Student RSCA Competition Finalists 2025
Fourteen student finalists from SJSU competed for a place at the 39th Annual California State University Student Research Competition, hosted by Cal Poly Humboldt on April 25 and 26, 2025.
Competitors needed to demonstrate:
- Clarity of purpose
- Appropriateness of methodology
- Interpretation of results
- Value of the research or creative activity
- Ability of the presenter to articulate the research or creative activity
- Organization of material presented
After the presentation, each student or group of students was required to answer questions
from a panel of judges.
Finalists
Below are the finalists in alphabetical order of primary investigator name.
Design and 3D Bioprinting of Vascular Networks Using a Diffusion-Based Strategy
Team Members:
Sean Chryz Iranzo, Biomedical Engineering
Andy Perez, Biomedical Engineering
Daniel Ramos, Biomedical Engineering
Project Category: Engineering and Computer Science
Faculty Mentor: Melinda Simon, Biomedical Engineering
Muscle Spindle Afferents (MSAs) Become Slowly Adapting Over Development and Glutamate Release is Required for Static Sensitivity
Team Members:
Mariam Malik, Psychology
Mayra Cardenas, Systems Physiology
Leena Rehman, Biology
Sherry Tsai, MS in Biological Science
Project Category: Biological and Agricultural Sciences
Faculty Mentor: Katie Wilkinson, Biological Sciences
Identification of a Potential Therapeutic Target to Prevent Chemotherapy-Induced Peripheral Neuropathy (CIPN)
Team Members:
Parghi Mehek, Biological Sciences, concentration in Molecular Biology
Husna Ibrahimkhail, Biological Sciences, concentration in Molecular Biology and Microbiology
Project Category: Biological and Agricultural Sciences
Faculty Mentor: Katie Wilkinson, Biological Sciences
Unraveling the Origins of Metabolism: Investigating Pyruvate Networks in Meteorites
Team Members:
Nourdean Shraim, Biomedical Engineering
Stephen Ball, Chemistry
Project Category: Interdiscipinary
Faculty Mentor: Andro Rios, Chemistry
Investigating catecholase-like reactivity: Understanding autoxidation’s contribution to catalysis
Student Investigator: Dalia Cruz, Forensic Science with a Concentration in Biology
Project Category: Physical and Mathematical Sciences
Faculty Mentor: Madalyn Radlauer, Chemistry
Reconsidering the Principles of Image Steganography for Uncompromised Imperceptibility
Student Investigator: Indranil Dutta, Software Engineering
Project Category: Engineering and Computer Science
Faculty Mentor: Haonan Wang, Computer Engineering
Survival of Phi-6 Strains in Acidic and Basic Environments
Student Investigator: Aruna Gomathinayagam, MS in Biological Sciences, Microbiology and Molecular Biology
Project Category: Biological and Agricultural Sciences
Faculty Mentor: Sonia Singhal, Biological Sciences
Temperature-dependent Optical Properties of nano-scale Structured Materials
Student Investigator: Ayane Gomi, Mechanical Engineering
Project Category: Physical and Mathematical Sciences
Faculty Mentor: Christopher Smallwood, Physics & Astronomy
Mixture Clustering of Generalized Hyperbolic Distribution and Multinomial Distribution
Student Investigator: Quoc Luong Huynh, Statistics (Alum, '24)
Project Category: Physical and Mathematical Sciences
Faculty Mentor: Cristina Tortora, Mathematics
Enhancing Target Detection in Search and Rescue Operations Using Vision-Language Models
Student Investigator: Mizan Rupan-Tompkins, Computer Science & Linguestics
Project Category: Engineering and Computer Science
Faculty Mentor: Behin Elahi, Industrial and Systems Engineering
