On March 28, 2015, the College of Arts and Sciences celebrated its 25th annual Robyn Rafferty Mathias Student Research Conference, funded in part by a generous grant from AU trustee and alumna Robyn Rafferty Mathias.

Undergraduate, graduate, and doctoral students presented original scholarly and creative works in front of their colleagues, faculty members, and friends. 

The winning presentations earned cash prizes, and winning graduate students also received a conference travel award.

The 2015 winners are as follows: 

Best Oral Presentation in the Arts and Humanities by a Graduate Student

Catherine Vassaux (MA art history)

Powerful Flesh: Lucretius and the Body of Venus in Bronzino’s An Allegory with Venus and Cupid

Best Oral Presentation in the Arts and Humanities by a Junior or Senior

Sarah Palazzolo (BA Spanish: Latin American studies) 

Narrating the Journey: A Collective Testimonial Account of Central American Youth Migration

Best Oral Presentation in the Arts and Humanities by a Freshman or Sophomore

Taryn Daniels (BA public communications) 

Sports, PR, and the Media: How Much We Really Know about Our Favorite Athletes

Best Oral Presentation in the Performing Arts by a Graduate Student

Jessica Ferey (MA arts management)

Are We There Yet? Gender Equality in Arts Leadership

Best Oral Presentation in the Performing Arts by a Junior or Senior

Darren Rabinowitz (BA interdisciplinary studies)

Dirty Conscience: A Major, an Identity, a Performance

Best Oral Presentation in the Sciences by a Graduate Student

Anne Ballard (MS biology)

Investigating the Fitness Effects of Synonymous Mutations in Escherichia coli: A Test of the Local and Global Translational Selection Hypotheses

Best Oral Presentation in the Sciences by a Junior or Senior

David D’Auria (BA mathematics and economics)

What is a Matrix? (and How Can it Predict the Weather?)

Best Oral Presentation in the Social Sciences by a Graduate Student

Siobhan McGuirk (PhD anthropology)

Defining the “Exceptionally Vulnerable”: NGOs' Role in Categorizing Deserving Immigrants

Best Oral Presentation in the Social Sciences by a Junior or Senior

Ta Lynn Mitchell (BA sociology)

Elements of Mentor Programming that Add and Distract from the Development of African American Girls

Best Oral Presentation in the Social Sciences by a Freshman or Sophomore

Sarah Hendricks (BA print journalism and computer science)

Missing Girls: Gender Inequality and Gendercide in China and India

Best Poster Presentation in the Sciences by a Graduate Student 

Linda Amarante (PhD behavior, cognition, and neuroscience)

The Neuroscience of Subjective Value and Behavioral Choice

Best Poster Presentation in the Sciences by a Junior or Senior

Sarah Bieniek (BA biology and physics)

Relating Dust Composition to Light Extinction Curves

Best Poster Presentation in the Sciences by a Freshman or Sophomore (Shared Prize)

Anya Pforzheimer (BA undeclared), Faith Bruton (BA public health), and Alexandra Parry (BA undeclared)

Mental Health and Gender Stigmas Through the Media

Best Poster Presentation in the Social Sciences by a Graduate Student (Shared Prize)

Leah Rothschild (PhD clinical psychology), Kelly MacDonald (MA psychology), Emma Woodward (MA psychology), Kat Allen (MA psychology), and Cara Goerlich (BA psychology)

Parental Reactions to their Children's Upset

Best Poster Presentation in the Social Sciences by a Junior or Senior

Wyatt Bensken (BA public health)

Assessment of the Health Status of the Seme Community, Kisumu County, Western Kenya