Ava Levinson

Summer URG

Please provide a brief summary of your research.
I filmed, edited and produced 6 different minute-long videos exploring how social media impacts young, emerging music artists in NYC. I interviewed artists ages 18 to 26 years old and talked with them about their experiences releasing music in the age of apps like TikTok and Instagram.

What made you initially interested in researching your project in particular?
I find it so inspiring to hear musicians talk about their work — their passion just always lights up the room for me and I love being around it. I knew I wanted to base my project around having musicians as subjects, and I also wanted to explore documentary style video.

What made you interested in pursuing (interdisciplinary) research more broadly?
I had just recently become interested in video journalism, and I wanted a summer internship that would allow me to explore that in my own way and create something completely mine. Through pursuing research I got to build a project that I had so much fun with and that helped me grow as a person.

Describe your experiences with research thus far. Was it tricky? What skills do you think you’ve gained?
For me, the most difficult part of doing research was making a schedule and sticking to it. I learned how to set weekly goals for myself, better manage my time, and pivot when my project wasn’t going how I wanted it to. I also feel I gained independence and confidence through reaching out to artists online and meeting up with them to conduct interviews.

Any tips or advice you have for students similar to you that are interested in pursuing undergraduate research?
If you’re at all considering it, I say do it. The word “research” was daunting to me, but the grant allows you to conduct a project completely of your own making— you are in control of exactly what, where and how you want to do it. Before this summer I never saw myself as someone who could move to a different city and conduct an independent project like this, but I learned so much about myself and what I want to do with my life. And it was fun!

Do you have a podcast/documentary/piece of shareable media related to your research? Post the link(s) to share here!
My videos can be found on Instagram @avalevinsonmedia!

What was your favorite childhood story (written, spoken, or film)?
Judy Moody by Megan McDonald

Aya Masri

Academic Year URG

Please provide a brief summary of your research.
My project is centralized around the discovery of new mechanosensing proteins as well as demonstrating their physiological role in blood-flow mechanosensing within mice models. I preform fluorescent antibody testing on promising proteins within cell culture models, microfluidic experiments, and finally within mouse endothelium.

What made you initially interested in researching your project in particular?
The existence of mechanosensing proteins is relatively novel, with not much known about the identities and nature of polarization regarding blood flow. I was interested in pursuing my project, as it is centralized around discovery, which is a really exciting part of science to me. Characterizing mechanosensing proteins contributes to the greater goal of understanding mechanosensing pathways within blood vessels, which is instrumental in real life applications such as cardiovascular disease, something I am very passionate about. I am also planning on pursing a career in cardiovascular surgery, so this was a great opportunity to enhance my mouse dissection and fine motor skills at the same time.

What made you interested in pursuing (interdisciplinary) research more broadly?
I have always been an avid fan of pursuing knowledge, and as a STEM student I had always been very exposed to reading scientific papers through my classes. I wanted to pursue undergraduate research, because I wanted the opportunity to experience the process of scientific method firsthand, and contribute to real innovation and progress for understanding.

Describe your experiences with research thus far. Was it tricky? What skills do you think you’ve gained?
I have had a wonderful experience with research thus far. While it was initially an adjustment to balance with other commitments, I have learned so much about time management and responsibility, making me a much more focused student. I have also learned a variety of laboratory skills, such as cell culture, immunofluorescent imaging, mouse dissection, and quantification using ImageJ and Imaris.

Any tips or advice you have for students similar to you that are interested in pursuing undergraduate research?
The biggest piece of advice that I would give would be to pursue research in topics that you are passionate about, rather than to just check a box. Take the time to understand the day-to-day tasks and commitments of a lab you are interested in, because being able to truly enjoy what you’re doing is the most rewarding part of the research experience. Being genuinely interested in your research will make you the best student researcher possible, and also allow you to have fun!

What is something that you could give a 10 min presentation on right off the cuff?
Playboi carti’s musical evolution

What was your favorite childhood story (written, spoken, or film)?
Where the Wild Things Are

Michael Bayer

Summer URG

Please provide a brief summary of your research.
I developed a method for molding Handed Shearing Auxetics (HSAs), a type of motorized soft robotic actuator, at different scales. These actuators allow for soft robots to take advantage of the energy efficiency of servos to create motion, and allows for easy integration with advanced control, vision methods, etc. These parts can be created from a wider range of materials using molding allowing one to tune their material properties to create better HSAs than previously used methods.

What made you initially interested in researching your project in particular?
I have always loved working with robots, and soft robots are something I’ve always wanted to learn about. I found out about the Robotic Matter Lab and reached out, learned about the work they were doing, and jumped at the opportunity to work with HSAs over the summer.

What made you interested in pursuing (interdisciplinary) research more broadly?
I was interested in pursuing research because it would allow me to get more hands on experience in a topic I was interested in. I feel like the best way to learn is by doing, and in research you can really apply yourself to a task in a way you can’t in a classroom/

Describe your experiences with research thus far. Was it tricky? What skills do you think you’ve gained?
At times it was tricky, my researched involved a lot of setting things up and needing to wait to see results, and at times it was difficult to wait days only for something not to work. I feel like I gained a lot of skills both technical and academic. I learned skills with prototyping, CAD, tolerancing, data taking, problem solving, 3D printing, and more.

Any tips or advice you have for students similar to you that are interested in pursuing undergraduate research?
Reach out to professors and grad students working on interesting projects, and don’t be disheartened if they don’t get back to you. It also helps a lot to be familiar with their work, read some of their related work. Be interested in their lab, not just a lab.

What would you name a boat if you had one?
Bad Buoy

What is something that you could give a 10 min presentation on right off the cuff?
Why an air fryer is the ultimate kitchen appliance.

What was your favorite childhood story (written, spoken, or film)?
Wall-E

Maya Kraidy

2025 Circumnavigator Awardee

Please provide a brief summary of what you plan to research over the summer, where you plan to go, and why you chose those locations.
This summer, I’ll be researching how linguistic landscapes (public signs, billboards, graffiti, etc.) reflect and contribute to minority and indigenous language revitalization efforts across Finland, South Africa, Singapore, New Zealand, and Fiji. I’ll observe public spaces, museums, and other educational spaces to understand how minority languages are represented and how this impacts accessibility in multilingual societies. Although these countries are linguistically diverse, they all share the common challenge of preserving minority indigenous languages that struggle to survive amid the dominance of English and other languages associated with political and economic power. I want to uncover how language revitalization policies translate into real-world change and influence the visibility and use of minority languages in daily life.

What made you interested in pursuing interdisciplinary research?
I’m drawn to interdisciplinary research because complex issues rarely have solutions that fit neatly into one field. Language, for example, is much more than a system of communication – it’s deeply tied to identity, cognition, social dynamics, and power. Studying something interdisciplinarily gives you a more complete representation of how it actually functions in the real world.

Describe your experiences with research thus far in your career.
I’m currently a research assistant at Northwestern’s SoundLab, a lab that studies the cognitive processes behind language acquisition, production, and perception, focusing on speech production. I’ve also previously conducted a year-long study on the effects of auditory subliminal messages in advertising.

What made you initially interested in researching your topic in particular?
I speak more than 3 languages at home and grew up in 4 different countries, many with incredibly linguistically diverse populations. I’ve witnessed the dwindling of minority languages firsthand, and through studying linguistics and cognitive science, I’ve gained the knowledge and tools to study this topic academically. The regions and languages I’ve chosen to study are severely underrepresented in the fields of language revitalization and linguistic landscapes, and they absolutely deserve to be.

Any tips or advice you have for students interested in pursuing undergraduate research?
Go for the opportunities that excite you! Whether it be working at a lab or creating your own research project, if you care about a certain field or topic, the opportunities are definitely out there and you lose nothing in applying. The OUR advisors are amazing!

Which aspect of your trip are you most excited about?
I’m most excited to meet new people, hear their stories, and visit new places!

Do you collect anything?
I collect patches from anywhere I go – I’m excited to add some this summer!

What skill would you most like to learn?
I would love to learn how to crochet better. It’s such an impressive skill and I’ve seen some really cool projects come out of it!

Fai Poungpeth

SURG

Please provide a brief summary of your research.
This past summer, I investigated the relationship between spatial cognition and global vs. local processing of undergraduate students. To measure spatial cognition, I used results from undergraduate student performance of the block design task (BDT). In this task, participants were provided a 2D pattern and had to use 3D blocks called SCUBEs to replicate them, where each block would consist of red faces, white faces, and faces which were half red and half right. Performances were scored through a system I developed, which took factors such overall erroneous actions and performance efficiency into consideration. It was then correlated with participants’ global vs local processing, which is a measure of the degree of holistic processing in comparison to their level of detail orientedness. This was measured through a survey which participants were given, where they were provided a series shapes composed of smaller but different shapes (eg: a square made up of a series of small triangles). Participants then had to indicate whether they thought the image better resembled the larger shape, which would suggest global processing, or the smaller shapes, which would suggest local processing.

What made you initially interested in researching your project in particular?
I was first introduced to the use of SCUBEs to better understand spatial cognition in a DevSci Networking event, where the graduate students working on this project presented their work. I found the SCUBEs themselves to be quite fascinating, as they have been engineered to detect movement in order to more efficiently and effectively measure participant performance. The use of technology to better understand human behaviour is something that has always intrigued me, as its rapid development is causing it to become increasingly integrated into our lives. Furthermore, spatial cognition was something which I was still quite unfamiliar with at the time, which was why I thought it would be extremely meaningful to further explore this aspect of cognitive science/psychology. The findings from this research can also be applied in educational settings to help improve STEM learning, which provided a strong sense of purpose for what I was doing.

What made you interested in pursuing (interdisciplinary) research more broadly?
I believe that research is a path which can impact both me and the people around me quite significantly. In the short run, it is the perfect way to explore and discover who I am and what I am passionate about. As for the long run, the findings of my research can be applied in such a variety of fields and thus impact a very wide and diverse range of people. More specifically, doing interdisciplinary research can be especially meaningful because it allows for the questions I investigate to connect more closely to the real world. Factors which may not directly relate to the academic field I am focus on can be more easily taken into consideration and therefore maximize the potential it has to impact people.

Describe your experiences with research thus far. Was it tricky? What skills do you think you’ve gained?
My experience with research so far has been great. Summer research specifically has allowed me to grow from both academically and personally. From an academic standpoint, I was able to strengthen my understanding of exploratory psychological research. In the past, I was taught to follow a strict procedure with a clear question to be answered. However, I have learned that doing so doesn’t allow for the flexibility necessary to account for the complexity and broad range of factors that can influence the variable to be investigated. In regards to this study specifically, I had the opportunity to explore the various methods of processing the same data. I also had to learn how to make procedural decisions, run experiments, and present my research in various forms. As for my personal growth, my summer experience has strengthened my integrity, proactivity, as well as flexibility. I was expected to manage my own time with the big tasks I had to complete, which required a high amount of diligence in order to get the necessary work done. Although I was working with graduate students on the project, I still had a lot of freedom for decision making, which required me to confidence as well as courage to reach out for help. In addition, it was the first time that I had to work with children in an academic setting, which was out of my comfort zone. Overall, I am extremely grateful to have worked on this project and hope to use the skills I have obtained in future research projects as well.

Any tips or advice you have for students similar to you that are interested in pursuing undergraduate research?
I would highly encourage anyone interested in pursuing undergraduate research to do so. Even if they don’t know where exactly their interests lie, getting involved in any form of research can be very meaningful. I believe that trying things out will allow students to more easily discover what they like and don’t like. In addition, research in general provides you with skills that can be applied in other settings in the future, meaning that it will still be beneficial even if what they first do is not something they’re passionate about. One students do get involved, I would encourage students to have the confidence to express their thoughts and questions they may have. Doing so is what is going to allow students to gain the most from their experience.

Kaytlyn Mittag

ULG

What language did you study and why?
I spent my summer attending an intensive Japanese language program to maximize the opportunities of Northwestern University’s Japanese course offerings and prepare myself for the goal of teaching English in Japan after graduation. Through rigorous study and practice, I honed my language skills, embracing the opportunity to develop cultural sensitivity and communication proficiency. This summer endeavor has not only accelerated my Japanese language acquisition but has also fueled my enthusiasm for the journey ahead as I strive to become a competent English teacher in Japan.

What program did you attend and why did you choose it?
Participating in Hokkaido International Foundation’s summer program (HIF) opened up a world of opportunities to immerse myself in Japanese culture and connect with local people beyond the classroom. The program’s rigorous language classes, spanning four hours a day, five days a week for two months, provided me with a solid linguistic foundation. Yet, what truly enriched my experience were the cultural activities and connections I made outside of formal instruction. Engaging in homestays allowed me to delve into everyday Japanese life, while local culture classes introduced me to unique aspects of Japanese heritage, such as the art of benshi and the shamisen.

Describe your experience doing summer language study. Was it tricky? How do you think your language skills improved?
Undoubtedly, the rapid pace of the curriculum presented unexpected challenges, pushing me to adapt my study strategies for a deeper grasp of the material. Divided into two classes, our learning environment fostered a strong sense of camaraderie and often echoed with laughter as we delved into diverse topics, from onomatopoeias to the fascinating realm of cup ramen and shifts in Japanese speech styles. Beyond the classroom, continuous interactions with a variety of individuals further honed my listening and speaking skills. While I acknowledge the need for refinement in my Japanese abilities, I’m confident that my Japanese proficiency has improved across all four language dimensions.

Did intensive summer language study change or solidify any of your future goals? If so, how?
My intensive language study experience in Japan has left me with a strong desire to return. While it had its share of ups and downs, it was undeniably a rewarding journey that not only deepened my understanding of the language and culture but also provided insights into myself. I look forward to going back and delving even deeper into Japan. Currently, as I engage in my teaching English internship, I can envision a future where I return to Japan after graduation to pursue teaching. Japan has left an indelible mark on me, and I’m excited to continue my journey there.

Do you have any tips or advice for students similar to you that are interested in pursing intensive language study?
I highly recommend talking with the locals! Although it might be challenging, some of my most memorable interactions with locals who became friends (some who I still talk to) in Japan occurred when I was lost at a train station or waiting for my bus. While intensive language study is difficult and time consuming, don’t underestimate the significance of making new friends! The sense of achievement when you use newly learned class material in the real world is wonderful, and it is such a great way to learn more about the place you live in.

Shravya Pant

AYURG

Please provide a brief summary of your research.
My research at the Laronda Lab investigates the effects of acute chemotherapy on ovarian vasculature and primordial follicle (immature eggs) activation in pre-pubertal and adolescent patients. The goal of my project is to help optimize fertility preservation methods for young female cancer patients, as chemotherapy treatments can cause lifelong consequences on fertility.

What made you initially interested in researching your project in particular?
I have always been passionate about issues of sexual and reproductive health, particularly when it comes to fertility and bodily autonomy. Being able to combine these interests with science has driven my interest in pursuing this project and being part of a reproductive lab in general.

What made you interested in pursuing (interdisciplinary) research more broadly?
Combining my interdisciplinary interests in journalism and medicine, I’m passionate about utilizing research and investigative skills both as a reporter and scientist to better communicate medical news to the public. I feel that research combines the best of both worlds. Through honing my scientific research and communication skills, the knowledge I’ve gained through working in a lab will make me a better reporter and physician.

Describe your experiences with research thus far. Was it tricky? What skills do you think you’ve gained?
I think research requires a lot more teamwork than one may think at first. Working in a lab environment as an undergrad can be daunting at first, but I think making connections and valuing mentorship from graduate and masters students, as well as the PI, is really valuable.

Any tips or advice you have for students similar to you that are interested in pursuing undergraduate research?
If you see a lab or group that interests you, reach out to them. I was initially intimidated to reach out to the PI of the lab that I currently work in because I wasn’t sure if they would want to take an undergrad. However, I met with one of the graduate students over the summer who took me on a lab tour and is now my project mentor!

What is something that you could give a 10 min presentation on right off the cuff?
Anything related to professional tennis

Josie Halporn

ULG

What language did you study and why?
I studied Portuguese in São Paulo because I wanted to experience language immersion specifically in Brazilian Portuguese.

What program did you attend and why did you choose it?
I attended Tulane’s Summer in Brazil program. Believe it or not, there aren’t many study abroad programs in Brazil! I chose this one because it focused on contemporary social issues in the country as well as grammar practice.

Describe your experience doing summer language study. Was it tricky? How do you think your language skills improved?
As I flew home from Brazil, I talked to the passenger next to me for several hours in Portuguese, and this moment was when I truly realized how far I’d come in my language abilities. However, I may have improved my speaking more in Brazil if I had used less English with my American roommates. My writing and reading are also much improved. In my previous Portuguese courses at Northwestern, I always felt like I had to look up the English translations for every other word in class readings. I don’t feel that way anymore! I can also now write advanced phrases like “If I was…I would…,” using conditional and subjunctive tenses with ease. Though my listening comprehension improved significantly, I still want to put more effort into this area. When my Brazilian roommates spoke really fast to each other or me, I was at a complete loss for the meaning. It is also still difficult for me to understand certain regional accents, like the Carioca or the Nordestina.

Did intensive summer language study change or solidify any of your future goals? If so, how?
After completing the program, I am even more motivated to return to Northwestern and finish off the Portuguese minor. I know that I am capable of achieving success in classes of any subject matter taught fully in a different language. I also seriously want to return to Brazil for a more extended period of time.

Do you have any tips or advice for students similar to you that are interested in pursing intensive language study?
Lean into the independence you build while abroad. It will serve you well for the rest of your life!

Juan Barrera Lopez

Please provide a brief summary of your research.
I researched the behavior of infection through the Contact Process, a model of infection that allows physicists to study systems which particles interact and affect the state of their immediate neighbors.

What made you initially interested in researching your project in particular?
I was interested by the ability of complex systems to create descriptions and predictions for a wide range of phenomena. The calculations we are working on should be independent of the particular system we study, describing the behavior of the universality class through simple simulations.

What made you interested in pursuing (interdisciplinary) research more broadly?
Physics has applications in many fields. When I first approached my PI, Dr. Kovacs, I was impressed by the wide variety of topics his lab researches through complex systems. Some projects different than my own, studied in the same lab, include studying the network dynamics of the brain, as well as the structural formation of proteins.

Describe your experiences with research thus far. Was it tricky? What skills do you think you’ve gained?
I found that one of the most challenging parts of doing computational research is time management. Some days are more straightforward than others, especially at the begining when most of the work is laying down the foundational code for the simulations. Learning how to stay engaged and active in research, while also waiting for up to a week while the simulations produce results, was a challenging skill to develop.

Any tips or advice you have for students similar to you that are interested in pursuing undergraduate research?
If you are planning on doing research in the sciences, it is important to find a project that engages you outside the purely academic. Something that was helpful for me was finding how my project had meaning beyond the ‘Contact Process and Infinite Randomness’ literature.

What would you name a boat if you had one?
La Hojarasca

What was your favorite childhood story (written, spoken, or film)?
Rin Rin Renacuajo