Seven projects to look for at Fall Symposium of Student Scholars

KENNESAW, Ga. | Nov 18, 2025

The Office of Undergraduate Research organizes the Symposium of Student Scholars twice per year, offering students a unique opportunity to present their research to a diverse audience, including faculty, donors, and the general public. Each student collaborates with a faculty research mentor to complete their research throughout the semester, with the Symposium representing the culmination of their work.

The Fall 2025 Symposium will take place Nov. 19-21 on the Marietta Campus, beginning Wednesday with poster presentations.

Below is a look at several of the projects that will be presented, including a student-created video game that takes users into the world of nuclear energy, an AI-assisted drone that uses thermal imaging technology on airport runways, and an investigation into whether experiencing corporal punishment in childhood leads to more aggression in adulthood.

Feasibility of TPMS Lattices as a Nuclear Fuel Structure

Undergraduate Student: Eric Miller
Research Mentor: Aaron Adams
College: Southern Polytechnic College of Engineering and Engineering Technology

Q: How would you explain your project to someone knows nothing about your field of study?

A: Our project is studying the possibility of using different types of shapes for nuclear fuel. Currently, nuclear fuel in a reactor is stored in cylindrical rods, which have suboptimal heat transfer properties. Trying to generate too much power from a reactor using these rods will cause them to overheat. The advent of additive manufacturing techniques has now opened up the possibility of using much more complex shapes with better thermal properties. It is possible that using these shapes will allow for significant increases in the maximum power output of nuclear reactors. We are running fluid and thermal simulations on these shapes to determine their feasibility in nuclear applications, before investing in the creation of actual test pieces.

Q: What inspired you to pursue this project? Do you have a personal connection to it?

A: I have long had interest in the realm of additive manufacturing (frequently known as 3D printing). I used it extensively in my time on a high-school robotics team, and I use it frequently in my own hobbies and projects. I find it fascinating because it opens up vast opportunities to produce parts that previously would have been impossible or too costly. As such, it is natural to continue in this realm. I am eager to continue pushing the boundary of what can be done with additive manufacturing and bringing it into various industries.

Q: What is the main takeaway from your project?

A: From all our simulations so far, these shapes continue to seem feasible for use in nuclear applications. We were also able to determine that the 鈥渄iamond鈥� shape seems most workable based on the fluid dynamics simulations. We have clear next steps to do in future simulations now that some of the preliminary work has been done.

Q: Were there any surprises or lessons learned along the way?

A: We learned just how intensive this work can be on computer resources. In the future, we need to plan for access to much more extensive computational resources 鈥� preferably a supercomputer if possible.

Synergistic Effect of Clove & Cinnamon against Aspergillus flavus in Georgia Peanuts

Undergraduate Students: Alaina McClelland & Ari Schwartz
Research Mentor: Premila Achar
College: College of Science and Mathematics

Q: How would you explain your project to someone knows nothing about your field of study?

A: Peanuts are an important part of our diet, from peanut butter and snacks to desserts and cooking oils. Georgia produces a large portion of the peanuts grown in the southeastern U.S., so keeping these crops safe is a big deal. Unfortunately, peanuts are often contaminated by a dangerous fungus called Aspergillus flavus, which produces aflatoxin B1, a toxin that can cause liver damage and cancer in humans and animals. This contamination also causes significant economic losses in the peanut industry, up to $25 million annually in the U.S. alone.

Current control methods rely on synthetic fungicides, which can be harmful to the environment and human health. My research focused on testing natural alternatives: clove and cinnamon essential oils (EOs). We wanted to see if these plant-based oils, alone or in combination, could reduce fungal growth and aflatoxin production in peanuts. We found that the combination of clove and cinnamon was the most effective, showing that natural, food-safe products could be used as an alternative to chemical fungicides.

Q: What inspired you to pursue this project? Do you have a personal connection to it?

A: Ever since high school, I鈥檝e been interested in research because I wanted to explore questions that could make a real difference in the world. During the summer of 2024, I took a mycology class with Dr. Premila Achar, and I was fascinated by the complexity and impact of fungi, both their incredible abilities and the risks they pose. After the class, I reached out to Dr. Achar about joining a research project under her, and she connected me with my lab partners, who helped introduce me to the many lab procedures and etiquette.

When I first started, I didn鈥檛 realize the full impact of this project, but learning about how A. flavus affects human health and the peanut industry made me connect with it immediately. This project challenged me to be more accountable, persistent, open-minded, and teachable. While I didn鈥檛 have a strong personal connection at the start, this experience has made my first research project unforgettable.

Q: What is the main takeaway from your project?

A: The main takeaway is that combining clove and cinnamon essential oils is more effective than using either oil alone to reduce A. flavus growth and aflatoxin B1 contamination in peanuts. This demonstrates the potential of plant-based, GRAS-status alternatives to synthetic fungicides as a sustainable and food-safe solution.

Q: Were there any surprises or lessons learned along the way?

A: This project came with many challenges. In Fall 2024, I initially conducted research on fungal mycelium instead of peanuts, and I didn鈥檛 get the results I hoped for. I learned how important it is to refine methodology to improve outcomes. Despite early setbacks, I presented my work at the Spring Symposium at 91青青草 and the International Association for Food Protection Conference, sharing what went wrong and how I planned to improve.

In Spring 2025, I continued my research on peanuts, but the first LC-MS analysis gave no results. It was discouraging, but I remembered that research involves trial and error. I repeated the methodology, and the second attempt produced excellent results. This taught me the value of persistence, learning from mistakes, and never giving up, lessons I will carry with me throughout my career.

Foreign Object Debris Detection in UAS Based Thermal and RGB Images using AI-Assisted Models

Undergraduate Student: Caleb Caldwell
Graduate Student: Owais Ahmed
Research Mentor: Adeel Khalid
College: Southern Polytechnic College of Engineering and Engineering Technology

Q: How would you explain your project to someone knows nothing about your field of study?

A: My project is about evaluating the effectiveness of using a drone with thermal image capabilities for AI-Assisted Foreign Object Debris (FOD) detection. FOD is any unwanted and dangerous materials located on an airport runway, and removing this is very important to limit aircraft damages, minimize delays, and ensure there are no catastrophic events.

Q: What inspired you to pursue this project? Do you have a personal connection to it?

A: One connection I have to this project is my military aspirations. I have recently planned to become a military officer, and continuing work like this is very pivotal for both civilian and military applications. Another connection I have to military aviation is that my grandparents live on Naval Air Station Pensacola, Florida, where I have been able to see the Blue Angels practice and visit the National Naval Aviation Museum.

Q: What is the main takeaway from your project?

A: Drones and thermal imaging are effective for FOD detection; however, FOD detection technologies is something very important that needs to be continuously researched and improved in airports to maintain safety.

Q: Were there any surprises or lessons learned along the way?

A: One surprise that I was able to see was how the thermal images compared depending on the material. Since FOD is any material that could damage an aircraft, it comes in a variety of materials, shapes, colors, and sizes. It was interesting to see how easily I could see certain types of FOD from the images compared to how accurate our trained AI model was at doing the same thing.

Latinx Immigrants Working in the Carpet Capital of the World

Undergraduate Students: Jane Ramirez
Research Mentors: Porntip Twishime
College: Geer Family College of the Arts

Q: How would you explain your project to someone knows nothing about your field of study?

A: My project is an oral history, which is an audio recording capturing a subject鈥檚 story and personal experiences. Oral histories are a personal way to document history through the voices of people. I am specifically documenting my grandfather鈥檚 life story, being a Latinx Immigrant worker working in the Carpet Capital of the World: Dalton, Georgia.

Q: What inspired you to pursue this project? Do you have a personal connection to it?

A: I was inspired to pursue this project because, having been born and raised in Dalton, Georgia, I have always been very proud of the fact that I lived in the 鈥楥arpet Capital of the World,鈥� and that most of my family worked in carpet. The demographic in Dalton has shifted in the last couple of decades to now having a high Latinx population due to the job opportunities that the carpet industry has created. This massive demographic change (over 50% of the Dalton population is Latinx today) inspired me to document the story of someone who witnessed this change and how it shaped the city of Dalton.

Q: What is the main takeaway from your project?

A: The main takeaway from my project is the personal insight into the life of a Latinx immigrant worker in the carpet industry in Dalton. I believe that Latinx immigrant workers are pivotal to the carpet industry in Dalton, and that their stories are equally important.

Q: Were there any surprises or lessons learned along the way?

A: I was surprised to hear about how few Latinx people there were in the carpet industry in Dalton when my grandfather first moved there. It really put into perspective the Dalton my grandfather moved to and the Dalton I grew up in.

Simulating the AP1000: An Educational Game to Promote Understanding of Nuclear Energy Safety and Sustainability

Undergraduate Students: Mithil Honkanadavar, Evan Weir, Marco Cheng, Va'Qeuz Friday, & Caitlin Tigani
Research Mentors: Eduardo Farfan & Joy Li
College: College of Computing and Software Engineering

Q: How would you explain your project to someone knows nothing about your field of study?

A: We want people to be able to play this game and learn how this type of nuclear reactor works. We simulated the functions of a nuclear reactor as well as showcased the dangers and how they can be prevented. In the game you must maintain an AP1000 reactor, but there are robots that are breaking the reactor. The way that this is done is by doing mini games instead of the way it is done in real life. This is because many of the fail-safes in real life are automatic and will kick in much faster than a human can react. This helps prevent the dangers you can see in game from happening as the events are based on real dangers that can happen. They are simply depicted through the lens of a robot breaking them.

Q: What inspired you to pursue this project? Do you have a personal connection to it?

A: The reason I am on this project is because in my freshmen year I found out a professor from the nuclear engineering department wanted to make a game. However, because I was a freshman, I didn't have the full knowledge to be able to fulfill it on my own. So, in my sophomore spring semester, I connected with my educational games professor and was able to get my team in that class to complete the project that semester. This semester now I am a mentor for the current team from that class that is working on a different type of reactor.

Q: What is the main takeaway from your project?

A: The main takeaway from the project is learning about nuclear reactors and how they aren't as scary as people make them out to be. There are a lot of safes in place for them, and the people there take it very seriously. This game dramatizes it to make the game more interesting and fun to play, but there aren't little robots breaking the reactor every 30 seconds. It also hopefully will get people more interested in learning more about nuclear energy and maybe even inspire someone.

Q: Were there any surprises or lessons learned along the way?

A: From being on both this project and the previous one I found it is interesting how people think differently. As in the previous project, we didn't have a reason the reactor would go into meltdown for mini games, but the new team made the reason be robots messing with the reactor, which worked well and shows that the malfunctions are more so a part of the game and less like a real thing that just randomly happens.

Intergenerational Impact of Corporal Punishment: Correlating Childhood Experiences to Aggression and Future Disciplinary Intent

Undergraduate Student: Diksha Ghimirey
Research Mentor: Ginny Zhan
College: Radow College of Humanities and Social Sciences

Q: How would you explain your project to someone knows nothing about your field of study?

A: The research project I鈥檓 working on examines whether there is a connection between experiencing corporal punishment in childhood, meaning physical discipline used to correct behavior, and increased aggression in adulthood. The goal is to explore whether physical discipline contributes to aggressive tendencies later in life and to determine how likely individuals who experienced corporal punishment are to use similar disciplinary methods with their own children.

Q: What inspired you to pursue this project? Do you have a personal connection to it?

A: My inspiration for studying corporal punishment comes from a broader interest in childhood maltreatment and the generational cycle of violence. However, as maltreatment is a very heavy and complex topic, I chose to begin with corporal punishment as a starting point to explore how early discipline practices may relate to aggression later in life. While I was not physically disciplined by my parents, I鈥檝e witnessed corporal punishment used with children who share similar cultural or family backgrounds to myself, especially those raised in different countries where physical discipline may be more normalized. Witnessing these situations shaped my perspective, and I often find myself opposing physical discipline because small actions can become patterns, and patterns can escalate into harmful practices. This project allows me to explore those concerns through research and better understand the potential long-term effects.

Q: What is the main takeaway from your project?

A: There are two key questions I hope to address in this project. First, I want to determine whether there is a correlation between experiencing corporal punishment in childhood and displaying aggression in adulthood. Second, I aim to explore whether those early experiences shape a person鈥檚 perspective on child-rearing and disciplinary practices. While there are additional factors to consider, such as family structure, who administered the punishment, and participant age, not every variable can be fully controlled or was assessed within the research survey. However, by focusing on the most central and consistent variables, I hope the data will reveal meaningful patterns and provide a viable foundation for understanding how early discipline may influence later behavior and parenting approaches.

Q: Were there any surprises or lessons learned along the way?

A: One of the biggest lessons I learned during this project is the importance of approaching research without expectations. As my advisor Dr. Zhan reminds me each time we speak: It is all right to have data that is not reflective of what you had predicted. The most important aspect of doing research is the research process itself, not just the results. Hence, the most valuable part of this project has been experiencing the research process from start to finish. As the saying goes, it鈥檚 about the journey not the destination, and this project has reminded me to focus on the process and let the findings speak for themselves.

Measuring the Burden of Time in Oncology: A Literature Review Informing the Development of the Time Toxicity Index

Undergraduate Student: Isaac S. Kuhn
Research Mentor: Chinomso Nwozichi
College: Wellstar College of Health and Human Services

Q: How would you explain your project to someone knows nothing about your field of study?

A: Our project creates a tool called the Time Toxicity Index that measures how much time cancer patients spend on treatment, such as appointments, waiting, and recovering. This time burden is often overlooked but can affect how patients feel and whether they can keep up with treatment. By measuring it, healthcare providers and nurses can plan care that takes less time and better fits patients鈥� lives.

Q: What inspired you to pursue this project? Do you have a personal connection to it?

A: I was inspired to pursue this project because I鈥檝e always been interested in healthcare inequality and have personally experienced how limited access to care can affect people鈥檚 lives. I鈥檝e also seen people close to me struggle with the time and effort it takes to get medical treatment. My PI, who is an oncology nurse, brings firsthand experience from working directly with cancer patients and seeing how much time their treatment can take. Together, these perspectives motivated us to focus on understanding and reducing the time demands placed on patients, especially those already facing barriers to care.

Q: What is the main takeaway from your project?

A: The main takeaway from our project is that the time patients spend on cancer treatment is an important but often neglected burden. By measuring this with the Time Toxicity Index, healthcare providers can reduce unnecessary time demands, helping ease some of the strain the system already places on patients and improving their overall care experience.

Q: Were there any surprises or lessons learned along the way?

A: One lesson we learned was how often the time burden of cancer care is overlooked, even though it affects almost every part of a patient鈥檚 life. I was surprised by how little research exists on this issue and how difficult it can be to measure something as simple as "time" in a meaningful way.

Seven projects to look for at Fall Symposium of Student Scholars

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