More than 30 Carthage students have been selected to conduct research with faculty this summer as part of the 2022 Summer Undergraduate Research Experience.

These students will spend June, July, and August tackling research and creative projects that range from studying the economic situations of LGBTQ people to examining visually-evoked behaviors in zebrafish to understanding Senpai/Kohai relationships among native Japanese speakers in the United States.

SURE has been a hallmark of the Carthage experience since the mid-1990s. The undergraduate research initiative first began in the natural sciences but has now grown to include all academic disciplines at Carthage. Each summer between 20 and 50 students are chosen to participate.

Selected students spend 10 weeks on campus doing research full-time with a faculty mentor. Students receive a stipend, on-campus housing, a meal plan, and a research budget.

 

Accounting and Finance

Pierce Wenta ’22

Project: Congressional Trading: Using Policy Knowledge to Boost Financial Gains and the Effects on the Financial Markets
Mentor: Prof. Chao Zheng


Asian Studies

Mira Parker ’22

Project: Research Related to the Senpai/Kohai Relationship Among Native Japanese Speakers in the United States
Mentor: Prof. Yan Wang


Biology

Abigail Groszek ’22
Alexis Menendez ’22

Project: Examination of Cao-vit Gibbon (Nomascus nasutus) Vocalizations
Mentor: Prof. Angela Dassow


Mary (Beth) Harshberger ’23

Project: Cortisol and Salivary Amylases of Males and Females College-Aged Students With and Without Behavioral Inhibition
Mentor: Prof. Paul Martino


Olivia Wolf ’22

Project: Exploring CO2 Sensitivity in Behaviorally Inhibited Individuals
Mentor: Prof. Paul Martino


Chemistry

Lauren Willams ’22
Jacob Mayer ’22

Project: NMR Spectroscopy of Bio-based Surfactants
Mentor: Prof. Kevin Morris


Jack De Salvo ’23

Project: Investigating Drug Interactions with Transthyretin using Molecular Dynamics Simulations
Mentor: Prof. Kevin Morris


Alex Papiez ’23

Project: A Manipulation of PVY to Examine Pathogenesis in Potatoes and Tobacco
Mentor: Prof. Erin Weber


Damian Leja ’23

Project: Validation of Synthetic PVY NO in Plants
Mentor: Prof. Erin Weber


Vanessa Gonzalez ’22

Project: Systemic Infection of Potato Virus Y on Potatoes and Tobacco
Mentor: Prof. Erin Weber


Economics

Megan Baumeister ’22

Project: The Economic Situation of LGBTQ People
Mentor: Prof. Ronald Cronovich


Education

Melissa Brulz ’23

Project: The Impact of Special Education Teachers’ Burnout and Well-Being on Their Students’ Outcomes: A Systematic Literature Review
Mentor: Prof. Jun Wang


Exercise and Sport Science

Hannah Koehlert ’23

Project: An Exploration of the Prevalence of Burnout Among DIII Student Athletes
Mentor: Prof. Cynthia Allen


Mathematics

Theodore Reimer ’23

Project: Coincidence Isometries of 3D Lattices
Mentor: Prof. Diana Thomson


Neuroscience

Claire Wulf ’22

Project: Computational Analysis of Visually-evoked Behaviors in Zebrafish
Mentor: Prof. Steven Henle


Rebecca Dowe ’22
Rebecca Fales ’22
Sarah Young ’23

Project: The Role of the Hippo Pathway in Visual System Development and Regeneration 
Mentor: Prof. Steven Henle


Political Science

Ian Warda ’22

Project: The Impact of U.S. Development Assistance in Argentina and Brazil on the U.S. Economy
Mentor: Prof. Jeff Roberg


Space Sciences

Gabriela Carranza ’25
ALEC DIGIROLAMO ’22
CALLIE KOENIG ’25
KASSIA SCHRAUFNAGEL ’24
ANDREW VALENTINI ’24
JUSTIN WHEELER ’25

Project: Microgravity Ullage Detection
Mentor: Prof. Kevin Crosby

Dalton Callow ’24
Gabriela Carranza ’25
Angelica Cuevas ’25
ALEC DIGIROLAMO ’22
Carissa Kiehl ’25
CALLIE KOENIG ’25
KASSIA SCHRAUFNAGEL ’24
JUSTIN WHEELER ’25

Project: Propellant Refueling and On-orbit Transfer Operations
Mentor: Prof. Kevin Crosby

Angelica Cuevas ’25
ALEC DIGIROLAMO ’22
CALLIE KOENIG ’25
KASSIA SCHRAUFNAGEL ’24
ANDREW VALENTINI ’24
JUSTIN WHEELER ’25

Project: Research Collaboration with the Airbus Company
Mentor: Prof. Kevin Crosby

ALEC DIGIROLAMO ’22
CALLIE KOENIG ’25
JUSTIN WHEELER ’25

Project: Design and Construction of an MPG Experiment for the International Space Station
Mentor: Prof. Kevin Crosby

CALEB COLLAR ’22
RILEY JOHNSON ’24
Carissa Kiehl ’25
SYDNEY PELNAR ’25
Hector RAUDA ’25
Joseph SachtlEben ’24

Project: Carthage CubeSat Project: Canopy Near-infrared Observing Project
Mentor: Prof. Kevin Crosby

Gabriela Carranza ’25
SYDNEY PELNAR ’25
KASSIA SCHRAUFNAGEL ’24
Kevin Totts ’25
ANDREW VALENTINI ’24

Project: Partnership with NASA T2U Program to Develop Application for Fiber Optic Sensing System Developed at AFRC
Mentor: Prof. Kevin Crosby


Theatre

Rayven Craft ’23
Kathryn Layendecker ’25

Project: Verbatim Theatre Play About the Jacob Blake Shooting in Kenosha
Mentors: Profs. Nora Carroll and Martin McClendon