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Undergraduate Research Opportunities Center

Summer Research Symposium

The Annual CSUMB Summer Research Symposium celebrates the research, scholarship, and creative activities of the undergraduate students in the Undergraduate Research Opportunities Center (UROC) and Monterey Regional Ocean Science Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) Program. Over 100 students will present research conducted over the summer across 12 different academic disciplines and 14 grant-funded programs. To date, this symposium is the largest summer research program in the region. Check out what the Monterey County Weekly and our campus paper, the Lutrinae, have to say about the Summer Research Symposium. 

In addition to a summer of research, undergraduate participants also attend over 20 hours of professional development workshops spanning topics like research communication, graduate school preparation, and mentor relationships..

This event honors their commitment to diving head-first tackling some of the most difficult questions and working with stellar faculty mentors who guide the process with inquiry along the way.

2023 Summer Research Symposium

Thank you to everyone who joined for the 10th Annual Summer Research Symposium  on Friday, August 11th, 2023 at the College of Arts, Humanities, and Social Science Building and the Tanimura and Antle Family Memorial Library where we celebrated the research, scholarship, and creative activities of the undergraduate students in the Undergraduate Research Opportunities Center & Monterey Regional Ocean Sciences Research Experiences for Undergraduates Program.

Congratulations to all the student presenters, including the recipients of an Outstanding Research Poster Award

Student(s) Poster Title Mentor(s)
Lisa Irvine Bathymetric Sedimentation Rates in Scott Creek Coastal Estuary Post 2020 CZU-Complex Lighting Fire (2020-2023) James Guilinger, Ph.D.
Joseph Garcia Evaluating the Pathogenicity of Pythium spp.  Isolates from Lettuce Grown in the Salinas Valley Harold Hickey and JP Dundore-Arias, Ph.D.
Denisse Emeterio Investigating Essential Genes: Electroporation Optimization for TNSeq-Based Analysis in Malathion Degrading Bacteria Mary Snook and Nathaniel Jue, Ph.D.
Matthias Milton Tissue-Specific HIF-1a Expression in Adult Gopher Rockfish (Sebastes carnatus) Under Upwelling Stress in Central California Dailyn Jones, Scott Hamilton, Ph.D., and Cheryl Logan, Ph.D.
Jonathan Ingan Two-Year Effects of Rock Study Boxing Exercise in Parkinson's Disease Maria Bellumori, Ph.D.
Riley Moulton and Paola Cabezas Investigating the Role of Bantam MicroRNA in Promoting Drosophilia Muscle Precursor Homeostasis Frank Macabenta, Ph.D. 
Josie Wrinkle Urchin Recruitment Dynamics, Reproduction, and Density Alison Haupt, Ph.D.
Elise Vasquez Longitudinal Study Comparing Greenhouse Gas Emissions from Broccoli on a Field Under Different Climate Smart Soil Management Practices Over Multiple Years and Crops Arlene Haffa, Ph.D.
Mackenzie K. Caprino Determining Symbiont Communities in Galápagos Pavona clavus Katrina Giambertone and Cheryl Logan, Ph.D.
Sarina Regis and Katelyn Huie Trend Identification of Historical Bullet Casing Chemical Compositions on Fort Ord, CA McKenzie Floyd

Summer Research Symposium Sneak Peek

On Thursday, August 10th at 10:00 a.m. 6 students, representing marine science, psychology, and environmental science presented their summer research virtually.

Time Presenter Presentation Title
10:00am Jourdan Garnier "The Parking Situation is the Worst Part about CSUMB": The Psychological Burdens of Parking Fees
10:15am Elizabeth Rivera Sea-Surface Temperature Impacting Black Oystercatcher Fledging Success
10:30am Caleb Hernandez

Investigating Mutual Interactions in Coral-Seaweed Cocultures

10:45am Natalie Frontella Recreational Fishing Effects on Northeastern Pacific White Sharks (Carcharodon carcharias)
11:00am Lilah Wise Urchin Recruitment Dynamics, Reproduction, and Density
11:15am Zoe Schimnowski Impacts of Agriculture on Freshwater Rivers’ and Streams’

Summer Research Symposium Schedule of Events

  • 8:30 - 9:00am | Registration & Coffee
  • 9:00 - 9:15am | Opening Remarks -- College of Arts, Humanities, and Social Science Building, Room 1401
  • 9:15 - 11:45am | Oral Presentations -- Rooms 1204, 1301, 1302
  • 11:30 - 12:00pm | Break
  • 12:00 - 1:00pm | Poster Presentations (odd) -- Tanimura & Antle Library
  • 12:45 - 2:45pm | Oral Presentations (CSUMB REU only) -- Room 1204
  • 1:00 - 2:00pm | Poster Presentations (even) -- Tanumura & Antle Library
  • 2:00 - 2:30pm | Transition
  • 2:30 - 3:00pm | Closing Remarks, Mentor Recognition, & Poster Presentation Awards -- Tanumura & Antle Library, Room 1180

Symposium Program | Research Poster Presenters | Student Research Abstracts

Oral Presentations Session 1: Room 1204 Moderated by REU Staff

Time Presenter Presentation Title
9:15am Allie Van Energy Density of Bay Ghost Shrimp (Neotrypaea californiensis) from Puget Sound, Washington
9:30am Carissa Tinney Impact of Polyethylene Agricultural Mulch Microplastics at Present and Projected Future Concentrations on Prorocentrum in Monterey Bay
9:45am Eva Dellea Climate Change's Impact on the Biological Processes in Disko Bay, West Greenland
10:00am Tyler Morgan Physical Environmental Controls on Giant Kelp Biomass in the California Current System between 1992 and 2017
10:15am Hannah May Measuring the Physiological Status on Nitrogen Uptake Through Gene Expression in Phaeodactylum tricornutum
10:30am Bailee Guernsey Physiological Responses of Monkeyface Pricklebacks (Cebidichthys violaceus) To Temperature Increases
10:45am Yareliz Quintana Effect of Temperature on Growth and Survival on Nanomia bijuga (Cnidaria; Hydrozoa; Siphonophora)
11:00am Zeanna Graves Recruitment and Survival of Pickleweed (Salicornia pacifica) Under Different Soil and Irrigation Conditions in a California Salt Marsh: Hester Marsh
11:15am Wesley Moore Determining Conditions for Pickleweed (Salicornia pacifica) Establishment in Recently Restored Salt Marsh
11:30am Amanda Gaffney Development of a Near Real-Time Autonomous Click Detector
11:45am Zachary Ennis Gravity Wave Interactions with the Seafloor in Rocky, Nearshore, Mixed Depth Environments
Lunch Break
12:45pm Benjamin Torres Drivers of Diversification in Rockfishes (Genus Sebastes)
1:00pm Connor Rad Species Composition of Phytoplankton Varies in Marine Heat Waves
1:15pm Maaria Patel Assessing the Impacts of Overfishing on Pismo Clams: Exploring Size and Age Dynamics
1:30pm Valentina Montes Abalone Recovery and Aggregation Patterns
1:45pm Otto Martinez Have Rocky Intertidal Algae Communities in Central California Been Impacted by Recent Storms
2:00pm Maryam Krauss Monitoring Changes in Species Composition Captured by Fishers and its Effect on Different User Groups during the El Niño to La Niña Transition Along the Central California Coast
2:15pm Chinatsu Garey The Effects of Floods on Benthic Macroinvertebrate-based Bioassessments of the San Antonio River
2:30pm Claribel Alcantar The Respirometry Response of Cnidarian Species to Elevated Temperatures as a means to Identify the Trigger to Coral Bleaching

Oral Presentations Session 2: Room 1301 Moderated by Natasha Oehlman

Time Presenter Presentation Title
9:15am Berenice Lemus Economic Contributions of Special Events: An Examination of Tourism and Visitor Spending
9:30am Ashley Hinds Is History Repeating Itself? The Link Between the Social Hygiene Movement and Roe v. Wade
9:45am Yeritzi Victoria & Sara Jew False Memory and Source Monitoring in Bilinguals
10:00am Grace Quinowski Preparing for a Career in Research, Scientific Writing, and Collaboration
10:15am Jissel Antonio Uniendo Nuestras Voces: A Study of Collective Experiences of Oppression in Schools
10:30am Citlaly Jauregui and Michiel Breen Wrist Wrap Type and Sex Impacts on Grip Strength, Pushup Power, Bench Press Muscular Endurance, Associated
10:45am Levi Mahler Gods and Bases: US Military Presence and Its Impacts on Japanese Spiritual Customs
11:00am Oscar Murillo-Espinoza Arithmetical Structures on Canoe Paddle Graphs

Oral Presentations Session 3: Room 1302 Moderated by Dr. Jessica Bautista

Time Presenter Presentation Title
9:15am Alexandra Yokomizo Polarity-based Focal Mechanisms of Earthquakes on the Westernmost Gofar Transform Fault at the East Pacific Rise
9:30am Dylan Moran Using UASs to Monitor Juvenile White Shark (Carcharodon carcharias) Thermal Habitat Selection in the Monterey Bay
9:45am Alyssa Walter Exploring the Where and When of Mating Scars in Female Great White Sharks
10:00am Zachary Zirbel Taxonomic Investigation of Deep Sea Carnivorous Sponges
10:15am Jasper Tao Assessing the Efficacy of Pythium Wilt Inoculation Methods
10:30am Alma Leon Genetic Diversity of Northeast Pacific Rockfish (Sebastes) and Analysis of Rhodopsin Gene
10:45am Madison Moreno California State University, Monterey Bay 2023 Sustainable Literacy Assessment Report

Guest Judges

All research poster presenters will be eligible for an Outstanding Research Poster Award. Below is our list of judges and their affiliations.

  • Doug Smith, Ph.D., Interim Dean of Graduate Studies and Research, CSU Monterey Bay
  • Sam Robinson, Ph.D., Associate Professor and Academic Senate Chair, CSU Monterey Bay
  • Kathlene Hanson, Librarian, CSU Monterey
  • Judith Canner, Ph.D., Professor, CSU Monterey Bay
  • Rob Drezner, Ph.D., Retired Clinical Psychologist and Adjunct Faculty, Monterey Peninsula College
  • Bruce Delgado, Mayor of Marina and Botanist, Bureau of Land Management
  • Fernando DePaolis, Ph.D., Dean of Academic Operations and Integration, Middlebury College
  • Nina Alcaraz, Director of Policy, Advocacy, and Communications, First Five Monterey County
  • Alicia Khuon, Wildlife Biologist, Environmental Services Agency
  • Celia Jimenez, Staff Writer, Monterey County Weekly
  • Sarah Hulick, Faculty and Program Chair, Cabrillo College
  • Korina McKinley, Master's in Social Work Graduate Student, CSU Monterey Bay
  • Manny Ezcurra, Curator of Fish and Invertebrates, Monterey Bay Aquarium
 
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