Monika Soto

Celebrating the scholarly accomplishments and academic interests of the entire Seton Hall University community, including undergraduate and graduate students, the 24th Annual Petersheim Academic Exposition featured hundreds of creative presentations. For the first time in its history to protect the health and safety of students, faculty, employees and their families, the Academic Expo transformed into a weeklong digital gathering from April 20 through 24.

"Although the 2020 Petersheim Academic Expo online was initially a 'compromised' decision due to the need for 'physical' social distancing, it turned out to successfully connect the University community online both intellectually and academically. We were able to attract hundreds of participants and attendees to the various events. We were pleased with how the access through technology made it convenient for parents, family and friends of our students to attend our events and see the scholarship that our students have accomplished at Seton Hall," shared Petersheim Co-Chairs Sulie L. Chang and Jose Lopez.

Dr. Shawna Cooper-Gibson

Concluding ceremonies included a keynote address by Dr. Shawna Cooper-Gibson, Vice President of Student Services as well as a special student travel awards ceremony. In honor of the Expo, nominations continue through May 8 for a student, faculty or staff member to be featured as a Great Mind of the Week on the University's website and a receive a "Great Minds" prize package. Click here to nominate a Great Mind. In her keynote address, Dr. Shawna Cooper-Gibson, Vice President of Student Services, discussed the importance of communication, collaboration and coordination.

Dr. Sulie L. Chang

"We have students, administrators, faculty, priests, community members all working together and talking with one another to ensure student success," she shared. "Petersheim is a wonderful example of this through our research, that allows us to look for the complex and not simple answers, asking difficult questions and engaging in difficult discussions. We are all remaining student-centered because at the heart of our work is educating the next generation and allowing them to imagine the possibilities . . . particularly in times of crisis, fatigue can be the enemy of creativity." 

Cooper-Gibson discussed the importance of developing Seton Hall's students as leaders who practice self-awareness and shared leadership.

"In Student Services, we are a recognized model for creating a culture of success and excellence but we can't do that without the partnership of our faculty, our students and our priest community in order to build that experience together. We provide opportunities to develop the necessary skills to become more responsible and compassionate global citizens in whom they serve and lead."

Helena Schmittberger

"Petersheim really exhibits how we are all able to grow, adjust, be nimble and be adaptable in this time of crisis," said Cooper-Gibson.

Dr. Edward Tall, Department of Biological Sciences, chaired the Petersheim closing ceremonies and introduced the winners of the Petersheim student travel awards, which will enable them to attend conferences and other venues where they can present their award-winning research.

"This travel award provides substantial funding to recipients to present their work at other institutions so they can share their knowledge and gain experience in meeting people that are at other institutions, potentially another on the other side of the country. They will have the opportunity to establish connections, maybe to network, and build their outlook as they progress from their education to their next endeavor," explained Tall.

"From the very beginning of the OMICS project, our Ph.D. mentor worked very diligently with us and made sure that we were on track with our research. They, as well as the other mentors/advisors of the project, made themselves as available as possible if my group members and I ever needed help with our research as well, even during these unprecedented times. Being given the opportunity to present digitally to my peers was a great and humbling experience! I am glad that my group members and I, as well as the other groups, were still able to present our work after putting so much time and effort into the final product," shared awardee Sabrina Lopez.

Dr. Jose Lopez

"Although we had only met a handful of times in person, our Ph.D. mentors and advisors were constantly checking in to ensure we were not only safe, but also progressing our research. Presenting at the Petersheim digitally was a great experience to have and overall went smoothly! I am extremely thankful that we were still able to perform our research as well as present it to an audience," added awardee Helena Schmittberger.

Petersheim Academic Exposition Student Travel Award Winners include:

Ali H. Aljarrah, senior, international relations and economics, School of Diplomacy and International Relations Title of Presentation: Government Corruption and Economic Growth: Does Government Corruption Affect Economic Growth in Post-2003 Iraq?

Nkili Cooper, senior, history major, College of Arts and Sciences
Title of Presentation: In the Shadow of Brown: The Social Meaning of Racial Violence Against African-American Boys, 1955-1958

Prachy Dave, junior, criminal justice major, College of Arts and Sciences
Title of Presentation: A Meta-Analysis of the Effect of LPS on Neuroinflammation

William Davis, first-year physics graduate student, College of Arts and Sciences
Title of Presentation: Effect of nonthermal atmospheric plasma treatment on the roots of Phaselous Vulgaris

Sabrina Lopez, first-year graduate student, MS in Microbiology, College of Arts and Sciences
Title of Presentation: A Meta-Analysis of the Effect of LPS on Neuroinflammation

Sachin Mahashabde, senior, computer science major, College of Arts and Sciences
Title of Presentation: Autism Searches: A recommender system for ASD related information, back-end developer and machine learning implementation

Janina Molina, senior, social work major, College of Arts and Sciences
Tittle of Presentation: Social Work Advocacy for Immigrant Children at the Border with Mexico-USA

Rachel Montel, third-year Ph.D. candidate in molecular bioscience, College of Arts and Sciences
Title of Presentation: OMICS: A Survey on the Multifactorial Development of Cleft Lip and Palate, with Qiagen's IPA (Ingenuity Pathway Analysis) to identify CLP as a multifactorial disorder, that is, with a genetic link and strong environmental influence

Marius Pelmus, fifth-year Ph.D. candidate in chemistry, Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, College of Arts and Sciences
Title of Presentation: Synthesis, X-ray Structures, Photo-Physics and Singlet Oxygen Production of Fluorinated Phthalocyanines

Giselle Pineda, sophomore, biology and Catholic Studies, College of Arts and Sciences.|
Title of Presentation: A Ray of Hope in a Country full of Sorrow: Saint Oscar Romero

Aishwarya Rai, senior, economics Major, Mathematics Minor, Stillman School of Business
Title of Presentation: Eyes and Ears to the West: The Dismissal of Arab Scholars in the Discourse of Mathematics, Economics, and Ethics

Abigail Richter, junior, chemistry major, Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, College of Arts and Sciences
Title of Presentation: Aptamers towards West Nile virus spike protein blocking drugs

Joshua Schappel, senior, computer science major, College of Arts and Sciences
Title of Presentation: Autism Searches: A recommender system for ASD related information, project lead – developer

Helena Schmittberger, junior, biology major, chemistry minor, pre-physician assistant track, College of Arts and Sciences
Title of Presentation: TWIST1 & its direct effect on bone cells and metastatic bone disease

Grigoriy Shekhtman, second-year experimental psychology graduate student, College of Arts and Sciences
Title of Presentation: The Effects of Social Media on Working Memory Capacity

Jonathan Simone Bar-Eli, senior, computer science major, College of Arts and Sciences
Title of Presentation: Autism Searches: A recommender system for ASD related information, full stack developer

Alexa Skalski, junior, chemistry major, Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, College of Arts and Sciences
Title of Presentation: Microwave synthesis and electrochemical characterization of novel heteroleptic Ir(III) orthometallated complexes with C^N ligands and N^N cuproine derivatives

Monika J. Soto, senior, social work major, College of Arts and Sciences
Title of Presentation: The Social and Economic Impact of the United States' Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) on Undocumented Immigrants

Elizabeth Catherine Sottung, junior, biology major, chemistry minor, College of Arts and Sciences
Title of Presentation: OMICS: Environmental and genetic factors that impact cleft palate/ Researching different drugs and vitamins and see their roles on preventing or causing cleft palate.

Jeremy Suero, senior, computer science major, College of arts and Sciences
Title of Presentation: Autism Searches: A recommender system for ASD related information, logo creation and database engineering, UI design

Categories: Research, Science and Technology