The 2021 Undergraduate Research and Creative Activities Fair (URCAF) took place on Saturday, April 10 at 9:00 a.m. Congratulations to all of this year’s participants. For results, watch the video above or scroll down on this page.
Performance and Exhibition Category
1st Place
Emily Beam, “Visceral Reactions”
Adviser: Rebecca Strzelec
2nd Place
Mary Stewart, “Pandemic Series”
Adviser: Lee Peterson
Tie for 3rd Place (award divided between):
Angel Ash, “Premature”
Adviser: Rebecca Strzelec
Hope Weidemann, “I Know How You Feel”
Adviser: Jeannette Lang
Nursing, Behavioral, and Social Sciences Category
1st Place
Alicia Williams, “Perceptions of Sex Crimes: Does Offender Gender Matter?”
Advisers: Nathan Kruis and Nicholas Rowland
2nd Place
Payton Perry, “The Push for Police Reform in Pennsylvania: Understanding Residents’ Attitudes”
Advisers: Nathan Kruis and Nicholas Rowland
3rd Place
Olivia Ronan, “Parental Negativity Toward Daughters’ Sexual Orientation Disclosures: An Inclusive Fitness Perspective”
Adviser: Danielle DelPriore
Honorable Mention
Rachel Kosaka and Mykala McGill, “Public Support for School Security Measures: An Analysis of Public Perceptions of School Security Measures and their Regional Variants among Pennsylvania Residents”
Advisers: Nathan Kruis and Nicholas Rowland
STEM: Engineering, Computing/Information Technology, Physical, and Health & Life Sciences Category
1st Place
Dillon Over, “Experimentation of a Large Lab-Scale Hybrid Rocket Engine Utilizing Paraffin-Based Fuels Containing High-Energy Materials”
Advisers: Jeffrey Moore and Grant Risha
2nd Place
Makayla Ianuzzi and Joshua Hollingshead, “Laboratory Synthesis and Performance Evaluation of White Fuming Nitric Acid”
Advisers: Jeffrey Moore & Grant Risha
3rd Place
Ian Fisher, “Species Richness and Abundance of Snakes in Right-of-Way Sections of State Game Lands in Central Pennsylvania, USA”
Adviser: Carolyn Mahan
Internship Category
1st Place
Madra Furman, “The Professional and The Personal: Implementing Boundaries to Support Effective Interactions and Well-Being in the Human Services”
Adviser: Lauren Jacobson-Mcconnell
2nd Place
Raya Kenepp, “Blown Away by The Windy City: My Chicago-based Virtual Internship Experience”
Adviser: Lauren Jacobson-Mcconnell
3rd Place
Kara Mills, “Gender Differences Within a Long-Term Care Facility Based on Participation in Daily Activities”
Adviser: Lauren Jacobson-Mcconnell
The University Libraries Undergraduate Research Award: Excellence in Information Literacy
Tie for 1st Place (award divided between)
Emily Beam, “Visceral Reactions”
Adviser: Rebecca Strzelec
Rich Patterson, “Better Together: The Effects of Peer Tutoring on Test Anxiety in Undergraduate Nursing Students”
Adviser: Cathleen Dillen
2nd Place
Rachel Kosaka and Mykala McGill, “Public Support for School Security Measures: An Analysis of Public Perceptions of School Security Measures and their Regional Variants among Pennsylvania Residents”
Advisers: Nathan Kruis and Nicholas Rowland
In addition to presentations via Zoom, students’ work is available for viewing on this site. The work is presented in various forms, including posters, PowerPoint and Spark presentations, photos, videos, and writings.