Six students received Worcester State University Library Research Awards this spring in recognition of their academic excellence and dedication. The library awards committee honors students to support their research and to foster the broader growth of scholarly and creative activities on campus.
The awards were given to students who presented at the annual Celebration of Scholarship and Creativity on April 22.
Among the student awardees was Xion Xiong, who presented research on protein kinase C inhibitors as anticancer agents.
“I would like to thank the organizers for hosting the Celebration of Scholarship and Creativity. It was a great opportunity to present my research, learn from other students’ work, and engage with the academic community,” said Xiong. “Being part of this event allowed me to improve my communication skills and gain confidence in presenting scientific ideas, and I truly appreciate the effort put into creating such a meaningful experience for students,” he said.
Xiong’s faculty advisor, Professor Weichu Xu, praised his students’ dedication and collaborative effort throughout the research process. “Xin, Sean, Agathon and Sophia, these members of the team put an immense amount of effort working on the project and the presentation of the poster at this Celebration of Scholarship and Creativity event,” said Xu. “It is fantastic to see that hard work acknowledged from such a competitive pool of nearly 50 applications.”
Lauren Horowitz—who presented her work on trust and AI—also expressed her excitement about receiving the recognition. “Contributing to our field’s understanding of the societal and interpersonal role of AI, as well as advancing AI literacy education, has been especially exciting—and receiving the Library Research Award has truly been the cherry on top,” she said. “I look forward to seeing where this work leads in the future.”
Photos, from left: Top row, Audrey Benoit and Carissa McKee, Elio Ngjelo. Bottom row, Safa Khan, Xin Xiong, Sean Furlong, Agathon Malik, and Sophia Westort.
Following is the complete list of this year’s awardees:
Oral Presentation Award
Alyssa Bedard, graduate student, won the Catherine T. Novick Research Award for her presentation entitled “Echolalia’s Communicative Intent in Neurodivergent Children: A Survey Study,” with project advisor Dr. Samantha Scripture. The award, named in memory of Catherine T. Novick ’71, a former Worcester State library assistant, was established by the Novick family in 2021.
Poster Awards
There were five $500 awards endowed through the generosity of an anonymous donor.
Lauren Horowitz, undergraduate student, and Carol Martinez, undergraduate student, for the poster “In AI We Trust?,” with advisor Dr. Seth Surgen.
Safa Khan, undergraduate student, for the poster “How Social Norms Shape Women’s Economic Participation in Pakistan,” with advisor Dr. Abir Bukhatwa.
Audrey Benoit, undergraduate student, and Carissa McKee, undergraduate student, for the poster “Promoting Student Learning Outcomes and Community Outreach through Alternative Hearing Screening Technology,” with advisor Dr. Kristina A. Curro.
Elio Ngjelo, undergraduate student, for the poster “Breast Cancer Analysis via Machine Learning of Medical Images,” with advisors Dr. Nada Alsallami, and Dr. Maxim O. Lavrentovich.
Xin Xiong, Sean Furlong, Agathon Malik, and Sophia Westort for the poster “Design and the Development of Protein Kinase C Inhibitors as Anticancer Agents,” with advisor Dr. Weichu Xu.
