2016 Randall Research Program Honors 16 UA Students

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — Sixteen University of Alabama undergraduate researchers have 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.

Justin Magrath, a chemical engineering major from Mandeville, Louisiana, received the Henry Pettus Randall Jr. Endowed Research Scholarship for his senior year at UA. This scholarship is awarded to the top vote recipient who also is a member of the Computer-Based Honors Program. Magrath’s research is titled “Effect of Salinomycin on Glioblastoma Cancer Stem Cells.” His faculty mentor is Dr. Yonghyun (John) Kim, assistant professor of chemical and biological engineering.

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 selects the winners.

The other winners are:

Hayden Arnold, a chemical engineering major from Milton, Georgia, for “Computational Science for Advanced Nuclear Fuels and Environmental Remediation.” Nominator: Dr. David Dixon, Ramsay Professor of Chemistry.

Ashley Daugherty, an anthropology and Spanish major from Brewton, for “Sexual Fluidity and Prosociality.” Nominator: Dr. Christopher Lynn, associate professor of anthropology.

Alison Farrar, a mathematics and physics major from South Pasadena, California, for “Theoretical Investigation of Damping in Exchange Bias Systems.” Nominator: Dr. Claudia Mewes, assistant professor of physics and astronomy.

Mary Kaitlyn Kuykendall, a biochemistry major from Northport, for “Fate of Dietary Copper – Is the Form of Copper in the Diet Key to Prevent It from Becoming Toxic?” Nominator: Dr. John B. Vincent, professor of chemistry.

Melinda Mann, an interdisciplinary studies and geography major from Midland, Georgia, for “Campus Crime at The University of Alabama: A Theoretical Analysis.” Nominators: John Miller, assistant director of New College; Dr. Catherine Roach, professor of New College; and Dr. Steven Ericson, instructor in geography.

Genevieve Miller, a biology major from Biloxi, Mississippi, for “From Water to Land: Jettisoning out of Water in Response to Predator-Associated Cues in Wild Mangrove Rivulus Fish.” Nominator: Dr. Ryan Earley, associate professor of biological sciences.

Sean Miller, an ACS biochemistry major from Chesterdon, Indiana, for “Gas-Phase Acidities of Phosphorylated Peptides.” Nominator: Dr. David Dixon, Ramsay Professor of Chemistry.

Julia Murphy, a chemistry major from Los Alamos, New Mexico, for “Computational Studies of the Formation of Metal Carbonates.” Nominator: Dr. David Dixon, Ramsay Professor of Chemistry.

Rachael Nowack, a political science and psychology major from Florence, for “Voters’ Perceptions of the Qualifications of Female Candidates.” Nominator: Dr. Nichole Bauer, assistant professor of political science.

Clare Ols, a biology major from Parma, Ohio, for “Monitoring Species Abundance and Composition in a Biological Reserve With Active Ecotourism on the Osa Peninsula of Costa Rica.” Nominator: Dr. Eben Broadbent, assistant professor of geography.

Andrew Raddatz, a chemical engineering major from Austin, Texas, for “The Effects of Fluid Shear Stress on Acute Myelogenous Leukemia Stem Cells.” Nominator: Dr. Yonghyun (John) Kim, assistant professor of chemical and biological engineering.

Samuel Stanley, a microbiology major from Dayton, Ohio, for “Investigation of Dopamine Neuron Degeneration as a Consequence of Human Microbiome-derived Bacteria.” Nominator: Dr. Kim Caldwell, professor of biological sciences.

Samantha Tilson, a chemical engineering major from Littleton, Colorado, for “The Role of the Warburg Effect in Maintaining the Cancer Stem Cell State.” Nominator: Dr. Yonghyun (John) Kim, assistant professor of chemical and biological engineering.

Cooper Vajner, a chemical and biological engineering major from Bay Minette, for “Thickness Identification of Epitaxial Bi2Te3 via Optical Contrast.” Nominator: Dr. Hung-Ta Wang, assistant professor of chemical and biological engineering.

Shuwen Yue, a chemical engineering major from Tuscaloosa, for “Computational Studies of Catalytic Processes for Conversion of Biofuels and Controlling Organic Reactivity.” Nominator: Dr. David Dixon, Ramsay professor of chemistry.