UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Seventy-four Penn State graduate students earned first-, second- or third-place prizes at the 2023 Graduate Exhibition, held March 20-24 on the University Park campus and online. More than 275 students from more than 65 graduate programs participated in one of five categories: research, design, performance, visual arts and video. 

Founded in 1986, the Graduate Exhibition is a Penn State tradition that provides graduate students with an opportunity to discuss their research and scholarship with a general audience. Judges comprise local community members in addition to Penn State staff, faculty and students.  

In addition to competing for a prize in each of the five exhibition categories, students can choose to be evaluated for two awards recognizing excellence in themes that are important for many areas of research and scholarship. The University Libraries hosts an annual Data Visualization award at the Graduate Exhibition. New for 2023, the Graduate Exhibition also includes an award to recognize a presentation that explores themes of diversity, equity and inclusion as it relates to the student’s discipline.  

First-place winners receive $500; second-place winners receive $250, and third-place winners receive $100. For the Data Visualization Award, first place will receive $150, with honorable mention receiving $75. 

View the entire list of winners below.  

Design option 

First place 

• Zandra Siple, College of Arts and Architecture / theatre, “Designing for Marginalized Groups: A Dramaturgical Exploration into the Costume Design for ‘Emilia’” 

Second place 

• Andre Brandao de Castro, College of Arts and Architecture / theatre, “Designing Resistance and Intolerance — A Scenic Design for the Musical ‘CABARET’” 

• Mia Irwin, College of Arts and Architecture / theatre, “Metamorphoses: Storytelling and Scenic Design as Odes to Change” 

Third place 

• Arjun Kizhakkemarakkattil Janardhanan, College of Arts and Architecture / architecture, “'Library 25': City as a generator for the type” 

Performance option 

First place 

• Daniel Spearman, College of Arts and Architecture / performance, trumpet, “Can String Quartets Dance?” performed with Ailish Quiñones, undergraduate student, piano; Anton Fatula, undergraduate student, tenor saxophon; Alexio Ciorra, undergraduate student, bass, Max Dungan, undergraduate student, guitar; and Richard Horning, undergraduate student, drums 

Second place 

• Katherine Brown, College of Arts and Architecture / performance, viola, “Sea Foam,” performed with Taylor Shea, College of Arts and Architecture / performance, viola; Samuel Rothermel, College of Arts and Architecture / music, viola; and Andrea Alvarado Troncoso, College of Arts and Architecture / performance, viola 

Third place 

• Ruth Stokes, College of Arts and Architecture / performance, cello, “The Kalmia Piano Quartet,” performed with Bryan Jones, College of Arts and Architecture / piano performance, piano; Zephyr Wills, College of Arts and Architecture / performance, viola; and Allison Smith, College of Arts and Architecture / performance, violin 

Research poster option 

Arts and humanities 

First place 

• Sarah Carey, College of the Liberal Arts / philosophy, “Reading Resistance in Eleazar’s Elegy” 

Second place 

• Jingyuan Zhuang, College of the Liberal Arts / applied linguistics, “Learning L2 English modality through online concept-based language instruction: A mixed methods investigation” 

Third place 

• Maryam Aman, College of Arts and Architecture / architecture, “Enhancing Energy Performance of Single-Family Housing through Parametric Modeling” 

Engineering 

First place 

• Tasneem Tariq, College of Arts and Architecture / architecture, “Impact of Vegetated Infrastructure to Mitigate the Urban Heat Island Effect in Dhaka, Bangladesh” 

Second place 

• Kevin Mekulu, College of Engineering / industrial engineering, “Sensor-based Detection of Neurocognitive Disorders in a Virtual Environment: An Intelligent Approach,” co-presented with Haedong Kim, College of Engineering / industrial engineering 

Third place 

• Jorge Diaz Gutierrez, College of Engineering / civil engineering, “COVID-19 Impacts on Online and In-store Shopping Behaviors: Why They Happened and Whether They Will Last Post Pandemic,” co-presented with Helia Mohammadi Mavi, College of Engineering / civil engineering 

• Tykeesha Jefferson, College of Agricultural Sciences / biorenewable systems, “Analyzing the Economic Feasibility of Establishing a Hop Enterprise in Pennsylvania” 

• Yajie Wu, College of Agricultural Sciences / biorenewable systems, “Optimizing Lignin Valorization in Biorefinery Systems with Biological Upgrading for Economic Viability” 

• Yanqiu Yang, College of Agricultural Sciences / agricultural and biological engineering, “Smartphone-assisted apple scab identification and quantification using artificial intelligence” 

Health and Life Sciences 

First place 

• Andrew Miles, intercollege / plant biology, “Beech Leaf Disease: Investigating Tree Health in American Beech (Fagus grandifolia) 

• Ya Chi Nien, intercollege / plant biology, “Regulation of trans-species microRNAs biogenesis in the parasitic plant Cuscuta campestris” 

• Zachary Dimattia, College of Health and Human Development / nutritional sciences, “Exploratory Analysis of Metabolomic Profiles Between Responders and Non-responders of Prune Supplementation on Bone Health in Postmenopausal Women” 

Second place 

• Courtney Poholsky, College of Agricultural Sciences / animal science, “Understanding feed and nutrient flow in commercial meat bird houses and the impacts of nutrient variability on broiler performance” 

• Oindrila Sinha, College of Health and Human Development / kinesiology, “Smooth pursuit eye movements contribute to anticipatory force control during mechanical stopping of moving objects” 

Third place 

• Jigar Gosalia, College of Health and Human Development / kinesiology, “A Novel Approach for Interrogating Brain Vascular Health and the Relation to Cognitive Function: Proof-of-Concept Analysis” 

• Sabrina Sony, Eberly College of Science / biochemistry, microbiology, and molecular biology, “Determination of the ADSL deficiency-directed perturbation and mechanism impacting the changes in tyramine level” 

Physical Sciences and Mathematics  

First place 

• Jhony Benavides Bolanos, College of Agricultural Sciences / soil science, “Vertical Accuracy of Remotely Piloted Aircraft System-Based Structure from Motion Photogrammetry for Reconstructing Digital Elevation Models on Agricultural Fields” 

Second place 

• Vaibhav Pal, Eberly College of Science / chemistry, “Development of an Air-Assisted Co-Axial Device for Mass Production of Versatile Microgels for Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine Applications” 

Social and Behavioral Sciences 

First place 

• Arun Regmi, College of Agricultural Sciences / forest resources, “Spatial variation in forest owners' perspective of prescribed fire use in the Mid-Atlantic USA” 

• Gabriela Rivera Magallanes, Smeal College of Business / business administration, “A Qualitative Investigation of Unethical Leadership: Toward a Model of Antecedents and Outcomes” 

• Madisen Plunkert, College of Agricultural Sciences / education, development, and community engagement, “Principals’ Perceptions of and Perceived Barriers to Implementing Agricultural Literacy in Pennsylvania Grades K-8" 

Second place 

• Carson Letot, College of Agricultural Sciences / agricultural and extension education, “Exploring Preservice Secondary Agricultural Educator Perceptions of Global Issues Integration into Instruction” 

• Israa Samarin, College of Education / workforce education and and development, “Unlocking the Potential of Personal Agility: An Analytical and Visual Approach to Employee Experience” 

• Rinanda Shaleha, College of Health and Human Development / human development and family studies, “'Does it really matter?': Adverse Childhood Experiences, Self-Esteem, and Anhedonia Cause Learning Differences on a Probabilistic Reward Reversal Learning Task,” co-presented with Kathleen Meeks, College of Health and Human Development / human development and family studies; and Vani Gupta, College of Health and Human Development / human development and family studies 

• Sana Ahrar, College of Arts and Architecture / architecture, “Assessing Emerging Methods for Post-Pandemic Community-Based Research” 

• Yue Hao, College of Information Sciences and Technology / informatics, "Multi-perspective Characterization of Anaphylactic Risk for COVID-19 Vaccination - A Visual Analytic Approach"

Third place 

• Michael Burnham, College of the Liberal Arts / political science, “Semantic Scaling” 

• Sian Lee, College of Information Sciences and Technology / informatics, “Effects of Evidence-Based Communication of COVID-19 Vaccine on Vaccination Intention” 

• Xue Xiao, Smeal College of Business / business administration, “Climate Transition Risk and Commercial Real Estate” 

Video option 

First place 

• Ryan Naylor, College of Health and Human Development / recreation park and tourism management, “Scale vs authenticity in tourism development: Preliminary results from three communities in Southeast Alaska” 

Second place 

• Connor Huxman, College of Engineering / mechanical engineering, “Leveraging Mechanical Flexibility to Improve Bone Healing” 

• Gustavo Herrera Diaz, College of the Liberal Arts / Spanish, “Reformulating Cubanness: Dionysian mysteries and Afro-Cuban ceremonies in the work of Fernando Ortiz” 

• Nikhil Komalla, College of Earth and Mineral Sciences / energy and mineral engineering, “Computer-Accelerated Research: Unlocking the Potential of Green Hydrogen for a Sustainable Energy Future” 

Third place 

• Daniel Davis, College of Health and Human Development / kinesiology, “Task dependent function of the foot's arch and its relation to ankle joint function” 

• Eden Binega Yemesegen, College of Engineering / architectural engineering, “Exploring 3D Printing Technology for Sustainable 'HempCobcrete' Structures: Material Science and Design Analysis” 

• Stephen Anderson, College of the Liberal Arts / psychology, “Examining the Moral Significance of Secondhand Sources of Empathy” 

• Sydney Reichin, College of the Liberal Arts / psychology, “A Test of the Integrative Typology Model for Aggression” 

• Yashaswini Rajendra Bhat, College of Health and Human Development / nutritional sciences, “Eating in the Absence of Hunger (EAH) remains stable in middle childhood (7–9-year-olds)” 

Visual Arts 

First place 

• Casey Burton, College of Arts and Architecture / art, “I sleep alone” 

• Parisa Farjamfar, College of Arts and Architecture / art, “GODS vs. DEMONS Playing Cards” 

Second place 

• Danielle Schwesinger, College of Arts and Architecture / art, “Disjointed” 

• Tannaz Hajimirzaamin, College of Arts and Architecture / art, “It was war” 

Third place 

• Jordan Wolf, College of Arts and Architecture / art, “The Importance of Play” 

• Michaela Holt, College of Arts and Architecture / art, “desktop playground” 

Special Awards 

Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Award 

First place 

• Emily Sterk, College of the Liberal Arts / Spanish, “The Future in the Hands of Trans Sex Workers in Rita Indiana’s La mucama de Omicunlé” 

• Jessica Magness, College of Education / school psychology, “Availability of Online Resources for LGBTQ+ Youth in Rural School Districts” 

Second place 

• Kevin Cedeno, College of the Liberal Arts / philosophy, “Situating the Ethics, Political Philosophy, and Aesthetics of Anna Julia Cooper” 

• McKenna Sakamoto, College of the Liberal Arts / psychology, “An Examination of Racial/Ethnic Differences on the Neurobehavioral Symptom Inventory Among Veterans with a History of TBI: A Million Veteran Program Study” 

• Sabrina Evans, College of the Liberal Arts / English, “The Perils of Travel and the Practice of Constant Agitation in the Writings of Mary Church Terrell” 

• Zandra Siple, College of Arts and Architecture / theatre, “Designing for Marginalized Groups: A Dramaturgical Exploration into the Costume Design for ‘Emilia’” 

Third place 

• Chao Tang, College of the Liberal Arts / German, “The Active Influence of Taoism in German Modernist Literature” 

• Fernando Quinones Valdivia, College of the Liberal Arts / Communication Arts and Sciences, “Undocumented Times: Rhetorics of a Colonial Moment” 

• Jennifer Mott, Eberly College of Science / biology, “Development of Mouse Model and Gene Therapy for TAR Syndrome” 

• Madisyn Simington, College of Arts and Architecture / art, “Deliberation of the Self” 

• Marjorie Jauregui, College of Agricultural Sciences / food science, “Evaluation of the effects of growing and drying conditions on the nutritional and phytochemical composition of emergency foods in a post-nuclear war scenario,” co-presented by Swathi Kothattil, College of Agricultural Sciences / plant pathology and environmental microbiology  

• Md Ehtesham-Ul-Haque, College of Information Sciences and Technology / informatics, “Grid-Coding: An Accessible, Efficient, and Structured Coding Paradigm for Blind and Low-Vision Programmers” 

• Parisa Farjamfar, College of Arts and Architecture / art, “GODS vs. DEMONS Playing Cards” 

• Sana Ahrar, College of Arts and Architecture / architecture, “Assessing Emerging Methods for Post-Pandemic Community-Based Research” 

Data Visualization Award 

First place 

• Zachary Dimattia, College of Health and Human Development / nutritional sciences, “Exploratory Analysis of Metabolomic Profiles Between Responders and Non-responders of Prune Supplementation on Bone Health in Postmenopausal Women” 

• Andrew Miles, intercollege / plant biology, “Beech Leaf Disease: Investigating Tree Health in American Beech (Fagus grandifolia) 

• Ya Chi Nien, intercollege / plant biology, “Regulation of trans-species microRNAs biogenesis in the parasitic plant Cuscuta campestris” 

Honorable mention 

• Tasneem Tariq, College of Arts and Architecture / architecture, “Impact of Vegetated Infrastructure to Mitigate the Urban Heat Island Effect in Dhaka, Bangladesh” 

• Kevin Mekulu, College of Engineering / industrial engineering, “Sensor-based Detection of Neurocognitive Disorders in a Virtual Environment: An Intelligent Approach. 

• Courtney Poholsky, College of Agricultural Sciences / animal science, “Understanding feed and nutrient flow in commercial meat bird houses and the impacts of nutrient variability on broiler performance”