Undergraduate Research Fellows Symposium 2021

Welcome

The College of the Environmental and Life Sciences (CELS), and the College of Engineering, (COE), at the University of Rhode Island are pleased to invite you to this year’s Annual Undergraduate Research Fellows Symposium, on Tuesday, December 14^th, from 12-4:30pm!

This event has been a fantastic opportunity for the Coastal and Environmental, Science and Engineering and Energy Fellows to showcase their work, and the work of the university community, to their peers, faculty and staff.

Within the information provided, you will find the following:

Please register in order to attend this event
Event Agenda
Link to Visitor Parking on Campus
Link to URI COVID Guidelines
Complete list of all student presenters and their research/project topics. Links to student’s posters and abstracts will be provided shortly.

Thank you for your interest in attending this event and we hope to see you there. If you have any questions prior to the event, please feel free to contact Sarah Puckett at: sarah_puckett@uri.edu.

Agenda

Location: College of the Environmental and Life Sciences (CBLS), 120 Flagg Road, Kingston, RI 02881

12:00-3:13pm: Energy Fellows Oral Presentations, CBLS #010

2:00-3:30pm: Coastal & Environmental and Science & Engineering Fellows Poster Viewing Session, CBLS First Floor

3:30-4:30pm: Certificate and Award Presentations, CBLS #100

Visitor Parking Information

URI COVID Guidelines

student presenter’s and their research topics

Energy Fellows Oral Presentation Schedule: 12:00-3:15 PM

Time	Student Name & Major	Presentation Title	Placement
12:10	Collin Treacy, Mechanical Engineering & Applied Mathematics	The Effectiveness of Energy Efficiency and Energy Conservation	URI Office of Sustainability
12:25	Jesse Duroha, PhD Industrial & Systems Engineering	Energy Conservation Behavior Change Survey Results from the URI Residence Halls	URI Office of Sustainability
12:40	Jeremy Belknap, Blue MBA	Building a Clean Energy Economy: Best Practices for Workforce Development Programs	RI Office of Energy Resources
12:50	Jenna McCauley, Marine Affairs	Finding Room for Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy in Agriculture	RI Office of Energy Resources
1:00	Matthew Moretta, Chemical Engineering	Opportunities for the Clean Transportation Sector in RI	Ocean State Clean Cities Coalition
1:15	Kaleigh Canfield, Environmental and Natural Resource Economics	Financing the Transition to Solar Power: Opportunities through the RI Renewable Energy Fund	RI Commerce Corporation -Renewable Energy Fund
1:30	Claudia Weitman, Environmental and Natural Resource Economics	Promising Climate Solutions in New England	RI Commercial Fisheries Research Foundation
1:55	Clare Laroche, Ocean Engineering	Identify, Educate, Disseminate: Inspiring Change in RI Solar Policy Through Targeted Outreach	URI Cooperative Extension
2:10	Kevin Bugbee-Cassara, Environmental & Natural Resource Economics & Finance	The Impact of Energy Efficiency Implementation in Rhode Island	National Grid
2:25	Lance Waranis, Finance	Paving the Way to a Cleaner Future: Energy Efficiency Strategy in Rhode Island	National Grid
2:35	Grace Darkow, Mechanical Engineering	Energy Efficiency: Variable Frequency Drives and Refrigeration Controls	RISE Engineering
2:50	Ryan Fritz, Masters of Environmental Science & Management	Partnership RI: Corporate Leadership for Sustainability	Partnership RI
3:00	Zachary Dewardener, Industrial & Systems Engineering	URI's Smart Grid Research: How strides in artificial intelligence will make our future grid management systems more dependable	URI Department of Engineering NEST Lab

Coastal & Environmental and Science & Engineering Fellows Poster Presentations: 2:00 – 3:30 PM

POSTER NUMBER	STUDENT NAME & MAJOR	FELLOWSHIP PROGRAM	POSTER TITLE	MENTOR
1	Samuel Adesemolu, Wildlife Conservation Biology	Coastal & Environmental	Predator and scavenger population index for the Valles Caldera Preserve	Dr. Nancy Karraker
2	Jessie Adley, Wildlife Conservation Biology	Coastal & Environmental	Evaluating the efficacy of using drone-mounted thermal imaging to identify Scolopax minor individuals within a single roosting site	Kristopher Corbett
3	Morgana Agin, Environmental Science & Management	Coastal & Environmental	Understanding variability and properties of tidal marsh soils for prediction of blue carbon sequestration	Dr. Mark Stolt
4	Steven Aguilar, Plant Sciences	Coastal & Environmental	Researching Varieties on Muskmelon (Cucumis Melo) in New England	Dr. Rebecca Brown
5	Temitope Aina, Biomedical Engineering/Mathematics	Science & Engineering	The Characterization of the Mechanical Properties of Silk Hydrogels	Dr. Ryan Poling-Skutvik
6	Raisa Alejandro, Biomedical Engineering	Science & Engineering	Optimization of a Hydrogel Platform for the Optical Characterization of Carbon Nanotubes	Dr. Daniel Roxbury
7	Afnan Altekreeti, Biomedical Engineering/Mathematics	Science & Engineering	e-Fabric Guard: An E-Textile Respiration Sensing System for ICU Monitoring	Dr. Kunal Mankodiya
8	Alexandra Beardwood, Environmental Science & Management	Coastal & Environmental	Effects of Nitrogen Loading on Potential Denitrification in Wetland Soils	Dr. Serena Moseman- Valtierra
9	Hieu Bui, Biomedical Engineering/Mathematics	Science & Engineering	Creating a simple tool to determine Mn Oxidation states color metrically	Dr. Joseph Goodwill
10	Alexandra Byrne, Mechanical Engineering	Science & Engineering	Thermoset Resin and its Marine Applications	Dr. Carl Ernst-Rousseau
11	Maria Calderon, Health Science and Spanish	Science & Engineering	Quantifying the horizontal movements of nymphal Ixodes scapularis	Dr. Jannelle Couret
12	Marissa Caponi, Wildlife Conservation Biology/Soil Environmental Science	Coastal & Environmental	Assessing Bacteria Monitoring in Public Waters Around Rhode Island	Dr. Elizabeth Herron
13	Nicole Casale, Biotechnology/Cell & Molecular Biology	MARC U*STAR	Transfecting Cells to Secrete Dengue Specific Antibodies	Dr. Alan Rothman
14	Dario Castillo, Marine Biology	Science & Engineering	10-year monitorization of tag and recapture data of the most treasured ecotourism animal, the Southern Stingray at Stingray City, Grand Cayman	Dr. Bradley Wetherbee
15	Mackenzie Cetta, Plant Sciences/Sustainable Agriculture & Food	Coastal & Environmental	Methods of Establishment for a Permaculture System	Dr. John Taylor
16	Caroline Cohen, Wildlife Conservation & Biology	Coastal & Environmental	Effectiveness of predatory auditory cues in mitigating herbivorous crop damage by Spodoptera frugiperda (armyworms)	Dr. Evan Preisser
17	Brenna Collins, Civil Engineering	Science & Engineering	Marine Algae (Ulva spp.) Surface Detachment Using Electric Potential	Dr. Vinka Craver
18	Ally Cuomo, Wildlife Conservation Biology	Coastal & Environmental	Effectiveness of Laser Scarecrows for preventing bird damage to Sweet Corn Crops	Dr. Rebecca Brown
19	Ian Delmonico, Wildlife Conservation Biology	Coastal & Environmental	Nest site selection of American Woodcock (Scoplax minor) in Rhode Island, USA	Dr. Scott McWilliams
20	Jahnae Drummond, Marine Biology	Science & Engineering	The exploration of photo identification for Southern Stingrays, Hypanus americanus	Dr. Brad Wetherbee
21	Abril Avila Enriquez, Fish Wildlife and Conservation Ecology/Environmental Engineering	Science & Engineering	Microhabitat important for a threatened salamander in managed forest lands in New Mexico	Dr. Nancy Karraker and Ryan Healy
22	Robin Fidel, Biotechnology & Data Science	Science & Engineering	Gene copies role in the immune related genes of the Eastern Oysters, Crassostrea Virginica	Dr. Rachel Schwartz
23	Emma Fritz, Animal Science/ Wildlife Conservation Biology	Coastal & Environmental	Do personality types influence breeding behavior among vulnerable New England cottontail rabbits (Sylvilagus transitionalis)?	Dr. Justin Richard
24	Katie Gheysen, Marine Biology	Coastal & Environmental	Three-Dimensional Habitat Use of Shortfin Mako Sharks (Isurus oxyrinchus)	Dr. Brad Wetherbee
25	Chloe Gilligan, Marine Biology/Wildlife Conservation Biology	Coastal & Environmental	Histology of ntra- and trans-generational acclimatization of a temperate coral (Astrangia poculata)	Dr. Hollie Putnam
26	Marian Gonzalez, Biological Sciences	Science & Engineering	Coastal Identities in the Ocean State: How Does Coastal Identity Influence How Individuals Utilize and Visit Coastal Spaces in RI?	Dr. Melva Trevino-Pena
27	Thomas Grantz, Wildlife Conservation Biology	Coastal & Environmental	Biological Control of Japanese Knotweed using Aphalara itadori	Lisa Tewksbury
28	Wenricka Griffith, Biological Sciences	Science & Engineering	Examining disease resistance amongst the Eastern Oyster, Crossostrea Virginica	Dr. Dina Proestou
29	Sebastien Guerrier, Biotechnology	Science & Engineering	Wear-IoTex: Wearable e-textile glove kit for in-home Parkinson’s motor assessment	Dr. Kunal Mankodiya
30	Suraiya Hamidzada, Biological Sciences	Coastal & Environmental	Phylogeographic analysis of the Eastern Cottontail, Sylvilagus floridanus	Dr. T.J. McGreevy
31	Finn Harty, Marine Biology	Coastal & Environmental	EecSeq: an alternative capture sequencing method for non-model species	Dr. Jonathan Puritz
32	Victoria Helle, Environmental & Natural Resources Economics/Marine Affairs	Coastal & Environmental	How to Effectively use Science Communication	Dr. Alissa Cox
33	Casey Hogan, Environmental Science & Management	Coastal & Environmental	The effect of holding times and incubation times on bacterial concentrations	Dr. Elizabeth Herron
34	Denecia James, Biological Sciences/Biotechnology	Science & Engineering	Breeding Better Oysters: Applying Experimental, Genetic, and Genomic Techniques to Improve Disease Resistance in The Eastern Oyster, Crassostrea virginica	Dr. Dina Proestou
35	Thalia Johnson, Biological Sciences	Science & Engineering	Genetic Analysis of the New England cottontail, Sylvilagus transitionalis	Dr. T.J. McGreevy
36	Maddy Kistler, Biological Sciences/Ocean Engineering	Coastal & Environmental	A Low-Cost, Small Space, Alternative Larval System for Co-Cycling pH and Dissolved Oxygen	Dr. Jonathan Puritz
37	Sadie LaFleur, Civil Engineering	Science & Engineering	Enrichment of Manganese Oxide Nanoparticle Producing Bacteria from Natural Sediment	Dr. Vinka Craver
38	Jordan Larossa, Marine Affairs	Coastal & Environmental	Comparison of the performance of wild and selectively bred oysters in a Rhode Island farm	Dr. Marta Gomez-Chiarri
39	Mallory Lentz, Wildlife Conservation Biology	Coastal & Environmental	Heat Priming the Green Sea Urchin (Strongylocentrotus droebachiensis) as a Defense Against Rising Ocean Temperatures	Dr. Coleen Suckling
40	Gianna Lourenco, Marine Biology	Coastal & Environmental	Utilizing Science Communication Tools to Educate and Understand Community Experiences Towards Aquaculture Farms in Southern New England	Dr. Tracey Dalton
41	Levi Louis, Geology/Geological Oceanography	Science & Engineering	Modeling Extreme Weather Events in Southern New England	Dr. Issac Ginis
42	Ellie Madigan, Marine Biology/Wildlife Conservation Biology	Coastal & Environmental	The impact of habitat and temperature on the relative abundance of the Eastern Brook Trout (Salvelinus fontinalis) throughout Rhode Island’s watersheds	Dr. Graham Forrester
43	Joseph Maiorano, Marine Biology	Coastal & Environmental	The Effect of Spawning and Overwintering on the Mortality Rate of Various Populations of Eastern Oysters	Dr. Jonathan Puritz
44	Juliana Marcotrigiano, Wildlife Conservation Biology	Coastal & Environmental	Understanding factors influencing distance Glyptemys insculpta move from streams	Dr. Nancy Karraker
45	Anna Mascia, Molecular Neuroscience & Psychology	MARC U*STAR	Determining the Transfection Efficiency in Induced Pluripotent Stem Cell Derived Neurons	Dr. Claudia Fallini
46	Isabelle Massé, Health Studies/Psychology	Science & Engineering	Investigating the factors of diverse student retention in Computer Science	Dr. Bryan Dewsbury
47	Kayla Medeiros, Animal Science & Technology	Coastal & Environmental	Analysis of ovine larval populations during the periparturient period	Dr. Katherine Petersson
48	Katia Mendez, Biology	Science & Engineering	Best Practices For Eggshell Washing in Free Range Poultry	Dr. Becky Sartini
49	Janelle Mercer, Marine Biology/ Aquaculture and Fisheries Science	Coastal & Environmental	Plastic particle concentration in Westport River with comparison to Narragansett Bay	Dr. Andy Davies
50	Richard Mercer, Biological Sciences/Marine Affairs	Coastal & Environmental	Impacts of human physical barriers and water temperature on the movements of brook trout (Salvelinus fontinalis)	Dr. Graham Forrester
51	Shamar Morgan, Mechanical Engineering	Science & Engineering	Landmark-Based Map Localization for Robots	Dr. Paolo Stegagno
52	Augustina Munter, Environmental & Natural Resources Economics	Coastal & Environmental	Enhancing the Sustainability and Productivity of Urban Agriculture through an Urban-adapted High Tunnel Production System	Dr. John Taylor
53	Siena Negash, Biomedical Engineering	Science & Engineering	Development of Tacrolimus Loaded Nanocomposite Microparticles for the Treatment of Pulmonary Hypertension	Dr. Samantha Meenach
54	Jennifer Newport, Environmental Science & Management	Coastal & Environmental	Effectiveness of seashell bioremediation to remove high nutrient levels	Dr. Soni Pradhanang
55	Nana Oblie, Pharmaceutical Sciences	Science & Engineering	Detection of anti-MRSA compound laurenobiolide from different parts of the tulip tree (Liriodendron tulipifera)	Dr. Matthew Bertin
56	Jena Panas, Marine Affairs	Coastal & Environmental	A guide to Rhode Island Department of Health’s Walk with Ease program	Jasmine Franco, RIDOH
57	Gwenevier Riendeau, Marine Biology	Coastal & Environmental	Response of Benthic Fauna to a Changing Environment in Narragansett Bay	Dr. Jeremy Collie
58	Betsi Santos, Cell & Molecular Biology	Science & Engineering	Field survey and rearing of native planthoppers, leafhoppers, froghoppers and treehoppers for non-target testing for biocontrol of spotted lanternfly	Alana Russell
59	Jessica Szpila, Wildlife Conservation Biology & Biological Sciences	Coastal & Environmental	Effects of sea level rise on the reproductive success of Saltmarsh Sparrows at Jacob’s Point	Dr. Steven Reinert, SALSri
60	Ashley Tai, Cell & Molecular Biology	Science & Engineering, MARC U*STAR	Enzyme Catalyzed Degradation by the AAA+ Protease Lon	Dr. Jodi L. Camberg
61	Athena Vieira, Marine Affairs, Geological Oceanography, & Political Science	Coastal & Environmental	Establishing a Baseline of Coastal Hazard Impacts on the U.S. Shipbuilding and Repair Industry	Dr. Austin Becker
62	Ashley Volk, Environmental Science & Management	Coastal & Environmental	Assessment of Photogrammetry Software and its Ability to Process Images for Waterbird Abundance	Kristopher Corbett
63	Zach Waskowicz, Biotechnology	Coastal & Environmental	Testing the Efficacy of Tissue Microsatellites on Fecal Samples in Identifying the Gender of the New England Cottontail (Sylvilagus Transitionalis)	Dr. T.J. McGreevy
64	Sarah Zaniewski, Wildlife Conservation Biology & Chinese	Coastal & Environmental	Can Precipitation Affect the Detection Rate of Endangered Jemez Mountain Salamanders?	Dr. Nancy Karraker

Coastal and Environmental Fellowship Program

College of the Environment and Life Sciences, University of Rhode Island