winners of 2026 sps in front of stage

SPS Winners 2026

Biochemistry, Cell & Molecular Biology

First Place

2026-BCMB-104    
Single Cell Sequencing of TCF7L2 CRISPR Mutants Identifies Differentially Expressed Genes in Microglia
Morgan Haydock
Department of Biology
Faculty Supervisor: Nicholas Silva

Second Place

2026-BCMB-106   
Understanding the Role of PSN in the Neurodevelopment of Drosophila melanogaster
Joshua Rosales, Maria Mendoza
Department of Biology
Faculty Supervisor: Blake Riggs

Third Place

2026-BCMB-108   
Challenges and Opportunities for Exploring Differences in BltD Enzyme Oligomerization Across Multiple Bacterial Species
Abraham Conant, David Marczak, Alejandra Portillo, Jonathan Tam, Hazel N. Leiva Martel
Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry
Faculty Supervisor: Misty L. Kuhn

 

Civil & Mechanical Engineering

First Place

2026-CME-213 
VibeFrame
Issak Sainz, Angela Rivelli
School of Engineering
Faculty Supervisor: David Quintero 

Second Place

2026-CME-202 
Sense Hat: a Close-Proximity Hat for Visually Impaired individuals
Kevin Huang, Milton Tinoco, Jose Barrios
School of Engineering
Faculty Supervisor: David Quintero

Third Place (tie)

2026-CME-206 
Large-Scale Soil–Structure–Fluid Interaction for Seismic Risk Assessment of Advanced Reactors (SMRs)
Jose Barrios Lopez
School of Engineering
Faculty Supervisor: Jenna Wong

2026-CME-219 
Modal and Seismic Response of a SMF with Living Roof Systems
Denise Steffen
School of Engineering
Faculty Supervisor: Jenna Wong

 

Computer Science, Computer Engineering & Electrical Engineering

First Place

2026-CSEE-320
Attacks on Electroencephalogram Authentication
Michael Thompson, Joseph Bae
Department of Computer Science
Faculty Supervisor: Sara El Alaoui 

Second Place

2026-CSEE-304
This is How I Feel: Personalizing Socio-Emotional Expression in AAC with Social Robots
Matthieu DePaul, Michael Cabrera, Cameron Tuttle
School of Engineering
Faculty Supervisor: Alyssa Kubota

Third Place (tie)

2026-CSEE-322
Automated Basketball Shooting Trainer Using Computer Vision
Jerzees Fernandez, Abdulaziz Abdullah, E.J. Diao, Trenton Tong-Seely
School of Engineering
Faculty Supervisor: Hamid Mahmoodi

2026-CSEE-307
ViDeCanvas: Video Object Detection Visualization Canvas
Areeb Abbasi, Lylia Melahi
Department of Computer Science
Faculty Supervisor: Shahrukh Humayoun

 

Environment

First Place

2026-ENV-401 
Climate Reconstruction from Cell Structure in California Oaks
Adam Johnston
School of the Environment
Faculty Supervisor: Alexander Stine 

Second Place (tie)

2026-ENV-411 
Observing Daily Thermal Inversion Cycles of a Mountain Valley in the North Yuba River Watershed
Alaina Ross
School of the Environment
Faculty Supervisor: Alexander Stine

2026-ENV-409 
The Generation of a High-Quality De Novo Genome Assembly for the Endemic Galápagos Dove
Eva J. Driggs
Department of Biology
Faculty Supervisor: Jaime A. Chaves 

Third Place

2026-ENV-417 
Effects of Historic San Francisco Redlining on Rat Complaints Distribution and Occurrence
Keira Denlinger
Department of Psychology
Faculty Supervisor: Robert Boria 

 

Mathematical & Physical Sciences

First Place

2026-MPS-503
SMHr-IL: A Python GUI for Integrated Light Analysis
Monique Lynn Windju
Department of Physics & Astronomy
Faculty Supervisor: Charli Sakari 

Second Place

2026-MPS-516
Impact of Fluoride on Anatase Titanium Dioxide Thin Films for Energy Applications
Brandon Le
Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry
Faculty Supervisor: Andrew Ichimura 

Third Place

2026-MPS-509
Transverse Localization in Disordered Hybrid Plasmonic Waveguide Arrays
Holden Saberhagen
Department of Physics & Astronomy
Faculty Supervisor: Huizhong Xu 

 

Microbiology & Biomedical Sciences

First Place

2026-MBS-605
Validation of a Valproic Acid Model of Autism Spectrum Disorder to Study Microglial Function
Andreas Krumbein, Allison Escandon, Judith Jacinto
Department of Biology
Faculty Supervisor: Nicholas Silva

Second Place

2026-MBS-607
Cell-Free Biocatalytic Synthesis of Novel Penicillin Derivatives
Mark Trujillo, Armando Barajas
Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry
Faculty Supervisor: Gassner

Third Place 

2026-MBS-611
Metabolic Stress Tolerance: Vacuole Remodeling During Recovery from Starvation in Saccharomyces cerevisiae
Nathalie Vinluan Aquino
Department of Biology
Faculty Supervisor: Yee-Hung Mark Chan 

 

Physiology, Zoology and Marine Science 

First Place

2026-PZMS-713
The Role of Intergenerational Plasticity (IGP) in Adaptive Response to Extreme Temperatures in the Porcelain Crab Petrolisthes cinctipes
Josephine Grell
Department of Biology
Faculty Supervisor: Jonathon Stillman 

Second Place

2026-PZMS-718
Measuring Chronic Stress Through Hair Cortisol in a Latinx Community: A Collaborative Study by The Latina Center and Health Equity Research Lab
Yuliana Caravantes Molina
Department of Biology
Faculty Supervisor: Cathy Samayoa

Third Place 

2026-PZMS-706
Spatiotemporal dynamics of bipolar cell differentiation in the rod-only retina of Leucoraja erinacea
Elvira Magaña
Department of Biology
Faculty Supervisor: Ivan Anastassov

Honorable Mention

2026-PZMS-719 
Investigating transducin dynamics and developmental expression in photoreceptor cells of the Little Skate retina
Oksana Romaniuk
Department of Biology
Faculty Supervisor: Ivan Anastassov

 

Psychology, Human Geography & Science Education

First Place

2026-SOC-803
Attachment Insecurity and Loneliness in Romantic Relationships: Examining Actor and Partner Effects
Aileen Generoso, Sally Chan
Department of Psychology
Faculty Supervisor: Sarah Holley 

Second Place

2026-SOC-804
Understanding Career Transitions into Information Technology (IT): The Roles of Gender and Education
Shree Krithika Shanmugavel
Department of Psychology
Faculty Supervisor: Shiyu Yang

Third Place 

2026-SOC-806
Tuning Out the World: The Neural Correlates of the Habituation of Higher-Level Cognitions
Bella Benzaken
Department of Psychology
Faculty Supervisor: Ezequiel Morsella 

2026-SOC-812
When Stress Meets Loneliness: Examining Their Combined Impact on Depression
Natalie Kaldani
Department of Psychology
Faculty Supervisor: Sarah Holley

2026-SOC-834
The Role of Election-Related Coping Mechanisms on Sociopolitical Stress Throughout the 2024 US Presidential Election
Cooper Klassen
Department of Psychology
Faculty Supervisor: Melissa Hagan