April 15, 2025
For Immediate Release
RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK, NORTH CAROLINA – Sigma Xi, The Scientific Research Honor Society presented awards for its 2025 Student Research Showcase. The virtual competition included 181 student participants across 13 disciplinary categories. Awards were given for first place ($500) and second place ($250) winners in the high school, undergraduate, and graduate divisions. Additional prizes were awarded for the top overall winner and people's choice awards.
The 2025 overall winner was Hannah Swarm, a graduate student from Virginia Tech. Her project, New Insecticide Application for Virginia Wireworm Control was awarded an additional $500 prize. The people's choice winner was Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy student Matthew Nowak, who received a $250 prize for his project, Nucleoporin93: Endothelial Cells' Nuclear Morpher.
The Student Research Showcase is an annual virtual competition aimed to build students' science communication skills so they can convey the value of their research to technical and nontechnical audiences. Participants submitted abstracts for entry into the competition in early spring. During a month-long evaluation period, students built websites, videos, and slideshows to present their research to a panel of judges and public audiences. Judges' evaluations were based on how well the students communicated enthusiasm for their projects; explained the significance of their research; used text, charts, and diagrams; and responded to questions.
2025 Student Research Showcase Awards:
Overall Winner
Hannah Swarm, Virginia Tech
New Insecticide Application for Virginia Wireworm Control
People’s Choice Award
Matthew Nowak, Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy
Nucleoporin93: Endothelial Cells' Nuclear Morpher
First Place High School Division *two-way tie*
Ana Spiride, Plano East Senior High School
HandTalk: A Two-Way Translation System for ASL
Eddie Zhang, Evan Zhang - The Harker School
Bio-Inspired Pneumatic Soft Robotic Inspection System
Second Place High School Division *five-way tie*
Tiffany Ye, William G. Enloe Magnet School
Acoustofluidic Extraction of miRNA for Parkinson’s Disease Diagnosis
Raghav Vij, Heritage International Xperiential School
Consumer Perceptions, Purchase Intentions, and Eco-labelling
Akshay Kumar, American Heritage Broward
Novel siRNA Design Workflow: Fighting Catastrophic Pandemics
Dhairya Mathur, West Windsor Plainsboro High School South
SSRI-Linked Serotonin Signaling in Stress-Driven Metastasis
Sagnik Das, Raleigh Charter High School
A Comparative Study of the Cuban Healthcare System
First Place Undergraduate Division
Glenda Rodrigues Santos Giordani, State University of New York at New Paltz
Gradient Temperature Analysis of Hempcrete
Second Place Undergraduate Division
Noa Croitoru, Virginia Tech
Role of Early Maladaptive Schemas in Substance Use Disorders
First Place Graduate Division
Hannah Swarm, Virginia Tech
New Insecticide Application for Virginia Wireworm Control
Second Place Graduate Division
John Kyle Cook, Duke University
Heart Transplant: DCD using Normothermic Regional Perfusion