In May 2023, the Office of Undergraduate Research announced 144 SURF Awards for the summer. Congratulations to all those who received awards!

School of Architecture & Urban Planning

  • Kaylee Bertrand and Jessica Dray working with James Wasley, “Creating In-Depth Case Studies of Green Building Data-Base Projects Visited in Germany” 
  • Ethan Erenz, Sarah Pacquette, and Samantha Verdin working with Samantha Schuermann, “Innovative Curriculum Research – Part B: Tectonics, Territories, Collectives, Synthetics” 
  • Liam Farin and Hidayah Osman working with Arijit Sen, “Buildings-Landscapes-Cultures Field School” 
  • Gian Del Fratte working with Whitney Moon, “Leenhouts Exhibition: Project Inventory” 
  • Anastasia Hardenburger, Evan Johnson and Alexandra-Ann Snyder working with Lindsey Krug, “SARUP B.Arch – Innovative Curriculum Research – Part A: Scaffolds, Operations, Scenarios, Thresholds” 
  • Meredith Lakari working with Whitney Moon, “Leenhouts Exhibition: Research Bibliography” 
  • Hyeonha Park working with Mark Keane, “Curriculum Development for K-12 Eco-Design Website – www.next.cc” 
  • Andrew Tillman and Adam Uy working with Alexander Timmer, “Life Cycle Assessment: Mass Timber Construction in SE Wisconsin” 

Peck School of the Arts

  • Laura Bogyay, Gwen Knutson, and Houa Vang working with Nathaniel Stern, “Mother Computer: Thinking with Natural and Artificial Intelligences” 
  • Kelsei Cecil and Cassidy Fleurant working with Sean Kafer, “Unity, Progress, and Activism in Milwaukee’s Urban Neighborhoods” 
  • Conor Guin, Eetae Jung, Emanuel Zander and working with Sean Kafer, “The Brady Street Neighborhood Historical Project” 
  • Catherine Harper, Kira Straub, Kathrine Wade, and Patrick Thomas Willow working with Glenn Williams, “”The Poetics of Materials Phase II”” 
  • Michal Schwab working with Yevgeniya Kaganovich, “Divergent Fates” 

Sheldon B. Lubar School of Business

  • Miguel Garcia working with John Huck, “Quantitative Financial Analysis” 
  • Maisie Gelhar working with Colleen Boland, “U.S. Auditing Standard Setting: A Study of Public and Private Determinants and Characteristics” 
  • Taehun Kim working with Laura Swenson, “College Admission Examinations and Private Education: Is Education Becoming a Privilege of the Wealthy? Evidence from the Republic of Korea” 

College of Engineering & Applied Science

  • Madisyn Adelman working with Jacob Rammer, “Quantifying Clinical Questionnaires to Assess Mobility and Participation of Manual Wheelchair Users” 
  • Hazar Amer working with Priyatha Premnath, “Can Mechanical Stimulation Modulate Trans-Differentiation?” 
  • Nicholas Birschbach working with Shuaiqi Shen, “Energy-Efficient Artificial Intelligence over Embedded Systems” 
  • Aaron Brandner working with Priyatha Premnath, “Student Acclimatization to Lab” 
  • Haley Collins and Lisa Collins working with Lingfeng Wang, “Applications of Robotics in Electric Power Systems” 
  • Lakyn Graves working with Brooke Slavens, “Enhancing Shoulder Health of Manual Wheelchair Users through Applied Biomechanics, Imaging, and Machine Learning” 
  • Radhika Joshi working with Mahsa Dabagh, “Improving Healing Process of Chronic Wounds” 
  • Abdullah Mohammed Ali Jandal working with Ryoichi Amano, “Energy Analysis for Industrial Assessment Center (WM-IAC)” 
  • Anna Lutz working with Rani El Hajjar, “Effects of Bolt Pretension in Composite Joints” 
  • Carol Martinez working with Benjamin Church, “Surface Alloying of Copper onto Brass Substrates for Enhanced Corrosion Resistance” 
  • Mikayla McWilliams working with Priyatha Premnath, “Mechanical Properties of Healing Callus” 
  • Jeffrey Rolland working with Mohammad Rahman, “Geodesic-Based Trajectory Planning for Rehabilitation-Assistive Robot Arms” 
  • Julie Sandria working with Priyatha Premnath, “Protocol to Isolate and Culture Aged MSCs” 
  • Joshua Schneiger working with Jacob Rammer, “Characterization and Interpretation of Activity Diary Entries in the Context of Mobility and Participation Assessment 
  • Nathanael Sovitzky working with Mahsa Dabagh, “Cancer Cell Modeling” 
  • Tyler Swenson working with Chiu Law, “Magnetically Tunable Cellulose Nanocrystal/Elastomer Composite” 
  • Abhi Roop Reddy Tokala working with Pradeep Rohatgi, “Effect of Cooling Rate on the Properties of Al-Ce Alloys” 
  • Michael Wilke working with William Musinski, “Simulation of Multi-Particle Deposition via Thermal Spray Additive Manufacturing” 

School of Education

  • Faith Adebogun and Marissa Stewart working with Elizabeth Drame, “Evaluating Black Student Success at UWM” 
  • Rivka Comrov working with Dante Salto, “Crossing Borders to Connect Routes: Higher Education, Immigration, and the Pandemic in the Midwest” 

School of Freshwater Sciences

  • Lee Behm working with Michael Carvan, “Prevention of Lead-Induced Neurodevelopmental Deficits in Zebrafish” 
  • Charles Carignan working with Harvey Bootsma, “Quagga Mussel Effects on Lake Michigan Biogeochemistry” 
  • Jena Choi working with Laodong Guo, “Characterization and Photochemical Reactivity of Plastic-Derived Dissolved Organic Matter in Freshwater Environments” 
  • Allison Getty working with Ryan Newton, “Identifying Aquatic Microorganisms Capable of Complex Carbon Utilization Associated with Cyanobacterial Blooms” 
  • Kirandeep Kaur and Zachary Lewan working with Sandra McLellan, “Tracking Antibiotic Resistance in Wastewater Using Molecular Methods” 
  • Ilya Kravtsov working with Clark Evans, “Code Development for Atmospheric Models” 
  • Ben Page working with Paul Roebber, “Are Anomalous Weather Regimes Occurring More Frequently or More Persistently with Climate Change?” 
  • Jacob Peterson working with Dong Fang Deng, “Impact of Climate Change on the Great Lakes Fisheries: Tolerance of Fish Fingerlings to Environmental Stress” 

College of General Studies

  • Dallas Berka working with Lisa Hager, ““Female Husbands”: Trans-Masculine Identities in 1800s British & American Newspapers” 
  • Helen Bishara working with Phillip Owens, “Characterization and Measurement of Purines in Fish Epidermis” 

College of Health Sciences

  • Julia Egly working with Scott Strath, “Free-Living Physical Activity Assessment Using Wearable Cameras” 
  • Emma Gilbertsen working with Troy Skwor, “The Effect of Photodynamic Inactivation with Different Metalloporphyrins against Eskape Pathogens” 
  • Tracy Izard and Chloe Steber working with Sabine Heuer, “Image Naming in Older Adults” 
  • Mariam Morgan working with Troy Skwor, “Analyzing Virulence Factors and Antimicrobial Resistance Genes among Aeromonas Clinical and Wastewater Isolates” 
  • Gracie Williams working with Shelley Lund, “Perspectives on Culturally Sustaining Practices for Black, Indigenous, and People of Color Who Use Augmentative and Alternative Communication” 

College of Letters & Science

  • Gil Amador, Rachel Stewart and Elsie Touchstone working with Shannon Freire, “Milwaukee County Poor Farm Cemetery Project” 
  • Taif Al-Dulaimi working with Alexander Arnold, “Characterization of Novel Imidazobenzodiazepines in Respect to CNS Effects” 
  • Hailey Beaty working with Karyn Frick, “The Role Aromatase Activity in a Mouse Model of Object Memory Formation” 
  • Henry Berger working with Han Joo Lee, “Examining Cognitive Control Abilities: An Experiment Based on a Novel Affective Stop-Signal Paradigm” 
  • Andreas Beyer-Bowden working with Jean Creighton, “Preserving Indigenous Celestial Knowledge” 
  • Kasserena Cvikel and Elyza Koppa working with John Isbell, “Geochemical Proxies using X-Ray Fluoresce and X-Ray Diffraction of Mudstones and Fine-Grained Sandstones from the Late Paleozoic Ice Age in Brazil and Namibia” 
  • Delaney DeLeske working with Sara Pashak, “Supreme Court Appearances” 
  • Geramiah Drew working with Polymnia Georgiou, “Targeting Estrogen Receptors for the Treatment of Depressive Behaviors during Adolescence in Mice” 
  • Genevieve Dwyer working with Xin Yu, “Patterns of Ancestral Burial in Imperial China: Large-Scale Digital Analysis of Gravesite Maps” 
  • Jordan Easterlin working with Gabriela Nagy Carrasquel, “Systems-Levels Acculturative Stressors Impacting Immigrants and Refugees from Latin America – A Qualitative Study” 
  • Alessandra Ebben working with Caitlin Bowman, “Brain Correlates of Healthy Aging” 
  • Katelyn Flitcroft working with Claire De La Cova, “Live-Cell Measurements of Erk Kinase Activity in C. Elegans” 
  • Kailey Frank working with Karyn Frick, “Establish a Role for Proteasome Activity in 17beta-Estradiol Induced Facilitation of Dendritic Spine Density in the Dorsal Hippocampus of Ovariectomized Female Mice” 
  • Arjun Goli working with Ahmed Kaffel, “Numerical Investigation on Two-Phase Annular Flow Instabilities” 
  • Ashley Hale working with Jocelyn Szczepaniak-Gillece, “Continuation of Research for On Film, Inc.” 
  • Lillian Hassan-Thomas working with Adam Greenberg, “Evaluation of Cognitive Decline Associated with Chemotherapy” 
  • Kate Jakubowski working with Amanda Seligman, “Educating Genius” 
  • Julia Jakusz working with Xiaohua Peng, “H2o2-Activated Dna Alkylating Agents for Targeting Breast Cancer” 
  • Jessica Kania working with Caitlin Bowman, “Strategies for Learning and Representing Categories in Older Age” 
  • Elizabeth Kuhlmann working with Christine Larson, “Neurobiological Predictors of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder” 
  • Kirsten Lindemann working with Rafael Rodriguez Sevilla, “Plant-Borne Vibrational Aggressive Signals in Red Milkweed Beetles, Tetraopes Tetrophthalmus (Coleoptera: Cerambicydae)” 
  • Riley Lueck working with Mark Dietz, “Determination of Calcium in Dietary Supplement Tablets: Comparison of Instrumental and Wet-Chemical Methods in the Analytical Laboratory” 
  • Ben Lorenz working with David Kaplan, “Studying Pulsars in the Variables and Slow Transients Survey” 
  • Travis Lehman working with Shale Horowitz, “Measures of State and Rebel Strategic Targeting of Civilians in Ethno-Territorial Civil Wars” 
  • Savannah Makowski working with Jennifer Gutzman, “Identification of Zebrafish Mutants for the Study of Development and Disease” 
  • Azaan McCray working with Noelle Chesley, “How Do Today’s Job Seekers View and Experience the Process of Finding Employment?” 
  • Madelyn Miller working with Han Joo Lee, “Cognitive Inhibitory Process and Its Association with Emotional Symptoms” 
  • Kate Mitter working with Karyn Frick, “Determining the Extent to Which 17beta-Estradiol Regulates Ubiquitin Proteasome System Activity Following Object Training in Ovariectomized Female Mice” 
  • Sam Morgan working with Rachel Buff, “The Education Advisory Board: A Short History of an Educational Think Tank” 
  • Jatin Pandey working with Xiaohua Peng, “Novel DNA Cross-Linking Agents and Combination Strategies for Tumor-Specific Activation” 
  • Jazmine Panganiban working with Bonita Klein-Tasman, “Play-and Humor-Infused Exposure Therapy with Children with Williams Syndrome” 
  • Joseph Parlier working with Arsenio Andrew Pacheco, “Conformational Gating in Mycobacterium Tuberculosis Truncated Hemoglobin N” 
  • Alexis Peterson working with Xiaohua Peng, “Ros-Activated Prodrugs for Targeting Cancer Cells” 
  • Ma Cassandra Peterson working with Karyn Frick, “RNAscope Investigation of Estrogenic Signaling in the Mouse Prefrontal Cortex” 
  • Starkita Purdle working with Christine Larson, “Predicting PTSD in Black Adult Trauma Survivors” 
  • Kali Quade working with Alexander Arnold, “Evaluation of Cytotoxicity of Novel Imidazodiazepines” 
  • Kamryn Rabon working with Ermitte Saint Jacques, “Living for the City: The Black Middle Class in Milwaukee” 
  • Daniel Reddin working with Christine Larson, “Neurobiological Predictors of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder” 
  • Nicholas Richards working with Bonita Klein-Tasman, “Relations between Neighborhood Factors and Behavioral Phenotype of Young Children with NF1” 
  • Ellen Roder working with Gerlinde Hoebel, “Does Approach Medium (Swimming/Walking) Affect Mate Choice Decisions of Female Frogs?” 
  • Ariel Noriega Rodriguez working with Rafael Rodriguez Sevilla, “Explaining No Mate Copying but Mate Priming in Enchenopa Treehoppers (Hemiptera: Membracidae)” 
  • Preston Ruh working with Hanyong Park, “Native Language Category Precision in Second Language Speech Learning” 
  • Jungwoo Ryu working with Ahmed Kaffel, “A New Computational Method for Large-Scale Inverse Problems in Medical Imaging” 
  • Elizabeth Schilling working with Karyn Frick, “Cellular Recruitment into the Estrogenic Engram” 
  • Lateishah Schultz working with Krista Lisdahl, “Investigation of Parental History of Substance Use Disorders Contributions to Late Childhood and Early Adolescent Mental Health Outcomes” 
  • Natalie Starks working with Jean Creighton, “Celebrating Our Cosmic Connections through Our Holidays” 
  • Christian Stiyer working with Erica Young, “Stable Isotope Tracing of Macronutrients in Carnivorous Pitcher Plants” 
  • Alexander Sweet working with Gerlinde Hoebel, “Does Social Context Change Male Treefrog Mate Attraction Strategies?” 
  • Harleen Tewatia working with Sonia Bardy, “The Role of Chp Signaling Adaptors in Biofilm Formation of Pseudomonas Aeruginosa” 
  • Tomas Vasquez working with Gabriela Nagy Carrasquel, “An Exploration of Chronic Stress in Oneida Communities and Their Effects on Mental Health” 
  • Arabella Voegeli working with Gerlinde Hoebel, “Do Female Treefrogs Put More Effort into Choosing a Mate When Swimming vs. Walking?” 
  • Emma Xiong working with Jennifer Gutzman, “Analysis of Biochemical Stress during Brain Morphogenesis” 
  • Gracie Zhong working with Natasha Sugiyama, “Undermining the Welfare State? Religiosity and Charity vs. Universal Rights” 

College of Nursing

  • Ana Casper and Rose Tissot working with Murad Taani, “Achieving Better Lung Health” 
  • Alejandra Martinez working with Jeana Holt, “Using a Clinical Database and Community Wisdom to Improve Pregnancy, Postpartum, and Infant Outcomes in Spanish-Speaking Populations” 
  • Nathaniel Monty working with Jennifer Kibicho, “Feasibility and Acceptability of Alcohol Intervention to Address Syndemics of HIV Risk/Vulnerabilities in a Rural Community in Kenya” 
  • Brie Noffsinger working with Joshua Gwon, “Text-Messaging E-Cigarette Cessation Intervention for Young Adults in Rural Areas” 

Helen Bader School of Social Welfare

  • Lizzie Adams working with Tina Freiburger, “Recidivism Patterns in Milwaukee County, Wisconsin” 
  • Lexy Lunger working with Jane Hereth, “Using the Life History Calendar to Examine Young Transgender Women’s Trajectories of Violence, Mental Health, and Protective Processes” 
  • Katharine Vetuschi working with Danielle Romain Dagenhardt, “Examining Judicial Decision-Making in Milwaukee, Wisconsin” 

Joseph J. Zilber School of Public Health

  • Mahrukh Delawarzad, Madelynn Hill, and Manizha Nazari working with Rose Hennessy, “Understanding the Perceptions and Needs of University Leadership for Campus Sexual Assault Prevention” 
  • Fridarose Hamad and Leena Le working with Linnea Laestadius, “Midwest Youth Wellness Initiative on Technology (MYWIT) Youth Advisory Board Summer Program” 
  • Taylor Moss working with Todd Miller, “Analysis of Algal Toxins in Water Samples from U.S. National Parks”