The science of presenting

Students spend countless hours researching their areas of study but not nearly as much time presenting it. The Festival of Research, hosted by Wright State University’s College of Science and Mathematics, provided dozens of students that chance on March 31.

The day-long festival provided opportunities for graduate and undergraduate students to present their research work to faculty, staff and fellow research students and compete for prize money.

“I love it,” said Mia Williams Burnett, a graduate environmental sciences student who presented her research on the molecular interaction between inhaled contaminants and the human lung surfactant system. “It’s more of a relaxed way to practice delivering what your research is about.”

Almost 80 Wright State students presented their research at the festival. In addition, dozens of students and faculty attended to view the work and ask questions about the research.

“A lot of students come to Wright State to do research,” said Rahul Shah, a senior biological sciences major who has been researching Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS), commonly known as Lou Gehrig’s Disease. “Wright State students get that hands-on experience where they might not get those opportunities at other universities.”

The winning presenters received $150 for first place, $100 for second and $50 for third. Below are the winners from the graduate oral presentation, undergraduate oral presentation, graduate poster presentation and undergraduate poster presentation categories:

• Best Graduate Oral Presentation: Ari Zakroff

• Second Place Graduate Oral Presentation: Cassidy Alspaugh

• Third Place Graduate Oral Presentation: Miliben Anandbhai Bhakta

• Best Undergraduate Oral Presentation: Brooklyn Morris

• Second Place Undergraduate Oral Presentation: Cierra Ellington

• Third Place Undergraduate Oral Presentation: Josie Marshall

• Best Graduate Poster Presentation: John Karanja Kamau

• Second Place Graduate Poster Presentation: Shreya Akunapuram

• Third Place Graduate Poster Presentation: Venicia Alhawach

• Best Undergraduate Poster Presentation: Teresa Paul

• Second Place Undergraduate Poster Presentation: Rahul Shah

• Third Place Undergraduate Poster Presentation: Kaitlyn Miller

The 2023 Festival of Research was sponsored by Lidos, a global leader in the integration and application of information technology, engineering and science. For future sponsorship opportunities within the College of Science and Mathematics, please contact Jacqui Neal at Jacqueline.neal@wright.edu or (937) 775-4980.