Spring 2023 Symposium Winners

KENNESAW, Ga. | April 24, 2023

The Office of Undergraduate Research hosted the Spring 2023 Symposium of Student Scholars April 18-21, featuring 658 students, 375 research projects, and 199 mentors.

The event is held twice each year to give undergraduate and graduate researchers across all disciplines an opportunity to present their work to a broader audience.

"The Symposium of Student Scholars is a unique opportunity for students to take their research and explain it to both colleagues and people outside their discipline," Director of Undergraduate Research Amy Buddie said. "I am impressed by the level of scholarship displayed by these students and appreciative of the effort they put into these presentations."

Aaron Bell was awarded the top undergraduate award for his presentation, 'The Symbiotic Relationship of Screenplay and Storyboard: Arguing for the Crucial Role of Screenplay in Animation,' an examination of why screenplay remains important to animation. In addition to the relationship between screenplay and storyboard, the presentation focused on the importance of each element in pre-production of animated features and the reasons behind a recent decline in usage of screenplays in the greater animation industry.

Oluwaseun Omodemi won the top graduate award for his presentation, 'Elucidating Raman Spectra of Molecules Through ab initio Classical Molecular Dynamics Simulations,' which utilized Raman spectroscopy, a chemical analysis technique that is used to detect vibrational, rotational, and other states in a molecular system, to better understand anharmonic spectral features in hydrogen-bonded systems.

• Top Presentation, Undergraduate: Aaron Bell, 'The Symbiotic Relationship of Screenplay and Storyboard: Arguing for the Crucial Role of Screenplay in Animation.'
  Research Mentor: Anna Weinstein, Department of English.
• First Runner-Up, Undergraduate: Dalton Shaver, 'OPERATION ENDURING FREEDOM: Improving Mission Effectiveness by Identifying Trends in Successful Terrorism.'
  Research Mentors: Susan Hardy, Austin Brown, and Herman Ray, School of Data Science and Analytics.
• Second Runner-Up, Undergraduate: Cortney Calligan, 'The Big Five and Informant Behavior: Can Personality Predict when Students Snitch?'
  Research Mentor: Jennifer Willard, Department of Psychological Science.
• Top Presentation, Graduate: Oluwaseun Omodemi, 'Elucidating Raman Spectra of Molecules Through ab initio Classical Molecular Dynamics Simulations.'
  Research Mentors: Martina Kaledin, Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry.
• First Runner-Up, Graduate: Samantha Kennett and Bernhard Seifert, 'The ManhattAnt: Identification and Dietary Ecology of a Recently Introduced Urban Ant in New York City, Lasius emarginatus.'
  Research Mentor: Clint Penick and Todd W. Pierson Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Organismal Biology
• Second Runner-Up, Graduate: Melanie Antonio, Breanna McDonald, Micah Poisal, William Reed, and Lacey Harper, 'Acute Effects of a Brisk Walk on Muscle Function and Balance in Females.'
  Research Mentors: Garrett Hester, Department of Exercise Science and Sport Management.

Click here to see a full list of past winners.

The Office of Undergraduate Research maintained a live blog during Symposium, highlighting a handful of presentations in real time.

– David Roberts
Photo by Matt Yung