Honors Research Grants
First-Year Honors Mentor Program Grant:
Grants up to $250 (individual) or $500 (group) are available to support research expenses incurred by students participating in the First-Year Honors Mentor Program. Requests for funds are made jointly by student(s) and mentor.
The submission deadline is the first Wednesday in February.
The guidelines to apply can be viewed here.
First-Year Honors Mentor Program Grant application (xls)
College of Agriculture and Life Sciences
Celia Delury, Biological Systems Engineering
Faculty mentor: William Beck - Natural Resource Ecology & Management
Project name: Woodchips for water quality: Influence of select Iowa wood species on bioreactor performance
Lilyahna Kowal, Genetics
Faculty mentor: Gwyn Beattie - Plant Pathology
Project name: Microbiome drivers of fitness benefits in drought-stressed plants
Olivia Saul, Animal Science
Faculty mentor: Suzanne Millman - Veterinary Diagnostic & Production Animal Medicine
Project name: Effects of virtual reality on the behavior of laying hens
Emma Buchacker, Microbiology
Emily Kahl, Environmental Science
Faculty mentor: Larry Halverson - Plant Pathology
Project name: Characterization of a synthetic maize microbiome
Darcy Bonds, Horticulture
Andrew Jochum, Chemistry
Landon Wahe, Civil Engineering
Faculty mentor: Jacek Koziel - Agricultural & Biosystems Engineering
Project name: Improving sustainability of Iowa agriculture: Synergy between improved nutrient recycling
Emma Brady, Geology
Ahna Lassegard, Environmental Science
Faculty mentor: Bradley Miller - Agronomy
Project name: Particle size sorting along hillslopes in a forested versus urban environment
Kaitlyn Lathrop, Animal Science
Vincent Vanyo, Genetics
Faculty mentor: Chris Minion - Veterinary Microbiology & Preventive Medicine
Project name: Genetics of mycoplasmas
Abraham De Jong, Biochemistry
Erika Nelson, Chemistry
Faculty mentor: Nicholas Peters - Plant Pathology
Project name: Identification and characterization of novel viruses that kill Escherichia coli
Peter Exley, Mechanical Engineering
Justin Nock, Mechanical Engineering
Faculty mentor: Brian Steward - Agricultural & Biosystems Engineering
Project name: Magnetic Filtration of Particle Contaminants from Hydraulic Fluids
Katelyn Nelson, Chemical Engineering
Matthew Truka, Chemical Engineering
Faculty mentor: Lester Wilson - Food Science & Human Nutrition
Project name: Bioactive assay of grape pomace post-wine production
Ivy College of Business
Cameron Bristow, Marketing
Faculty mentor: Samantha Cross - Marketing
Project name: Understanding food insecurity on college campuses
Audrey Jones, Business
Faculty mentor: David Cantor - Supply Chain Management
Project name: Do consumers care about pharmaceutical contamination in the supply chain?
College of Design
College of Engineering
Cassidy Carolan, Mechanical Engineering
Faculty mentor: Sarah Bentil - Mechanical Engineering
Project name: Impact of shockwaves on viability of brain cells
Ian Dalton, Mechanical Engineering
Faculty mentor: Sarah Bentil - Mechanical Engineering
Project name: Parametric analysis of external conditions affecting cavitation bubble properties
Adam Eichhorn, Materials Engineering
Faculty mentor: Michael Bartlett - Materials Science & Engineering
Project name: Making adhesion on challenging surfaces patterned adhesive films
Grant Giansanti, Computer Engineering
Faculty mentor: Sonal Padalkar - Mechanical Engineering
Project name: Scalable synthesis of copper oxide nanowires for electrocatalysis and anti-microbial studies
Brenna Hartse, Mechanical Engineering
Faculty mentor: Nicole Hashemi - Mechanical Engineering
Project name: Mechanically exfoliated graphene as a platform for characterizing neuronal cell damage
Joshua Holtzleiter, Mechanical Engineering
Faculty mentor: Sarah Bentil - Mechanical Engineering
Project name: The influence of brain tissue hydration on the adhesion of airbrushed speckles
Andrew Mord, Mechanical Engineering
Faculty mentor: Jaime Juarez - Mechanical Engineering
Project name: Hydrogel rheology sampled by acoustophoretic microparticle transport
William Neilson, Chemical Engineering
Faculty mentor: Ian Schneider - Chemical & Biological Engineering
Project name: Separating cells through spatial control of mechanical properties
Claire Palmer, Mechanical Engineering
Faculty mentor: Michael Bartlett - Materials Science & Engineering
Project name: Switchable adhesion through smart materials
Isaac Peterson
Faculty mentor: Nicole Hashemi - Mechanical Engineering
Project name: Manufacturing of biocompatible hollow microvessels using a microfluidic device
Mia Riddley
Faculty mentor: Nicole Hashemi - Mechanical Engineering
Project name: Development of Brain-on-a-chip to control microvessel cell culturing
Maddi McAleer, Mechanical Engineering
Hannah Nguyen, Chemical Engineering
Sam Richardson, Chemical Engineering
Faculty mentor: Timothy Bigelow - Electrical & Computer Engineering
Project name: Rayleigh Wave Laser Line Source
Matthew Greiner, Mechanical Engineering
Si Yuan Sim, Electrical Engineering
Nathan Trotter, Engineering
Faculty mentor: Timothy Bigelow - Electrical & Computer Engineering
Project name: Rayleigh Wave Laser Line Source
Tyler Gerold, Aerospace Engineering
Khanh Hoang, Aerospace Engineering
Anthony Karl, Mechanical Engineering
Luke Marzen, Aerospace Engineering
Faculty mentor: Timothy Bigelow - Electrical & Computer Engineering
Project name: Subharmonic detection of defects
Benjamin Gardner, Electrical Engineering
Keirick Glennon, Electrical Engineering
Alexander Rickabaugh, Mechanical Engineering
Frank Sullivan, Software Engineering
Faculty mentor: Timothy Bigelow - Electrical & Computer Engineering
Project name: Comparison of coax and ultrasound detection of defects
Brianna Burton, Chemical Engineering
Jacob Davis, Chemical Engineering
Charles-Umashan Egharevba, Chemical Engineering
Will Henrichsen, Chemical Engineering
Conner Smith, Chemical Engineering
Faculty mentor: Eric Cochran - Chemical & Biological Engineering
Project name: Untitled
Janie Grover, Civil Engineering
Zakhary Keel, Civil Engineering
Faculty mentor: Tim Ellis - Civil, Construction & Environmental Engineering
Project name: High-rate treatment of landfill leachate using the Static Granular Bed Reactor (SGBR) for renewable energy recovery
Timothy Ellis, Software Engineering
Garrett Fields, Aerospace Engineering
Damien Henry, Electrical Engineering
Alec Rosentrater, Aerospace Engineering
Tom Ruminski, Computer Engineering
Faculty mentor: Randall Geiger - Electrical & Computer Engineering
Project name: Autonomous energy delivery to untethered TOT nodes
Charles Bruchal, Materials Engineering
Lucas Eddinger, Mechanical Engineering
Shiva Neelakantan, Mechanical Engineering
Jonathan Ravishankar, Mechanical Engineering
Clavin Shuck, Mechanical Engineering
Faculty mentor: Ralph Napolitano - Materials Science & Engineering
Project name: Investigation of hot-cracking susceptibility in advanced Al-based and Ni-based alloys
Matthew Bindel, Industrial Engineering
Katie Wyatt, Industrial Engineering
Faculty mentor: Frank Peters - Industrial & Manufacturing Systems Engineering
Project name: Large Scale Parallel 3D Printing of Metal Casting Patterns
Natalie McAninch, Chemical Engineering
Dennis Seay, Chemical Engineering
Ashlan Simpson, Statistics
Faculty mentor: Derrick Rollins - Chemical & Biological Engineering
Project name: Activity tracker
Maria Lebedeva, Chemical Engineering
Megan Wolfe, Chemical Engineering
Faculty mentor: Ian Schneider - Chemical & Biological Engineering
Project name: Spatial control of the mechanizal properties of alginate
Isaac Hunter, Construction Engineering
Mira Luke, Civil Engineering
Noah Rudi, Construction Engineering
Faculty mentor: Behrouz Shafei - Civil, Construction & Environmental Engineering
Project name: Investigation of Concrete under Environmental and Mechanical Stressors
Alexanderia Birlingmair, Civil Engineering
Ingrid Gail Guevarra, Civil Engineering
Ellenor Whitney, Civil Engineering
Faculty mentor: Hartanto Wibowo - Civil, Construction & Environmental Engineering
Project name: Experimental simulation of structural failures utilizing a simple shake table
College of Human Sciences
Elizabeth Clow, Mechanical Engineering
Faculty mentor: Ellen McKinney - Apparel, Events & Hospitality Management
Project name: Development of hand-specific model and systematic tool (HMST) for next generation gloves used for firefighters and other emergency responders
Ben Hones, Mechanical Engineering
Faculty mentor: Rachel Eike - Apparel, Events & Hospitality Management
Project name: Novel developments in conductive nanofiber technology for wearable electronics
Reese Gardner, Computer Science
Alexis Steinhoff, Biology
Faculty mentor: Elizabeth Shirtcliff - Human Development & Family Studies
Project name: Evoking stress reactivity in virtual reality: transportation stress
College of Liberal Arts and Sciences
Collin Anderson, Chemistry
Faculty mentor: Wenyu Huang - Chemistry
Project name: Developing new intermetallic NP catalysts
Kathryn Blair, Aerospace Engineering
Faculty mentor: John Hauptman - Physics & Astronomy
Project name: Calculation of magnetic and electric fields for an experimental search for magnetic charges
Jonah Gray, Environmental Science
Faculty mentor: Ajay Nair - Horticulture
Project name: Use of micronutrient-based biostimulants in vegetable transplant production
Nicholas Serck, Chemistry
Faculty mentor: Junqi Li - Chemistry
Project name: Synthesis of building blocks for the modular construction of terpene-inspired macrocycles
Matt Shafer, Biochemistry
Faculty mentor: Olga Zabotina - Biochemistry, Biophysics & Molecular Biology
Project name: Study of the xylosyltransferase specific activity towards substrates
Claire Beaudry, Liberal Arts & Sciences
Lydia Samuelson, English
Hannah Van Sickle, English
Faculty mentor: David Russell - English
Project name: Academic research writing: Keeping the flow going
Abigail Fowler, Microbiology
Anna Garbe, Biology
Peyton Hamel, Genetics
Riley Kuennen, Chemical Engineering
Amanda Roush, Biology
Faculty mentor: Donald Sakaguchi - Genetics, Development & Cell Biology
Project name: Electrical stimulation and differentiation of neural stem cells
Regan Breen, Biochemistry
William Alex Rance, Biochemistery
Faculty mentor: Eric Underbakke - Biochemistry, Biophysics & Molecular Biology
Project name: Defining scaffolding interfaces in PSD-95
University Honors Program Grants:
Grants of up to $750 are available to help cover project expenses for Honors capstone projects.
The submission deadlines for the UHP Grant applications are October 13, November 10, February 2, and March 30.
The guidelines to apply can be viewed here. This application has been transitioned to an online Qualtrics form. If you submit the original Excel version, you will need to obtain physical signatures.
Note: Funding will not be available until fall 2020, but students can apply in spring 2020.
University Honors Program Grant application
Stephanie Bias
Faculty mentor: Chin-Hsun Tsai - Apparel, Events, and Hospitality Management
Project name: Defining and Analyzing Attendee Motivation Factors for Vegan Festivals
Claire Birchmier
Faculty mentor: Kevin Schalinske - Food Science and Human Nutrition
Project name: Effects of Egg Supplementation on Attenuating Disease States of Polycystic Ovary Syndrome
Grace Kline
Faculty mentor: Fredric Janzen - Ecology, Evolution and Organismal Biology
Project name: A Comparative Analysis of Genetic Convergence Underlying Similar Patterns of TSD
Laura Kurr
Faculty mentor: Jonathan Mochel - Biomedical Sciences
Project name: A 3D In Vitro Model of Canine Inflammatory Bowel Disease for Accelerating Drug Safety and Efficacy Testing
Hannah Sams
Faculty mentor: Daniel Russel - Human Development and Family Studies
Project name: Analyzing Loneliness Causes and Consequences in College Freshmen
Kenna Short
Faculty mentor: Jim Heise - Mechanical Engineering
Project name: Interactive Console Design for a Mars Rover Exhibit at the Science Center of Iowa
Evan Wieczorek
Faculty mentor: Tomas Gonzalez - Aerospace Engineering
Project name: Hydraulic and Electronic Actuator System Development for ISU's BuonyanCY Laboratory
Stewart Research Award:
Grants of up to $750 are available to help cover project expenses for Honors capstone and other research projects. Projects of publishable quality receive preference
Submission deadlines for the Stewart Research Award application are November 10 and, funds permitting, February 2.
The guidelines to apply can be viewed here. This application has been transitioned to an online Qualtrics form. If you submit the original Excel version, you will need to obtain physical signatures.
Note: Funding will not be available until fall 2020, but students can apply in spring 2020.
Sparsh Agarwal
Faculty mentor: Nigel Reuel - Chemical and Biological Engineering
Project name: Substrate-wrapped Carbon Nanotubes as a Generalizable Sensor for Screening Enzymes for Biomass Degradation
Holly Appleton
Faculty mentor: Melha Mellata - Food Science and Human Nutrition
Project name: High Voltage Atmospheric Cold Plasma Degradation of Pathogenic Fungal Spores and Derivative Toxins
Stephanie Bias
Faculty mentor: Chin-Hsun Tsai - Apparel, Events, and Hospitality Management
Project name: Defining and Analyzing Attendee Motivation Factors for Vegan Festivals
Kaela Gollob
Faculty mentor: Bill Simpkins - Geological and Atmospheric Sciences
Project name: Transport and Denitrification of Nitrate-N from a Losing Reach of the South Skunk River into an Alluvial Aquifer in Ames, Iowa
Austin Hanus
Faculty mentor: Benjamin Ahn - Aerospace Engineering
Project name: Identify the Efficacy of CalcHub
Laura Kurr
Faculty mentor: Jonathan Mochel - Biomedical Sciences
Project name: A 3D In Vitro Model of Canine Inflammatory Bowel Disease for Accelerating Drug Safety and Efficacy Testing
Macy Morrow
Faculty mentor: James Lang - Kinesiology
Project name: Post-menopausal Differences in Response to Angiotensin II
Honors Student Enrichment Grant:
Grants of up to $300 are available to help cover project expenses related to travel and/or registration for academic conferences. Preference is given to Honors capstone research and other academic research.
The University Honors Committee reviews submissions on a rolling basis, funds permitting. Once funding has been allocated for a given academic semester, the website will be updated and further applications will not be accepted until the following semester.
Student Enrichment Grant application
Abigail Hammer, Aerospace Engineering
Implementing Specifications onto a Runtime Verification Unit
Project advisor: Kristin Rozier
Participation in the National Conference on Undergraduate Research in Bozeman, Montanta, March 2020
Madelyn Huinker, Communication Studies
The Role of Trust and Credibility in Controversial Science Communication
Project advisor: Dara Wald
Participation in the National Conference on Undergraduate Research in Bozeman, Montanta, March 2020
Elea Kaptain, English Education / Spanish Education
Tutorial Alliance and Session Success with Non-native English Speakers in the Writing and Media Center
Project advisor: Joseph Cheatle
Presentation at the International Writing Center Association Conference, Columbus, OH, October 2019
Nikita Kozak, Mechanical Engineering / Mathematics
Application of Machine Learning, DEA and a Recommendation System for Intermittent Material Planning
Project advisor: Meltem Denizel-Karakaya
Presented at the National Collegiate Research Conference, Boston, MA, January 2020
Benjamin Litterer, Data Science
Using Sequence Structure Information to Annotate Gene and Protein Function
Project advisor: Robert Jernigan
Presented at the Biophysical Society Annual Meeting, San Diego, CA, February 2020
Paiton McDonald, Agricultural Biochemistry
Applications of Thoracic Ultrasonography to Evaluate Progression and Severity of Bovine Respiratory Disease
Project advisor: Jodi McGill
Participation in the National Conference on Undergraduate Research in Bozeman, Montanta, March 2020
Abigayle Moser, Aerospace Engineering
Effect of Complex Terrains on Wind Energy Production
Project advisor: Luciano Castillo, Purdue University
Presentation at the American Physical Society Division of Fluid Dynamics in Seattle, WA, November 2019
Madison Porter, Biology (AGLS)
Applications of Thoracic Ultrasonography to Evaluate Progression and Severity of Bovine Respiratory Disease
Project advisor: Jodi McGill
Participation in the National Conference on Undergraduate Research in Bozeman, Montanta, March 2020
Sarah Potter, Psychology
Jurors' Perceptions of Firearms Evidence
Project advisor: Stephanie Madon
Participation in the National Conference on Undergraduate Research in Bozeman, Montanta, March 2020
David Reynolds, Mechanical Engineering
Maternally Administered Naltrexone and Its Major Active Metabolite 6β-Naltrexol Transport across the Placental Barrier In Vitro
Project advisor: Nicole Hashemi
Presented at the National Collegiate Research Conference, Boston, MA, January 2020
Sara Ronnkvist, Statistics
The Effects of Climate Variability on Fertility in Sub-Saharan Africa
Project advisor: Brian Thiede, Penn State University
Presentation at the Population Association of America Annual Meeting, April 2020
Katie Stringer, Global Resource Systems
Strategies for Improving Education for Rural Girls in Uganda: Evaluating the Strengths and Limitations of the ISU-UP Sanitary Pads Program
Project advisor: Dorothy Masinde
Participation in the National Conference on Undergraduate Research in Bozeman, Montanta, March 2020
Elke Windschitl, Biology (AGLS)
Evaluating the Use of Autonomous Recording Units for Monitoring Northern Bobwhite Coveys
Project advisor: Adam Janke
Participation in the National Conference on Undergraduate Research in Bozeman, Montanta, March 2020
Dr. Robert M. Melampy Grant:
A Grant of up to $500 is available to students in Animal Science to help cover project expenses related to the research they are doing within their field of study. Preference will be given to students participating in the First-Year Honors Mentor Program, and only one Melampy Grant will be awarded each year for a Spring or Summer term.
The submission deadline for the Dr. Robert M. Melampy Grant is the first Wednesday in February for spring or summer research. Click here for the Melampy Grant application.
Emily Gress
Emily is a first-year student in biology with a minor in animal science from Bennington, Nebraska. She is a member of the President's Leadership Class, Running Club, and Best Buddies and also works as an Academic Success Center Tutor. She is looking forward to teaching a First-Year Honors Program 121 Seminar next fall. Emily's interest in veterinary medicine and research with both human and animal health applications led her to work with Dr. Josh Selsby. Her project for the First-Year Mentor Program is a parabiosis experiment investigating the effect of transfused heat stressed serum to thermoneutral recipients in swine.
Gabby DiRusso
Gabby is a senior in Animal Science originally from Middletown, Delaware. She is involved in campus organizations such as the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences Ambassadors, Block & Bridle Club, and Intercollegiate Meat Judging Team. Throughout her time at Iowa State she has been involved with research focused on beef cattle both at the ISU College of Veterinary medicine and the Hansen Ruminant Nutrition Lab. This fall she is most looking forward to completing her Honors Capstone Project with Dr. Stephanie Hansen looking at the relationship between feeding behavior and the occurence of liver abscesses in feedlot cattle.
Lauren Tidgren
Lauren is a sophomore in Animal Science originally from Caroll, Iowa. Her interest in veterinary medicine led to her involvement in swine disease research in the First Year Mentor Program, which she has continued through the summer with the assistance of the Melampy Research Grant.
For a complete list of our past grant recipients, visit our Grant Recipient Archive page.