Strike a Spark Conference 2022
2022 Strike a Spark Judging Results
Below is a complete list of the awards for Strike a Spark 2022.
Winners can pick up their awards from 9:00 AM to 4:00 PM in Eberly 202A, beginning on Thursday, April 28.
CREATIVE WORKS
Creative Works I, Morning Session
- First Place - Stephanie Oplinger, Evolving Bodies
- Second Place - Alexis Dombrowsky, Mutualism
- Third Place - Hanna Marie Pruchnitsky, Importance of Honeybees
- Honorable Mention - Nicole Naumann, Stress Response
Creative Works, II, Afternoon Session
- First Place - Megan Tipton, Coyote Beauty
- Second Place - Daniel E. Harris, They’re Just Animals
Creative Works III, Asynchronous Session
- First Place - Bartholomew Kulus, Rebecca Smitley, & John Seghi, CIS Project Scheduling and Tracking System
ORAL PRESENTATIONS
Oral Presentations, Morning Session
- First Place - Cody Barnhart, “Los Angeles County Wildfires”
- Second Place Christina Holstine, “A Review of ‘Structural Basis for the Inhibition of Truncated Islet Amyloid Polypeptide Aggregation by CU[II]’: Insights into the Bioinorganic Chemistry of Type II Diabetes
Third Place
- Billie Strother, Mara Proie, & Jenna Mervosh, “Disconnection: The Impact of the Lack of the ‘Freshman Experience’ during the COVID-19 Pandemic”
Oral Presentations, Afternoon Session
First Place
- Chelsea Van Divner, “Velocardiofacial Syndrome”
Second Place
- Joshua Getchen, “Body Modification as a Function of Identity”
Third Place
- Amanda Gillen-Ford, “Japanese Game of Poetry: Hyakunin Isshu”
Oral Presentations, Asynchronous Session
First Place
- Payton Hlatky-Walters, “Resistance of Specific Antibiotics in Non-Contaminated Environments and in Acidic Environments”
POSTERS
College of Education and Liberal Arts, Individual Project
First Place
- Sarah Begly, “How Animals Relate to a Person’s Lifestyle”
College of Science and Technology, Individual Project
First Place
- Kerry Ann Katz, “The Effects of Invasive Knotweeds (Reynoutria spp.) on Ground-Dwelling Arthropods”
Second Place
- Christine C. Buray, “Identifying Soil Fungi’s Secondary Metabolites Antimicrobial Resistance Against Bacteria”
Third Place
- Micaela Ricco, “Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy for Individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder”
Honorable Mention
- Stephanie Gfroerer, “Vegetation Surveys for Cavity Nesting Bird Preferences”
College of Education and Liberal Arts, Class Project, Morning Session
First Place
- Sarah Seader, “Dracula (1931), Fangs and All: Dracula as the Monster We Know and Love”
Second Place
- Alyssa Lambert-Alonso, “The Application of Criminological Theories on the Motives of Adam Lanza”
- Brady Shore, “How Internet Memes Are Used for Coping”
Honorable Mention
- Alexis Shippey, “Personality is More than the Eye Beholds: Moebius Syndrome”
- Aeden Jezorski, “One Joke at a Time: Humor Theory and Rick and Morty”
College of Science and Technology, Class Project, Morning Session
First Place
- Carlos Ramirez, “Behavioral Analysis of Temperature Sensitiveness Effects on Stress Response in Ambystoma mexicanum”
Second Place
- Jared Colbert, Kolin Buckley, & Leo Ryan, “Autonomous Buoy Project”
Third Place
- Alivia Yauger & Lydia Carney, “DNA Fingerprints: Sex Determination and Longevity on Different Surfaces”
College of Education and Liberal Arts, Class Project, Afternoon Session
First Place
- Brianna McDonough, “Humor Reflecting Morality and Providing a Mechanism to Cope in The Last Lecture”
- Carter Stokes, “Kevin’s Hart: Humor Through Life”
Third Place
- Brittney Roberts, Amerissa Brambach, Mia Ola, Amanda Anderson, & Levon Williams-Hughes, “The Great Resignation”
Honorable Mention
- Dominic Santia, “What We Have Missed: A Transcendental Analysis of Courage the Cowardly Dog”
- Brady Shore, Lauren Garris, Katlyn Massey, & Madison Minarchin, “Factors Affecting Decision Making Involving Dreams”
College of Science and Technology, Class Project, Afternoon Session
First Place
- Daja Douglas, “A Structural and Biochemical Review of the Notch 1 Transmembrane Protein”
Second Place
- Christina Holstine, “Alpha-galactosidase-A: An Enzyme Review”
Third Place
- Savannah Davis, Maya Scarpaci, Abbie Reichelderfer, & Sarah Moehring, “PET Plastic
Degradation by E.coli with I. sakaiensis 201_F6 PETase and MHETase: Plastic
Degradation Genes for More Efficient Bioremediation Efforts”
Joint Student Faculty
First Place
- Maria Mellon & Emily Sinsley, “The Effects of Community Inclusion on Supportive Housing for Adults with Mental Illnesses”
Second Place
- Kayla Gamble, “Testing the Effects of Pesticides on Environmental Preference of Tenebrio molitor”
Third Place
- Hannah Burgess, “A Large, Multi-site Test of Self-administered Mindfulness”
Honorable Mention
- Victoria Ilko & Dr. Robert Whyte, “Monitoring Soils in Recently Mitigated Wetlands in Southwest PA”
Asynchronous Session
First Place
- Chris Girardi, “Hope After Publication”
Second Place
- Autumn Walsh, “Misogyny in Female Prisons: A Literature Review and Narrative Account”
Graduate
First Place
- Alyssa Crooks & Stephanie Cole, “Expulsion Rates Among Pennsylvania Students for the 2019-2020 School Year Based on Offense Type”
Second Place
- Cheyenne Wasko & Kevin Stephanik, “Student Dropout Rates and Substance Use”
Third Place
- Demitria Skeriotis, Brittany Underwood, & Riayn Mack, “School-Aged Vaping”
Online Poster Presentations
Autumn Walsh. Misogyny in Female Prisons: A Literature Review and Narrative Account
Christopher Girardi. Hope After Publication
Brooke Duda. Courage the Cowardly Dog's Impact
Online Creative Works Presentation
John Seghi: Bartholomew Kulus, Rebecca Smitley, John Seghi. CIS Project Scheduling and Tracking System
Online Oral Presentation
Luca Sciulli. Examining Soil Bacteria for Potential Antibiotic Production
Payton Hlatky-Walters, Antibiotic Resistance in Contaminated Acidic Environments and Non-Contaminated Environments