2022-23 MSGC Undergraduate Awardees
The University of Maine’s Center for Undergraduate Research (CUGR) and the Maine Space Grant Consortium (MSGC) have announced the 2022-2023 MSGC Research Creative Experience Award recipients.
The purpose of the MSGC fellowship and scholarship programs at UMaine is to provide research opportunities to undergraduate and graduate students in aerospace technology, space science, Earth science, human exploration/space development, and other science- or engineering-related fields.
The focus of proposed projects must be aligned with the research priorities of NASA’s Earth and space science strategic enterprises. Selected projects will be awarded $1,500 each.
2022-2023 Undergraduate MSGC Award Recipients
2022-23 Academic Year MSGC Undergraduate Research Experience
- Ainslie Allen, Biomedical Engineering, “Can Coastline Configuration Create Accumulation Points for Harmful Algal Blooms and Microplastics Pollution?,” advised by Caitlin Howell
- Cameron Andrews, Biomedical Engineering, “Scalable Cross-Linking to Reduce the Rehydration-Induced Plasticity of Porous Cellulose Materials for Biomedical Applications,” advised by Michael Mason
- Seth Ashby, Microbiology, “Determining the effects of the electron transport chain on lifespan,” advised by Suzanne Angeli
- William Cassidy, Biomedical Engineering, “Measuring Coupling Force in an Audible, Sonometric Device Prototype,” advised by Michael Mason
- Jacquelyn Cook, Microbiology, “Antioxidant Effects of Partridgeberry Leaf Extract,” advised by Jennifer Newell-Caito
- Stella Cotner, Engineering Physics, “Designing a System to Investigate the Interactions of Black Holes and Quasars in Close Proximity,” advised by Neil Comins
- Dyllon Dunton, Computer Engineering, “MPI Parallel computing with the Beaglebone Black,” advised by Vincent Weaver
- Christopher Erb, Electrical Engineering, “3D Printing of Nanopatterned Microfluidic Devices for Use in Space-based Agricultural Runoff Analysis,” advised by Caitlin Howell
- Sarah Foust, Molecular and Cellular Biology, “Characterizing the Spatial and Temporal Dynamics of Neutrophil Reactive Oxygen Species Production During Influenza A Virus Infection,” advised by Benjamin King
- Isabel Geary, Zoology, “Mechanisms of xylem hydraulic recovery after drought in highbush and lowbush/wild blueberries,” advised by Yongjiang Zhang
- Nicholas Geiser, Electrical Engineering, “Developing a Neural Network for Obstacle Detection,” advised by Vikas Dhiman
- Rhiannon Gould, Computer Science, “Robust Ensemble Deep Learning Methods for Semantic Segmentation of HyperSpectral Images,” advised by Salimeh Yasaei Sekeh
- Danielle Hall, Marketing, “PFAS and Outdoor Clothing: Investigating Consumer Awareness, Motivation to Change, and Messaging Effectiveness,” advised by Erin Percival Carter
- Nathaniel Lowry, Computer Engineering, “Utilizing Machine-Learning Algorithms for Particle Density Analysis,” advised by Prabuddha Chakraborty
- Timber Mattson, Biochemistry, “Investigating the role of the electron transport chain in the determination of lifespan in Caenorhabditis elegans,” Suzanne Angeli
- Mary Milligan, Chemistry, “Synthesis and Evaluation of Novel Fluorescent Probe for Biomass Degradation,” advised by Matthew Brichacek
- Brendan Moline, Microbiology, “Characterization of Manganese-Induced Neurodegeneration in C. elegans Treated with Winterberry Leaf Extract,” advised by Jennifer Newell-Caito
- Drew Parent, Social Work, “Games as Tools for Reasoning in Transformative Decision,” advised by Robby Finley
- David Peitz, Electrical Engineering, “Autonomous Object Stacking by Robotic Systems,” advised by Vikas Dhiman
- John Shay, Computer Science, “Interpretable Machine Learning for Knowledge Discovery on Sequence Data,” advised by Chaofan Chen
- Ross Sousa, Botany, “Effects of Lobster-shell-based Materials on Verticillium Wilt and Potato Growth,” advised Jianjun Hao
- Sophia Suriano, Botany, “Extraction and Characterization of Antifungal Compounds Produced by Lowbush Blueberry Plants in Response to Monilinia vaccinii-corymbosi Infection,” advised by Seanna Annis
- Arihant Tallapureddy, Biomedical Engineering, “Biocompatibility of 3-D Cellulose Nano Fiber Constructs with Osteoblast Cells,” advised by Karissa Tilbury
- Blake Turner, Biomedical Engineering, “Cellulose-Based Hydrogel Wound Dressing With Wild Blueberry Extract,” advised by Michael Mason
- Zoe Vittum, Biomedical Engineering, “Design and Implementation of a Polarization Control Module in a Second Harmonic Generation Microscope,” advised by Karissa Tilbury
- Sadie Waterman, Biology, “Testing whether Mylpf protein dosage controls the rate of zebrafish muscle growth,” advised by Jared Talbot
- Mykayla Weinstein, Biology, “Novel Drug Treatments Improve Influenza A Virus Infections in Zebrafish Measured by Respiratory Burst Assay,” advised by Benjamin King
- Payson Welch, New Media, “Curating Collective Memory Using AI Art,” advised by Jon Ippolito