In May 2022, The Office of Undergraduate Research announced 145 SURF Awards for Summer. Congratulations to all!

School of Architecture & Urban Planning

  • Marina Fabela, Andrea Garcia-Rangel, Alicia Kandall, Jacob Rohan and Megan Schulte working with Chelsea Wait: “Constructing Equitable Terrain: Exploring Issues of Equity and Inclusion in Architectural Education”
  • Liam Farin and Tannis Thompson-Catlett working with Arijit Sen: “Role of Urban Gardens in Fostering Community Health, and Justice”
  • Dylan Groshek working with Mark Keane: “www.NEXT.cc – K-12 Design Curriculum”
  • Elijah Hart working with Yaidi Cancel Martinez: “Beyond Transportation Justice: Examining Microtransit Participants’ Conditions and Access to Jobs”
  • Evan Johnson, Nathan Magee, and Jacob Rohan working with Lindsey Krug: “Mono-Poly-Dollar: Small Box Architecture and the Dollar Store Economy”
  • Andrea Fernanda Mendoza Juarez working with Chelsea Wait: “Constructing Equitable Terrain: Exploring Issues of Equity and Inclusion in Architectural Education”

Peck School of the Arts

  • Philipe Amorim Figueredo De Melo and John O’Shea working with Portia Cobb: “Voices of Gun Violence”
  • Laura Bogyay and Jack Lehtinen working with Nathaniel Stern: “Breath: Environmental Data-Driven Kinetic Sculptures”
  • Kelsei Cecil, Hameeda Hazelwood, and Mackenzie Savin working with Sean Kafer: “Exploring Activism in Milwaukee with Vaun Mayes”
  • Pete Erdmann working with Joseph Mougel: “Water Lens: Cameras for the Great Lakes”
  • Shayla Finley working with Nathan Nokes: “Get Thru”
  • Ashley Garcia, Zoe Glise, Jessica Lueck, and Madison Westreich working with Simone Linhares Ferro: “Milwaukee Through Embodied Research”
  • Mara Grigg working with Alvaro Rios: “Dramaturgy & New Play Development”
  • Jessica Kempken working with Sean Kafer: “Wisconsin Salt Wise: Data Analysis of the Effects of Sodium Chloride on the Environment”
  • Madison Sveum working with Nathaniel Stern: “The Word after Us: Meaningful Computations and Material Poetics”

Sheldon B. Lubar School of Business

  • Tuyen Huu Nguyen working with Scott Schanke: “Understanding Misinformation on TikTok”
  • Lindsay Van Der Wegen working with Veena Brown: “The Observer Effect and Tax Reporting Accuracy”

College of Engineering & Applied Science

  • Andrea Alonso working with Mahsa Dabagh: “Modeling Intracellular Organelles of Cancer Cells”
  • Ethan Barry working with Ryoichi Amano: “Energy Resource Recovery”
  • Owen Bellevage working with Xiaoli Ma: “Synthesis of Nanoporous Materials for Water Filtration Application”
  • Samuel Cappon working with John Boyland: “Rationals for SASyLF”
  • Samuel Catania working with Brian Armstrong: “Composition Tool for Visual Performance in a Solar Sculpture”
  • Morgan Connaughton working with Mahsa Dabagh: “Developing Cell Models to Study Cancer Cell Interactions with Neighboring Cells”
  • Luke Davitz working with Priyatha Premnath: “Biomechanical Analysis of P21-/- Ovariectomized Mice”
  • Matthew Deacon working with Kevin Renken: “Computational Analysis of Novel Industrial-Based Compact Heat Exchanger Fin Designs”
  • Samia El-Meanawy working with Nidal Abu-Zahra: “Computational Materials Design and Simulation – Water Filtration Application”
  • Jinwei Fang working with Pradeep Rohatgi: “Artificial Intelligence/Machine Learning Techniques in Manufacturing Metal Matrix Composites (MMC)”
  • Trevor Glamm working with Nikolai Kouklin: “Designing and Testing Semiconductor QD-PVA based Organic LEDs”
  • Seth Krebs working with Priyatha Premnath: “Can uc2288 Improve Osteogenic Capacity in Vitro”
  • Mikayla McWilliams working with Priyatha Premnath: “Mesenchymal Stem Cell Testing Using Histology”
  • Barbod Mehrbod working with Habib Tabatabai: “Research Experience at the UWM Structural Engineering Laboratory”
  • Julie Sandria working with Priyatha Premnath: “Double Walled Microparticles With Ha and Cocl2”
  • Humza Siddiqi working with Priyatha Premnath: “In Vivo Role of uc2288 in Improving Bone Volume After Fracture”
  • Nathanael Sovitzky working with Mahsa Dabagh: “Cancer Cell Modeling”
  • Vedant Tewari working with Pradeep Rohatgi: “Application of Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning in Manufacturing Metal Matrix Composites”
  • Vedant Tewari working with Brian Armstrong: “Software Development for a Solar Sculpture”
  • James Veltri working with Pradeep Rohatgi: “Self-Healing Metal Matrix Composites”
  • Weiling Xia working with Xiaoli Ma: “Effect of interfacial polymerization conditions on the structure and property of covalent organic framework membranes”

School of Education

  • Seth Dubinski working with Jacqueline Nguyen: “STICS: Social Transitions in College Study”
  • Kintressa Gosz working with Leanne Evans: “Inclusive Early Childhood Education: All Teachers for All Children”
  • Logan Manz and Lauren Miller working with Dante Salto: “Crossing Borders to Connect Routes: Researching With Educational Communities to Promote Equity and Fight Racism Towards Immigrants in a Post-pandemic World”
  • Sabhyata Prakash and Harleen Tewatia working with Christopher Lawson: “Dancing Bees and Talking Trees: How Learning about Plants and Animals Influences Children’s Ethic of Care toward the Natural World”

School of Freshwater Science

  • Eva Oklobzija working with Marcia Silva: “Non-invasive Detection of Thin Biofilms in Pipes”
  • Rajab Elsharef working with Marcia Silva: “Characterization of Microplastics and Nanoplastics in Water”
  • Antoni Haupt working with John Janssen: “Habitat Mapping of Wisconsin Coastal Estuaries and Harbors”
  • Kevin Hicks working with Marcia Silva: “Developing and Testing a Sensor for Detection of Phosphate in Water”
  • Amy Ressel working with Carmen Aguilar-Diaz: “Nearshore Phytoplankton Communities and Responses to Climate Change”
  • Garrett Scapellato working with Ryan Newton: “Comparative analysis of Cloacibacterium genome content”
  • Daniel Sherman working with Dong Fang Deng: “Optimizing Feed Formulation for Walleye Culture”
  • Vedant Tewari working with Marcia Silva: “Biosensor for Detection of Bacteria in Water”

College of General Studies

  • Helen Bishara working with Phillip Owens: “Measurement of Purines in Cichlid Fish”

College of Health Sciences

  • Adriana Castillo and Gracie Williams working with Shelley Lund: “Perspectives on Culturally Sustaining Practices for Black, Indigenous, and People of Color who use Augmentative and Alternative Communication”
  • Sabrina Edwardson working with Brooke Slavens: “Biomechanics of Manual Wheelchair Users in Children and Adults with Spinal Cord Injuries and Disorders”
  • Daysia Reid working with Samantha Schwartz: “Motion Analysis Support”

College of Letters & Science

  • Claire Bolda working with Dawn Erb: “Lyman-alpha Emission and Large-Scale Structure in Galaxies at Redshift z=2.3”
  • Brenden Chasteen working with Jorg Woehl: “Corral Trapping of Nanoparticles and Molecules: Trapping Mechanism”
  • Sebastiane Chen working with Christine Larson: “Neurobiological Predictors of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder”
  • Sage DeLong and Ariel Noriega Rodriguez working with Rafael Rodriguez Sevilla: “Stages of Copulation in Enchenopa Treehoppers (Hemiptera: Membracidae): Impact on Female Receptivity”
  • Evelyn Doan working with Krista Lisdahl: “Links between Recent Physical Activity and Cognitive Functioning in Adolescents and Young Adults”
  • John Folena working with Martin Dangelmayr: “Sorptive Nutrient Removal from Cheese Manufacture Waste”
  • Grace Geiger working with M Mahmun Hossain: “Development of New Microtubule Inhibitors”
  • Jack Grummer working with Min Gyu Kim: “Identification of Crystal Structures of Eu(Fe1-xNix)As2 with x = 0 ~ 1.”
  • Fridarose Hamad working with Celeste Campos-Castillo: “Milwaukee Youth Wellness Initiative on Technology”
  • Kaylin Heusdens working with Krista Lisdahl: “How Does Cannabis Withdraw Impact Verbal Memory in Young Adults?”
  • Breckyn Hockers working with Dazhong Zhao: “Investigating Expression Regulation of the FOC Gene by Auxin Response Factors”
  • Kate Jakubowski working with Amanda Seligman: “Educating Genius”
  • Kalkidan Johnson and Annika Johnson working with Ermitte Saint Jacques: “Living for the City: The Black Middle Class in Milwaukee”
  • Ranjak Joshi working with Shama Mirza: “Towards the Development of Efficient Therapy for Glioblastoma”
  • Mason Jushka working with Barry Cameron: “Terroir Studies of Wisconsin Vineyard Soils”
  • Sadee Kidd working with Christian Young: “Evaluating Conditions for Locating Urban Ecology Centers in New Communities”
  • Molly Kiley working with Alexander Arnold: “Evaluation of New Drug Candidates in Respect to Cellular Toxicity and Behavior”
  • Livia Klechefski and Allyn Lottouzee working with Neal O’reilly: “Development of a Food Waste Compost System for Non-profit Food Pantries”
  • Rachel Kuehn working with Karyn Frick: “Cellular Tagging by Means of Learning and Estrogenic Signaling in the Mouse Brain”
  • Margarita Kulyapina working with Ying Wang: “Siberian, Tibetan, and Wakhan: A Comparison in Art Style”
  • Isabella Lemieux working with Joseph Walzer: “Mapping Racism and Resistance in Milwaukee”
  • Kirsten Lindemann working with Rafael Rodriguez Sevilla: “Female Signal Repertoire and Interaction Diversity in Enchenopa Treehoppers (Hemiptera: Membracidae)”
  • Suha Malik working with Ionel Popa: “Engineering a Molecular Construct for Directed Assembly of Proteins”
  • Karl Mattern working with James Moyer: “Neurobiological Analyses of the Role of Calcium Binding Proteins in Neuroprotection”
  • Luke Mielcarek working with Gerlinde Hoebel: “Do Eastern Gray Treefrogs (Hyla versicolor) Confronted with a Predator Threat Vary in Boldness?”
  • Elaina Milkie working with Karyn Frick: “Establish a Role for Proteasome Activity in 17beta-estradiol Induced Facilitation Spatial and Object Recognition Memory Consolidation in Female Mice”
  • Marcus Morin working with Prasenjit Guptasarma: “New Materials for a Sustainable Energy Future”
  • Ian Morley working with James Moyer: “Recording from Neurons III: Fundamentals of Patch-Clamp Neurophysiology”
  • Gianna Noffsinger working with Rafael Rodriguez Sevilla: “Male Signal Repertoire in Enchenopa Treehoppers (Hemiptera: Membracidae)”
  • Kimberly Osborn working with Ionel Popa: “A System for Specific Crosslinking of Antibodies”
  • Kimberly Osborn working with Nicholas Silvaggi: “Cloning, Expression, Purification, and Crystallization of a Putative N-acetyltransferase from Streptomyces caelestis”
  • Roshani Patel working with Lia Wolock: “Imagining South Asian America: Media Activism, Immigration, and Race in the Digital Age”
  • Marko Pavlovic working with Jae Yung Song: “Production and Perception of English Vowel Contrasts by Second-Language Learners”
  • Jana Plotkin working with Emily Middleton: “Forensic Dna Cold Case Processing”
  • Mark Prihoda working with William Bristow: “Philosophy and the Experience of Loss in Hegel and Augustine”
  • Abdullah Rauf working with Nicholas Silvaggi: “Cloning, Expression, and Crystallization of a Putative Nad(P)H-Dependent Reductase from Streptomyces caelestis”
  • Kaitlyn Rhyner working with Erica Young: “Host-Microbiome Effects in Pitcher Plant Communities”
  • Alexander Riddell working with Ava Udvadia: “Targeting Jun and Jun Enhancer Sequences for Crispr/cas9-Mediated Disruption in Larval Zebrafish”
  • Sparrow Roch working with Sarah Vigeland: “Investigating the Effect of Telescope Noise on Gravitational Wave Detection with Pulsar Timing Arrays”
  • Ashley Rudser working with Patricia Mayes: “Repairing Miscommunications in Augmentative and Alternative Communication”
  • Richard Rush working with Jeffrey Karron: “The Dynamics of Pollen Transport in Buzz-Pollinated Primula meadia”
  • Florin Saitis working with Ionel Popa: “Building Nanofluidic Devices Using 3D Printing”
  • Kaiden Schmidt working with Jeb Willenbring: “Experiments with the Earth Mover’s Distance”
  • Julie Schneider working with Dyanna Czeck: “Microscopic Mineral Orientations in Metasedimentary Rocks along the Southern Iberian Shear Zone”
  • Sommer Schneider working with Jennifer Gutzman: “The Role of Laminin in Zebrafish Brain Morphogenesis”
  • Alexis Schnitzler working with Karyn Frick: “Pharmacological and Behavioral Characterization of G-Protein-Coupled Estrogen Receptor (GPER) In Hippocampal Memory in Intact Male Mice”
  • Dhivyashree Senthil Murugan working with Xiaohua Peng: “ROS-Activated Prodrugs for Targeting Cancer”
  • Pilar Sharp working with Rachel Buff: “Wisconsin Community Activism Now! Archive Project”
  • Anna Sniadach working with Charles Paradis: “Road Salt Transport in the Root River During Summer Months”
  • Sophia Teubert working with Jean Creighton: “Exploring the Fall Constellations of the Zodiac”
  • Yer Thao working with Nicholas Silvaggi: “Cloning, Expression, Purification, and Crystallization of a Predicted Flavin-Dependent Oxygenase from Streptomyces griseofuscus”
  • Naomi Thornton working with Celeste Campos-Castillo: “ABLE: The Autism Brilliance Lab for Entrepreneurship”
  • Nash Turner working with Filipe Alberto: “Is the Puget Sound Bull Kelp Locally Adapted to Its Environment? A Study Focusing on the Microscopic Life Stages”
  • Sean Weaver working with Hanyong Park: “Foreign Accent in Consonant Clusters”
  • Taylor Wilcox working with Alexander Arnold: “Evaluation of New Small Molecules for Their Ability to Reduce Nitric Oxide Production by Activated Microglia”
  • Alex Ebbben and Mason Williams working with Prasenjit Guptasarma: “Active Radiation Shielding Materials to Protect Human Habitats during Interplanetary Space Travel”
  • Isabelle Wilson working with Bonita Klein-Tasman: “Neural Underpinnings of Attention in Children”
  • Kacper Zaprzalka working with Jonathan Kahl: “Mixdown Altitudes for Wind Gust Forecasting”

College of Nursing

  • Hannah Frohlich working with Alexa Anderson: “Minority Women of Reproductive Age: Health and Well-Being Among an At-Risk Population”
  • Jen Gilmore working with Karyn Roberts: “Exploring Genotypic and Phenotypic Characteristics of Youth with Obesity and Hyperphagia and Their Families: A Pilot Study”
  • Alex Nelson, Brie Noffsinger, and Steven Schomisch working with Joshua Gwon: “Attentional Bias Modification for E-Cigarette Cessation”
  • Nicholas Urban-Michalak working with Murad Taani: “Achieving Better Lung Health”

Zilber School of Public Health

  • Rachel Goochey and Ian Pagan Martinez working with Amanda Simanek: “Assessing the Utility of Dear Pandemic for Public Health Professionals and Health Care Providers”
  • Ishma Rizvi working with Paul Florsheim: “The Parents Empowering Parents Study”
  • Phoebe Troeller working with Keith Dookeran: “Evaluation of Race-Based Trends in Uptake of Select Advanced Technology and Procedures for Management of Neonatal Disease in the United States Between 2006-2019”