Student Achievements
Undergraduate Grants & Awards
Our undergraduate student researchers have received competitive research grants and other awards, including:
- 2025: Ayesh Mulla received a research grant from Psi Chi, the international honor society in psychology.
- 2024: Amy Patel received a research grant from Psi Chi, the international honor society in psychology.
- 2023: Ola Abozid received several grants from Psi Chi, the international honor society in psychology, and a National Eye Institute Early Career Scientist award. Read about her successes here!
- 2023: Stevie Ann Hill received a National Eye Institute Early Career Scientist award.

Student Conference Presentations
- Castro, C., Mahfouz, N. O., Prela, D., Mulla, A., Renu, S., & Alexander, R.G. (2025). “A review of fixational instability in ophthalmic disease.” Poster presented at the Vision Sciences Society annual meeting, May 16-20, 2025, St. Petersburg, FL. Four student co-authors traveled to Florida to co-present this poster.
- Alcindor, B., Patel, A., Ramachandra, L., Toribio, J., Sharkly, M. B., & Alexander, R.G. (2025). “Decreased eye movement is associated with perceived blurring of object boundaries in meditation.” Poster presented at the Vision Sciences Society annual meeting, May 16-20, 2025, St. Petersburg, FL. L. One student author traveled to Florida to present this poster.
- Spiers, J., Patel, A., Alexander, K.E., & Alexander, R. G. (2025). “Burned out but still showing up: the college student experience.” “Unconference” presentation at the Society for Personality and Social Psychology annual meeting, April 2-5, 2025, Denver, CO. Two student co-authors traveled to Denver to present this work.
- Mulla, A., Hill, S. A., Spiers, J.M., Swift, A., Hautsch, J., & Alexander, R.G. (2025). “Fans literally view images differently than non-fans.” Poster presented at the Eastern Psychological Association annual meeting, March 6-8, 2025, New York, NY.
- Abozid, A., Renu, S.K., Safonova, E., Spiers, J., Guerras-Solares, E., & Alexander, R.G. (2024). “Microsaccades and ocular drift in ophthalmic and neurologic disease.” Poster presented at the annual Vision Sciences Society annual meeting, May 17-22, 2024, St. Petersburg, FL. Four student presenters traveled to Florida to co-present this poster.
- Hill, S. A., Spiers, J.M., Ramachandra, L., Mulla, A., Hautsch, J., & Alexander, R.G. (2024). “The impact of fandom on image viewing.” Poster presented at the annual Vision Sciences Society annual meeting, May 17-22, 2024, St. Petersburg, FL. Two student co-authors traveled to Florida to co-present this poster.
- Dull, A., Borbon, B., Joseph, J., & Huey, M. (2023). “The Impact of Religiosity as a Buffer to the Adverse Effects of Internet Susceptibility.” Symposium presented at the International Convention of Psychological Science (ICPS), March 9-11, 2023, in Brussels, Belgium. Three undergraduate research assistants travelled to Brussels, Belgium, to present.
- Joseph, J., Borbon, B., Dull, A., & Huey, M. (2023). “How Religious Identity Buffers the Effects of Internet Susceptibility.” Poster presented at the American Psychological Conference, May 25-28, 2023, in Washington, D.C.
- Velez, C., Shumskaya, A. & Huey, M. (2022). “Optimizing the Remote Learning Environment.” Poster presented at the American Psychological Science Convention, May 26-29, 2022, in Chicago, IL.
Student Research News
Vancouver Cybersecurity Students Hack Their Way to Third Place at CyberSci 2025 CTF Competition
New York Tech-Vancouver students achieved a significant milestone at CyberSci 2025, earning third place in the Vancouver region and 25th overall out of 86 teams across Canada.
Innovation in Rehabilitation
Occupational therapy student Nihar Gediya developed a rehabilitative device during a fieldwork placement, fueling his passion for arm and hand therapy treatment.
Driven by ‘Why’
Third-year medical student Kassandra Sturm leads the charge on a new study helping to uncover the neurological source affecting the sense of smell in autism spectrum disorder.
Op-ed: Universities Need More AI, Not Less
Many colleges and universities fret that AI will kill higher education, but keeping it out of the classroom will only produce graduates unprepared for the future, writes President Jerry Balentine.
Peer Success Guide Recognized at Conference
Computer science student Keerthi Kapavarapu visited San Francisco for the College Reading and Learning Association’s 58th Annual Conference, where she received the Outstanding Peer Educator Award.
Technology Partnership Helps Children With Disfluencies
Former NBA star Michael Kidd-Gilchrist has partnered with the College of Engineering and Computing Sciences’ ETIC to develop a prototype of a technology platform that he hopes will help children who stutter.