Summer Research on Display
Supporting undergraduate research continues to be a funding priority for MII. Providing research opportunities helps students gain early career experience and work with graduate students and faculty in a collaborative environment.
Our summer research awardees have been working closely with their mentors and faculty advisors this summer. Recently, our awardees were able to share the results of their efforts at the Virginia Tech Summer Research Conference hosted by the Office of Undergraduate Research.
Over 200 students from across all scientific fields presented their research to peers, faculty, and visitors. We’re proud of the work our students are doing and look forward to their continued scientific successes.
Our student awardees presented the following research topics:
| Student | Abstract Title |
| Amitoj Arora | Valorization of food waste into a 3D printed biodegradable Calcium-Oxide (CaO) desiccant insert for use in the packaging industry |
| Gavin Bates | Bioengineered Nanofiber Aerogels for Non-Traumatic Pathogen Capture |
| Connor Blankenship | Investigating the role of PE molar mass on the degree of compatibility of PE:iPP blendsusing PPDL |
| Kyle Bluhm | Investigating Tardigrade Forces and Movement in Fibrous Environments |
| Keelin Craige | Alginate Nanocomposite Aerogel Particles for Direct Air Capture |
| Grace Genelin | Investigation of Mechanochemical Synthesis of Ultra-High Molecular Weight Biogenic Polylipoates |
| Christian Harris | Engineered Bacteria Modulate Collagen to Improve Chemotherapy Response in Pancreatic Cancer |
| Jacey Hendrix | Cyclization-Functionalization of Natural Rubber into Engineering Polymers |
| Jana Kandagiri | A Comparison of Small Molecule and Polymeric Chelators for the Demineralization of Fossil Material |
| Alexa Kundrat | A Kinetics Study of the Sulfonation of PEEK and PEEK gels with a Variety of Sulfonating Agents for Advanced PEMFC Membranes |
| Jacob Liu | Genetically Programmable Nanofibers Display of Tardigrade Proteins for Environmentally Resistant Biomaterials |
| Preston Messino | Volumetric Flow Rate in Ultrasonically Driven Acoustic Spray Nozzles |
| Alexander Milliken | The Impact of Drying and Annealing Procedures on PET Aerogel Performance |
| Madison Patton | Sargassum sp. used to extract rare earth elements from acid mine drainage with consideration towards scalability |
| Laura Prince | Evaluating Ru-UiO-67 as an Electrochromic Material |
| Renee Silarszka | Physics-informed Printability Windows for Selective Laser Sintering of Dynamic Polymers |
| Sanghun Son | Liquid Metal/PDMS Composite Films for Soft Robotic Electronic Interfaces |
| Jonathan Spear | Influence of electrical fields on thermoset polymerization: a rheo-kinetic study |
| Zoey Walker | Formaldehyde-protected lignin with an acid catalyst: sol/gel analysis |
| Alex Ward | Linear Free Energy Relationships in Ring Opening Metathesis Polymerization |