ere crucial in gat hering t he dat a needed to improve t he exper ience of Big Timber Creek. The f ull review w as not complet ed w it hin t he given t ime f rame; how ever, I was able to f inalize major st eps necessary to reach t he goal of a f inal repor t and st rategic plan to move forw ard. I w as also able to improve my communicat ion skills and w iden my know ledge of plant ident if icat ion, agricultural engineering, and local government issues.

Lif t And Vibr at ion Ef f ect s On A Rot or Ov er Uneven Ter r ain Jack Verhagen Research Advisor: Dr. Steven Pagano The ground ef f ect is a w ell-documented phenomenon in aerodynamics w here an airf oil?s lif t perfor mance is increased w hile near a sur f ace. The vast majorit y of dat a surrounding t he ground ef f ect is gat hered over f lat , even terrain; f or t his study, only a small por t ion of t he rotor?s sw ept area was w it hin t he range in w hich any meaningf ul ground ef f ect can be observed. This w as achieved using a plank of w ood bolt ed beneat h a rot or test st and, simulat ing a dock or a small sect ion of elevated terrain. The st and w as

Research Advisor: Dr. J. Wesley Leckrone American polit ics have become a breeding ground f or division in today?s societ y. Polit ics have long been a t aboo subject t hat evokes deep emot ional react ions and sparks individuals to lash out in uncivil w ays. But how did w e get here? The aim of t his study is to examine how people ident if y w it h individual polit ical candidat es as a potent ial explanat ion as to w hy w e are so divided. Candidat e Af f init y is t he degree to w hich people are loyal to candidat es even if a polit ician?s policy st ances conf lict w it h t heir ow n st ances and interest s. The w orks of Amy Chua, Lilian M ason, t he American Academy of Ar t s and Sciences, M att hew Levendusky, Jenif er Wolak, and t heir peers f orm t he basis for t his study. I f ur t her t heir argument s by examining t heir dat a, to see how att ached people have become to polit ical candidat es. This study analyzes t he social and t he polit ical ef fect s of candidate af f init y, as individuals have become more and more t ribalist ic. This polit ical t ribalism has now af fected our societ y in how w e preview one anot her. Last ly, t his study provides policy and social recommendat ions t hat aim at bridging t he dived in our societ y.

Recov er y of Elect r ochemical-Gr ade Gr aphit e f r om Spent Lit hium-I on Bat t er ies David Young Research Advisor: Dr. Dipendu Saha As lit hium-ion batt eries become increasingly impor t ant t o indust ries like elect ric vehicles and energy storage, recycling t heir component s is crit ical to sust aining

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ABSTRACTS increasing demand. Current recycling processes focus mainly on precious met al recovery due to it s relat ively high value. Graphit e-t he key mat erial in batter y anodes and it has been largely overlooked in t he recycling process. This research aims t o explore met hods for recycling graphite to promot e a more circular economy, w hereas much of a product as possible is reused. I n t his study, graphit e-cont aining anodes w ere separated using var ious acids and organic solvent s. The result ing samples w ere analyzed using X-ray Dif f ract ion (XRD) to assess t heir cryst alline st r uctures and Energy-dispersive X-ray spect roscopic t echniques (EDS) to analyze t he chemical purit y. One of t he recovered graphit e samples, found to be 98-99% pure graphit e w it h only t race impur it ies, demonst rat ing t he ef fect iveness of t he separat ion technique.

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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

Widener Universit y has a st rong inst itut ional commit ment t o t he SURCA program. We w ould like to t hank President St acey Rober t son, former Provost Andy Workman, I nterim Provost M ark N icosia, Former SURCA co-directors Drs. Angie Corbo & Loyd Bast in, Dr. Kr ishna Bhat , Associate Dean Cat herine Feminella, Jessica Prince, Jessica List a, James Gulick, and Dr. Cynt hia Sar noski.

We t hank our w eekly session f acilit ators: (1) Widener alumni speakers M egan Brow n, N ick Caputo John M ason, and Jessica M ereshensky; (2) Dr. Har ry Augensen, Prof . John Conte, and M ar t y Schult z w ho host ed St ars and Smores; (3) Joi Dallas Shaw on inclusion and belonging; (4) Jamie O?Leary and WAVE on consent (5) Janet Long f rom Widener?s Career Design and Development Of f ice: (4) President Rober t son on t he value of social connect ions an relat ionships bot h personally and professionally, (5) Corina Evans, Jennifer Scuderi, and t he rest of t he Pride Rec st af f in helping f acilit ate our SURCA Kickball Game, and (6)Widener alum Alec Lynch w ho curated and f acilit ated a t rivia game.

A special t hank you to N icole Car rera, M onica Connell, and Trudy Depew for t heir help planning t he SURCA Symposium! And f inally, a special t hank you to our judges for helping us w it h t he impossible t ask of select ing t he best posters f rom such an impressive group of posters.

Wit h sincerit y and war mt h, Drs. M ike Corcoran and Rob M ishur, SURCA Program Co-direct ors

Widener University Summer Undergraduate Research and Creative Activities Program