2025 Wilkes Honors College Symposium

Annual Event Showcased Undergraduate Scholarly and Creative Ingenuity 


Florida Atlantic University’s Harriet L. Wilkes Honors College hosted its yearly celebration of groundbreaking academic inquiry, the 23rd Annual Scholarly and Creative Research Symposium, on April 4.

FAU’s Jupiter campus bustled with excitement as over 120 undergraduate students presented their thesis projects to faculty, staff, students, family and supporters – the culmination of countless hours of research, scientific inquiry and artistic creation.
The day began with oral presentations. Thesis topics covered a wide range of disciplines, including neuroscience, biology, psychology, political science, computation and machine learning, law, economics, and entrepreneurship. 

For example, David Baldwin presented his research on the ability of various acacia species to survive through extreme heat waves. His findings suggested that the trees showed remarkable resilience to temperature differentiations and could thermoregulate even when faced with temperature variations of 15 degrees Celsius (59 degrees Fahrenheit). Baldwin was named a Barry Goldwater Scholar in 2023, the most prestigious national research fellowship for undergraduate students.

Calyssa Setterberg examined the nature of memory through the lens of the fading affect bias. Her model was the experience of watching a horror film, which typically elicits strong emotion – either positive or negative. Her findings, based on a memory experience questionnaire, showed that those who experienced a positive emotion from watching this type of film were more likely to retain their vivid emotion over time, while those who had a negative experience would see that emotion fade.

Other oral presentations included an analysis of the political system of Lebanon, the benefits and challenges of using machine learning data to drive marketing strategies, and research that could potentially translate into a noninvasive tool for diagnosing Alzheimer’s disease. In all, 49 students shared their projects during the morning session.

In the afternoon, the halls of the Wilkes Honors College administrative building burst with activity as 67 poster presentations lined the hallways and filled the center atrium. Projects covered concentrations across the academic spectrum, including microbiology, computational neuroscience, cancer, computer science, psychology, environmental biology, history and sociology, to name a few.

For example, Ava Pitts and Bria Kuntz focused on marine science. Pitts presented her study on the presence of respiratory disease in cetacean strandings along the Southeastern Florida coast. Studying data collected from necropsies conducted at FAU’s Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute over the last 10 years, she found a higher concentration of respiratory cases among stranded cetaceans in the Indian River Lagoon than those that stranded in the Atlantic Ocean. Kuntz analyzed data from surveys conducted by the Marine Megafauna Foundation to understand causes and regionalization of near-fatal injuries to juvenile endangered giant manta rays off the Southeastern Florida coast. She found that 92 mantas had sustained at least one injury. Of the six causes of injury she noted, fishing line and lures/hook were the most prevalent.

Nicholas Shaffer concentrated on neuroscience. His study explored the therapeutic potential of a newly discovered target in the brain for management of major depressive disorder – a condition that impacts an estimated 280 million people worldwide. Results showed promising outcomes that offer a new direction for treating this debilitating condition.

Simultaneous with the research poster session was the exhibition of visual and creative arts. Students shared their individual thesis works along with student projects from two visual arts classes at the Honors College. The students worked in a remarkable range of mediums, from traditional pen-and-ink sketches to digital animation to multimedia paintings and sculptures. Some projects also fostered art as a collective experience, encouraging viewers to interact with objects included in the pieces. For instance, Luke Ezra Berg presented “Artist Books,” a collection of creative and experimental artist books and zines that viewers could pick up and examine.

In addition to the student presentations was the Chastain Lecture, which this year featured Hina Shaikh, Ph.D., an assistant professor at the University of Florida.


David Baldwin, a winner of the esteemed Barry Goldwater Scholarship, presented his research on acacia tree resilience to heat waves.

Ava Pitts and Bria Kuntz focused their thesis research on marine science.


Calyssa Setterberg examined the nature of memory through the lens of the fading affect bias in her oral presentation.