The Intellectual Entrepreneurship (IE) Citizen Scholars, IE’s student organization, hosted its fifth annual Research Contest for students of all disciplines on Thursday, April 28 as part of the university’s Research Week.

The contest provides current, former and prospective IE Pre Grad Interns the opportunity to showcase their research, ambitions and aspirations. A total of 19 students were accepted to present their research, and all were eligible to win prizes.

Several of the colleges and schools were represented, including the College of Liberal Arts, the Moody College of Communication, the College of Fine Arts,  the Cockrell School of Engineering, the College of Pharmacy, the College of Natural Sciences and the Jackson School of Geosciences.

The winners:

• First Place ($300): Simone Menezes, Biochemistry, “Identifying Novel Inhibitors of D Alanine D Alanine Ligase in Listeria Monocytogenes Using Virtual Screening”
• Second place ($150): Laura Dafov, Geology, “Using Detrital Zircon Geochronology to Quantify the Disrupted Flow of Sediment Down the Colorado River by Texas Hill Country Dams”
• Third place ($125): Rebecca Larson, Astronomy, “Using Herschel Far Infrared Photometry to Constrain Star Formation Rates in CLASH Cluster Galaxies”
• Fourth place ($100): Samantha Archer, Anthropology, “Ancient DNA from Mayan tooth offerings at Yakalche Belize”
• Fifth place ($75): Chib Amuneke, Health Outcomes (Pharmacy), “Examination of Benefits and Barriers of Medication Adherence Counseling Among Underserved Men”

Honorable Mentions ($50): Paula Koziol, Petroleum and Geosystems Engineering, “Cohesive Fracture Model for Multiple Stage Fracture Simulation in Shale Formations;” and Khadija Saifullah, Neuroscience, “A Retrospective Analysis of Penumbra Size in Relation to Outcome and Treatment”

Special thanks to the Office of Undergraduate Research, Dr. Rick Cherwitz, Lisa Mosely, Dr. Tommy Darwin, Marina Khalid and all of the IE Citizen Scholars and judges who helped organize and conduct this event.

Content provided by Marina Khalid, president of the IE Citizen Scholars