The University of Tennessee offers undergraduates the opportunity to reach beyond the classroom to pursue the excitement of original research and creative projects. Every spring, the Office of Undergraduate Research and the Research & Engagement organizes the Exhibition of Undergraduate Research and Creative Achievement (EURēCA) — a multi-day exhibition and performance event for students.
In addition to divisional awards, projects judged to be the best overall are recognized with the Phi Kappa Phi National Honor Society Award, the William Franklin Harris III Undergraduate Research Award, the Sustainability Award, and the Office of Research and Engagement’s Undergraduate Research Excellence Award (gold, silver and bronze).
Download the Online Abstract Book 2015
Download the 2015 EUReCA Program Book and Program Book Addendum
2015 Winners
Phi Kappa Phi Honor Society Best of Show Winners are listed first. All remaining awards are listed by College. The ORE Undergraduate Research Excellence Awards were awarded at the Gold ($600), Silver ($400), and Bronze ($200) level across seven broad, cross-college subject area. Each college also awarded a variety of awards ranging from first place to honorable mention. The College of Architecture and Design and the School of Art awarded the same level of award to all winners. The William Franklin Harris III Undergraduate Research Award was presented to a project that showed innovation through research.
Phi Kappa Phi Honor Society Best of Show Award | |||
Student Name | Department | Project Title | Faculty Mentor |
Chloe Bliton | Psychology | Emotion Dysregulation, Gender, and Intimate Partner Violence Perpetration: An Exploratory Study | Gregory Stuart |
David Morse | College Scholars Honors | The Interaction of Cytotoxins and Intermetallic Nanoparticles With Lipid Membranes | Dibyendu Mukherjee |
Wesley Carroll, Piano | Music | Scherzo No. 2, Opus 31 in Bb minor by Frederic Chopin | Fay Adams |
College of Agricultural Science and Natural Resources | ||||
Student Name | Department | Project Title | Faculty Mentor | Award |
Carson Lillard; Reilly Jackson, Benjamin Wilson | Forestry, Wildlife/Fisheries | TEMPERATURE DRIVES SUSCEPTIBILITY OF EASTERN HELLBENDER LARVAE TO RANAVIRUS | Mathew Gray | Second place, College of Agriculture and Natural Resources |
Devarshi Ardeshna | Interdisciplinary Programs | Identification of high frequency conjugation factors in Campylobacter jejuni | Jun Lin | Honorable Mention, College of Agriculture and Natural Resources |
Jessie Richards; Manasi Balachandran | Animal Science-Veterinary Medc | Serological diagnosis of Parelaphostrongylus tenuis infection | Stephen Kania | Bronze ORE Undergraduate Research Excellence Award in Natural Sciences; First place, College of Agriculture and Natural Resources |
Mary Iannuzzi; Miles Ownby, Austin Sanders, Andrew Lynch | Biosystems Engr/Soil Science | Facilitated ROPS Installation When Moving From Obstructed to Open Terrain | Paul Ayers | Honorable Mention, College of Agriculture and Natural Resources |
Mikayla Goodman | Food Technology and Science | Chenopodium berlandieri: Characterization and Importance of Exhibited Antimicrobial Properties | Kimberly Gwinn | Bronze ORE Undergraduate Research Excellence Award in Natural Sciences; First place, College of Agriculture and Natural Resources |
College of Architecture and Design | ||||
Student Name | Department | Project Title | Faculty Mentor | Award |
Anna Biggs | Architecture | Cabinet of Curiosities | Brian Ambroziak | College of Architecture and Design Undergraduate Research and Creative Achievement Honor Award |
Daniel Allen | Architecture | Knoxville Medium-Mega Superscape | Keith Kaseman | College of Architecture and Design Undergraduate Research and Creative Achievement Honor Award |
Garrett Nelli; Andrew Ariola | Architecture | Red Bird Water Kiosk _ Clean Water Clean Life | John McRae | Silver ORE Undergraduate Research Excellence Award in Art, Architecture and Design, and Performing Arts |
Geoffrey Cavalier; Paul Attea; Matthew Barnett ; Irene Chang; Jean Baron Parczyk; John Battle; Geoffrey Cavalier; Bailey Comer; Melissa Hatchett; Kacper Krok; Tyler Rasnake; Christopher Sayre; Matthew Sutton; Chuan Tang; Oliver White; Julian Wandzilak; Tomasz Wszolek; Michael Cunningham; Scott Schermerhorn; Javan Reynolds; Brian Ishom | Architecture | The Green Oak Initiative | Theodore Shelton Jr | ORE Gold Award for Undergraduate Research in Art, Architecture and Design, and Performing Arts |
Holly Harris | Architecture | Intergenerational Living | John McRae | College of Architecture and Design Undergraduate Research and Creative Achievement Honor Award |
Jerry Sullivan; Kenna Cajka, Angela Claeys, Cayce Davis, Patrick Green, Jacob Heaton, Gina Raffanti, Hunter Todd, Eric Archer, Hunter Byrnes, Geneva Hill, Jared Wilkins | Architecture | Beardsley Community Farm Design-Build-Evaluate Project | Jennifer Akerman | College of Architecture and Design Undergraduate Research and Creative Achievement Honor Award |
Sierra Jensen; David Berry | Architecture | LEAP Collaborative: A Demonstration of Sustainable Practices | William Martella | College of Architecture and Design Undergraduate Research and Creative Achievement Honor Award |
William Dunn | Architecture | Cabinet of Curiosities | Brian Ambroziak | College of Architecture and Design Undergraduate Research and Creative Achievement Honor Award |
Zachary Mulitauaopele; Sean Miller, Zane Espinosa | Architecture | Steelhead | Keith Kaseman | Bronze ORE Undergraduate Research Excellence Award in Art, Architecture and Design, and Performing Arts |
College of Arts & Sciences | ||||
Student Name | Department | Project Title | Faculty Mentor | Award |
Adam Laclair; Ian Francis | Mathematics | Group Defect and Commuting Squares | Remus Nicoara | Honorable Mention, Physical Sciences, College of Arts & Sciences |
Alina Clay | College Scholars Honors |
Gendered Patterns of Economic Marginalization and Women’s Political Participation in Latin America | Jana Morgan | Honorable Mention, Social Sciences, College of Arts & Sciences |
Amos Manneschmidt | Physics and Astronomy |
Using SPLASH to Visualize Nucleosynthesis of Many Species in CHIMERA Simulation of Type IIA Supernovae Core Collapse | William Hix | First place, Physical Sciences, College of Arts & Sciences |
Benjamin Adams | Earth/ Planetary Sciences |
Impact of Temporal Variations of Hydrology on Groundwater Geochemistry | Terry Hazen | Honorable Mention, Physical Sciences, College of Arts & Sciences |
Campbell Reynolds | Biochem/ Cellular/ Molecular Bio |
Characterization of Chemotactic Receptor Tlp2 in Azospirillum brasilense | Gladys Alexandre | Honorable Mention, Cellular, Molecular, and Microbiology, College of Arts & Sciences |
Chad Melton | Earth/ Planetary Sciences |
Photometry of scattered disk objects in the outer Solar System | Joshua Emery | Honorable Mention, Physical Sciences, College of Arts & Sciences |
Chloe Bliton | Psychology | Emotion Dysregulation, Gender, and Intimate Partner Violence Perpetration: An Exploratory Study | Gregory Stuart | Phi Kappa Phi Honor Society Best of Show Award; Silver ORE Undergraduate Research Excellence Award in Social Science, Social Work, Education, Communication, and Humanities; First place, Social Sciences, College of Arts & Sciences |
Chloe Lovelace | Classics | Swallow Imagery in the Spring Fresco | Aleydis Van de Moortel | Bronze ORE Undergraduate Research Excellence Award in Social Science, Social Work, Education, Communication, and Humanities; First place, Humanities, College of Arts & Sciences |
David Morse | College Scholars Honors |
The Interaction of Cytotoxins and Intermetallic Nanoparticles With Lipid Membranes | Dibyendu Mukherjee | Phi Kappa Phi Honor Society Best of Show Award; Gold ORE Undergraduate Research Excellence Award in Natural Sciences; First Place, Cellular, Molecular, and Microbiology, College of Arts & Sciences |
Dhara Naik; Brooke Pearson | Geography | When Pigs Flu | Ronald Foresta | First place, Social Sciences, College of Arts & Sciences |
Emma Pugmire | Classics | Lost in the Sands of Time: The Monumental Imperial Latin Inscription at ‘Ayn Gharandal | Erin Darby | First place, Humanities, College of Arts & Sciences |
Haylie Lam | Biology | Real-Time Biomonitoring of Cytotoxicity in 3D Autobioluminescent Human Tissue Culture Models | Steven Ripp | First Place, Cellular, Molecular, and Microbiology, College of Arts & Sciences |
Joshua O’Banion | Psychology | Motivation and Anxiety Levels | Debora Baldwin | Honorable Mention, Social Sciences, College of Arts & Sciences |
Justin Dinsmore | Microbiology | Metabolite Usage in Candida albicans Mutant Strains | Todd Reynolds | First Place, Cellular, Molecular, and Microbiology, College of Arts & Sciences |
Kathleen Fitzgerald | Microbiology | Diversity and Distribution of Archaeal amoA Genes in Geochemically Distinct Marine Basins | Terry Hazen | Honorable Mention, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, College of Arts & Sciences |
Kathryn Mcbride | Microbiology | Assessing Ecological Impact of Clay Flocculation Techniques by Measuring Microbial Community Structure | Terry Hazen | Honorable Mention, Cellular, Molecular, and Microbiology, College of Arts & Sciences |
Kelly Arnholt | Biology | Toxicity Testing of Cellulose Nanocrystals using Bioluminescent Bioreporters | Steven Ripp | Honorable Mention, Cellular, Molecular, and Microbiology, College of Arts & Sciences |
Krishen Gosine | Biochem/ Cellular/ Molecular Bio |
Genetic Investigation of Separase’s Role in the Viability in Caenorhabditis elegans | Josh Bembenek | Honorable Mention, Cellular, Molecular, and Microbiology, College of Arts & Sciences |
Louis Varriano | Physics and Astronomy |
Can mirror matter be detected on Earth? | Yuri Kamyshkov | First place, Physical Sciences, College of Arts & Sciences |
Marian LaForest | Biochem/ Cellular/ Molecular Bio |
Non-degradable securin in Caenorhabditis elegans | Josh Bembenek | Silver ORE Undergraduate Research Excellence Award in Natural Sciences; First Place, Cellular, Molecular, and Microbiology, College of Arts & Sciences |
Matthew Cameron | Chemistry | Development and Implementation of Cycloolefinic CO2 Thin-Film Gas Separation Membranes | Brian Long | First place, Physical Sciences, College of Arts & Sciences |
Peter Meidl | Ecology/ Evolutionary Biology |
Do Unaccounted for Mutualist Interactions Explain Plant-Soil Linkages? | Jennifer Schweitzer | Honorable Mention, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, College of Arts & Sciences |
Robert Cremins | Religious Studies | The Threat of Gender Nonconformity to Christian Authorities in Antiquity | Christine Shepardson | Honorable Mention, Humanities, College of Arts & Sciences |
Sarah Daws | Ecology/ Evolutionary Biology |
Plasticity in a changing world: phenotypic variability in Boechera stricta across spatial and temporal gradients | Jennifer Schweitzer | Silver ORE Undergraduate Research Excellence Award in Natural Sciences; First Place, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, College of Arts & Sciences |
Taylor Thomas | Religious Studies | Asherah in Israelite Religion | Erin Darby | Honorable Mention, Humanities, College of Arts & Sciences |
William Johnson | Ecology/ Evolutionary Biology |
Foraging behavior of Carolina Chickadees (Poecile carolinensis) and Tufted Titmice (Baeolophus bicolor) in response to the body orientation of snake predator models | Todd Freeberg | First Place, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, College of Arts & Sciences |
School of Art, College of Arts & Sciences | ||||
Student Name | Department | Project Title | Faculty Mentor | Award |
Alanna Wilkinson | Art | I Don’t Want to Live Without You | Paul Harrill | Bronze ORE Undergraduate Research Excellence Award in Art, Architecture and Design, and Performing Arts |
Brayan Zavala | Art | Latino Literacy: A Bilingual Communication Guide | Sarah Lowe | Gold ORE Undergraduate Research Excellence Award in Art, Architecture and Design, and Performing Arts |
Elea Wright; Alexandra Raykowitz, Stephanie Bullock, Jennifer Krukowski | Art | The Decorative Duel | Carolyn Staples | School of Art Undergraduate Research and Creative Achievement Honor Award |
Katie Counts | Art | A Quality of Life; Piper’s Cannabis Story | Paul Harrill | Silver ORE Undergraduate Research Excellence Award in Art, Architecture and Design, and Performing Arts |
Rebekah Bennett; Vincent Walker | Art | Art Movement | Sarah Lowe | School of Art Undergraduate Research and Creative Achievement Honor Award |
Samuel Bendriem; Brayan Zavala | Art | AccentKnoxville- Promoting the International Cultures in Knoxville, TN. | Sarah Lowe | School of Art Undergraduate Research and Creative Achievement Honor Award |
School of Music, College of Arts & Sciences | ||||
Student Name | Department | Title | Faculty Mentor | Award |
Wesley Carroll, Piano | Music | Scherzo No. 2, Opus 31 in Bb minor by Frederic Chopin | Fay Adams | Phi Kappa Phi Honor Society Best of Show Award; First place, School of Music, College of Arts & Sciences |
Sid Warren, Alto Saxophone | Music | Sonata Opus 19, 3rd Movement by Paul Creston | Allison Adams | Second place, School of Music, College of Arts & Sciences |
Tyler Padgett, Baritone | Music | Fear no more the heat o’ the sun by Gerald Finzi | Andrew Skoog | Third place, School of Music, College of Arts & Sciences |
Haslam College of Business | ||||
Student Name | Department | Project Title | Faculty Mentor | Award |
Amanda Prevost | Accounting | Please Mind the GAAP: Advanced Compliance with FRC Reporting Changes | Joseph Carcello | Honorable Mention, Haslam College of Business |
Ashton Banta | Marketing/Supply Chain Mgt | Going Viral: A Look Into the Effectiveness of Viral Advertising | Debbie Mackey | Honorable Mention, Haslam College of Business |
Charles Currey | Marketing/Supply Chain Mgt | Corporate Social Responsibility: What is it, and Why Does it Matter? | Diane Mollenkopf | Silver ORE Undergraduate Research Excellence Award in Business; Second place, Haslam College of Business |
Georgia Ralston | Accounting | Troubled Asset Relief Program: Impact as seen in the Agricultural Sector | James Chyz | Gold ORE Undergraduate Research Excellence Award in Business; First place, Haslam College of Business |
Jacob Clabo | Economics | Political Polarization | Benjamin Compton | Honorable Mention, Haslam College of Business |
John Ridley | Business Analytics/Statistics | Finding Phelps | Kenneth Gilbert | Bronze ORE Undergraduate Research Excellence Award in Business; Third place, Haslam College of Business |
Liza Reineri | Accounting | Stock Market Reaction to Environmental Events | Laura Cole | Honorable Mention, Haslam College of Business |
Samuel Rule | Economics | Economic Impact of Mega-Sporting Events: Explaining population effects on host cities | James Holladay | Honorable Mention, Haslam College of Business |
Sophie Henssler | Economics | A Hedonic Study on the cumulative impact of wind turbines on real estate prices | James Holladay | Honorable Mention, Haslam College of Business |
College of Communication and Information | ||||
Student Name | Department | Project Title | Faculty Mentor | Award |
Benjamin Murphy | Journalism/Electronic Media | The Merry Death Collector | Paul Harrill | First place, College of Communication and Information |
Kristin Knight; Kevin Brown | Advertising/Public Relations | Recruiting Millennials: How UT Can Leverage Recruitment Efforts Among Out-of-State Students During a Period of Education Reform | Lisa Fall | Second place, College Communication and Information |
College of Education, Health, and Human Sciences | ||||
Student Name | Department | Project Title | Faculty Mentor | Award |
Cicily Hummer; Antonio Schefano | Kinesiology/Recreat/Sport St | Effects of altered surface inclinations on knee kinematics during drop landing | Songning Zhang | Silver ORE Undergraduate Research Excellence Award in Nursing, Health, and Human Sciences; First place, College of Education, Health and Human Science |
Hayley Moran | Child and Family Studies | Parental Ethnotheories about Child Rearing among the Gamo People in Ethiopia | Hillary Fouts | Honorable Mention, College of Education, Health and Human Science |
Maria Mejia | Nutrition | A study of infant feeding beliefs and behaviors among a sample of Southwestern Chinese mother-infant dyads | Katie Kavanagh | Second place, College of Education, Health and Human Science |
Russell Fling | Microbiology | 3,4,4′ -Trichlorocarbanilide Exposure Induces Gut Microbial Dysbiosis in Weaned Rats | Jiangang Chen | Third place, College of Education, Health and Human Science |
College of Engineering | ||||
Student Name | Department | Project Title | Faculty Mentor | Award |
Ellen Moore; William Barbour, Jay McMillan | Biosystems Engr/Soil Science | Design of a Mobile Shade Structure for Organic Dairy Cattle | John Wilkerson | William Harris III Undergraduate Research Award |
James Ghawaly | Nuclear Engineering | Development of a Radioisotope Identification Algorithm for Gamma Spectra with a Low Energy Signal-to-noise Ratio | Howard Hall | Honorable Mention, College of Engineering |
John Reynolds | Computer Science | Forward Error Correction for Fast Streaming with Open-Source Components | James Plank | Honorable Mention, Cellular, Molecular, and Microbiology |
Jordan Hicks | Civil and Environmental Engr | Timescale of Clay-Polymer Composite Response Using Expansion Index Test | Angel Palomino | Silver ORE Undergraduate Research Excellence Award in Engineering; Second place, College of Engineering |
Logan Terheggen | Chemical Engineering | Charge Transport in Imidazole-based Deep Eutectic Mixtures | Joshua Sangoro | Bronze ORE Undergraduate Research Excellence Award in Engineering; Third place, College of Engineering |
Marti Bell | Chemical and Biomolecular Engr | Autocatalytic Activation of the Hemagglutinin in Influenza | Eric Boder | Gold ORE Undergraduate Research Excellence Award in Engineering; First place, College of Engineering |
Matt Loyd | Material Science/Engineering | Homogeneity and annealing study on CsSrBr3:Eu scintillator | Mariya Zhuravleva | Honorable Mention, College of Engineering |
Sara Parker; Jenny Patel | Mech/Aerospace/Biomed Engr | Elucidating Sex-Related Differences in Calcification of Rat Aortic Heart Valves | Zannatul Ferdous | Honorable Mention, College of Engineering |
Shane Hagen | Civil Engineering | Quantifying Extracellular Enzyme Activity In Deep-Sea Sediment From the Mediterranean Sea Through The Use Of Fluorometric Assays | Terry Hazen | Honorable Mention, College of Engineering |
William Hoskins | Material Science/Engineering | Effects of Heat Treatment, Chemical Composition, and Cladding on the High Temperature Hydrogen Attack Resistance of C-½ Mo Steels | Carl Lundin | Honorable Mention, College of Engineering |
College of Nursing | ||||
Student Name | Department | Project Title | Faculty Mentor | Award |
Bethany Worsham | Nursing | An Evaluation of the Precious Prints Project: The Emotional Impact of Preparing a Keepsake on NICU, PICU, and ER Nurses | Reba Umberger | Third place, College of Nursing |
Erin Conley | Nursing | Kinship and Disaster Resilience in Rural Appalachia | Moriah McArthur | Honorable Mention, College of Nursing |
Jacqueline Bennett; Elizabeth Barr, Lauren Knight, Steven Ensminger | Nursing | Non-pharmacological Pain Management in Ophthalmologic Exams of the Neonate | Kathleen Thompson | Bronze ORE Undergraduate Research Excellence Award in Nursing, Health, and Human Sciences; Third place, College of Nursing |
Kathleen Kerr; Therese Miller, Chandler Williams | Nursing | Effects of Breastfeeding on Finnegan Scoring in the Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome Population | Ezra Holston | Second place, College of Nursing |
Lauren Speck | Nursing | Parental HPV Vaccine Acceptability Factors in Southern Appalachia | Sadie Hutson | Honorable Mention, College of Nursing |
Meredith Haynes | Nursing | Physical Health Experiences of a Male Caregiver of a significant other with Breast Cancer | Sadie Hutson | Gold ORE Undergraduate Research Excellence Award in Nursing, Health, and Human Sciences; First place, College of Nursing |
College of Social Work | ||||
Student Name | Department | Project Title | Faculty Mentor | Award |
Emily Hill | Social Work | The Effects of Poverty on Individuals with Co-occurring Mental Health and Substance Abuse Disorders | Matthew Moore | Third place, College of Social Work |
Jordan Frye | Social Work | Impact of Community Reentry Services on Recidivism | Matthew Moore | Honorable Mention, College of Social work |
Matthew Crescenzi | Social Work | Factors Associated with Successful Completion of a Comorbid Substance Abuse and Mental Health Intensive Outpatient Group | Matthew Moore | Second place, College of Social Work |
Megan O’Hare | Social Work | Healthy Eating Habits and Access to Nutritional Foods in Low-Income Women | Matthew Moore | Gold ORE Undergraduate Research Excellence Award in Social Science, Social Work, Education, Communication, and Humanities; First place, College of Social Work |
Rachel Brown | Social Work | Independent Senior Adults’ Ability to Complete Instrumental Activities of Daily Living | Matthew Moore | Honorable Mention, College of Social work |