On Saturday, March 15, several Marquette students earned the unique opportunity to showcase their research at the Big East Research Poster Symposium. A total of 55 research projects were presented from the 11 Big East schools, with five students representing the diverse range of undergraduate research happening at Marquette.
After a rigorous selection process, five researchers presented unique topics to their undergraduate peers and a panel of faculty members from each Big East school. The symposium, held at New York City’s Madison Square Garden, featured students representing the Klinger College of Arts and Sciences and the Opus College of Engineering. Marquette undergraduate student research projects included:
- Screening for Inhibitors of Pyruvate Carboxylase
- Student Researcher: Helene Archer
- Faculty Mentor: Dr. Martin St. Maurice, professor of structural biology and enzymology
- Machine Learning Shows Spatial Heterogeneity and Discrete Regions of Scalp Blood Flow when Detecting Cortical Activity Using fNIRS
- Student Researcher: Nabil Othman
- Faculty Mentor: Dr. Scott Beardsley, associate professor of biomedical engineering and director of undergraduate studies
- Maiden, Mother, Crone: The Power & Cultural Significance of Women in Old English Literature
- Student Researcher: Mary Oates
- Faculty Mentor: Dr. Elizaveta Strakhov, associate professor of English
- Visible-Light-Driven Selective C-H Arylation of N-Heterocycles
- Student Researcher: McKenzie Stack
- Other Authors: Xi Chen, Ph.D. student in chemistry; Eric R. Allen, graduate research assistant of organic chemistry
- Faculty Mentor: Dr. Dian Wang, assistant professor of organic chemistry, catalysis
- Performance Using Three-Dimensional Supplemental Vibrotactile Feedback to Guide Research-to-Grasp Tasks Improves with Number of Task Repetitions – a Pilot Study
- Student Researcher: Joana Flores
- Other Authors: Kim Bassindale, assistant director of NeuroMotor Control Laboratory at Marquette University and Medical College of Wisconsin; Rachel Mazorow, PhD student in biomedical engineering
- Faculty Mentor: Dr. Robert Scheidt, professor of biomedical engineering, co-director and founder of NeuroMotor Control Laboratory
Mary Oates, who represented the Klinger College of Arts and Sciences, said, “this whole process was incredibly rewarding.” Oates began her research in the summer of 2024 after being awarded an Honors Summer Research Fellowship. She first had the opportunity to present her research at the Honors Program Research and Creative Project Fair in the 2024 fall semester. Oates explains that her experience in research has inspired her to keep pursuing new research, sparking both her creative and educational motivation.
Oates also noted that the Big East Research Poster Symposium was a fascinating experience that allowed her to connect to the research happening at other schools in the Big East Conference. While the event was a competition, the sense of community among the undergraduate student presenters was a prominent theme. Oates looks forward to continuing her research and expresses her gratitude to her faculty mentor and to all those who helped make the Big East Research Poster Symposium an unforgettable event.
For more information on the undergraduate projects, including abstracts, view the symposium program is available online.
