SUNY Potsdam

SUNY Potsdam Honors Winners of 2026 Learning and Research Fair Awards

SUNY Potsdam Students Honored with Awards for Excellence for Research and Creative Projects

Potsdam, NY (05/29/2026) — SUNY Potsdam recognized students and faculty mentors for excellence in research and creative projects, following the College's 2026 Learning and Research Fair.

More than 200 students presented their research to faculty, staff and classmates in the Barrington Student Union on May 6. Following the fair, the following top research projects were recognized with awards, which included $4,900 worth of prizes, at the College's honors ceremony.

Frederick B. Kilmer Research Awards (Sciences)

Chase Bond, an environmental science and biology major from Stanley, N.Y., won first place for "Mosquito Surveillance in St. Lawrence County," working with Dr. Robert Snyder.
Ethan Sterling and Elizabeth Metcalfe won second place for "Cellular Iron Balance: From Ferritin Storage to NCOA4 Recycling," working with Dr. Fadi Bou-Abdallah. Sterling is a biochemistry major from Chazy, N.Y., and Metcalfe is a biomedical sciences major from Ontario, N.Y.
Spencer Pelkey, an archaeological studies and geology major from Boston, N.Y., won third place for "Using Paleosalinity Proxies to Track Marine Influence in the Joggins Formation, Canada," working with Dr. Page Quinton.

Frederick B. Kilmer Research Awards (Social Sciences)

The Handcrafted Experiential Archaeological Research and Teaching Hub (HEARTH) team won first place for "Learning Craft: Making, Human Intelligence in the Age of AI," working with Dr. Timothy Messner. The HEARTH team included students Kathryn Nelson of Riverside, R.I., Euan Reynolds of East Aurora, N.Y., Lizzie Stensaker of Medina, Ohio, Porter Ross of Memphis, N.Y., and Shannon Gould of Rochester, N.Y.
Ethan Lew and Cameron D. Rogers won second place for "Digitizing a Smart Campus," working with Dr. Jessica Pearson. Lew is a geographic information science major from Brooklyn, N.Y., and Rogers is an environmental science and environment and sustainability major from West Chazy, N.Y.
The ENVR 470 Applied Sustainability Team 1 won third place for "Driving Continuous Sustainability at SUNY Potsdam," also working with Dr. Jessica Pearson. The student team included Darbi Dean of Sherburne, N.Y., Nick Soles of Newfane, N.Y., Jason Donovan of Potsdam, N.Y., and Kadi Palmer of Averill Park, N.Y.

Frederick B. Kilmer Research Awards (Humanities)

Emma Kuegel, Alyssa Spina and Michael Wong won first place for "Diversifying the Violin Curriculum for Private Teaching," working with Dr. Tim Yip. Kuegel is a music education major from Bellport, N.Y., Spina is a musical studies major from Rome, N.Y., and Wong is a musical studies and music performance major from Albany, N.Y.
Michael Wong, a musical studies and music performance major from Albany, N.Y., won second place for "Honeyed Tones: Film Violinists and the Rendering of Romance in Golden Age Hollywood Films," also working with Dr. Yip.
Ryan Murtagh, a music performance major from Schenectady, N.Y., won third place for "Lutherie Studies and Acoustic Guitar Construction," working with Samson Flancbaum.

Ram L. Chugh North Country Research and Public Service Awards

Chris Schwartz, a music business and archaeological studies major from Syracuse, N.Y., won first place for "Armor Up: What Kind of Internships Can Student-Run Organizations Offer and What Can We Get Out of Them?", working with Jenica Rogers.
Pandora Gagliano, a history and social studies middle/secondary education major from Potsdam, N.Y., won second place for "Learning is Local," working with Holly Marcolina.
Chase Bond, an environmental science and biology major from Stanley, N.Y., won third place for "Quantifying Microplastics in Freshwater Mussel Elliptio Complanata (Mollusca: Unionidae) Along the Raquette River Drainage Basin," working with Dr. Robert Snyder.

Graduate Award

Vanessa Cook, a public health major from Massena, N.Y., won for "Caregivers of Alzheimer's Outreach Program," working with Dr. Kelly Bonnar.

Provost's Award for Excellence in Student Research

Mackenzie Wessels, a geology major from Cicero, N.Y., won for "Lake or Sea? Reassessing Marine Influence in the Kootenai Formation of Southwestern Montana," working with Dr. Page Quinton and Dr. Michael Rygel.

Outstanding Faculty Mentorship of Undergraduate Research

Judy Lewis, Assistant Professor of Music Education, SUNY Potsdam's Crane School of Music

The SUNY Potsdam Learning and Research Fair is coordinated by the Donald and Kathryn Lougheed Center for Applied Learning, located in the Lougheed Learning Commons. To find out more about the center's support for student research and creative projects, visit www.potsdam.edu/academics/appliedlearning/studentresearch.

About SUNY Potsdam:

Founded in 1816, The State University of New York at Potsdam is one of America's first 50 colleges -- and the oldest institution within SUNY. Now in its third century, SUNY Potsdam is distinguished by a legacy of pioneering programs and educational excellence. The College currently enrolls approximately 2,500 undergraduate and graduate students. Home to the world-renowned Crane School of Music, SUNY Potsdam is known for its challenging liberal arts and sciences core, distinction in teacher training and culture of creativity. To learn more, visit www.potsdam.edu.

###

Media Attachments

A SUNY Potsdam student points at a geology poster during the Learning and Research Fair.

LearningAndResearch09.jpeg

More than 200 students presented their research and creative projects at SUNY Potsdam’s Learning and Research Fair.

Spencer Pelkey stands with her geology poster at the Learning and Research Fair at SUNY Potsdam.

LearningAndResearch05.jpeg

Spencer Pelkey discusses her research project that she worked on along with Dr. Page Quinton and Dr. Michael Rygel at SUNY Potsdam’s Learning and Research Fair. The project won third place in the sciences category for the Frederick B. Kilmer Research Awards.

Michael Wong stands near his music poster at the SUNY Potsdam Learning and Research Fair.

LearningAndResearch04.jpeg

Michael Wong stands near the poster for his group project along with Emma Kuegel and Alyssa Spina, titled “Diversifying the Violin Curriculum for Private Teaching,” which won first place in the humanities category for the Frederick B. Kilmer Research Awards. Wong also won second place in the same category for his project working with Dr. Timothy Yip, “Honeyed Tones: Film Violinists and the Rendering of Romance in Golden Age Hollywood Films.”