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In a virtual platform, 569 students showcased 338 research and creative works at the 2021 91���� Student Symposium held on April 16.

The sixth annual symposium provided an opportunity for the public to view student research and scholarly work — all online due to COVID-19.

The free public event was organized by the Office of the Vice President for Research and Dean of the Graduate School, the Center for Undergraduate Research (CUGR), Student Government and the Graduate Student Government as part of Maine Impact Week.

Organizers recruited 223 volunteer judges to score projects in 10 categories encompassing all fields of study at 91����. The top students were awarded at the close of the virtual ceremony. 

Special award

• Dr. Susan J. Hunter Presidential Research Impact Award: Christine Hale (graduate), “Nociceptive Sensitization in Larval and Adult Drosophila,” advised by Geoffrey Ganter; Sahvannah Michaud (undergraduate), “The Relationship Between Adverse Childhood Experiences, Working Memory, and Perceived Stress in Older Adults,” advised by Rebecca MacAulay

 Graduate winners

• Allied Health: Rocky Coastlines, “Operationalizing Person-centered Care in Long Term Care Settings: Initial Literature Review Findings,” advised by Jennifer Crittenden
• Arts: Anna Soule, “Whites Only,” advised by Owen Smith
• Biomedical Sciences: Avery Bond, “Repurposed Therapeutics for Treatment of JC Polyomavirus Infection,” advised by Melissa Maginnis
• Education: Camden Bock, “Arguing Within and Beside a Pyramid: How Can Virtual-Reality be Used to Learn Geometry?” advised by Justin Dimmel
• Engineering and Information Sciences: Daniel Regan, “Investigation of Bioaerosol Catch-and-Release Dynamics Via Liquid Net Filtration,” advised by Caitlin Howell
• Interdisciplinary Research: Sahar Roozbahani, “One-step Hydrothermal Synthesis With in Situ Milling of Biologically Relevant Hydroxyapatite,” advised by Michael Mason
• Natural Sciences: Griffin Dill, “The Ecology of the Blacklegged Tick in an Emergent Area for Tickborne Disease,” advised by Allison Gardner
• Physical Sciences: Pradnya Rao, “Colloidal Interactions to Generate Latex Coated Pigment for Paper Coating Applications,” advised by Carl Tripp
• Social Sciences: Morgan Stosic, “A Lens Model Approach to the Nonverbal Expression of Fatigue” advised by Mollie Ruben

 Undergraduate winners

• Allied Health: Elena Kolesnikova, “In Women of Childbearing Age with Cervical Ectopy (Cervical Erosion), How Does Cryotherapy Compared to Vaccination Affect the Incidence of Human Papillomavirus (HPV)?” advised by Valerie Herbert
• Arts: Caitlyn Sharples, “Ease Meditations,” advised by Jon Ippolito
• Biomedical Sciences: Lydia Caron, “Localizing Neural Activity within Murine Subcutaneous White Adipose Tissue (scWAT),” advised by Leonard Kass
• Business: Jazlyn Dumas, “The Importance of a Checkmark: An Investigation into the Perceptions of Social Media Verification and its Effects on Consumer Trust,” advised by Stefano Tijerina
• Education: Tom Adams, “An Analysis of Citizenship Education Efforts in Maine Middle Schools,” advised by Rebecca Buchanan
• Engineering and Information Sciences: Josh Hamilton, “Tuning CNF Fibril Orientation for Tissue Integration Applications,” advised by Karissa Tilbury
• Interdisciplinary Research: Nicholas Sherman, “The Use of Augmented Reality to Monitor Coastal Erosion,” advised by Michael Scott
• Natural Sciences: Anna Briley, “Transcriptomic Variation Underlying Pollution Resistance in Fish,” advised by Nishad Jayasundura
• Physical Sciences: Peng Cheng, “Surface Modification of Cellulose Nanofibrils Using Water Soluble Monomers and Subsequent Surface Polymer Characterization,” advised by William Gramlich
• Social Sciences: Aaron Dustin, “Mediation of the Religion Prejudice Link,” advised by Jordan LaBouff

 Attendees of the symposium, including students, faculty, staff, judges, sponsors and the general public, are invited to take a short survey about the event. Feedback is important to symposium organizers and will be used to improve future events. Enter your email address at the end of the survey for a chance to win a prize. Your email will not be associated with your responses. The survey is .