The projects are funded by Summer Undergraduate Research Opportunity (SUROP) grants, a competitive program that awards up to $1,250 to cover approved project expenses.

“Collaborating with a faculty mentor, using appropriate research methods and sharing the results of their work are powerful experiences for undergraduate researchers,” said Dr. Jane Greer, who directs the program. “The faculty review committee was impressed with the proposals from the applicants, and we look forward to seeing the results of their work.”

2021 SUROP Grant Recipients and Faculty Mentors:

• Victor Arellano for “Preventing Falls in Older Adults Through Cycling” (Joey Lightner, Nursing and Health Studies)

• Maya Baughn for “Relationship Between Self-Reported Balance and Self-Reported Physical Activity in Older Adults” (Amanda Grimes, Nursing and Health Studies)

• Jacob Bell for “Late Holocene Paleoclimate of the Gulf of Aqaba-Northern Red Sea Based on Stable Isotope Analyses of Benthic Foraminifera” (Tina Niemi, Earth and Environmental Sciences)

• Kyle Broley for “Examination and Analysis of Peperite Formations of Dotsero Crater” (Alison Graettinger, Earth and Environmental Sciences)

• Thomas Cacy for “Aggressive Turn in a Fixed Wing UAV” (Travis Fields, Mechanical Engineering)

• Nina Cherry for “Evaluating Jazz and Gender in Kansas City’s Swing Era” (Alison DeSimone, Music Studies)

• Justin Clark for “Ultra-Compact Integrated Product Cooling Technology” (Sarvenaz Sobhansarbandi, Mechanical Engineering)

• Ashley Cole for “Smart Dendritic Catalyst – Application Toward Size-Selective Oxidation of Alcohols” (Shin Moteki, Chemistry)

• Evie Cross for “Prof. Moteki’s Research Group: Organic Synthesis and Catalysis” (Shin Moteki, Chemistry)

• Jared Gutzmer for “Sigurd Rascher and Musical Modernism” (William Everett, Music Studies)

• Zachary MacDonald for “Mexico: A Failed or Emerging Democracy?” (Mona Lyne, Political Sciences)

• Trenton McEnaney for “Building a Georeferenced Database for the 1976 Guatemalan Earthquake Rupture Along the Motagua Fault System” (Tina Niemi, Earth and Environmental Sciences)

• Levi Moore for “Comparing the Susceptibility to Antifungal Drugs in Five Different Standard Broth Media” (Brooke Esquival and Ted White, Biology)

• Onur Ozkaya for “Evaluation of Optimum Heat Gain in a Solar Thermal Collector through Design Re-Configuration” (Sarvenaz Sobhansarbandi, Mechanical Engineering)

• Krithika Selva Rajoo for “Representation of Cyclic Voltammetry by Digital Simulation” (Mohammad Rafiee, Chemistry)

• Jade Robichaud for “Measuring Inhibitory Controls to Food Cues Using a Mouse-Tracking Paradigm” (Lark Lim, Psychology)

• Shanya San for “Ab Initio Computational Research of the Intercalation of Cancer Drug Doxorubicin in Various DNA Sequences” (Wai-Yim Ching, Physics and Astronomy)

• Kyla Vazquez for “Determining the Number of Genes Responsible for a Mutant Phenotype in Saccharomyces Cerevisiae” (Saul Honigberg, Biology)