WKU students, faculty honored at Kentucky Academy of Science Annual Meeting

WKU students and faculty members were recognized at the Kentucky Academy of Science 2016 Annual Meeting Nov. 4-5 at University of Louisville.

WKU Professor Richard Gelderman (left) received the Kentucky Academy of Science’s first Excellence in Science Education and Outreach Award. KAS President Eric Jerde (right) made the presentation during the KAS 2016 Annual Meeting in Louisville.

More than 700 scientists and students attended the annual meeting, and hundreds of undergraduate and graduate students participated in the research competitions. Six WKU students won first-place awards, while nine others received second- and third-place awards.

Dr. Richard Gelderman, professor in WKU’s Department of Physics and Astronomy, received the first Excellence in Science Education and Outreach Award. The award recognizes unique activities, educational programs or approaches that have increased the involvement, engagement and sustainability in the Commonwealth.

Dr. Leslie North, assistant professor in the Department of Geography and Geology, was elected vice president of the KAS Governing Board.

The following WKU students were recognized in the research competitions:

Undergraduate Research Competition

• Franklyn Wallace, biochemistry major from Georgetown, Oral Presentation, Chemistry: Analytical/Physical, Aqueous soft-stabilized gold nanoparticle clusters for in-situ reaction monitoring, second place
• Konnor Jones, chemistry major from Bowling Green, Oral Presentation, Chemistry: Analytical/Physical, Temperature and electric field dependence of asymmetric stretching of nitrate ion, third place
• Andrew Davis, mathematics major from Williamstown, Oral Presentation, Mathematics, Density-Dependent Leslie Matrix Modeling For Logistic Populations With Steady-State Distribution Control, first place
• Millicent Ronkainen, biology major from Hodgenville, Poster Presentation, Microbiology, Identification and characterization of an Escherichia coli bacteriophage mutant capable of growing on a nonpermissive host, first place
• Honor Hare, Gatton Academy student from Morehead, Poster Presentation, Physics and Astronomy, Imaging the March 9th, 2016 total solar eclipse, third place
• Bryce Aberg, electrical engineering major from Nashville, Tennessee, Oral Presentation, Physics and Astronomy, Polyoxometalates as Electroactive Molecular Spacers Anchored to Reduced Graphene Oxide for Enhanced Electrochemical Energy Storage, third place
• Denis Hodzic, biochemistry major from Bowling Green, Oral Presentation, Physiology and Biochemistry, Identifying anti-cancer and otoprotective synergisms between cisplatin and two novel curcuminoids, third place
• Sanida Palavra, biology major from Bowling Green, Oral Presentation, Zoology, Microscopic examination of potential mechanosensory structures for vibration detection in chameleons, third place

Graduate Research Competition

• Ali J. Abdulrheem, chemistry graduate student from Mishref, Kuwait, Oral Presentation, Chemistry: Analytical/Physical, The Detection of Tetracycline Antibiotics in Agricultural Wastes Using Liquid Chromatography and Mass Spectrometry, third place
• Haleh Jeddi, chemistry graduate student from Bowling Green, Oral Presentation, Chemistry: Organic/Inorganic, Kinetic and Catalytic Studies of Oxidations by an Electron-Deficient Manganese(V)-Oxo Corrole, first place
• Dolly Na-Yemeh, geoscience graduate student from Winneba, Ghana, Oral Presentation, Geography, Synoptic Conditions and Equivalent Temperature Variations in Kentucky, first place
• Clarissa Roe, homeland security graduate student from Bardstown, Oral Presentation, Physics and Astronomy, Effect of Carbon Nanomaterials Embedded in a Cementitious Matrix, second place
• Sara Botero Carrizosa, chemistry graduate student from Bogota, Colombia, Oral Presentation, Physics and Astronomy, Electrodeposition and electrochemical properties of graphene-cobalt oxide polymorph hybrids as pseudocapacitive electrodes, first place
• Aiste Dobrovolskaite, biology graduate student from Kaunas, Lithuania, Oral Presentation, Physiology and Biochemistry, Sodium and potassium levels in a hypertensive population of East Africans, first place
• R. Lynn Von Hagen, biology graduate student from Old Hickory, Tennessee, Oral Presentation, Zoology, Human elephant conflict (HEC) in the Kasigau Wildlife Corridor, Kenya: A comparison of the efficacy of mitigation techniques, second place

About the Kentucky Academy of Science: The Kentucky Academy of Science is a non‐profit organization, founded in 1914, whose mission is to foster scientific discovery and understanding in Kentucky. WKU is an Enhanced Affiliate of the Kentucky Academy of Science, and WKU faculty, staff and students may become members of the Kentucky Academy of Science at no cost to them, at www.kyscience.org.

More: Annual Meeting Program; list of Student Research Competition awards/photos

Contact: Office of Research, (270) 745-6733