2013 GradExpo Winners

More than 120 presentations were made made during the 2013 Graduate Academic Exposition in separate categories of four areas of competition — poster presentations, oral presentations, intermedia and fine arts exhibits, and a PechaKucha, or rapid-fire slide show event — as well as a graduate student photo contest.

More than $10,000 in cash prizes were awarded at this year’s expo, including the $2,000 President’s Research Impact Award given to the graduate student and adviser who best exemplify the UMaine mission of  teaching, research and outreach.

Following are the winning presentations:

  • President’s Research Impact Award — Alison Mitchell and adviser Jennifer Middleton for “What Happens Next? Examining Child Protection Outcomes for a Cohort of Opioid-Exposed Infants”

  • Dean’s Undergraduate Mentoring Award — Alper Kiziltas, “Natural Fiber Blend-Nylon 6 Composites” and Katharine Ruskin, “Testing for Stability in the Sharp-tailed Sparrow Hybrid Zone: 130 Years of Plumage Comparisons”

  • Graduate Student Photo Contest, Research Category — Mariusz Potocki, first; Bridie McGreavy, second; Bjorn Grigholm and Luke Groff, third

  • Graduate Student Photo Contest, Graduate Student Life Category — José Carrasco, first; Amy Pierce, second; Jincy Joseph and Jocelyn Runnebaum, third

  • Foster Center for Student Innovation Commercialization Award — Heather Perry, in intermedia; Hari Prasanth Palani, in science and technology

  • PechaKucha Competition — Amy Pierce, “12 Steps to Planning the Perfect Wedding,” first; Hollie Smith, “Intersections of Higher Education, State Policy, & Economic Development: Understanding the Connections in Maine Communities,” second; Jessica LeClair, “Be Prepared,” third

  • Intermedia Competition — Heather Perry, “Queen for a Day,” first; Benjamin Burpee, “Spaz.lab,” second; Tara Law, “Enchanted,” third

  • Humanities/Social Sciences Poster Competition — Stacy Doore, “Movement Matters: Using State Longitudinal Mobility Data to Improve School Policy, Intervention and Academic Outcomes,” first; Bridie McGreavy, “A Collaborative Model for Conservation Action Planning: Communication and Resilience in the Frenchman Bay Partners,” second; Chris Bennett, “Non-Visual Graphical Accessibility,” third

  • Humanities/Social Sciences Oral Competition — Karen Hutchins, “Improving Links Between Knowledge and Action by Identifying Factors that Influence the Structure of Municipality-University Partnerships,” first; Rebecca White, “The Ragged Edge of Motherhood: Mothers’ Allowances in Policy and Practice, 1924–1960,” second; Ian Jesse, “Bad Men and Horrible Bosses: Masculinity and the Folksongs of Larry Gorman,” third

  • Physical Sciences and Technology Poster Competition — Abolfazl Razi, “Delay Optimal Packetization Policy for Wireless Sensor Networks,” first; Hannah Breton, “Mechanically Fastened Fiber-Reinforced Polymer (FRP) Flexural Retrofit Systems for Reinforced Concrete Flat-Slab Bridges,” second; Samuel Roy, “The Influence of Tectonic Strain on Landscape Evolution,” third

  • Physical Sciences and Technology Oral Competition — Silas Owusu-Nkwantabisah, “Novel Approach to Controlling Layer-by-Layer Polyelectrolyte Multilayer (PEM) Formation & Application as Sensor,” first; Bess Koffman, “Centennial-Scale Shifts in the Position of the Southern Hemisphere Westerly Wind Belt over the Past Millennium,” second; Delia Massey, “Use of Diffusive Gradients in Thin Films (DGT) as an Assessment Tool for Bioavailability of Mercury Species in Sediment,” third

  • Natural Sciences Poster Competition — Richard Luc, “The Role of Caveolin in the Toll-Like Receptor Signaling Pathway,” first; Brianna Hughes, “Effect of Rigor Status during High Pressure Processing on Abalone Texture and Color,” second; Luke Groff, “Hibernation Ecology of Lithobates Sylvaticus in Maine’s Montane Landscape,” third

  • Natural Sciences Oral Competition — Nadir Yildrim, “Nanofibrillated Cellulose (NFC) Insulating Foams,” first; Katharine Ruskin, “Testing for Stability in the Sharp-tailed Sparrow Hybrid Zone: 130 Years of Plumage Comparisons,” second; Anna Breard, “Comparison of the Effect of Peroxyacetic Acid and Lactic Acid Washes on the Removal of Toxoplasma Gondii Oocysts from the Surface of Blueberries,” third

  • People’s Choice Award — Roghaiyeh Ebrahimi Kalan, “Surface Modification of Mesoporous Silica in Supercritical CO2”