{"id":28985,"date":"2026-04-03T09:27:43","date_gmt":"2026-04-03T16:27:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.hmc.edu\/admission\/?page_id=28985"},"modified":"2026-04-05T10:16:07","modified_gmt":"2026-04-05T17:16:07","slug":"research-clinic-presentations","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.hmc.edu\/admission\/admitted\/asp\/research-clinic-presentations\/","title":{"rendered":"Student Research and Clinic Presentations"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Session 1: 10:40\u201311:05 a.m.<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\n

Computer Science Clinic<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

ServiceNow: Explainable and Actionable Conversational Clustering<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Shanahan Center 1430 (Big Shan)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Presenter: <\/strong>Aimee Co ’26, Sanaya Gandhi ’26, Theo Rode ’26<\/p>\n\n\n\n

LLMs offer the opportunity to replace existing specialized and highly technical clustering methods with interactive and iterative natural language. We built a conversational interface for clustering datasets, equipping users to explore themes and gain understanding of high-dimensional data. Our work centers around proposing conversational clustering as a novel task and developing a comprehensive benchmark suite for evaluating the development of future systems.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mathematics Research<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Towards a Labeled-triangulation Proof of the Fixed Point Property for Even-dimensional Projective Planes<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Shanahan Center B480 (Recital Hall)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Presenters:<\/strong> Joshua Zhong ’26<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There are several topological existence theorems that have interesting equivalent combinatorial lemmas on labeled triangulations, with the most prominent being the Brouwer fixed-point theorem for n-dimensional disks with Sperner’s lemma for triangulated subdivisions of n-simplices. It can be shown that projective planes of odd dimension have continuous, fixed-point free mappings to themselves, while every continuous function must have at least one fixed point for projective planes of even dimension. We seek a combinatorial equivalent that shows the existence of these fixed points, particularly by first creating a corresponding mapping from the 2n-dimensional sphere to itself. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Physics Research<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

idealPV: Solar Safety Innovation for the DOE\u2019s EnergyTech Prize<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Galileo (McAlister + Pryne)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Presenters:<\/strong> Felix Peng ’28, Amy Li ’28, Anika Sharma ’28, Katie Cheng ’28<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Solar panel systems are rapidly expanding, but they introduce critical safety challenges, particularly the risk of electrical faults and hotspots that can lead to fires and hinder firefighting efforts. As highlighted in our presentation, solar-related fires are increasing, with thousands of incidents annually and significant financial and safety consequences.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Our project, idealPV, addresses this problem through Hot-Spot Prevention (HSP) technology, which uses real-time monitoring of panel conductance to prevent dangerous conditions before they occur. By eliminating hotspots, our solution improves firefighter safety, reduces fire risk, and enhances overall solar panel performance and longevity .<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Chemistry Research<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Synthesizing New Organic Molecules with Skeletal Editing<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Galileo (Edwards)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Presenters: <\/strong>Nora O’Connor ’26<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When synthesizing novel molecules, chemists often use reactions that couple compounds together or change their peripheral structure. However, skeletal editing has recently emerged as an exciting way to make drastic changes to the core structure of a molecule. In the Vosburg Lab, we are using skeletal editing to synthesize novel compounds with potential pharmaceutical relevance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Biology Research<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Investigating the Hydraulic Traits of Artemisia Californica during a Natural Summer Drought<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Shanahan Center B460 (Tiered Classroom)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Presenters:<\/strong> Taylor Baugh ’27<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Advancing our understanding of eco-physiological limits to photosynthesis improves predictions of plant responses to climate changes. In this work, we tracked plant water potential, a measurement of the water status of plants, to investigate the hydraulic relationships in the soil-plant-air continuum. We were able to capture a clear ecosystem response to drought, which was used to characterize the hydraulic parameters of this species.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

Session 2: 11:15\u201311:40 a.m.<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\n

Engineering Clinic<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Offbeast: Product Development for Plant-Based Alternative Protein<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Shanahan Center 1430 (Big Shan)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Presenter: <\/strong>Noona Maguire 26, Alex Robertson ’26, Tali Smith ’26, Micah Borg ’27 , Tracy Han ’27<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Offbeast is a woman-owned startup based in Baltimore and New York that works to create a vegan alternative to whole cut steaks. The clinic team has been tasked to improve the current steak bites and expand their product line beyond its current focus of vegan steak replacements to plant based chicken wings.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Computer Science Clinic<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

UCS Land Use: Common Ground: A Strategic Land Repurposing Game<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Shanahan Center B480 (Recital Hall)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Presenters: <\/strong>Mia Mirabelli ’26, Ria Rajasekar ’26, Laura Vairus ’26, Vibhu Krishnan ’26, Nicole Kerschner SC ’26<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS) is a non-profit organization that puts rigorous, independent science into action. UCS advocates for multibenefit land repurposing in California’s agricultural regions, which turns irrigated cropland into sustainable land alternatives that help the environment, economy, and community wellbeing. We developed an educational video game (“Common Ground”) which simulates multibenefit land repurposing planning in a multiplayer setting and encourages players to strategize how to bring the most benefit to their town<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Engineering Clinic<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

CurvaFix, Inc: Biomechanical Testing of a Novel Pelvic Fracture Device<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Galileo Hall (McAlister & Pryne)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Presenters: <\/strong>Adne Brako ’26, Maya Jenkins ’26, Izze Stolzoff ’26, Sara Wexler ’26, Nyah Hamilton ’27, Angel Perez ’27<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Every year, approximately 200,000 people sustain a pelvic fracture in the United States. Traditional plates and screws used to stabilize these fractures fail in 12\u201375% of cases due to hardware breaking or loosening over time. CurvaFix, Inc. designs and manufactures a flexible implant that conforms to the curvature of the pelvis, providing stable fixation while reducing the risk of hardware failure. Clinical adoption of these implants may be increased with biomechanical validation. The CurvaFix Clinic Team developed a biomechanical test to compare the fixation of the CurvaFix Implant against that of traditional plates and screws across fractures in the pelvis.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Physics Research<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Towards Demonstration of Quantum Position Verification (QPV)<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Galileo Hall (Edwards)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Presenters: <\/strong>Next Ongarjvaja ’26<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We are leveraging special relativity and no-cloning theorem in quantum mechanics to securely verify the geographical location on the node in the quantum network. We are using hybrid quantum and classical communication channels to carry out the location bounding protocol.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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