Symposium Synergy
Belen Espinoza listened intently as Thomas Do, a junior majoring in chemistry at USC Dornsife, explained his research into how a cobalt catalyst can be used to convert carbon dioxide into more useful derivatives. Practical — and exciting — applications include curbing greenhouse gas emissions and levels in the atmosphere by recycling CO2 into alternative energy sources.
Espinoza, a senior at Foshay Learning Center, was among 40 high school students from four inner city Los Angeles schools who got an inspiring taste of the research opportunities available to undergraduates at USC as they toured the 2015 Undergraduate Symposium for Scholarly and Creative Work.
“I was thinking about using cobalt to reduce carbon dioxide while I was at swim practice a couple of weeks ago, so seeing Thomas’ research here today is really exciting,” Espinoza said. A participant in USC’s Neighborhood Academic Initiative (NAI), Espinoza has been accepted to USC Dornsife to study biochemistry in the Fall.
Held on April 15 at USC’s University Park campus, the annual symposium provides USC undergraduates with a unique forum to exhibit and share examples of their significant research and creativity. More than 250 students participated in this year’s event, presenting their work through poster/panel sessions, art exhibits and electronic media.
Undergraduates competed for more than $10,000 in prizes, which were awarded at a ceremony recognizing the most outstanding projects, with first prize awards of $1,000 and second prize awards of $500 in each of five categories — arts, humanities, social sciences, life sciences and physical sciences, math, and engineering.
This year’s annual symposium was the 17th to be held at USC, but the first to open its doors to visits from high school students. The community engagement aspect of the event was sponsored by the USC Dornsife Office of the Dean, which first established the Taskforce for First-Generation College Students in 2013. The taskforce brings together professionals from offices throughout the university who work directly with students who are the first in their families to attend college.
Senior Beatriz Lopez guides high school students as they tour the symposium. From left, Lopez, Belen Espinoza, Angela Juarez and Daniela Cruz.
“We emphasize high-impact practices, including undergraduate research, and we also focus on community engagement, so we decided, why not combine the two by bringing high school students who are interested in college to the symposium?” said USC Dornsife’s Vice Dean for Diversity and Strategic Initiatives George Sanchez.
After a welcome from Sanchez, the students from Lincoln High School, Synergy Charter High School, Ramón C. Cortines School of Visual and Performing Arts, and Foshay Learning Center listened as USC student volunteers shared their path to college and provided valuable insights on how to succeed as an undergraduate.
The USC student volunteers then led the high school students to the Ronald Tutor Campus Center to tour the symposium exhibition.
There they met USC student presenters and hosts, including Norman Topping scholars, Mellon Mays Undergraduate Fellows, Latino Alumni Association scholars and chapter members from the Society for Advancement of Hispanics/Chicanos and Native Americans in Science.
“So the high school students can see what they have to look forward to when they get to college, we focused on some USC students who come from backgrounds similar to their own and who were also the first in their families to go to college,” said Sanchez, professor of American studies and ethnicity, and history. “Witnessing everyone’s enthusiasm is so exciting.”
Among the volunteer tour guides was senior Beatriz Lopez, a chemistry major at USC Dornsife and a first-generation college student. Lopez, who is planning a career in teaching after completing a Ph.D. in inorganic chemistry at the University of Michigan, is keen to encourage high school students to go into science.
“If we want more scientists we have to start with young people,” she said. “Exposing them to this symposium gives them an idea of all the different research projects undergraduates can do at college and shows them that physical science in particular is a growing field with a lot of applications.”
From left, Belen Espinoza, Bryan Guzman and Sarady Merghani listen as Vice Dean for Diversity and Strategic Initiatives George Sanchez gives them advice on succeeding as an undergraduate.
Do agreed. “I think it’s important to present to high school students because it fuels their curiosity,” he said. “Attending the symposium will help give them a drive to succeed and empower them to go after their futures.”
While many of the high school students said they were keen to explore majors in
STEM subjects (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics), the experience also gave them valuable insights into USC’s wide range of majors.
“I took them to meet our 2015 salutatorian Carrie Moore, who is majoring in creative writing at USC Dornsife,” Sanchez said. “Some of the high school students said they hear so much about science degrees, they didn’t even realize that majoring in English in college was an option. Hearing Carrie talk about her research and her creative writing project, ‘Best Behavior: Stories of the Black Middle Class,’ was eye-opening for them.”
During an informal lunch, Sanchez and the USC student tour guides encouraged the high school students to ask questions and offered tips on how to maximize the college experience. Sanchez talked about his own path to college as a first-generation college student and his current research on the multicultural community of Boyle Heights in East Los Angeles.
NAI student Bryan Guzman, a senior at Foshay Learning Center who is entering USC Dornsife in the Fall, said he learned a great deal from the event.
“I didn’t know you could do research as an undergrad. That makes me all the more excited about coming here,” he said. “Hearing Dr. Sanchez talk, I also learned that as an undergrad you can make college work for you both financially and academically by doing a work-study program in something you are interested in and get a head start on your research.”
Dulce Lopez, a student at Ramón C. Cortines School of Visual and Performing Arts, also found the day inspiring. “I learned that I shouldn’t be afraid to ask for help,” said the junior who has ambitions to be an animal psychologist. “I feel more motivated to come to college now.”
Espinoza said attending the event reaffirmed her commitment to USC.
“Opportunities like visiting this symposium and seeing all these great opportunities for things I could be doing in the next four years is what got me here to USC,” Espinoza said. “I will be the first in my family to go to college. Now I want to set an example for my younger siblings. All of my hard work for the last six years is paying off and I am getting an opportunity to be here. I’m very grateful for that and my parents are very proud.”
Sanchez emphasized the win-win nature of the event for both the USC undergraduates and the high school students.
“Yes, it’s exciting for our students to present their research to professors and graduate students, but to actually be able to present to younger students was really special,” he said. “For high school students it’s revelatory to see not only how to get into college, but also how to succeed in college. And that’s what they really saw here today — success.”
2015 Undergraduate Symposium for Scholarly and Creative Work Winners:
Arts
1st Prize
Max Pittsley, Deborah Bello, Isabella Marie Benavente, Caroline Chiou, Catherine Chooljian, Norman Chootong, Paula Collins, Michael Duan, Quentin Frere-Carossio, Maracel (Mara) Guevarra, Katherine Hood, Fangli (Simon) Hou, Jonathan (Nathan) Iskandar, Patrick Lancaster, Brendan Lobuglio, Boston Mak, Adrian Mendoza, Alexander Morgan, Luke Patterson, Alexis Russell, Emma Smith, Wai Hwa (Ben) Tan, Christopher (Brady) Thomas, Ilani Fay Umel, Jasmine Ying, Alex Lee, and Kial Fukuda (Laguna College of Art and Design)
Project Title: “ElemenTerra”
Faculty Sponsors: Tracy Fullerton of USC School of Cinematic Arts; Geoffery Long of USC Annenberg School of Communication; and Laird Malamed of USC School of Cinematic Arts
2nd Prize
Carrie Moore
Project Title: “Best Behavior: Stories of the Black Middle Class”
Faculty Sponsor: Dana Johnson of English at USC Dornsife
Honorable Mention
William Cherry, Gus Bendinelli, Miranda Due, Michael Effenberger, Peter Franklin, Stephen Helstad, Jonathan Ho, Sarah Huck, William Ilgen, William Merrick, Amir Mojarradi, and Michael Nader
Project Title: “Campbell’s”
Faculty Sponsors: Sheldon Larry and Michael Peyser of USC School of Cinematic Arts
Honorable Mention
Susana Lopera
Project Title: “Exocentricity”
Faculty Sponsor: Karen Koblitz of USC Roski School of Art and Design
Humanities
Interdisciplinary Award
Amanda Semler
Project Title: “Methods of detecting submarine groundwater discharge and its implications for ancient and contemporary civilizations on Catalina Island”
Faculty Sponsor: Lynn Swartz Dodd of archaeology at USC Dornsife
1st Prize
Rosebud Campion
Project Title: “Can Western Art Music be Narrative?”
Faculty Sponsor: Joanna Demers of USC Thornton School of Music
2nd Prize
Nina Castilla, Alleluia Tyus
Project Title: “Hasmonean Prutot: Cast or Struck?”
Faculty Sponsor: Lynn Swartz Dodd of religion at USC Dornsife
Honorable Mention
Cameron Espinoza
Project Title: “Elements of Substance: An Analysis of Dostoyevsky’s Stylistic Techniques in Crime and Punishment and Brothers Karamazov”
Faculty Sponsor: Juvenal Cortes of political science at USC Dornsife
Honorable Mention
Janet Le
Project Title: “Reclaiming Community Space Through Wall Narratives: The Rise of Chicano/a and Latino/a muralism in Pacoima”
Faculty Sponsor: Elda Roman of English at USC Dornsife
Life Sciences
1st Prize
Archana Bettadapur, Clara Hua, Gio (Kevin) Suh
Project Title: “Engineering the Extracellular Matrix for Regulation of Skeletal Muscle Growth and Differentiation”
Faculty Sponsor: Megan McCain of USC Viterbi School of Engineering
2nd Prize
Karthik Vasan
Project Title: “The Role of Class III HDACs in the Growth and Survival of Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia”
Faculty Sponsor: Shou-Jiang Gao of Keck School of Medicine of USC
Honorable Mention
Ryan Heintz
Project Title: “Exercise training reinstates cortico-cortical sensorimotor functional connectivity following striatal lesioning”
Faculty Sponsors: Yumei Guo, Daniel Holschneider and Zhuo Wang of Keck School of Medicine of USC; Jean-Michel Maarek and Yu-Hao Peng of USC Viterbi School of Engineering
Honorable Mention
Kaitlin McGillivray, Vishnu Rao
Project Title: “The Impact of Dosing Strategies and the Tumor Microenvironment on Drug Resistance”
Faculty Sponsor: Shannon Mumenthaler of Keck School of Medicine of USC
Physical Sciences and Engineering
Interdisciplinary Award
Evan Brown
Project Title: “Genetic Algorithm Optimization of Reactive Force Field Parameters in Molecular Dynamics”
Faculty Sponsors: Aiichiro Nakano of physics and astronomy at USC Dornsife and of USC Viterbi School of Engineering; Pankaj Rajak and Chunyang Shen of USC Viterbi
1st Prize
Ellie Hara
Project Title:“Characterization of organic carbon transport in the aftermath of a large earthquake”
Faculty Sponsors: Zhangdong Jin, State Key Laboratory of Loess and Quaternary Geology; Jin Wang, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Xi’an, China; Fei Zhang, Institute of Earth Environment; Joshua West, Gen Li, Will Berelson and Douglas Hammond of earth sciences at USC Dornsife
2nd Prize
Karl Heyer
Project Title: “Developing the Next Generation of Cancer Diagnostics”
Faculty Sponsors: Farzad Jalali-Yazdi and Richard W. Roberts of USC Viterbi School of Engineering
Honorable Mention
Christopher Dougherty, Ryan Miller
Project Title: “The recreation of a unique shrimp’s mechanically induced cavitation bubble”
Faculty Sponsors: Veronica Eliasson of USC Viterbi School of Engineering, Guari Khanolkar, Graduate Collaborator
Honorable Mention
Samuel Kushner-Lenhoff
Project Title: “Low-threshold integrated red microlaser from samarium-doped silica”
Faculty Sponsor: Andrea Armani of USC Viterbi School of Engineering
Social Sciences I
Interdisciplinary Award
Luis Villanueva
Project Title: “The New Entrepreneur — Bridging South Central”
Faculty Sponsor: Lorcan O’Herlihy of USC School of Architecture
1st Prize
William Orr
Project Title: “Reckless and Indiscriminate: The Impact of Japanese Bombing in the Second Sino-Japanese War on pre-World War II American Depictions of Area Bombing”
Faculty Sponsor: Philip Ethington of history at USC Dornsife
2nd Prize
Roxana Ontiveros
Project Title: “Criminalization, Racialization, and Informality: Mexican Immigrant Labor Participation in the South Central and Compton Pallet Industry”
Faculty Sponsor: Pierrette Hondagneu-Sotelo of sociology at USC Dornsife
Honorable Mention
Rachel Jones
Project Title: “We Will Not Be Silent No More: the Case of Canada’s Idle No More and Indigenous Political Resistance in the Digital Age”
Faculty Sponsor: Eliz Sanasarian of political science at USC Dornsife
Honorable Mention
Engie Salama
Project Title: “Automated Curriculum Mapping Using Latent Semantic Analysis”
Faculty Sponsor: Ian Haworth of USC School of Pharmacy
Social Sciences II
Interdisciplinary Award
Hania Adib
Project Title: “Questioning Children about Their Understanding of the Physician’s Role”
Faculty Sponsor: Thomas D. Lyon of USC Gould School of Law
1st Prize
Kristene Hossepian
Project Title: “Community Violence Exposure and the Moderating Effects of Co-parenting”
Faculty Sponsor: Gayla Margolin of psychology at USC Dornsife
2nd Prize
Carolyn Windler
Project Title: “How Purity Beliefs Impact Moral Judgments Regarding Vaccines”
Faculty Sponsor: Jesse Graham of psychology at USC Dornsife
Honorable Mention
Tori Hirata
Project Title: “Habits and Self-Control: An Examination of the Benefit of Habit Performance on Self-Control”
Faculty Sponsors: Jo Ann Farver, Jennifer Labrecque and Wendy Wood of psychology at USC Dornsife
Honorable Mention
Janis Yue
Project Title: “Marijuana and the Mind: Brain Differences between Users and Non-Users”
Faculty Sponsor: Laura Baker of psychology and neuroscience at USC Dornsife
Digital Media
Interdisciplinary Award
Bronte Ficek
Project Title: “A Lecture Recital on the Brain and Music”
Faculty Sponsor: Assal Habibi of the Brain and Creativity Institute at USC Dornsife
1st Prize
Project Title: “ElemenTerra”
Max Pittsley, Deborah Bello, Isabella Marie Benavente, Caroline Chiou, Catherine Chooljian, Norman Chootong, Paula Collins, Michael Duan, Quentin Frere-Carossio, Maracel (Mara) Guevarra, Katherine Hood, Fangli (Simon) Hou, Jonathan (Nathan) Iskandar, Patrick Lancaster, Brendan Lobuglio, Boston Mak, Adrian Mendoza, Alexander Morgan, Luke Patterson, Alexis Russell, Emma Smith, Wai Hwa (Ben) Tan, Christopher (Brady) Thomas, Ilani Fay Umel, Jasmine Ying, Alex Lee, and Kial Fukuda (Laguna College of Art and Design)
Faculty Sponsors: Tracy Fullerton and Laird Malamed of USC School of Cinematic Arts; Geoffery Long of USC Annenberg School for Communication
2nd Prize
Ziyu Ouyang, Yu Chuan Shan
Project Title: “Modeling 3-D Campus and Visualizing Indoor Routing”
Faculty Sponsors: Kyohyouk Kim and John Wilson of the Spatial Sciences Institute at USC Dornsife
Honorable Mention
Kylie Nicholson
Project Title: “Standards of Self: Disordered Thoughts, Disordered Eating, and Eating Disorders”
Faculty Sponsor: DJ Johnson of USC School of Cinematic Arts
Honorable Mention
Linda Wang
Project Title: “Transcultural Reformations: History, Identity, and Politics in Dakar Hip-Hop Culture”
Faculty Sponsor: Karen Tongson of English and gender studies at USC Dornsife
Special Award – USC Schwarzenegger Institute
1st Prize
Joseph Yoo
Project Title: “Cobalt Dithiolene-like Metal Organic Surfaces for Efficient Hydrogen Evolution”
Faculty Sponsors: Andrew Clough, Courtney Downes and Smaranda Marinescu of chemistry at USC Dornsife
2nd Prize
Thomas Do
Project Title: “Proton Assisted Reduction of CO2 by Cobalt Pyridine Amino Macrocycles”
Faculty Sponsors: Alon Chapovetsky and Smaranda Marinescu of chemistry at USC Dornsife.