Skip to main content

Undergraduate Researchers Receive Research and Creativity Awards

By Ryan Girves

The University of Kentucky Office of Undergraduate Research recently recognized and awarded 19 students with the Oswald Research and Creativity awards. 

The Oswald Research and Creativity Competition was established in 1964 by then President John Oswald as part of the university’s Centennial Celebration. The program is intended to promote creativity in all fields of study and provides annual awards in seven categories. The competition accepts reports, of all forms of creativity, and scholarship by undergraduate students.

Categories include Biological Sciences; Design, including architecture, landscape architecture, and interior design; Fine Arts, including film, music, photography, painting, and sculpture; Humanities, from creative and critical-research approaches; Physical and Engineering Sciences; and Social Sciences. All submissions are sent anonymously to faculty reviewers in related fields and are judged based on a rubric.

Awards in each category are: First Place: $350; Second Place: $200; and Honorable Mention, if applicable. Entries are judged on originality, clarity of expression, scholarly or artistic contribution, and the validity, scope and depth of the project or investigation. 

This year's Oswald student award winners are:

Biological Sciences 

Claire Scott, First Place 

Mentor: Jeremiah Smith

Effects of SUV39H1 and SUV420H1/H2 on Programmed Genome Rearrangement in Petromyzon marinus

Lydia Pack, Second Place 

Mentor: Emily Croteau

A Not-So Beautiful Mind: A Review of the Genetics of Schizophrenia

 

Design

Emily Andreasson, First Place

Mentor: Lindsey Fay

Remembering Wonder

Grace Butler, Second Place 

Mentor: Brent Sturlaugson

WonderEdge

 

Fine Arts 

Hannah Johnston, First Place

Mentor: Julie Hobbs

Translation in Color, Tone, and Form

Katelyn Cox, Second Place 

Mentor: Susie Thiel

"Differentiate": Using Dance to Explore Analogies Between the Life Sciences and Philosophy

Meredith Coffey, Honorable Mention

Mentor: Crystal Gregory

Microfibers Are Not Delicious

 

Humanities: Creative

Alexis Hogsten, First Place

Mentor: Julia Johnson

I Hide My Skin For Society's Purpose

Lindsey Smart, Second Place

Mentor: Julia Johnson

In our two orbits

Lauren Myfelt, Honorable Mention

Mentor: Julia Johnson

Salmon Run

 

Humanities: Critical Research 

Hannah Thomas, First Place

Mentor: Rebecca Yarrison

Who’s Running (in) the Show? : Exploring the Ethics of Transgender Athletics

Sydney Mullins, Second Place

Mentor: Miriam Kienle

A Portrait of Myself: Gaze Through the Eyes of Florine Stettheimer

Daniela Gamez Salgado, Honorable Mention

Mentor: Ruth Brown

The History of Latino Students at the University of Kentucky, 1865-2019

 

Physical & Engineering Sciences 

Binit Singh, First Place

Mentor: Nelson Akafuah

Spatial Positioning and Operating Parameters of a Rotary Bell Sprayer: 3D Mapping of Droplet Size Distributions

Tom Shelton, Second Place

Mentor: Chris Crawford

Simulating particle interaction in silicon detectors for the Nab experiment

Rosemary Alden, Honorable Mention

Mentor: Dan Ionel

Smart Plug and Circuit Breaker Technologies for Residencies

 

Social Sciences 

Daniela Gamez Salgado, First Place

Mentor: Ruth Brown

The History of Latino Students at the University of Kentucky, 1865-2019

Jenna Jodts, Second Place

Mentor: Elizabeth Lorch

Comprehension Self-efficacy and Understanding of Goal Structure in Children with ADHD Following a Narrative Structure Intervention

Hannah Thomas, Honorable Mention

Mentor: Katherine Rogers-Carpenter

The Social Determinants of Health: A Path to Better Care in the Emergency Department

The University of Kentucky is increasingly the first choice for students, faculty and staff to pursue their passions and their professional goals. In the last two years, Forbes has named UK among the best employers for diversity, and INSIGHT into Diversity recognized us as a Diversity Champion three years running. UK is ranked among the top 30 campuses in the nation for LGBTQ* inclusion and safety. UK has been judged a “Great College to Work for" two years in a row, and UK is among only 22 universities in the country on Forbes' list of "America's Best Employers."  We are ranked among the top 10 percent of public institutions for research expenditures — a tangible symbol of our breadth and depth as a university focused on discovery that changes lives and communities. And our patients know and appreciate the fact that UK HealthCare has been named the state’s top hospital for four straight years. Accolades and honors are great. But they are more important for what they represent: the idea that creating a community of belonging and commitment to excellence is how we honor our mission to be not simply the University of Kentucky, but the University for Kentucky.