MADISON—UW-Whitewater’s Purcell Pearson won the 2020 WiSys Quick Pitch State Final on June 17.

The research-focused, elevator-style pitch competition focuses on the importance of communicating research to the public. Students, who were successful in campus-level events, had three minutes to present their research to a panel of judges.

Pearson’s presentation was titled “Racial Bias in News Media and its Effects on Black Males Self-Image.”

The UW-Whitewater student will receive a $700 first place prize.

SECOND PLACE

UW-Eau Claire’s Katelyn Reckin took second place with the presentation “Characterizing the Allocation, Issuance and Usage of Benefits Offered Through the Women, Infants and Children (WIC) and Senior Assistance Farmers Market Fruit and Vegetable Programs in Wisconsin.”

Reckin will receive a $450 prize.

THIRD PLACE & PEOPLE’S CHOICE

UW-Parkside’s Ariana Hernandez took third place for the presentation “Advocating for Affordable Insulin.”

Hernandez will receive a $200 prize.

The UW-Parkside student also received the People’s Choice Award, which was voted on by the event’s attendees.

The evening’s other presenters included:

• Karly Anderson (UW-River Falls) presenting “Relationship of Captive Bolt Stunning Location with Basic Tissue Measurements and Exposed Cross-Sectional Brain Area in Cadaver Heads from Market Pigs.”

• Hunter Frey (UW-Stevens Point) presenting “Borb's Big Adventure!”

• Nathaniel Hoffman (UW-La Crosse) presenting “Inhibition of the Epstein-Barr Lytic Cycle by Atypical Antipsychotics.”

• Dana Mueller (UW-Platteville) presenting “The Relationship Between Dopamine and Utilitarian Moral Judgment.”

• Stacey Sparks (UW Oshkosh) presenting “Community Socioeconomic Indicators and Intra Head Start Student Performance.”

• Rachael Tuve (UW-Superior) presenting “The Relationship Between Well-Being and Financial Stress in College Students.”

This year’s WiSys Quick Pitch State Final was held virtually due to the coronavirus crisis.

Each year, through the WiSys Quick Pitch program, WiSys trains and educates more than 100 students at UW System schools on intellectual property protection and effective communication.

WiSys is a nonprofit organization that works with faculty, staff, students and alumni of the UW System to facilitate cutting-edge research programs, develop and commercialize discoveries, and foster a spirit of innovative and entrepreneurial thinking across the state.