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2023 Graduate Student Showcase Awards

Welcome to the 2023 Graduate College Awards! We are excited to celebrate the graduate scholarship conducted at Boise State.

Over $17,000 was awarded across three disciplines: Three Minute Thesis, Graduate Mentoring, and Graduate Student Showcase.

Below is the list of the awards presented and award winners.

Awards List

Presidential Scholar Awards

Presidential Scholar – Poster Presentation Award: Sabrina Mead

Mechanical Engineering, M.S.

Project Title: Mechanical Testing of the Pavlik Harness

Presidential Scholar – Performance and Visual Arts Award: Hanna Alyse-Ambriel

Visual Arts, M.F.A.

Project Title: Conceptus

Three Minute Thesis (3MT)

Boise State Finals

1st Place: Adrian Rodriguez — Public Health, M.P.H.

2nd Place: Bridget Bittmann — Hydrologic Sciences, M.S.

3rd Place: Kym Couch — Public Policy and Administration, Ph.D.

Audience Choice: Ashley Leavell — Biology, M.S.

Idaho Statewide Finals

1st Place: Adrian Rodriguez — Public Health, M.P.H.

2nd Place: Bridget Bittmann — Hydrologic Sciences, M.S.

Western Association of Graduate Schools (WAGS)

2nd Place: Adrian Rodriguez — Public Health, M.P.H.

Graduate Mentoring Awards

Graduate College Excellence in Graduate Mentoring

Dr. Diana Doumas — Department of Counselor Education

Dr. Erin Mannen — Department of Mechanical and Biomedical Engineering

Honorable Mentions

Dr. Patricia Hampshire — Department of Early and Special Education

Dr. Rafael da Silva — Department of Organizational Performance and Workplace Learning

Graduate College Excellence in Graduate Student Mentoring Awards

Hallie Maxwell — Visual Arts, M.F.A.

Celin Younan — Biology, M.S.

Graduate College Scholar Awards

Graduate College Scholar – Dean’s Award: Kadence Lynn Anderson

Public Health, M.P.H.

Project Title: Public Health and Incident Command Systems

Graduate College Scholar – Dean’s Award: Kym Couch

Public Policy and Administration, Ph.D.

Project Title: Unheard Victims of COVID-19: The Impact of Mask Use on Communication for d/Deaf and Hard of Hearing People

Graduate College Scholar – Dean’s Award: Paige Ellestad

Ecology, Evolution, and Behavior, Ph.D.

Project Title: Anything but bland: uncovering the hidden diversity and genomic origin of the threatened vanilla spice

Graduate College Scholar – Dean’s Award: Priyanka Gyawali

Economics, M.S.

Project Title: Quality of Care by Ratings of Heart Failure Patients at Medicare-Certified Hospitals Across the U.S

Graduate College Scholar – Dean’s Award: Audrey Kennedy

Curriculum and Instruction, Ed.D.

Project Title: Supporting the FBA Process in Schools: An exploration in state forms to support technical adequacy

Graduate College Scholar – Dean’s Award: Amevi Semodji

Biomedical Engineering, Ph.D.

Project Title: A Novel Strain Energy-Based Method to Dynamically Stimulate Three-Dimensional Cellular Constructs

College of Arts and Sciences (COAS)

College of Arts and Sciences: Rainey Aberle

Geophysics, Ph.D.

Project Title: Characterizing recent trends in seasonal snow cover for glaciers throughout the Western Cordillera

College of Arts and Sciences: Jessica Rae Bernardin

Ecology, Evolution, and Behavior, Ph.D.

Project Title: Microbial communities with different functions affect plant size and leaf nutrient content in a pitcher plant model system

College of Arts and Sciences: Preston Hazen

Biomolecular Sciences, Ph.D.

Project Title: Interactions of Beta-Crystallin with a Model of Animal and Human Eye Lens-Lipid Membranes

College of Arts and Sciences: Dalton Miller

Chemistry, M.S.

Project Title: Inactivation of S. aureus biofilms in Ex Vivo Porcine Wound Models

College of Arts and Sciences: Mike Mohr

Geosciences, Ph.D.

Project Title: U-Pb Zircon Geochronology and Chronostratigraphy of the Eocene-Miocene John Day Formation, John Day Fossil Beds National Monument, Central Oregon

College of Arts and Sciences: Kaci Parker

History, M.A.

Project Title: A Revolution in Their Minds: The Jesuit Expulsion and Its Impact on Education Before the French Revolution

College of Arts and Sciences: Maria Pou Torres

Biomolecular Sciences, Ph.D.

Project Title: Association between inflammatory cytokines and breast cancer

College of Arts and Sciences: Angela Seibert

Geoscience, M.S.

Project Title: Using Terrestrial Laser Scanning to Estimate Leaf Area Index in Peatland Conifers Under a Climate Manipulation

College of Business and Economics (COBE)

College of Business and Economics: Matthew Grant Ison

Economics, M.Ec.

Project Title: Ballot Measure 110 impacts on crime: A difference-in-differences approach

College of Business and Economics: Matthew Wideman

Business Administration, M.B.A.

Project Title: Input Price Elasticity in Electricity Production

College of Education (COED)

College of Education: Randi Cole

Executive Educational Leadership, Ed.S.

Project Title: Serving Students with Disabilities in CTE

College of Education: Rebecca Dickinson

Counselor Education and Supervision, Ph.D.

Project Title: Increasing Resiliency: An 8 Week Career Counseling Group

College of Education: Emma Knowles

Counseling, M.A.

Project Title: A small group counseling intervention to improve elementary school students’ self-regulation skills: An evaluation of impact

College of Education: Hailey McCormick

Counseling, M.A.

Project Title: Feasibility of a Bullying Bystander Intervention (STAC) Parent Module for Rural Schools

College of Education: Matt Peck

Counselor Education and Supervision, Ph.D.

Project Title: Gender Differences in Defending Behavior among Elementary School Students Trained in a Bullying Bystander Intervention

College of Education: Ruth Pergande

Educational Leadership, M.Ed.

Project Title: Straightforward Reading Intervention for Secondary Students

College of Education: Matt Schvaneveldt

Executive Educational Leadership, Ed.S.

Project Title: Mental Health Services within the Idaho Rural School Setting

College of Education: Samantha Smith

Counseling, M.A.

Project Title: Mental Health Professionals’ Experiences Supporting the Mental Health of Students with Chronic Illness in the K-12 School System

College of Engineering (COEN)

College of Engineering: Calvin Jones

Biomedical Engineering, Ph.D.

Project Title: Probing the nanomechanical environment of musculoskeletal cells

College of Engineering: Olivia Maryon

Materials Science and Engineering, Ph.D.

Project Title: Alloy Surface Evolution During Exposure To A Corrosive Environment Studied With Electrochemical Atomic Force Microscopy

College of Engineering: Mone't Sawyer

Biomedical Engineering, Ph.D.

Project Title: Three-dimensional characterization of ATDC5 cell behavior on graphene foam using microcomputed tomography

College of Engineering: Danielle Siegel

Biomedical Engineering, Ph.D.

Project Title: Rolling on an Incline: How Mechanical Environment Affects Muscle Utilization During Infant Rolling

Department of Civil Engineering Award: Ajay Kumar

Civil Engineering, M.S.

Project Title: Incorporating higher fines content in pavement bases using micp and geocells – a sustainable approach to pavement design

Department of Computer Sciences Award: Kamryn Parker

Computer Science, M.S.

Project Title: Connecting Incident Reporting Infrastructure to Election Day Proceedings

Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering Award: Cesar Whesly Segura Del Rio

Electrical and Computer Engineering, Ph.D.

Project Title: Developing BSU Crossed-Field Amplifier with Gate Field Emission Arrays

Department of Mechanical and Biomedical Engineering Award: Chia-Yu Yu

Mechanical Engineering, M.S.

Project Title: Computational Porcine Model to Investigate Developmental Dysplasia of the Hip

Micron School of Materials Science Award: Katelyn Wada

Materials Science and Engineering, Ph.D.

Project Title: Hybrid AC/DC Technique for Thermal Conductivity Measurements in Extreme Environments

Organizational Performance and Workplace Learning Award: Michael Cowan

Organizational Performance and Workplace Learning, M.S.

Project Title: Video as a Job Aid: Making Food Safety a Priority at the Idaho Foodbank

College of Health Sciences (COHS)

College of Health Sciences: Jaume Amengual

Athletic Training, M.A.T.

Project Title: Early Treatment of Chronic Patellofemoral Pain Syndrome in Collegiate Male Basketball Players

College of Health Sciences: Nick Lidstrom

Athletic Training, M.A.T.

Project Title: The Effect of Class IV Laser on Ankle Dorsiflexion

College of Health Sciences: Harley Newhart

Public Health, M.P.H.

Project Title: Focus Group and Survey Analysis for Boise State’s School of Public and Population Health

College of Health Sciences: Kyle Peterson

Public Health, M.P.H.

Project Title: Community Perceptions of Youth Mental Health

School of Public Service (SPS)

School of Public Service: Dalten Warren Fox

Public Policy and Administration, Ph.D.

Project Title: Silver Mountains and Purple Bridges: A Narrative Policy Framework Investigation of an Unlikely Alliance in the Owyhee Canyonlands

School of Public Service: Makayla Butler

Criminal Justice, M.A.

Project Title: Exploring COVID-19’s Impact on Community Corrections Officers

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