Spring Symposium showcases impactful research of KSU students

KENNESAW, Ga. | Apr 24, 2024

The Spring 2024 Symposium of Student Scholars drew more than 1,000 attendees last week, providing a stage for undergraduate and graduate students at Kennesaw State University to present their impactful research projects.

The biannual event, which is hosted by the Office of Undergraduate Research (OUR), featured 319 projects submitted by 587 students under the guidance of 180 different faculty research mentors. Spread over three days, the Spring 2024 Symposium of Student Scholars included oral presentations, poster and visual presentations, and virtual presentations.

Mathematics major Desyne Martinez won top undergraduate presentation award for his research project, ‘Multiple Myeloma: Increase Longevity and Quality of Life through Early Detection.’ 

Martinez’s father was diagnosed with stage 3 multiple myeloma, and after seeing the lack of knowledge that exists about this particular type of cancer, Martinez decided to find answers on his own. Through his research, he found that not only does this type of cancer present inconsistently, but his father could have had these cancer cells for at least two years before he was diagnosed.

Martinez is mentored by Susan Hardy, senior lecturer of statistics, and Gene Ray, professor of data science and biostatistics, in the College of Computing and Software Engineering. 

The top presentation for graduate students was awarded to Jayden Ayash and Pritam Deb for their project, ‘Resin-based versus Glass Ionomer Dental Sealants: A Detailed Literature Review for Cost-Effectiveness Analysis.’ 

Due to the high number of dental caries in children and adolescents, Ayash and Deb sought to determine the most cost-effective approach to reduce decay. The pair examined resin-based and glass ionomer sealants to highlight the differences in retention rate and caries prevention rates between the two methods. 

Ayash and Deb are mentored by Christina Scherrer, professor of industrial engineering in the Southern Polytechnic College of Engineering and Engineering Technology.

Each year, OUR hosts two Symposiums of Student Scholars: one for the fall semester and one for the spring semester. This offers undergraduate and graduate researchers a chance to share their hard work with not only their peers but the general public.

“The Symposium of Student Scholars is an opportunity for both the students to present and the KSU community to learn about the research our amazing students are conducting,” said Director of Undergraduate Research Amy Buddie. “There are projects in every college, so it's fun to see the range of research at KSU. Most conferences are specialized in one field, but at the Symposium, you can see a work of art next to a chemistry poster. You can watch a psychology presentation on prenatal and postnatal care in prisons, followed by a performance of a television pilot by a media and entertainment major. The projects are extremely high quality, which is a testament to both the hard work by students and the excellent mentorship of KSU's faculty and staff.”

Click here to see a full list of past winners.

Story by Alyssa Ozment

Photo by Judith Pishnery

 

• Top Presentation, Undergraduate

  Desyne Martinez, ‘Multiple Myeloma: Increase Longevity and Quality of Life through Early Detection’

  Research Mentor(s): Susan Hardy & Gene Ray, School of Data Science and Analytics 

• First Runner-Up, Undergraduate

  Chantelle Chapman, ‘Parakeet Lost: Casting Light on North America’s Forgotten Native Parrot’

  Research Mentor(s): Jonathan Fisher, School of Art & Design

• Second Runner-Up, Undergraduate

  Ben Gibbas, Jose Gutierrez-Cardenas, & Kyle Whitaker, ‘Geometry Optimization and Energetics Analysis of Cyclo[10]Carbon Structures via Ab Initio Methods’

  Research Mentor(s): Martina Kaledin, Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry

• Top Presentation, Graduate

  Jayden Ayash & Pritam Deb, ‘Resin-based versus Glass Ionomer Dental Sealants: A Detailed Literature Review for Cost-Effectiveness Analysis’

  Research Mentor(s): Christina Scherrer, Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering 

• First Runner-Up, Graduate

  Stephen Jacobs, ‘Exploring Neural Networks for Breast Cancer Tissue Classification’

  Research Mentor(s): Md Abdullah Al Hafiz Khan, Department of Computer Science

• Second Runner-Up, Graduate

  Pritam Deb & Jayden Ayash, ‘Evaluating the Health Benefits and Cost-Effectiveness of Dental Sealant Reapplication among Children and Adolescents’

  Research Mentor(s): Christina Scherrer, Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering