15 students, alumni win awards at 2022 RCAW Awards

Zachary Pakulniewicz at a podium

Zachary Pakulniewicz presents his engineering research during RCAW 2022.

Students across East Carolina University are able to participate in the annual Research & Creative Achievement Week, typically held in April. This week provides students with an excellent opportunity to practice their presentation skills and meet other creatives scholars at ECU with similar interests. This week is open to undergraduate, graduate and doctoral students. Research is defined as an original systematic investigation and/or creative activity designed to develop or contribute to general knowledge or culture.

For Honors College students, RCAW is a chance to present their research as a part of the Signature Honors Project process. Of all of the award winners, 15 were either current honors students or alumni.

2022 RCAW Honors undergraduate winners:

  • Oral Award – Biomedical Sciences: Jennifer Painter, “Differences in Neurological Connectivity Between Right and Left Limb Dominant Individuals in Implicit Motor Sequence Learning” (Mentor: Dr. John Christopher Mizelle)
  • Oral Award – Engineering: Zachary Pakulniewicz, “An Experimental Study on the Dynamics of Binder Drops Impacting on a Powder Surface in Binder Jetting Additive Manufacturing” (Mentor: Dr. Yang Liu)
  • Oral Award – Humanities: Alexander Teodorescu, “Teotography – A photo collection of North Carolina’s wilderness, wildlife and culture surrounding coastal areas” (Mentor: Dr. Cindy J. Elmore)
  • Oral Award – Fine Arts: Evan Martschenko, “Hexatonic Collections and Thematic Development in Frederic Rzewski’s Four Pieces for Piano” (Mentor: Dr. Mark Douglas Richardson)
  • Oral Award – Human Health: Luke Fogarty, “Caregiver Oral Health Literacy, Pediatric Oral Health: A Systematic Review” (Mentor: Dr. Van Wallace McCarlie)
  • Poster Award – Biomedical Sciences: Hannah Coalson, “Mitochondrial altercations accompany forced differentiation in acute promyclocytic leukemia cells” (Mentor: Dr. Kelsey Fisher-Wellman)
  • Poster Award – Community Engagement: Hannah Haynes, “Leadership and technology use among adolescents at a Boys & Girls Club in Eastern North Carolina” (Mentor: Dr. Kim Larson)
  • Poster Award – Education: Hannah Dixon, “The Advantages of Executive Processing in Bilingual Students” (Mentor: Dr. Timothy Christensen)
  • Poster Award – Fine Arts: Skyler Hall, “A Look Inside Different Cultures Through Art” (Mentor: Dr. Gerald Weckesser)
  • Poster Award – Human Health: Sarah March, “Exploring the Use of Heart Rate Variability in Coronavirus Disease 2019” (Mentor: Dr. Linda Bolin)
  • Poster Award – Humanities: Imani Riddick-Cherry, “UterUS: Changing the Perception of Menstrual Health on College Campuses” (Mentor: Dr. Bhibha Mayee Das)
  • Poster Award – Interdisciplinary Innovation: Hunter Pigg, “Numerical Analysis of Oscillating Wave Surge Converters Under Extreme Sea Conditions” (Mentor: Dr. Tarek Abdel-Salam)
  • Poster Award – Social Sciences: Shae Malham, “The Mental Health Effect of Assisted Reproductive Technology” (Mentor: Dr. Kristin Zenee Black)

2022 RCAW Honors graduate winners

  • Poster Award – Social Sciences: Marianne Congema, “Hydrotherapy Use and Maternal-Infant Outcomes” (Mentor: Dr. Kim Larson)
  • Oral Award – Education: Jocelyn Bayles Dixon, “Connecting Kindergarten Readiness and Food-based Learning in the Head Start Preschool Classroom” (Mentor: Dr. Virginia Carraway Stage)