On March 29, the Office of Undergraduate Research announced the winners of the sixth annual Texas Student Research Showdown at a virtual award ceremony.
Students participating in this research communication competition created two-minute videos to explain their research and creative activity to a general audience. A panel of 16 judges scored the videos on their ability to capture an audience’s attention, tell a narrative, convey rigorous scholarship, and target a general (rather than expert) audience. Current undergraduates also voted for an audience award winner.
This year’s event featured 45 videos from 87 students competing in two categories (science, technology, and engineering; arts, humanities, and social sciences). The submitters of the winning videos received awards generously funded by a gift from Kimberly and Scott Martin.
STEM Category
First place ($2000)
Zoe Lalji
Second place ($750)
Arian Veyssi
Honorable mention:
Sanjna Bhatia, Satya Chintapalli, Jazzalyn Zou, Emily Samson
- Watch: Examining the Degradation of Polystyrene by Mealworms in the Presence of Alternate Food Sources
Nicholas Duggar
Katherine Faulkner
Kaitlyn Ng
- Watch: CityDNN
Alizer Khowaja
Aniket Sanghi
Davis Roe
Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences Category
First place ($2000)
Destiny Gonzales
- Watch: Interworm - Earworm Research
Second place ($750)
Danielle Nwosa
Honorable mention:
John Erard
Sophie Schott
- Watch: The HEARD Study
Aidan Wilhite, Shilpa Rumalla, Madison Sheridan, Madeleine Montgomery
Soufia Ali, Mahija Ginjupalli, Maharajni Perla, Oishika Das
Audience Award ($1000)
Sophie Schott
- Watch: The HEARD Study