Cognition, Aging, and Brain Imaging
Caitlin Bowman, Psychology
Our research focuses on healthy memory function in young and older adults. We want to understand how people can both form memories of individual experiences and also make connections between experiences to create new knowledge. To answer this question, we create computer-based memory experiments that participants can complete in the lab or online. We also use fMRI to measure the brain mechanisms of memory and their age-related change. Students in the lab may help design the experiments and program them using python-based computer software. Students help manage data collection and complete initial data analysis. They are also involved in weekly lab meetings where we discuss ongoing projects, review data, and read research articles related to current projects. Outside of lab meetings, students can expect to meet with Dr. Bowman individually at least once a week to discuss their progress on projects as well as their plans for the future.
Gangster Buffs of Charleston: Jewish Safety in a Twentieth-Century Southern City
Rachel Buff, History
Using genealogy, archival, and newspaper research, this project illuminates the story of Jewish refugees from Eastern Europe who made their way to Charleston, West Virginia, first as itinerant peddlers and later as settled small business people. It investigates the dynamic between this immigrant family’s search for safety and their negotiations with racial capitalism in their new home. The student’s tasks may include compiling secondary source bibliographies, using online genealogy sources to trace family as well as uncover historical documents (naturalization papers, marriage and death certificates, property, etc), read microfilm of historical newspapers, and consult with the research team on Discord and in meetings.
Bacteriophages and Antibiotic Resistance
Alita Burmeister, Biological Sciences
Antibiotic resistance is a persistent problem in healthcare and a factor that may help maintain diversity in natural environments. Bacteriophages (‘phages’) are viruses that specifically infect bacteria. Our lab previously discovered and characterized a specific phage that infects bacteria through TolC. TolC is an antibiotic resistance protein that helps the cell pump antibiotics out of the cell. Over short timescales, this phage can be used to evolutionarily ‘steer’ bacterial populations to lose or modify the TolC protein, sometimes reducing antibiotic resistance. In this project, we are investigating how this process unfolds from the molecular level (genes and proteins) to the population level (ecology and evolution). For the summer project, a student will jump right in on Day 1 by learning to: 1) maintain the lab environment and microbiological supplies; 2) learn the basics of working with bacteria and phages in a university research lab setting; and 3) collect data to help make new discoveries about resistance evolution. This is a great starter project for a Biology, Microbiology, or Evolutionary Biology Major.
Hand-held Water Quality Tester Evaluation and Sensor Fabrication
Woo Jin Chang, Mechanical Engineering
This research addresses lead contamination in water by developing a portable, low-cost lead detector based on issued intellectual property. The primary objectives include creating an accurate, precise, and rapid detection system that works across diverse water sources and eliminates the need for extensive training or laboratory equipment. The student’s responsibilities will be to assist graduate students in sensor fabrication, water sample testing, data collection and analysis.
Effects of Estrogens on Learning and Memory in Mouse Models of Menopause and Alzheimer’s Disease
Karyn Frick, Psychology
Our laboratory’s main goal is identifying the molecular mechanisms in the brain through which estrogens enhance memory in mouse models of menopause and Alzheimer’s disease. This project will introduce students to the basic elements of neuroscience research. Within the program period, students will gain hands-on experience handling and behaviorally testing mice, and will be introduced to brain surgery, gonadectomy surgery, hormone treatments, brain dissections, and molecular biology techniques.
REVIVE: Rural Vaping Free Intervention for Young Adults via Text Messaging
Joshua Gwon, Nursing
This project’s objectives are to test the feasibility and acceptability of a text-based intervention to help rural young adults with vaping cessation. Students will participate in research meetings, assist with data collection activities, assist with data analysis, and contribute to the dissemination of the findings
Advanced Manufacturing
Joe Hamann, Connected Systems Institute
Engage in hands-on research work focused on advanced manufacturing at the UWM Connected Systems Institute this summer! Assignments include diverse experiences ranging from robotics and automation, application of artificial intelligence to improve safety and quality in manufacturing, and improvement of training and maintenance operations through integrated augmented reality solutions.
Porous Materials for Water Purification
Xiaoli Ma, Materials Science & Engineering
Developing reliable water treatment technologies is crucial for the production of safe and clean water. These technologies often rely on porous filtration media, such as adsorbents and membranes, to physically capture pollutants from water. This project will offer undergraduate students hands-on experience in synthesizing, processing, and characterizing advanced porous materials and membranes used in water purification and wastewater treatment applications, with a focus on removing toxic organic compounds. The students will also have the opportunity to work closely with graduate students and postdoc scholars on research projects.
The History of the Shinsengumi
Aragorn Quinn, Global Studies
Our project is focused on the history of the Shinsengumi, a corps of fighters recruited by the shogun to police Kyoto in the 1860s. Their story is perhaps the most popular episode in Japanese history, with their story told countless times in film, manga, anime, video games, novels, and popular songs. Our project is a companion piece to a forthcoming translation of a historical novel about the Shinsengumi. Our team has digitized maps from the 19th century and georeferenced them in order to give a visual history of the Shinsengumi. Tasks on our team include working with website building software to complete the project and working with social media to help publicize the work. This is a great project for students interested in Japan, history, web development, and marketing via social media.
Mapping Social Memory: Exploring Neural Networks in Healthy and Schizophrenic Mice
Jeffrey Lopez-Rojas, Psychology
In this project, we will explore how the brain allows animals to recognize and remember others, focusing on specific groups of neurons involved in social memory. We will study both healthy mice and mice with traits that model schizophrenia to understand how social memory processes might differ in these conditions. Using advanced techniques, we’ll tag and manipulate neurons making them glow to track their activity or turning them on and off to test their role in memory. Mice will undergo precise surgeries to introduce these tools, followed by tests to measure their ability to recognize others. By comparing results from healthy mice and schizophrenia models, we aim to uncover how brain function changes in social cognition. As part of the project, the student will help set up and run behavioral tests, assist with surgeries, use fluorescence imaging to study brain tissue, analyze data, and review scientific literature to understand the context of the research. This hands-on experience will help students develop practical skills and a deeper understanding of how brain activity connects to behavior.
Neuromuscular Mechanisms in Knee Osteoarthritis
Lauren Sara, Physical Therapy
Knee extensor weakness is often considered a risk factor for developing knee osteoarthritis. However, not everyone with knee osteoarthritis has knee extensor weakness, and not everyone with knee extensor weakness has knee osteoarthritis. It is possible that the ability of the central nervous system to drive the muscles (voluntary activation) is responsible for the perceived weakness of the knee extensor muscles. Similarly, a deficit in the ability to effectively contract these muscles (contractility) could be a key factor. This project will evaluate voluntary activation and contractility of the knee extensor muscles in people with knee osteoarthritis, including investigations into whether and how pain is influencing these neuromuscular mechanisms. Your involvement would include: measuring knee extensor strength and using electrical stimulation to measure voluntary activation and contractility; measuring pain severity and pain sensitivity; completing reviews of existing literature and engaging in discussions of journal articles; running statistical tests (with help!); and creating an academic poster to disseminate our findings.
Multiscale Experimental and Analytical Approach for Amplification of Smart Metamaterial Behavior
Daniel Schlitz & Rani Elhajjar, Civil & Environmental Engineering
We are developing a smart meta-material, or “shape-shifting” material, that has many potential applications in medical, consumer electronics and other areas. An incoming student in our lab could help us by designing new devices, fabricating devices and preparing them for testing.
Holding on to a Single Protein Molecule
Ionel Popa, Physics
Proteins are the molecules that perform the majority of tasks needed in our cells, and their activity is what determines how well our cells function and communicate with each other. Our body is made of ~37 trillion cells, and each cell has on average 10^10 proteins. So, it is hard to even imagine that one could separate a single protein molecule from such a high number and perform measurements on it in a laboratory settings. In this project, you will learn to do just that – to separate and tether a single protein molecule between a glass surface and a paramagnetic bead and apply mechanical forces in the picoNewton range (10^-9 N), similarly to what a protein experiences in our bodies. You will be measuring how mechanical forces trigger domain unfolding, which is the loss of 3D structure due to the breaking of the hydrogen bonds that hold the protein structure together. You will be joining a young, dynamic and diverse research team composed of chemists, biologists, physicists and engineers. For more information, visit http://popalab.uwm.edu.
Self-Healing Metal Matrix Composites
Pradeep Rohatgi, Materials Science & Engineering
Self-healing in metal matrix composites could change how we repair space shuttles and rovers deployed in areas with no human contact. The ability to autonomously repair and fix a broken part similar to how bones heal could completely alter the space race. This project aims to develop a composite material using the shape memory properties of Nitinol alloys. The student will learn the basic concepts of how shape memory alloys work, how they can be embedded in metal matrices, and how to test the failure and recovery modes in the composite materials.
Graphene Reinforced High-Performance Materials
Pradeep Rohatgi, Materials Science & Engineering
The need of the hour is creating lightweight composite materials that can be used in challenging environments. Imagine if we had a material that could be used for building frames in frozen oceans or over volcanoes. This project attempts to incorporate graphene into aluminum composites that will offer not only high strength but also reduce the weight of the composite material. An additional product would be its ability to withstand high temperatures. The students will learn the basics of the composite synthesis process, casting methods and characterization techniques to find mechanical properties.
Synthesis of High-Temperature Aluminum Alloys by Reduction of Cerium Oxide
Pradeep Rohatgi, Materials Science & Engineering
This project focuses on turning by-products of rare earth mining into advanced aluminum alloys that can handle extreme heat and stress. Students will add ceria particles to molten aluminum, where they reduce to form Al-Ce intermetallics, strengthening the alloy. These materials could be used in applications like aerospace engines or high-performance automotive parts. They will learn metal casting techniques, how to incorporate reinforcements, and test the material’s strength and heat resistance.
The Buildings-Landscapes-Cultures Project: A Public Humanities Field School
Arijit Sen, History
This is a public humanities initiative that brings together community experts and university scholars with the shared goal of creating a “people’s history” of Milwaukee. Established in 2012, this nationally recognized project explores ways to counter the historical silencing and deliberate erasure of the everyday histories of marginalized places and people in Milwaukee. Every summer, our research team gathers oral histories, place stories, and archival data from a Milwaukee neighborhood. In the spring, the team revises and interprets this raw data, transforming it into podcasts, reports, exhibits, and performances. These outputs are shared with the community to spark further dialogue. Through this iterative process of data collection, analysis, and history-making, we actively engage community collaborators as co-creators of knowledge. We are currently collaborating with three community gardens and interviewing gardeners to understand the significance of these spaces in their lives. In 2025, we will expand the project to include: A searchable database of interviews, multimedia shorts about gardening, and additional resources to support the community. Tasks may include oral history interviewing, documentation of places of cultural value in the neighborhood, website building, and making storymaps. Participants will also learn how to use InDesign, Audacity, and Oral History Metadata Synchronizer (OHMS).
Generation to Generation: Conversing with Kindred Technologies
Nathaniel Stern, Art & Design
Opening April 2025 at Krasl Art Center in St. Joseph, MI, Generation to Generation is a traveling exhibition that features hybrid sculptures, prints, poetry, haptic experiences, and artist books – all born from collaboration with Artificial Intelligence. Through explorations of how people and technology have always evolved together, the show invites us to probe the kindred, generative relationship between humans and the tools we create. It forges new ways of cultivating human imagination, while nurturing creative, technological inheritance. Over the summer, we will be programming with the show while it’s up at Krasl, and growing the exhibition to a larger size for its second museum. We will also be producing peripheral, related works that further explore our relationships with technology, using generative code, artificial intelligence, and non-traditional electronic media.
Analyzing the State of the Field: Studies of the Chinese Family in English-Language Scholarship
Xin Yu, History
This project aims to analyze the current state of English-language scholarship on the history of the Chinese family. By compiling a bibliography of books and articles, it will identify key themes, approaches, and debates in the field. The resulting bibliography will provide a foundation for further research on the Chinese family. Student tasks may include conducting searches in academic databases and library catalogs for relevant books and articles, reviewing abstracts and introductions to assess the relevance of sources, organizing the bibliography, writing brief annotations for selected works, and identifying and summarizing major trends in the scholarly field. This project will allow students to engage deeply with scholarship, develop research skills, and gain a very comprehensive understanding of the subject.