The 2021 Mario M. Casabona Future Scientists Program encourages students to recognize the importance of oral communication skills and the ability to discuss the results of scholarship effectively with various audiences and at all levels. The Program motivates, trains and rewards students for the preparation and delivery of effective communication of scientific research to the general public and non-science professionals. Such presentation and communication skills provide students with the capacity to be distinctly competitive and successful in their subsequent educational and career paths. In this final round of presentations, we will select this year’s winners.
This year’s competition will be held virtually through Zoom, contact Associate Dean Scott Kight, kights@montclair.edu for the link, on April 21, 2021 at 3:00 pm. Students presenting for five minutes will be allowed five slides in their presentation, and are being judged for awards. Students presenting for three minutes will have single slide presentations.
Program
- 3:00 Welcome, Opening Remarks, and Introductions by Dean Lora Billings
- 3:10 Student Presentations – Moderator, Assoc. Dean Scott Kight
- 4:00 Judge Deliberations and Audience voting
- 4:15 Awards Ceremony
- Best Poster Award ($500)
- Third Place Talk Award ($1,000)
- Second Place Talk Award ($1,500)
- First Place Talk Award ($2,000) And Best Mentor Award ($1,500)
- Audience Favorite Award ($500)
- 4:25 Closing Remarks from Mario M. Casabona and Lora Billings
Panel of Judges
- MARIO M. CASABONA, Founder and Managing Partner Casabona Ventures, LLC
- HARVEY D. HOMAN, PhD, Keiretsu Forum (K4-MA) North Jersey Chapter President
- PAUL LEWIS, Founder and CEO, Calamu
- KRIS OHLETH, Executive Director, Special Initiative on Offshore Wind, University of Delaware
- JUDITH SHEFT, Executive Director, NJ Commission of Science, Innovation and Technology
Special Thanks to Mario M. Casabona for his generous leadership and support for this program.
Student Participants
Five Minute Presentations
- YOU ARE IN MY HEART: Worker Emotion Understanding for Future Worker-Robot Collaboration-Safety Improvement
Hope Diamantopoulos, Computer Science Major
Mentor: Dr. Weitian Wang - Using Earth’s Paleoclimate Records to Better Predict Future Climate Change
Anthony Gachetti, Earth & Environmental Science Major
Mentor: Dr. Ying Cui - Coconut Oil Contributes to Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease (NAFLD) In A Gender Dependent Manner
Paolo Turano, Biology Major
Mentor: Dr. Carlos Molina
Three Minute Presentations
- An Analysis of the Montclair State Course Enrollment Network
Sarah Acquaviva, Mathematics Major
Mentor: Dr. Deepak Bal - Can We Make Thermophilic Proteins Work Better Using Some Heat Pretreatment?
Kimberly Calix, Biochemistry Major
Mentor: Dr. Yvonne Gindt - Tax Reform Act of 2017 and Its Effects
Allison Conlon, Applied Math and Statistics Major
Mentor: Dr. Youngna Choi - A+ Low-Loss Faraday Isolator Upgrade
John Notte, Physics Major
Mentor: Dr. Rodica Martin - Light Addressable Electrochemical Sensors for Imaging Neurotransmitters
Katherine Schaffer, Chemistry Major
Mentor: Dr. Glen ONeil - The Road to a Portable, Accurate, Rapid Aptamer Test
Evelyn Visan, Molecular Biology Major
Mentors: Dr. Nina Goodey and Dr. Kirsten Monsen