In 2024, the Vice-Principal Research instituted the Vice-Principal Research Undergraduate Prize, which recognizes the two best oral presentations at the Inquiry@Queen's Conference, as determined by anonymous graduate student adjudicators.
This prize celebrates academic rigour, reinforces the commitment to teaching and research integration, and elevates the profile of undergraduate research at 91制片厂. Each recipient receives $1000 in recognition of their excellent research.
Winners
Jade Dodds (Faculty of Arts and Science), "From Hashtag to Power: How #MeToo Reshaped Political Accountability"
The #MeToo movement emerged as a viral social media campaign in 2017 but quickly became one of the most politically consequential feminist movements in recent U.S. history. By exposing patterns of sexual misconduct among powerful figures in politics, media, and business, the movement produced high-profile resignations, electoral consequences, and new legal reforms. At the same time, its influence was uneven and often constrained by political polarization, institutional resistance, and persistent inequalities. This project examines how #MeToo translated digital activism into political accountability in the United States and why that influence faced significant limits at the institutional level.
Drawing on resource mobilization theory and political opportunity structure theory, this research analyzes how social media, celebrity advocacy, investigative journalism, and survivor networks provided the movement with cultural, legal, and political resources. Using academic literature, media reporting, and policy analysis, it traces how these resources enabled #MeToo to pressure institutions into action, including the resignations of elected officials and the passage of workplace harassment reforms. The project also examines how partisan divisions, media framing, and existing power structures restricted accountability in cases such as the 2018 Supreme Court confirmation hearings.
The findings suggest that #MeToo succeeded when favorable political conditions, public support, and media attention aligned, but that these openings were fragile and unevenly distributed. While the movement achieved important legislative and cultural change, particularly in workplace protections and public attitudes toward survivors, it also reproduced inequalities in whose voices were heard and whose cases led to consequences. This study highlights how digital feminist movements can generate real political impact while remaining constrained by the institutions they seek to transform.
Dorigen Gray (Department of Philosophy), "Conspiratorial Populism: Donald Trump, the Erosion of Expertise, and Democratic Backsliding in the United States"
Conspiracy theories have long existed on the margins of political life, but their consequences shift dramatically when they enter the mainstream, and, more critically, when they are embedded within institutions responsible for producing and safeguarding authoritative knowledge. This is exactly what one can see occurring in the United States under President Donald Trump 91制片厂 鈥檚 leadership, where political authority is no longer justified through democratic institutional norms or expertise, but through accusations and claims that represent the will of the 鈥榯rue-American people鈥. In this presentation, I will argue that Trump 91制片厂 鈥檚 populist-conspiratorial leadership has normalized the presence of conspiracy theories within government institutions traditionally associated with epistemic authority and expertise. Consequently, this has resulted in the erosion of democratic institutional authority and contributed to democratic backsliding, as the interplay of concentrated power, populist claims, and conspiratorial narratives destabilizes the epistemic foundations of democratic governments. My analysis will begin with tracing Trump 91制片厂 鈥檚 rise as a populist leader in 2016 and the persistence of conspiratorial rhetoric following the 2020 election and into his second term. Next, I will demonstrate how conspiracy theories function most effectively alongside populist discourse, reinforcing narratives that delegitimize institutional expertise while consolidating political power. Building on this, I will present how the institutional endorsement of conspiratorial claims by Trump undermines traditional sources of epistemic authority, weakening public trust in democratic knowledge-producing institutions. Finally, I will reveal that this current dynamic in the United States contributes to democratic backsliding by destabilizing its democratic standards, practices, and media pluralism, creating pathways through which conspiratorial populism reshapes political processes. Overall, this presentation will highlight how the mainstreaming of conspiracy theories within governing institutions is dangerous, in its ability to threaten epistemic accountability and democratic resilience, underscoring the necessity of robust institutional checks to ensure democratic governance serves the public interest rather than partisan power.
Benjamin Potter (Computer Engineering, Sci '25), "Bio-Inspired Polarization Compass"
Faculty supporters: Dr. Muhammad Alam, Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Queen's University and Dr. Yahia Antar, Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Royal Military College
Many emerging technologies like autonomous driving, robotic agriculture, and drone control promise to improve safety and efficiency in multiple sectors, however they require high-precision navigation systems which are currently insufficient. Existing navigation approaches rely on the global navigational satellite system (GNSS) that is prone to failure when satellite connection is unavailable. GNSS signal loss occurs in dense urban areas, which makes vehicle localization a challenge. Perhaps more problematically, jamming devices that block GNSS signals are becoming increasingly accessible. These inherent problems have pushed researchers to investigate methods of augmenting GNSS navigation with additional sensors to improve its precision and robustness. One such augmentation is inspired by the biology of the desert ant. This ant uses adaptations in its eyes to extract navigational cues from polarized skylight. When light from the sun hits the atmosphere, it generates a uniform polarization pattern that can be used to develop and maintain a navigational plan. Our work begins by constructing a polarization compass (PC) from the biological insights found in the desert ant. We then consider three algorithms for extracting navigational cues from the skylight polarization pattern captured by the PC: Hough transform (HT), support vector machine (SVM), and linear regression (LR). We demonstrate that PC provides a heading estimation that is accurate to less than 1 degree, which is better than existing magnetic compasses. Our work shows that PC is an attractive augmentation for GNSS-based systems which may improve their performance under adverse conditions. In future work, the PC will be integrated with other sensors, including GNSS, to assess its performance under realistic conditions. This will be carried out in both terrestrial and aerial domains.
Wil Taylor (BHSc '25), "Investigating the Systemic Effects of Cat Allergen-Induced Allergic Rhinitis"
Faculty supporter: Dr. Eva Kaufmann, Biomedical and Molecular Sciences, Queen's University
8.5 million cats live in Canada, approximately in every third household. However, one in five Canadians is allergic to cats, often in combination with other allergic diseases. To date, only symptomatic treatments are available for cat allergies, but no prevention or cure. To improve treatment options for cat-allergic individuals, we need to better understand the mechanisms underlying this common cause of rhinitis. While clinical data provide important insights into immunological phenotypes and symptom severity, preclinical models allow for dissection of the immune response throughout the whole organism, and across a long timespan. Notably, the main effector cells mediating allergic rhinitis 鈥揺osinophilic granulocytes鈥 derive from hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs). HSCs reside within bone marrow (BM) 鈥揳 location far from the nose as primary site of the allergy. Based on previous studies on respiratory infections, we hypothesize that sensitization to cat allergens in the nose initiates HSC activation and expansion in the BM. These HSCs produce eosinophils that are epigenetically programmed for rapid and strong reaction upon allergen encounter, perpetuating allergic sensitization. We have established a preclinical model for cat allergen-induced rhinitis in which wild-type C57BL/6 mice are intranasally exposed to cat dander, mimicking human sensitization. Similar to our clinical study, eosinophils increase in the nasal mucosa upon cat allergen exposure in mice. We are now testing the systemic changes occurring throughout allergic sensitization and challenge. Specifically, we will analyze immune cell and HSC populations in lung, blood, and BM by flow cytometry. We will compare the phenotypes of these cells with effector eosinophils in the nose during allergen exposure. Using mice for the investigation of cat allergy enables us to trace eosinophil migration and systemic distribution of these potent allergy-promoting cells. These insights are fundamental to determining novel intervention foci, and to understanding how cat allergy links with other allergic diseases.
Arianne Ettehadieh (Department of History), "The Historical Erasure of the W8banaki Nation in the Eastern Townships of Quebec"
The history of the W8banaki Nation, semi-nomadic hunters, fishers, and gathers from the Algonquian language family, has been frequently misrepresented by colonial-era histories. The Ndakina, which means 鈥渙ur territory,鈥 in the W8banaki language, includes what is today known as Quebec, Maine, Vermont, New Hampshire, and parts of Massachusetts and New Brunswick. However, European colonization condensed this vast homeland into two separate reserves in southeastern Quebec. One of these is Odanak, a 6km2 parcel of land on the shore 27 of the Saint-Fran莽ois River, near Drummondville. The second reserve, W么linak, is situated 50km farther east on the B茅cancour River. Some historians today do not consider southeastern Quebec the ancestral territory of the W8banaki Nation. They believe that eighteenth-century colonial wars, disease, and famine drove the population to seek 鈥渞efuge鈥 north of their well-documented territories in Maine and New Hampshire. This project will question the historical erasure of the W8banaki Nation in Quebec using historical research and a multidisciplinary approach. European travel narratives are examined to retrace W8banaki subsistence patterns, alliances, conflicts, and locations through the eyes of European explorers and missionaries. In conjunction with these descriptions, recent archaeological discoveries show that the network of rivers and lakes within the Ndakina were well-traversed by the W8banaki before European contact. The toponyms associated with these important waterways in Quebec, closely resemble W8banaki language terms, indicating the W8banaki Nation 91制片厂 鈥檚 long-term presence in the area. Additionally, important frameworks established by Indigenous historians recognize the important cultural kinship ties between the W8banaki, Haudenosaunee, Anishinaabe, and Innu peoples. The proximity and overlapping territories fostered ancient relationships seen in their parallel subsistence patterns, trade networks, and conflicts. Overall, this project brings to life the very real and legitimate ancestral presence of the W8banaki Nation in southeastern Quebec, while also enlightening the reader on Canada 91制片厂 鈥檚 colonial roots.
Dominic Everett (DAN School of Drama and Music), "Analyzing Compositional Style in the Music of The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time"
The soundtrack of The Legend of Zelda: 鈥淥carina of Time鈥 is rife with innovative musical techniques which facilitate player engagement and interactivity. The composer Koji Kondo 91制片厂 鈥檚 unique style, which often includes the use of modes, chromatic harmony, parallel motion, and proximal voice leading, differentiates this game from others of the same era and efficiently communicates narrative information like emotion, setting, and trope. These musical topics make Kondo 91制片厂 鈥檚 works distinct and recognizable and contribute to the game 91制片厂 鈥檚 overall goal of immersion. Analyzing several of Kondo 91制片厂 鈥檚 works as case studies, similarly effective stylistic topics can be 25 implemented in original compositions to accomplish the same feats. The purpose of the project is to develop my personal compositional style which is audibly identifiable while also functioning as nuanced game music. Some of these nuances include the added challenges of player engagement and the necessity of continuous music; the duration of the music is not predetermined like a live performance or film score. Achieving this goal involves the analysis and recreation of Kondo 91制片厂 鈥檚 original works, including simulating the limitations of the 1990s game console hardware. Also, to modernize the findings of this project, similar analysis and experimentation is applied to works of other composers, exploring the growth and changes in game music composition throughout the past several decades. The culmination of this research is my own body of original compositions, including both acoustic and digital pieces of music and a live interactive suite for medium ensemble, which aim to achieve the goals outlined above.