2026 Undergraduate Research Symposium Program

Creator

• Coastal Carolina University

Contributor

Office of Undergraduate Research

Files

Date

4-21-2026

Description

17th Annual Undergraduate Research Symposium, April 21-22, 2026.

The 2026 CCU Undergraduate Research Symposium included 72 oral presentations, 127 poster presentations, and 22 team pitch presentations comprising 50 students who participated in the Wall College’s Chant’s Tank Pitch Competition.

Presentations at the Undergraduate Research Symposium were judged by almost 90 faculty and staff, and prizes were awarded in three categories: Best Oral Presentation, Best Poster Presentation, and Best Chant’s Tank Pitch Presentation. Here are the following award winners and their mentors in their respective categories:

Best Oral Presentation:

• 1st Place: Ryan Ryan Avallone, Applied Mathematics. Faculty Mentor: Bong Jeong (Management and Decision Sciences). “Data-Driven Consumer Loan Evaluation: A Machine Learning Approach”
• 2nd Place: Marcos Carvajal, Computer Science. Faculty Mentor: Brian Atkinson (Los Alamos National Laboratory) and William Jones (Computer Science). "From Static to Scripted: Enabling Flexible IOR Workflows in Parallel File System Benchmarking”
• 3rd Place: Emma Terry, Biology. Faculty Mentor: Michelle Barthet (Biology) and Anna Carnaggio (Biology). “Rooted in Symbiosis: Native Venus’ Flytrap Root Fungal Association Identification”

Best Poster Presentation:

• 1st Place: Christine Bowman, Biology. Co-presenters: Jakob Cyranowski, Biology and Tina Campbell, Biology. Faculty Mentor: Megan Cevasco (Biology). “Bioinformatic Comparison of the Novel Phage Bowman to Phage ZygoTaiga within the C1 Subcluster”
• 2nd Place: Triston Rice, Marine Science. Faculty Mentor: Eric Rosch (Marine Science). “Brachial macroparasite loads in estuarine young-of-year striped mullet (Mugil Cephalus)”
• 3rd Place: Cameron Colella, Exercise and Sport Science. Faculty Mentor: Jason Smith (Kinesiology). “Acute Effects of Foam Rolling Speed on Range of Motion, Jump Performance and Leg Stiffness”

Best Chant’s Tank Pitch Presentation:

• 1st Place: Pat Murphy, Jake Moss, Carson London, and Conner Miranda. Pitch: Product/Service: SafeRep
• 2nd Place: Ben Doleshal. Pitch: RaceHaul
• 3rd Place: Michaela Nemerow and Devin McGowan. Pitch: Devin McGowan

Subject

Coastal Carolina University--History;Undergraduates--Research;Conference papers and proceedings

Rights

Copyright © Coastal Carolina University. All rights reserved. For more information contact University Archives at Coastal Carolina University, Conway, SC 29526.

Recommended Citation

Coastal Carolina University, "2026 Undergraduate Research Symposium Program" (2026). Undergraduate Research Symposium Programs. 17.
https://digitalcommons.coastal.edu/ugrc-programs/17