Strike a Spark | PennWest California

2024 Strike a Spark Award Winners

Creative Works

First Place - Nikkisha Thompson, “Mermaid Costume and Personal Costume Creations”
Second Place - Autum Nieves, “Marine Life and How It Inspires Me”
Third Place - Kyle Bennett, “Leonardo da Vinci’s Mechanical Knight: The Grandfather of Humanoid Robots”
Honorable Mention - Alexis A. Dombrosky, “Deciphering Image and Text in Huichol Yarn Art”

Oral Presentations

First Place - Erin Wood, “Study of RND Efflux pumps in the genus Pseudomonas”
Second Place - Ariel Schurg, “Pride in Pints: The Importance of Gay Bars to Queer Communities”
Third Place - Tsahai Johnson, “Broaden Horizons: Mindfulness Meditation on Global Human Identification, Working memory, & in-Group Bias”

Digital Storytelling

First Place - Angel Keller, Abigail Timco, “Mon Valley Mud”
Second Place - Eric Teets, Marcus Ivey, Brittany Darcy, “#CalUNeedsKay”
Third Place - Sydney Kobuchi, Rosalyn Perozzi, “Anna Nixon: Pittsburgh’s Remarkable Motorwoman”
Honorable Mention - Rex Rininger, Brooklyn Karas, Ethan Harclerode, “The Champion of Donora”

Posters in Morning Session

First Place - Zachary M. Seaman, “Targeted Knockout of oprM Gene in Pseudomonas Species to Investigate its Role in Toxin and Antibiotic Resistance”
Second Place - Mia Ola, “The JAK2 V617F Mutation and its Significance in Polycythemia Vera”
Third Place - Sarah Donaldson, “Analyzing Hericium erinaceus for Potential Traces of Melatonin”
Honorable Mention - Sarah Seader, “Service Redesign of Flatz at PennWest California”
Honorable Mention - Jesse Britt, “The Effects of DEAD-Box Protein overexpression on S. cerevisiae 23S RNA Narnavirus Viral Load”

Posters in Afternoon Session

First Place - Bella Gilberto, Adriana Marina, “Understanding Ecosystem Interactions: Microbial Dynamics in Leaf Litter Decomposition”
Second Place - Alexis Wright, Holly Dzamba, “Snail Mucin Biosynthesis in E.coli Bacteria and B- farmase Yeast”
Third Place - Cammi Kovach, “Using DNA Barcoding in the Identification of an Unidentified Chilean Nysius Species: Is It Enough?”
Honorable Mention - Christina Hall, Kamryn Miller, “Analysis of Faunal Remains Found at Fort Gaddis”