Student Research Forum
This annual event is open to students of all disciplines conducting work under the direction of an Ohio State Newark faculty member or lecturer. The forum aims to increase collaborative, student-faculty research endeavors at the Newark campus, to encourage participation in honors research, and to further the goals of The Ohio State University Denman Undergraduate Research Forum and The Ohio State University Undergraduate Research Office at the Newark Campus. This forum is an opportunity for students to present their school-funded research before a diverse panel of judges. First place winners in each category receive a $200 cash prize; second place winners receive a $100 cash prize.
For more information please contact Nathaniel Swigger, associate professor: swigger.1@osu.edu.
18th Annual Student Research Forum Winners (March 8, 2022)
Photo (l to r) Sheroz Faisal, Piper Clark, Mirza Sheraz, Jarrett Rardon, Elijah Colvin, Jamie Theis, Associate Professor Nathanial Swigger (research forum coordinator), Bernice Agyepong and Mackenzie Elliott
Oral Presentations, Completed Research:
1st Place: Elijah Colvin
“Seasonal Pattern of Activity and Mortality in Northern Short Tailed Shrews”
2nd Place: Jamie Theis
“’You’re Not My People!’ Ostracizing Burdensome Social Groups"
Poster Presentations, Completed Research:
1st Place: Bernice Agyepong
“Evaluating the Five Facets of Mindfulness to Predict COVID-19 Stress.”
2nd Place: Mackenzie Elliott
“A Mixed-method Approach to Understanding COVID-19 Vaccine Uptake in the U.S.
Poster Presentations, Proposed Research:
1st Place: Jarett Rardon
“The Effect of Prosody and Referent Animacy on Novel Noun Learning”
2nd Place: Piper Clark and Mirza Sheraz
“’y r u not txting me back?’ Social Exclusion in Mobile Phone Communication”
Winning presentations were awarded cash prizes.
Each category receives $200 for first place and $100 for second place.
View Program
Read Press Release
Photo at right, top to bottom: 1st place winners, Elijah Colvin, Bernice Agyepong, Jarett Rardon
The benefits of participation
Undergraduate research defined:
"An inquiry or investigation conducted by an undergraduate student that makes an original, intellectual or creative contribution to the discipline."
- The Council on Undergraduate Research
- Undergraduate research requires an educational collaboration between students and faculty members.
- Research experiences may be initiated by students who seek out faculty supervision for their projects or by faculty members who involve undergraduate students in their research teams.
- Research can culminate in a written or oral presentation as a means of making the body of academic knowledge or creative exploration accessible to other investigators in the field, as well as to the general public.
- Participation in undergraduate research benefits students educationally, professionally and personally.
Educational benefits include:
- Working closely with a faculty mentor·
- Learning about issues, methods, and leaders in students’ chosen fields
- Applying concepts learned in coursework to “real life” situations
- Sharpening problem-solving skills
- Reading primary literature
Professional benefits include:
- Exploring and preparing for future careers
- Developing marketable skills
- Enhancing professional communication skills
- Collaborating with others and working effectively as part of a team
Personal benefits include:
- Growing as a critical, analytical, and independent thinker
- Meeting challenges and demonstrating the ability to complete a project
- Discovering personal interests
- Developing internal standards of excellence
17th Annual Student Research Forum Winners (April 6, 2021)
Oral Presentation, Completed Research:
1st Place: Abigail Sedziol
The Silent Speaker: The Impact of Emojis on Nonverbal Communication During a Pandemic
2nd Place: Rebecca Gager
Women in the Mexican Revolution: Feminism on the March
Oral Presentation, Proposed Research:
1st Place: Kayla Kuckway
Aza-peptide Michael Acceptors for the Improved Treatment of Multiple Myeloma
2nd Place: Fan Fei
Spread and Dynamics of COVID 19: A Data Visualization and Exploration Study
Winning presentations were awarded cash prizes.
Each category receives $200 for first place and $100 for second place.
Watch Research Presentation Video
16th Annual Student Research Forum Winners
Oral Presentation, completed research:
1st Place: Lauren Marks-Strauss
2nd Place: Erin Becker
Poster Presentation, completed research:
1st Place: Logan Graves & Jessica Parker
2nd Place: Jacob Roahrig
Poster Presentation, proposed research:
1st Place: Abigail Sedziol & Michelle Rogers
2nd Place: Austin Brammer & Ian McTeague
Winning presentations were awarded cash prizes.
Each category receives $200 for first place and $100 for second place.
Presentations from the 16th Annual Student Research Forum
Conner Carpenter
The Effects of Receiving Not Enough or Too Much Eye Contact
CONNOR CARPENTER
Faculty Sponsor: James H. Wirth (Psychology)
Category: Proposed Research, Poster
Logan E. Graves and Jessica L. Parker
Effects of Stimulus Intensity and Signal-to-noise Ratio on Inverse Effectiveness
LOGAN E. GRAVES & JESSICA L. PARKER
Faculty Sponsor: Christopher W. Robinson (Psychology)
Category: Completed Research, Poster - 1st Place Winner
Elizabeth Champlin, Elise Mabry & Abigail Sedziol
Speak the Beat: The Influence of Rhythm on Speech Production
ELIZABETH CHAMPLIN, ELISE MABRY & ABIGAIL SEDZIOL
Faculty Sponsor: Julie M. Hupp (Psychology) and Melissa K. Jungers (Psychology)
Category: Completed Research, Poster
Jacob Schlaegel
Auditory Distractibility in the Visual Modality: Reverse Effects of Perceptual Load Hypothesis
JACOB SCHLAEGEL
Faculty Sponsor: Christoper W. Robinson (Psychology)
Category: Completed Research, Poster
Austin Brammer & Ian McTeague
Mind the Gap: Pause Persistence with Adults and Children
AUSTIN BRAMMER & IAN McTEAGUE
Faculty Sponsor: Julie M. Hupp (Psychology) and Melissa K. Jungers (Psychology)
Category: Proposed Research, Poster - 2nd place winner
Michael Fleisher
Aza-Peptide Carbonyls as Immunoproteasome Inhibitors
MICHAEL FLEISHER
Faculty Sponsor: Oslem Dogan-Ekici (Chemistry and Biochemistry)
Category: Proposed Research, Poster
Drew Pardi
Quantifying Predation in Early Cambrian Trilobites from the Poleta Formation, Nevada
DREW PARDI
Faculty Sponsor: Jill S. Leonard-Pingel (Earth Sciences)
Category: Proposed Research, Poster
Michelle Rogers & Abigail Sedziol
Kids Got Rhythm: Rhythmic Priming of Children’s Speech Prosody
MICHELLE ROGERS & ABIGAIL SEDZIOL
Faculty Sponsor: Julie M. Hupp (Psychology) and Melissa K. Jungers
(Psychology)
Category: Proposed Research, Poster - 1st Place Winner
Lauren Marks-Strass
Interconnected Imperialism, Policy and People: The Refugee Crisis in the United States
LAUREN MARKS-STRAUSS
Faculty Sponsor: Alcira Dueñas (History)
Category: Completed Research, Oral - 1st Place Winner
Previous Student Research Forum Winners
15th Annual Student Research Forum - 2019
15th Annual Student Research Forum Winners
L to R: 2nd place winners Ross Boley and Maria Bowen; Associate Professor Nathaniel Swigger, and first place winners Celeste Hinerman, Jason Tippie and Calaudia Kuchan; missing from photo: Megan Gallaher (1st-seen in top photo at right), Lynzi Morehouse (2nd-seen below) and Rashmiah Amer (2nd-seen in bottom photo at right).
Oral Presentation, Completed Research
First Place – Megan Gallaher: Nineteenth Century Literary History and Liverpool
Second Place – Maria Bowen: You, Me & 9/11
Oral Presentation, Proposed Research
First Place – Calaudia Kuchan: Going to the Dark Side: Do Ostracized Individuals Choose Dark Triad Interaction Partners?
Second Place – Ross Boley: What Does Your Computer Desktop Say About You? Perceiving Personality from Computer Desktops
Poster Presentation, Proposed Research
First Place – Jason Tippie: Mindful Ostracism
Second Place – Lynzi Morehouse: Anxiety, Music and Risky Decision Making
Poster Presentation, Completed Research
First Place – Celeste Hinerman: Bike! Bike? Bike: An Examination of Children’s Comprehension of Intentional Prosody
Second Place – Rasmiah Amer: Aza-peptide Michael Acceptor Inhibitors for the 20S Porteasome
First place award winners received a $200 cash prize; second place award winners received a $100 cash prize.
14th Annual Student Research Forum - 2018
14th Annual Student Research Forum Winners
L to R 1st place winners: Ross Boley, Zachary Sparks, Dr. Nathaniel Swigger, Nicholas Clawson and Meisha Runyon.
L to R 2nd place winners: Calaudia A. Kuchan, James Sullivan, Dr. Nathaniel Swigger, and Edward J. Cox IV. Not pictured Tom Crook.
Oral Presentation, Completed Research
First Place – Ross Boley: "Tolerance is a Virtue: The Relation Between Burden Tolerance and Exclusion."
Second Place – Edward J. Cox IV: "Hell on the Wabash."
Oral Presentation, Proposed Research
First Place – Nicholas Clawson: "Recognizing the Dark Sky of a Local State Park and Its Scientific Potential."
Second Place – James Sullivan: "A Gap Year: Why Students, Universities and America Should Say Yes!”
Poster Presentation, Completed Research
First Place – Meisha Runyon: "Decision Making as a Function of Delusion Proneness."
Second Place – Tom Crook: "The Effect of Effort on Iowa Gambling Task Performance.”
Poster Presentation, Proposed Research
First Place – Zachary Sparks: "The Goldilocks Effect: Determining When Eye Contact is Not Too Much or Not Too Little."
Second Place – Calaudia A. Kuchan:"Help! I Need Somebody. Help! Not Just Anybody! Determining Who Ostracized Individuals Want to Interact With.”
1st place award winners received a $200 cash prize; 2nd place award winners received a $100 cash prize.
13th Annual Student Research Forum - 2017
13th Annual Student Research Forum Winners
L to R: Brandon Porter, Brittany Myers, Carrie Bowlby, Coryn Coleman, Dr. Nathaniel Swigger and Jacob Brower; absent from photo: Robert Burkhart and Khadijah Mbai
Oral Presentation, Completed Research
First Place - Robert Burkhart: "Testing the Utility of Stable Isotopes for Analyzing Bee Foraging Patterns"
Second Place – Coryn Coleman and Khadijah Mbai: "Identifying Achievements and Barriers of ESL Immigrant Students in Order to Support Their Success"
Poster Presentation, Proposed Research
First Place - Carrie Bowlby: "Information Processing and Humor Development"
Second Place - Brittany Myers: "Investigating Precursor and Prompt Emission of Gamma-ray Bursts (GRBs)"
Poster Presentation, Completed Research
First Place - Coryn Coleman and Brandon Porter: "The Effect of Rate Priming on Information Processing" and "The Effect of Prosody on Decision Making in Adults and Children: Speech Rate Influences Speed and Quality of Decisions"
Second Place - Jacob Brower: "Project Wild Coshocton: A Camera-Trapping Program to Monitor Bobcats (Lynx Rufus) in Coshocton County, Ohio.
1st place award winners received a $200 cash prize; 2nd place award winners received a $100 cash prize.
12th Annual Student Research Forum - 2016
12th Annual Student Research Forum Winners
Oral Presentation, Completed Research
First Place - Wesley Barnhart, Reward Processing and Risky Decision Making in Disordered Eating
Second Place – Jessica Parker and Krysten Chadwick, Examining Cardiac and Behavioral Responses in a Modality Dominance Task
Oral Presentation, Proposed Research
First Place - Nikki Cotton, Sunrise to Sunset: Reproductive and Longevity Technologies in Science Fiction and Medicine
Second Place - Ben Betulius, Quantum Mechanics, Determinism, and Pseudoscience
Poster Presentation, Completed Research
First Place - Krysten Chadwick, External Influences on Risk-Taking Behavior
Second Place - Jessica Parker, Effects of Auditory Input on Spatial Serial Response Time Task
Poster Presentation, Proposed Research
First Place - Riane Paige, A Participatory Action Research Project of Parole Board Decisions for “Old Law” Offenders
Second Place - Tom Crook, Gamer Grit: Does Experience in a Game Give Frequent Video Game Players More Confidence in Completing Real-World Tasks?
11th Annual Student Research Forum - 2015
11th Annual Student Research Forum Winners
Event held Wednesday, March 11th, 2015
Newark campus, John Gilbert Reese Center
Oral Presentation, Completed Research:
First place: Carolyn Dunifon, "Heart Rate Variability Associated with Attentional Control in High-Load Flanker Tasks"
Second place: Amanda Hunt, "Adolescent Literature for Young Adults vs. for Adults"
Oral Presentation, Proposed Research:
First place: Ashley Theodore, "Maintaining Black Culture through Mardi Gras Indian Suits"
Second place: Torah Silvera, "Mardi Gras Indians: Exploring the Intersection of History, Community, and Culture in a Unique Tradition"
Poster Presentation, Completed Research:
First place: Krysten R. Chadwick, "Prosodic Processing by Individuals with Williams Syndrome"
Second place: Lindsey Rike, "The Cross-Domain Priming of Language and Motor Rate"
Poster Presentation, Proposed Research:
First place: Michael Madson, "Spectral Lags of Swift GRBs with Prompt Optical Emission"
Second place: Austin Hulse, "Spectral Lags of Swift Gamma-Ray Bursts with Precursor Emission"
