The 2023 Exhibition of Undergraduate Research and Creative Achievement (EURēCA), took place on April 25 in UT’s Student Union. Led by Undergraduate Research & Fellowships in the Division of Student Success, 1,179 students showed 868 projects from a wide range of disciplines and methodologies.

During a closing awards ceremony on May 4, participating colleges presented a total of 161 awards for excellence in undergraduate research and creative achievement. Students from across engineering disciplines earned awards for merit, research, and design.

2023 Faculty Research Mentor Award Winners, sponsored by URF, were also announced. Associate Professor Nick Wierschem, civil and environmental engineering, won an award as a faculty who has demonstrated an outstanding commitment to mentoring undergraduate researchers.

Pictured above are winning students from the Department of Materials Science and Engineering: Nicole Lui, Melanie Moczadlo, Chris Webb, Conner Cornachione, and Marlena Alexander.

Tickle College of Engineering winners included:

Awards of Merit

Marlena Alexander
Investigation of high entropy precursor powder synthesis for transparent ceramic synthesis
Mentor: Mariya Zhuravleva

Heidi Seuss
The Design and Testing of a Jointed Foot-Ankle
Mentor: Dustin Crouch

Jordis Blackburn
Investigation Into Stent Retriever Removal Speed Affecting Removal Forces in an Experimental Model Of Acute Ischemic Stroke
Mentor: Bryan Good

Reese Sorgenfrei
Effects of Super Absorbent Polymers on the Properties of 3D Printed Concrete
Mentor: Hongyu Zhou

Thomas Paterson & Ryan Thompson
Brain Spatial Multi-Omic Imaging & Analysis Protocol: Alzheimer’s Disease Proof-of-Concept
Mentor: Colleen Crouch

Jack Krimmel, Seth Shuchat, & Harriet Williamson
Optimal Design Refresh Planning and its Applications in Digital Product Twins
Mentor: Hugh Medal

Bryson Gullett
Neuromorphic Computing Starter Kit
Mentor: James S. Plank

Research

Third Place, Research
Mariana Milano-Benitez
Supercapacitor Electrodes Based on Reduced Graphene Oxide Composited with Manganese Metal Oxide
Mentor: Bamin Khomami

Second Place, Research
Nicole Liu
Optimized Bifunctional OER and ORR with a Spinel Catalyst
Mentor: Katharine Page

First Place, Research
Maria Hernandez Rivero
Low-Power Dynamic Circuit Design With Steep-Switching Hybrid Phase Transition FETs (Hyper-FETs)
Mentor: Ahmedullah Aziz

DESIGN

Second Place, Design
Darlene Player, Cameron Mcreynolds, Bailey Millsaps, & Robert Cowan
PIPER – Pot-In-Pot Extracting Robot
Mentor: Hao Gan & Amy Fulcher

First Place, Design
Melanie Moczadlo, Christopher Webb, Alexander Bowman, Conner Cornachione, & Alicia Zahnen
Replacing Current Plastic Car Parts with a PET and Paper Composite
Mentor: David Harper