04-04-2025
Pitt-Johnstown students showcase research during annual SPACE event
JOHNSTOWN, Pa. – University of Pittsburgh at Johnstown students from a variety of disciplines came together Wednesday to share senior projects, creative works, independent study findings and more as part of the annual Symposium for the Promotion of Academic and Creative Enquiry.
'It's like the Super Bowl of research for UPJ,' undergraduate research coordinator Matthew Tracey said.
The chemistry professor organizes the annual SPACE event that this year had 80 presentations with between one and five students at each display.
The works ranged from food waste solutions and an auto cable wrapper to ways to increase polio vaccinations, a tick repellent, the boundaries of free speech, Pitt-Johnstown's watershed and more.
'This is the culmination of a year of research for some of these students,' Tracey said.
That included juniors Sara Bowers and Natalie Lippincott, who presented on their tick repellent BITE (binding to increase tick evasion.)
The pair of biology majors, who minor in chemistry, worked with several others to develop and study the concept, including Tracey and associate professor of biology Jill Henning.
BITE uses a novel approach to repelling blacklegged ticks – known as deer ticks – by covering the carbon dioxide a person expels through their skin with a hemoglobin agent, Lippincott said.
In their tests, the ticks were significantly dispelled using the product, which utilizes aloe vera as a vehicle.
'It's wonderful,' professor Massasati Ahmad Saleh said after talking to the undergraduates.
He noted that UPJ has a sizeable amount of wild acreage on campus and students are often not advised to wander in due to tick bite concern.
This project could alleviate those worries, he said.
Bowers said she's glad to be part of a project that could have an important impact on the local area.
Pryce Donovan and his teammates – Ethan Koontz, Spencer Pfarr, Alexzander Toto and Kyle Weiser – were also interested in improving the region with their designs for expanding the Flight 93 National Memorial near Shanksville, Somerset County.
The group of senior civil engineers proposed adding a theater, museum, overlook tower and infinity pool to the Sept. 11, 2001, crash site of United Flight 93.
'It kind of just snowballed after a visit,' Donovan said.
The engineering students have worked with the National Park Service to develop their ideas and noted their appreciation for the collaboration on the project.
Donovan said the work was well-received at SPACE.
Tracey said the symposium isn't solely for students to show off their hard work.
It's also a fantastic opportunity to introduce other undergraduates to the program and possibly inspire them to get involved, he said.
Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, the annual gathering was a sizeable event and is growing again.
Tracey said the 80 presentations were nearly too many to fit in Heritage Hall in the Living and Learning Center on campus.
His goal for next year is to have 100 displays and move to a larger venue.
