A Spotlight on Durham Research

At Trent University Durham GTA’s Research Day, students showcased their undergraduate and graduate research to fellow students, staff, faculty, and community members.  

Topics included exploring autistic youths’ experiences in a Dungeons & Dragons social group, an analysis of large language models for selecting university programs, and a review of heritage designations at a municipal and provincial level. 

While every student impressed the audience with their research, four students were awarded prizes for their standout presentations.  

• Best Undergraduate Student Talk – Jonathon Smith, Child & Youth Studies 

• Best Graduate Student Talk – Uchechukwu Obinwanne, Applied Modelling & Quantitative Methods 

• Best Poster – Aya Yagnaya, Anthropology 

• Second-Place Undergraduate Student Talk – Anna-Dora Endlicher, Child & Youth Studies 

The Best Undergraduate and Graduate Student Talk winners were awarded $200, while the Second-Place Undergraduate Student Talk and the Best Poster winners received $100 for their efforts. 

Student Research Recognized at Chemistry Conference

https://sites.google.com/view/souscc52/presentation-award-winners 

From more than 150 undergraduate students who presented research at the 52nd Southern Ontario Undergraduate Student Chemistry Conference (SOUSCC) at Western University on April 6, two fourth-year Trent Chemistry students received awards for their oral presentations. 

Sterling Renzoni was recognized within the Organic Chemistry Division for his presentation about triarylmethanes. The synthesis of these molecules using existing methods is very challenging, however they are of great interest in the pharmaceutical industry as well as in organic dyes. 

Eric Fortin was recognized within the Materials and Macromolecular Science and Engineering Division for his research about organic light emission, which included the development of a short and straight-forward preparation of molecules that is scalable and suitable for industrial applications.   

Durham Volleyball Players Make it to Finals

The Trent Durham competitive extramural volleyball team made it to the final round in the Invado Volleyball League tournament. Invado is a local organization that runs volleyball tournaments while raising money for community charities. The Trent Durham team played well against a tough field and had a competitive season – and is aiming to take first place next year!