This spring, the annual Denman Undergraduate Research Forum showcased research projects from across Ohio State’s student body. Supported by Richard J. and Martha D. Denman, the forum is an opportunity for graduating student researchers to share their work with the university community. This is Ohio State’s only competitive poster forum that recognizes winners in a number of categories as judged by faculty, staff and alumni reviewers.
As in past years, the Sustainability Institute partnered with the Denman Forum to inspire and award undergraduate research in sustainability topics, enlisting affiliated faculty members and sustainability staff to interview students at the Forum about their research projects.
Nine students were selected as finalists for the Research in Sustainability Award, representing the College of Engineering (four students), College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Science (three students) and the College of Arts and Sciences (two students).
From those finalists, the Sustainability Institute selected the following three students for the award:
- Robert Furlong, Molecular Genetics major: “A contribution to the biological production of Hydrogen Gas by the green alga Chlamydomonas reinhardtii”
- Briana McNeal, Climate, Water, and the Environment & Environment, Economy, Development, and Sustainability double major: “The buzz around climate change: Analyzing the underlying causes of increased attention towards climate change topics in academic and media-based literature and exploring their interconnections”
- Mark Yaseeh, Chemical Engineering major: “Organic and Sustainable Cathode Materials for Aqueous Zn-ion Batteries”
Our congratulations to Robert, Briana, Mark and the other award finalists for conducting a variety of meaningful research efforts towards the advancement of understanding current sustainability challenges and their potential solutions.