UA’s Randall Research Program Recognizes 15 Budding Investigators

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — Fifteen University of Alabama undergraduate researchers received recognition through the Randall Outstanding Undergraduate Research Award Program.

The program recognizes the best research activity conducted by UA undergraduates, who are nominated by faculty and staff research directors.

In 1997, the Randall Publishing Co., now Randall-Reilly Publishing, and the H. Pettus Randall III family created the Randall Outstanding Undergraduate Research Award Program in memory of Henry Pettus Randall Jr., a distinguished UA alumnus and creator of Who’s Who Among Students in American Universities and Colleges.

A panel of UA research faculty and past winners of the Burnum Distinguished Faculty Award select the winners.

Meredith Rickard of Atascadero, California, received the Henry Pettus Randall Jr. Endowed Research Scholarship for her senior year at UA. This scholarship is awarded to the top vote recipient who also is a member of the Computer-Based Honors Program. Rickard, a junior chemistry major, presented research titled “From Waste to Fuels and Feedstocks: Reduction of CO₂ Using Main-Group Catalysts.”  Her nominator was Dr. David Dixon, Robert Ramsay professor of chemistry.

The other winners are:

Lindsay Cobb, senior, Collierville, Tennessee:  “New Polymers for a Magnetically Triggered Drug Delivery System for Cancer Therapy.” Nominator: Dr. David Nikles, professor of chemistry.

Molly Cook, junior, Vestavia Hills: “Alarm Pheromones Located in Specialized Cells Within Fish Skin.” Nominator: Dr. Ryan Earley, assistant professor of biological sciences.

Elizabeth Haley, junior, Huntsville: “Role of Fibroblast Growth Factor in Glioblastoma Stem Cell Expansion.” Nominator: Dr. Yonghyun Kim, assistant professor of chemical and biological engineering.

Ronneshia Jackson, senior, Bessemer: “Do Invasive Lionfish Bring their Own Arsenal of Anti-Bacterial Metabolite-Producing Bacteria to their New Homes?” Nominator: Dr. Julie Olson, professor of biological sciences.

Nicole Kernahan, sophomore, Slidell, Louisiana: “Does Vibrant Coloring Elicit Aggression in Female Convict Cichlids?” Nominator: Dr. Ryan Earley, assistant professor of biological sciences.

Tom Ludwig, sophomore, Brunswick, Ohio: “Molecular Simulation of Ionic Liquid-Bismuth Telluride Interfaces.” Nominator: Dr. Heath Turner, associate professor of chemical and biological engineering.

Joshua Moon, senior, Arlington, Tennessee: ”Mathematical Modeling of Nanoscale Heat Generation for Magnetic Hyperthermia.”  Nominators: Dr. Chris Brazel, associate professor of chemical and biological engineering; and Dr. Jason Bara, assistant professor of biological and chemical engineering.

Michael Raddatz, junior, Austin, Texas: “Cell Surface Proteomics of Fluid Shear-resistant Leukemia Stem Cells.” Nominator: Dr. Yonghyun Kim, assistant professor of chemical and biological engineering.

Robert Rosati, senior, Spanish Fort: “Hierarchical Recursive Method for Parallel Simulation of Magnets Of Arbitrary Shape.” Nominator: Dr. Pieter Visscher, professor of physics.

Abigail Shelton, junior, Harvest: “Can Temperature Determine Gender? Environmental Triggers for ‘Maleness’ in the Mangrove Rivulus Fish.” Nominator: Dr. Ryan Earley, assistant professor of biological sciences.

Samantha Tilson, sophomore, Littleton, Colorado: “The Use of Apoptosis Inhibitor Y-27632 for Effective Glioblastoma Stem Cell Expansion.” Nominator: Dr. Yonghyun Kim, assistant professor of chemical and biological engineering.

Morgan Whitaker, senior, Scottsdale, Arizona: “Magnetite Nanoparticles with Poly(caprolactone-b-ethylene glycol) Polymer Brushes for a Magnetically Triggered Drug Delivery System.” Nominator: Dr. David Nikles, professor of chemistry.

Leighton Wilson, junior, Pinson: “An Exploration of Various Operator Splitting Schemes for Solving the Nonlinear Poisson-Boltzmann Equation.” Nominator: Dr. Shan Zhao, associate professor of mathematics.

Shuwen Yue, sophomore, Tuscaloosa: “Computational Studies of Catalytic Processes for Conversion of Biofuels and Organic Reactions.” Nominator: Dr. David Dixon, Robert Ramsay professor of chemistry.