6 MONTEREY COUNTY WEEKLY NOVEMBER 20-26, 2025 www.montereycountynow.com 831 Maria Ugaz spent her summer slicing apart hydras— not the mythical creatures but microscopic freshwater organisms—and monitoring their incredible ability to regenerate after being severed. (Fortunately for everyone involved, including the hydras, they do not have pain receptors.) Her research focused on genetic sequencing, hoping to glean evolutionary insight into what enables these jellyfish-like animals to regenerate quickly, with potential lessons down the road for biomedical research on human tissue regeneration. She’s a student at CSU Monterey Bay, one of 10 to earn a spot in a fall undergraduate research symposium hosted by the Undergraduate Research Opportunities Center (UROC) on Thursday, Nov. 13. And like many of the presenters, her work sounds sophisticated beyond her years. Another biology student, Addison Ryne, experimented with using holography to measure algal blooms in the waters of Lake Okeechobee in Florida and Lake Erie in Michigan. The traditional method for counting cells of cyanobacteria is labor-intensive and slow, and her research question has potentially significant implications—she wanted to find out if holographic images could be used to efficiently calculate the number of cells and predict a coming bloom of harmful algae. (Her answer was a partial yes. It worked in the Lake Erie water, where the cyanobacteria are more solid; the Okeechobee cells are more mushy and spread out. For the former, Ryne came up with a predictive equation: 1.65 million x colony volume - 38,647 = the estimated cell count.) The students presented in succession and were scored by a panel of six judges (including this reporter), rated on factors like their ability to articulate the purpose of their research and respond to audience questions. Ryne placed third, winning a cash prize of $100. Max Johnston Gomez placed second for his research on rockfish genetics, sampling larvae gathered from water off Baja California, for a $150 prize; and in first ($250) was Aaron Wickware, who worked at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography in San Diego to engineer solar panels to improve the power capability of a vehicle deployed to Antarctica where it collects water samples from melting ice. “Our components were using a lot more energy than we originally thought,” he said. His task was to design a system that could provide more power, enabling collection of more data—and it worked. His design, he said, was being shipped to Antarctica as he presented on campus. Johnston Gomez’s research question focused on the diversity of rockfish species. While he can easily identify different species just by looking at them, they don’t develop identifiable features until adulthood. So he experimented with 166 larval samples to see if genetic information could accurately identify the species of rockfish before it is identifiable to the human eye, with the potential to transform conservation strategies and the fishing industry by understanding rockfish populations early in their life cycle. He showed a photo of the subject of his work on screen, a lumpy white rockfish larvae: “This barely looks like a fish—it might as well be a hangnail,” he said. The good news for rockfish conservation down the road is that the hypothesis worked out. While it’s too soon to use in fisheries management, it is promising, he said: “We can really fill a knowledge gap that is going to help with conservation.” The presenters tended toward quantitative results—Cesar Ojeda measured heart rates of e-sports athletes— with a couple focused on more qualitative research. Navid Amariou set out to evaluate the effectiveness of peer-led math instruction on student outcomes in introductory calculus and statistics classes at CSUMB by measuring their drop-fail-withdraw rates. Sam Minard surveyed emergency managers in Florida about how they respond to misinformation in potentially life-threatening situations. “They kept identifying misinformation as one of their most serious concerns,” he said. “Almost no research has investigated how they actually deal with this problem.” While finding the answers could be another project for another summer, the UROC students are perhaps the best antidote to misinformation—they’re doing original research and finding data to support or refute their claims. Big Ideas Ten CSUMB students present their latest research with answers to big scientific questions. By Sara Rubin “We can really fill a knowledge gap.” TALES FROM THE AREA CODE DANIEL DREIFUSS Aaron Wickware won first place in the symposium for his presentation on a power system engineering design that attaches solar panels to a vehicle that collects Antarctic water samples. Our Big Idea catalyzes FOOD IS MEDICINE in Monterey County through nutrition programs and farmers’ markets providing local, sustainably grown fruits and vegetables to families in need. Support Access to Affordable Nutritious Food! montereycountygives.com/harvest Nov. 13 - Dec. 31, 2025 Our Local Impact: 2,900+ Families served weekly $3.5M in Healthy Food Incentives provided over the past 10 years 243 Farmers’ Markets hosted annually 2,420+ Fresh Rx produce prescriptions filled $923K Paid To Local Farmers through our programs this year Please donate!
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