faculty and student research day

Faculty Research Day Returns to Great Acclaim

by Eric D. Lehman, Associate Professor, Communications Specialist

On April 1, 2022, University of Bridgeport’s Faculty Research Day (FRD) returned, continuing its 11-year tradition of showcasing the scholarly work of faculty and students.

This day-long event in the John J. Cox Student Center brought together faculty, undergraduate, and graduate students from UB and Goodwin University, along with students from three area high schools, to share their research in different fields. “This is an opportunity for faculty and students across programs to show their work and build relationships,” says faculty senate president Dr. Kevin Kelliher. “Even though we’re sometimes only a building away, our research can be a mystery. This day is the solution.”

At 9 a.m., an excited crowd gathered around tables in the social room of the Student Center, drinking coffee and eating pastries. Dr. Khaled Elleithy opened the ceremonies, noting that 2019 was the last time UB hosted a live FRD. It had been canceled in 2020 during the first wave of COVID and had been fully online in 2021. “We are extremely happy to welcome everyone in person to our first big event since the pandemic,” Dr. Elleithy remarked. “It is a trademark of our University.” He continued by saying that this day was part of the career-focused mission of the University, “developing a world-class workforce that is essential to the continued growth of industries and communities in Bridgeport, Connecticut, the United States, and the world.”

Elleithy was followed by Provost Manyul Im and President Danielle Wilken, who spoke about the way that knowledge builds on itself. “Sharing what you learned with the rest of the world is scholarship at its best,” Wilken said. “We will leave here better, more knowledgeable, and stronger.”

After these opening remarks, students, faculty, and guests bustled around the Student Center’s collection of 118 authored posters, gathering around ones that interested them and questioning the researchers. Posters ranged in topic from The Impact of Blockchain and Algorithm on Financial Technology to a recipe for Smart Doorknob Cleanser. And it was not all science and business. Prof. Randy Laist focused his poster on zombie fiction’s effects of political discourse. “Imaginative literature gives us a window into the future,” he said to the fascinated students and faculty gathered around. “Literature and film are always at the cusp of human evolution.”

At 11 a.m. the keynote speaker took the stage in the social room. Chong Qiu, PhD, Associate Professor and Buckman Endorsed Professor, Dept. of Chemistry and Chemical Bioengineering at the University of New Haven gave a presentation called, “What is up in the Air: Potential Impacts of Trace Ambient Components on Environment and Climate.” “My whole topic is what we breathe in and out,” said Dr. Qiu. “What trace elements are in the air that we don’t need, like ozone and ammonia.” He demonstrated how ozone levels exceeded the standards in Connecticut, on many days of the year. He then described different methods to monitor these elements, from the very expensive to the slightly cheaper, without losing quality.

“One of best things about today is the conversation that starts to happen between disciplines,” said Dean of the College of Science and Society Dr. Kathleen Engelmann, who has mentored many students to victory in the event over the years. “Our keynote speaker captured that in his presentation and our students have shown their disciplinary and cross-disciplinary work.”

While the high school students and teachers toured the campus and ate lunch at Marina Hall, judges from Sacred Heart University, Samford University, and Columbia University convened to decide the Faculty Competitive Category winners. For the student posters in the high school, undergraduate, graduate, and doctoral categories, UB and Goodwin faculty along with current doctoral candidates and UB alumni entered their scores into the online judging app.

Meanwhile, FRD attendees enjoyed a catered lunch and were able to converse with Student Entrepreneur Center (SEC) students showcasing their businesses. Attendees voted on the business they would invest in and the winner — Enolda Joseph’s EL Skincare Brand — was announced later that afternoon.

The afternoon’s program included presentations from Director of Grants Maria Gomes; Prof. Liane Leedom, M.D.; Hannah Halloran, MSW; EdD candidate Michael Pompano and Mechanical Engineering undergraduate Nhat Pham. Director of the Bauer Hall Innovation Center Sherri Dente also highlighted UB student successes by featuring three students who had recently received funding for their businesses.

Before announcing the poster winners, Julie Demers, FRD’s Co-Chair, announced raffle prize winners. The prizes were donated by Café AsoProLa Altamira, Bella Alpacas and Home Harvested Herbals, BLACC Bottle, UB Clinics, UB Admissions Office, the FRD Committee, and Angie’s at Aqua: The Seafood Market at the Aquaculture School.

Finally, as the busy day wound to a close, Dr. Elleithy presented awards to the honorable mentions and winners in the high school, undergraduate, graduate, doctoral, and Faculty Competitive categories. Honorees received UB Bookstore gift cards, courtesy of President Wilken’s Office, or a cash prize generously donated by our sponsors, CT Next, Pullman & Comley, and Young America Capital (whose managing partner, Peter Formenk, is a double-degree UB alumnus in Finance). Dr. Elleithy then invited attendees to a reception which was generously sponsored by Cislunar Aerospace Inc. and Pepsico.

AWARDEES: HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS

First Place — Aidan King

Utilizing Rooftop Gardens as a Means of Geothermal Cooling and Heating for Buildings Through Ground to Air Heat Transfer Systems (Poster #91)
Bridgeport Regional Aquaculture Science and Technology Education Center
Advisor: Kirk Shadle (’06)

 

Second Place — Francis Cavallaro

Developing and Testing a Novel Acne Reducing Spray for Face Masks and Accessories (Poster #10)
Amity High School Science Research Program
Advisor: Cathy Piscitelli

 

Third Place — Sreejita Patra

Carbon Nanotube and Lung Surfactant Interactions In Light of Evolving Pathogen Strains (Poster #25)
Fairfield Warde High School
Advisor: Bhusan Dharmadhikari, PhD (’15, CSE), Minnesota State University, Mankato

 

Honorable Mentions

Angela Ferraro

Developing A Plant-Based Sustainable And Renewable Replacement For A Polychloroprene Fabrication (Poster #50)
Bridgeport Regional Aquaculture Science and Technology Education Center
Advisor: Kirk Shadle

 

Luhai Tang

Participating in Extracurricular Activities, Motivation, and Creativity in High School (Poster #116)
Amity High School Science Research Program
Advisor: Cathy Piscitelli

 

Paul Zint

The Trouble with Turbines (Poster #93)
Fairchild Wheeler Interdistrict Magnet School’s Aerospace/Hydrospace Engineering and Physical Sciences
Advisor: Amanda Ives

 

AWARDEES: UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS

First Place — Aleksia Shena, Juhi Solanki, Gardison Jean

Novel Therapeutic Inhibitors Having Sugar Moiety Targeting HER2/EGFR as Anticancer Agent (Poster #41)
College of Science and Society
Department of Chemistry
Advisor: Abu Hossion, PhD

 

Second Place — Sief Addeen Atari, Celso Lopez, Eric Bialczak

Disability Assistant System Using Brain-Computer Interface and EEG Signals (Poster #75)
College of Engineering, Business, and Education
School of Engineering — Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering
Advisors: Ahmed El Sayed, PhD (’11 & ’16) and Ausif Mahmood, PhD

 

Third Place — Nhat Pham, Alberto Labrada, Abdullah Alsayed

Multi-Disciplinary Design of a Modular Controlled Hydroponic System (Poster #82)
College of Engineering, Business, and Education
School of Engineering — Department of Mechanical Engineering
Advisor: Junling Hu, PhD

 

Honorable Mentions

JangKun Suguri, Rishi Chowdary, Chandra Kanth, Sai Akhil Kumar

Implementation of Cloud Storage in Blockchain Technology (Poster #64)
College of Engineering, Business, and Education
School of Engineering — Department of Computer Science & Engineering
Advisor: Omar Abuzaghleh, PhD (’14)

 

Kyungmin Um, Thania Flores, Jihyun Ahn

Smart Blind (Poster #67)
College of Engineering, Business, and Education
School of Engineering — Department of Computer Science & Engineering
Advisor: Abhilasha Tibrewal (’01)

 

AWARDEES: GRADUATE (MASTER’S) STUDENTS

First Place — Adejoke Ifafesobi

The Impact of Political Influence on Nigerian Economy (Poster # 107)
College of Engineering, Business, and Education
Ernest C. Trefz School of Business
Advisor: Timothy Raynor, DBA

 

Second Place — Karamjeet Singh Sardar, Naga Pranathi, Mahasimha Teja Reddy, Aryaj

Scalability: One Of The Main Challenges Of a Blockchain (Poster #61)
College of Engineering, Business, and Education
School of Engineering — Department of Computer Science & Engineering
Advisor: Omar Abuzaghleh, PhD (’14)

 

Third Place — Eva Chavez Chico, Sarah Briceno, Gema Gonzalez

Natural diatoms dopped with AuNPs as drug delivery systems and comparison with diatoms decorated with graphene (Poster #49)
College of Engineering, Business, and Education
School of Engineering — Departments of Biomedical Engineering and Mechanical Engineering
Yachay Tech University, Ecuador’s Department of Physical Sciences and Engineering
Advisor: Prabir Patra, PhD

 

Honorable Mentions

Judy Apicella

Research of the Obstacles in the Treatment of Chronic Lyme Symptoms and the use of the Herbal Formula Phoenix Rising to Aid in Chronic Fatigue, Pain and Brain Fog in this Population (Poster #38)
College of Health Sciences, Nutrition Institute
Advisor: Stephen Jackowicz, PhD, Traditional Chinese Medicine

 

Khalid Alshuaibi, Maram AL Daraiseh, Mohammed Aljamal, Abdullah Aldwean

Blockchain and Cryptocurrency Challenges: Toward Environment-Friendly Mining Process (Poster #59)
College of Engineering, Business, and Education
School of Engineering — Department of Computer Science & Engineering
Advisor: Omar Abuzaghleh, PhD (’14)

 

AWARDEES: DOCTORAL STUDENTS

First Place — Sean Heffron

Expectations of Parent Involvement for First-Year Students: Comparing Parent and University Expectations of Communication in a Consumer Market (Poster # 111)
College of Engineering, Business, and Education
School of Education
Advisor: Kathleen Wallace EdD (’20)

 

Second Place — Eugene P. Gerety

Decoding Extreme High-Density 2D Matrix Barcodes: Circumventing Edge Aliasing (Poster #54)
College of Engineering, Business, and Education
School of Engineering — Department of Computer Science & Engineering
Advisor: Khaled Elleithy, PhD

 

Third Place — Feyisetan Dania

The Impact of Blockchain and Algorithm on FinTech (Poster #99)
College of Engineering, Business, and Education
School of Engineering — Department of Technology Management
Advisor: Christian Bach, PhD

 

Honorable Mentions

Emilyann Rudzinski

Chiropractic Management of a Patient With Tinnitus (Poster #37)
College of Health Sciences
School of Chiropractic
Advisors: Matthew Funk, DC and Anthony Onorato, DC

 

Lauren K. Francese

The Assessment of Historical Perspective-Taking: A Proposed Study to Develop a Measurement Instrument (Poster #112)
College of Engineering, Business, and Education
School of Education
Advisor: Ioana Badara, PhD

 

Peiqiao Wu

Molecular Dynamics Simulation of [2]Rotaxane Switch (Poster #71)
College of Engineering, Business, and Education
School of Engineering — Department of Computer Science & Engineering, Biomedical and Mechanical Engineering, Electrical and Computer Engineering
Minnesota State University, Mankato
Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering and Technology
Advisors: Xingguo Xiong, PhD; Prabir Patra, PhD, and Bhushan Dharmadhikari, PhD (’15)

 

AWARDEES: FACULTY COMPETITIVE

Distinguished Faculty Competitive Award — Mya Scarlato, EdD

“This is Going to be a Learning Curve, Especially Because You’re White”: Becoming an Anti-racist Music Teacher in a Majority Indigenous Classroom (Poster # 3)
College of Science and Society — Arts and Humanities
College of Engineering, Business, and Education, School of Education

 

Honorable Mentions

Emmett Hughes, DC (’97)

Pilot Study Assessing the Effect of Fascial Manipulation on Fascial Densifications and Associated Pain (Poster # 1)
College of Health Sciences
School of Chiropractic
Co-Authors: March Pitcher, PhD; Tina Freilicher, PhD; Jessica Koenig, RVT, RDCS, RDMS; Robert Lee, DC, Lac

 

Randy Laist, PhD

Trump Zombies (Poster # 2)
UB’s College of Science and Society
Arts and Humanities
Goodwin University’s School of Applied Liberal Arts and Social Sciences

 

Ahmed El Sayed, PhD (’11, ’16)

Neural Models for 3D Face Generation and Recognition (Poster # 4)
College of Engineering, Business, and Education
School of Engineering — Department of Electrical Engineering, Computer Science and Engineering
Co-Author: Tarek Sobh, PhD and Ausif Mahmood, PhD

 

“I’m honored to be part of Faculty Research Day and to be a part of this conversation with my colleagues,” said the faculty winner, Prof. Mya Scarlato of the Music Department. “I was so impressed with the students that presented here today. It is great to talk together about all the subjects we are passionate about.”