Summer Research Broadens in Scope and Scale
By BARBARA ALLISON
The scope of this summer’s student-faculty research projects at Saint Mary’s spanned from STEM-related topics such as the study of predator-prey interactions in freshwater fish and analysing data of the night sky through photographs taken at the Vera C. Rubin Observatory to liberal arts discoveries into the life of Saint Onuphrius and medieval women in the time of the Crusades.
Kristin Kuter, associate professor and department chair of Mathematics and Computer Science is working with students Helena Fischer '27, Daniela Rivera, '27, and Alexandra Valadez '28 on a project titled Geolocate Vehicle Collisions to Improve Community Safety. The goal is to improve traffic safety in the City of South Bend by comparing the officer’s written description of the crash, the narrative, and the geolocation data to check for mismatches. “More accurate crash data helps the City make smarter, fairer decisions about where to improve streets and keep residents safe,” Kuter explained.
Valadez, a 3 +1 Mathematics and Data Science major, has enjoyed spending the summer on campus working on this project and building community with fellow STEM majors through weekly meetings. “Doing research as a student is important because it allows you to gain real-world experience, grow your communication skills, and solve problems,” she said. “Through this project, my hope is to grow my data analytic skills and make a positive impact on community safety.”
Below is a selection of this summer’s research projects
Filling the Void: Preserving and Amplifying the History of the Congregation of the Holy Cross Sisters
Student Researcher: Lily Lewen ’27 with Laura Williamson, professor of Humanistic Studies
Funding Source: Mellon Foundation - Humanities for All Times grant
Belle's Voices: An Oral History
Student Researchers: Ella Novak ’27 and Ella Eitniear ’27, with Jamie Wagman, professor of Gender and Women’s Studies.
Funding Source: Mellon Foundation - Humanities for All Times grant
Research into a Newly Discovered Witness of the Life of Saint Onuphrius
Student Researcher: David Chritton '27 with Sarah Noonan, associate professor of English.
Funding Source: Mellon Foundation - Humanities for All Times grant
Teaching Medieval Women and the World of the Crusades
Student Researcher: Clara Venia ’27 with Jessalyn Bird, associate professor of Humanistic Studies.
Funding Source: Mellon Foundation - Humanities for All Times grant
Qualitative Research, Writing, Data Coding, and Analysis in Reference to Building Teacher-Student Trust
Student Researcher: Kaitlyn Barla ’26 with Jennifer Broome, associate professor of Education
Female-Centered Autonomic Physiology: Foundations for Exercise
Student Researcher: Ava Hess ’27 with Erica Albertin, assistant professor of Exercise Science and Biology.
Funding Source: Maryjeanne R. Burke and Daughters Student Independent Study and Research-SISTAR grant
Exploration of the Interactions of Selected Antibiotics with Soil
Student Researchers: Eden Friedman ’27 and Clara Gerschutz ’28 with Christopher Dunlap, professor of Chemistry.
Funding Source: Marjorie A. Neuhoff Summer Science Research Communities grant
Investigating Phosphorylation as a Regulatory Mechanism of ClpXP
Student Researchers: Mary Erhardt ’28 and Kseniia Shyp ’28 with Jennifer Fishovitz, associate professor of Chemistry.
Funding Source: Marjorie A. Neuhoff Summer Science Research Communities grant (Erhardt)
Funding Source: Kerry J. Long Fund, the Benton Memorial Fund, and the Kathryn Wiedl Mettler MD '63 and Stephen C. Mettler PhD Travel and Support grant for Undergraduate Researchers in Chemistry (Shyp)
Synthesis and Screening of Photoredox Catalysts
Student Researchers: Gretchen Zarbock ’27 and Annie Brandt ’28 with Michael Drummond and Elsa Hinds, associate professors of Chemistry.
Funding Source: Marjorie A. Neuhoff Summer Science Research Communities grant
Synthesis and Characterization of Electrolyte Candidates
Student Researcher: Rachael Borg ’28 with Michael Drummond, associate professor of Chemistry.
Funding Source: Marjorie A. Neuhoff Summer Science Research Communities grant
Synthesis of Structural and Functional Models of Hemocyanin
Student Researcher: Isabella Borsoni ’27 with Michael Drummond, associate professor of Chemistry.
Funding Source: Marjorie A. Neuhoff Summer Science Research Communities grant
Functionalization of Heteroaromatic Systems with Bipyridyl Ligands
Student Researcher: Jo Houin ’28 with Elsa Hinds, associate professor of Chemistry.
Funding Source: Marjorie A. Neuhoff Summer Science Research Communities grant
A Study of Transient and Variable Objects Present in the Images Taken by Vera C. Rubin Observatory
Student Researchers: Baileigh Borna ’28, Claire Keely ’27, Jade Funk ’29, and Theresa Fussner ’28 with Christina Peters, assistant professor of Physics. Funding Source: Marjorie Neuhoff Summer Science Research Communities grant
Predator-Prey Interactions, Ecology, and Mechanics in Freshwater Fishes
Student Researchers: Emma Hayes ’27 and Abbey McGirr ’27 with Katie Whitlow, assistant professor of Biology.
Funding Source: Marjorie Neuhoff Summer Science Research Communities grant
Analyzing Metabolic Hormone Variation Across Temperature in Smallmouth Bass
Student Researcher: Bri Smith '27 with Katie Whitlow, assistant professor of Biology.
Funding Source: Biology Department Alumnae Student Research grant.
Histological Analysis of Smallmouth Bass Gonads and Reliability of Plasma Testosterone for Individual Sex Determination
Student Researchers: Laura Heim '27 and Monica Marquez '28 with Katie Whitlow, assistant professor of Biology.
Funding Source: Ed Zevkovich Memorial Student Research grant in the Sciences
Changing Metabolic Rates in Carolina Wrens
Student Researcher: Isabelle Rose ’27 with Joel Ralston, associate professor of Biology.
Funding Source: Marjorie Neuhoff Summer Science Research Communities grant
Feather Morphology in Carolina Wrens
Student Researcher: Jasmine Martinez ’27 with Joel Ralston, associate professor of Biology.
Funding Source: Marjorie Neuhoff Summer Science Research Communities grant
Efficient Fluorescence and Superfluorescence from Nanocrystal Assemblies
Student Researchers: Mary Elizabeth Caine ’27 and Jade Yates ’28 with Sushrut Ghonge, assistant professor of Physics.
Funding Source: Marjorie A. Neuhoff Summer Science Research Communities grant
Temperature-dependent Photoluminescence Quantum Yield in Lead Halide Perovskite Nanocrystals
Student Researcher: Jadin Coddens ’27 with Sushrut Ghonge, assistant professor of Physics.
Funding Source: Physics-NDnano (Notre Dame Nanoscience and Technology) momentum grant
Geolocate Vehicle Collisions to Improve Community Safety
Student Researchers: Helena Fischer '27, Daniela Rivera, '27, and Alexandra Valadez '28 with Kristin Kuter, associate professor of Mathematics and Computer Science.
Funding Source: Frances Bardello Craig ’64 Leadership Program grant
AI and Machine Learning- Image Classification and Variational AutoEncoders
Student Researchers: Lucy Jones ’29, Charlotte Smiggen ’29, and Sarah Wang ’28 with Chris Dwyer, professional specialist, Mathematics and Computer Science.
Funding Source: Frances Bardello Craig ’64 Leadership Program grant
Computational Topological Data Analysis
Student Researchers: Therese Burns ’27 and Noemi Calihua ’27 with Chris Dwyer, professional specialist, Mathematics and Computer Science.
Funding Source: Frances Bardello Craig ’64 Leadership Program grant.
Simulating Stem Cell Dynamics with Differential Equations
Student Researchers: Julia VanDyke ’29 and Samantha Patin ’27 with Alexandra Jilkine, associate professor of Mathematics and Computer Science.
Funding Source: Sister Miriam Cooney ’51, CSC Endowed grant ‖