Correspondent photo / Sean Barron From left, Youngstown State University students Dylan Fellitz, Quenten Hamey and Nick Johnson look over the E-Human Powered Vehicle they designed this year, which will be in a competition Saturday in Orlando, Florida. Not pictured is Jack Johnson, the group’s fourth member and no relation to Nick Johnson.

YOUNGSTOWN — During her childhood, Meghan Crump enjoyed certain fast movements, though years later, her interest shifted to things that move quickly but are far smaller than her.

“I was a very creative person in high school. I was a student who loved school,” Crump, a Youngstown State University senior and 2022 Austintown Fitch High School graduate, said.

Specifically, Crump loved to dance and sing in her school’s concert choir, and after taking an organic chemistry course then learning about the movement and behavior of complex molecules, she “fell in love with it.” Now, she is on the cusp of earning a bachelor’s degree from YSU in biochemistry as well as a certificate in forensic science.

Some of her creativity, not to mention scientific acumen and prowess, was on display during YSU’s College of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics’ showcase Saturday afternoon in and outside of Moser Hall.

Crump’s was among the 58 student projects that were featured, displayed and highlighted for their friends and family members to view, Emilee Brown, director of STEM outreach and scholarships, noted. The gathering also was intended to allow prospective students to glean more of what type of careers and other opportunities are possible for STEM majors, Brown said.

About half of the students’ works were under the Choose Ohio First umbrella, which the Ohio Department of Higher Education sponsors, Brown noted. Choose Ohio First is a state-funded scholarship program aimed at students in STEM fields that provides financial and career support, with a requirement they fulfill work-based learning experiences, including research, she explained.

For her project, Crump collaborated with her adviser, Michael Serra, to explore the effects of metal ion concentration on the concentration of lysozymes, which are natural, antimicrobial enzymes found in milk as well as human tears, saliva and mucus. They often act as natural antibiotics via destroying cell walls of certain types of harmful bacteria.

Much of her work focused on egg whites containing proteins that break down cell walls, along with reactive oxygen species (unstable molecules such as hydrogen peroxide produced as natural byproducts of cellular metabolism).

In addition, Crump isolated such samples into small barrels, then submerged them into a specialized kind of water for osmosis before being left with proteins she sought to further analyze, she explained.

Despite its array of complexities, “it’s a very basic project,” Crump said about her scientific work, adding that reactive oxygen species can be the foundation for certain crosslinks that could have applications for dealing with Alzheimer’s disease and other types of dementia.

For their part, Nick Johnson, Quenten Hamey and Dylan Felliti’s project was something that far outsized any series of complicated molecules.

“The pedal is the same way as on a normal bike, but the motor helps you go at higher speeds,” Johnson said in explaining the main feature of a computer-controlled E-Human Powered Vehicle, which Johnson referred to as a “recumbent bicycle.”

During Saturday’s showcase, the three of them had another such vehicle that a different STEM team designed two years ago, and that served as a prototype for the one they are finishing.

This year’s model, which was constructed largely with black carbon fiber made in-house, will weigh about 61 pounds — roughly 30 pounds less than the 2024 vehicle – and they will be entering it into a competition this weekend in Orlando, Florida, Hamey said.

Before it’s finished, their vehicle needs a few more cosmetic additions and adjustments that include certain safety features, a nose cone, lights and a horn, Felliti said, adding that its top speed is about 53 mph.

Absent from Saturday’s gathering was the group’s fourth member, Jack Johnson, no relation to Nick Johnson.

A laundry list of other student projects dealt with effects of pressure on specialized laser diodes, concrete extruders, design and development of a handheld and portable gaming console, sources of seasonal algal blooms in Buckeye Lake, a YSU steel bridge competition, adaptive difficulty with artificial intelligence in games, soil enzymes and their impact on land uses and a rocket ship the YSU Rocket Team created.

Also in the mix was a project on which Kayelyn Crofford worked solely — and that dealt more with underground things.

“This could solve so many unknown (cold) homicide cases,” the YSU senior and 2022 Ursuline High grad said.

Crofford, a geology major, articulated what she sees as the core piece of importance to her project, titled “Simulated Clandestine Burial Research,” the crux of which is to improve law enforcement’s ability to find clandestine graves using ground-penetrating radar and electromagnetic induction to better aid them in recovering the remains of homicide victims. Her work also closely examined the importance of identifying optimal conditions for detecting such burial sites.

For her project, Crofford worked at a remote field near Leetonia, where 16 pigs were buried among five simulated graves, one of which was intentionally left empty. The challenge was to use a ground-penetrating radar device to locate the pigs’ graves, then process data collected, she noted.

“We used pigs as human proxies,” Crofford said, adding that she worked on her project for about three years.

Next year, she is to co-author a paper on the subject that will be presented with data to the FBI, Crofford continued.

Wim Steelant, the College of STEM’s dean, gave a larger, overall snapshot of the event’s purpose and significance.

“This showcase is all about hard work the students put into their research; it’s all about a hands-on learning module,” Steelant said.

Being part of Saturday’s gathering and having their work highlighted also has the potential to be attractive on students’ resumes for companies hiring in the STEM arena, he added.

In addition, Saturday’s event can serve as a recruitment tool for students “who like to make or break things. I prefer they make things because that costs less money,” Steelant said with a chuckle.