By Steven Krolak
(NEW ALBANY, Ind.)–The 2020 IU Southeast Student Conference–the first to take place in the virtual space–awarded honors for outstanding poster and paper presentations across all academic disciplines.
This year’s conference boasted 225 students presenting more than 140 posters, papers and performances. There were 45 faculty advisors and 64 faculty, retired faculty, staff, and community volunteer judges who went out of their way to assess the research.
The winners of awards are listed below, though it is important to note that everyone involved in or touched by this event—including students, their families, faculty sponsors, volunteers and the campus itself—has made a significant contribution to scholarship at IU Southeast.
Graduate Awards
| Award | Winner | Title of Presentation | Faculty Sponsor |
| Chancellor’s Award for Creative Achievement | Billie Broughton-Vissing, Donna Kastelhun, Amanda Neff, Jamie Redden and Whitney Santos | Kentuckian School of Nursing | Carla Hermann |
| Chancellor’s Award for Interdisciplinary Achievement | Craig Green | Chinese Narratives and the Power of Propaganda | Quinn Dauer |
| Outstanding Presentation related to Diversity Award | Erin Davenport | All American Analysis: Examining the Real-World Impact of Young Adult Liteature | Steffany Maher |
| The Outstanding Poster Presentation Award | Madison Combs | Digitization and Curation of Mussel Species: Fauna of Indiana | Suparna Mukhopadhyay |
Undergraduate Awards
| Award | Winner | Title of Presentation | Faculty Sponsor |
| Chancellor’s Award for Creative Achievement | David Neville | Remember the Deadeye | Erich Stem |
| Chancellor’s Award for Interdisciplinary Achievement | William Ntumbe, Scott Shrout, Anthony Frietas | Career Tracker | Ronald Finkbine |
| The Executive Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs Excellence Award | Merlin Lee | The Mascjacket | Tiffany Carbonneau |
| The Outstanding Presentation related to Diversity Award | David Conrad | Raspberry Pi 4 Navigation System for the Visually Impaired | Sridhar Ramachandran |
| The Outstanding Fine Arts Studio or Art History Award | Bradlee Hertrick | Both/And: An Exploration of Personal Dualities | Tiffany Carbonneau |
| The Glenn Mason Outstanding Presentation in Natural Science Award | Kaycee Ranney | Identification of Hair Sample of an Unknown Mammal Species Using Electron Microscopy and DNA Sequencing | Suparna Mukhopadhyay |
| The Social Sciences Award for Community or Civic Engagement | Andrew Burns, Rebecca Hellinger, Leah Renfro, Lydia Villeger | Washington County Amish Health Fairs | Linda Wells-Freiberger |
| The Bernardo Carducci Outstanding Presentation in Psychology | Lorna-Mae Ward, Holly Gavin | Who’s Mind Is It Anyway? The Relationship Between Internalized Implicit Gender Bias, Implicit Self-Esteem, And Mental Health of Women | Meghan Kahn |
| The Outstanding Oral Presentation in Natural Sciences | Eric Colwell | Predicting Outcomes of Horse Races Using Neural Networks (Deep Learning) | Christopher Kimmer |
| The Outstanding Oral Presentation in Psychology | Hannah Shaffer | The Relativity of Work/Life Balance: Do We All Need it? | Kenneth Harris |
| Outstanding Oral Presentation | Cassidy Waters and Steven Ruark | Stress Effects on Time Perception | Meghan Kahn |
| Outstanding Oral Presentation | Amberly Endris-Burns | The Relationship Between Shift Work and Anxiety and Depression | Todd Manson |
| The Lillian Yaeger Outstanding Presentation in Nursing | Mikayla Koch, Rachel Libbert, Melanie Titzer | Pine Ridge Orientation | Julia Mattingly |
| The Outstanding Poster Presentation in Natural Sciences | Savonna Carrie and Landon Patel | Plasmid Capture in an Urban Stream | David Treves |
| Outstanding Poster Presentation | Jessica James | Why Are Eye Exams So Important? | Rebekah Dement |
| The Outstanding Poster Presentation in Psychology | Haylie Holly and Katarina Sizemore | Job Dissatisfaction, Workplace Deviance and Interpersonal Attitudes | Valerie Scott |
| Outstanding Poster Presentation | Sydney Meunier | Carnivorous Seaweed | Douglas Darnowski |
The 2020 Student Conference will always be remembered for the unusual circumstances in which it took place. With the campus closed due to the global coronavirus pandemic, students uploaded their presentations to a folder on Box. Oral presenters were given instructions on how to make a video of their presentations using Kaltura, Zoom and their iPhone; those without video capability could upload a PowerPoint.
With students, advisors and judges learning new formats on the fly, there were many challenges, according to Diane Wille, Dean for Graduate Studies and Research.
“I think we learned that all challenges can be overcome, with enough time, patience and stubbornness,” Wille said.
For Wille, the 2020 Student Conference will be memorable for the ability of students to persevere during a difficult time, and for the dedication of faculty members.
“Our students and their faculty mentors are doing excellent research and creative work that deserved to be showcased and celebrated,” Wille said. “Just because we are in the middle of a pandemic didn’t stop this excellence.”