Kentucky Academy of Science

2020 STUDENT COMPETITION WINNERS

Winners from 2020 Student Competitions

Agricultural Sciences

1. Eliza Kohl, Thomas More, "Effects of shade cloth treatments on late summer growth of Salanova lettuce varieties in raised garden beds"
2. Jack Eaker,  Murray State, "Environmental Conditions under Hemp Studies in Kentucky, USA"
3. Dawson Armstrong, KSU, "Floating raceway nursery proof of concept for production of phase I fingerling largemouth bass (Micropterus salmoides)

Cellular & Molecular Biology
1. Ethan Chandler,  Morehead State, "Creating a Circular Chromosome in Saccharomyces cerevisiae"
2. Ashwin Menon,  Wood Hudson Cancer Research Lab, "An in-silico, stochastic, Eden-Type growth model of cell competition in a two-dimensional tumor"
3. Lauren Fuller, EKU, "Quantification of Neurite Degeneration through use of an Optimized and Automated Method"

Chemistry: Analytical/ Physical
1. Raven McNeese and Natalie Adriano, NKU, "A Computational Study of Estrone and Lumiestrone"
2. McKenzie Roark,  EKU, "The shape of arson: correlating collection efficiency of ignitable liquid residues with features of absorbent materials"

Chemistry: Organic/ Inorganic
1. Andrew Elliott, EKU, "Facile ligation of the fac-99mTc(CO)3 core using a triamine-tridentate chelator"
2. Connor Schulte, WKU, "Polydimethylsiloxane as a substrate to facilitate the use photocatalysts in the breakdown of organic water pollutants"
3. Jason Zhang, WKU, "The photocatalytic single electron oxidation of ene-ynamides with 2,6-lutidine N-oxide"

Computer & Information Sciences
1. Becca Mikula, Morehead State, "Developing a Level 1 Data Processing Script for the Lunar IceCube Mission"
2. (3-way tie)Haley Bruss, Maray Baker, and Haven Jacob, EKU, "Failure of fungal telomeres to maintain sequence integrity at chromosome ends in Magnaporthe"
2. Chloe DeGiorgio, UK, and Diksha Satish, WKU, "Genome improvement of Magnaporthe oryzae strains Guy11 and U233"
2. Simon Harris-Palmer, "On the Design of a Database for the Linguistic Atlas Project"
3.  (2-way tie) Camron Abner, KSU, "Brain Schooler: A Web-Based Graphical Interface for EEG Visualization and Analysis"
3. Seth Baunach, UK, and Trey Stansfield, WKU, "TeloReport: Extraction and Classification of Telomeric Raw Reads and Identification of Potential De Novo Telomeres?"

Ecology
1. Olivia Staten, NKU, "Traditional transect vs. drone imaging methods for determining population size in milkweed"
2. Jessi Urichich, Thomas More, "Tree community assessment of an old-growth forest on the south-facing slope at the Boone Cliffs Nature Preserve"
3. Erin Carleton, NKU, "Determining factors of why some trees in temperate zones buttress their roots"

Engineering
1. Ahmad Ateyeh,  WKU, "Simulation of high-speed metal forming processes: free-forming vs. die-forming"
2. Kali Tackett, NKU, "Mind-Controlled Prosthetic Arm"

Environmental Sciences
1. Samuel Kessler, U of L, "Advancement in Cumulative Sampling Methods For Fecal Contamination Profiling and Success Monitoring in Streams"
2. Ty Foster, WKU, "Contaminant remediation potential of Lespedeza cuneata"
3. Caitlyn Helton, NKU, "Determination of honeysuckle leaf blight effects on the growth of Amur honeysuckle in the field"

Geology & Geography
1. Emily Wright, WKU, "Interpreting data from recent volcanic activity to understand the volcanic hazard and societal risk in Hawaii"

Health Sciences
1. Mallorie Gayhart, Berea College, "The impact of COVID-19 on trail use in a rural Appalachian trail town"
2. Amanda Honaker, NKU, "Evaluating neonatal reflexes in mice exposed to benzo[a]pyrene during early brain development"
3. Grace McClurg, U of L, "Contribution of the Primary Motor Cortex in Grip Force Variability during a Grasping Task"

Mathematics
1. Rachael Lerch, NKU, "A Variation of Cops and Robbers on a Graph (Part 1)"
2. Bijay Rimal, NKU, "A Variation of Cops and Robbers on a Graph (Part 2)"
3. Gloria Huang, WKU, "Analyzing the parameter space of a wound-healing model with three-dimensional geometry"

Microbiology
1. Michael Bates Wittenberg U, "An Exploration into the Antimicrobial Resistance of E. coli Toward Essential Oils"
2. Lawren Brinley, Berea College, "The prevalence of antibiotic resistance in Staphylococcus aureus versus antibiotic-sensitive Staphylococcus aureus"

Physics/ Astronomy
1. Jacob Wagoner, Morehead State, "Limb Darkening made 'easy' with smartphones and solar projection"
2. Parker Poulos, Morehead State, "A Multi-Wavelength Study of the Quasar PKS2135-147"
3. (tie) Dylan Grupe, Morehead State, Long Term Monitoring of the Seyfert 1 Galaxy MKN 110 Using Swift"
3. David Dodge, NKU, "Transiting Exoplanet and Variable Star Photometry with the NKU 14-inch Telescope"

Physiology/ Biochemistry
1. Izzy Neel, Centre College, "D2 receptor antagonism affects cocaine-induced behavioral sensitization in Japanese quail"
2. Shelby McCubbin, UK, "The effects of Levetiracetam on glutamatergic synaptic transmission: Crayfish and Drosophila NMJs"
3. Nicole Marguerite, UK,  "Effect of temperature on heart rate for Phaenicia sericata and Drosophila melanogaster with altered TRPA1 expression"

Science Education
1. Lauren Hudson, UK, "Enhancing Cancer Literacy in Kentucky Middle and High School Students through Cancer Education
2. Trevor Webster, WKU, "Use of Concept Sketching in Introductory Geology Classrooms"
3. Breanna Epperson, Morehead State, "Increasing Student Engagement in Introductory Online Physics"

Social Sciences

1. Thomas Morris, EKU, "Voices' Influence on Effort Ratings and Recall Performance"
2. Emily Knapp and BriAnna Lowe, WKU, "Aging and pareidolia: Perceiving emotion in inanimate objects"
3. Reganne Miller, Morehead State, "Tracking and Different Modality Secondary Task Performance"

Zoology
1. Sam Bauer, Olivia Timmerding, and Emily Steele, NKU, "Metabolic responses of adult Bluntnose Minnows (Pimephales notatus) to a range of thermal conditions"
2.  Erika Howard and Cole Ralenkotter, Morehead State, "An ecological hotspot for fishes; The Wild River section of the Red River gorge, Kentucky"
3. Seth Hoffman, "Vibrational communication in the Atlantic mudskipper, Periopthalmus barbarus"

Undergraduates and high school students participate in the poster and oral presentation competition.

KAS scoring form