Frontiers 2022

Over a blue and aqua marbled image, text reads, 2022 Frontiers Undergraduate Research Hybrid ExhibitionThe Frontiers in Undergraduate Research exhibition provides opportunities for UConn’s talented undergraduate students to share their research and creative projects with the university community. For spring 2022, Frontiers is being offered in a hybrid modality, including in-person and online presentations.

  • An in-person poster exhibition will be held on Friday, April 8th and Saturday, April 9th in the Wilbur Cross North Reading Room on the Storrs campus.
  • An in-person poster exhibition will be held on Tuesday, April 12th at UConn Stamford in the Welcome Center/Atrium of the Downtown Stamford Building. This exhibition will include short presentations of electronic posters.
  • An online exhibition will go live on Friday, April 8th. This exhibition will include posters and short video presentations shared by students on the Portfolium e-portfolio platform.
  • Live, online presentation sessions for those students participating in the online exhibition will be held on Monday, April 11th, Wednesday, April 13th, and Thursday, April 14th. Students will present their projects and answer audience questions.

We invite the university community — especially other undergraduate students — to attend the in-person exhibitions, to view and comment on the projects in Portfolium, and to participate in the online presentation sessions to hear from student researchers and ask questions about their projects and experiences. Full details about these engagement opportunities can be found below.

We thank students, faculty mentors, and staff colleagues for their patience, support, and positivity as Frontiers moved to this new, hybrid model. We are pleased to have this opportunity to celebrate students’ ideas, questions, explorations, discoveries, and creations in ways that keep UConn Nation safe, healthy, and connected.

Storrs Exhibition

Information for Guests at Storrs

  • The university community and general public are welcome at Frontiers! The audience typically includes undergraduate students, graduate students, faculty, staff, alumni, family, and friends of student presenters.
  • All attendees must follow the University's campus guidelines with respect to masking and social distancing. Under current guidelines, masking is recommended. Room capacity will be monitored at this event; you may be asked to wait to enter the event if it is at capacity.
  • The exhibition runs in multiple sessions, at the times listed below. You may arrive and leave at any time, staying to talk with as many or as few presenters as you wish.
    • Session 1: Friday, April 8th, 2:00-3:30pm
    • Session 2: Friday, April 8th, 4:00-5:30pm
    • Session 3: Saturday, April 9th, 11:00am-12:30pm
    • Session 4: Saturday, April 9th, 1:00-2:30pm
  • The exhibition is held in the North Reading Room of the Wilbur Cross Building (WCB on Storrs campus maps). The North Parking Garage (NPRK) and South Parking Garage (SPRK) are approximately equidistant from the Wilbur Cross Building; both offer guest parking at an hourly rate.
  • If you require an accommodation in order to participate in this event (e.g., interpreting services), please contact the Office of Undergraduate Research at 860-486-7939 or our@uconn.edu by March 31, 2022.

Information for presenters at Storrs

  • The Storrs exhibition will include four presentation sessions:
    • Session 1: Friday, April 8th, 2:00-3:30pm
    • Session 2: Friday, April 8th, 4:00-5:30pm
    • Session 3: Saturday, April 9th, 11:00am-12:30pm
    • Session 4: Saturday, April 9th, 1:00-2:30pm

    It will also include a student and faculty reception on Friday, April 8th, from 5:30-6:30pm, at which the 2022 Mentorship Excellence Awards will be presented.

  • Instructions for Student Presenters
  • Handouts about Preparing Your Poster (PDF) and Preparing Yourself for a Poster Presentation (PDF)
  • If you wish, you may share your poster or other project materials on Portfolium. Instructions on how to do so are available in the Using Portfolium to Share Your Frontiers Project document.
  • All presentations will be set up on poster boards in the Wilbur Cross Building's North Reading Room. Poster space is a 46 inch (vertical) by 70 inch (horizontal) display. There is additional space (approximately 24 inches high) below the poster stand if extra space is needed. The poster boards will be covered with navy blue paper as a background for your display. We will provide pins and staplers for you to mount your posters. Photos from past events illustrate how different students have made use of the available display space.
  • As a Frontiers participant you will be representing the University of Connecticut. It is expected that you respect that privilege and dress in professional attire for your presentation.
  • You agree to remove your work at the conclusion of your presentation session, and not before. The Office of Undergraduate Research cannot keep any posters for students, so if you cannot be there to remove your own work, please have someone remove it for you or it will be thrown out.
  • Poster templates are available from UConn Brand Standards (scroll down to Print Templates). Check with your faculty advisor as individual departments often have specific templates they prefer. You can download official UConn logos here.
  • The Office of Undergraduate Research is not able to fund the cost of poster printing for student presenters.
  • You can get your poster printed at the UConn Document Production Center, located on Discovery Drive near Parking Services. You should plan to speak with them early about poster size and paper options, finishings, and accepted file types.

OUR staff will also be available to answer questions and provide assistance on WebEx at the following times:

Stamford Exhibition

Stamford Exhibition Schedule

Stamford Exhibition Schedule

Information for Guests at Stamford

  • All attendees must follow the University's campus guidelines with respect to masking and social distancing. Under current guidelines, masking is recommended.
  • Presentations will take place from 4:30-5:30pm. You may arrive and leave at any time, staying to listen to as many or as few presenters as you wish.
  • The exhibition will be held in the Welcome Center/Atrium of the Downtown Stamford Building. This is on the first floor, in the atrium outside of the 109 auditorium.
  • If you require an accommodation in order to participate in this event (e.g., interpreting services), please contact the Office of Undergraduate Research at 860-486-7939 or our@uconn.edu by March 31, 2022.

Information for presenters at Stamford

  • The Stamford exhibition will be held on Tuesday, April 12th, from 4:30-5:30pm.
  • Instructions for Stamford Exhibition Presenters
  • Your poster will be displayed electronically on the Welcome Center screen (not printed) during your short presentation at the event. Please do not print your poster for this event.
  • While posters can usually be created in a variety of ways (see Poster Format section of Preparing Your Poster), because you will be displaying your poster electronically on the Welcome Center screen and not printing your poster, we recommend completing your poster using PowerPoint in “widescreen” format (16:9 ratio, suggested custom size of 56 inches x 31.5 inches; go to “Design” then “Slide size” then “Custom slide size” in PowerPoint).
    • We have provided a template (download here) to use as starting point, which is specific to the Frontiers – Stamford in-person event with electronic viewing. Based on the screen’s display, we recommend keeping the 3 equal-sized columns (each 18 inches wide) as displayed on the template, for best display results, but you can change headings/colors/style/number of boxes, height of boxes, etc. to fit your needs and any recommendations from your faculty mentor. After completing your poster, please save it as a PPT/PPTX file type and/or a JPG file type. If you have both PPT/PPTX and JPG, please send both versions.
    • You can download official UConn logos here.
    • Your poster must be sent to stamfordenrichment@uconn.edu as an attachment in PPT/PPTX and/or JPG file format by Tuesday, 4/5 at 11:59pm.
      • Note: If your file is too big to send as an attachment via email, you can share via GoogleDrive with kaitlin.heenehan@uconn.edu.
  • Your presentation of your poster will be a short description of your project, designed for a general audience (timeslot will be confirmed via email). More details about the maximum length of your short presentation will be shared after 3/11, when the submission form closes. For now, please see Preparing Yourself for a Poster Presentation for overall tips for presenting your work in a poster exhibition.
  • If you wish, you may share your poster or other project materials on Portfolium, but this is not required to present in-person at Stamford. Instructions on how to do so are available in the Using Portfolium to Share Your Frontiers Project document.
  • More details about day-of expectations and instructions will be coming soon (after 3/11 when the submission form closes)!

Enrichment staff will be available to answer questions specific to the Stamford in-person event and electronic poster creation at the following times. Join to ask a question or just bounce ideas around with others:

OUR staff will also be available at the following times to answer general questions regarding Frontiers or submitting materials via Portfolium:

Online Presentations

Viewing Projects in Portfolium

Viewing Frontiers 2022 Projects in Portfolium

Information for Virtual Presenters

You may find the following resources helpful as you prepare your virtual Frontiers presentation:

OUR staff will also be available to answer questions and provide assistance on WebEx at the following times:

Live Session 1: 4/11, 6:00-7:00pm

Monday, April 11, 2022 • 6:00-7:00pm
Join session: s.uconn.edu/frontiers22live1

Ling Chi ’22 (Biomedical Engineering, ENG)
Workflow Integration of a Standard Social Determinant of Health Screening Program

Liam Cohen ’25 (Sociology, CLAS)
How Gendered Character Creation in Video Games Affects Trans People

Jacob Esposito ’23 (Chemistry, CLAS)
Extraction of CBD and Other Cannabinoids from Dark Chocolate Truffles Followed by Liquid Chromatography Coupled with UV Detection

Maria Latta ’20 (PHARM), ’22 Pharm.D.
Drugs, Information, and Innovation: How Can Pharmacists Improve Patient Opioid Knowledge?

Live Session 2: 4/13, 4:30-5:30pm

Wednesday, April 13, 2022 • 4:30-5:30pm
Join session: s.uconn.edu/frontiers22live2

Madelyn Dupre ’22 (Animal Sciences & Pathobiology, CAHNR)
Investigating mRNA Expression of Genes Involved in Epigenetic Modification in the Liver of F1 Offspring of Poorly Fed Mothers Using a Sheep Model

Kelly George ’22 (Allied Health Sciences, CAHNR)
Alex Clonan ’22 (Electrical Engineering, ENG & Molecular and Cell Biology, CLAS)
Assessing Self-Harm in Adolescents Before and During the COVID-19 Pandemic in Relation to Geographic Location

Harsha Jain ’22 (Engineering Physics & Computer Science and Engineering, ENG)
Deleted: Entrepreneurial Venture of a Smart Real Time Monitoring Device for Plants

Uma Mehta ’22 (Biological Sciences, CLAS)
Comparing the Expression of EGFR Gene Alternative Transcripts: Isoform A and D

Live Session 3: 4/14, 4:30-5:30pm

Thursday, April 14, 2022 • 4:30-5:30pm
Join session: s.uconn.edu/frontiers22live3

Aaron Beams ’22 (Biomedical Engineering, ENG)
Intracellular Protein Delivery Using Nanopieces for Anti-Cancer Applications

Jessie Gentilella ’22 (Human Development and Family Sciences, CLAS)
Social Media and Body Image during COVID-19 among Female College Students

Sarah Platt ’22 (Biological Sciences, CLAS)
Seema Patel ’22 (Molecular and Cell Biology, CLAS)
Reviving Recipes, Rethinking Our Food System: A Community Cookbook Project for CT Shoreline Residents

Emily Trocchi ’22 (Physiology and Neurobiology, CLAS)
The Effects of Heat Shock on Arf Guanine Nucleotide Exchange Activity of IQSEC2, an Intellectual Disability-Linked Protein

Live Session 4: 4/14, 6:00-7:00pm

Thursday, April 14, 2022 • 6:00-7:00pm
Join session: s.uconn.edu/frontiers22live4

Julia Chrostowski ’22 (Biological Sciences & Sociology, CLAS)
Effects of Tissue-Specific Indy Reduction on Fly Metabolism and Longevity

Shihab Khalfalla ’23 (Computer Science and Engineering, ENG)
A Model For Quality Prediction and Efficient Data Monitoring in Additive Manufacturing

Mehak Sharma ’22 (Chemistry, CLAS)
The Dreamer Movement: Understanding Why and How #DREAMers Keep Dreaming

Chelsea Valdez ’22 (Human Development and Family Sciences, CLAS)
Mindfulness Yoga: Community-Based Intervention with Resettled Refugee Children from Afghanistan