Office of Undergraduate Education

Request a presentation from an undergraduate research ambassador

Meet the 2021-22 ambassadors

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — A team of undergraduate researchers are prepared to share their experiences and help their peers become involved in research and find opportunities. 

Instructors or student organization leaders from any Penn State campus can request a presentation from the Undergraduate Research Ambassador Program, choosing from current Penn State students with a variety of experiences in different academic fields. Students can also schedule one-on-one appointments through Starfish. 

“We are fortunate to have a passionate group of undergraduate researchers willing to volunteer their time to share their experiences and help others get involved,” said Alan Rieck, associate vice president and associate dean for Undergraduate Education. “Undergraduate research opens possibilities for students to expand their thinking, explore their curiosities, build connections with others and make meaningful contributions to their communities throughout their lives.” 

Research opportunities are available at every Penn State campus and in all academic fields. Some students may find themselves assisting on a research project alongside a graduate student, post-doctoral researcher or faculty. Other research experiences come from programs such as the Big Ten Summer Research Opportunities Program or the National Science Foundation Research Opportunities for Undergraduates. Students can also pursue individual projects under the supervision of a post-doc researcher or faculty member. Some courses also provide the chance to develop applied research skills. 

The Undergraduate Research Opportunities Database can be used to start looking for opportunities but is not an exhaustive resource. Ambassadors can work individually with students to navigate department and faculty websites and help prepare introductory emails. 

Learn more about undergraduate research from Undergraduate Research and Fellowships Mentoring (URFM). URFM is a part of Penn State Undergraduate Education.  

Below is a gallery of the 2021-22 undergraduate research ambassadors. All students are currently at the University Park campus unless otherwise noted.

 

Shravan Asthana is a biology major and pursuing a minor in economics. “My research examines the relationship between the autism candidate gene RBM8a and synapse formation in the astrocyte cell. I study mouse behavior and molecular characteristics to uncover the mechanisms underlying neurodevelopmental disorders.”  Credit: Provided. All Rights Reserved.

Dallas Barber is an international politics major and peace and conflict studies minor. Barber’s undergraduate research work focuses on North Korea and the Western genocide.   Credit: Provided. All Rights Reserved.

Rachel Bartuska is pursuing a major in industrial engineering. Bartuska’s research project title is “Failure modes and effects analysis on a robotic training system.” “My goal is to analyze the way that technologies can fail.”  Credit: Provided. All Rights Reserved.

Sophia Bates is majoring in corporate communication and minoring in biology and communication arts and sciences. Bates’ undergraduate research project title is “A Rhetorical Analysis of Participatory Photography and the Photographs People Took Before Attempting Suicide.” Bates said her argument centers around a premise that the “face” of depression doesn’t exist and that people can fake a smile when they are actually struggling with depression.  Credit: Provided. All Rights Reserved.

Rasheedat Ekiyoyo is a mechanical engineering major whose research project on artificial muscle implants involves “tracking animals using markerless pose estimation and modeling approaches to effectively implant muscle actuators that are aimed to correct impairments.”  Credit: Provided. All Rights Reserved.

Kaylee Foor is majoring in psychology with a neuroscience concentration. Her research project “examined the relationship between socioeconomic factors like poverty status, race/ethnicity, and educational attainment, as well as experiences of discrimination, on emotional health outcomes.”  Credit: Provided. All Rights Reserved.

Kate Howarth is pursuing bachelor's degrees in international politics and security and risk analysis and a master’s degree in international relations and affairs. Her research “analyzes the backgrounds of terrorist organizations and the methods they utilize to recruit civilians.” She added, “I study organizations from across the globe using open-source materials to compile brief narratives contributing to my research mentor's database.”  Credit: Provided. All Rights Reserved.

Alain Izabayo, a civil and environmental engineering major, is conducting research on flexible airport design and operations. “In this research we evaluate the possibility of re-designing airports with flexible terminals, common use facilities and equipment to align with future demand and rapidly changing technology.”  Credit: Provided. All Rights Reserved.

Mike Russell is pursuing a major in biology at Penn State Schuylkill. His research project title is “Oxidations of 2,3-diphenyl-1,3-thiaza-4-ones.” “Our project focuses on the syntheses of heterocyclic sulfoxides and sulfones. Through their syntheses, we are able to investigate their structure, chemistry, spectroscopic properties and bioactivity. In the past, these compounds have shown possible signs of antifungal properties and through further research, we can learn more.”  Credit: Provided. All Rights Reserved.

Taran Samarth is pursuing majors in political science, philosophy, sociology and mathematics. “In my projects, I examine domestic and international judicial politics ranging from public support for prosecutorial discretion to the capacity of international courts to legitimate COVID-19-related policies.”  Credit: Provided. All Rights Reserved.

Kirstin Schwasnick is researching “Production and environmental effects of rumen-protected botanical products in dairy cows” as a veterinary and biomedical sciences major. “My research is of a cross-disciplinary nature, combining environmental and animal-based research in a study that aims to reduce the methane emissions of lactating dairy cows via dietary additives.”  Credit: Provided. All Rights Reserved.

Jay Sim is a mechanical engineering major, working on a project titled “Redeveloping foundry-in-a-box for the 21st century.” “My research is attempting to redesign a metal casting educational kit. The project has three major components: developing an analogous fluid to molten metal, redesigning conventional sand molds, and integrating smartphone compatible digital sensors.”  Credit: Provided. All Rights Reserved.

Shivani Sowmyan is majoring in biobehavioral health. Her research project title is “Analysis of structural brain imaging data in pediatric samples – The impact of using adult vs. pediatric templates in data processing.” “My research examines the impacts of estimating brain volume when using adult brain templates for structural data processing in pediatric samples.”  Credit: Provided. All Rights Reserved.

Jackie Stochel is a communication sciences and disorders major researching “Semantics and healthy aging.” “My research aims to understand how individuals process language concepts as we age. I’ve been addressing this question through two experiments: one I recently completed and one that is still in -progress. My finished experiment collected psycholinguistic data from older adults, and found that their judgement of words was different from younger adults given the same task. The second experiment utilizes fMRI (a neuroimaging method) to see if younger and older adults use different regions of the brain to understand language.”  Credit: Provided. All Rights Reserved.

Emma Stockham is a biochemistry and molecular biology major, researching a project titled “Evaluating suspect Xanthomonas translucens isolates from chives, barley, and wheat, for novel pathovar status.” “My research examines the host range of Xanthomonas translucens (a species of bacteria) (define what kind of thing this is) on various common chives. I am performing pathogenicity testing of known and potential chive pathogens to possibly identify novel pathovars of X. translucens.”  Credit: Provided. All Rights Reserved.

Julia Traub is pursuing master’s and bachelor’s degrees in landscape architecture. Her research work “uses literature at the intersection of psychology, landscape architecture, and child development to explore ways to better evaluate and design schoolyards for optimal well-being.”  Credit: Provided. All Rights Reserved.

Ariane Tsai is a biomedical engineering major. Her research “focuses on improving the ACL reconstruction surgery.” She said, “I study the immune response to the two graft types (tissue grafts from your own body vs. from cadaver) to characterize the inflammatory environment in comparison to each other.”  Credit: Provided. All Rights Reserved.

Shravan Asthana is a biology major and pursuing a minor in economics. “My research examines the relationship between the autism candidate gene RBM8a and synapse formation in the astrocyte cell. I study mouse behavior and molecular characteristics to uncover the mechanisms underlying neurodevelopmental disorders.”  Credit: Provided. All Rights Reserved.

Dallas Barber is an international politics major and peace and conflict studies minor. Barber’s undergraduate research work focuses on North Korea and the Western genocide.   Credit: Provided. All Rights Reserved.

Rachel Bartuska is pursuing a major in industrial engineering. Bartuska’s research project title is “Failure modes and effects analysis on a robotic training system.” “My goal is to analyze the way that technologies can fail.”  Credit: Provided. All Rights Reserved.

Sophia Bates is majoring in corporate communication and minoring in biology and communication arts and sciences. Bates’ undergraduate research project title is “A Rhetorical Analysis of Participatory Photography and the Photographs People Took Before Attempting Suicide.” Bates said her argument centers around a premise that the “face” of depression doesn’t exist and that people can fake a smile when they are actually struggling with depression.  Credit: Provided. All Rights Reserved.

Rasheedat Ekiyoyo is a mechanical engineering major whose research project on artificial muscle implants involves “tracking animals using markerless pose estimation and modeling approaches to effectively implant muscle actuators that are aimed to correct impairments.”  Credit: Provided. All Rights Reserved.

Kaylee Foor is majoring in psychology with a neuroscience concentration. Her research project “examined the relationship between socioeconomic factors like poverty status, race/ethnicity, and educational attainment, as well as experiences of discrimination, on emotional health outcomes.”  Credit: Provided. All Rights Reserved.

Kate Howarth is pursuing bachelor's degrees in international politics and security and risk analysis and a master’s degree in international relations and affairs. Her research “analyzes the backgrounds of terrorist organizations and the methods they utilize to recruit civilians.” She added, “I study organizations from across the globe using open-source materials to compile brief narratives contributing to my research mentor's database.”  Credit: Provided. All Rights Reserved.

Alain Izabayo, a civil and environmental engineering major, is conducting research on flexible airport design and operations. “In this research we evaluate the possibility of re-designing airports with flexible terminals, common use facilities and equipment to align with future demand and rapidly changing technology.”  Credit: Provided. All Rights Reserved.

Mike Russell is pursuing a major in biology at Penn State Schuylkill. His research project title is “Oxidations of 2,3-diphenyl-1,3-thiaza-4-ones.” “Our project focuses on the syntheses of heterocyclic sulfoxides and sulfones. Through their syntheses, we are able to investigate their structure, chemistry, spectroscopic properties and bioactivity. In the past, these compounds have shown possible signs of antifungal properties and through further research, we can learn more.”  Credit: Provided. All Rights Reserved.

Taran Samarth is pursuing majors in political science, philosophy, sociology and mathematics. “In my projects, I examine domestic and international judicial politics ranging from public support for prosecutorial discretion to the capacity of international courts to legitimate COVID-19-related policies.”  Credit: Provided. All Rights Reserved.

Kirstin Schwasnick is researching “Production and environmental effects of rumen-protected botanical products in dairy cows” as a veterinary and biomedical sciences major. “My research is of a cross-disciplinary nature, combining environmental and animal-based research in a study that aims to reduce the methane emissions of lactating dairy cows via dietary additives.”  Credit: Provided. All Rights Reserved.

Jay Sim is a mechanical engineering major, working on a project titled “Redeveloping foundry-in-a-box for the 21st century.” “My research is attempting to redesign a metal casting educational kit. The project has three major components: developing an analogous fluid to molten metal, redesigning conventional sand molds, and integrating smartphone compatible digital sensors.”  Credit: Provided. All Rights Reserved.

Shivani Sowmyan is majoring in biobehavioral health. Her research project title is “Analysis of structural brain imaging data in pediatric samples – The impact of using adult vs. pediatric templates in data processing.” “My research examines the impacts of estimating brain volume when using adult brain templates for structural data processing in pediatric samples.”  Credit: Provided. All Rights Reserved.

Jackie Stochel is a communication sciences and disorders major researching “Semantics and healthy aging.” “My research aims to understand how individuals process language concepts as we age. I’ve been addressing this question through two experiments: one I recently completed and one that is still in -progress. My finished experiment collected psycholinguistic data from older adults, and found that their judgement of words was different from younger adults given the same task. The second experiment utilizes fMRI (a neuroimaging method) to see if younger and older adults use different regions of the brain to understand language.”  Credit: Provided. All Rights Reserved.

Emma Stockham is a biochemistry and molecular biology major, researching a project titled “Evaluating suspect Xanthomonas translucens isolates from chives, barley, and wheat, for novel pathovar status.” “My research examines the host range of Xanthomonas translucens (a species of bacteria) (define what kind of thing this is) on various common chives. I am performing pathogenicity testing of known and potential chive pathogens to possibly identify novel pathovars of X. translucens.”  Credit: Provided. All Rights Reserved.

Julia Traub is pursuing master’s and bachelor’s degrees in landscape architecture. Her research work “uses literature at the intersection of psychology, landscape architecture, and child development to explore ways to better evaluate and design schoolyards for optimal well-being.”  Credit: Provided. All Rights Reserved.

Ariane Tsai is a biomedical engineering major. Her research “focuses on improving the ACL reconstruction surgery.” She said, “I study the immune response to the two graft types (tissue grafts from your own body vs. from cadaver) to characterize the inflammatory environment in comparison to each other.”  Credit: Provided. All Rights Reserved.

Last Updated January 25, 2022

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