Three California State University, Fresno students received awards at the 21st annual California State University Student Research Competition on May 4-5 at CSU Dominguez Hills. A total of 172 students presented their research in 10 different categories, and two Fresno State students were named top presenters in their categories.
The competition exhibits research by undergraduate and graduate students from the 23 CSU campuses, said Dr. Thomas McClanahan, associate vice president for Research and Sponsored Programs at Fresno State.
Rebecca Headrick of Hanford received first place in the Behavioral and Social Sciences graduate category for her presentation, “No Person Shall Be Forced to Have an Abortion Against His Will: The Case of Epicene Pronouns in Written Discourse.” Headrick received her master’s degree in linguistics this month. Her faculty mentor was Dr. Shigeko Okamoto.
Carlos Tristan received first place in the Biological and Agricultural Sciences graduate division for his presentation, “Gene Expression Profile of Transgenic Nicotiana tabacum Plants Expressing Caenorhabditis’ Cell Death Genes.” He also won first place at last month’s Central California Research Symposium. His faculty mentor was Dr. Alejandro Calderon-Urrea. A native of Oxnard, Tristan will enter the Ph.D. program at Johns Hopkins University this fall.
In the Behavioral and Social Sciences graduate category, David Pyrooz of Gustine received the runner-up award for his presentation, “Risk factors of gang membership: Results from an analysis of self-reported gang members in the Fresno County jail.” Pyrooz received his master’s degree in criminology this month. His faculty mentors were Dr. Jason Kissner and Dr. Barbara Owen.
Seven other participants from Fresno State presented at the competition: Sergio Aguilar-Rudametkin, Hazel Hofman, Saben Kane, Takako Kurimoto, Gilberto Lopez, Natalie Powers and Tonantzin Soto.
For additional information, visit csufresno.edu/grants/student-awards07.html or contact Doug Carey at 559.278.0840.
