2026-2027 URIP Student Recipients
Copper Shores Community Health Foundation Sponsored Projects
- Elisha Cairney
- Major: Biomedical Engineering
- Project Title: Engineering Immortalized Dermal Microvasculature Platforms for Cancer and Infectious Disease Studies
- Faculty Mentor: Jason Wan
- Oliver Harris
- Major: Biomedical Engineering
- Project Title: Engineering a Novel Device to Control Assembloid Formation for Cancer Studies
- Faculty Mentor: Jason Wan
- Joshua Hofmeister
- Major: Mechanical Engineering
- Project Title: Design of Transcatheter Aortic Valves Resistant to Calcification
- Faculty Mentor: Hoda Hatoum
- Ian Oberbeck
- Major: Biomedical Engineering
- Project Title: Statistical Characterization of Tensile Reliability During Degradation of Bioabsorbable Stent Metals
- Faculty Mentor: Jeremy Goldman
- Maria Tessin
- Major: Chemical Engineering and Chemistry
- Project Title: Development of an Ovarian Endometriosis Model to Study Endometrial Tissue Growth
- Faculty Mentor: Maria Gencoglu
- April Wonsul
- Major: Biomedical Engineering
- Project Title: Effects of Microgravity on Blood Rheology and Thrombotic Risk in Healthy and Atrial Fibrillation
- Faculty Mentor: Hoda Hatoum
DeVlieg Foundation Sponsored Projects
- Sylvie Brown
- Major: Biological Sciences
- Project Title: Impact of Stamp Sand Concentration on Willow (Salix humilis) Growth and Establishment
- Faculty Mentor: Evan Kane
- Ellie Bush
- Major: Applied Ecology and Environmental Science
- Project Title: Amphibian and Macroinvertebrate Colonization into Newly Created Wetlands in the Keweenaw
- Faculty Mentor: Rodney Chimner
- Clara Herman
- Major: Environmental Engineering
- Project Title: Building Models of Antibiotic Resistant Bacteria in Chlorine Treated Wastewater
- Faculty Mentor: Ishi Keenum
- Emily Sebastian
- Major: Applied Ecology and Chemistry double major
- Project Title: Salmonid Health Evaluation via Egg Pollutant Sampling at Buffalo Reef in Lake Superior
- Faculty Mentor: Gordon Paterson
J. Edgar McAllister Foundation Sponsored Projects
- Liam McGovern
- Major: Robotics Engineering
- Project Title: Using Machine Learning for Bipedal Robots to Dynamically React to Natural Substrate Terrain
- Faculty Mentor: Dr. Tan Chen
- David Moomaw
- Major: Mechanical Engineering
- Project Title: Understanding Dislocation Distributions in 316L Stainless Steel Formed Via Laser Powder Bed Fusion
- Faculty Mentor: Siriram Vijayan
- Spencer Ries
- Major: Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering
- Project Title: Reducing Impulsive Forces and Acoustics During Airfoil Water Entry
- Faculty Mentor: Ze Feng Ted Gan
- Addison Seemann
- Major: Civil Engineering
- Project Title: Gap Timing for Optimal Bonding for 3D Concrete Printing
- Faculty Mentor: Quang Ngoc Vinh Tran
2025-2026 URIP Student Recipients
Copper Shores Community Health Foundation Sponsored Projects
- Logan Cole
- Major: Computer Science & Mathematics
- Project Title: Improving Left Ventricle Reorientation Across Multiple Centers Through Domain Adaptation
- Faculty Mentor: Weihua Zhou
- Sydney Crook
- Major: Computer Science
- Project Title: Deep Learning-Based Left Ventricle Segmentation with Shape Priors using KPCA
- Faculty Mentor: Weihua Zhou
- Nicholas Detterman
- Major: Human Biology
- Project Title: Effects of Resolvin D1, an Anti-Inflammatory Lipid Derivative, on Renal Inflammation and Disease Progression of Autosomal Dominant Polycystic Kidney Disease Mice
- Faculty Mentor: Yan Zhang
- Robby Johnson
- Major: Computer Science
- Project Title: Space Trash
- Faculty Mentor: Leo Ureel II
- Caeden Kidd
- Major: Computer Science
- Project Title: Temporally driven binary segmentation to extract entire arterial trees in sequential ICA frames
- Faculty Mentor: Weihua Zhou
- Thomas Newton
- Major: Human Factors
- Project Title: Design Requirements for Enhancing Orthopedic Injury Recovery
- Faculty Mentor: Dr. Erich Petushek
- Noah Provenzola
- Major: Computer Science
- Project Title: Patient Care Language Model
- Faculty Mentor: Leo C. Ureel II
- Jaden Schneider
- Major: Human Biology
- Project Title: Role of FPR2 Receptors in Polycystic Kidney Disease
- Faculty Mentor: Yan Zhang
- Aili Toyli
- Major: Statistics
- Project Title: Hierarchical Clustering to Identify Factors Associated with Risk of Cardiovascular Disease and Alzheimer's Disease
- Faculty Mentor: Weihua Zhou
DeVlieg Foundation Sponsored Projects
- Vera Denison
- Major: Environmental Engineering
- Project Title: Determining the feasibility of faster detection methods for environmental antibiotic resistance in inland lakes
- Faculty Mentor: Ishi Keenum
- Connor Fleser
- Major: Computer Science
- Project Title: Exploring Computational Modeling in Regards to Helping Stakeholder Understand the Consequences of Statutory Rules
- Faculty Mentor: Dr. Charles Wallace
- Miah Mol
- Major: Geology and Applied Geophysics
- Project Title: Investigating the Origin of the Huron Mountains Mafic Intrusions through Their Rock-Magnetic Properties
- Faculty Mentor: Aleksey Smirnov
- Walker Schumann
- Major: Physics
- Project Title: An Investigation into Why Your Shadow Can Move Faster-than-light During Sunrise but Not Sunset
- Faculty Mentor: Robert Nemiroff
- Walker Schumann
- Major: Physics
- Project Title: An Investigation into Why Your Shadow Can Move Faster-than-light During Sunrise but Not Sunset
- Faculty Mentor: Robert Nemiroff
- Mara Sorensen
- Major: Ecology and Evolutionary Biology
- Project Title: Using fatty acid analysis to evaluate the role of human-altered landscapes on the nutritional quality of black vultures
- Faculty Mentor: Jill Olin
J. Edgar McAllister Foundation Sponsored Projects
- Alexander Barber
- Major: Mechatronics
- Project Title: Drones and Thermal Imaging for Wilderness Search and Rescue Efforts
- Faculty Mentor: Amna Mazen
- Adam Christley
- Major: Computer Engineering
- Project Title: LVEFangio: Predicting Left Ventricular Ejection Fraction (LVEF) Using Deep Learning on ICA Videos
- Faculty Mentor: Dr. Weihua Zhou
- Asia Hoehle
- Major: Biomedical Engineering
- Project Title: Prevention of Nanobead Aggregation for High-Resolution Traction Force Microscopy
- Faculty Mentor: Sangyoon Han
- Conlan Houston
- Major: Biomedical Engineering
- Project Title: Improving Autism Symptoms via Optogenetic Stimulation in the Dorsal Striatum
- Faculty Mentor: Chunxiu (Traci) Yu
- Karenine Ornevil
- Major: Chemical Engineering
- Project Title: Assessing Vitamin D using Electropolymerized Molecularly Imprinted Polymer Synthesis
- Faculty Mentor: Adrienne Minerick
- Jacob Schmidt
- Major: Environmental Engineering
- Project Title: From soils and sickness to sewers: harnessing wastewater-based surveillance methods to track Blastomycosis
- Faculty Mentor: Ishi Keenum
- Matthew Staats
- Major: Math and Computer Science
- Project Title: Solving Euler equations with gravity using well-balanced DG schemes on overlapping meshes
- Faculty Mentor: Yang Yang
- Sydney Trzebiatowski
- Major: Biomedical Engineering
- Project Title: Effect of Mitral Insufficiency on Device-Related Thrombosis After Left Atrial Appendage Occlusion
- Faculty Mentor: Dr. Hoda Hatoum
- Elise Zahrt
- Major: Biomedical Engineering
- Project Title: Investigating Hypercoagulable States of Left Atrial Appendage Occlusion Patients Using Patient-Specific Computational Fluid Dynamics
- Faculty Mentor: Hoda Hatoum
2024-2025 URIP Student Recipients
Copper Shores Community Health Foundation Sponsored Projects
- Miles Cornils
- Major: Biomedical Engineering
- Project Title: Brain Stimulation Treatment in the 5XFAD Mouse Model of Alzheimer’s Disease
- Faculty Mentor: Chunxiu (Traci) Yu
- Grace Hoeppner
- Major: Biomedical Engineering
- Project Title: Evaluating stroke risk in atrial fibrillation with amyloidosis and hypertrophic obstructive cardiomyopathy using flow dynamics
- Faculty Mentor: Hoda Hatoum
- Emily Hyatt
- Major: Biomedical Engineering
- Project Title: Hemodynamic assessment of different therapies effectiveness in Kawasaki Disease
- Faculty Mentor: Hoda Hatoum
- Hailey LaBonte
- Major: Biomedical Engineering
- Project Title: Investigating Correlation Between Atrial Fibrillation and Stroke Patients Using Computational Fluid Dynamics
- Faculty Mentor: Hoda Hatoum
- Erin Loeschmann
- Major: Anthropology and Sustainability Science & Society
- Project Title: The Effects of Housing on Immigrants’ Sense of Being at Home: A Panel Study of Refugees’ Social, Political, and Economic Experiences in Detroit
- Faculty Mentor: Dr. Kathryn Hannum
- Sean Phelan
- Major: Statistics & Mathematics - Business Analytics
- Project Title: A Statistical Machine Learning Approach for Enhancing Risk Prediction of Alzheimer's Disease Utilizing Clinical, Genetic, and Neuroimaging Data
- Faculty Mentor: Weihua Zhou
- Noah Provenzola
- Major: Computer Science
- Project Title: Patient Care Language Model
- Faculty Mentor: Leo C. Ureel II
- Marielle Raasio
- Major: Policy and Community Development
- Project Title: Impacts of housing availability and accessibility for high-need, low-visibility populations in the Western UP
- Faculty Mentor: Kelly Kamm
- Jacob Schmidt
- Major: Environmental Engineering
- Project Title: Assessing the public health burden of tick-borne pathogens through wastewater-based surveillance
- Faculty Mentor: Dr. Ishi Keenum
- Aili Toyli
- Major: Statistics
- Project Title: Statistical Analysis of the Heart-Brain Connection Using Cardiovascular Magnetic Resonance Imaging, Positron Emission Tomography, and Genetic Markers
- Faculty Mentor: Weihua Zhou and Quiying Sha
DeVlieg Foundation Sponsored Projects
- Marguerite Goldman
- Major: Finance
- Project Title: Bridging Financial Literacy Gaps Within the Local Community
- Faculty Mentor: Jonathan Leinonen
- Max Laskaris
- Major: Mechanical Engineering
- Project Title: AI-Training through Environment Manipulation
- Faculty Mentor: Robert Schneider
- Aliyah Maxwell-Abrams
- Major: Civil Engineering
- Project Title: Applying Civil Engineering to Drive Sustainable Energy Solutions in Houghton, MI
- Faculty Mentor: Joseph Azzarello
- Adrian Noecker
- Major: Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (Biology Focus)
- Project Title: Exploring Microbial Community Growth Dynamics on Deconstructed Mixed Plastics
- Faculty Mentor: Lindsay Putman
- Nate Pongtankul
- Major: Computer Science
- Project Title: The Hybrid Path to Explainable Artificial Intelligence
- Faculty Mentor: Leo C. Ureel II
- Rosencrantz Siebigteroth
- Major: Computer Science
- Project Title: Ethical Implications and Sociotechnical Insights on the Use of Generative AI by Undergraduate Students in the CCLC
- Faculty Mentor: Dr. Leo Ureel and Dr. Briana Bettin
Tech Forward Sustainability and Resilience Sponsored Projects
- Aidan Johnson
- Major: History
- Project Title: StoryMapping Detroit: Recording and Preserving a History of Resilience
- Faculty Mentor: Laura Rouleau
- Drew Schlaff
- Major: Environmental Engineering
- Project Title: Energy Sources for Food Webs in Regional Lakes
- Faculty Mentor: Noel Urban, Judith Perlinger
2023-2024 URIP Student Recipients
Copper Shores Community Health Foundation Sponsored Projects
- Gabriel Baquerizo
- Major: Statistics
- Project Title: Identifying and Quantifying Parameters Related to Hip Fracture from DXA Images
- Faculty Mentor: Weihua Zhou
- Rachel Callaghan
- Major: Biomedical Engineering
- Project Title: Development of self-healable Tannic Acid - Gelatin Methacryloyl hydrogels for 3D Cell Culture
- Faculty Mentor: Muhammad Rizwan
- Kat Davidson
- Major: Biomedical Engineering
- Project Title: Morphological Analysis of Collagen V-mediated Fibers Through Electron Microscopy
- Faculty Mentor: Sangyoon Han
- Delaney Fritz
- Major: Biomedical Engineering
- Project Title: The Effects of Extrinsic Rigidity and Collagen Type on Fibroblast Stiffness
- Faculty Mentor: Sangyoon Han
- Justina Pennala
- Major: Biomedical Engineering
- Project Title: Effects of Fusion Protein PAX3-FOXO1 on Rhabdomyosarcoma Migration and Adhesion
- Faculty Mentor: Sangyoon Han
- Scott Severance
- Major: Biomedical Engineering
- Project Title: Using Optical Tweezers to Measure and Predict the Behavior of Collagen Networks
- Faculty Mentor: Sangyoon Han
- Riley Stichter
- Major: Human Biology
- Project Title: Psycho-social predictors of return to sport and secondary ACL injury
- Faculty Mentor: Erich Petushek
- Emily Vitale
- Major: Biomedical Engineering
- Project Title: Investigating Device Related Thrombosis After Left Atrial Appendage Occlusion Using Computational Fluid Dynamics
- Faculty Mentor: Hoda Hatoum
- Lanceng Waise
- Major: Biomedical Engineering
- Project Title: Examining Computational Hemodynamic Analysis Models for Abdominal Aortic Aneurysms Using Artificial Intelligence
- Faculty Mentor: Jingfeng Jiang
DeVlieg Foundation Sponsored Projects
- Quinn Angus
- Major: Biological Science
- Project Title: Tophic Ecology of Gulf Coast Canids: Is Body Size Associated with Trophic Niche?
- Faculty Mentor: Jill Olin
- Faarahabari Barikor
- Major: Human Factors
- Project Title: How the 6 HEXACO Personality Traits Reflect Recognition of Gender Stereotyping Resulting from Subtle Bias Exposure in STEM
- Faculty Mentor: Lorelle Meadows
- Rhys Brockenshire
- Major: Software Engineering
- Project Title: Modeler
- Faculty Mentor: Leo C. Ureel II
- Rebecca Ferber
- Major: Forestry and Applied Ecology and Environmental Science
- Project Title: Expanded Development of Long White Pine Tree-ring Records to Support Brown to Blue Carbon Accounting for Lake Superior
- Faculty Mentor: Steven Voelker
- Alyssa Hill
- Major: Civil Engineering
- Project Title: Analyzing and Modeling the Effects of Uplift Friction Dampers on Cross-Laminated Timber Buildings
- Faculty Mentor: Daniel M. Dowden
- Emily Hyatt
- Major: Biomedical Engineering
- Project Title: Assessment of flow dynamics and morphological characteristics of coronary artery aneurysms and ectasia in Kawasaki Disease
- Faculty Mentor: Hoda Hatoum
- Grant Lambert
- Major: Physics
- Project Title: New Strategy to Solve the Traveling Salesman Problem Using Molecular Dynamic Simulations
- Faculty Mentor: Issei Nakamura
- Estyn LaMotte
- Major: Math-Physics
- Project Title: Theoretical Approaches for Understanding Buoy Motion
- Faculty Mentor: Hassan Masoud
- Thomas McQuiston
- Major: Computational Chemistry and Chemical Informatics
- Project Title: A Theoretical Investigation in Photonic Spectroscopy: The Infrared and Raman THz Regions for the Recognition of Explosive Materials with respect to Cosmetic Molecules for Homeland Security Applications
- Faculty Mentor: Loredana Valenzano-Slough
- Adam VanderMolen
- Major: Mechanical Engineering
- Project Title: Characterization of Low-Speed Wind Tunnel and It's Application to sUAS Development
- Faculty Mentor: Kazuya Tajiri
Tech Forward Sustainability and Resilience Sponsored Projects
- Julianna Bartoszek
- Major: Computer Science and Anthropology
- Project Title: Commercialization of Indigenous Representation
- Faculty Mentor: Mark Rhodes
- Ingrid Sokup
- Major: Sustainability Science and Society
- Project Title: Economic Impact Analysis of Sustainable Fishery Production Increases in Michigan
- Faculty Mentor: Jenny Apriesnig
