44 UNL students receive summer stipends for undergraduate research

            The University of Nebraska-Lincoln has awarded stipends to 44 undergraduates to participate in research with a faculty mentor this summer.

            UNL's Undergraduate Creative Activities and Research Experience (UCARE) Program supports undergraduates to work with faculty mentors in research or creative activities. Undergraduate students receive stipends of $2,400 to engage in intensive research or creative activity for 20 hours per week. The students' projects span across academic disciplines, including engineering, chemistry, modern languages and literatures, psychology, art and art history, economics, architecture, special education, and fisheries and wildlife.

            The students also will have opportunities to participate in mentoring workshops and activities with undergraduates from other institutions who are participating in UNL's Summer Research Program. In August, both groups of students will present posters on their research and creative activities at a campus research symposium. For more about undergraduate research at UNL, go to http://www.unl.edu/ucare.

            Follwing is a list of students by hometown who received summer UCARE awards with their academic major and project title.

            Bradshaw: Aaron Jensen, biochemistry, "Kinetic Studies on Carbon Dioxide Receptor from the Western Corn Rootworm."

            Elkhorn: Sarah Schlegelmilch, pre-architecture, "London Research Project."

            Falls City: Justin Elwonger, mathematics, "Regional Differences in Perceptions of Volcanoes and Earthquakes: Summer Continuation."

            Grand Island: Adoni Faxas, management, "Family Letters: An Analysis of the Personal Correspondence of a Mexican American Family in Western Colorado and Eastern Nebraska in the First Half of the 20th Century."

            Kearney: Danielle Buschkoetter, communication studies, "How Mobile Communication Influences Citizen Engagement."

            Lincoln: Fatimah Barnawi, chemical engineering, "Targeting the Biosynthesis of D-alanine in Mycobacteria for the Development of New Drugs and Vaccines"; Emma DeVries, art, "Museums and the 21st Century: Understanding how Museums Operate in the Digital Age"; David Francis, chemical engineering, "Nano-size Drug Delivery of Nucleic Acids"; Xin Gao, chemical engineering, "MnO2/SnO2 Solid Solutions"; Matthew Hilfiker, electrical engineering, "Analysis of Samarium with Cerium as a Photovoltaic System"; Hannah Janda, environmental studies, "An Economic Analysis of Ecosystem Services in Nebraska Rainwater Basin Wetlands"; Ellis Kaufmann, pre-veterinary medicine, "Chromatographic Analysis of the Binding of Phenytoin to Serum Proteins"; Parviz Kholmatov, chemical engineering, "Creation and Optimization of Liposomes as a Targeted Delivery Mechanism to Breast Cancer Cells"; Jordan Lambrecht, art, "Internship Liaison Program" (unofficial title); Vicki Liu, undeclared, "The Effects of Social Exclusion on Adolescent Health"; Mallory Morton, biological systems engineering, "Assessing Evapotranspiration and Soil Moisture Response to Extreme Weather Events in the Platte River Basin"; Christopher Nguyen, biochemistry, "Effects of Dietary MicroRNAs in Human Gene Expression"; Alison O'Toole, classics and religious studies, "Ongoing Critical Edition of John Wyclif's 'Trialogus'"; Lauren Pope, nutrition, exercise and health science, "Connecting With Our Food"; Kathryn Rentfro, biochemistry, "Generating Tissue-Engineered Equivalents to Replace Damaged Cartilage"; Nadezhda Shatalova, pre-speech-language pathology, "Parental Pre-Bedtime Routines Affect Children's Development of Sleep Self-Regulation"; Jasmin Stonacek, speech-language pathology, "Development of a Communication Assessment for Earlier Identification for At-Risk Children"; Megan Weber, hospitality, restaurant and tourism management, "Cultural Festival Sustainability in Rural Nebraska"; Brooke Welsh-Appleby, environmental studies, "Amphibian Population Conservation and Enhancement in Urbanized Areas."

            Norfolk: Bryan Timperley, music education, "Historical Contexts of Standard Bassoon Repertoire."

            Omaha: Shikha Baishya, psychology, "Effects of Combination Smoking Cessation Therapies on Extinction Training in Rats"; Catherine Finkenbiner, water science, "Advancing the Cosmic-ray Neutron Method"; Scott McLeay, fisheries and wildlife, "Are the Ecological Consequences of Invasive Species Context Dependent? Comparing the Effects of an Invasive Snail in Forest and Pasture Streams in Brazil"; Katharine Moustakes, hospitality, restaurant and tourism management, "A Continuation of the Study of the Economic Impact of Swedish, German and Czech Festivals Held in Nebraska During the Year of 2013"; Gregory Preston, pre-architecture, "Mapping the Sociopolitical, Economic and Spiritual Routes of Rome."

            Papillion: Caleb Godsil, economics, "Does the Contented Female Paradox Exist in the Pharmaceutical Industry?"; Garin Newcomb, electrical engineering, "Organization of Information in Micro-Open Reading Frames"; Kevin Real, biological systems engineering, "The Search for a Biological Marker of Concussion."

            Riverdale: Jacob Petr, meteorology-climatology, "Measuring Climate Change Resilience in Rural Communities in Panama Using the Community Capitals Framework.

            Seward: Emily Thrailkill, chemical engineering, "The Degradation Over Time of Recombinant Coagulation Factor XIIIA1a."

            Walton: Dylan Tegtmeier, fisheries and wildlife, "The Impacts of Brine Contaminated Storm Water Runoff on Leopard Frog First Year Mortality Rates."

ELSEWHERE

            Crescent, Iowa: Katharine Mendell, Spanish, "Family Letters: An Analysis of the Personal Correspondence of a Mexican American Family in Western Colorado and Eastern Nebraska in the First Half of the 20th Century."

            Gougadougou, Burkina Faso: Boudwaore Sandwidi, mechanical engineering, "Perfect Dispense of Sauce."

            Granger, Iowa: Matthew Hedrick, biological systems engineering, "Flight Testing and Application of Unmanned Aircraft Systems for Improved Crop Water Management."

            Parker, Colo.: Joshua Floth, biochemistry, "The Kinetic Effects of an Active Site Lysine Mutant in Proline Dehydrogenase from Escherichia coli and Thermus thermophilus."

            Torrance, Calif.: Bryan Perez, architectural studies, "Government Acts in the Great Plains: A Spatial Narrative."

            Whiting, N.J.: John Klopping, art, "Internship Liaison Program" (unofficial title).

            Yankton, S.D.: Allison Fejfar, architectural studies, "Government Acts in the Great Plains: A Spatial Narrative."