St. John’s University hosted its annual Student Research Conference on April 9, featuring 140 research projects from students across various disciplines. These projects, developed by both undergraduate and graduate students, showcased topics in fields such as biology, education, and music.

Rigel Baron’s project, titled “Sleep’s Impact on Music Processing in the Developing Brain,” linked music and neural responses. Baron, a Master of Science in Neuroscience student, highlighted the importance of sleep for enhanced neural activity in children. “There are a couple of different ways to look at it, but, in general, children enjoy a greater brain response and more brain action as they get more sleep,” Baron explained. “It is important to clinicians, diagnosticians, and other scientists to determine how sleep affects their results.”

Thomas Minunno, pursuing a Master of Arts degree in Psychology, explored trust and purpose among teachers in Vietnam. Minunno emphasized that trust among educators is critical to maintaining their sense of self-worth and preventing burnout. “A lack of trust among teachers in, for example, their principals, makes teachers feel as if they are not fully able to do their jobs,” Thomas said. “That affects their overall sense of purpose.”

Research on the responsible use of artificial intelligence was also featured, including a project titled “AI Tutor: Advancing Education Using Context-Aware AI Tutoring Systems.” Alumnus Sebastian Chalarca noted AI’s potential in education. “The tutor would have the ability to personalize the teaching environment for computer science students so each student can get a better grasp of programming,” Mr. Chalarca said.

First-year student Austin Groves investigated risk management in terrorism with his project, “Danger Zone: Managing Terrorism Risk Throughout History.” He engaged data-driven methods for insurers. “I gained many valuable insights about the industry and learned so much about the history behind the Maurice R. Greenberg School of Risk Management, Insurance and Actuarial Science,” Groves remarked.

Lastly, Jenna Tuffnell, a Mathematics first-year student, worked on an energy sustainability project. She expressed enthusiasm for working alongside Professor Malek Abunaemeh. “Working with a professor on something they have been passionate about their entire career was invigorating,” Jenna said.

Christine Costello, Director of the Office of Grants and Sponsored Research, praised the conference’s role in student development. “Hosting a dedicated event to showcase student research is invaluable, not only for their academic growth this semester, but for their future career trajectories,” Ms. Costello said.

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