Winners
Eight graduate students competed Thursday in Reiman Gardens Auditorium, both in-person and virtually. The eight students were chosen from a previous competition held Oct. 25, which included 122 applicants from all academic colleges.
Winner: Ashwini Rangaraj
Major: Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology
Presentation: Characterizing a novel DNA element in the placenta
Runner Up: Alexander Volkov
Major: Chemistry
Presentation: Efficient and Recyclable Capture of Rare-Earth Elements by Covalent Organic Frameworks
People’s Choice Award: Oluwatobiloba Aminu
Major: Bioinformatics and Computational Biology
Presentation: Understanding Nanog's role in cell differentiation
Entire Event Video
Finalists
| Name | Major | Presentation Title |
|---|---|---|
| Rabsa Naseer | Veterinary Preventative Medicine | Developing a Predictive Model for Variants of Porcine Reproductive and Respiratory Syndrome Virus (PRRSV) |
| Grace Jackson | Ecology and Evolutionary Biology | Using Long-term Data to Understand Iowa’s Algae Blooms |
| Binayak Raj Pandey | Microbiology | Fall into fuel: a concept |
| Oluwatobiloba Aminu | Bioinformatics and Computational Biology | Understanding Nanog's role in cell differentiation |
| Alexander Volkov | Chemistry | Efficient and Recyclable Capture of Rare-Earth Elements by Covalent Organic Frameworks |
| Lexi Frese | Biomedical Sciences | Interspecies Transmission of Chronic Wasting Disease |
| Ashwini Rangaraj | Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology | Characterizing a novel DNA element in the placenta |
| Kale Hawks | Ecology and Evolutionary Biology | Size, Strength, and Social Skills in Baboons |