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Students recognized for 2024 Research and Creative Activity Day entries

°®ÎÛ´«Ã½â€™s Office of Undergraduate Research and Scholarly Activity recognized 16 undergraduate students for outstanding presentations during the 2024 Research and Creative Activity Day.

RCA Day is °®ÎÛ´«Ã½'s annual celebration of undergraduate student experiences across campus. This year's event hosted poster presentations, a musical performance entry, Japanese language speeches, and art submissions from five °®ÎÛ´«Ã½ colleges. Deans and Dean-appointees scored the student entries from their colleges and chose the top entries. The Dean’s Choice Award winners each received a $250 cash prize, and those awarded Honorable Mentions received $150.

RCA Day is hosted by URSA, which supports, develops and institutionalizes °®ÎÛ´«Ã½â€™s diverse and robust programs of undergraduate research and creative projects. All of the 2024 entries can be found on this year's RCA Day webpage.

 

 

College of Business and Security Management
Dean’s Choice Award:
Shaina Atcherian and Marcelo Ketzler-Lopez
Mentor: Jillian Bjornstad
"Yukon Harmony Veterinary Clinic Business Proposal"
A hub and spoke veterinary clinic based in Fort Yukon, Alaska, that would provide preventative Veterinary services to communities in Interior Rural Alaska at no cost.

College of Engineering and Mines
Dean’s Choice Award:
Margaret McCormick, Dakota Peterson-Thompson, and Conor Sosebee
Mentor: Dr. Rorik Peterson
"Winterization Design for Outdoor Particulate Collection Technology"
This mechanical engineering senior design project focuses on winterizing outdoor particulate matter collection technology from AirVitalize Innovations.

Honorable Mention:
Derek Dayan, Janet Felix, and Evan Wells
Mentors: Dr. Il-Sang Ahn and Dr. Robert Herrick
"Venus Seismic Instrumentation"
The project is to design, fabricate, and test a seismometer package that will be deployed on Venus by NASA. The optimal size, shape, mechanism, and weight of the package, including the windshield, will be investigated with the guidance of mentors at UAF and the NASA Glenn Research Center.

College of Fisheries and Ocean Sciences
Dean’s Choice Award:
Tony Blade
Mentor: Dr. Lara Horstmann
"Microplastic Presence in Pacific Walrus Tissues"
Examined microplastic presence in Pacific walrus muscle and blubber, as well as trends in age and sex.

Honorable Mention:
Isabelle Nicolier
Mentors: Dr. Jessica Glass and Sydney Almgren, CFOS Graduate Student
"The Population Structure of Pacific Herring in the Bering Sea and Gulf of Alaska using mtDNA"
Inform sustainable management practices an extensive understanding of population genetic structure and diversity is needed. This project builds on previous work to analyze the population structure and genetic diversity of regional Pacific Herring stocks. By analyzing the control region 1 gene in the mitochondrial genome and comparing samples throughout Alaska's waters.

College of Liberal Arts
Dean’s Choice Award:

Marina Barbosa Santos

Mentors: Dr. Ken Tape & Dr. Justin Cramb
"Chena Townsite Repeat Photos"
This project utilizes repeat photography to support archeological efforts at the Chena Townsite, and to understand how the landscape has evolved since the town was abandoned. The project endeavors to contribute to the preservation of history, public education, and our understanding of land use changes.

Honorable Mention:
Marina Gonzalez Mazo
Mentor: Miho Aoki
BFA Exhibit: H&H
Solo art exhibition for my graduation in the BFA program, where I explore how 3D printing and design can be applied to jewelry design and how digital art can be made into products.

College of Natural Science and Mathematics
Dean’s Choice Award:
Maura Grahek
Mentor: Dr. Mario Muscarella
"Functional Gene Abundance among Boreal Forest Sites"
I will be measuring the abundance of functional genes associated with the microbial production of methane and carbon dioxide. Digital polymerase chain reaction will be utilized to obtain complete quantification of these genes.

Honorable Mentions:
Christian Bolton
Mentor: Dr. Kristin O’Brien
"Effects of Hypoxia on Blood Osmolarity in Antarctic Fish Species"
Temperature is increasing in the Southern Ocean surrounding Antarctica and as a result, oxygen levels are also decreasing, potentially affecting native fish species. I am measuring blood osmolarity to determine if hypoxia affects the ability of Antarctic fish to regulate blood osmolarity.

For more information, please visit the URSA website.