Undergraduate Research & Scholarly Activity Grand Journey
The celebration welcomes students at every stage of research or creative activity and offers meaningful ways to share ideas, experiences, and outcomes with the campus community.
Students may serve as early researcher or developing scholar ambassadors, leading informal conversations about getting started, building skills, and navigating the research process. Students with in-progerss or completed projects may participate as presenters as typically seen in a traditional showcase.
2026 Student Research Ambassadors
Student Research Ambassadors share their research experiences through informal conversations with attendees, talking about how they got started, how their work has developed, and what research looks like along the way.
- Ikran Abdi (Mechanical Engineering & Aerospace Engineering)
- Madi Dame (Communication)
- Brooke Danna (Health Studies)
- James Gessey (Molecular & Integrative Biology)
- Mia Granger (Psychology)
- Caroline Gravel (Biology)
- Margaret Grimm (Chemistry & Forensic Science)
- Raymond Holle (Biology)
- Lance Linenberg (Aviation Management, Commerical Aviation)
- Brooklyn Lux (Health Studies & Psychology)
- Spencer Meeker (Biology & German Studies)
- Zoefia Mojica (Electrical Engineering)
- Alex Owens (Psychology)
- Charlie Rohlf (Commercial Aviation)
- Charlee Schenfisch (Medical Lab Science)
- Jacob Schroeder (Aerospace Engineering)
- Aisha Soumare (Biology)
- Crystal Swenson (Molecular & Integrative Biology )
- Ashley Vos (Physics, Aerospace Engineering, & Mechanical Engineering)
- Madi Wilson (Biology)
Showcase Poster Presenters
Electroencephalography as a Measure of Workload and Engagement During Learning
- Reese Braeger (Psychology)
- Faculty Research Mentors: Thomas Petros and Utkarsh Gupta
Microalgae for the Treatment of Wastewater and Lipid Production
- Evan Dauenbaugh (Biology)
- Ryker Pederson (Economics & Computer Science)
- Keegan Stromme (Accountancy & Computer Science)
- Faculty Research Mentor: Wayne Seames
Species Differences in Fecal Stress Hormones in Ungulates
- Emmanuel Duot (Biology)
- Luniva Subba (Biology)
- Faculty Research Mentors: Turk Rhen, Melissa Schmitt, & Rebecca Simmons
From Cell to Screen: How TikTok Facilitates Reentry Support and Belonging in the #felonsontiktok Community
- Angelina Francois (Psychology)
- Kambrya Stephenson (Philosophy and Ethics & Criminal Justice)
- Mia Savage (Pre-Social Work & Psychology)
- Faculty Research Mentor: Meghan Mitchell
Analysis of the effects that multiple elemental combinations have on likelihood ratios. An application in forensic glass analysis
- Braedyn Hoffman (Forensic Science)
- Faculty Research Mentor: Anuradha Akmeemana
Transit Depth Variability and Observational Effects in the Hot Jupiter Qatar-1b
- Hanna Krause (Physics)
- Faculty Research Mentor: Tim Young
Microalgae for the Treatment of Wastewater and Lipid Production
- Anna Machart (Biomedical Engineering)
- Faculty Research Mentor: Wayne Seames
Thematic Synthesis of Literature on Fatigue Risk in Part 141 Collegiate Flight Operations
- Vinou Makwelebi (Aviation Safety & Operations
- Faculty Research Mentor: Daniel Adjekum
Investigating the Effect of Schlafen Family on Olfactory Receptor Genes in Triple Negative Breast Cancer
- Lydia Olson (Biology)
- Faculty Research Mentor: Emilie DeKrey
MapIT Enhancer Interference
- Althea Panales (Biology)
- Emmie Hagengruber (Biology)
- Reis Rowekamp (Biology)
- Faculty Research Mentors: Manu Manu & Sunil Nooti
Building a Camera–METAR Database for AI-Ready Visibility and Ceiling Estimation
- Jenna Post (Atmospheric Sciences & Environmental Studies)
- Faculty Research Mentors: Marwa Majdi & David Delene
Investigating Transit Depth Variability in the Hot Jupiters TrES-2 b and Qatar-1 b Using Ground-Based Photometry
- Malissa Reinhardt (Physics & Mathematics)
- Faculty Research Mentor: Tim Young
Cozy Games Research
- Karin Reiterer (Commercial Aviation)
- Faculty Research Mentor: Emily Midkiff
Optimization of Spheroid Culture for 3D Breast Cancer Modeling
- Alexander Samardzic (Biology)
- Faculty Research Mentor: Motoki Takaku
Transcranial Photobiomodulation
- Stella Sande (Psychology)
- Faculty Research Mentors: Utkarsh Gupta, Thomas Petros, Dmitri Poltavski
Skeletal Muscle Characteristics of Long-living Dwarf Mice in Response to High Fat Diet
- Landon Schumacher (Biology)
- Faculty Research Mentor: Holly Brown-Borg
Winter Taphonomy and Vertebrate Scavengers in the Northern Plains
- Thomas Sikorski (Forensic Science)
- Faculty Research Mentors: Lavinia Iancu & Darshil Patel
The Breath of Soil: Soil Respiration Rates Between Years and Site Types
- Savanna Steinbeisser (Biology)
- Faculty Research Mentors: Rebecca Simmons & Kathryn Yurkonis
Modeling of Plasma with Extreme Scale High-Performance Computing
- Casia Steinhaus (Physics, Astrophysics, & Mathematics_
- Faculty Research Mentors: Chonglin Zhang & Bryce Christopherson
Characterizing Optical Signatures of Meteors in Geostationary Lightning Mappers Observations
- Anson Tippie (Atmospheric Science)
- Faculty Research Mentor: Daile Zhang
Production of Transportation Fuels from Mixed Plastic Waste Via Batch Pyrolysis
- Madison Twaddle (Chemical Engineering)
- Faculty Research Mentors: Bethany Klemestrud & Wayne Seam
Profiling Galaxies in Abell Clusters
- Taylor Valdez (Physics & Mathematics)
- Faculty Research Mentor: Wayne Barkhouse
Studying How a GATA3 Mutation Affects Breast Tumor Growth
- Tori Wetterlind (Biology & Medical Laboratory Science)
- Faculty Research Mentor: Motoki Takaku