2025 University Libraries Research Awards honor 104 students from 20 campuses

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. —  Penn State University Libraries presented its eighth annual Undergraduate Research Award: Excellence in Information Literacy honors at the end of the spring 2025 semester to 104 students at 20 undergraduate Penn State campuses.

“The University Libraries Undergraduate Research Awards recognize undergraduate research that showcases accomplished and exemplary information literacy skills,” said Dawn Amsberry, instruction librarian and organizer of the award program. “This year’s awardees demonstrated a high level of skill in using information to support their research.”

University Libraries employees follow a unified set of judging and learning outcomes criteria for participants 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 2025 Undergraduate Research Award recipients. Honorees are listed according to the campus event in which they participated.

Penn State Abington

• First Place: Maria Badalyan, senior, biology, “An Examination of Disordered Eating and Body Image between Gynecological Condition Groups”
• Second Place: Jose Canela, second-year, psychological and social Sciences; and Yuchen Wang, first-year, English “What’s in a syllabus? Examining syllabi for accessibility, content and tone”  
• Third Place: Liya Aji, second-year, information technology; Sarah Johnson, third-year, veterinary and biomedical sciences, equine sciences minor; Kayli Nunez, second-year, supply chain management, management information systems minor; Sahana Elangovan, health policy and administration, organizational leadership minor; and Hasini Jagarlamudi, first-year, “Gamifying International Stories with AR to Foster Engagement in Global Education”

Penn State Altoona

• First place: Emily Greenland, third-year, nursing “Decreasing Rate of Cognitive Decline in Dementia: Effects of the MIND Diet vs. the Western Diet”

• Second place: Eva Gates, senior, biology, “Functional Wing Morphology in Odonata: Pterostigma and Flight Behavior”

Penn State Beaver

• First place: Phoenix McCafferty, first-year, "Cryptobiosis — The Secret to Immortality? The Mechanism behind Tardigrade Cryptobiosis"
• Honorable mention: Issac Tomacari, third-year; and Camren Stein, third-year, "Person Centered Trauma Therapy in 'The Legend of Korra'"

Penn State Behrend

• First Place: Sophia DiPlacido, psychology and marketing, "Food Insecurity in the Flagship City: An Evaluation of Food Access in the 16501 Zip Code"
• Second Place: Trinity Prestash, biology, "Role of PCBs in alteration of gene expression and inflammatory markers in breast cancer"
• Third Place: Alec Dennis, Ellie Corbin, Victoria Cain, Ian Murray, (all) Psychology, "An Analysis of the Relationship Between Short-Form Video Addiction and Comprehension Capabilities Across Textual and Visual Modalities

Penn State Berks

• First Place: Madeline Marous, senior, cybersecurity analytics and operations, “Quantum mechanical calculations of DNA nucleotides in space conditions”
• Second Place: Mark Longenberger, third-year, mechanical engineering, “Low-Cost Technologies for Prototyping and Re-engineering Sheet Metal in Aerospace Applications”
• Third Place: Kimberly F. Nicholas, senior, communication arts and sciences/psychology, “It’s Part of the Game. Just Deal with it: Confronting Toxicity in Video Games”

Penn State Brandywine

• First place: Sankeerth Mahesh, third-year, computer science, “Building Better Agile Teams by Investigating the Influential Roles of Personality Traits and Team Reflexivity on Performance”
• Second place: Ava Clements, third-year, corporate communications, “Breaking the Silence: Examining the Underrepresentation of Women in Sports Media Coverage” 

Penn State DuBois

• Madee Finalle, third-year, human development and family studies, "The Effects of Technology Use on Romantic Relationships"

Penn State Earth and Mineral Sciences Library (University Park)

• Winner, 2024: Brenda Chantal Paull, “How is the Timing of Fall Impacted by Climate.”
• Honorable mention, 2024: Sofia Mauro, “The Secret History of Glass Transition.”

Penn State Fayette

• First place: Lucas Beddick: “Self-compassion as a predictor of tendencies for prosocial behavior”
• Second place: Todd Bruzda: “Reinvestigating piezoelectric materials for small scale energy generation”
• Third place: Lauren Nedrow: “Dual enrollment effects on college success”

Penn State Greater Allegheny

• First Place: Aubree Sample, fourth-year, biobehavioral health, “Socioeconomic Disparities in Second-Hand Smoke Exposure & Childhood Asthma Risk”
• Second Place (tie): Emma Campbell, third-year, social work, “How Does Knowing Your Fate Affect You”
• Second Place (tie): Emma Gatto, second-year, business-management and marketing option, “P.E.S.T. Analysis of Open AI”
• Honorable Mention: Marcus Gillespie, fourth-year, business-management and marketing option; Damon Gamble, fourth-year, business-management and marketing option; Bjorn Sigurdson, third-year, business-management and marketing option; and Mckay Ross, third- year, business-management and marketing option, “Meta Cambridge Analytics Scandal”
• Honorable Mention: Ashley McKernan, second-year, business-management and marketing option; and Kody Hynes-McCutcheon, first-year, business-management and marketing option, “Visual Injustice of the Voiceless: Animal Cruelty”
• Honorable Mention: Eva Wilstermann-Luna, third-year, biobehavioral health, “Abortion in Bioethics: The Balance of Rights and Both Perspective”

Penn State Harrisburg

• Dalimar Flores-Torres, senior, computer science, “The Implications of Large Language Model Integration on Bias in Lending Practices”
• Khushi Patel, senior, computer science, “Enhancing Performance in Classifying Insect Bites Across Diverse Skin Tones Using Transfer Learning and Task Arithmetic”
• Amaya Betancourt, second-year, criminal justice; Sanchari Das, senior, criminal justice and psychology; and Rylee Martinez, third-year, criminal justice. “Communication and De-escalation Training in Police Academies”
• Payton Becker, doctoral candidate, American studies, “A Walking Tour for Lancaster’s Starr 20th Century Artist: Florence Starr Taylor"
• Deeaanj Hinduja, graduate student, applied clinical psychology, “Developing a Codebook to Understand Cultural Comfort and Discomfort in Psychotherapy Trainees”
• Caden Kurzenknabe, graduate student, mechanical engineering, “Antimicrobial Silver Nanoparticles (AgNPs) Coating of Polyetheretherketone (PEEK) Spinal Cages”
• Honorable Mention: Aratrika Chakrabarti, first-year, biology, “Bridging Housing and Health: Evaluating Interventions for Mentally Ill Homeless Veterans”
• Honorable Mention: Milyn Grace Ja'la Crowder, senior, sociology, “Gaining Insight Through Ink: A Journaling Intervention”
• Honorable Mention: Olivia Inch, senior, biology, “Genetic and Environmental Factors that Affect the Natural History of Chronic Kidney Disease”
• Honorable Mention: Charles Weaton, graduate student, health administration; Orliris Negron, graduate student, health administration, “Trust in AI When Choosing Health Insurance”
• Honorable Mention: Nava Raj Giri, graduate student, mechanical engineering; Chang Li, graduate student, mechanical engineering, “Investigation of Electrochemical and Mechanical Properties of Li garnets for Solid-state Batteries”

Penn State Hazleton

• First Place: Joseph Rebarchick, senior, “Experiential Avoidance and Impulsive Decision Making as Mechanisms of Social Media Use: Gender Moderation”
• Second Place: Marinna Mazzocca, first-year; and Mason Prall, second-year, “Exploring the Use of DNA Sequencing to Possible Hosts for Fish Parasites”
• Third Place: Jacob Kepping, second-year; and Alonna Weaver, senior, “The Darker Side of the World:  An Analysis into the Patterns of Serial Killers”
• Fourth Place: Jeremy Geisinge, senior; and Gwendolyn Harris, senior, “Distracted Walking is Associated with Trait Impulsivity in Males but Not in Females”
• Fifth Place: Quinlan Roche, third-year, “Towards a Pedagogy of Stress Management through Biofeedback”
• Sixth Place: Imani Becarie, second-year, “The True Value of DEI in the Workplace”

Penn State Lehigh Valley

• First place, tie: Brooke Crosley, fourth-year, biobehavioral health; Jessica Urquiza, fourth-year, biobehavioral health "How Age and Income Moderate Knowledge on Risky Sun Exposure Behavior"
• First place, tie: Madalyn Saylor, fourth-year, psychology, "Friends, Graffiti, and 'Lifting': Peer Norms and Their Influence on Adolescent Behavior”
• third place: Farishta Faruk, second year, biology; Fiona Liu; Gabriel Roman, second year, chemical engineering; Benjamin Shoemaker, second year, genetics and developmental biology, "Using Basement Membrane Constituents to Study Endothelial Cell Growth and Glycocalyx Deposition In Vitro"

Penn State Mont Alto

• Paige Himes, third-year, nursing, "Exploring the Effects of Skin-to-Skin Contact with Mother and Father on Neonates"
• Rylie Baker, third-year, psychology, "Screen Time and Behavior Problems in Adolescents"
• Michael Vander Horst, human development and family studies, "Understanding Successful Transition from Incarceration: A Theoretical Approach to a Holistic Model"

Penn State New Kensington

• Noah Bell, second-year, psychology, "The Effects of a Phobic Stimulus on the Populace"
• Meredith Carter, fourth-year, biobehavioral health and psychology, "Feline Immunodeficiency Virus: Is it Really 'Cat AIDS'?"
• Kelly Dugan, fourth-year, criminal justice, "Perceptions of Safety in the Presence of Campus Law Enforcement"
• Aidan Harlow, fourth-year, biobehavioral health, "Investigating the Association Between Stress and Eating Habits"
• Allie Miller, fourth-year, biobehavioral health, "The Effect of Social Media Use on the Mental Health of College Students"
• Britain Nelson, fourth-year, criminal justice, "The Ripple Effect: Friends, Family and the Making of a Juvenile Offender"
• Gabriella Wolfkill, fourth-year, biobehavioral health, "The Impact of Caffeine on Sleep Quality"

Penn State Schuylkill

• First place: Youssef Amin, “Data Analysis on Lake Wynonah and Fawn Lake in Schuylkill County”
• Second place (tie): Ayanna Grant, “Prenatal Educational Impacts on Gestational Diabetes Milletus”
• Second place (tie): Ivan Magny-Garcia, “The Functionalization of 2,3-Diaryl-2, 3,5,6-Tetrahyrdo-4H-1, 3-Thiaza-4-ones”

Penn State Scranton

• Halle Elizabeth O’Neil, “Sit Still and Have Humility: Women’s Writing and Religion in the Late Middle Ages”
• Delilah Jones, “Pulling Back the Curtain on High School Show Choir”
• Elizabeth Alin; and Rowan Mulligan, “Queering ‘The Great Gatsby’”

Poster Presentations

• Cailie Thoman; Kingsley Mangan; Robert Davison; Catherine Barbosa; and Cameron Zynel, “From Grey to Green: The Role of Biochar in Lunar Agriculture"
• Caz Weber, “Love-Bombing: Its Correlates and Identifying Healthy Relationship Behaviors”
• Skyler Bower; and Rose Morel, “The Association Between Parental Alcoholism and Adolescent Alcohol Use”
• Bradeon Joyce, “Diet and Exercise vs Weight Loss Drugs”
• Katie Zabrowski, “Effects of Breastfeeding versus Formula Feeding on Infants’ Intestinal Health”

Penn State Shenango

• First place: Mackenzie Lambert, "The Effects of Correctional Education on Juveniles

Penn State University Park

Undergraduate Research Awards: Excellence in Information Literacy

• John Sr. And Kimlyn Patishnock Grand Prize: Paige Fino, “’Pura Vida’- An Exploration of the One Health Impacts from Costa Rica’s Conservation Programs”
• First Place: Dalimar Flores-Torres, “The Implications of Large Language Model Integration on Bias in Lending Practices”
• Second Place: Isaac Gray, “Model Membranes with Cardiolipin as the Major Component”  
• Third Place: Lucas Beddick, “Self-Compassion as a Predictor of Tendencies for Prosocial Behavior”
• Honorable Mention: Jacob Kohler, “Exploring the Protein-Binding Interactions of ES9S in Stage-Specific Plasmodium Ribosomes”
• Honorable Mention: Abigail Silberman, “Feasibility of Online Group Cycling Program for People with Aphasia”
• Honorable Mention: Natalie Meriwether, “Dietary Strategies as Mediators of Food Security and Nutritional Status During Severe Drought Among Daasanach Pastoralists in Northern Kenya, 2019-2024”
• Honorable Mention: Gabrielle Mu, “Deviance Among Latine Youth: The Role of Neighborhood Characteristics and Ethnic-Racial Socialization”

Data Visualization Awards

• First place: Ryan Gelman, "Investigating the Use of ara-Uracil as a Drug Treatment of ADSL Deficiency"
• Second place: Adrian Chen, "Oxidative stress impact on Kinesin KIF1A structure and function"
• Honorable mention: Adam Lieb, "Structural Characterization of P. falciparum wild-type and H2A.Z/H2B.V nucleosomes"
• Honorable mention: Melinda Jin, "Adenylosuccinate Synthetase is Involved in Mobility and Mechanosensation in Caenorhabditis elegans"

Penn State Wilkes-Barre

• First Place: Molly Moran, “#10 The Ethics and Impact of Ticket Scalping and Scamming in the U.S. Concert Industry”
• First Runners-Up: Dimitri Morales and Jaidyn Kotch,”#17 Resolve and Rise Program: Decreasing Prison and Jail Overcrowding by increasing the Happiness of Drug & Alcohol Offenders”
• Second Runner-Up: Maria Luna, “#25 Developer Accountability for Security Vulnerabilities: The Legal and Ethical Responsibilities of Software Companies”

Penn State York

• Laine Rigel, biology, “Gravestone Iconography in Lancaster County”
• Gelisse Mae, human development and family studies, “Zostáva Len Spomienka: A Comparison of Central European and Central European Immigrant Gravestones”
• Keira Phoukieo, human development and family studies, “Exploring Hyper Fixations and Hyperfocus: Understanding Intense Focus in Autistic and ADHD Individuals”

About the awards

The University Libraries Undergraduate Research Awards: Excellence in Information Literacy are awarded at most Penn State campuses in the spring semester during undergraduate research exhibitions. To find out more about the award at a specific campus, including student eligibility, 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 [email protected].