Over 100 students showcased their research at Penn State Scranton’s 2025 Undergraduate Research Fair and Exhibition, held at the campus earlier this month. Students from a variety of academic disciplines participated in poster exhibits, panel discussions and presentations and artistic projects, with select faculty and staff judging the submissions and naming the winning projects.
DUNMORE, Pa. – More than 100 students from various academic disciplines at Penn State Scranton participated in its annual Undergraduate Research Fair and Exhibition. Students showcased their undergraduate research, scholarship and creative achievements by featuring an array of projects ranging from poster presentations to oral discussions and visual arts displays.
Assistant Teaching Professor of Physics and Chair of Penn State Scranton’s Research Committee Mario Freamat said undergraduate research is the cornerstone of academic journey, providing students with career and character-building opportunities to delve into intellectual activities that sharpen their critical thinking, problem-solving, professional awareness and ability to communicate.
“Undergraduate research strengthens and nuances the profile of research advisers, as it informs that special kind of mentorship that fosters a supportive environment where young minds can thrive and innovate. So, our Undergraduate Research Fair and Exhibition significantly enriches and elevates campus life by showcasing the impressive work of our students and giving them the opportunity to belong in a concerto of scholarly voices,” Freamat said.
“For myself, coordinating the event has been an incredibly rewarding experience as it nurtured a sense of coherence and pride in the work that we do here at Penn State Scranton. I am deeply grateful for the collaborative efforts of my fellow faculty members and staff, whose dedication and support have been instrumental to the success of this project.”
Student participants in the fair were evaluated across various categories. A photo album Penn State Scranton’s Undergraduate Research Fair and Exhibition is available on Penn State Scranton’s Flickr. All photos are free to view and download.
Research award winners 2025
The Undergraduate Research Fair and Exhibition subcommittee announced award winners for poster projects in each category, oral presentations and the University Libraries Literacy Awards. Click here to view photos from the 2025 Penn State Scranton Undergraduate Research Fair and Exhibition.
Empirical Category
- First Place – Kingsley Mangan, Robert Davison, Catherine Barbosa, Cailie Thoman, & Cameron Zynel: “From Grey to Green: The Role of Biochar in Lunar Agriculture”
- Second Place – Robert Resio and Aleksey Wheeland: “Effect of the 2024 solar eclipse on the low cloud cover in Scranton”
Literature Review
- First Place – Skyler Bower and Rose Morel: “The Association Between Parental Alcoholism and Adolescent Alcohol Use”
- Second Place – Elisabeth Swingle: “The association between parenting and sibling relationships”
Proposal
- First Place – Yael Chapo: “Single Perpetrator vs. Multiple Perpetrators in a Police Line Up: an Exploration of the Relationship Between Alcohol and Short Term Memory”
- Second Place – Owen Brown: “An Examination of Nonverbal Communication, Social Cues, and Attribution Processes: Potential Impacts on Jury Deliberation in Murder Trials”
Design
- First Place – Grant Lewis, Alexis Colasurdo, and Hannah Williams: “Personal Aid Elevator for Residential Applications”
- Second place – Alexis Colasurdo, Grant Lewis, Dylan Gaska and Stanley Ciborosky: "Design and Manufacture of 3D Robot Gripper Arm”
Visual Arts
- First Place – Rowan Mulligan: "Lotad in Full Bloom”
- Second Place – Brook Weaver: “Enchantment Under the Sea-Art Piece #3”
Oral Presentations
- First Place – Halle O’Neil: “Sit Still and Have Humility: Women’s Writing and Religion in the Late Middle Ages”
- Second Place – Elizabeth Alin and Rowan Mulligan: “Queering the Great Gatsby”
Excellence in Information Literacy Awards
The following students received the University Libraries Undergraduate Research Awards in Excellence in Information Literacy for recognizing their outstanding achievements in research and scholarship.
Oral presentations
- Halle O’Neil: “Sit Still and Have Humility: Women’s Writing and Religion in the Late Middle Ages”
- Delilah Jones: “Pulling Back the Curtain on High School Show Choir”
- Ellie Alin and Rowan Mulligan: “Queering the Great Gatsby”
Poster presentations
- Kingsley Mangan, Robert Davison, Catherine Barbosa, Cailie Thoman, & Cameron Zynel: “From Grey to Green: The Role of Biochar in Lunar Agriculture”
- Caz Weber: “Love-bombing: Its Correlates and Identifying Healthy Relationship Behaviors”
- Sky Bower and Rose Morel: “The Association between Parental Alcoholism and Adolescent Alcohol Use”
- Bradeon Joyce: “Diet and Exercise vs. Weight Loss Drugs”
- Katie Zabrowski: “Effects of Breastfeeding versus Formula Feeding on Infants’ Intestinal Health”
- Fey-Lyn Hankee: “An Exploration of the Relationship between Hypermobile Ehlers Danlos Syndrome and a Diagnosis of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder”
Penn State Scranton’s Undergraduate Research Fair and Exhibition is supported by funding from the Robert Y. Moffat Family Charitable Trust.
