Superior-UW-Superior students Usman Ahmad, Abdul Basith Mohamed Nasir, and Tasneem Aidabi were recognized for their research in their campus WiSys Quick Pitch competition, held Wednesday, April 3.

Junior Usman Ahmad earned first place for his pitch, titled “Empirical Analysis of the Relationship between External Debt and Economic Growth in Southeast Asia: Role of COVID and Casual Factors.” In his pitch, which was a follow-up from a paper written for an economics class, Ahmad explored the relationship between external debt and economic growth in his home country of Pakistan. His goal is to find the causes of the issues and create solution-based policies for the future.

Ahmad’s faculty advisor is Dr. Sakib, Mahmud, a professor in the UW-Superior School of Business Economics. Ahmad will represent UW-Superior in the WiSys Quick Pitch State Final, which will be held during the WiSys SPARK Symposium this July on the Superior campus. 

Senior Abdul Basith Mohamed Nasik earned second place for his pitch, titled “How Can Personality Assessments be Used to Create Effective and Balanced Groups for Better Learning Environments in the Classroom.” In his three-minute pitch, Mohamed Nasik discussed the utilization of personality assessments to create effective and balanced groups for learning environments in online classrooms, as well as the importance for group dynamics.

Mohamed Nasik’s faculty advisor is Dr. Shanna Nifoussi, an associate professor in natural sciences.

Junior Tasneem Aidabi pitch, titled “Mathematical Analysis of Kaleidoscopes in at Least 2-Dimensions,” received the people’s choice award, which was voted on by event attendees. Aidabi explained how kaleidoscopes are real-world manifestations of the principle of reflection, which is studied mathematically via group theory. Since groups were created to quantify symmetry from a mathematical point of view, they are an effective way to demonstrate this. Her project aims to learn more about possible kaleidoscopes in both 2D and 3D spaces.

Aidabi’s faculty advisor is Dr. Joshua Stangle, associate professor in mathematics & computer science.

Additional participants include:

·         Josh Carlisle, “Microcontroller Alarm Clock and Switch”

·         Daniela Castiblanco Diaz, “Faith or Reality: The Victorian Quandary”

·         Jezreel Hasman, “The Barriers Women Experiencing Addiction Face: Stigma and Shame”

·         Isabella Lyste, “Economic Impacts of TRIO's Upward Bound Program: A Case Study in Wisconsin”

·         Taylea Martin, “The Curious Case of J.M. Barrie”

The panel of judges included:

·         Jim Caesar, Executive Director, The Development Association

·         Mike Hill, Business Consultant, Wisconsin Small Business Development Center

·         Jordan Milan, Associate Vice Chancellor of Enrollment and Marketing, UW-Superior

·         Jim Paine, Mayor of Superior

To view pictures of the event, please click here. Thank you to Holden Law, UW-Superior Creative Manager, for the event pictures.

To learn more about WiSys Quick Pitch and upcoming competitions, click here. For questions about Quick Pitch, please contact Margot DeBaker, Regional Intellectual Property and Licensing Associate, at mdebaker@wisys.org.