Ashlyn Cadena ’27, Olive Forrest ’26, Andres Garza ’27, Amanda Mejia ’27, Olivia Johnson ’26, and Professor of Chemistry Emily Niemeyer attended the 2024 National Science Foundation (NSF) S-STEM Scholars and Principal Investigator Meeting in Chicago, IL. In addition to interacting with other S-STEM Scholars from around the country and attending workshops and professional development sessions, three Scholars presented their research in conference sessions. Garza’s poster, titled “Laser induced synthesis of cobalt oxide oxygen evolution catalysts,” described work he completed during a summer Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) program at Texas State University. Mejia presented a poster, “Granular hydrogel synthesis for comparable in vitro model of brain parenchyma tissue,” which is based on her ongoing research with Assistant Professor of Physics Cody Crosby. Cadena’s poster, “Perimeter Minimizing Rectangles in R2 with density M|x| + N|y|,” described her collaborative research with other Southwestern math students, Associate Professor of Mathematics John Ross, and Adjunct Professor of Mathematics Lauren Ross.

Biochemistry major Samantha (Sam) Hazen ’26 has been selected as a finalist for the American Chemical Society (ACS) Agricultural and Food Chemistry Division (AGFD) Undergraduate Poster Competition. As part of the award, Sam will receive $1,000 in travel expenses to attend the spring ACS National Meeting in San Diego, CA, where she will present her poster, titled “Comparison of phenolic composition, flavonoid content, and antioxidant properties among cacao nibs sourced from different origins.” The poster is based on research that Sam is completing with Professor of Chemistry Emily Niemeyer. The ACS AGFD competition was created to showcase the research talents of undergraduate students, and all finalists participate in a poster symposium with the possibility of winning additional cash prizes.

Professor of Chemistry Emily Niemeyer, Bailey Meyer ’20, Haley White ’20, and Jared McCormack ’22 published an article titled “Catechin composition, phenolic content, and antioxidant properties of commercially-available bagged, gunpowder, and matcha green teas” in the Springer Nature journal Plant Foods for Human Nutrition. Interestingly, results showed that the lowest-cost teas in the study (such as a loose-leaf gunpowder tea made by Pure Leaf and bagged green teas produced by Allegro, Twinings, and Lipton) had significantly higher phenolic contents and antioxidant capacities than more expensive matcha green teas. The research was supported by the Robert A. Welch Foundation and Southwestern’s Herbert and Kate Dishman endowment. The article is available here.

Southwestern University was well represented at the American Chemical Society Spring 2023 meeting in Indianapolis, IN. Five students presented a total of three posters at the meeting: Yusuf Buhari ’23, Holly Lawson ’23, Sanjana Nittala ’24, Meghana Nittala ’24, and Noor Nazeer ’24. This work was done collaboratively with Assistant Professor of Chemistry Sara Massey and Professor of Chemistry Emily Niemeyer.

Southwestern University was well represented at the American Chemical Society Spring 2022 meeting in San Diego, California. Eight students presented a total of six posters at the meeting: Yusuf Buhari ’23, Sean Calvert ’22, Gabrielle Cano ’22, Natalie Gierat ’22, Rhoda Hijazi ’22, Jared McCormack ’22, Neha Momin ’22, and Ethan Shilgalis ’22. This work was done collaboratively with Associate Professor of Chemistry Mike Gesinski, Assistant Professor of Chemistry Sara Massey, and Professor of Chemistry Emily Niemeyer.