Alayna Veeck has been awarded the First Place Outstanding Research Award for Undergraduate students in the Physical & Mathematical Sciences category.
This honor was earned at the IU Center of Excellence for Women & Technology Research Poster Competition held on April 17, 2026. Alayna was one of 75 student researchers who participated in this year's event, presenting her work titled, Optimal Transport Matching for Covariate Balance in Observational Causal Inference.
The competition was rigorous; each student was evaluated by a panel of three judges selected from a pool of 65 experts across the university. Presenters were scored on the following criteria:
- Research Merit & Significance: The impact and value of the work.
- Research Content: The depth and accuracy of the findings.
- Poster Clarity & Appearance: Visual communication of data.
- Organization: The logical flow of information.
- Oral Presentation: The ability to articulate complex concepts effectively.
We are incredibly proud of Alayna’s dedication and the high caliber of her research.
