Awards
The Illinois State Academy of Science annually awards grants and makes presentation awards to our student members in support of developing science achievement. In addition, faculty and research members periodically receive special recognition awards.
- Annual competition for student research grants to support research efforts.
- Recognition of excellence for student presentations at the annual meeting.
Scientists have been periodically recognized as ISAS Fellows in recognition of their outstanding service to science and the Academy.
In honor of our 100th year, the Centennial Award was presented to Roger Anderson.
STUDENT RESEARCH GRANTS
- Competitive grants are awarded annually to Illinois high school, undergraduate, and graduate students who are members of the Illinois State Academy of Science.
- High school awards are up to $200 each, undergraduate awards are up to $500, each and graduate awards are up to $1,000 each.
- Online proposals are generally accepted beginning in October each year via the online application portal
- Awards are announced in December each year, with funding provided no later than January the following year.
The 2025 application period for 2026 Student Research Grants was October 13 through November 22. Awards were announced in December 2025, with funding in January 2026.
Research Grant Recipients
2026 Recipients
Graduate Students
Deborah Ojo, Southern Illinois University Edwardsville
Effects of AdipoRon on β-cell Function and Survival Under Nutrient Overload
Constance Eze, Southern Illinois University Edwardsville
Socioeconomic Factors, Diet and Early Indicators of Chronic Metabolic Disease Risk in Young Adults
Kenzie File, Southern Illinois University Edwardsville
Toxicological Effects of the UV Filter Oxybenzone on Activity Levels in Schmidtea mediterranea
Undergraduate Students
Rebecca Agans, Eastern Illinois University
Development of Accessible Assays to Monitor Cancer Drug Activation by CES2
Tsilate M Tadesse, Illinois College
The Effect of Controlled Breathing on Cognitive Performance Among Young, Healthy College Students
Elyse Malamud, Northwestern University
Ectomycorrhizal Fungal Communities in Restored and Remnant Quercus alba (white oak) Forests
STUDENT PRESENTATION AWARDS
Best oral and poster presentations are awarded at each annual meeting.
Abstracts and more information about each presentation is available from our Annual Meetings tab.
Annual Meeting Presentation Award Recipients
2026 ISAS Recipients
Agriculture
1st Poster, Ella Eathington, Spoon River Valley HS/Spoon River College [Time of Thaw of Bull Semen Versus Motility Rate of Semen]
Anthropology & Archeology
1st Poster, Hollie Pettit, Illinois College [Permanent Tooth Eruption Timing and Malocclusion Class in Modern Humans: A Dental Cast Analysis]
Cellular, Molecular, & Developmental Biology
1st Oral, Arnav Chaphalkar, Adlai E. Stevenson High School [Spatial Transcriptomics-Conditioned Latent Diffusion Models for Synthetic Histopathology Tissue Patch Generation]
1st Poster, Livia Kimberlin & Cody Clayton, Bradley University [Search for New Antimicrobial Compounds from Paenibacillus sp. Collected from Asian Carp]
2nd Poster, Alexander Sebastian, Bradley University [Investigating the Transcriptomic Response of Chitin Synthase Genes and Novel Cold-Induced Factors in Tetrahymena thermophila Following Cold Shock]
Chemistry & Biochemistry
1st Oral, Jennifer Teibowei, Eastern Illinois University [Design and Synthesis of Fluorogenic Chemical Tools Based on Rhodol Scaffolds to Study Human Carboxylesterase 1 (CES1)]
1st Poster-Grad, Alayna Brown, Western Illinois University [Quantitative Analysis of Polycylic Aromatic Hydrocarbons in Recycled Tire Materials Using Gas Chromatography]
1st Poster-UG/HS, Beamlak Hiltework, Illinois College [Recycling Copper Catalysts for Sustainable Triazole Synthesis in Aqueous Media]
2nd Poster-UG/HS, Angela Balderas, Western Illinois University [Synthesis of ZnO Nanoparticles]
Computer Science
1st Oral, Sidharth Brahmandam, Illinois Math and Science Academy [Novel Dimensionality Reduction of Quantum Approximate Optimization Algorithm Parameter Space with Radial Basis Kernel for Max-Cut]
1st Poster, Abiodun Adebanjo, Western Illinois University [AI-Based Framework for Intrusion Detection and Automated Prevention in Cloud Computing Environments]
Honorable Mention Poster, Kelly Liu, Skinner North Classical School [Can People Identify AI vs. Human Writing?]
Engineering & Technology
Honorable Mention Oral, Liz Awuor, Illinois State University [Generative Artificial Intelligence as a Decision-Support Tool: Implications for Risk Management in Technology Projects]
1st Poster-Grad, Ethel Asamoah, Illinois State University [Artificial Intelligence (AI) in the Project Team: Assistant, Analyst, or Decision Maker]
1st Poster-UG/HS, Elliott Choi & Avitej Akula, Adlai E. Stevenson High School [The Effect of Different Machine Learning Surrogate Models for Bayesian Optimization on the Thrust-to-Power Ratio of Physical Electrohydrodynamic Ion Thrusters]
2nd Poster-UG/HS, Arav Moonat, Benjamin Franklin Middle School [Which Wind Turbine Generates the Most Voltage?]
Environmental Science
1st Oral-Grad, Blake Rentz, Southern Illinois University Edwardsville [Comparative Life-History Parameters of DDT-Susceptible and -Resistant Drosophila melanogaster Strains]
1st Oral-UG/HS, Anda Wattanakit, Richwoods High School [Characterization of Lead Oxide Colloids Through Chemical Synthesis to Optimize Water Conditions in Lead-Bearing Pipes]
1st Poster-Grad, Ezekiel Tosin Babatunde, Southern Illinois University Edwardsville [Oxybenzone-Induced Oxidative Stress and Genotoxicity in Aiptasia pallida: A Coral Model for Risk Assessment in Coastal Ecosystems]
2nd Poster-Grad, Kailani Vazquez, Bradley University [Assessing the Effects of Carbon Dioxide and pH on Amphibian Development and Susceptibility to Parasitism]
1st Poster-UG/HS, Viola Stangle, Southern Illinois University Edwardsville [Towards Assessing Reactive Oxygen Species Generation from Natural Organic Matter-Capped Nanoparticles]
2nd Poster-UG/HS, Garrett Vanfossan, Southern Illinois University Edwardsville [Determination of Altered Responses to Starvation Stress in DDT-Susceptible and -Resistant Strains of Drosophila melanogaster]
Health Sciences
1st Oral, Jaelyn Hammersley, Oak Park River Forest High School [Therapeutic Potential of Gedunin on the Effects of Parkinson’s Disease in a Drosophila melanogaster Model]
1st Poster-Grad, Ayesha Mehwish, Illinois State University [Evaluating the Impact of an AI Chatbot on Self-Efficacy and Advising Support Among Students Enrolled in Didactic Program of Dietetics]
1st Poster-UG/HS, Aarush Bhagwat, Adlai E. Stevenson High School [Evaluating the Impact of CNN Architectures on Colorectal Cancer Detection]
Microbiology
1st Poster-Grad, Sara Shafii, Southern Illinois University Edwardville [Temperate Phages as Drivers of Strain-Level Variation in Paraburkholderia–Dictyostelium Symbiosis]
1st Poster-UG/HS, Ashley Milller & Shaylin Roark, Lewis University [Examining the Antimicrobial Properties within Osage Orange (Maclura pomifera) Extract Against Clinically Relevant Bacterial Strains]
2nd Poster-UG/HS, Cody Clayton & Livia Kimberlin, Bradley University [Search for New Antimicrobial Compounds from Bacillus velezensis Collected from Asian Carp]
3rd Poster-UG/HS, Zahra Haji, Millikin University [Determining the Ability of Pseudomonas sp. to Inhibit the Growth of Various Bacterial Strains in the Presence of Naphthalene]
Physics, Mathematics, & Astronomy
1st Oral, Angelica Strack, Western Illinois University [Physical and Optical Properties of Europium (Eu3+) and Neodymium (Nd3+) Co-Doped Bismuth Boro-Tellurite Glasses]
1st Poster, Srinithi Kambhampati, Adlai E Stevenson High School [Examining the Effects of Auction Format and Sector-Specific Valuation Distributions on Reserve Price Maximization Using Order-Statistic Theory, Expected Revenue Modeling, and FAucS Simulation Analysis]
2nd Poster, Chelsie Hadley, Western Illinois University [Variations in Refractive Index and Sm-Fluorescence in Cadmium Bismuth Borate Glasses]
STEM Education
1st Poster (tie), Cody Clayton, Bradley University [Infanticide or Genetics: Calmodulin Mutations and Kathleen Folbigg]
1st Poster (tie), Paige Kern, Augustana College [Comparison of Floating Wetland Treatment (FTW) Model for Secondary Classroom Use]
Zoology
1st Oral, Thanveer Aslam, Eastern Illinois University [Prevalence of Cytauxzoon felis Cytochrome-b Variants in Domestic Cats and Bobcats]
1st Poster-Grad, Isabell Walker, Southern Illinois University Edwardsville [Behavioral Flexibility in Tool Use of Aphaenogaster rudis: Forced Choice Trials]
1st Poster-UG/HS, Addison Oyer, Millikin University [Increasing Evidence of Zika Virus Exposure in Neotropical Migratory Songbirds Arriving in Macon County, Illinois]
2nd Poster-UG/HS, Kortney Stage, Southern Illinois University Edwardsville [Microplastic Accumulation in Fish with Different Feeding Strategies]
Illinois Junior Academy of Science
1st Poster, Mohammed Mubarak Ali, Dunlap High School [Comparative Analysis of Field Methods for Detecting Cyanobacteria in Freshwater]
2nd Poster, Aditya Dara, Dunlap High School [Determining Cocoa Bean Fermentation with an ML Image Recognition Program]
3rd Poster, Ravi Shah & Neeraj Movva, Dunlap High School [Computational Analysis of a GluN1 Synthetic Peptide Mimetic for Neutralization of Autoantibodies in Anti-NMDAR Autoimmune Encephalitis]