USPROC Co-Chairs Announce Winners, Future Competition

Juanjuan Fan, San Diego State University; Ciaran Evans, Wake Forest University; and Jennifer Ward, Clark College

The co-chairs of the Undergraduate Statistics Project Competition organizing committee announce the winners for the spring 2024 submission cycle. In the two categories of the Undergraduate Statistics Class Project Competition, the winners are the following:

Introductory Statistics Competition

1st Place: Seung Woo (Alex) Lee and Justin Zych of the University of Notre Dame for “Predicting Life Expectancy Using Global Data in 2015”
Faculty Sponsor: Spencer Giddens

2nd Place: Mason Purcell, Joy Zhang, Aleeza Sadiq, and Riley Goetz of the University of Virginia for “Predicting Housing Prices in a College Town in Virginia”
Faculty Sponsor: Krista Varanyak

3rd Place: David Kanowitz and Grace Sheridan of the Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology for “A Bayesian Analysis of the Variate Strength of PLA”
Faculty Sponsor: Eric Reyes

Honorable Mentions: Ashleigh Jung, Po-Lin Wang, and Alyssa Chin of the University of Notre Dame for “Statistical Analysis on Factors that Lead to Extramarital Affairs During Marriage”
Faculty Sponsor: Spencer Giddens

Intermediate Statistics Competition

1st Place: Deepit Chandgothia and Ainsley Yuknis of Grinnell College for “Squirrel Threat Assessment on Institution Campus”
Faculty Sponsor: Jeffrey Jonkman

2nd Place: Matheus Kunzler Maldaner, Justin Witter, Patrick Lehman, Raul Valle, and Eric Chao of the University of Florida for “Optimizing Digital Learning Through Data Analytics and Natural Language Processing”
Faculty Sponsor: Elizabeth Johnson

3rd Place: Audrey Yip and Jenni Yu of Wellesley College for “Exploring Factors Influencing User Engagement with Academic Institution-Related YouTube Videos: A Case Study of ‘AAA College’”
Faculty Sponsor: Anny-Claude Joseph

Honorable Mention: Alisha Bhatia of the University of Florida for “Single-Cell RNA Sequencing (scRNAseq) Analysis of Murine Glioma to Investigate the Potential of Astrocytes as a Therapeutic Target”
Faculty Sponsor: Demetris Athienitis

For the Undergraduate Statistics Research Project Competition, the winners are the following:

1st Place: Evan Christensen, Helen Moses, Sammi Sheridan, and Miles Frisch of Carleton College for “A Comparison of Spatial Models Incorporating Nonspatial Information, with a Policing Case Study”
Faculty Sponsor: Claire Kelling

2nd Place: Ahmet Cemek of the New College of Florida for “Studying the Effects of ‘Prevent Defense’ Tactic on Team’s Offensive Output Across Five Major European Club Soccer Leagues”
Faculty Sponsors: Andrey Skripnikov and David Gillman

3rd Place: Nathan Weaver, Max Logalbo, and Jonathan Pipping of the University of Florida for “Topological Data Analysis for Classification of AI Generated Faces”
Faculty Sponsor: Elizabeth Johnson

Honorable Mentions: Miles King, James Gao, Harry Wang, and Frankie Willard of Duke University for “Lo(fex) and Behold: Extending Previous Analyses of Lofexidine’s Efficacy for Opiate Withdrawal Symptoms”
Faculty Sponsor: Yue Jiang

View the winning and honorable mention projects for the Undergraduate Statistics Class Project Competition and the Undergraduate Statistics Research Project Competition at the CAUSEweb website.

This year’s winners were given the opportunity to present at the 2024 Electronic Undergraduate Statistics Research Conference on November 8.

The deadline for students to submit work for the next competition submission cycle is December 18. Projects completed in the summer and fall 2024 are eligible, and winners receive cash prizes. The purpose of the competition is to encourage the development of data analysis skills, enhance presentation skills, and recognize outstanding work by undergraduate statistics students.

To become a judge for the next submission cycle, fill out the USPROC judges form.

For more information about the competition, visit CAUSE or email Juanjuan Fan, Ciaran Evans, or Jennifer Ward.