Superior—Students from across the Universities of Wisconsin competed in the WiSys Quick Pitch State Final this July at the WiSys SPARK Symposium at UW-Superior.
The WiSys SPARK Symposium is held annually at a different Universities of Wisconsin school each year to highlight exceptional research and promote innovation throughout the state. This summer the event was hosted at UW-Superior and drew interest from 160 students and faculty, as well as leaders in industry and Wisconsin Governor Tony Evers.
The WiSys Quick Pitch is a research-focused student competition that trains Universities of Wisconsin students to consider the impact of their research and learn how to effectively communicate it to a general audience. Students compete in a Quick Pitch competition on their campus to qualify for the statewide finals held annually at the SPARK Symposium.
This year the finalists pitched their research to the audience and a panel of faculty, staff, and industry judges. The winners were:
Max Konop, UW-Platteville (1st place and audience-voted people’s choice award winner)
Addy Farber and Emma Jiter, UW-Eau Claire (2nd)
Usman Ahmad, UW-Superior (3rd)
First Place
UW-Platteville’s Max Konop earned first place and won the people’s choice award for his project titled “Fabrication of Micro Scale Pyramidal Channels for 3-D Printing Advanced Structures,” taking home a total of $850 in prize money.
In his pitch, Konop discussed the designing and fabrication of microscale silicon chips that can be used for unique 3D printing mechanisms to print out structures with increased tensile strength and toughness as opposed to conventional 3-D printing filaments. Konop’s faculty advisor is Dr. Gokul Gopalakrishnan, an associate professor in engineering physics.
Second Place
UW-Eau Claire students Addy Farber and Emma Jiter took home the second-place prize of $500 for their project titled “New Directions in Tumor Ablation with Biocompatible Foam.”
Farber and Jiter told the audience about a biocompatible foam they helped develop. This foam has potential uses in cancer ablation treatments to protect healthy tissue. Their faculty advisor is Dr. Elizabeth Glogowski, a professor in Materials Science and Biomedical Engineering.
Third Place
UW-Superior’s Usman Ahmad was awarded third place and $250 in prize money for his project titled “External Debt and Economic Growth: A Cross-Country Analysis on Southeast Asia.” Ahmad’s faculty advisor is Dr. Sakib Mahmud, a professor in Sustainable Management and Economics.
In his pitch, Ahmad explained to the audience how the association between external debt and economic growth can differ by country. Ahmad started by analyzing data from Pakistan and now looks to expand the scope of his research to other countries in Southeast Asia.
The other finalists to compete in the event were:
- Genevieve Czaplewski, UW-Stout
- Jayden Flowers, UW Oshkosh
- Anna Horn, UW-La Crosse
- Alex Suscha, UW-Stevens Point
- Nicholas Winter, UW-Parkside
Learn more about WiSys and WiSys Quick Pitch here. For a full recap of the WiSys SPARK Symposium, click here.