Bass Connections Teams Share Research Highlights at 2023 Showcase

April 24, 2023

Scenes from the 2023 Fortin Foundation Bass Connections Showcase on April 19 (Photos: Les Todd)
Scenes from the 2023 Fortin Foundation Bass Connections Showcase on April 19 (Photos: Les Todd)

On April 19, students from more than fifty 2022-2023 project teams shared their research findings at the seventh annual Fortin Foundation Bass Connections Showcase in Penn Pavilion.

Over 500 students, faculty, staff and community partners gathered for the event where students presented their work through lightning talks, poster presentations and interactive displays.

This year's showcase also served as our ten year anniversary celebration. Over the past decade, more than 5,500 members of the Duke community have engaged in over 830 research projects alongside community partners from around the world, and the program now boasts over 3,000 alumni.

President Prices at the Bass Connections Showcase.
President Price delivers opening remarks at the showcase.

President Vincent Price celebrated the impact of the program in his opening remarks: "I think the most enduring legacy of the program is that it continues to shape the lives of our alumni ... who credit this program with helping them make a meaningful contribution to the world … The projects we see this year are carrying on what I think is a wonderful legacy for Bass Connections … We’re proud of the leadership that brought us this program and continues to vitalize it year after year, and we cannot wait to see where we go in the decade to come.”

Lightning Talks

Students from six project teams presented five-minute lightning talks at this year’s showcase. These teams were selected to highlight the breadth of research being conducted through the program. (Click on the team name headings below to view each team's lightning talk.)

Collecting Oral Histories of Environmental Racism and Injustice

Victoria Ely ’25, Meghna Parameswaran ’25 and Nhu Bui ’24 presented for the Collecting Oral Histories of Environmental Racism and Injustice team.
Victoria Ely ’25, Meghna Parameswaran ’25 and Nhu Bui ’24 presented for the Collecting Oral Histories of Environmental Racism and Injustice team.

Closing the Gap on Health Disparity and Outcomes in Hypertension

Devan Desai ’23, Anna Tharakan ’25 presented for the Closing the Gap on Health Disparity and Outcomes in Hypertension team.
Devan Desai ’23, Anna Tharakan ’25 presented for the Closing the Gap on Health Disparity and Outcomes in Hypertension team.

Project Vox: Conducting Philosophical Research on the Margins

Lilia Qian ’24 and Shreya Joshi ’24 presented for the Project Vox: Conducting Philosophical Research on the Margins team.
Lilia Qian ’24 and Shreya Joshi ’24 presented for the Project Vox: Conducting Philosophical Research on the Margins team.

A City and Its River: Contaminant Risk in Durham's Ellerbe Creek Watershed

Rithik Castelino ’24 and Caroline Dear ’24 presented for the A City and Its River: Contaminant Risk in Durham's Ellerbe Creek Watershed team.
Rithik Castelino ’23 and Caroline Dear ’24 presented for the A City and Its River: Contaminant Risk in Durham's Ellerbe Creek Watershed team.

Role of Physiotherapy in Ugandan Neurosurgical Transitional Care

Lizzy Davidson ’23 and Vignesh Pirapaharan ’24 presented for the Role of Physiotherapy in Ugandan Neurosurgical Transitional Care team.
Lizzy Davidson ’23 and Vignesh Pirapaharan ’24 presented for the Role of Physiotherapy in Ugandan Neurosurgical Transitional Care team.

Earthquake Early Warning in Kathmandu

Sabhyata Jha ’23 and Roxana Haas ’25 presented for the Earthquake Early Warning in Kathmandu team.
Sabhyata Jha ’23 and Roxana Haas ’25 presented for the Earthquake Early Warning in Kathmandu team.

Interactive Displays

This year, 12 teams elected to share their research through interactive displays rather than through traditional research posters. This year's displays featured prototypes, simulations, field tools and specimens, photographs, digital media and exhibits, maps, infographics and more. 

Students.
Students and faculty show off their interactive displays at the showcase. The Ellerbe Creek team (upper right) and the Eye Tracking team (lower left) took home the top prizes.

A panel of judges selected A City and Its River: Contaminant Risk in Durham's Ellerbe Creek Watershed and Eye Tracking: Objective Assessment for Mild Traumatic Brain Injury in Youth Athletes as joint winners of the award for best interactive display.

Poster Competition

Over 40 project teams shared their research posters with showcase guests. A panel of judges that included program alumni and affiliates, Duke communicators from across campus, and members of the Bass Connections Student Advisory Council selected the winners of the 2023 Bass Connections Poster Competition. (Click on the poster images below to enlarge.)

Students.
Students share their research posters with showcase guests.

Winner

“Freedom to Move: Durham Driver’s License Access and the DEAR Program,” Examining Racial Inequality and Reform Through Driver's License Access (Anna Gassman-Pines, Clinton Boyd Jr., Adrienne Jones, Mary Lauren Veazey, Jenny Li, Audrey Wang, Jazmin Richter)

Research poster.

Runners Up

“Equitable University-Community Research Partnerships,” Equitable University-Community Research Partnerships (Cai Liu, Joey Rauch, Ryder Buttry, Libby Doyle, Zoe Spicer, Zoe Loh)

Research poster.

“Understanding Perceptions of Race Among Computer Science Undergraduates,” Understanding Perceptions of Race Among Computer Science Undergraduates (Jabari Kwesi, Elyse McFalls, Helen Xiao, Fatima Fairfax, Alex Rogers, A. Nicki Washington, Crystal Peoples, Shaundra B. Daily, Eduardo Bonilla-Silva)

Research poster.

Awards and Grants

At the showcase, Vice Provost for Interdisciplinary Studies, Edward Balleisen, recognized this year’s award winners for leadership and mentorship, as well as the recipients of 2023 student research grants.

Henri Gavin at the Bass Connections Showcase.
Henri Gavin (joint winner of the Excellence in Collaborative Leadership Award) at the Bass Connections Showcase

Bass Connections Excellence in Collaborative Leadership Award

Joint winners: Henri Gavin (Professor, Civil & Environmental Engineering) and Rachael Lau (Ph.D. Student, Civil & Environmental Engineering), Earthquake Early Warning in Kathmandu

Bass Connections Leadership Award

Winner: Cameron Kim (Assistant Professor of the Practice, Biomedical Engineering), Synthetic Biology and Genetic Engineering for Human Health and Society 

Runner Up: Laura Andrade (Bilingual Data Technician, Center for Child and Family Policy), Celebrating Latinx Culture with a Spanish Reading Program

Bass Connections Award for Outstanding Mentorship

Joint winners: Ze-Yi Han (Ph.D. Student, Biology), Yaning Yuan (Ph.D. Student, Biology) and Dan Wieczynski (Postdoctoral Associate, Biology), Effects of Climate Change on Microbial Food Webs

Runner Up: Warren Lowell (Ph.D. Student, Sociology and Public Policy): Examining Racial Inequality and Reform Through Driver's License Access

Bass Connections Student Research Awards

Five graduate students and 11 undergraduates will pursue faculty-mentored research projects this summer and next year with grant funding from Bass Connections. Their projects explore a diverse range of topics, including the barriers to neurosurgical service delivery in Uganda, how pastors have preached on race and racism in the wake of the killing of George Floyd, how policymakers can increase climate resilience in local communities and more.

Learn More