Engineers fare well at Denman, Hayes Research Forums

College of Engineering students showcased their expertise at both the annual Denman Undergraduate Research Forum and Hayes Graduate Research Forum, with 13 earning awards for outstanding work in several fields of specialization.

At the 25^th Annual Richard J. and Martha D. Denman Undergraduate Research Forum in March, three senior engineering students received recognition for their research. Just over 150 undergraduates presented research at this year’s forum with only 36 earning awards.

Xiaolin Wang, a mechanical engineering major, was awarded second place for his project, “Self-propelled bouncing spherical robot,” in the physical sciences and engineering category.

Civil engineering major Benjamin Luce earned third place in the physical sciences and engineering category with his project, “Exploiting origami-inspired adaptive structures for developing sustainable solutions in overflow control.”

Dennison Min, a biomedical engineering major, earned third place in the innovations in healthcare category with his project, “BIV-spectrin deficiency in cardiac fibroblasts promotes cardiac arrhythmias.”

All three engineers showcased their expertise and expanded their education in new and exciting ways by working under a mentor and presenting their findings to judges. The Denman Forum is a selective honor for graduating undergraduate students who conduct research in their chosen field.

At the 34^th Annual Edward F. Hayes Graduate Research Forum in February, nine College of Engineering students took home awards for outstanding oral and poster presentations.

Caitlin Jones, a graduate student in biomedical engineering, earned first place in the engineering oral presentations category for her project, “An in vitro screening platform to identify novel effectors of extracellular matrix alignment.” Second place went to computer science and engineering graduate student Denis Newman-Griffis for his project, “Retrieval and analysis of mobility-related information from free text clinical reports.”

Luke Lemmerman, a graduate student in biomedical engineering, captured third place for his project, “Brain tissue and functional recovery in ischemic stroke model via nanotechnology based cell reprogramming.”

Honorable mentions went to Towhidur Razzak, a graduate student in electrical and computer engineering, for “Engineering extreme electric fields for ultra-wide bandgap semiconductor electronics” and Nina Shirley Tang, a graduate student in biomedical engineering, earned recognition for her project, “Non-viral reprogramming of degenerate intervertebral disc cells induces trans-differentiation to a healthy phenotype.”

Yujin Park, a graduate student in city and regional planning, earned first place in the social and behavioral sciences oral presentations category for his project, “The role of tree and building shades in neighborhood thermal control: a three-dimensional digital city approach.”

Three engineering students earned awards in the math, physical sciences, and engineering poster presentations category. Elizabeth Jergens, a graduate student in chemical engineering, placed first with her project, “DNA-caged polymer nanocomposites for erasable fluorescence imaging.” Joseph Smith, a graduate student in food, agricultural, and biological engineering, earned second place with “Water quality impacts of green infrastructure on nutrients, sediment, and metals: an analysis of watersheds in Clintonville, Ohio.” Third place went to Maria Talarico, a graduate student in biomedical engineering, for her project, “Biomechanical differences between normal walking and tactical walking: guiding exoskeleton development to enhance physical capabilities of tactical athletes.”

The Hayes Graduate Research Forum awarded more than $14,000 in cash prizes to winners this year, supporting students’ research and professional development across several disciplines. The Hayes Forum continually allows top graduate researchers at Ohio State to showcase findings and innovations to the broader academic community.

Both the Denman Undergraduate Research Forum and Hayes Graduate Research Forum provide incredible opportunities for students to exercise their knowledge, tackle unique challenges facing the world, and above all, showcase their passion year after year.

For a full list of Denman winners, visit the Office of Undergraduate and Creative Inquiry website. For a full list of Hayes winners, visit the Council of Graduate Students website.