Graduate Research Forum Winners
Several College of Sciences students won awards this week at the Tenth Annual Graduate Research Forum. 
The Pegasus Ballroom was packed with a record number of graduate students presenting posters. Part of UCF’s Student Research Week, the Research Forum showcases the latest research from students, including cutting-edge technology and discoveries in arts, education, health and science.
Throughout the day, spectators and judges buzzed about the ballroom, connecting with student researchers about their projects and findings. Congratulations to the following COS students who were granted awards for their outstanding presentations.
Engineering, Computer Science and Modeling and Simulation
Konstantinos Myoniatis, Modeling and Simulation, PhD
Cerberus Robot: The Design, Development, and Evaluation of Situation Awareness
Mentor: Peter Hancock, PhD
Co-Authors: Anastasia Angelopoulou; Kristin Schaefer
Life and Health Sciences
Alexis Maldonado, Biology MS
A LiDAR Evaluation of 3-Dimensional Patterns of the Invasive Old World Climbing Fern
Mentor: John Weishampel, PhD
Tina Richards, Biology MS
Specimen, Data, and Photo Collection for Herbaria
Mentor: David Jenkins, PhD
Nicole Barnette, Biomedical Sciences PhD
A P5B-type ATPase is Required for Drosophila polyamine Transport
Mentor: Laurence von Kalm, PhD
Co-Author: Victoria Kreinbrink
Mathematics, Optics and Physical Sciences
Tracy Becker, Physics PhD – Planetary Sciences Track
Unique Cassini Solar Occultation to Measure Smallest Particles in Saturn’s F Ring
Mentor: Joshua Colwell, PhD
Co-Authors: Joshua Colwell, PhD; Larry Esposito, Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics (LASP), University of Colorado, Boulder
Neha Nayyar, Physics PhD
Tuning Plasmon and Exciton Excitations in Transition-metal Doped Arrays of Noble-metal Nanochains
Mentor: Talat Rahman, PhD
Co-Authors: Volodymyr Turkowski, PhD; Talat Rahman, PhD
Dat Nguyen, Physics PhD
A Dynamic Feedback Pulse Shaping Mechanism for High Power Chirped Pulse Amplification Laser Systems
Mentor and Co-Author: Peter Delfyett, PhD
Ryuichi Tsuchikawa, Physics PhD
The Impact of Long-Range Impurity on Electron Transport in Metallic Carbon Nanotubes
Mentor: Masahiro Ishigami, PhD
Co-Authors: Xiao Guo, Zhengyi Zhang, James Hone, PhD, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Columbia University
Social Sciences
Nicole Hornung, Political Science MA
Becoming a Food Citizen: Can Eco-Citizens Realize Their Obligations to Sustainable Consumption Given the Confines of the Globalized Fish Market?
Mentor: Peter Jacques, PhD