Graduate Student Research Symposium
Overview
Above: Snapshot of 2023 USF Graduate Research Symposium Luncheon. Left to right: Tara
Pedersen, Ruth Bahr, Elizabeth Sykes, Mahnoor Kamal, Ranjini Bhattacharya, Mark-Elliott
Finley, and Gary Oliver.
On March 22 - 23, 2023, the Office of Graduate Studies and the Graduate and Professional Student Council (GPSC) held its Annual USF Graduate Student Research Symposium.
Event Overview
Annually, The Office of Graduate Studies and the Graduate and Professional Student Council (GPSC) host the Graduate Student Research Symposium to showcase the research of graduate students in all disciplines and allow them to obtain feedback from faculty and peers. The event brings together graduate students and postdoctoral scholars, as well as faculty mentors and judges, in an effort to foster further academic collaboration.
All graduate students are encouraged to apply; however, students without previous conference experience will greatly benefit from participating in this event and are highly encouraged to apply. This is an excellent opportunity to practice presenting research in an audience-friendly manner. Being able to communicate science to the public is an important job skill.
Poster Review and Awards
The Research Symposium is an event consisting of graduate student poster presentations and judging. Applications that meet submission qualifications will be selected by a faculty committee. Both sessions are open to the university community.
All posters will be reviewed by judges who will evaluate various aspects of the poster
itself, as well as the scholars' ability to effectively present and discuss their
research. Based upon the judges' evaluations, travel awards will be presented to winning participants of the research symposium.
Winners will be notified by e-mail during the week following the symposium.
2023 Virtual Graduate Symposium Winners
Category: Arts & Humanities
Title: Digital Preservation of Fading Memories: Virtualization and Online Dissemination of
the WWII-era Japanese American Detention Camp Amache (Granada, Colorado)
Presenter: Kylie Dillinger
Major Professor: Davide Tanasi
College: College of Arts and Sciences
Program: History
Title: Milton’s Farting Clown- Medieval Satanic Influences in Paradise Lost
Presenter: Mark-Elliot Finley
Major Professor: Emily Jones
College: College of Arts and Sciences
Program: English
Category: Health & Life Sciences
Title: Angiogenesis: A Tragedy of Commons
Presenter: Ranjini Bhattacharya
Major Professor: Joel Brown
College: College of Arts and Sciences
Program: Cancer Biology
Title: Assessing Platelet-Leukocyte Interactions in Malaria
Presenter: Sushantti Rupesh
Major Professor: Iset Vera
College: Morsani College of Medicine
Program: Internal Medicine
Category: Physical Sciences & Engineering
Title: Aquifer Water Chemistry Variability and Continuous Monitoring Sensor Comparison
Presenter: Mahnoor Kamal
Major Professor: Patricia Spellman
College: College of Arts and Sciences
Program: Geosciences
Title: Larvacean Abundance and Distribution in the Northeastern Gulf of Mexico using the
SIPPER Camera Imaging System
Presenter: Carlyn Scott
Major Professor: Kendra Daly
College: College of Marine Science
Concentration: Biological Oceanography
Category: Social & Behavioral Sciences (Including Education)
Title: Guilt in the Golden Years: Examining the Effects of Defendant Age, Victim Age and
Age Stereotype in a Mock Murder Trial
Presenter: Elizabeth Sykes
Major Professor: Christine Ruva
College: College of Arts and Sciences
Program: Psychology
Title: Subjective Opacity Theory: Exploring the Ontological Gap Between The Mind and World
as a Psychological Experience
Presenter: Roger Young
Major Professor: Jennifer Bosson
College: College of Arts and Sciences
Program: Psychology
2023 Graduate Research People's Choice Winners
Category: Arts & Humanities
Title: Rediscovering an Ancient Greek city in Sicily: Multi-sensorial Remote Sensing of
Heloros
Presenter: Ryan Hom
Major Professor: Davide Tanasi
College: College of Arts and Sciences
Program: History
Category: Health & Life Sciences
Title: Allee Effect Strength Varies across Allee Mechanisms, But Not Taxonomic Groups
Presenter: Eva Muir
Major Professor: Andrew Kramer
College: College of Arts and Sciences
Program: Integrative Biology
Category: Physical Sciences and Engineering
Title: Reproductive Trends of Male Atlantic Spotted Dolphins
Presenter: Tara Pederson
Major Professor: Michelle Green
College: College of Arts and Sciences
Program: Integrative Biology
Category: Social & Behavioral Sciences (Including Education)
Title: The Future is Female: Our Need to Research Treatments for Female Sex Offenders &
Implications for Social Workers
Presenter: Emma Stevenson
Major Professor: Erin McKinley
College: College of Behavioral and Community Sciences
School: Social Work
INFO: USF Deadlines & Timeline
| Application Deadline | February 20, 2023 |
| Accepted Applicants Notified | March 6, 2023 |
| Poster Submission Deadline | March 15, 2023 |
| Marshall Student Center/Virtual Hybrid Symposium |
March 22-23, 2023 |
| Announcement of Winners | March 27, 2023 |
INFO: Florida Statewide Graduate Research Symposium
The 2023 Statewide Graduate Research Symposium was held during the Conference of Florida Graduate Schools at the University of Miami in Miami, Florida on April 18th, 2023.
Two USF students won First place prize in their research categories:
Mahnoor Kamal (Physical Sciences and Engineering)
Roger Young (Social & Behavioral Sciences)
The following students from the USF Graduate Student Research Symposium traveled to the Statewide Research Symposium:
Ranjini Bhattacharya, College of Arts and Sciences, Head Orienting Behaviors during Simultaneous Speech Detection and Localization
Kylie Dillinger, College of Arts and Sciences, Digital Preservation of Fading Memories: Virtualization and Online Dissemination of
the WWII-era Japanese American Detention Camp Amache (Granada, Colorado)
Mark-Elliott Finley, College of Arts and Sciences, Milton’s Farting Clown- Medieval Satanic Influences in Paradise Lost
Mahnoor Kamal, College of Arts and Sciences, Aquifer Water Chemistry Variability and Continuous Monitoring Sensor Comparison
Sushantti Rupesh, Morsani College of Medicine, Assessing Platelet-Leukocyte Interactions in Malaria
Carlyn Scott, College of Marine Science, Larvacean Abundance and Distribution in the Northeastern Gulf of Mexico using the
SIPPER Camera Imaging System
Elizabeth Sykes, College of Arts and Sciences, Guilt in the Golden Years: Examining the Effects of Defendant Age, Victim Age and
Age Stereotype in a Mock Murder Trial
Roger Young, College of Arts and Sciences, Subjective Opacity Theory: Exploring the Ontological Gap Between The Mind and World
as a Psychological Experience
The Inaugural Statewide Research Symposium event was held here at USF in 2013 and was designed to showcase the best graduate-level research being carried out across Florida. Building on this legacy, other universities have hosted the event annually. Each year, eligible winners from the USF Graduate Student Research Symposium travel to the Statewide Research Symposium.
USF Graduate Studies and Students at the Statewide Research Symposium and 3MT® Competition.
Pictured left to right: Dr. Gary Oliver, Roger Young, Kylie Dillinger, Mahnoor Kamal,
Ranjini Bhattacharaya, Sushantti Rupesh, Dr. Ruth Bahr, Elizabeth Sykes, Carlyn Scott,
Dr. Sandra Stone, friend of USF, Dr. Donna Knudsen, Mark-Elliot Finley, Dr. Tracy
Costello