Thank you to all the presenters, attendees, and judges for their participation in the 5th Annual East Central Illinois ACS Undergraduate Research Conference. We are grateful for all the wonderful presentations and scientific dialogue that occurred on our platform this week. Thank you as well to everyone who participated in our live networking sessions, keynote address, and Q&A panel.
Congratulations to our award winners!
ECI-ACS Outstanding Poster Presentation:
- Kailey Komnick, UIUC “Structural-Activity Relationship Campaign Leads to a Novel Chain of Fusidic Acid with an Improved Resistance Profile”
- Jessica Villegas & Noah Moriarty, Valparaiso University “Design and Synthesis of Potential Antifungal Drugs”
- Kylie Smith, Purdue University ““Inorganic Chemistry Lab Development: Iron Solubility”
ECI-ACS Outstanding Oral Presentation:
- Ruby Chen, UIUC ““Lipophilic Tunings of Small-Molecule Mediated Metal Mobilization”
- Vennela Mannava, University of Chicago “Carbon Dioxide Utilization in Plastic Production: Development of a Nickel Catalyst”
ECI-ACS Women Chemists Committee Outstanding Presentation:
- Milena Nutrobkina & Elizabeth Slowik, UIUC “Plant Inspired Soft Actuators”
- Namuunzul Otgontseren, UIUC “Accessing In Vivo and Multiplexed Imaging through the Development of a Multicolor Panel of Activatable HNO Probes”
- Allyson Imfeld, Purdue University, ““Inorganic Chemistry Experiment: Formation and Properties of Copper Coordination Complexes”
- Lucy Shon, UIUC “Single-Chain Nanoparticle Delivers a Partner Enzyme for Concurrent and Tandem Catalysis in Cells”
The National Organization for the Professional Advancement of Black Chemists and Chemical Engineers (NOBCChE) Outstanding Presentation:
- Niya Mitchell, UIUC “Design and Modeling of Macrocyclic RNA Targeting Agents for DM1”
The Society for the Advancement of Chicanos/Hispanics and Native Americans in Science (SACNAS) and Friends Outstanding Presentation:
- Jessica Villegas, Valparaiso University “Design and Synthesis of Potential Antifungal Drugs” (co-presented with Noah Moriarty)
- Juan Canchola, Illinois State University “Synthesis and Biological Evaluation of the Anaephene Natural Products”
- Luke Madden, Illinois State University “Examination of Unprompted Shared Resources and Motives by Chemistry Educators during Online Discussions in Graduate Courses”
Wolfram|Alpha Outstanding Presentation:
- Vennela Mannava, University of Chicago “Carbon Dioxide Utilization in Plastic Production: Development of a Nickel Catalyst”
- Milena Nutrobkina & Elizabeth Slowik, UIUC “Plant Inspired Soft Actuators”
- Paul Grocki, Indiana University–Purdue University Indianapolis “Chemometric Analysis of Urinary Volatile Organic Compounds Discriminates Murine Breast Cancer Presence and Progression Over Time”
- Philip Kocheril, UIUC, “Progress Toward an Intracellular Neutralization Mimic for Molecular Dynamics Simulations on Nucleic Acid-Targeting Ligands for Myotonic Dystrophy Type 1″
Thank you again for participating in our conference and we hope to see you next year at the 6th Annual ECI-ACS Undergraduate research conference in mid-November 2021!