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From left to right, WIU Political Science and History Senior, Winter Hurst-Leadicker, WIU President Kristi Mindrup, WIU Biology Senior Naomi Scotland, and WIU Electrical Engineering Senior Ryan Vance.
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From left to right, Interim CHASE Dean Kyle Mayborn, Associate Provost and Associate Vice President for Undergraduate Programs Lori Baker-Sperry, WIU Provost Mark Mossman, WIU Political Science and History Senior Winter Hurst-Leadicker, WIU President Kristi Mindrup, WIU Biology Chair, and Professor Rich Musser, WIU Speech Pathology and Audiology Senior Reagan Erickson.
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2026 Undergraduate Research Day Winners Announced

May 6, 2026

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MACOMB/MOLINE, IL — The Western Illinois University Centennial Honors College has announced the winners of the 23rd Annual Thomas E. Helm Undergraduate Research Day, which was held April 15. A total of 44 scholarly presentations were delivered by 131 students, spanning 15 majors.

Podium Competition
First Place: Ryan Vance (senior, Electrical Engineering student of Le Claire, IA)- Adding Smart Functionality to Garage Door Openers.

Second Place: Naomi Scotland (senior, Biology student of Macomb)- Quantifying the Half-Maximal Inhibitory Concentration (IC50) of Unknown Compounds in Ovarian Cancer Cells.

Third Place: Winterann Hurst-Leadicker (senior, Political Science and History student of Godfrey, IL)- A Study of the Quality of Life of Transgender Individuals on Account of Jurisdictional Differences in the United States.

Poster Competition
First Place: John Reed IV (senior, Physics student of Galesburg, IL), Physics Professors P.K. Babu and Saisudha B. Mallur, Physics -- Variation of Refractive Index and Optical Band Gap in Zinc-Tellurium-Bismuth-Borate Glasses.

Second Place: Rachael Boushell (freshman, Forensic Chemistry student of Edwards, IL), Natalie Hudson (freshman, Forensic Chemistry student of Streator, IL), Payton Wiggins (senior, Forensic Chemistry student of Batavia, IL)- The Use of Fluorescent Silica Nanoparticle as Biosensors for the Detection of Methamphetamine.

Third Place: Hattie Mourning (senior, Exercise Science student of Lincoln, IL)- Corrective Exercises for Tech Neck Symptoms: A Literature Review.

Winners are awarded monetary prizes of $200 for first place, $100 for second place and $50 for third place. Winners' abstracts can be viewed at wiu.edu/researchday.

All presenters and the titles of their abstracts can be viewed at wiu.edu/researchday/program.

Posted By: University Communications (U-Communications@wiu.edu)
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