Hege Academic Commons

GUS 2026: Schedule

Oral presentations

Sessions will be held throughout the Hege Academic Commons, Duke Memorial Hall, and King Hall. Please note the room location of each session. All presenters should be in the room at least 10 minutes before their sessions begin. Each presenter will have between 10 and 15 minutes to discuss their topic. There should be enough time for 5-10 minutes of Q&A at the end. All presentation materials must be available on your Google Drive to ensure that everything runs smoothly. Please double-check to ensure that all of your materials are there well before your presentation.

9.00am to 10.00am

Session 1: Art as medium for understanding, William Thomas, chair
Location: Carnegie Room, Hege Academic Commons

  • Maeve Dunkerley: "A Night Out: Exploring the Intimacy of Friendships Between Women" (William Thomas, Art)
  • Hannah Ajayi: "The Ethics of War: Exploring Violence, Injustice, and Just War Theory" (William Thomas, Art)

Session 2: Modern issues in cybersecurity, TBA, chair
Location: Collaboratory/Experimental Classroom, Hege Academic Commons

  • Wilmer Acevedo Quezada and Kirsten White: "Network Security Lab" (Chafic Bou-Saba, CTIS)
  • ZyQuan Williams: "Healthcare Breach Impact Calculator" (Chafic Bou-Saba, CTIS/Cyber Security)
  • Andy Diaz Villatoro: "Building a Malware Analysis Lab with Open-Source Tools and Repurposed Hardware" (Chafic Bou-Saba, CTIS)

10.15am to 11.15am

Session 3: English capstone presentation, Gwen Erickson, chair
Location: Carnegie Room, Hege Academic Commons

  • Ryan Shoenthal, Ahmaad Abdul-Haqq, Tori Collins, Timothy Rundle, and Amziel Chioke: "Recursive Generativity: The Eternal Beginning of Fiction" (Cynthia Nearman, English/Creative Writing)

Session 4: A celebration of music, Robert Bell, chair
Location: Guilford College Art Gallery, Hege Academic Commons

  • Shemar Roberts: "Benefits of Music Therapy" (Marjorie Church, Music/Psychology)
  • Bec Cormack: "Wooded Wattage: A Visual Representation and Celebration of the Legacy of WQFS at Guilford College" (Kami Rowan, Music; Marjorie Church, CAPE)

Session 5: New approaches to teaching, David Hildreth, chair
Location: Collaboratory/Experimental Classroom, Hege Academic Commons

  • Meghan Heaney: "Teacher Perceptions on How Dance/Movement Can Impact Student Literacy Skills" (David Hildreth, Tracey Crowe, and Brenda Swearingin, Education/Sport Studies)

Session 6: Reappraising Grimm’s Fairy Tales, David Limburg, chair
Location: Collaboratory/Idea Incubator, Hege Academic Commons

  • Joseph Lambert, Christopher Anderson, Aiden Shimpi, and Gabriel Peña: "Der goldene Schlüssel: Grimm’s Fairy Tales and their Meanings" (David Limburg, German)

11.30am to 12.30pm

Session 7: Reflections on enforced changes, TBA, chair
Location: Carnegie Room, Hege Academic Commons

  • Brady Odell: "The Limits of Ideology: Behind Japan’s Acceptance of Surrender" (Philip Slaby, History)
  • August Hutchins and Teri Quick: "Analyzing Australia’s Social Media Ban in Real Time" (Samantha Rummage-Massey, CMJS)

Session 8: The ongoing impact of community gardens, Christine Stracey, chair
Location: Guilford College Art Gallery, Hege Academic Commons

  • Elizabeth Martinez, Areli Patterson, Trinity Whitfield, and Brianna Campbell: "Development of a Community Serving Garden" (Zandra Pinnix, Michele Malotky, and Christine Stracey, Biology)

Session 9: New trends in app development, TBA, chair
Location: Collaboratory/Experimental Classroom, Hege Academic Commons

  • Ryne Rodrigues: "Pumped, the Gym App" (Chafic Bou-Saba, CTIS)
  • Wilmer Acevedo Quezada: "Elderly Home Assistant" (Chafic Bou-Saba, CTIS)
  • Isaac Garbia: "PlanPlayGo: A Guide to Your Ultimate World Cup Experience" (Chafic Bou-Saba, CTIS)

Session 10: New analyses of ideology, culture, and policy, Tom Guthrie, chair
Location: Collaboratory/Idea Incubator, Hege Academic Commons

  • Wyatt Hawks, Robin Tucker, and Aidan Shimpi: "Against the Grain: Subcultures, Conscience, and Policy" (Damon Akins, History)

1.00pm to 2.00pm

Session 11: Curating the 2026 Greenleaf Review, Cynthia Nearman, chair
Location: Guilford College Art Gallery, Hege Academic Commons

  • Charlie Miller, Juno Steele, Sole Williams-Brewer, and Cristina Dellinger: "The Creation of the 2026 Greenleaf Review" (Cynthia Nearman; English/Creative Writing)

Session 12: Got Spanish? Student-made short films, Hunter Newman, chair
Location: Collaboratory/Idea Incubator, Hege Academic Commons

  • Aya Abdalla, Dhruv Revankar, Joel Sekyema, Aura López-García: "Crónicas de la Antártida" (Hunter Newman, Spanish)
  • Nataly Aguilar, Ava Arias, Courtney Bradford, Denisse Castro, and Janey Galek: "Ser o estar?" (Hunter Newman, Spanish)
  • Abid Husain, Favour Faleye, Emily Zhang, Nick Jamieson, and Dara Adegoroya: "WEIRDOS en Terapia" (Hunter Newman, Spanish)

Session 13: Photo-polymer etching demonstration, Katy Collier, chair
Location: Collaboratory/Idea Incubator, Hege Academic Commons

  • Ariadna Sosa and Amanda Sayaseng: "Photo-polymer Etching Demo" (Katy Collier, Art)
  • This session will be live-streamed from Hege-Cox Hall to the Idea Incubator. A live Q&A session will follow the demonstration.

2.15pm to 3.15pm


Session 14: Advocating for change in health and wellness, Marjorie Church, chair
Location: Guilford College Art Gallery, Hege Academic Commons

  • Rebecca Pierre: "Student Advocacy" (Psychology)
  • Nayani Annamalai: "Improving Menstrual Health and Sustainability: Menstrual Pads Redesigned" (Biomedical Engineering)

Session 15: Religious Studies colloquium, Part 1, Kathryn Shields, chair
Location: Collaboratory/Experimental Classroom, Hege Academic Commons

  • Emma Butts: "Death Cycles: Pre-Colonial Inuit Views of Death, Afterlife, and Continuity" (Eric Mortenson, Religion)
  • Emma Evans: "Reincarnation Through the Lens of Embodiment" (Eric Mortenson, Religion)

Session 16: Mapping and modularity in modern computing, TBA, chair
Location: Collaboratory/Idea Incubator, Hege Academic Commons

  • Aprilia Grimaldo-Welsh and Gabriel Peña: "Climate Crisis Mapping" (Rob Whitnell and Chafic Bou-Saba, CTIS)
  • Erick Trejo Velázquez: "Modular Smartwatch 'Pip-Boy' System" (Chafic Bou-Saba, CTIS)

3.30pm to 4.30pm

Session 17: Peripheral: An Art senior thesis discussion, Katy Collier, chair
Location: Collaboratory/Experimental Classroom, Hege Academic Commons

  • William Decareaux, Amziel Chioke, Parker O’Keefe, Fiona Lewis, Maddie Thaxton, Madison Underwood, Jane Uebbing, and Claire Dumont

Session 18: Religious Studies colloquium, Part 2, Mark Justad, chair
Location: Collaboratory/Experimental Classroom, Hege Academic Commons

  • Z Tate: "Ayahuasca and the Market for Enlightenment" (Eric Mortenson, Religion)
  • Richard Acquaye: "Radio DJing: Dealing with Musical Enculturation, Censorship, and Misinformation" (Eric Mortenson, Religion)
  • Ezekiel Blanchard: "Why Are There Tales of Flying Reindeer?" (Eric Mortenson, Anthropology)

Session 19: Current research in biology and chemistry, Zandra Pinnix, chair
Location: Collaboratory/Idea Incubator, Hege Academic Commons

  • Natalie Moore: "Synergistic Effects of Iberin and Sulforaphane on Triple Negative Breast Cancer cell line MDA-MB-231" (Zandra Pinnix, Christine Stracey, and Anne Glenn, Biology)
  • Elizabeth Martinez: "Optimizing Mechanophotocatalysis Redox Reactions" (Samuel Horsewill, Daniel Scott, and Anne Glenn, Chemistry)
  • Hayden Moody: "Tuning Photochemical Properties of [2.2] Paracyclophanes Through Isomer, Electronic Donor/Acceptor, and Steric Modulation" (Anne Glenn, Chemistry)


Poster sessions

All poster sessions are held on the first floor of the Hege Academic Commons in the CAPE space. All presenters should be ready to go 10 minutes before their scheduled time.



12.00pm to 1.30pm

  • Mohammad Agha Mohammadi: "Multi-purpose Operational Unmanned Aerial System for Emergency Response and Environmental Monitoring (M.O.U.S.E)" (Chafic Bou-Saba, CTIS)
  • Natalia Alfaro Diaz, Corey Hayes, Terrence Jackson, Taiwo Jones, and Marnie Lasher: "Sustainable Textiles: From Raw Fiber to Woven Textile" (Aleks Babić, Public Health/Environmental Studies)
  • Liliana Arias: "Measuring the Wavelength of Visible Light with the Michelson Interferometer" (Don Smith, Physics)
  • Jana Bassalat and Mohammad Agha Mohammadi: "Open-Source Capture the Flag in Education" (Chafic Bou-Saba, CTIS)
  • Adeline Beatty-Squire and Hayden Moody: "The Urban Core Sample: 1392 East New York Avenue and The Corner of W First Street and N Spring St" (Damon Akins, History)
  • Shanmukh Malyala and Jimmy Ma: "Variable or Not? Investigating Stellar Brightness Variability Through Photometry" (Don Smith, Physics)
  • Kylie Muse: "Identifying Bacteria from Turf Burn using Microbiology Lab Techniques" (Zandra Pinnix, Biology)
  • Vihaan Sesetty and Joel Sekyema, "Computational Analysis of Sackur-Tetrode Deviations in High-Pressure Real Gas Mixtures" (Don Smith, Physics)
  • Elijah Troop: "Running With the Wolves: How You Can Study Wolves in Minnesota!" (Christine Stracey, Biology)
  • Elijah Troop, Ella Barton-Biegelsen, and Tanner Royals: "Spiders In the Spotlight: Orb Weavers and Artificial Light at Night" (Christine Stracey, Biology)
  • George Wall: "A Quantitative Overview of The Microplastics Found in Preserved Samples of Spottail Pinfish (Diplodus holbrookii)" (Holly Peterson, Anne Glenn, Bronwyn Tucker, and Christine Stracey, Biology/Environmental Science)


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