NJIT's Honors College Continues 30th Anniversary Celebration at Research Forum
Students from Albert Dorman Honors College’s courses – Introduction to Research Writing, Introduction to Research Methods, Introduction to Entrepreneurship and Science, Technology and Urban Transformation – presented their semester's research during the fourth Honors Interdisciplinary Research Forum, with topics ranging from housing affordability crisis in New Jersey to an analysis of cartographical and textual evidence of Pope Joan.
Courses provide an overview of applying the scientific method to real-life research, including ethical concerns, qualitative and quantitative methods, and how to critically evaluate published research findings. Students work with faculty mentors on research projects, while writing proposals for the support of future research.
Thirty faculty members played the role of judges, and after calculating their grades, announced the winners. This year as ADHC celebrates its 30th anniversary, several of the winners will head to San Diego for the National Collegiate Honors Council Conference.
“Undergraduate research is central to what we've become here in the Honors College over the last several years,” said Louis I. Hamilton, dean of ADHC. “This the largest undergraduate research program at the university, and undergraduate research is an incredible strength of the Honors College and of NJIT generally. Since 2019, we've been awarded 15 Goldwater scholars, second most in the state of New Jersey, more than Princeton University in the state of New Jersey.”
Industrial design student, Ray Sama, won first place in the Introduction to Research Writing group. His project titled, “Reducing Food Waste Through User-Experience (UX) Messaging in NJIT’s Dining Hall,” looked closely at how students can improve their sustainable behaviors.
“I would think of running some research in the dining hall, having what is called a user interview … where you actually walk through the journey of a student who gets to the dining hall,” described Sama on how he could expand his research. “Normally they walk into how they serve themselves, or get served, and the moment they get back to their seat, and even how they leave. So thinking about the entire experience and finding the pain points that could be used to create a better experience for them, to help them have more sustainable behaviors when it comes to food waste.
“There are a lot of students in the school who are food insecure, and getting people in society to be able to take more sustainable behaviors is something that's going to be long lasting. I look forward to doing more research on this.”
Another first place winner in the Introduction to Research Writing group, Sophia Jacob, looked into the effects of culture on perceptions of modern medicine in Cameroon.
“Initially I was going to base my project off of a lot of different regions because I have a very personal interest in how culture impacts people’s accessibility to healthcare, their opinions on healthcare and their interaction with healthcare in their environment,” said Jacob, a biology major. “And soon I realized that it wasn't feasible for me to do a deep dive into so many different regions and compare them as much as I wanted to.
“I did more research on my own about Cameroon and attitudes towards healthcare in Cameroon. And I ended up finding exactly what I had been itching to understand for so long, so that's what I really pursued. I found so many of the answers that I had been searching for. It was just really empowering to be able to research something that I am personally interested in that might not have any apparent broader impact on healthcare, but to me, it was very influential because it kind of quenched the thirst for knowledge that I had for so long.”
Joining Sama and Jacob in San Diego for the National Collegiate Honors Council Conference will be Jane Kalla who won first place in the 2024 Honors Summer Research Institute group and Ananya Raghunath, who won first place in the Introduction to Research Methods group.
“I’m incredibly excited about the opportunity to attend the conference in San Diego this fall," said Raghunath. “I'm glad that I get the opportunity to travel with a purpose, especially one rooted in learning and sharing knowledge. I can’t wait to engage with the incredible research being presented and gain new perspectives that will inform the next steps of my work.”
WINNERS
Introduction to Research Writing
3rd Place: Joshua John, “The Role of Telemedicine in Increasing Access to Healthcare in Underserved Communities”
2nd Place: Lilith Janevska, “Fireworks Methadone: An overview of various methods of risk reduction in civilian pyrotechnics usage with novel approaches from analysis of drug policy in the United States and Europe” and Tanvi Prabhudesai, “Raucous Spring: Promising Alternatives to Synthetic Chemicals in Agriculture”
1st Place: Ray Sama, “Reducing Food Waste Through User-Experience (UX) Messaging in NJIT’s Dining Hall” and Sophia Jacob, “Cultural Factors Influencing Perceptions of Healthcare in Cameroon”
Introduction to Entrepreneurship
1st Place: Anna Daudelin, Sriram Ganisetti, Eric Huand, “Focus Flow”
Introduction to Research Methods
1st Place: Ananya Raghunath, “Jailbreaking in The Latent Space”
2024 Honors Summer Research Institute
1st Place: Jane Kalla, “What is the impact of visual clutter on emotion recognition in video conferencing?”
Science, Technology and Urban Transformation
1st Place: Ho Joon Han, Rebecca Hu, Jaden Lam, Julia Lam, “Collaboration with Newark Science and Sustainability: Using Digital Technology to Promote Urban Agriculture”
