Welcome to the 2021 Frontiers in Undergraduate Research Online Exhibition!
Like most aspects of the spring semester, Frontiers looks different in 2021. As we cannot gather safely in person to see students present their research and creative projects, we invited students to submit posters and short video presentations for compilation in the Frontiers 2021 Exhibition Program. Links to those materials, hosted on the Portfolium e-portfolio platform, are included in the exhibition program alongside the individual project listings. This year's exhibition includes 154 undergraduate students sharing 137 projects that illustrate the breadth and diversity of undergraduate inquiry at UConn.
In addition to viewing and commenting on the projects in Portfolium, we invite you to participate in seven live, online presentation sessions to hear from student researchers and ask questions about their projects and experiences. Details about the live sessions and links to join them are available below.
We hope this online exhibition will provide the University community the opportunity to learn about UConn students' innovative projects and what these students have learned through their engagement in research and creative activity. We are pleased to have this opportunity to celebrate students’ ideas, questions, explorations, discoveries, and creations in a form that keeps UConn Nation safe, healthy, and connected.
Submit Your Project to the Frontiers 2021 Addendum
We invite students who would like to share their research and creative projects with the University community to submit them for inclusion in the Frontiers 2021 Addendum. This additional listing of projects will be added to the Frontiers 2021 Program in early June 2021.
Please complete one submission form per project. If your project is collaborative, please work together with your collaborators to prepare the information below and designate a point person to submit the form on behalf of the group. Please complete the submission form no later than Monday, May 24, 2021.
Please gather the information below, prepare your poster and video, and upload this material to Portfolium before completing the submission form. The form will ask for the following information:
- Project Information
- Project title
- Project funding (e.g., Change Grant, Health Research Program, OUR Supply Award)
- Project description (2-3 sentences summarizing your project)
- Portfolium link: Students are asked to upload their poster, video, and any additional project materials they might wish to share to Portfolium, an ePortfolio system to which all UConn affiliates have access. Further guidance on showcasing a project on Portfolium and accessing a shareable link is available here.
- Student Information (for each undergraduate collaborator/co-author)
- Name
- Student Admin Number
- Email address
- Expected graduation date (month & year)
- Major(s)
- Campus
- Scholar designations (e.g., University Scholar, STEM Scholar, McNair Scholar)
- Project Advisor Information (for each faculty or staff project mentor)
- Name
- Department
- UConn School/College or, if external to UConn, Institution Name
Resources for Students
You may find the following resources helpful as you prepare to share your project at the Frontiers Online Exhibition:
- Preparing Your Poster
- Preparing Your Video Presentation
- Recording and Captioning Your Video Presentation
- If you are having difficulty logging in to YouTube with your UConn email (error message: "We are sorry, but you do not have access to YouTube. Please contact your Organization Administrator for access."), you need to opt in to Public Services, an additional suite of applications that include YouTube. Go to email.uconn.edu/g-suite and click the blue button that reads, "Opt-in to Public Services."
- Video example by Peer Research Ambassador Lily Zhong
- Video example by Peer Research Ambassador Pavitra Makarla (4-minute research presentation + 1 minute of presentation tips!)
- Using Portfolium to Share Your Frontiers Project
- Presenting Your Pandemic-Affected Project
Viewing Projects in Portfolium
Live Session 1: 3/22, 6:30-7:30pm
Monday, March 22, 2021 • 6:30-7:30pm
Join session: s.uconn.edu/frontiers21live1
William Brydon ’22 (Chemistry, CLAS)
Metal-Free Dehydrogenation Reaction of an Organic Compound Using a Recyclable Oxoammonium Salt
Anisha Jain ’21 (Pathobiology, CAHNR)
Pathology and Prevention of Lean Non-Alcoholic Steatohepatitis: A Distinct Disease Regulated by FXR
Shankara Narayanan ’21 (Political Science & History, CLAS)
Discourse and Power in U.S.-China Relations
Lucie Turkel ’21 (Individualized: Comparative Literary and Cultural Studies, CLAS)
Comparing African Cultural Retention and its Effect on Racial Attitudes in the Music and National Identities of Cuba and the United States
Elise Vanase ’21 (Puppet Arts, SFA)
"Remnants" - A Post-Apocalyptic Puppetry Photography Project
Live Session 2: 3/23, 5:00-6:00pm
Tuesday, March 23, 2021 • 5:00-6:00pm
Join session: s.uconn.edu/frontiers21live2
Michelle Antony ’23 (Molecular and Cell Biology, CLAS)
EGFR Signaling in Chondroprogenitor Responses to Articular Cartilage Injury
Grace Curley-Holmes ’22 (Biomedical Engineering, ENG)
SH2 Profiling Constructs
Michael Martland ’22 (Molecular and Cell Biology, CLAS)
Characterizing the Ventricular-Subventricular Zone in a Mouse Model of Post-Infectious Hydrocephalus
Nivedha Natchiappan ’21 (Healthcare Management, BUS)
Controlling UPEC Using Lactic Acid Bacteria
Live Session 3: 3/23, 6:30-7:30pm
Tuesday, March 23, 2021 • 6:30-7:30pm
Join session: s.uconn.edu/frontiers21live3
Grace Herrick ’21 (Individualized: Global Health, CLAS)
The Critical Need for Early Childhood Development Programs in Uganda
Joel Lopez ’21 (Psychological Sciences, CLAS)
Psychedelics for the Treatment of Substance Abuse Disorder: A State of the Art Review
Matthew Pickett ’21 (Chemistry, CLAS)
Design and Characterization of a Novel Enzymatic Immobilization Structure
Shaina Selvaraju ’21 (Biological Sciences, CLAS)
Do Autism-Spectrum Characteristics Predict the Embodiment of Manipulable Object Concepts?
Live Session 4: 3/24, 6:30-7:30pm
Wednesday, March 24, 2021 • 6:30-7:30pm
Join session: s.uconn.edu/frontiers21live4
Thomas Alvarez ’23 (English & History, CLAS)
Ricky's Bar: An Original Screenplay
Julia Desiato ’21 (Pathobiology, CAHNR)
Evolutionary History of Rabies Virus in Connecticut
Amit Eshed ’21 (Biomedical Engineering, ENG)
Bryan Ziobron ’21 (Electrical Engineering, ENG)
Joseph Chenard ’21 (Electrical Engineering, ENG)
Functional Electrode Stimulation for Precision Limb Coordination
Aaron Johnson ’21 (Individualized: Sustainable Urban Design, CAHNR)
Sauk Trail East: An Urban Mobility and Design Project
Katherine Lee ’22 (Structural Biology and Biophysics, CLAS)
Computational Investigations into Binding Dynamics of Tau Protein Antibodies: Affinity, Specificity, and the Potential for Intentional Design
Live Session 5: 3/25, 5:00-6:00pm
Thursday, March 25, 2021 • 5:00-6:00pm
Join session: s.uconn.edu/frontiers21live5
Shreedula Balakrishnan ’23 (Biomedical Engineering & Computer Science and Engineering, ENG)
Study of AML Differentiation Therapy Model
Erin Dennehy ’21 (Political Science & Individualized: Law and Society, CLAS)
Public Perception of the Legitimacy of the Supreme Court: The Impact of Improper Behavior
Amelia Hurst ’21 (Marine Sciences & Anthropology, CLAS)
Linking Human Activities to Coastal Water Quality in Southern New England: Past and Present
Jasmine Ramirez ’22 (Physics, CLAS)
Illuminating the Emission Line Light Echoes of Supermassive Black Holes
Anand Vaish ’21 (Biomedical Engineering, ENG)
Image-Based Biomechanical Analysis of Cardiac Morphogenesis using a Zebrafish Model
Live Session 6: 3/25, 6:30-7:30pm
Thursday, March 25, 2021 • 6:30-7:30pm
Join session: s.uconn.edu/frontiers21live6
Kyra Foster ’23 (Nutritional Sciences, CAHNR)
Understanding Obesity: Barriers and Assets to Healthy Eating in Black Adults Living in Food Deserts
Simone Fournier ’21 (Individualized: Healthcare and Aging, CLAS)
Factors in End-of-Life Planning Among Connecticut Older Adults
Olivia Lemieux ’22 (Environmental Sciences, CLAS)
Genotyping Reveals Multiple Cases of Interspecific Hybridization in a Moss Complex
Alyson Schneider ’21 (Agriculture and Natural Resources, CAHNR)
Zachary Duda ’21 (Agriculture and Natural Resources, CAHNR)
Jonathan Russo ’21 (Agriculture and Natural Resources & Sustainable Plant and Soil Systems, CAHNR)
Completely Connecticut Agriculture
Meghan Shaw ’22 (American Sign Language & Economics, CLAS)
Relationship Between Cardinal Principle Mastery and Approximation Development in Deaf and Hard of Hearing Children
Live Session 7: 3/26, 6:30-7:30pm
Friday, March 26, 2021 • 6:30-7:30pm
Join session: s.uconn.edu/frontiers21live7
Nour Al Zouabi ’23 (Physiology and Neurobiology, CLAS)
The Impact of Cultural, Biological, and Biocultural Adaptations on Humans
Daniel Brocke ’21 (Physiology and Neurobiology, CLAS)
Qinwei Chen ’21 (Biological Sciences, CLAS)
Optogenetics in Excitation/Inhibition of Drosophila Aggression Neurons
Rei Bufi ’21 (Molecular and Cell Biology & Individualized: Globalization, Art, and Activism, CLAS)
The Effect of Exercise on Patients with Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease: A Meta-Analysis
Alexander Ercolani ’21 (Physics, CLAS; Computer Science and Engineering, ENG)
Applying Machine Learning to Particle Detectors
Victoria Livingston ’21 (Chemistry, CLAS)
Self-Healing Aerogel-Like Structures Produced via Click Chemistry