Winners of Undergraduate Research Poster Competition Announced

Senior Nick Davy won first place in last week’s Undergraduate Research Poster Competition held in the T Room of the Engineering Teaching Center.

Davy’s poster, “Improvement of Li-ion Battery Anode Stability using Novel Electrolytes”, illustrates that an improved understanding of the surface chemistry involved in anode lithiation can enable major improvements in anode performance. Understanding how to improve the long-term stability of advanced anode materials, like silicon and germanium, is key to making next-generation lithium-ion batteries a reality.  Lithium-ion batteries are used in many consumer electronics, such as mobile phones, and are being improved to enhance electric cars. 

Davy was recently granted a Graduate Research Fellowship from the National Science Foundation to support his Ph.D. studies at Princeton University, where he plans to continue research on electrochemistry and alternative energy solutions.

Freshman Sai Gourisankar placed second with his poster entitled, “Gold Nanoparticles for Bioimaging Applications”. Gourisankar’s poster focuses on assembling biodegradeable, non-toxic clusters of gold nanoparticles that can illuminate cancer cells, potentially increasing the accuracy of medical diagnosis and the efficiency of chemotherapy.

Fourth-year student Ashty Karim took third place with his entry, “Optimizing Gene and Protein Expression in Saccharomyces cerevisiae for Metabolic Engineering Applications”. The poster explains Karim’s work to create libraries of gene regulatory elements, with varying expression levels, to up-grade desired genes and down-grade undesired, but essential, genes to enhance production of desired proteins and chemicals.

Karim’s poster earned him first place in this year’s Poster Exhibition & Engineering Research Symposium contest hosted by the Student Engineering Council and the Cockrell School Student Affairs Office as part of Research Week in April.

The Undergraduate Research Poster Competition takes place every semester and gives students the chance to showcase their research and sharpen their presentation skills.  Winners receive $200 for first place, $100 for second place and $50 for third place.

Tags: Ashty Karim, ChE, ChemE, chemical engineering, Nick Davy, poster competition, research posters, Sai Gourisankar, The University of Texas at Austin, undergraduate research poster competition, UT