Undergraduate Research Opportunities Center

Summer Research Symposium

The Annual CSUMB Summer Research Symposium celebrates the research, scholarship, and creative activities of the undergraduate students in the Undergraduate Research Opportunities Center (UROC) and Monterey Regional Ocean Science Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) Program. Over 100 students will present research conducted over the summer across 12 different academic disciplines and 14 grant-funded programs. To date, this symposium is the largest summer research program in the region. Check out what the Monterey County Weekly and our campus paper, the Lutrinae, have to say about the Summer Research Symposium. 

In addition to a summer of research, undergraduate participants also attend over 20 hours of professional development workshops spanning topics like research communication, graduate school preparation, and mentor relationships.

This event honors their commitment to diving head-first, tackling some of the most difficult questions and working with stellar faculty mentors who guide the process of inquiry along the way.

2025 Summer Research Symposium

Thank you to everyone who joined us the 12th CSUMB Annual Summer Research Symposium on Friday, August 15th, 2025. We hope to see you again next year! 

Congratulations to all the student presenters, including the Outstanding Research Poster Award recipients. 

Presenter(s) Poster Title Mentor(s)
Maria Ugaz Mapping Transposable Element Expression Across Hydra Cell Types Using Single Cell Transcriptomics Aide Macias-Muñoz
Sergio Zavala Developing a Mapping Tool for Gene and Transcript Annotations Through a Pangenome Graph Benedict Paten
Joshua Williams, Cable Bronte AI-Enabled Collaborative Robot for Fruit Harvesting Applications Jeorge Hurtarte
Denisse Emeterio Optimizing RNA Quality for Next Generation Sequencing (NGS): Evaluating  DNase Treatment and Column Purification of RNA from Bioremediating Bacteria Nathaniel Jue
Jesus Jimenez Mass Spectrometry Approaches to Investigate Squid-Vibrio Symbiosis Laura M. Sanchez
Leanne Miron Strengthening the “M” in STEM Corin D. Slown
April Buckley, Matthew Dorsey, Chris Loy How Piling Types Influence Marine Community Structures and Invasive Species Kevin Raskoff
Reina Yorba-Rico Planting Seeds for Pedagogical Change: Equity Conjectures for Organizational Learning in Academic Departments Aireale J. Rodgers
Tyler Busby

Abiotic Effects on Mid-Intertidal Epibionts in the Monterey Bay Area

  Gerick Bergsma
Stephanie Martinez Flores Improving Observation Impact Diagnostics for COAMPS Clark Amerault

Research Abstracts | Symposium Program

Oral Presentations Session 1: Room 1188 Moderated by Dr. John Banks

Time Presenter Presentation Title
9:15 Lauren Mallicoat Investigating Sandy Intertidal Habitat and its Impact on Pismo Clam (Tivela stultorum) Burial Rate
9:30 Sofia Barajas Exploring Interannual Variations in Adult Alewife (Alosa pseudoharengus) Energy Conditions as a Proxy for Changing Environmental and Feeding Conditions in the Gulf of Maine
9:45 Arthur Moody Significant Differences and Identifiers in Symptoms Across Gastrointestinal Conditions and Associated Diseases
10:00 Addison Ryne Advancing Rapid Quantification of Microcystis Colonies in Freshwater Systems Using Digital Holography
10:15 Karla Buitrago-Yepes Nature v Nurture: Gut Microbiome Compositions of Red Urchins, Mesocentrotus franciscanus, of Different Habitat Stable States Exposed to Various Algal Diets
10:45 Skye Cardoza Assessing the Influence of Habitat on Juvenile Flatfish Feeding Behavior Along the Monterey Peninsula
11:00 Daniel Sambold From Sensors to Scenes: Classifying White Shark Behaviors from Sensor Packages
11:15 Neil Elias Influence of Kelp Detritus at the Temperate Reef-Sand interface on Habitat Utilization of Juvenile Rockfishes
11:30 Achsah Jojo Investigating Student Strategies for Identifying and Correcting Defects Introduced by AI Code Completion Tools

Oral Presentations Session 2: Room 1180 Moderated by Natasha Oehlman

Time Presenter Presentation Title
9:15 Navid Amarlou From Self to Sustainability: Environmental Attitudes, Identity, and Hope
9:30 Melanie Abarca Breaking Up with Parents: Adult-Children's Perspective on Estrangement
9:45 Karissa Gralnick Are College Students Workplace Ready? A Literature Review on the Development of Transferable Competencies
10:00 Heaven Smith The Skills Employers Consider Important Were Refined by Some Students During the Pandemic
10:15 Mariah Moreno Associations Between the MMPI-3 PSY-5 Scales and the PID-5 Brief Form in a Latinx College Student Sample
10:45 Galilea Bustos Ataide & Fatima Arellano Auto-Ethnographies of Disability Justice Researchers in the Era of Pandemic Abandonment: Part One
11:00 Ivet Machuca & Iris Fuentes Auto-Ethnographies of Disability Justice Researchers in the Era of Pandemic Abandonment: Part Two
11:15 Nancy Espitia Differences in Facial Prominence of Women and Men on the Covers of Popular Mexican Magazines
11:30 Destiny Renero Examining Overreporting Simulation Posttest Questionnaire Item Utility Using MMPI-3 Validity Scales
11:45 Latasha Neal Sisterhood Across Oceans: Billie Holiday, Miriam Makeba, Rita Marley, and their Musical Activism

Guest Judges

All research poster presenters will be eligible for an Outstanding Research Poster Award. Below is our list of judges and their affiliations.

  • Rob Drezner, Ph.D., Retired Clinical Psychologist and Adjunct Faculty, Monterey Peninsula College
  • Bruce Delgado, Mayor of Marina
  • Fernando DePaolis, Ph.D., Faculty in the Environmental Policy & Management Program, Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey
  • Nina Alcaraz, Director of Policy, Advocacy, and Communications, First Five Monterey County
  • Sarah Hulick, Faculty and Program Chair, Cabrillo College
  • Monica Urias, Doctoral Student, UC Davis
  • Kelsey Nordstrom-Sanchez, J.D., MLIS,, Research and Instruction Librarian, Cal State Monterey Bay
  • Erin Ramirez, Ph.D., Associate Professor, College of Education and Leadership, Cal State Monterey
  • Kaiku Kaholoa'a Doctoral Student, Hopkins Marine Station, Stanford University
  • Cassandra Burrier, Social Media Specialist, Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute
  • Bethany Schulze, Biological Science Technician, U.S. Geological Survey (USGS)
  • Manny Ezcurra, Curator of Fish and Invertebrates, Monterey Bay Aquarium
  • Nikole Babcock, Doctoral Student, University of Connecticut
  • Oscar Murillo Espinoza, Doctoral Student, Oregon State University
  • Rosa Acevedo-Duran, Doctoral Student, University of Oregon
  • Riley Moulton, Doctoral Student, UC Santa Cruz
  • Rafael L S Reis, Software Engineer, Alphabet Inc. 
  • Nevan Bell, Doctoral Student, UC Santa Barbara
  • Cathi Draper Rodriguez, Ph.D., Professor, College of Education and Leadership, Cal State Monterey Bay
  • Luis Cabrales Arriaga, Ph.D., Professor, College of Science, Cal State University, Monterey Bay

UROC Scholar, Alyssa Walter, presents her research on white shark mating habits.

UROC Researchers, Katelyn Huie and Sarina Regis, were recipients of an Outstanding Research Poster Award.

Koret Scholars, Alison Jenson, C Mazariegos, and Kyle Parker present research conducted during the summer. 

  • Thank you to everyone who joined us for the 11th Annual Summer Research Symposium on Friday, August 9th, 2024, 8:30 a.m. - 4 p.m. at the Tanimura and Antle Family Memorial Library. We hope to see you again next year!

    Congratulations to all the student presenters, including the recipients of an Outstanding Research Poster Award.

    Presenter(s) Poster Title Mentor(s)
    Alex Nite AI Meets Immunology: Predicting TCR-pMHC Interactions Vanessa Jönsson Ph.D.
    Anastasia Swann Genetic Species Identification of Sebastes Rockfishes in California Elizabeth Alter, Ph.D. & John Carlos Garza, Ph.D
    Jasmine Maciel Community Dynamics in Bioremediating Bacteria Mary Snook & Nathaniel K. Jue, Ph.D.
    Amira Colón, Madi Loewen Post-Pandemic Factors Influencing STAT250 Student Success at CSUMB Judith Canner, Ph.D.
    Denisse Emeterio Comparing Brain Organoid Profiles from Different Embryonic Stem Cell Lines  Sofie Salama Ph.D.
    Abraham Porras-Vargas Predictive Habitat Modeling for the Endangered Ambystoma macrodactylum croceum Elizabeth Alter, Ph.D.
    Luis Ramirez-Espinoza Evaluating Cover Crop Susceptibility to Impatiens Necrotic Spot Virus (INSV) Daniel Hasegawa, Ph.D.
    Matt Biermann Validation of Fish Hematocrit Measurements Using an ABL90 Flex Blood Gas Analyzer Cheryl A. Logan, Ph.D.
    Lauren Mallicoat, Ryan Brady Investigating the Current Population Status of the Pismo Clam (Tivela Stultorum) around the Monterey Bay Olivia Beaudoin & Alison Haupt, Ph.D.
    Ty Takahashi, Kaitlyn Alvarez Sandy Beach Habitat Variability of Pismo Clam (Tivela stultorum) Populations in Monterey Bay Olivia Beaudoin & Alison Haupt, Ph.D.
    Eric Martinez The Development of Seed Coatings to Improve Germination and Vigor Ben Carter

    Research Abstracts | Symposium Program

    Oral Presentations Session 1: Room 1180 Moderated by Dr. Sherry Palacios and Adam Paganini

    Time

    Presenter

    		 Presentation Title
    9:15 Summer Voth Analysis of the Spatial and Temporal Patterns of Urchin Recruits on the Monterey Bay Peninsula
    9:30 Julia Zapadka Population-Specific Plasticity of Purple Sea Urchins
    9:45 Nicole Foldi Martinez Effect of Photoperiod on Reproductive Development in Strongylocentrotus purpuratus for Improved Roe Enhancement
    10:00 Landen Parks Behavioral Responses of a Marine Sponge to Water Flow
    10:15 Maya Clarke Temperature Impacts on the Abundance and Growth Rate of Pseudo-Nitzschia Species Local to Monterey Bay, California
    10:45 Alex Washburn LiDAR Estimates of Wave Reflection and Dissipation at the Steep Interface along Rocky Shores
    11:00 Karl Ventayen Development of Robust Software Aboard the Coastal Profiling Float
    11:15 Maria Cecconello Lucas Variation in Rockfish Reproductive Success in Relation to the El-Niño Southern Oscillation
    11:30 Cloey Parlapiano Analysis of the True Phylogenetic Relationship of the Aurora Rockfish (Sebastes aurora) Within the Genus Sebastes
    11:45 Roxane Jaramillo Emperor Penguin Dive Depths in Low Light Conditions
    12:15 Mateo Longoria Citizen Science Contributions to Understanding ENSO Phases and Anthropogenic Drivers to Pinnipeds in the Monterey Bay Peninsula
    12:30 Noah Benasfre Feast-Fast Lifestyle: Physiological Effects of Flexibility in Daily Foraging Effort of Blue Whales (Balaenoptera musculus)

    Oral Presentations Session 2: Room 1170 Moderated by Dr. Jessica Bautista

    Time Presenter Presentation Title
    9:15 Josie Wrinkle and Megan Staton Long term monitoring on the recovery of Pisaster ochraceus post Sea Star Wasting Disease: The Sequel
    9:30 Sarah Schuster Building a Large Scale Food Quality Index (FQI) of Monterey Bay
    9:45 Wyatt Milam Effects of Varying Temperatures on Regeneration of the Solitary Ascidian Species, Ciona intestinalis
    10:00 Caleb Hernandez Hungry Hungry Pycnos: Understanding Juvenile Diet Preferences and Diet-Specific Growth and Mortality in the Endangered Sunflower Sea Star
    10:15 Lilah Wise Social Association Analysis of Icelandic Killer Whale Population During Feeding Events as an Indicator of Social Network
    10:45 Valerie Aring Comparing Feeding Frequencies of California Condor Parents to Nesting Site Distance
    11:00 Paola Cabezas and Hailey Christian Modeling TSC Dependent LAM Using Drosophila Muscle Precursors
    11:15 Hailie Milam and Lauren Maravilla Mitochondrial Function Alteration Results in Age-Related Changes in Regenerative Capacity of Megakaryocyte Progenitor Cells
    11:30 Sameer Dingore

    Curated Dataset for Benchmarking of RNA Base-Pairing Annotations Tools
    11:45 Efrain Ramirez

    A Proposed Demonstration of the Creation and Utilization of Embedded Inconsistency Scales to Screen for Poor Online Self-Report Psychological Data

    Oral Presentations Session 3: Room 1176 Moderated by Natasha Oehlman

    Time Presenter Presentation Title
    9:15 Diana Mendoza

    Exploring the Role Cut Scores Play in the Assessment of Invalid Responding
    9:30 Alison Jensen and Sofia Campos What do CSUMB Psychology Alumni Have To Say To Current Undergrads? Take A Piece Of Advice From A Former Otter
    9:45 Autumn Day Analyzing Facial Prominence and Gaze in Portrayal of University Neuroscience Researchers: Gendered Stereotypes
    10:00 Maria Corral Cervantes and Aislynne Chappell Unveiling the Connection between Parents’ Education and Psychology Alumni Choice of Higher Education or Workforce
    10:15 Yeritzi Victoria, Dolores Marquez, and Laura Flores The Impact of Bilingualism on False Memory and Source Memory
    10:45 Kiley Appleby Representation in Literature: How Children's Book Choices Reflect in Their Social Attitudes
    11:00 Levi Mahler The Activists’ Choice: Ballot Initiatives As A Step Towards Pro-Choice Efforts
    11:15 Latasha Neal Sisterhood Across Oceans
    11:30 Jhoana Morales-Lopez Deliberately Unplanned! Exploring the Impact of Unplanned Events on Career Trajectories in Psychology Alumni
    11:45 Berelim Bautista How Does Auditor Tenure Affect Cybersecurity Risk?

    Guest Judges

    All research poster presenters will be eligible for an Outstanding Research Poster Award. Below is our list of judges and their affiliations.

    • Rob Drezner, Ph.D., Retired Clinical Psychologist and Adjunct Faculty, Monterey Peninsula College
    • Bruce Delgado, Mayor of Marina and Botanist, Bureau of Land Management
    • Fernando DePaolis, Ph.D., Faculty in the Environmental Policy & Management Program, Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey
    • Nina Alcaraz, Director of Policy, Advocacy, and Communications, First Five Monterey County
    • Amelia Olson, Wildlife Biologist, Padre Associates
    • Pam Marino, Staff Writer, Monterey County Weekly
    • Sarah Hulick, Faculty and Program Chair, Cabrillo College
    • Monica Urias, Doctoral Student, UC Davis
    • Colleen Courtney, Chief of Staff for Monterey County Supervisor Mary Adams
    • Kelsey Nordstrom-Sanchez, J.D., MLIS,, Research and Instruction Librarian, Cal State Monterey Bay
    • Erin Ramirez, Ph.D., Associate Professor, College of Education and Leadership, Cal State Monterey
    • Greg Pool, Former Director of Digital Transformation, Cal State Monterey Bay
    • Joy Kumagai, Doctoral Student, Hopkins Marine Station, Stanford University
    • Taylor Triviño, Master's Student, University of Washington
    • Chris Green, Ph.D., Director of Exhibits and Collections, Pacific Grove Museum of Natural History
    • Arun Jani, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, College of Science, Cal State Monterey Bay
    • Paige Viren, Ph.D., Executive Director, Sustainable Hospitality & Tourism Management Program, Cal State Monterey Bay
    • Cassandra Burrier, Social Media Specialist, Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute
    • Cecilia Regalado Diaz, Plant Breeder Technician, Berry Sweet Research, LLC
    • Jissel Antonio, Master's Student, San José State University
    • Polly Goldman, Agricultural Research Science Technician, United States Department of Agriculture
    • Valarie Maestas-Chapel, Project Rebound Coordinator & METAS Grant Coordinator, Cal State Monterey Bay

  • Thank you to everyone who joined for the 10th Annual Summer Research Symposium  on Friday, August 11th, 2023 at the College of Arts, Humanities, and Social Science Building and the Tanimura and Antle Family Memorial Library where we celebrated the research, scholarship, and creative activities of the undergraduate students in the Undergraduate Research Opportunities Center & Monterey Regional Ocean Sciences Research Experiences for Undergraduates Program.

    Congratulations to all the student presenters, including the recipients of an Outstanding Research Poster Award: 

    Student(s) Poster Title Mentor(s)
    Lisa Irvine Bathymetric Sedimentation Rates in Scott Creek Coastal Estuary Post 2020 CZU-Complex Lighting Fire (2020-2023) James Guilinger, Ph.D.
    Joseph Garcia Evaluating the Pathogenicity of Pythium spp.  Isolates from Lettuce Grown in the Salinas Valley Harold Hickey and JP Dundore-Arias, Ph.D.
    Denisse Emeterio Investigating Essential Genes: Electroporation Optimization for TNSeq-Based Analysis in Malathion Degrading Bacteria Mary Snook and Nathaniel Jue, Ph.D.
    Matthias Milton Tissue-Specific HIF-1a Expression in Adult Gopher Rockfish (Sebastes carnatus) Under Upwelling Stress in Central California Dailyn Jones, Scott Hamilton, Ph.D., and Cheryl Logan, Ph.D.
    Jonathan Ingan Two-Year Effects of Rock Study Boxing Exercise in Parkinson's Disease Maria Bellumori, Ph.D.
    Riley Moulton and Paola Cabezas Investigating the Role of Bantam MicroRNA in Promoting Drosophilia Muscle Precursor Homeostasis Frank Macabenta, Ph.D. 
    Josie Wrinkle Urchin Recruitment Dynamics, Reproduction, and Density Alison Haupt, Ph.D.
    Elise Vasquez Longitudinal Study Comparing Greenhouse Gas Emissions from Broccoli on a Field Under Different Climate Smart Soil Management Practices Over Multiple Years and Crops Arlene Haffa, Ph.D.
    Mackenzie K. Caprino Determining Symbiont Communities in Galápagos Pavona clavus Katrina Giambertone and Cheryl Logan, Ph.D.
    Sarina Regis and Katelyn Huie Trend Identification of Historical Bullet Casing Chemical Compositions on Fort Ord, CA McKenzie Floyd

    Summer Research Symposium Sneak Peek

    On Thursday, August 10th at 10:00 a.m. 6 students, representing marine science, psychology, and environmental science presented their summer research virtually.

    Time Presenter Presentation Title
    10:00am Jourdan Garnier "The Parking Situation is the Worst Part about CSUMB": The Psychological Burdens of Parking Fees
    10:15am Elizabeth Rivera Sea-Surface Temperature Impacting Black Oystercatcher Fledging Success
    10:30am Caleb Hernandez

    Investigating Mutual Interactions in Coral-Seaweed Cocultures
    10:45am Natalie Frontella Recreational Fishing Effects on Northeastern Pacific White Sharks (Carcharodon carcharias)
    11:00am Lilah Wise Urchin Recruitment Dynamics, Reproduction, and Density
    11:15am Zoe Schimnowski Impacts of Agriculture on Freshwater Rivers’ and Streams’

    Summer Research Symposium Schedule of Events

    • 8:30 - 9:00am | Registration & Coffee
    • 9:00 - 9:15am | Opening Remarks -- College of Arts, Humanities, and Social Science Building, Room 1401
    • 9:15 - 11:45am | Oral Presentations -- Rooms 1204, 1301, 1302
    • 11:30 - 12:00pm | Break
    • 12:00 - 1:00pm | Poster Presentations (odd) -- Tanimura & Antle Library
    • 12:45 - 2:45pm | Oral Presentations (CSUMB REU only) -- Room 1204
    • 1:00 - 2:00pm | Poster Presentations (even) -- Tanumura & Antle Library
    • 2:00 - 2:30pm | Transition
    • 2:30 - 3:00pm | Closing Remarks, Mentor Recognition, & Poster Presentation Awards -- Tanumura & Antle Library, Room 1180

    Oral Presentations Session 1: Room 1204 Moderated by REU Staff

    Time Presenter Presentation Title
    9:15am Allie Van Energy Density of Bay Ghost Shrimp (Neotrypaea californiensis) from Puget Sound, Washington
    9:30am Carissa Tinney Impact of Polyethylene Agricultural Mulch Microplastics at Present and Projected Future Concentrations on Prorocentrum in Monterey Bay
    9:45am Eva Dellea Climate Change's Impact on the Biological Processes in Disko Bay, West Greenland
    10:00am Tyler Morgan Physical Environmental Controls on Giant Kelp Biomass in the California Current System between 1992 and 2017
    10:15am Hannah May Measuring the Physiological Status on Nitrogen Uptake Through Gene Expression in Phaeodactylum tricornutum
    10:30am Bailee Guernsey Physiological Responses of Monkeyface Pricklebacks (Cebidichthys violaceus) To Temperature Increases
    10:45am Yareliz Quintana Effect of Temperature on Growth and Survival on Nanomia bijuga (Cnidaria; Hydrozoa; Siphonophora)
    11:00am Zeanna Graves Recruitment and Survival of Pickleweed (Salicornia pacifica) Under Different Soil and Irrigation Conditions in a California Salt Marsh: Hester Marsh
    11:15am Wesley Moore Determining Conditions for Pickleweed (Salicornia pacifica) Establishment in Recently Restored Salt Marsh
    11:30am Amanda Gaffney Development of a Near Real-Time Autonomous Click Detector
    11:45am Zachary Ennis Gravity Wave Interactions with the Seafloor in Rocky, Nearshore, Mixed Depth Environments
    Lunch Break
    12:45pm Benjamin Torres Drivers of Diversification in Rockfishes (Genus Sebastes)
    1:00pm Connor Rad Species Composition of Phytoplankton Varies in Marine Heat Waves
    1:15pm Maaria Patel Assessing the Impacts of Overfishing on Pismo Clams: Exploring Size and Age Dynamics
    1:30pm Valentina Montes Abalone Recovery and Aggregation Patterns
    1:45pm Otto Martinez Have Rocky Intertidal Algae Communities in Central California Been Impacted by Recent Storms
    2:00pm Maryam Krauss Monitoring Changes in Species Composition Captured by Fishers and its Effect on Different User Groups during the El Niño to La Niña Transition Along the Central California Coast
    2:15pm Chinatsu Garey The Effects of Floods on Benthic Macroinvertebrate-based Bioassessments of the San Antonio River
    2:30pm Claribel Alcantar The Respirometry Response of Cnidarian Species to Elevated Temperatures as a means to Identify the Trigger to Coral Bleaching

    Oral Presentations Session 2: Room 1301 Moderated by Natasha Oehlman

    Time Presenter Presentation Title
    9:15am Berenice Lemus Economic Contributions of Special Events: An Examination of Tourism and Visitor Spending
    9:30am Ashley Hinds Is History Repeating Itself? The Link Between the Social Hygiene Movement and Roe v. Wade
    9:45am Yeritzi Victoria & Sara Jew False Memory and Source Monitoring in Bilinguals
    10:00am Grace Quinowski Preparing for a Career in Research, Scientific Writing, and Collaboration
    10:15am Jissel Antonio Uniendo Nuestras Voces: A Study of Collective Experiences of Oppression in Schools
    10:30am Citlaly Jauregui and Michiel Breen Wrist Wrap Type and Sex Impacts on Grip Strength, Pushup Power, Bench Press Muscular Endurance, Associated
    10:45am Levi Mahler Gods and Bases: US Military Presence and Its Impacts on Japanese Spiritual Customs
    11:00am Oscar Murillo-Espinoza Arithmetical Structures on Canoe Paddle Graphs

    Oral Presentations Session 3: Room 1302 Moderated by Dr. Jessica Bautista

    Time Presenter Presentation Title
    9:15am Alexandra Yokomizo Polarity-based Focal Mechanisms of Earthquakes on the Westernmost Gofar Transform Fault at the East Pacific Rise
    9:30am Dylan Moran Using UASs to Monitor Juvenile White Shark (Carcharodon carcharias) Thermal Habitat Selection in the Monterey Bay
    9:45am Alyssa Walter Exploring the Where and When of Mating Scars in Female Great White Sharks
    10:00am Zachary Zirbel Taxonomic Investigation of Deep Sea Carnivorous Sponges
    10:15am Jasper Tao Assessing the Efficacy of Pythium Wilt Inoculation Methods
    10:30am Alma Leon Genetic Diversity of Northeast Pacific Rockfish (Sebastes) and Analysis of Rhodopsin Gene
    10:45am Madison Moreno California State University, Monterey Bay 2023 Sustainable Literacy Assessment Report

    Guest Judges

    All research poster presenters will be eligible for an Outstanding Research Poster Award. Below is our list of judges and their affiliations.

    • Doug Smith, Ph.D., Interim Dean of Graduate Studies and Research, CSU Monterey Bay
    • Sam Robinson, Ph.D., Associate Professor and Academic Senate Chair, CSU Monterey Bay
    • Kathlene Hanson, Librarian, CSU Monterey
    • Judith Canner, Ph.D., Professor, CSU Monterey Bay
    • Rob Drezner, Ph.D., Retired Clinical Psychologist and Adjunct Faculty, Monterey Peninsula College
    • Bruce Delgado, Mayor of Marina and Botanist, Bureau of Land Management
    • Fernando DePaolis, Ph.D., Dean of Academic Operations and Integration, Middlebury College
    • Nina Alcaraz, Director of Policy, Advocacy, and Communications, First Five Monterey County
    • Alicia Khuon, Wildlife Biologist, Environmental Services Agency
    • Celia Jimenez, Staff Writer, Monterey County Weekly
    • Sarah Hulick, Faculty and Program Chair, Cabrillo College
    • Korina McKinley, Master's in Social Work Graduate Student, CSU Monterey Bay
    • Manny Ezcurra, Curator of Fish and Invertebrates, Monterey Bay Aquarium

  • The 9th Annual Summer Research Symposium took place on Friday, August 12, 2022 at the College of Arts, Humanities, and Social Science Building and the Tanimura and Antle Family Memorial Library where we will celebrate the research, scholarship, and creative activities of the undergraduate students in the Undergraduate Research Opportunities Center & Monterey Regional Ocean Sciences Research Experiences for Undergraduates Program. Over 100 students will present research conducted over the summer across 12 different academic disciplines and 14 grant-funded programs. See below for more details. 

    Congratulations to all the student presenters, including our inaugural group of Outstanding Research Poster Award recipients: 

    Student Major Research Mentor
    Sonia Kortenkamp Environmental Science, Technology, and Policy Andria Greene, CSUMB
    Katherine Martinez Biology John Dzimianski, UCSC and Jennifer Kato, CSUMB
    Kiara Gable Agricultural Plant and Soil Science Jose Pablo Dundore-Arias, CSUMB
    Pepper St. Clair and Sage Chavez Biology Gerardo Cortes-Cortes, UCSC and Simon Titen, CSUMB
    Zachary Zirbel Marine Science Jaycee Lanza, Moss Landing Marine Labs
    Axel Castellanos-Morales Computer Science Steven Kim, CSUMB
    Nick Alessandro Psychology Zurine De Miguel, CSUMB
    Juan Vargas Biology Daniel Hasewaga, USDA
    Katie Herrmann Environmental Science, Technology, and Policy Gerick Bergsma, CSUMB
    Valeria Rodriguez Environmental Science, Technology, and Policy Andria Greene, CSUMB

    Thank you to our inaugural group of judges for volunteering their time to support student research: 

    • Judith Canner, Professor, CSU Monterey Bay
    • Kathleen Godfrey, Associate Dean, CSU Monterey Bay
    • Arun Jani, Assistant Professor, CSU Monterey Bay
    • Rob Drezner, Professor, Monterey Peninsula College
    • Amelia Olson, Biologist / Permitting Analyst, Padre Associates Inc.
    • Manny Ezcurra, Curator of Fish and Invertebrates, Monterey Bay Aquarium
    • Sam Robinson, Associate Professor, CSU Monterey Bay
    • Sara Rubin, Editor, Monterey County Weekly
    • Bruce Delgado, Mayor, Botanist, City of Marina and Fort Ord National Monument

    Summer Research Symposium Sneak Peek

    On Thursday, August 11 at 10:00 a.m. 4 students, representing psychology, business, and computer science, will present their summer research virtually. 
    Time Student Presentation Title
    10:00am  Kai Larrieu Virus risk assessment for 10 common weedy species in California
    10:15am Angelica May Amita Brand Reputation and Social Involvement: Consumers' response toward brand efforts in social advocacy
    10:30am Sofia Christofi Employer and Student Discrepancies: Undergraduates’ Perceptions and Knowledge of Essential Skills in the Workplace
    10:45am Keshav Gupta RNA Motif Subfamily Web Service

    Summer Research Symposium Schedule of Events

    • 8:30 - 9:00am | Registration & Coffee
    • 9:00 - 9:15am | Opening Remarks -- College of Arts, Humanities, and Social Science Building, Room 1401
    • 9:15 - 10:30am | Oral Presentations -- Rooms 1203, 1204, 1301, 1302
    • 10:30 - 10:45am | Break
    • 10:45 - 11:45am | Oral Presentations -- Rooms 1203, 1204, 1301, 1302
    • 11:30 - 12:00pm | Lunch
    • 12:00 - 1:00pm | Poster Presentations (odd) -- Tanimura & Antle Library
    • 1:00 - 2:00pm | Poster Presentations (even) -- Tanumura & Antle Library
    • 2:00 - 2:15pm | Transition
    • 2:15 - 2:45pm | Oral Presentations -- Rooms 1204, 1301
    • 2:45 - 3:00pm | Transition
    • 3:00 - 3:30pm | Closing Remarks & Awards Presentation -- College of Arts, Humanities, and Social Science Building, Room 1401

    Session 1: Room 1203 Moderated by Corey Garza

    Time Student Name Presentation Title
    9:15am Manaal Iqbal Investigating Northern Anchovy Growth & Age Patterns Through Otoliths
    9:30am Jonah Gier Spatial Variation of Sea Star Recovery in Response to Sea Star Wasting Disease
    9:45am Ana Arosemena Phylogenetics in Trematodes
    10:00am Matt Biermann Quantifying symbiont communities within Galápagos Pocillopora corals
    10:15am Deo Scott Physiological Processes and Energetics of Ostrea lurida During Brooding

    Session 2: Room 1204 Moderated by Laura Good

    Time Student Name Presentation Title
    9:15am Gabby Muniz Distinguishing Phytoplankton Taxonomy Using Satellite Remote Sensing Along the California Coastal Region
    9:30am Daravuth Tep The Effects of Microalgae Density on the Growth and Survivorship of Olympia Oyster Larvae
    9:45am Meg Shah Survival and growth of Salicornia pacifica transplants in a Southern California salt marsh
    10:00am Holly Hoffbauer Kinematic characteristics and energetic efficiency of  underwater tail slaps from killer whales (Orcinus orca) in northern Norway
    10:15am Cris Ramos Utilizing soil amendments to promote seed germination of Pickleweed (Salicornia pacifica) and observing present abundance in Hester Marsh

    Session 3: Room 1301 Moderated by Natasha Oehlman

    Time Student Name Presentation Title
    9:15am Nikole Babcock A Systemic Endemic: The Harmful Impacts of Anti-LGBTQ+ Legislation in Educational Systems
    9:30am Paul Stephens Neurophysiological Responses to Cognitive Load During Learning and Memory via Eye Tracking Technology
    9:45am Devon McCauley How the Biopolitics of Settler Colonialism Results in the Dehumanization and Commodification of Adoptees
    10:00am Vasiliki "Kiki" Iden Surveying Student Selection: A Guidebook for Representation

    Session 4: Room 1302 Moderated by Alli Cramer

    Time Student Name Presentation Title
    9:15am Lizbeth Amador Purple Reign: Spatial variation of intertidal Strongylocentrotus purpuratus across the Monterey Bay Peninsula
    9:30am Chris Shenoy Correlating Symbiont Community Makeup and Differential Expression of Genes Linked to Growth and Structure with heat and cold stress in Galapagos Pocillopora spp.
    9:45am Gabe Mercado Developing Simplified Methods for Sampling & Analysing Freshwater Microplastics from Urban & Agricultural Sources in Monterey, CA
    10:00am Olivia Bible The Force of Waves on Rock: “Substrate Mobility” as a Proxy for Surfgrass Distribution in Central California
    10:15am Miriam Moreno Arundo donax removals affect ground-dwelling macroinvertebrate diversity within the Salinas River

    Session 5: Room 1203 Moderated by Corey Garza

    Time Student Name Presentation Title
    10:45am Hailey Greenleaf Modeling the pathways and relative contributions of microplastics from oceanic and riverine sources in the Arctic Ocean
    11:00am Sarah Pierce Examining shifts in carbon to nitrogen ratios of two brown seaweeds, Dictyota spp Halopteris scoparia under carbon dioxide gradient
    11:15am Ann Gobei-Bacaylan Coral reef fish assemblages and grazing patterns in relation to shark abundance variation
    11:30am Ezekiel Santillan The effects of deep sea mining on midwater organisms

    Session 6: Room 1204 Moderated by Alli Cramer

    Time Student Name Presentation Title
    10:45am Michelle Moczulski Blue Marlin Behavior Patterns in the Eastern Tropical Pacific
    11:00am Julia Rakowsky Establishing a Framework for Stewardship-based Coral Reef Restoration
    11:15am Cannon Cline Effects of Wave Force on Purple Sea Urchin (Strongylocentrotus purpuratus) Distribution in Central California
    11:30am Seth Staten Spatial Changes in Sediment Composition in the Guaymas Basin

    Session 7: Room 1301 Moderated by Jessica Bautista

    Time Student Name Presentation Title
    10:45am Emilia Lepe Pigment Specific Identification of Western Lake Erie
    11:00am Robert Hays Does U2AF1S34F Ameliorate KRASG12V Oncogene Induced Senescence Within Human Bronchial Cells?
    11:15am Paige Siegel Cannery Row: A refuge for Pisaster ochraceus
    11:30am Dominic Villarreal Improving the design and user interface for a field-based coral thermal toleranceassessment system

    Session 8: Room 1302 Moderated by Laura Good

    Time Student Name Presentation Title
    10:45am Luke Najarian Programming Design and Performance Evaluation of a New Seawater Nitrate and Nitrite Analyzer
    11:00am Cara Rankin Using Passive Acoustic Monitoring of Sperm Whales (Physeter macrocephalus) to Characterize Vocal and Foraging Behaviors in Relation to Vessel Noise in Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary
    11:15am Trevor Thompson Assessing the Impact of Climate Change On Harbor Seal (Phoca vitulina) Populations in Elkhorn Slough
    11:30am Chelsea Eakins Changing Hydrology in Elkhorn Slough: Measuring Current Flow to Estimate the Modern-Day Tidal Prism

    Session 9: Room 1204 Moderated by Alison Haupt

    Time Student Name Presentation Title
    2:15pm Sofia Gluskin Spatial Variation of Intertidal Sea Urchin Reproductive Capacity Across Hopkins Marine Station
    2:30pm Audrey Sarin Sea Urchin Culling in the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary

    Session 10: Room 1301  Moderated by Morgan Raimondo

    Time Student Name Presentation Title
    2:15pm Alexandra "Lexi" Yokomizo Revealing how wildfires can affect river sediments and chemistry during droughts and after precipitation
    2:30pm Aleah Adame Understanding the Biodiversity of Avian Species through the process of Bird Banding

  • We are excited for the 8th Annual Summer Research Symposium on August 13, 2021! Our second Virtual Research Symposium will consist of a morning and afternoon session each offering five different academic disciplines to choose from moderated by UROC Staff. The Symposium kicks off at 10:00 AM PST for the morning session and 1:00 PM PST for the afternoon session. Check back later for the schedule of student presenters. 

    Each undergraduate researcher will have 10 minutes to present their research live followed by a 5-minute Q&A. There will be a moderator for each session who will introduce presenters and monitor the chat throughout the presentation and during the Q&A. Presentations will not start early.

    Special Presentations

    The following presentations will be held on Instagram Live via UROC's Instagram page. Follow our Instagram at uroc_csumb to watch them. 

    Date & Time Presenter Presentation Title Research Tagline
    August 6, 3:00pm Wendy Feng Reframing Environmental Education to include Asian Americans  Understanding why Asian Americans have been left out of the environmental movement and how do we center their experience?  
    August 6, 6:30pm Leta Dawson Recovery of Black Abalone Populations in Monterey County Are black abalone populations any closer to reaching the CA Fish and Wildlife criteria?
    August 9, 2:00pm Amelia Parker Exploring COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy in Seaside, CA, in college-aged Black and Latinx communities Understanding causes of vaccine hesitancy in college-aged students to combat low rates of COVID-19 vaccinations
    August 10, 5:15pm Jordan Velasco The Novel Application of Virtual Reality: Quantifying Patterns in the Distribution of Temperate Kelp Forest Fishes through VR and Traditional Underwater Visual Census We've got the fish. Take a look around!
    August 11, 6:00pm  Mary Sullivan  The issue with Film School The failure to educate our future storytellers how to critically and creatively analyze and expand on our society 

     

    Morning Sessions

    Session 1: Department of Biology & Chemistry

    Time Presenter(s) Presentation Title Research Tagline
    10:10 Avalon Surratt Bioremediation of Pesticides: Applying Molecular Genomic Techniques to Uncover Efficient, Eco-Friendly Methods of Cleaning Agricultural Waste How can we clean toxic agricultural waste at a fast pace and be environmentally safe?
    10:25 Rimki Barua Harvesting of Fog Water Spend wisely and harvest fog water
    10:40 Robert Hays Potential Biofuel Solutions Through the Isolation and Characterization of Novel Catalase Enzymes from Cow Rumen Can cows bring the future of renewable energy?
    10:55 Alma Leon Observing Beaked Whale Foraging Behavior with Acoustic Localization What do whales do when no one is watching?
    11:10 Cassandra Tice Assessing the Sensitivity of Indigenous Pythium spp. from the Salinas Valley to the Fungicide Mefenoxam  Are local populations of Pythium spp. susceptible to commercial fungicides? 
    11:25 Jade Betancourt Effects of Hypoxia on the Physiology of Juvenile Flatfishes Will lowered oxygen levels contribute to flatfish species abundance?

    Session 2: Department of Computer Science; Department of Mathematics

    Time Presenter(s) Presentation Title Research Tagline
    10:10 Daniel Jacoby The Relationship between Computational Complexity and Energy Efficiency of Common Algorithms We are going to save the world, by reducing the energy used by even the smallest of programs!
    10:25 Keyoni Mcnair Gauging Student Interest: Computer Science Interest Survey Results What are students interested in Computer Science interested in?
    10:40 Michael Haidar EEG Data With Time vs Frequency Domains An evaluation of EEG data in time vs frequency domains for the use of Brain-Computer Interface
    10:55 Cobey Davis African American Students and their Mathematics College Preparatory Readiness Are African American students prepared for college mathematics through high school preparatory courses?


    Session 3: Psychology Department

    Time Presenter(s) Presentation Title Research Tagline
    10:10

    Melissa-Ann Lagunas; Courtney Crouse; Claudia Rocha

    		 Cannabis Use and Perceptions Among College Students in California Students find relief using cannabis as a treatment or medication
    10:25 Brooklyn Greene Mental Health Education in Black Communities Mental health education among Black youth is lacking, which results in the high statistics of poor mental health, and suicide rates. What does health education do to change these statistics? And what is the most effective way to implement these systems?
    10:40 Gagandeep Choongh Examining women's empowerment in India: Takeaways from conducting research and data collection abroad A case study on conducting cross-cultural research in India
    10:55 Angel Diaz Decreased physical activity during the COVID-19 pandemic associates with increased stress, anxiety and impoverished academic performance in undergraduate students This is your brain on exercise: a closer look at the impacts of stress, anxiety, and academic performance during the covid-19 pandemic
    11:10 Spencer Winter Exploring The Neural Processes of Perceptual Decision Making How does our brain make decisions for us? 

    Session 4: Department of Marine Science

    Time Presenter(s) Presentation Title Research Tagline
    10:10 Paige Siegel Sea star species along the Monterey Peninsula Trillions of stars in the universe, but how many sea stars are in the ocean?
    10:25 Stephanie Stephens Everyone’s Harvest Research Team: Summer Progress  Health education, food insecurity, farmers market, social safety net, COVID-19
    10:40 Paulina Cadena

    The role of symbiont community on Galapagos coral thermal tolerance

    		 The symbionts on coral have a bigger role than you think
    10:55 Emily Vidusic; Kaitlin Rooney Rise of the Urchins: Monitoring size structure and population density along the Monterey Peninsula Intertidal How has size structure and population density of purple sea urchins changed over time at various intertidal sites? 

    Session 5: College of Business

    Time Presenter(s) Presentation Title Research Tagline
    10:10 Eduardo Aparicio

    Espoused organizational and team culture values as antecedents of protection motivation among IT employees

    		 Impact of the dimensions of organizational culture and team culture on the cognitive ability of the employees to appraise threat and coping motivation associated with information security compliance
    10:25 Athena Lee Enforcing the Screen Time and Technology Usage of Children: Evaluating the Impact of Parental Perception of Technology, Locus of Control and Children Daily Usage of Technology How does the parental perception of technology and locus of control impact their view on enforcement of screen time and technology usage by their children?
    10:40 Zah-Rah La Tour Coming soon!   Coming soon!  
    10:55 Erika Hernandez-Gonzalez Green skepticism: Examining the role of social media influencers on consumer attitudes toward green brands Impact of social media influencers on green brands
    11:10 Saray Garcia Business for 2030: A content analysis of firm’s statements on the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) Business Today: How are firms enacting sustainable development goals across countries?
    11:25 Angelica May Amita The Empowering Role of Anti-Domestic Violence Messages: Evaluating the Effectiveness of Public Service Announcements and Social Media Platforms  How do the roles of traditional vs. modern media play in social issues like Domestic Violence? 

    Afternoon Sessions

    Session 6: Department of Biology & Chemistry

    Time Presenter(s) Presentation Title Research Tagline
    1:10 Grace Hardy Evaluation of Anaerobic Soil Disinfestation and Pathogen Suppressive Microbial Inoculants For White Rot Management  How can we save garlic fields without harmful chemicals and pesticides? 
    1:25 Vicky Ordaz Garcia Raising Covid-19 Awareness for Teens  I got the SHOT
    1:40 Morgan Raimondo Optimization of Laboratory Methods to Isolate and Characterize Soil Streptomyces Digging for the answers: How soil microbiomes can influence crop health
    1:55 Chenelle Gueverra Evolutionary processes that drive fur color in Chinchilla lanigera and other rodents

    How does the gene mc1r influence the Chinchilla lanigera’s fur color? 
    2:10 Conor Rickard Investigating functional redundancy among PLK receptor kinases in the Arabidopsis root Digging into root growth

    Session 7: Department of Applied Environmental Science

    Time Presenter(s) Presentation Title Research Tagline
    1:10 Summer Alinaeem Patterns of Longtime Fog Variability at Fort Ord National Monument A foggy future: how fog patterns affect Monterey's natural biome
    1:25 Alyssa Schaer Indicator species composition depends on river salinity What happens to freshwater bugs as salinity increases?
    1:40 Lexi Yokomizo Revealing how wildfires can affect river sediments and chemistry  Things are heating up: How wildfires affect watersheds 
    1:55 Monica Urias The relationship between climate change concerns and women’s intention to have children Climate change affects women and their desire to have children
    2:10 Gretchen Wichman

    The influence of salinity on leaf-litter breakdown rates in tidal streams

    		 Aquatic microbes munching on fallen leaves in rivers connected to the ocean
    2:25 Judah Young Are small water systems within Monterey County really safe to drink?  Dirty drinking water? H 2 Oh Nooo! 

    Session 8: Psychology Department

    Time Presenter(s) Presentation Title Research Tagline
    1:10 Nevan Bell Major and minor differences in expression: How perceived emotions of students are influenced by styles of music and backgrounds Does music change the way students perceive and express their emotions?
    1:25 Jennifer Lopez Abolitionist Practices in Social Work

    How do social workers draw on the genealogies of abolition to center liberatory practices within the carceral context of their field? 
    1:40 Nikole Karis Monterey County LGBTQ+ Historical Archives and Special Collections: A Virtual Exhibit Unearthing Monterey County's rich, and often untold, LGBTQ+ histories during the late 70's to the mid 90's
    1:55

    Megan Dearie; Rodi Edil; Paul Dommert

    		 What skills have you developed? Psychology Undergrads' Understanding of Their Major Learning Outcomes"  Psychology Undergrads - Are you ready for what comes after graduation? 

    Session 9: Department of Marine Science

    Time Presenter(s) Presentation Title Research Tagline
    1:10 Mariah Daniel Animal-Borne Video Analyses of Pursuit Strategies in White Sharks (Carcharodon carcharias) How are visual cues perceived, responded to, and how does this interplay influence White shark predatory behavior?
    1:25 Danielle Anderson Detecting the Effects of Rising Atmospheric Carbon Dioxide on Ocean Carbon Dioxide in the California Current System using Satellite Remote Sensing Observations Will climate change doom phytoplankton? Or make it KA-BLOOM?!
    1:40 Vaughn Compas Fog Detection: comparing efficiencies of methods Is GOES imagery a sufficient method to detect fog?
    1:55 Kaiku Kaholoaa Spatial and Demographic Differences of the Hawaiian Coral Species: Porites lichen How does latitude affect coral populations?
    2:10 Maggie Seida An Analysis of ROV External Lighting for 3D Modeling of Artificial Substrate.  N/A
    2:25 Silvia Vasquez; Amalia Seigel Endosymbiont communities affect coral thermal tolerance in American Samoa  Pollution and the Symbiont Shuffle: The dance of coral thermotolerance  

    Session 10: Department of Cinematic Arts & Technology; Schools of Humanities & Communication, Social & Behavioral Sciences, Global Studies, and World Langague & Cultures

    Time Presenter(s) Presentation Title Research Tagline
    1:10 Lily Amador; Korina McKinley Localization of History and Civics in Salinas Ethnic Studies Classrooms Centering Community: Learning From and With the Students & Community of Salinas
    1:25 Darchelle Burnett Within the Blood Line: A Comparison of African American and Native American Educational History  Changing Indigenous Narrative by shedding a light on forgotten history
    1:40 Chase Paparotti

    Animation: A Credible Investment Education

    		 Who taught you about the Stock Market?
    1:55 Kelly Christensen Coming soon!  Coming soon! 
    2:10 Hana Jacinto The Effects of Training and Language Learning Background on Japanese Sound Recognition by English Native Speakers How can we enhance English speakers’ skills to distinguish unique Japanese sounds?
    2:25 Ulises Duenaz “I want to get off”; Hookup motives among LGBTQ+ Young Adults What motivates Queer and Trans Young to Adults hookup? Does it relate with heterosexual hookup research?

    Session 11: Department of Kinesiology; Department of Health, Human Services and Public Policy; STEM Education

    Time Presenter(s) Presentation Title Research Tagline
    1:10 Paula Beltran Reproductive health challenges: The barriers to access and/or obtain an abortion Your body, your choice, barriers and access to care
    1:25 Jennifer Berberian Erasing Anti-Black Racism: Critical Consciousness for Equity and Advocates Raising awareness on anti-Black racism, bias, organized culture, and micro aggression
    1:40 Viviana Vigil Limiting Screen Time in STEM Education Better living through limiting screen time in STEM education
    1:55 Kenneth Tran The Cost of STEM Education: How Much Should We Be Spending? Exploring the costs of hands-on learning
    2:10 Eric DeSoto Variables that could lead the CSUMB Makerspace to new opportunities The Benefits of Library-Based Makerspaces in Identity Formation in Higher Education

     

  • We are excited for the 7th Annual Summer Research Symposium 2020 on August 7, 2020! Our first every Virtual Research Symposium will consist of a morning and afternoon session each offering five different academic disciplines to choose from moderated by UROC Staff. The Symposium kicks off at 10:00 AM for the morning session and 1:00 PM for the afternoon session.

    Each undergraduate researcher has submitted a 10-minute pre-recorded oral presentation and will be shown during each undergraduate researcher's assigned time followed by a live 5-minute Q&A. There will be a moderator for each session who will introduce presenters and monitor the chat throughout the presentation and during the Q&A. Presentations will not start early.

    Morning Session

    College of Science: Biology and Chemistry, Moderated by Dr. Corin White

    Time Student Presenter Presentation Title
    10:00am Introduction Introduction
    10:10am Emma Teall Environmental DNA as a tool for wildlife conservation
    10:25am Saul Garcia Wildlife impacts from recreational activity in response to Covid-19
    10:40am Kaiki Kaholoaa Species-Specific Vital Rates in Hawaiian Corals Pocillopora ligulata and Porites lichen
    10:55am Karla Jasso Optimization of transparent synthetic soil protocols for in situ visualization of plant infection with soilborne pathogens
    11:10am Nicholas Heyer An Investigation of The Intronic Regions of NOTCH2NL a Human Specific Neocortical Gene

    College of Science: Biology and Chemistry, Mathematics, Computer Science; College of Business, Moderated by Dr. Jessica Bautista

    Time Student Presenter Presentation Title
    10:00am Introduction Introduction
    10:10am Gabriel Chavez A Generating Function For f λ(m) given only the λ and gcd (n, m) of a SYT
    10:25am Saray Garcia The Effects of Identity-Congruent Messages on Sustainable Food Consumption
    10:40am Michael Haidar Using EEG and convolutional neural network for information retrieval
    10:55am Emily Beasley Bioinformatics and Pathway Analysis on the Aging Brain

    College of Arts, Humanities and Social Science: Psychology, Moderated by Dr. Heather Haeger

    Time Student Presenter Presentation Title
    10:00am Introduction Introduction
    10:10am Trevor Stevens Being homeless: Using virtual reality to generate empathy in college students
    10:25am Selina Espinoza Cannabis Perceptions of Risks, Benefits, Spirituality, and Impact of COVID-19 Among College Students and Veterans
    10:40am Maria Reyes Does fatalism moderate the relation between a Culturally Adapted Cognitive-Behavioral Stress Management Intervention and Aspects of Benefit Finding among Spanish-Speaking Latina Breast Cancer Survivors?
    10:55am Natassia Aleman Caregivers' Effect on the Amount of Time Children Spent at Gender-Typed Exhibits in a Children's Museum

    College of Science: Marine Science, Moderated by Eric Barajas

    Time Student Presenter Presentation Title
    10:00am  Introduction  Introduction
    10:10am Maxwell Rudelic Effects of combined acidification and hypoxia on fast-start response in juvenile rockfish 
    10:25am Melissa Vezard Comparing Changes of Vital Rates for Corals in Maui Over Time 
    10:40am Maria Rocha Classification and Mapping of Marine Habitats Using Drone Data 
    10:55am Maggie Seida Caño Island biological reserve 
    11:10am Laney Klunis Size Matters: Variation in Phytoplankton Biovolume Observed in Remote Sensing Imagery Across a Putative Gradient Nearshore to Offshore of Southern California 
    11:25am Casey Juliussen Effects of S. purpuratus on kelp forest recovery

    College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences: Humanities & Communication, Social & Behavioral Sciences, Moderated by Natasha Oehlman

    Time Student Presenter(s) Presentation Title
    10:00am Introduction Introduction
    10:10am Angela Steele Climate Change in National and State Parks of the Monterey Bay Region: How Small, Everyday Acts Can Make a Big Difference
    10:25am Amelia Parker and Jesus Orozco Higher education is not immune to messaging mishaps: A qualitative rhetorical analysis of COVID-19 messaging on U.S. campuses
    10:40am Sebastian Mireles Pornography and Capitalist Ideology: The Commodification of Sex
    10:55am Melyssa Spandri Hurricane Preparedness Planning for Low-Income/Homeless Citizens During the COVID-19 Pandemic
    11:10am Darchelle Burnett Comparison of Afro Indigenous to African American and Native American student research models in Higher Education
    11:25am Xenia Enriquez H2A Guest Workers in the Salinas Valley and Central Coast Valley during the Covid-19 Pandemic

    Afternoon Session 

    College of Science: Biology & Chemistry, Applied Environmental Science, Moderated by Dr. Corin White

    Time Student Presenter Presentation Title
    1:00pm Introduction Introduction
    1:10pm Silvia Vasquez Coral thermotolerance
    1:25pm Jada Carter The Genetic Variation Underlying the Salt Stress Response in Oryza glaberrima Plant Evolutionary Genomics
    1:40pm Carlos Rosas Investigating the roles of LIP1 and LAC1 in the early G1 phase of Saccharomyces cerevisiae
    1:55pm Hannah Carrell Correlation between California bat activity and hexapod activity at a site along the Salinas River
    2:10pm Rebecca Munster Algebraically predicting percent compositions of eutectic solutions: can the perfect solution be predicted before we make it?
    2:25pm Alicia Khoun The Breeding Phenology of Wildlife on The Santa Lucia Preserve

    College of Science: Applied Environmental Science, Moderated by Dr. Jessica Bautista

    Time Student Presenter(s) Presentation Title
    1:00pm Introduction Introduction
    1:10pm Sarah Munro-Kennedy SARS-CoV-2 and Larus occidentalis: How the CoronaVirus Pandemic has Affected Western Gull Behavior and Foraging in Monterey
    1:25pm Ekatarina Patrice The role of epiphytic lichens in facilitating arthropod and avian communities within oak woodland habitat cascades
    1:40pm Conor Rickard, Wendy Feng, Alan Sevin Analysis of small-scale, spatial variability within high-density arrays of passive fog collectors to determine the optimal location for for collection
    1:55pm Armando Flores Effects of anaerobic soil disinfestation on volatile organic compound production in strawberry fields
    2:10pm Trinity Gomez CSUMB Botanical Garden Project: A Framework for Learning Laboratories on Campus
    2:25pm Gretchen Wichman Make it rain: Nutrient dynamics of riparian and stream ecosystems during simulated rainfall events
    2:40pm Ahtziri Carranza-Medrano, Chris Shatto Climate adaptation planning in an agricultural community: Results from Pajaro Valley outreach 

    College of Arts, Humanities and Social Science: Cinematic Arts & Technology, Psychology, Moderated by Dr. Heather Haeger

    Time Student Presenter(s) Presentation Title
    1:00pm Introduction Introduction
    1:10pm Stephany Barrera The Making of Emotional Cut Out Animation
    1:25pm Gagandeep Choongh Motivating responsible behaviors during COVID-19 through effective messaging: Perspective from CLT
    1:40pm Danielle Flores LGBTQ+ Casual Sex: Foundational Investigations for Improving Health and Well-being of Vulnerable Populations
    1:55pm Zaida Lopez, Lea Carrasco Association between MMPI-2-RF Somatic/Cognitive Scales and medical diagnoses among forensic psychiatric inpatients
    2:10pm Angel Diaz Interaction of Physical Fitness, Inflammation and Cognitive Performance in Healthy Young Adults
    2:25pm Cameron Battersby Learning Outcomes Help Students Understand What They Learned

    College of Science: Marine Science, Moderated by Eric Barajas

    Time Student Presenter Presentation Title
    1:00pm Introduction Introduction
    1:10pm Emilia Lepe Monitoring microphytobenthos biodiversity in intertidal mudflats of the San Francisco Bay
    1:25pm Jennifer Grossman The Range of Arm Flexibility of Octopus vulgaris in the Field
    1:40pm Ally Morris Testing the fidelity of global biogeochemical algorithms in the California Current System to study carbon cycling
    1:55pm Jordan Velasco The Novel Application of Virtual Reality: Quantifying Patterns in the Distribution of Temperate Kelp Forest Fishes through VR and Traditional Underwater Visual Census
    2:10pm Maite Gato-Fuentes Coral symbiont mediation of the effects of sedimentation and water flow on corals
    2:25pm Jasmin Johnson Effects of crown-of-thorns, Acanthaster planci, predation of corals on the survivorship of reef fishes

    College of Health Sciences & Human Services: Kinesiology, Collaborative Health & Human Services; College of Science: STEM Education, Moderated by Natasha Oehlman

    Time Student Presenter(s) Presentation Title
    1:00pm Introduction Introduction
    1:10pm Maximillian Gastelum-Morales Exercise is Medicine® On Campus: Employee Circuit Training Course Increases Physical Activity
    1:25pm Tzu-Ling Tseng  Qualitative study of cancer screening utilization among Latinos in a remote agricultural community
    1:40pm Eric De Soto Variables that affect the success of first generation college students in a Geoscience STEM REU Program
    1:55pm Lily Amador, Krysta Malech, Viviana Vigil Successful Online Transitions: How Instructors Supported Students during COVID-19
    2:10pm Mackenzie Price, Vicki Meraz Assessment of student work in a chemistry course series
    2:25pm Matthew Dunham The relationship between student attitudes and their conceptual understanding of statistics
    2:40pm Paulina Cadena Creating Educational Animated Videos and Comic Strips for Use in Introductory Oceanography Classes
  • Summer Symposium Banner

    Summer Research Symposium August 9, 2019

    8:30 - 9:00 | Registration & Coffee

    9:00 - 9:15 | Opening Remarks

    9:15 - 10:30 | Oral Presentations - Session 1: REU, Session 2: UROC

    10:30 - 10:45 | 15-minute Break

    10:45 - 12:30 | Oral Presentations - Session 3: REU, Session 4: UROC

    12:30 - 1:15 | 45-minute Lunch

    1:15 - 2:15 | Oral Presentations - Session 5: NPS

    2:15 - 2:45 | Mentor Appreciation, Acknowledgements, & Closing Remarks

    2:45 - 4:00 | Poster Presentations - UROC, NPS, and Hartnell STEM Interns

    Expand each section below for a detailed schedule of each oral presentation

    Session 1: REU

    Location: Room 1188

    Title Presenter, Mentor, and Title
    9:15 Rebecca Alisandratos & Dr. Gitte McDonald. "The Effects of Dive Behavior on the Heart Rates of Northern Elephant Seas."
    9:30 Nicholas Anaya-Licea & Dr. Chris Lowe. "The organization of the nervous system in a Hemichordate species, Saccoglossus kowalevskii."
    9:45 Morganne Borsh & Dr. Alison Haupt. "Implications of purple sea urchin (Strongylocentrotus purpuratus) population dynamics on giant kelp forests in Southern California."
    10:00 Kelsey Nichols, Dr. Jim Barry, & Dr. Steve Litvin. "The effect of predator presence and environmental conditions on the metabolic rate of red abalone, Haliotis Rufescens.." 
    10:15 Lucero Dorantes & Dr. Jamie MacMahan. "Wave Energy Reflection at a Rocky Coast."

    Session 2: UROC

    Location: Room 1180

    Time Presenter, Mentor, and Title
    9:15 Juan Pacheco Marcial, Matthew Murphy, & Dr. Mrinal Sinha. "You belong here: How Latinx college students use Community Cultural Wealth." 
    9:30 Sonia Olmos, Andrea-Teresa Arenas, Eloisa Gómez, Yolanda Garza, & Paul Hedges. "The Latina Task Force. A Lost Piece of U.S. History."
    9:45 Bryant Taylor, & David Reichard. "Demeter: A Closer Look at the History of Lesbian Feminism on the Monterey Peninsula."
    10:00 Sarah A. Ricks, Meng-Hsien (Jenny) Lin, Shwadhin Sharma, & Akshaya Vijayalakshmi. "Social Media Use of Mothers in India: Empowering Mother’s Spending on Children’s Education."
    10:15 Sebastian Mireles, & Mridula Mascarenhas. "What Should I Do? : A Look Into the Discourse of Morality from Contemporary Americans." 

    Session 3: REU

    Location: Room 1188

    Time Presenter, Mentor, and Title
    10:45 Ciara Dorsay & Dr. Tom Murphee. "Predicting Wildfire Favorable Conditions in California at Sub Seasonal Lead Times Using Remote Predictors." 
    11:00 Cindy Matuch & Dr. Larry Crowder. "Life history patterns and spatio-temporal shifts in the diets of albacore tuna (Thunnus alalunga) from a global literature analysis." 
    11:15 Samantha Champ & Dr. Arlene Haffa. "Testing for Water and Sediment Contamination in the Monterey Peninsula and Salinas Watershed for Select Persistent Organic Pollutants."
    11:30 Hayden Smith & Dr. Jeremy Goldbogen. "The Physics of Whale Movement: Drag and Thrust Calculations to Measure Whale Efficiency."
    11:45 Norman Sween, Dr. Ken Smith, & Dr. Crissy Huffard. "Munidopsis Density Relating to Particulate Organic Carbon Flux Events between Time Periods [1989-2010] to [2011-2017]."
    12:00 Cami Wilson & Dr. Holly Bowers. "Detection of Harmful Algal Bloom Species On Site Through Optimal DNA Extraction Methodology Coupled with qPCR."

    Session 4: UROC

    Location: Room 1180

    Time Presenter, Mentor, and Title
    10:45 Kayla Chapman, Jessica Turner, Dr. Lopez-Littleton, & Dr. John Olson. "An exploratory analysis of socioeconomic, environmental and behavioral factors affecting infant mortality."
    11:00 Kameron Strickland & James Lindholm. "Variable Microhabitat Associations and Body Orientations of Kelp Rockfish (Sebastes atrovirens) Along The Reef-sand Interface At Central Californian Reefs."
    11:15 Megan Salomonson & James Lindholm. "Microhabitat associations of post-settlement juvenile rockfishes: utilization of transient drift kelp extending from the kelp forest boundary."
    11:30 Elya Kandahari, Parker J. Smith, & John C. Goeltz. "Workshop in Methodology in Training Undergraduates in Electrochemistry."
    11:45 Marisa Thompson, Wendy Morrison. "Let’s shed some light on the situation: Assessing the effectiveness of net illumination as a bycatch reduction solution for sustainable fisheries." 

    Session 5: NPS

    Location: Room 1188

    Time Presenter, Mentor, and Title
    1:15 Andrew Reyes & Dr. Andrew Nieto. "Synthesis and Characterization of Bulk Boron Nitride Nanoplatelets."
    1:30 Patrick Aceves, Nathalie Daoud, David Cardenas, Dr. Claudia Luhrs, & Dr. Richa Agrawal. "Improving The Conductivity of Carbon Nanotubes and Synthesizing Graphene Foam For Use in Supercapacitors."
    1:45 Erik Skalnes & Dr. Neil Row. "Application of Poker AI to Military Mission Strategy and a Novel Method for Detection of Unknown Unknowns Therein."
    2:00 Yousef Al-Shinnawi, Felix Fagan, Cathy Hsu, & Dr. James Newman. "Space Systems Academic Group: High Altitude Balloon and Satellite Communication Systems."