HACKETTSTOWN, N.J. (Warren County) — Seven Centenary University students have received scholarships recognizing excellence in undergraduate research, university officials announced.
The awards were presented through Schering-Plough and the Independent Colleges and Universities of New Jersey (ICUNJ), which represents 13 nonprofit private institutions across the state. The students showcased their work at ICUNJ’s Undergraduate Research Symposium, where they joined peers from colleges throughout New Jersey.
The annual symposium emphasizes hands-on, inquiry-based learning in science and technology, with students developing research projects, presenting findings and defending their work before judges.
Centenary students prepared for the event under the guidance of Assistant Professor of Biology Yeon Lang Cha.
“I am so proud of Centenary’s students,” said Dr. Cha, who also served as a judge at this year’s symposium. “We may be one of the smallest universities in the state, but I believe we send one of the greatest number of students to this symposium. Centenary students are passionate about science—that passion showed when we swept four scholarships.”
Among the award recipients were Angelina Glaskey of Hackettstown, Kayley Besbris of Newton and Jillian Ulanowski of Great Meadows, who studied oxidative damage in E. coli and received the Schering-Plough Undergraduate Research Endeavors scholarship. Luke McGovern of Allamuchy earned a Johnson & Johnson Nursing and Allied Health Scholarship for research on hydrogel drug delivery.
Jayson Morton and Adrianna Sterling, both of Hopatcong, were recognized with the Novartis Science Scholars Program Scholarship for their work detecting genetically modified organisms in fruit using PCR methods. Joshua Scialom of Westfield received the Nokia Bell Labs Scholarship for research on solar energy harvesting.
