Ten KU students receive Undergraduate Research Awards for summer
LAWRENCE — This summer, 10 University of Kansas students received an Undergraduate Research Award (UGRA). UGRA recipients are awarded a $1,000 scholarship for their work on mentored research and creative projects.
Students apply for UGRAs by writing a five-page research proposal under the guidance of a mentor. Faculty reviewers evaluate the applications based on the merit of the applicant's proposal and a recommendation from the mentor.
“Undergraduate students and their faculty mentors are doing cutting-edge research on campus,” said Erin Wolfram, associate director of the Center for Undergraduate Research. “It is exciting to learn about the unique projects in varied disciplines and see how those projects progress throughout the semester.”
Fall UGRA winners will be announced in August. The competition for spring 2025 UGRAs will open in fall 2024. Online guidance and individual advising appointments are available to help students prepare strong applications. More information can be found at the UGRA website.
Students receiving awards for summer 2024 are listed below in alphabetical order by first name along with year in school, hometown, project title, mentor and mentor’s department:
Abishai Mathai, senior from Dubai, United Arab Emirates, “Axis Dependent Conduction Polarity Engineering in Atomically Thin PdSe2,” mentored by Dmitry Ovchinnikov, assistant professor of physics & astronomy.
Alex Guardiola, junior from Wichita, “L Probing Magnetic States in Atomically Thin FeOCl,” mentored by Dmitry Ovchinnikov, assistant professor of physics & astronomy.
Alicia Pham, sophomore from Overland Park, “Sensation and Keystone Fruits: An Experimental Examination of Lizard Foraging in the Gobi Desert,” mentored by Deborah Smith, professor of ecology & evolutionary biology.
Bhavya Gupta, senior from Overland Park, “ColicinE1* and TolC Structural Determination to Inhibit Antibiotic Efflux,” mentored by Joanna Slusky, associate professor of molecular biosciences.
Jenna Barnes, senior from Olathe, "Changing How Immune Cells Communicate: Understanding the Common Allelic Variant of PTPN22’s Impact on Cytokine Production and Signaling," mentored by Robin Orozco, assistant professor of molecular biosciences.
Jimin Yoo, senior from Lawrence, “Does Speaking Rate Predict Daily Affect in Bipolar Disorder?” mentored by Jeffrey Girard, assistant professor, and Dasha Yermol, graduate research assistant, psychology.
Levi Cromwell, a senior from McPherson, “Quixote in the Classroom: KU’s Integrated Humanities Program,” mentored by Jonathan Hagel, assistant teaching professor of history.
Manish Singh, junior from Gaushala, Nepal, “Developing Quantum-Inspired Higher-Order Data Reduction Methods for Music Analyses,” mentored by Daniel Tapia Takaki, professor of physics & astronomy.
Raina Fair, sophomore from Lawrence, “Validating and Expanding an Approach for Quantitative Tuning of the Electrochemical Profile of the 6, 6’-Biazulenic Framework,” mentored by Mikhail Barybin, professor of chemistry.
Tamar Kopadze, senior from Gori, Georgia, “Understanding the Role of Soil Microbiome in Sustainable Agriculture,” mentored by Benjamin Sikes, associate professor of ecology & evolutionary biology.