2022-23 CUGR Academic Year Undergraduate Fellowship Recipients Announced

The University of Maine’s Center for Undergraduate Research (CUGR) has announced the 2022-23 CUGR and Maine Space Grant Consortium (MSGC) academic year fellowship winners. 

The CUGR Research and Creative Activities fellowships were developed to enhance and increase undergraduate student involvement in faculty-supervised research and are supported through the office of the Vice President for Research. Each fellowship provides $1,500 per student for costs associated with the project. 

Students interested to learn how to write successful research proposals, and receive their responsible conduct of research are encouraged to sign up for INT 125 course this Spring and participate in Experiential Programs Innovation Central (EPIC). For more information visit umaine.edu/epic

This year’s recipients are: 

 

2022-23 Academic Year Research and Creative Activities Fellowship Award Recipients

(Student Name, Academic Program, Project Title, Faculty Mentor)

  • Madeline Abell, Marine Biology, “Protein Concentration in Sea Lice Hemolymph,” advised by Ian Bricknell
  • Ava Ardito, Biology, “An in-depth literature review proposing possible solutions to reduce nutrient runoff and soil erosion along Maine shorelines using wild blueberry rhizomes and biochar,” advised by Yongjiang Zhang
  • Tamra Benson, Biology, “Mutual Aid: A Community-led Solution to Economic Hardships at the University of Maine,” advised by Robert Glover
  • Kacie Bond, New Media, “Disruption of the Artist: AI Generated art in the Art World,” advised by Michael Scott
  • Brooklyn Buxton, Sociology, “Family Member Perceptions of Radicalization in Homegrown Violent Extremists,” advised by Karyn Sporer
  • Samuel Cartwright, Communication Sciences and Disorders, “Rural Healthcare and Education Access and Utilization after Childhood Brain Injury,” advised by Jessica Riccardi
  • Casey Casey, Earth and Climate Science, “Extracting and Comparing Freeze Level Data from Tropical Glaciers Against Global Data,” advised by Alice Doughty
  • Joseph Cleaves, Wildlife Ecology, “Reassessing the presence of tick-borne pathogens transmitted by the seabird tick Ixodes uriae in Gulf of Maine seabird colonies,” advised by Allison Gardner
  • Caeli Connolly, Earth and Climate Science, Stratigraphic Architecture of Pozuelo Mound C as Revealed By ERT Surveying, Chincha Valley, Peru,” advised by Daniel Sandweiss
  • Kjersti Conway, Financial Economics, “The Effects of Food Allergies on Food Security,” advised by Kelsi Hobbs
  • Laura Curioli, History, “A Study in The Evolution of Educational Philosophies Across Three Centuries,” advised by Joel Anderson
  • Peter Cusack, International Affairs, “Social Media Analysis of Mass Casualty Terrorist Incidents,” advised by Asif Nawaz
  • Lauren Cusson, Biochemistry, “Defining the Role of Src Kinase in Activation of Cellular Signaling Pathways in JC Polyomavirus Infection,” advised by Melissa Maginnis
  • Kaidar Donenbayev, Earth and Climate Sciences, “Modeling glaciers of Papua New Guinea,” advised by Alice Doughty
  • Faith Flynn, Marine Biology, “Sea Lice Survival Curve Study,” advised by Ian Bricknell
  • Luke Goldman, Ecology and Environmental Sciences, “Evaluation of mycorrhizal fungal community structure and recovery ensuing experimentally induced soil-nitrogen perturbation,” advised by Peter Avis
  • Avery Gosselin, “Computer Science, “Developing an Interface for Meaningful Photo Sharing,” advised by Sabrina DeTurk
  • William (Bill) Hartt, Spanish, “Commonalities Among and Generational Prevalence of Russian Second Locative Nouns,” advised by Zachary Rockwell Ludington
  • George Horvat, Chemistry, “Asymmetric Oranocatalysts: Synthesis and Use in the Augmentation of Antisense Oligonucleotide Sterochemistry,” advised by Matthew Brichacek
  • Madeline Howorth, Political Science, “An Equity-Oriented Research Practice Partnership,” advised by Rebecca Buchanan
  • Nicholas Johnson, Finance, “The Post-USMCA Dairy Industry: The Dynamics of Free Trade Agreements and Their Impact on Global and Local Economies,” advised by Stefano Tijerina
  • Isaac Lambrecht, Microbiology, “Is the induced expression of bacterial virulence factors the cause of Hermetia illucens decrease in weight gain when grown on fish substrate with Vibrio parahaemolyticus?,” advised by Edward Bernard
  • Megan MacKay, Biology, “Establishing Maine’s Natural and Human Fire History,” advised by Jacquelyn Gill
  • Hunter Praul, Biology, “Exploring the relationship between scute annuli growth patterns and weather in wood turtles (Glyptemys insculpta),” advised by Matthew Chatfield
  • Mackenzie Reynolds, History, “‘All Are Cordially Invited’: Suffrage Activism and Exclusion in Maine, 1900-1925,” advised by Kara Peruccio
  • Mikayla Reynolds, Management, “Exploring the Influence of Work From Home and On-Site Benefits on Perceptions of Oranizational Attractiveness,” advised by William Obenauer
  • Brandon Rockwell, Biochemistry, “Investigating the Interdependent Relationship between Prophage and Group B Streptococcus,” advised by Melody Neely
  • Simon St. Pierre, Philosophy, “An Aristotelian Account of Musical Pieces,” advised by Robby Finley
  • Santiago Tijerina, International Affairs, “A Story of Student Activism: Divest UMS,” advised by Michael Grillo
  • Katherine Westbrook, Earth and Climate Science, “How Does Modern Retreat Compare to Regional Variability in Alaskan Glaciers?,” advised by Karl Kreutz and Aaron Putnam