Baruch College Students Present Projects at CUNY Undergraduate Research Event

May 28, 2024

A select group of Baruch students presented their original academic research projects at the second annual CUNY-Wide Undergraduate Research Celebration held on May 24 at John Jay College.

The students’ research, which featured a variety of topics within the humanities, social sciences, business, public affairs, and STEM fields, were among those displayed by more than 250 undergraduates from 22 CUNY colleges, schools, and centers that offer research mentoring.

“Skills, drive, and innovative spirit”

“It’s wonderful that Baruch’s students had this opportunity to network with their CUNY peers and show off their budding expertise in fascinating areas of research,” said Katherine Pence, an associate professor in the Department of History at Baruch’s Weissman School of Arts and Sciences who worked with the CUNY Office of Research to organize the celebration.

Pence added, “As they produce new knowledge and grapple with real-world problems, these students’ skills, drive, and innovative spirit all represent some of the best of what a Baruch education can foster, and we expect great things from them in the future.”

Anthony Maniscalco, Baruch’s Director of Experiential and Community Engaged Learning, explained that “Baruch’s participation in the CUNY Undergraduate Research Celebration is proof positive that students at the College are eager to engage in experiential learning activities.

“High impact practices such as undergraduate research help students succeed throughout their studies and well after they graduate.”

Meet Baruch’s Undergraduate Researchers, Projects, and Faculty Mentors: 

• Valery Chlafer (’24) – “Evaluating the Impacts of State-Sanctioned Rhetoric in Russian Television Program Vremya on VKontakte Posters Following Russia’s Invasion of Ukraine” (PUB Mentor Tiffany Lewis)
• Peter Ballufi-Fry (’24) – “Building Resilience against Wildfire Smoke in New York City: Protecting New York City’s Most Vulnerable Communities” (PUB Mentor Cristina Balboa)
• John Spencer III (’24) – “CLO alchemy: The Impact of Static vs. Active Management on CLO Equity Returns” (Business Analytics Mentor Ken Abbott)
• Kyle Perlman (’26) – “A Shiksa’s Guide: Changing Influences on New York City Jewish English” (Linguistics Mentor Brooke Schreiber)
• Jennifer Lai (’25) – “Childbearing Decision-Making Among Emerging Adults in the Context of Climate Change” (PSY Mentor Mindy Engle-Friedman)
• Kaylen Su (’25) – “Quantifying the Secondary Structures of Peptides” (CHEM Mentor Baofu Qiao)
• Amanda Flores (’24) – “Evaluating Ecosystem Structure and Functioning of a Created Salt Marsh in Hudson River Park” (Sustainability Mentor Chester Zarnoch)
• Omer Rondel (’24) – “Modeling Central Nervous System Damage” (MATH mentor Matthew Junge)
• Darya Voinitskaya (’25) – “Stitching an Exhibition: American Quilts at the Whitney Museum” (HIS Mentor Katherine Pence)
• Stephanie Gonzales (’24) – “Policy Approaches to Homelessness: Autonomy and Intervention” (POL, Mentor Thomas Halper)
• Representing the Macaulay Honors College: Hanna Hillesheim, “Stepping Up to the Plate: The Role of Corporate Social Responsibility in the MLB and the Yankees” (Baruch Mentor Elizabeth Reis)

Learn more about Baruch student researchers: Some of these students were among the more than 180 undergraduates who recently participated in Baruch’s 2024  Research & Creative Inquiry Expo.

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