WKU News

17 students from The Gatton Academy of Mathematics and Science at Western Kentucky University (WKU) received top honors for their presentations at the annual Kentucky Academy of Science (KAS) Student Competition. Of those, six were selected as delegates for the 2024 American Junior Academy of Science (AJAS) conference held in Denver, Colorado in February.

“The Kentucky Junior Academy of Science provided our students with a wonderful opportunity to present their research, learn from their peers, and network with fellow scientists,” said Sam Earls, Assistant Director of Academic Services at The Gatton Academy. “The feedback they received and the memories they made are invaluable, and The Gatton Academy is grateful to everyone who played a role in creating such a welcoming and educational environment for our students.”

The six Gatton Academy students who will represent the Commonwealth at AJAS are:

Asa Ashley (’25, Bowling Green High School) presented “Novel Synthesis of Maghemite Nanospheres on Nickel Foam as a Bifunctional Electrocatalyst for Alkaline Water Splitting” in organic/inorganic chemistry. Ashley is mentored by University of California – Santa Cruz faculty Dr. Yat Li in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry.

Mykah Carden (’24, Russellville High School) presented “Geological and Hydrogeological 'Red Flags' that Influence Land-Use Hazards in Karst: A Case Study in Warren County, Kentucky” in environmental sciences. Carden is mentored by WKU faculty Dr. Patricia Kambesis in the Department of Earth, Environmental, and Atmospheric Sciences.

Sara Nath (’24, Larry A. Ryle High School) presented “Classifying Alzheimer's Disease Outcome in Single-Cell RNA-Seq Datasets” in computer and information sciences. Nath is mentored by Brown University faculty Dr. Ritambhara Singh in the Department of Computer Science.

Laurel Patterson (’24, North Oldham High School) presented “Examining Factors Determining Neurite Outgrowth Through Computational Modeling” in engineering. Patterson is mentored by Purdue University faculty Dr. Taeyoon Kim in the Weldon School of Biomedical Engineering.

Sofia Sileo (’24, iLEAD Academy/Henry County High School) presented “Characterization of a Bacteriophage Protein that is Toxic to Mycobacterium smegmatis” in microbiology. Sileo is mentored by WKU faculty Dr. Rodney King in the Department of Biology.

Vivianna Weaver (’24, Garrard County High School) presented “Understanding the Impact of Environmental Pollution on Brain and Vascular Systems on the Zebrafish Model, Danio rerio” in physiology/biochemistry. Weaver is mentored by Brown University faculty Dr. Jessica Plavicki in the Department of Pathology.

An additional 11 Gatton Academy students received top marks for their poster or oral presentations.

Tobi Akangbe (’24, South Warren High School) presented “Assessment of the Neuromuscular and Motor Coordination of Female Mice in Response to Acute Sleep Fragmentation” in health sciences.

Savanna Arnold (24, Spencer County High School) presented “The Discovery of Gwendoluna, a Viral Predator of Mycobacterium smegmatis,” in microbiology.

Kal-El Cline (’24, Warren East High School) presented “The Adherence of Photocatalysts to Biodegradable Polymer Beads,” in organic/inorganic chemistry.

Nikhil Kumar (’24, duPont Manual High School) presented “Exploring the Influence of Polarity Proteins on the Elm1 Protein Kinase-Mediated Cell Shape Control” in cellular and molecular biology.

Jacob Ladwig (’24, Owensboro High School) presented “Hetero-Dinuclear Metal-Organic Coordination Polymers Constructed from Ruthenium (II) Polypyridyl Complexes,” in organic/inorganic chemistry.

Albert-Presley Mbanfu (’24, Greenwood High School) presented “c-Jun Protein Expression in the Regenerating Lamprey Spinal Cord” in cellular and molecular biology.

Presley Neagle (’24, Barren County High School) presented “Cell Shape is Mediated by a Joint Effort Between a Septin-Associated Kinase and Endocytic Protein” in cellular and molecular biology.

George Nguyen (’24, Warren Central High School) and Om Patel (’24, Breckinridge County High School) presented “Comparing Coherence Metrics for Determining the Number of Topics in Topic Modeling” in computer and information sciences.

Amy Pan (’24, Bowling Green High School) presented “iEquity: An Augmented Reality Theatre Production” in computer and information sciences.

Evalynn “Gracie” Veith (’24, South Warren High School) presented “Effects of Organic Phase on Surface Morphology in Emulsion Polymerization of Poly (Methyl Methacrylate) Beads,” in organic/inorganic chemistry.

“The presentations at this year’s meeting prove that students in Kentucky are adding to the world’s body of scientific knowledge in meaningful ways,” said Amanda Fuller, Executive Director of the Kentucky Academy of Science. “The breadth of topics explored and the exceptional quality of the students’ work highlight the limitless potential of our state’s future science leaders.”

The Kentucky Academy of Science Student Competition is an annual event occurring in conjunction with their Annual Meeting that enables undergraduates and high school students to participate in judged poster and oral presentations. Established in 1914, KAS brings scientists from across Kentucky together to share research and exchange ideas while also empowering scientists to share their work in their communities. KAS awards research grants and recognizes outstanding science education and outreach provided by its 4000+ members across the Commonwealth.

About The Gatton Academy: Established in 2007, The Gatton Academy is Kentucky’s first residential two-year program for gifted and talented juniors and seniors. The Gatton Academy’s students enroll as juniors and are full-time WKU students pursuing their interests in advanced science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. The Gatton Academy is a recipient of the 2022 Inspiring Programs in STEM Award from Insight Into Diversity Magazine and the Innovation Partnership Award from the National Consortium for Secondary STEM Schools.