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The �첥����’ 13th annual Innovate UNO symposium—a showcase of independent research, scholarly and creative activities—concluded its two-day showcase this week. The event is organized by the Office of Research. 

Over the course of the event, 78 presentations were delivered, involving nearly 150 presenters, co-presenters and judges. Presenters included UNO students, faculty, and staff from every discipline. This was the 7th year it has been open to all students, faculty and staff—and the second year it included an Innovate UNO Art Gallery hosted after-hours in the UNO Fine Arts Gallery.

The presentations were evaluated by 30 volunteer judges including UNO faculty, staff, and graduate students. The best-ranked presentations were awarded a total of $3,000 by the Office of Research. Both undergraduate and graduate students were awarded prizes. Winners advance to compete in the �첥���� of Louisiana System Academic Summit, which will be held April 10-11, 2025 at Nicholls State �첥���� in Thibodaux. 

Undergraduate Winners

Oral

In the Oral category, students present for 15 minutes on any topic. They were judged on concept, approach, and presentation. The top four winners will be invited to the ULS Academic Summit.

•    First Place, $200
Ella Mayfield 
Title: Learn, Grow, Resist: Uncovering Patterns of Resistance Among Enslaved Children
Mentor: Mary Niall Mitchell

•    Second Place, $100
Samuel Roy
Title: Developing an Accessible Approach to Drone Design
Mentor: Kendal Leftwich

•    Additional Winners
Mark Kostjuhin
Title: A Frequency Analysis of the Wave Response by the UNO Towing Tank Wavebreak
Mentor: Kendal Leftwich and Ryan Thiel

Juliana Falanga
Title: Pathological Demand Avoidance: How Classroom Teachers Can Provide Support to Students with PDA Profiles
Mentor: Paul Bole and Ashleigh Pelafigue

Poster Presentations

In the Poster category, students presented for an hour and a half on a topic in any discipline. They were judged on concept, approach, and presentation. The top five winners will be invited to the ULS Academic Summit.

•    First Place, $200
Ed Osborn
Title: Sensitivity and Extraction: Finding PAH in Marine Tissue with QuEChERS and GCMS
Mentor: Phoebe Zito

•    Second Place, $100
Terry Lyles
Collaborators: Jacy Haynes, An Vu, Same'r Lane and Mia Wright
Title: Nature's blowtorch: The evolution of Cytochrome P450 genes in the fly family Drosophilidae
Mentor: Joel Atallah

•    Additional Winners
Hillary Hernandez
Title: Comparing Fouling Community Development in Two Saline Environments Along Louisiana’s Coast
Mentor: Erin Cox

Abigail Sire
Co-presenters: Catherine Adeola, Noah Bartel, Jalen Rainey, Stephen Toth
Title: Vieux on Krewe Eyewear: Which advertisement will incentivize Consumers to purchase Krewe Sunglasses
Mentor: Kyeong Sam Min

Walker Reisman
Title: Frequency and patterns of plastic nurdles in Spotted Seatrout (Cynoscion nebulosus) stomach contents across the Louisiana coast
Mentor: Martin O'Connell

Visual Arts

In the Visual Arts category, students present for 15 minutes on a work of art. They were judged on creativity, technique, and enthusiasm. The top five winners will be invited to the ULS Academic Summit.

•    First Place, $200
Colby Adriano
Title: A Bath Without You
Mentor: Paige Devries and Madeline Kelly

•    Second Place, $100
Nicholas Hutson
Title: Conversations About Death
Mentor: Tony Campbell

•    Additional Winners
Vlad Jones
Title: Portrait of a guy
Mentor: Paige Devries

•    Cameron Boni
Title: Red Growth
Mentor: Daniel Rule

•    Cameron Boni
Title: Interconnected
Mentor: Paige Devries and Madeline Kelly

Film

In the Film category, students present a film or documentary they have made. They were judged on concept, approach, and presentation. The winner was also invited to the ULS Academic Summit.

•    First Place, $200
Avery Arnold
Title: Hey It's Me Again
Mentor: Katie Garagiola

Privateer Choice

Symposium attendees may vote for their favorite presentations. Privateer Choice awards were given to the student presenters who received the most votes from our Privateer community.

•    Winner, $50
Abigail Dietz
Category: Poster
Title: Analysis of Fingerprint Composition and Classification in Multiples by FTIR-ATR Spectroscopy
Mentor: Phoebe Zito

Graduate Winners

Oral

In the Oral category, students present for 15 minutes on any topic. They were judged on concept, approach, and presentation.

•    First Place, $200
Emily Mailhos
Title: Assessing the Reproductive Ecology of the Federally Threatened Gopher Tortoise in Louisiana
Mentor: Rachel Clostio

•    Second Place, $100
Ariel Alonso
Title: Effects of Acoustic Disturbance on the Auditory System of Atlantic Croaker (Micropogonias undulatus)
Mentor: Kelly Boyle

Poster Presentations

In the Poster category, students presented for an hour and a half on a topic in any discipline. They were judged on concept, approach, and presentation.

•    First Place, $200
Yahminiy Ganesh
Title: Fighting Invasion Through Aquafeed: Exploring the Quality and Performance of Invasive Carp Products in Farmed Catfish Diets
Mentor: Phoebe Zito

•    Second Place, $100
Chadiska Pascal
Title: Light Induced Transformation of 6PPD-Quinone from Tire Wear Particles under Simulated Southeastern Louisiana Aquatic Environments
Mentor: David Podgorski

Visual Arts

In the Visual Arts category, students present for 15 minutes on a work of art. They were judged on creativity, technique, and enthusiasm.

•    First Place, $200
Anika Ofori
Title: The Art of Being Present
Mentor: David Gladstone

Privateer Choice

Symposium attendees may vote for their favorite presentations. Privateer Choice awards were given to the student presenters who received the most votes from our Privateer community.

•    Winner, $50
Fahime Abbasinohoji
Category: Poster
Title: Utilizing Sponges as Bioindicators: Assessing Water Quality in Louisiana
Mentor: Mary Miller and Phoebe Zito

Engagement Awards

Most-Named Mentor

The Most-Named Mentor award goes to the UNO staff or faculty member who mentored the most student presenters at InnovateUNO. This was the third year that the Office of Research has presented this award.

•    Dr. Vincent Xiaochuan Yu mentored six poster presentations

Three Minute Thesis Competition

•    First place: Gazi Raihan, Ph.D. student in Engineering and Applied Sciences, Mechanical Engineering, Title: “Sustainable Futures-Advanced Wind Turbine Blade Design by FSI and Machine Learning”
•    Second place: Lydia DiPaola, MS student in Biological Sciences, Title: “Assessment of Lake Salvador Shoreline Dynamics to Support Restoration of Submerged Aquatic Vegetation in Jean Lafitte National Historical Park and Preserve, Louisiana”
•    Third place: Abdullah Naeem, MS student in Computer Science, Title: “Next Generation, AI Based Automatic Checkout System for Retail”