UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Penn State University Libraries presented its seventh annual Undergraduate Research Award: Excellence in Information Literacy honors at the end of the spring 2024 semester to 111 students at 20 undergraduate Penn State campuses.

 “The University Libraries is committed to ensuring that our students have the information literacy skills they need to create new knowledge and enter a scholarly conversation,” said Dawn Amsberry, instruction librarian and organizer of the award program. “This year’s awardees demonstrated a high level of understanding of how to use information appropriately to support their research.”

University Libraries employees follow a unified set of judging and learning outcomes criteria for participants University-wide as they assess student research posters and presentations. Judges from the University Libraries considered or discussed with participants:

• research process, strategies, and selection of sources to support the research question and information on the importance of these sources, as space allows on the poster
• source integration to understand the scholarly conversation on the topic and to help influence the direction of the research project
• attribution and consistent citations for any quotes, tables, graphs, photographs and other content used in the poster that are not the student's own work
• an understanding of the social, ethical or economic considerations in accessing information and the student's understanding of their role as an information producer

The following are the 2024 Undergraduate Research Award recipients. Honorees are listed according to the campus event in which they participated.

Penn State Abington

• First place: Maria Badalyan, third-year, biology, “Disordered Eating, Body Image, and Negative Affect in Women with and Without Gynecological Conditions.”
• Second place: Alexa Betuel, fourth-year, psychological and social sciences; Neena Rosenwald, fourth-year, psychological and social sciences, “Perception vs. Reality: Discrepancies Between Women's Self-Reported and Measured BMI and Body Image.” 
• Third place: Kyleigh Byers, fourth-year, psychological and social sciences; Emma Jamison, third-year, criminal justice (psychology minor), “The Holiday Shift: Exploring Gendered Divisions of Labor at Thanksgiving.” 

Penn State Altoona

• First place, tied: Lauren Peng, second-year, finance, “Optimizing Management Approaches Through Plasticity.” 
• First place, tied: Travis Saylor, third-year, psychology and English, “Immigration Narratives of Loss and Belonging.” 

Penn State Beaver

• First place, research — social sciences: Madison Neville and Jordyn Kane, “Sex Education for Hypoactive Sexual Desire Disorder.” 
• Honorable mention, research — social sciences: Bre Thomas, “The Influence of PTSD on Information Processing.” 
• First place, engaged scholarship: Isaac Tomacari and Selene Lopez, “Schizophrenia Case Presentation.” 
• First place, engaged scholarship: Aidan Kost and Caellin Miller, “A Study on PTSD as Depicted in the Film 'American Sniper.'” 

Penn State Behrend

• First place: Rachel Diefenderfer, fourth-year, mechanical engineering technology; Chad Vanderwiel, fourth- year, mechanical engineering technology, “Toward Better Formability of Polymeric Materials in Single Point Incremental Forming: Effect of Process Parameters and Influence of Tool Diameter in Single Point Incremental Forming of Polymeric Materials.” 
• Second place: Haley Altadonna, fourth-year, biology, “Effects of Selfing and Outcrossing on Transgenerational Responses to Predation Risk.” 

Penn State Berks

• Madeline Marous, second-year, cybersecurity analytics & operations, “Graphical User Interface (GUI) Implementation for Agent-Based Microbial Radiobiology Model.”
• Isabella Romig, third-year, psychology, “Sharing Spaces: Exploring Social Interactions in the Sensory Room.”
• Hayden Perrone, fourth-year, biology, “The Effects of PTHrP on the Alcohol-induced Proliferation, Invasion, and Migration of MCF-7 and MDA-MB-231 Cells.”

Penn State Brandywine

• First place: Obaid Mohsin, fourth-year, biology; Alina Vladimirskaya, “Developing Synthetic Strategies for Brominating the 𝜶-Carbonyl Site on Flavonoid Structures: Yielding Products with Potential Anti-oxidative and Anti-carcinogenic Properties.” 
• Second place: Danny Eldabbas, fourth-year, psychology, “The Impact of Mindfulness on the Well-being of College Students: Exploring Pedagogical and Virtual Reality Practices.” 
• Third place: Elizabeth Pao, third-year, computer science, “Smart Traffic Light Management: From Design to Implementation.” 

Penn State DuBois

• Elizabeth Bruner, “Efficacy of Woven Wire Fence Versus High-Tensile Electric Deer Fence Enclosures on Post-Harvest Shelterwood Blocks.”

Penn State Earth and Mineral Sciences Library (University Park)

• Winner, fall 2023: Vyom Mehta, material science and engineering, “Platinum: Insights into the Hydrogen-based Solution for the Fossil Fuel Problem.” 
• Honorable mention, fall 2023: Matthew Carlson, Jonathan Domow, Sammie Geller, Azam Shavkatov, Tara Staresinic, “The 2011 Joplin Tornado: Evolution and Impacts.” 

Penn State Fayette

• First place: Olivia Spotto, “The Relationship Between Environment and Sexual Identity Concealment in Working College Students.” 
• Second place: Tessa Lynn, “Is Empathy a Better Predictor of Liberal or Conservative Ideology?” 

Penn State Greater Allegheny

• First place, fall 2023: Dawn Rees, "Assessing Effective Community Engagement Strategies to Reduce Incidents of Crime and Violence in Clairton, Pennsylvania."
• Second place, fall 2023: Brooke Beisler, "Mary Cassatt on American Impressionism and Culture." 
• Honorable mention, fall 2023: Damon Gamble, Carla Hudson, and Chris Klinger, "Informational Retirement Plans for Young Professionals." 
• Honorable mention, fall 2023: Aubree Sample, "RNA interference (RNAi) of C. elegans.” 
• First place, spring 2024: Emma Gatto and Abby Tokar, “ChatGPT Usage in Higher Education.”
• Second place, spring 2024: Aubree Sample, “Ginkgo Biloba and Memory.” 
• Honorable mention, spring 2024: Tasneem Ekhtiar, “Ozempic: Drug for Diabetes and Weight Loss"
• Honorable mention, spring 2024: Connor Vogelsinger, The Future of Warfare?” 

Penn State Harrisburg

• Miranda Eichner, fourth-year, biology; Dhruv Kayastha, fourth-year, biology, “Annotation and Comparative Analysis of the Sticks-and-stones Homologs in the Drosophila Melanogaster Subgroup: Implications for Studying Human Congenital Nephrotic Syndrome.”
• Kenya Mitchell, fourth-year, mathematical sciences, “Search for New Sources of Very-High-Energy Gamma Rays.”
• Emily Large, fourth-year, psychology, “Nonattachment and Experiential Avoidance in elation to Mindfulness, Religiosity, and Personality.”
• Mingean Park, graduate student, public administration, “The Impact of Cannabis Legalization on Health-Related Occupations.”
• Zoya Dawar, graduate student, applied clinical psychology, “Navigating Cultural Humility Amongst Therapists in the Context of Religious and Cultural Muslim Values.”
• Trisha Campanaro, graduate student, engineering systems, “A comparison experiment of testing methods to minimize error for airflow related noise using Siemens CCM+, sound camera, and an anechoic chamber for an air blower.”
• Carolina Hernandez, fourth-year, psychology, “The Effects of Audio-Visual Stimuli on the Memory of Dementia Patients.” Honorable Mention
• Anna Shank, fourth-year, marketing, “The Influence of Pricing and Advertising Claims on Greenwashing Detection among American Consumers in the Fast Fashion Industry.” Honorable Mention
• Victoria Williams, graduate student, public administration, “Understanding the Effects of a New Approach: Evaluating Behavioral Interventions in the Steelton-Highspire School District. Honorable Mention
• Shreeniket Pawar, graduate student, mechanical engineering; Nageshwar Arepally, graduate student, mechanical engineering; Yash Lad, graduate student, mechanical engineering, “Thermal Damage Feedback Control System for Magnetic Nanoparticle Hyperthermia.” Honorable Mention

Penn State Hazleton

STEM category:

• First place: Brian Tylutke, fourth-year, engineering; Dario Lobo, fourth year, engineering, “The HIP Nature Park Project:  Providing Net-Zero Power for Local Community Park.” 
• Second place: Morgan Dwyer, second-year; Megan Lapchak, first-year; Mary Walter, first-year, “Sequencing Analysis for Trophic Studies on Invasive Flathead Catfish.” 

Arts, humanities and social sciences category:

• First place: Alonna Weaver, third-year, corporate communications, “Does History Repeat Itself?: An Analysis of Possible Connections in Music from 1967-1969 & 2020-2023.” 
• Second place: Kendall Lobb, “The Effectiveness of Teletherapy.” 

Penn State Lehigh Valley

• First place: Miyeli Vazquez, Nathan Peters and Aidan Reimels, “The Effect of Pornography Use on Gendered Attitudes and Sexual Behaviors.”
• Second place: Matthew Cascioli, “Perceptions of the Police: An Exploration of Demographics, Prior Exposures, and Beliefs about Surveillance in Everyday Life Among College Students.” 

Penn State Mont Alto

• Faith Beall, third-year, nursing; Melisa Orellana, third-year, nursing, “Preventing HAIs: The Importance of Hand Hygiene.”

Penn State New Kensington

• Kiera Bowser, fourth-year, biobehavioral health, “The Relationship Between Stress and Sleep Disorders.”
• Angelena Dove, fourth-year, biobehavioral health, “The Relationship Between Stress and Substance Use in College Students.”
• Kelly Dugan, third-year, criminal justice, “The Ethical Implications of Police Deception in Juvenile Interrogations.”
• Madelyn Ganss, third-year, psychology, “Mood Inducing Colors: How Do Colors Make Us Feel?”
• Clayton Groves, fourth-year, biobehavioral health, “Comparative Case-Control Study on Toxoplasmosis in Afghanistan vs. the United States.”
• Izabel Kislan, fourth-year, criminal justice, “The Relationship Among Illicit Drug Use and Harm Reduction Programs in the United States.”
• Colleen Marshall, fourth-year, psychology, “Attitudes of Ageism in Undergraduate Students.”
• Alexis McKinley, fourth-year, biobehavioral health, “Disconnected in College: Exploring the Correlation Between Social Isolation and Mental Health Vulnerability Among Young Adults.”
• Sonya Selvaraj, second-year, radiological sciences, “Art Under the X-Ray: Unveiling Hidden Masterpieces.”
• Lauren Sutton, fourth-year, biobehavioral health, “The Mental Health of Student-Athletes.”

Penn State Schuylkill

• Sachelle Alfred, “DASH Diets: Adults with Hypertension.”
• Scarlet Tejada Rodriguez, “The Impact of English Proficiency on Immigrant Health Outcomes.”

Penn State Scranton

• River Moon, “The Witch’s Odyssey: Crone, Mother, Maiden.”
• Halle O’Neil, “Bringing Asynchronous Tutoring Methods to our Learning and Writing Center.”
• Poster Presentations
• Morgana Costanzo, “Exploring Differences in Tick Prevalence and Intensity Among Migratory Songbird Species in Northeastern Pennsylvania.”
• Ceiwynn Longworth, “Observing Sunspots with the Scranton Campus Solar Telescopes.”
• Zyeir Olasewere, “African American’s Perception and Willingness to Seek Mental Health Counseling.”
• Emily Hallman, “The Association Between Parenting Stress and Child & Adolescent Mental Health.”
• Holly Bidwell, “Violence on Emergency Room Nurses.”
• Jeyma Wilson, “African American Maternal and Infant Mortality.”
• Tirth Patel and Devkumar Patel, “How can Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML) be Leveraged in Detecting and Preventing Biometric Spoofing Attacks?”

Penn State Shenango

• Honorable mention: Nicholas Calloway, “The Effects of Redlining: A Focused Literature Review.” 
• Honorable mention: Kaleb Kowacich, “Romanticization of the Italian-American Mafia in Film.” 
• Honorable mention: Toni Donaldson, “Motivational Speaker Podcast Analysis.” 

Penn State University Park

• John Sr. And Kimlyn Patishnock Grand Prize: Yash Dixit, “Renewable Chemoenzymatic Synthesis of Substituted Alkenes and 3-Hydroxypropionate Using the Ethylene Forming Enzyme.” 
• First prize: Elizabeth Timmins, “The Influence of Plant Neighborhood Diversity on Herbivory and Arthropod Communities in Successional Tropical Forests.” 
• Second prize: Saran Ashley-Douglas, “Applying Cumulative Disadvantage Theory to Understand Adversity Across the Lifespan and Later Life Inflammation.” 
• Third prize: Emma Hoorfar, “Examining the Intelligibility Differences Between Two Types of Clear Speech.” 
• Honorable mention: Charles Covin, “From Metabolites to Microbes: Paving the Way for Sustainable Maize Crop Improvement.” 
• Honorable mention: Emma Kraft, “NMR Analysis of the Structural Ensemble of Fox01.” 
• Honorable mention: Carolyn Oluwaseun-Wapo, “A Smarter Mirror for a Smarter Student: Designing a Smart Mirror for Student Productivity and Well-being.” 
• Honorable mention: Ciara Woodburn and Gabriella Esposito, “Plastic Response in Zebrafish Fin Ray Patterning Induced by Alternative Feeding Strategies.” 

Penn State Wilkes-Barre

• Alessandra Ayoub and Tinatin Guruli, “Step 2 Freedom: Treating Child Victims of Sex Trafficking.”
• Lizzeth Lazama Luna, “Globalization and the Influence of English on Korean Popular Music.”
• Anna Ferraris and Cassie Dierolf, “Unmasking Wakefield: Dissecting the Autism-Vaccine Connection.”

Penn State York

• Thy Nguyen, biobehavioral health, “Does Breakfast Skipping Influence Adolescent Development? A Literature Review.
• Michael Kern, biology, “Are Plant-Based Milk Options Healthier than Cow’s Milk?”
• Sydney Hettinger, biology, “The Effects of Diet on Microbial Gut Composition in the Madagascar Hissing Cockroach (Gromphadorhina portentosa).”
• Allison Lonkart, biology, “Is Ultra-Processed Food Inducing Breast Cancer?”
• Alexandria Luckenbaugh, HDFS, “The Effect of Single Parent Households on Adolescent Delinquent Behaviors.”

About the awards

The University Libraries Undergraduate Research Awards: Excellence in Information Literacy are awarded at most Penn State's campuses in the spring semester during undergraduate research exhibitions. To find out more about the award at a specific campus, including student eligibility, please contact the campus' local librarian.

At the University Park campus, The John Sr. and Kimlyn Patishnock Undergraduate Research Award: Excellence in Information Literacy is awarded to students who exhibited outstanding undergraduate student research at the Undergraduate Research Exhibition. The grand prize for this award is $500.

Questions about this award and other programs related to undergraduate research can be directed to Dawn Amsberry, instruction librarian, at dua4@psu.edu.