14th Annual Undergraduate Symposium for
Scholarly & Creative Work
Wednesday, April 11, 2012
Keynote Speaker: Beth Meyerowitz
2012 Symposium Program
2012 Awards Banquet Program
2012 Undergraduate Symposium Prize Winners
$1000 First Prizes and $500 Second Prizes were awarded in each category
Arts |
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Honorable Mention | Marcello Dolce [ ] Faculty Sponsors: Patrick Jackson and Ann Page, Roski School of Fine Arts |
2nd Prize | Tam Banh Revitalizing Los Angeles River – Taylor Yard Farm Faculty Sponsor: Lawrence Scarpa, School of Architecture |
1st Prize | Stacy Kwok Truth in Making, Craft: An Architectural Inquiry Faculty Sponsor: Lee Olvera, Architecture |
Interdisciplinary Award | Erin Cuevas, John Farrace Welcome to Beautiful Juarez Faculty Sponsor: Mario Cipresso, School of Architecture |
Humanities |
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Honorable Mention | Marrissa Emond The Past and Present Menstrual Practices of the Dayak of West Kutai, Borneo: An Examination in Context for Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology Faculty Sponsor: Robert Delgado, Biological Sciences, Dornsife College |
2nd Prize | Anna Bishop Macro-Mapping the Maya: A Large-scale GIS Analysis of Maya Settlement Patterns in Belize Faculty Sponsor: Lynn Swartz Dodd, Religion, Dornsife College |
1st Prize | Gregory Woodburn Necessary of Life: Henry David Thoreau’s Concepts of America’s Problematic Progress, 1837 – 1862 Faculty Sponsor: Karen Halttunen, and Brett Sheehan, History, Dornsife College |
Interdisciplinary Award | Anu Ramachandran Faith: Friend or Foe? The Rise of Faith Healing in Tanzania and Its Impact on Community Understanding of HIV Faculty Sponsor: Erin Moore, Anthropology, Dornsife College |
Life Sciences |
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Honorable Mention | Brooke Sanders Intra-articular Glucocorticoid Injections as a Cause for Adrenal Insufficiency Faculty Sponsors: John Carmichael, Pituitary Center, Cedars Sinai Medical Center, Los Angeles; Albert Herrera, Biological Sciences, Dornsife College |
Honorable Mention | Barsegh Barseghian, Mary Boyadjian Green Tea Polyphenols Preconditioning against Ischemic Stroke Faculty Sponsor: Rayudu Gopalakrishna, Cell & Neurobiology, Keck School of Medicine |
2nd Prize | Sarah Waliany Role of Bone Morphogenetic Proteins in Promoting Metastasis of Breast Cancer Cells to the Brain Faculty Sponsor: Rahul Jandial, Biological Sciences, Dornsife College |
2nd Prize | Linda Peng Genetic and Functional Analysis of CYCP2;1 in Arabidopsis Faculty Sponsor: Xuelin Wu, Biological Sciences, Dornsife College |
1st Prize | Kevin Le, Ellen Park Bioengineering a mechanism to override plasmid-based antibiotic resistance Faculty Sponsor: Sean Curran, Molecular and Cell Biology, Davis School of Gerontology |
Physical Sciences & Engineering |
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Honorable Mention | Aaron Henehan Deconstructing the Rebound with Optical Tracking Data Faculty Sponsors: Yu-Han Chang, Sam Danesis, and Rajiv Maheswaran, Computer Science, Viterbi School of Engineering |
Honorable Mention | Avril Pitter, Kirsten Rice, Kristen Sharer Optimization of Biodiesel Production from Algae through Ultrasonication Extraction Method Faculty Sponsors: Stephanie Olague, Massoud Pirbazari and Varadarjan Ravindran, Sonny Astani Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Viterbi |
2nd Prize | Sarah Hester, Steven (Alec) Leverette, William Murray Thrust Augmentation of a Solid Rocket Motor by Means of Inert Gas Injection Faculty Sponsors: Dan Erwin and Joseph Kunc, Astronautical Engineering, Viterbit |
2nd Prize | Jenny Zhang Hydrogen generation from formic acid using ruthenium carbonyls as catalysts: kinetic and spectroscopic study of the reaction mechanism Faculty Sponsors: Miklos Czaun, Alain Goeppert, and Surya Prakash, Chemistry, Dornsife College |
1st Prize | Hannah Gray, Aditi Yokota-Joshi Removal of radioactive uranium from groundwater using nanoparticle technology and adsorption mechanisms Faculty Sponsors: Massoud Pirbazari and Varadarjan Ravindran, Sonny Astani Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Viterbi |
Social Sciences |
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Honorable Mention | Mariah J Gill Predicting the Success of Community Based Resource Management Programs: Waihe’e, Maui, Hawai’i Case Study Faculty Sponsor: James Fawcett, Environmental Studies, Dornsife College |
Honorable Mention | Jordan Weiss Antitrust: Policy, Prices, and Behavior Faculty Sponsor: Michael Sproul, Economics, Dornsife College |
2nd Prize | Leandra Fraser Es Mejor Saber: A Proactive Approach to Gestational Diabetes Follow Up Faculty Sponsor: Penina Segall-Gutierrez, Co-Director, Family Planning Fellowship, Co-Director, Diabetes and Pregnancy Service, Assistant Professor of Clinical Obstetrics and Gynecology and Family Medicine |
2nd Prize | Tyler Vestal The Accuracy of Pseudo-Temporal Questions in Interviews of Children Faculty Sponsor: Thomas D. Lyon, Gould School of Law |
1st Prize | Adrienne Scotti The Effects of Database Type and Forensic Laboratory Error Rates on the Probative Value of DNA Evidence in a Cold Case Faculty Sponsors: Richard John and Nicholas Scurich, Psychology, Dornsife College |
1st Prize | Lei (Lisa) Cui, Emily Gee Chinese and American Emotional Responses to Environmental Advertisements Faculty Sponsor: Ann Crigler, Political Science, Dornsife College |
Interdisciplinary Award | Linda Dahl The Golden Horde and the Emergence of Muscovy Faculty Sponsor: Azade-Ayse Rorlich, History, Dornsife College |
Most Innovative
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Honorable Mention | Lori Chen Architecture as a Vehicle for Social Change in Southeast Asia Faculty Sponsors: Jinhee Choung, Political Science, Dornsife College; James Steele, School of Architecture |
2nd Prize | Stephanie Lam A Novel Method for Rib Periosteum Autografts in the Mouse for the Purpose of Assessing Bone Regeneration Faculty Sponsor: Francesca Mariani, Eli and Edythe Broad Center for Regenerative Medicine and Stem Cell Research at USC |
1st Prize | Avril Pitter, Kirsten Rice, Kristen Sharer Optimization of Biodiesel Production from Algae through Ultrasonication Extraction Method Faculty Sponsors: Stephanie Olague, Massoud Pirbazari,and Varadarjan Ravindran, Sonny Astani Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Viterbi |
Photos