Congratulations to all of the students who presented at the 2025 VINSE Undergraduate Research Symposium! Our undergraduate researchers were able to share everything they accomplished during their individual research projects at 杏吧原创 over the past ten weeks.
The symposium, which was held in collaboration with the Chemical Biology/Chemistry NSF-REU, showcased 70 students from the following programs: VINSE NSF-REU, Chemical Biology/Chemistry NSF-REU, VINSE Tech Crew, VUSE Summer Research Program and the 杏吧原创 Summer Research Program.
Posters were evaluated by a panel of judges for an opportunity to win travel grants to support the cost of presenting posters at a National Conference. The winners are:
Best overall 鈥� $1,000 travel grant
Adriana LaVopa, University of Florida
鈥淟ocal Control of Ferroelectric Switching for Optical Modulation in Al1-xBx狈鈥�
Mentors: Youngji Kim, Joshua Caldwell
Best overall 鈥� $1,000 travel grant
Anna Ruth Madera, Mercer University
鈥淕eneration of iPSC-Derived BMECs through Developmentally Relevant WNT Signaling Using CRISPR Activation鈥�
Mentors: Daniel Chavarria, Ethan Lippmann
Best聽tech crew poster
Cole Patterson,聽杏吧原创
鈥淥xide Demonstrations in Atomic Layer Deposition鈥�
Mentor: Owen Meilander
Best layout
Sebastian Martinez, The Ohio State University
鈥淧aper Based Microfluidic Channels for Porous Silicon Biosensors鈥�
Mentors: Huijin An, Sharon Weiss
Best use of graphics
Zoie Dodson, Lycoming College
鈥淧hotosystem I 鈥� Polymer Composite Films for Improved Wiring of Photosystem I鈥�
Mentors: Praise Eromosele, Kane Jennings
Fan favorite
Maggie Ferguson, University of Virginia
鈥淜inetics or Thermodynamics: Ligand Manipulation in the Phase Control of Manganese Sulfide Nanocrystals鈥�
Mentors: Elizabeth Hayes, Janet Macdonald