Schedule

New England Northern Junior Science and Humanities Symposium

University of Maine – Orono

Wells Conference Center

Thursday, February 27, 2025

Parking permits are required on the day of the event. Display the printed permit that we sent you on your dashboard. You will be responsible for parking violations.

All activities for the day will be held at the Wells Conference Center, 2nd Floor

Registration and poster setup

10:30-11:30 a.m.

Please pick up your JSHS symposium packet at the registration table at the Wells Conference Center (2nd floor) and set your posters up. Poster boards and easels, including tacks, tape and clips, will be available for poster presenters to set up prior to the start of the symposium. * Please use the assigned poster number *

Please break down your easel and poster board after judging and plase the easels and poster boards on the carts provided.

Lunch

11:30 a.m. – 12 p.m.

Lunch provided

Welcome and Introductions

12-12:10 p.m.

Shaleen Jain and Cary James, New England Northern Regional Directors

Dr. Giovanna Guidoboni, Dean, Maine College of Engineering and Computing (Invited)

Oral Presentations and Judging

12:15-4:50 p.m.

Oral presentation 1

12:15-12:35 p.m.

Improving the efficiency of nitrate removal in biosand filters using N. oculata | Sofie Rueter (ME)

Oral presentation 2

12:35-12:55 p.m.

The effect of storytelling on substance-use disorder recovery housing support | Roz O’Reilly (ME)

Oral presentation 3

12:55-1:15 p.m.

Modulation of TLR2-mediated innate immunity mitigates neurodegeneration of Alzheimer’s disease | Ethan Liu (NH)

Short Break

1:15-1:25 p.m.

Oral presentation 4

1:25-1:45 p.m.

Scoring radiography collimation: Quantifying background impact using neural networks | Viktor Osadsky (NH)

Oral presentation 5

1:45-2:05 p.m.

Historical traumas in displaced Palestinians outside of Israel: A generational comparative investigation | Saladin Wise (ME)

Oral presentation 6

2:05-2:25 p.m.

Low levels of bioaccumulated mercury in lobster (Homarus americanus) from Gulf of Maine are elevated during the early fishing seasons | Dan Stoicov (ME)

Oral presentation 7

2:25-2:40 p.m.

LLMs on Edge: Novel post-training quantization for education applications | Eric Buehler (NH)

Short Break

2:40-2:55 p.m.

Poster presentations and poster judging

2:55-4:45 p.m.

All students should be at their posters for judging. Please break down your easel and poster board after judging and place the easels and poster boards on the carts provided

Dinner & Announcements of Awards

5-6 p.m.

All teachers, students, judges and invited guests. Award winners will be called to the front for presentation of certificates. After all presentations are made, award winners and their teachers are requested to remain for pictures.

Oral Presentation Awards* are: 

1st Place: $2,000 Scholarship  

2nd Place $1,500 Scholarship 

3rd Place $1,000 Scholarship 

Additional Awards+ for 4th and 5th Place Oral  Presenters and 1st and 2nd Place Poster  Presenters $100 each.  

*Sponsors: Office of the Secretary of Defense  and the U.S. Army, U.S. Navy and Marine  Corps, and the U.S. Air Force and Space  Force 

+Sponsor: Maine College of Engineering and Computing, University of Maine