Agenda
Agenda 2021
The conference is held in virtual format with parallel sessions using different Zoom rooms.
- The oral presentation sessions are 1 hour long with student presentations being limited to 10 minutes plus 2 minutes for questions. The oral presentations will be shared by the presenter during the session via “zoom share”. The presentations will be uploaded and linked to the detailed agenda if they are provided to the conference organizer (COS@utrgv.edu).
The session chair is the host of the zoom session and will enforce strict time limits. - The poster sessions are 1 hour long, and all student poster presenters need to be present during the poster session. The posters will NOT be shared by the presenter but will be available via link from the detailed agenda. The posters MUST be provided to the conference organizers no later than Thursday, November 18 at 12:00 PM.
The session chair will direct questions from the audience to the poster presenter. The use of breakout rooms for further poster explanations is encouraged.
All poster and talk presentations must be in PDF or PowerPoint format. All presentation submitted files will be linked to the entry in the detailed agenda.
Zoom links to the individual sessions are provided below. Links to the oral and poster presentations are provided in the detailed talk and poster agenda below the agenda overview.
Agenda 2021 Overview
Time |
Session 1 |
Session 2 |
Session 3 |
Session 4 |
Session 5 |
Session 6 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
9:00 – 10:00AM |
T01 |
T04 |
T07 |
T10 |
P02 |
P05 |
10:10 – 11:10AM |
T02 |
T05 |
T08 |
T11 |
P03 |
P06 |
11:20 – 12:20PM |
T03 |
T06 |
T09 |
P01 |
P04 |
P07 |
12:20 – 2:00PM |
Break |
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Networking / Information |
||||||
2:00 – 3:30PM |
Women in Science Education (WISE) meeting and Keynote - ZOOM link |
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3:30 – 3:45PM |
Break for Judges |
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3:45 – 4:00PM |
Meeting has been adjourned - The Organizers want to thank everyone - presenters, judges and attendees. The presentations were of outstanding quality, you can be proud!
|
Detailed Agenda
Oral presentations
Session/Student |
Status |
Mentor |
Title with link to file |
|
T01, 9:00 – 10:00 AM, Session 1 Room a |
||||
1 |
Orlando Garcia |
Graduate |
Pushpa Soti |
|
2 |
Sakshi Watts |
Graduate |
Rupesh Kariyat |
|
3 |
Amit Sharma |
Graduate |
Nirakar Sahoo |
Manduca sexta (caterpillar) hemolymph triggers differential early defense signaling responses in non-host plants |
4 |
Tripti Saini |
Graduate |
Nirakar Sahoo |
Unravelling the autophagy pathway that regulates the pathogen clearance by non-immune cells |
5 |
Manish Gautam |
Graduate |
Bradley Christoffersen |
Exploring the impact of Cover Crops in Soil moisture Conservation |
T02, 10:10 – 11:10 AM, Session 1 Room a |
||||
1 |
Harpreet Kaur |
Graduate |
Nirakar Sahoo |
Autophagy Modulation by Manduca sexta (caterpillar) hemolymph influence growth and proliferation of pancreatic cancer cells |
2 |
Maria Jose Cardenas Muedano |
Graduate |
Matthew Terry |
The Molecular Evolution of Insect Opsin Genes |
3 |
Elizabeth Ann Gonzalez |
Graduate |
Patricia Feria |
Understanding the distribution and natural history of Asclepias prostrata in South Texas |
4 |
Ruth Lilia Galan |
Graduate |
Teresa Patricia Feria |
Morphometrics of Rio Red grapefruit transplants grown under protective nets in South Texas |
5 |
Adam Sanjar |
Graduate |
Richard Kline |
Road mortality mitigation structure impacts on rodent community composition and activity in south Texas |
T03, 11:20 – 12:20PM, Session 1 Room a |
||||
1 |
Samikshya Subedi |
Graduate |
Alexis Racelis |
Examination of the host range of north American lacebug (Gargaphia arizonica Drake & Carvallo) as potential biocontrol agents for silverleaf nightshade (Solanum elaeagnifolium Cav.) |
2 |
N/A |
|
|
withdrawn |
3 |
Elizabeth Lopez |
Senior |
Teresa Patricia Feria Arroyo |
Optimization of Seed Orientation of Citrus aurantium L. for Healthy Root and Stem Morphology |
4 |
Sydney Rivas |
Senior |
Madhura Babu Kunta |
Studies to Find the Causal Agent for Confusing Foliar Lesions in Citrus |
T04, 9:00 – 10:00 AM, Session 2 Room b |
||||
1 |
Elvira Alanis |
Graduate |
Yonghong Zhang |
Targeting Protein Synthesis in Clostridioides difficile |
2 |
Diego Rodriguez |
Graduate |
Wei Lin |
Conformational Analysis of Cyclohexanecarboxylic Acid (CHCA) |
3 |
Haimanti Majumder |
Graduate |
Jasim Uddin |
Flexible Quantum Dot Solar Cell with nanostructure TiO2 photoanode with modified counter electrode |
4 |
Julia Salas |
Gradudate |
Jasim Uddin |
Flexible modified Carbon nanotube/nanofiber-based triboelectric nanogenerator |
5 |
Juliana Antonio Santiz |
Senior |
Tülay Aygan Ateşin |
|
T05, 10:10 – 11:10AM, Session 2 Room b |
||||
1 |
Andrea Mota |
Senior |
Ry Young |
Investigating the Mechanisms That Bacteriophage N4 Uses to Delay the Inevitable |
2 |
Shaila Akter Shetu |
Graduate |
Debasish Bandyopadhyay |
|
3 |
Nicolette Valdez |
Graduate |
Yonghong Zhang |
Structure and Regulation of Translation Initiation Factor 1 from Pseudomonas aeruginosa |
4 |
Ulises Vidaurri Romero |
Graduate |
Mohammed Jasim Uddin |
An innovative triboelectric stent sensor: Prospective cardiovascular health monitoring device. |
5 |
Emily Garcia |
Senior |
Evangelia Kotsikorou |
Allosteric communication between BF-3 and the steroid binding pocket of the androgen receptor |
T06, 11:20 – 12:20PM, Session 2 Room b |
||||
1 |
Afsana Chowdhury |
Graduate |
Md Saydur Rahman |
Interactive Effects of Temperature and RoundUp Exposure on Oxidative/Nitrative Stress and Antioxidant Status in the Eastern Oyster |
2 |
Esmirna Cantu |
Graduate |
Md Saydur Rahman |
Pesticide mixtures affect free-swimming behavior in relation to distance and movement in goldfish, Carassius auratus |
3 |
Lindsey N Richards |
Graduate |
Pushpa Soti |
|
4 |
Zarek Contreras |
Graduate |
Bradley Christoffersen |
Can moisture content accurately predict interspecific differences in seedling drought tolerance? Implications for enhancing drought-resilience in restoration |
5 |
Greta Hayden-Pless |
Graduate |
Richard Kline |
|
T07, 9:00 – 10:00AM, Session 3 Room c |
||||
1 |
Marissa Lamb |
Graduate |
Richard Kline |
Mapping and Initial Characterization of East Bank Ridge, Gulf of Mexico, to Determine Current State, Fish Community, and Impacts of Illegal Fishing Practices |
2 |
Esmeralda Mendez |
Graduate |
Amit Raysoni |
Using Low-Cost Sensors to assess PM specie concentrations during 4th of July Independence Day celebrations in the Lower Rio Grande Valley Region, South Texas |
3 |
Paula Luera |
Graduate |
Christopher Gabler |
Effects of Scarification, Phytohormones, Soil Type, and Warming on the Germination and/or Seedling Performance of Three Tamaulipan Thornscrub Forest Species |
4 |
Caitlin Brett |
Graduate |
Richard Kline |
A Study Design for Evaluating the Road-Effect Zone and Wildlife Crossing Structure Performance using Camera Trap Data |
5 |
Victoria Hanley |
Graduate |
Richard J. Kline |
Comparison of Methods for Identifying Bobcats to Individual at Road Mitigation Structures in South Texas |
T08, 10:10 – 11:10AM, Session 3 Room c |
||||
1 |
Keegan Angerer |
Graduate |
Richard Kline |
A Comparison of Fish Community Assemblages at High- and Low-profile Artificial Reefs in the Southern Gulf of Mexico using ROV Surveys |
2 |
Amandeep Singh |
Graduate |
Veerachandra Yemmireddy |
Effect of different environmental stress conditions on foodborne pathogen response to select chemical treatments |
3 |
Samantha L. Colunga |
Senior |
Engil Pereira |
Carbon Sequestration in Sandy Soils of Arid and Semi-Arid Climates: A Review |
4 |
Ana Barrera |
Sophomore |
Hudson DeYoe |
“Phyte” Water Scarcity: The development of a less energy intensive water bio-desalination process that utilizes halophilic algae and sediment |
T09, 11:20 – 12:20PM, Session 3 Room c |
||||
1 |
Anirban Ray |
Graduate |
Dambaru Bhatta |
Radar imaging through Maxwell's equations and Green's function |
2 |
N/A |
|
|
withdrawn |
3 |
Stephanie Flores |
Graduate |
Hansapani Rodrigo |
|
4 |
Kristen Hallas |
Senior |
Cuiyu He |
Machine Learning & Its Applications in Image Classification |
T10, 9:00 – 10:00AM, Session 4 Room d |
||||
1 |
Md Arafat Hossain |
Graduate |
Malik Rakhmanov |
Determination of effective index of refraction of 3D photonic crystals with FDTD |
2 |
Airik Sanchez |
Graduate |
Edgar Corpuz |
Effects of collaborative group activities on students’ interest, course participation, and performance in an online physics course |
3 |
Amit Aich |
Graduate |
Malik Rakhmanov |
An Approach to Implement Digital Logic in Integrated Photonic Circuits |
4 |
Mohammad Abu Thaher Chowdhury |
Graduate |
Soumya D. Mohanty |
Application of Adaptive Spline Regression Method on Glitches in Gravitational Wave data |
5 |
Pedro Paulo Barboza Sanson |
Graduate |
Efrain J. Ferrer |
The heat capacity of dense quark-matter phases vs neutron star observational constraint |
T11, 10:10 – 11:10AM, Session 4 Room d |
||||
1 |
Silverio Antonio Lopez |
Graduate |
Karen Martirosyan |
Development of Nanostructured Materials for Biomedical Applications |
2 |
Md. Habibur Rahman |
Graduate |
Mohammad Bhatti |
Approximate Solutions of Nonlinear Partial Differential Equations Using B-Polynomial Bases |
3 |
Shahrear Khan Faisal |
Graduate |
Soma Mukherjee |
Distinguishing Core Collapse Supernovae Gravitational Waves Signatures from noise using Machine Learning |
4 |
Michael Benjamin |
Graduate |
Soma Mukherjee |
A Machine Learning Model for discriminating between gravitational wave signals from core collapse supernovae and detector noise |
5 |
Andres Cuellar Vega |
Graduate |
Andreas Hanke |
Dynamical Casimir Effect in a Superconducting Circuit Periodic Lattice |
Poster presentations
Session/Student |
Status |
Mentor |
Title with link to file |
|
P01, 11:20 – 12:20 PM, Session 4 Room d |
||||
1 |
Isabel Martinez |
Graduate |
Robin A. Choudhury |
Effects of temperature stress on growth and sclerotia production of Sclerotium rolfsii |
2 |
Alejandro R Vasquez Marcano |
Graduate |
Rupesh Kariyat |
|
3 |
Asfakur Rahman |
Graduate |
Veerachandra Yemmireddy |
|
4 |
Alma Nelly Lopez |
Graduate |
Megan Keniry |
FOXO-1 Targeted Therapy for the Treatment of Cancer |
5 |
Satinderpal Kaur |
Graduate |
Rupesh Kariyat |
Can trap color affect pollinator attraction: A test using yellow vane and colorless pollinator traps |
6 |
Omar Carrillo |
Graduate |
Robert Gilkerson |
Chloramphenicol activates mitochondrial OPA1 processing in H9c2 cardiomyoblasts |
7 |
Daphne Zapsas |
Graduate |
Pushpa Soti |
|
8 |
Gabriella Philia Hinojosa |
Graduate |
Robert Dearth |
Establishing an atlas for larval zebrafish (Danio rerio) brain for neuroendocrinology |
9 |
Clarissa de Leon |
Graduate |
Rupesh Kariyat |
|
10 |
Anna Rose Mehner |
Graduate |
Richard Kline |
Methodology for Monitoring Traffic and Noise along Road Mitigation Sites in Southern Texas |
P02, 9:00 – 10:00 AM, Session 5 Room e |
||||
1 |
Godwin Peasah-Darkwah |
Graduate |
Subhash Chauhan |
Novel nanoparticle formulation of Sabizabulin (VERU-111) for pancreatic cancer treatment |
2 |
Katherine Wright |
Graduate |
Jason Parsons |
Hydrothermal Synthesis of NixSy using Microwave Irradiation |
3 |
Luis Acosta |
Graduate |
Xiaoqian Fang |
|
4 |
Melissa Elizondo |
High School |
Rupesh Kariyat |
|
5 |
Elizabeth Estrada |
Junior |
Teresa Patricia Feria Arroyo |
|
6 |
Jessica Ayala |
Senior |
Rupesh Kariyat |
Impact of Induced Sorghum Defense Mechanisms on Aphid Reproduction |
7 |
Juan D. Raya Vaca |
Senior |
Rupesh Kariyat |
|
8 |
Jay Alejandro Gallegos |
Senior |
Pushpa Soti |
Incorporating Native Plants and Sunn Hemp in Insectary Strips to Promote Insect Diversity
|
9 |
Isabella Rodriguez |
Senior |
Rupesh Kariyat |
Investigating the effects of the sorghum Bmr2 gene in sugarcane aphid reproduction |
10 |
Rim Touhami |
Senior |
Andreas Hanke/Ahmed Touhami |
|
P03, 10:10 – 11:10AM, Session 5 Room e |
||||
1 |
Zayra Gonzalez |
Graduate |
Wei Lin |
|
2 |
Abigail Zepeda |
Graduate |
Shizue Mito |
|
3 |
Karla Salazar |
Graduate |
Wei Lin |
Further investigation on conformational Landscape of Cyclobutanecarboxylic Acid |
4 |
Tien My Tran |
Graduate |
Shizue Mito |
|
5 |
Kevin Vanderkam |
Graduate |
Jason Parson |
Metalated Porphyrins as photo-redox catalysts in coupling reactions using visible light. |
6 |
N/A |
|
|
withdrawn |
7 |
Andrea Fletes |
High School |
Jason G. Parsons |
TiO2/ZnO nanoparticles applied to the photocatalytic degradation of simazine in aqueous solution. |
8 |
David Sta. Maria |
Junior |
Shizue Mito |
Synthesis and Biological Evaluations of Quinones and Hydroquinones as Anticancer Agents |
9 |
Maria Myers |
Junior |
Jason Parsons |
Catalytic activity of porphyrin metalated complexes in coupling reactions. |
10 |
Clarissa C. Ortega |
Senior |
Narayan G. Bhat |
|
11 | N/A | withdrawn | ||
P04, 11:20 – 12:20PM, Session 5 Room e |
||||
1 |
Jason Wong |
Junior |
Shizue Mito |
|
2 |
N/A |
|
|
withdrawn |
3 |
Lama Abdurrahman |
Senior |
Yonghong Zhang |
Molecular Insights of SARS-CoV-2 Infection and Molecular Treatments |
4 |
Amanda Torres |
Senior |
Wei Lin |
|
5 |
Brittnay Hernandez |
Senior |
Narayan G. Bhat |
|
6 |
Ariana Dela Garza |
Senior |
Narayan G. Bhat |
|
7 |
Keila Murillo |
Senior |
Wei Lin |
Quantum Chemical Calculations on 2,2,3,3,3-pentafluorol-1-propanol |
8 |
JoAnn Sanchez |
Graduate |
Mataz Alcoutlabi |
Fabrication and Characterization of polyvinylpyrrolidone/copper composite fibers |
9 |
Kithzia Gomez |
Graduate |
Mataz Alcoutlabi |
|
10 |
Elizabeth M Fletes |
Junior |
Mataz Alcoutlabi, Jason G. Parsons, Helia Morales |
Vanadium and Titanium Nitrides LIBs anodes synthesized from Titanium and Vanadium porphyrins |
11 |
Carlos Delgado |
Senior |
Mircea Chipara |
Thermal Stability of Homopolymers and their Nanofibers |
P05, 9:00 – 10:00AM, Session 6 Room f |
||||
1 |
Raul Espinosa Perez |
Graduate |
Ahmed Touhami |
|
2 |
Wendy Mendoza |
Graduate |
Mario Diaz |
Simulated Galaxy Shape Measurements for the Roman Space Telescope and Migration Tools for Extended Maintainability |
3 |
Alejandro Reyes |
Graduate |
Mario Diaz |
|
4 |
Jocelyn Rich and Yaritza Villarreal |
Senior |
Efrain Ferrer |
Survey of Neutron-Stars’ Masses and Radii |
5 |
Andrea Pelayo Carvajal |
Senior |
Madhab Pokhrel |
Gamma irradiation and actinide doping effect in nanocrystalline Gd2Hf2O7 |
6 |
Asha Barua |
Graduate |
Bingyuan Liu |
Cardinality of irrational numbers in the Cantor set. |
7 |
Maria del Rosario Valencia |
Graduate |
Timothy Huber |
Matrix Representation of Differentiation Algorithm with respect to a suitable pair. |
8 |
Gustavo Fernandez |
Graduate |
Kristina Vatcheva |
|
9 |
Pablo Aldama |
Senior |
Kristina Vatcheva |
|
10 |
Teresa Padilla |
Senior |
Mayra Ortiz Galarza |
Gender Expectations and Hispanic Women |
11 |
Xavier Rios |
Senior |
Kristina Vatcheva |
|
P06, 10:10 – 11:10AM, Session 6 Room f |
||||
1 |
Temiloluwa Awotoye |
Graduate |
Alexis Racelis |
|
2 |
Armida Rivera |
Graduate |
Engil Pereira |
|
3 |
Mohan Kumar Dash |
Graduate |
Md Saydur Rahman |
Tributyltin Exposure Induces dsDNA breakage and 8-OHdG Expression in the American Oyster |
4 |
Arianna Hernandez |
Freshman |
Veerachandra K Yemmireddy |
Sustainable food safety systems to mitigate the risk of microbial contaminations in the fresh produce environment |
5 |
Lilly V Elliott |
Graduate |
Robin Choudhury |
|
6 |
Ismaila Ibrahim |
Graduate |
Amit U. Raysoni |
|
7 |
Kathrene Lo |
Graduate |
Richard Kline |
|
8 |
Michael A Navarro |
Graduate |
James Jihoon Kang |
Heavy metal immobilization in soil and water using grapefruit peel biochars |
9 |
Adegboyega Fajemisin |
Graduate |
Rupesh Kariyat |
Examining the role of cover-cash crop rotations on arthropod community dynamics in LRGV |
10 |
Md Salahuddin Majumder |
Graduate |
Amit U. Raysoni |
Assessment of Ground Level Ozone (O3) trends in the Lower Rio Grande Valley Region, Texas, USA |
P07, 11:20 – 12:20PM, Session 6 Room f |
||||
1 |
Md Imran Noor |
Graduate |
Md Saydur Rahman |
Roundup Exposure Induces Oxidative/Nitrative Stress and Renin Expression in Kidney of Goldfish |
2 |
Irving Vazquez |
Graduate |
Jason G. Parsons |
Removal of As(III) and As(V) from aqueous solution via Common Sunflower (Helianthus) Phytoremediation. |
3 |
Kingsley Bassey |
Graduate |
Javier Macossay-Torres |
|
4 |
Gladys De La Rosa |
Graduate |
Engil Pereira |
Measuring nitrate loss in the form of leaching in different soil types and nitrogen fertilizers |
5 |
Isaiah Jaramillo |
Graduate |
Engil Pereira |
Implementing Organic Fertilization Practices and Magnetic Water to Improve Aloe Vera Growth and Soil Health in the Rio Grande Valley. |
6 |
Diobenhi Castellanos |
Junior |
Engil Pereira |
Measuring Microbial Activity of Sweet Potato Crop in the Lower Rio Grande Valley |
7 |
Paola Granados |
Senior |
Jihoon Kang |
Evaluation of biochar-pumice filter media for lead removal in water |
8 |
Paola Granados |
Senior |
Juan Gonzalez |
Analyzing historical temperature and precipitation trends for the Lower Rio Grande Valley, TX |
9 |
Carlos Garcia Patlan |
Senior |
Amit Raysoni |
Particulate Matter Pollution due to Cooking in a Mexican - American Household |