The best presentations among the 145 entries in the 2023 Arkansas Tech University Research Symposium have been selected by judges and announced by the ATU Office of Research and Sponsored Programs.
Winning entries are listed below:
Best Graduate Submission
First Place: Brandon Maiersperger, “Nest Success and Fledgling Sex Ratio of American Robins (Turdus migratorius) in Suburban Areas of the Arkansas River Valley.” Faculty advisor: Dr. Chris Kellner, professor of wildlife science.
Second Place: Seyed Mohammad Sanjari, “Recent Developments in Hydrogen Fuel Cell-Powered Drones.” Faculty advisor: Dr. Seyed Ehsan Hosseini, assistant professor of mechanical engineering.
Third Place: Musfikur Rahaman, ““Programming Sequence Improvement Program.” Faculty advisor: Dr. Robin Ghosh, assistant professor of computer and information science.
Best Capstone Presentation
First Place: Zurab Sabakhtarishvili, Clayton Jensen and Sijan Panday, “Crime Prediction Using Machine Learning: The Case of the City of Little Rock.” Faculty advisor: Dr. Robin Ghosh, assistant professor of computer and information science.
Best Poster Presentation
First Place: Stephen Baker, “NASA Hydrogen Flame Demonstration.” Faculty advisor: Dr. John Krohn, professor of mechanical engineering.
Second Place: Ben Johnson, “Spatiotemproal Comparison of Redfin Darter (etheostoma whipplei) Diets from Two Spacially-Distinct Streams in the Arkansas River Valley.” Faculty advisor: Dr. Kyler Hecke, assistant professor of biology.
Third Place (tie): Kristin Hardy, “Perception of Representation.” Faculty advisor: Dr. Jason Warnick, professor of psychology.
Third Place (tie): Harley Hines and Raven Newton, “Tsh and CtBP interaction coordinates Drosophila eye development.” Faculty advisor: Dr. Surya Jyoti Banerjee, assistant professor of biology.
Best Oral Presentation
First Place: Jacob Skaggs, “Organs in Colonial New England Puritan Churches.” Faculty advisor: Dr. Phoebe Robertson, assistant professor of music.
Second Place: Nicholas Gilbert, Emily Trotter, David Andres Asimbaya Solano, Jorge Garcia and Natalie Nyatsanza, “Kayak Automated Steering.” Faculty advisor: Dr. Zahra Zamanipour, assistant professor of electrical engineering.
Third Place: Peter Unwer, “Utilizing VR Scenarios to Aid Student Empathy in Challenging Interactions.” Faculty advisor: Susan West, associate professor of hospitality administration.
Best Online/Virtual Presentation
First Place: Shelby Coonts, “Natural Disaster Preparedness Levels Among Firefighters.” Faculty advisor: Dr. Bethany Swindell, assistant professor of emergency management.
More than 250 ATU students participated in the 2023 ATU Research Symposium. The in-person portion took place Tuesday, April 25, in Dr. Robert Charles Brown and Jill Lestage Brown Hall and Witherspoon Auditorium.
A program listing all the presentations is available at www.atu.edu/ospui/Annual%20ATU%20Research%20Symposium.php.
