Chemistry majors win second place at Sigma Xi conference
Jay Amicangelo (left), president of the Northwestern Pennsylvania Chapter of Sigma Xi, with SUNY Fredonia students Sawyer Oppenneer, Isabelle Price and Jonas Simora, at the conference awards banquet.
Juniors majoring in Chemistry – Isabelle Price, Sawyer Oppenneer and Jonas Simora – won second place in the chemistry poster presentation competition at the Sigma Xi Undergraduate Research and Creative Accomplishment Conference.
The event was held April 20 at Penn State Behrend in Erie, PA.
Their poster, “Spectroscopic Determination of the Composition of Binary Liquids using Merocyanine Dyes,” features a new way of quantitative determining composition of binary liquids just by looking at the color of solution.
Mr. Oppenneer, who also has a minor in Applied Mathematics, from Saratoga Springs, NY, also presented the project as an oral presentation. He is a graduate of Saratoga Springs High School.
Mr. Simora, from Ashville, NY, also presented his project on “Structural Comparison of Molecules Containing Nonconventional Hydrogen Bonds.” He is a graduate of Chautauqua Lake Central School.
Ms. Price, from Rochester, NY, spearheaded the trio’s runner-up poster presentation by thoroughly explaining the importance of their new method and how it can be applied to general chemistry laboratory curriculums. She is a graduate of Hilton (NY) Central High School.
All three agreed the conference experience is the best part of conducting research because it allows them to share their ideas and have an impact on the scientific field. The Dr. Allan Jay Cardenas Research group thanks Dean of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences Andy Karafa for travel funding.
Schools also competing in the conference included: Penn State Behrend, Penn State, Penn State Altoona, University of Pittsburgh, Gannon University, Allegheny College and Westminster College. More conference information is available here.
