Making research accessible to a broader audience

The 2020 annual Undergraduate Research Poster Competition took place online last week, with viewing of the poster PDFs and 63 students’ self-recorded oral video presentations. A different experience, but exciting results nonetheless.

Judges assessed each project based on official judging criteria determining winners for cash prizes in five different categories: applied sciences, creative works, health sciences, natural sciences, and social sciences and humanities. The competition is sponsored by the office of the vice-president (research and international).

“Though a virtual competition, the experience gained in preparing a poster is an exercise in knowledge translation,” said Dr. Digvir Jayas, vice-president (research and international) and Distinguished Professor. “One that makes your research accessible to a broader audience than those working in your discipline: to other students, faculty and the public. I thank and congratulate all of those students who embraced the new format and entered this year’s competition.”

Prizes of $500, $300 and $200 were awarded to the top three posters in each of the following categories:

APPLIED SCIENCES

1st – Jordan Krenkevich, Faculty of Science

Project - Using machine learning to suppress the skin response in breast microwave sensing
Supervisor: Stephen Pistorius

2nd – Mateus Braga, Price Faculty of Engineering

Project - Auto-link UAV to CAD: Software to bridge the gap between UAV design optimization and CAD
Supervisor: Philip Ferguson

3rd – Anh Thi Dang, Faculty of Agricultural and Food Sciences

Project - Effects of pre-treatment on phenolic compounds in yellow and black Mustard
Supervisor: Usha Thiyam-Hollander

CREATIVE WORKS

1st – Max Sandred, Faculty of Architecture

Project – Theatres of architectural imagination
Supervisor: Lisa Landrum

2nd – Mathew Glowacki, Faculty of Architecture

Project – The effects of different urban scenarios on urban wildlife
Supervisor: Kamni Gill

3rd – Lindsay Mamchur, Faculty of Architecture

Project – Atget and I: A comparative photographic reading
Supervisor: Susan Close

HEALTH SCIENCES

1st – Katrina Leong, Max Rady College of Medicine, Rady Faculty of Health Sciences

Project – Building on patient experience to develop an approach to transitional care in heart failure management
Supervisor: Gayle Halas

2nd – Amy Fernando, Faculty of Science

Project – Preventing mitochondrial dysfunction and cell death in the lipid exposed cardiomyocyte
Supervisor: Joseph Gordon

3rd – Tooba Razi, Faculty of Science

Project – Exploring FBXO7 as a candidate chromosome instability gene in colorectal cancer
Supervisor: Kirk J. McManus

NATURAL SCIENCES

1st – Andrea Sutherland, Clayton H. Riddell Faculty of Environment, Earth, and Resources

Project – A case study on greenwashing by Manitoba Hydro
Supervisor: Stephane McLachlan

2nd – Guneet Uppal, Faculty of Science

Project – Structure elucidation of a platinum complex by x-ray crystallography
Supervisor: David Herbert

3rd – Danielle Fowke, Clayton H. Riddell Faculty of Environment, Earth, and Resources

Project – The effects of  oil drilling noise on reproductive success of chestnut-collared longspur (Calcarius ornatus) in Western Canada
Supervisor: Nicola Koper

SOCIAL SCIENCES AND HUMANITIES

1st – Lily Pankratz, Faculty of Arts

Project – Trends in mental health service utilization according to perinatal status: Results from a nationally representative sample
Supervisor: Kristin Reynolds

2nd – Hannah Derksen, Faculty of Agricultural and Food Sciences

Project – Exploring challenges faced by the charitable food sector in Manitoba during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic
Supervisor: Natalie Riediger

3rd – Bronwen Grocott, Faculty of Arts

Project – Associations between pain characteristics & suicidality Across chronic pain conditions
Supervisor: Renée El-Gabalawy

UM Today Staff