USD Presents 2024 Undergraduate Research Award Winners
Presented by the Office of Research and Sponsored Programs, the Undergraduate Research Awards are presented annually to recognize undergraduate students who have completed distinguished and exceptional research. Students who present research at USD’s IdeaFest are automatically nominated for the award; a multi-disciplinary group of faculty and staff from across campus then reviews the submissions and selects the final 12 recipients.
“We encourage our undergraduates to participate in research to help direct and further their education in an area of their personal passion and then share the fruits of their work with others,” said Kevin O'Kelley, Ph.D., assistant vice president of research compliance. “These 12 students have completed research or creative scholarship work of a caliber that distinguishes them from all other students, and we are proud to present them with Undergraduate Research Awards.”
The 12 students who received an Undergraduate Research Award, in addition to a $500 cash prize, include the following.
- Alexis Slack (third-time recipient), “Using μCT Scans to Create 3D Skull Puzzles as Open Access Pedagogical Tools for Anatomy Classes”
- Brylie Hartwig, “Effects of Selenium Pollution on Overwintering in the Boreal Chorus Frog (Pseudacris Maculata)”
- Ellen Mallory, “Public Health Interventions for Mental Health Issues at Colleges and Universities”
- Evan Sippel, “Impact of the Top-Two Primary on Electoral Competition in California”
- Gabriella Beberg, “Does Length Change in Telomeres Between Hatchlings, Fledglings, and One-Year Old Chestnut-Crowned Babblers Predict Reproductive Behavior in a Cooperatively Breeding Species?”
- Grant Budden, “Monitoring Selenium Bioaccumulation in False Map Turtles (Graptemys Pseudogeographica)”
- Jordan Grothe, “Analyzing Heat Generated from Electro-Osmotic Flow Utilizing Computational Fluid Dynamics”
- Makayla Mofle, “Localizing Dopamine and Other Catecholamines in Regions of Zebrafish Brains”
- Olivia Roberts, “Understanding Musical Systems with Zn-Cayley Graphs”
- Sadikshya Ghimire, “Be Real: A Psychological Evaluation of 2022’s Most Influential Social Networking Application”
- Veronica Knippling (second-time recipient), “The Stilwell Papers”
- Wyatt Wiebelhaus (second-time recipient), “Kicking Up Dust on Utah’s Off-Road Vehicle Trails: PI-SWERL Assessment of Anthropogenic Dust Emissions”
You May Also Like
Training Series to Inform Medical Providers in Providing Quality Care to Sexual Assault Victims
Medical care providers and other professionals who provide care and support to sexual assault victims will have access to a free training series in 2024 through a partnership between the Center for the Prevention of Child Maltreatment and Avera Health’s eSANE Project.
Women in Law Hosts First Female South Dakota Supreme Court Justice, USD Alumna Judith Meierhenry
Earlier this month, the Women in Law organization at the University of South Dakota Knudson School of Law hosted former Justice Judith Meierhenry, J.D., the first woman to serve on the South Dakota Supreme Court and notable USD alumna.
International Student Finds Home in KSM Department
Coming to South Dakota from Bangladesh, graduate student Abdullah Al Hossain found a home in the University of South Dakota’s Department of Kinesiology & Sport Management (KSM).
