SOAR | ɫ��ɫ University

Don’t Just Fly. SOAR.

We don’t put our professors on pedestals, we put them with students. SOAR (Student Opportunities for Academic Research) provides stipends and support for students in any major who is engaged in scholarly research or creative activity with a faculty member. And since the idea of “scholarship” can take on a seemingly infinite number of forms, this faculty-student research pairing program is designed to be as inclusive as possible. Check out last summer’s SOAR projects, and click here to visit the official SOAR website to find out how researching alongside a faculty can help your education really take off.

2023 SOAR Students

Jean-Pierre Appel ’24

Projects Titles: “Network Reliability Parameters” and “Exploring Toggle Games on Graphs”

Major and Minor: Pure Mathematics with minor in Computer Science

Project Advisor: Nathan Shank, professor of mathematics

Emmanuel Bulted ’26

Project Title: “Synthesis and Characterization of Mixed Carboxylate Ligand Rhodium Complexes”

Major: Chemistry

Project Advisor: Stephen Dunham, associate professor of chemistry and department chair

Liam Fitting ’23

Project Title: “Shades of Living Light: Historic Collections through an Intersectional Feminist Lens”

Major and Minor: Psychology with minor in Studio Art

Project Advisor: Angela Fraleigh, professor of art

Devon Goerlich ’24

Project Title: “Using Reading Circles to Promote Science Self-Identification in First- to Fifth-Grade Girls”

Major and Minor: Psychology with minor in Sociology—Criminal Justice and Law

Project Advisors: Sarah Johnson, associate professor of psychology; Stacey Zaremba, professor of psychology

Courtney Gordon ’24

Project Title: How Did Black Intersect the Blue and Grey? Black History at ɫ��ɫ University

Major and Minor: Nursing with minor in Music

Project Advisor: Belinda Waller-Peterson, associate professor of English and associate dean for equity and inclusion

Dwight Holloway ’23

Project Title: “Food Fights: Feeding Competition between Male Howler Monkeys and Other Group Members Depending on Food Source”

Major: Environmental Science

Project Advisor: Sarah McClelland, assistant professor of biological sciences

Gwen Kester ’24

Project Title: “Cytotoxicity Assays of Various Dirhodium Complexes in Cervical and Breast Cancer Cells”

Major and Minor: Cellular Neurobiology with minor in Chemistry

Project Advisors: Shari Dunham, associate professor of chemistry; Anastasia Thévenin, assistant professor of biology

John Riley ’25

Project Title: “Determining Three-Dimensional Current Distributions in the Earth’s Inner Magnetosphere Using the TS05 Magnetic Field Model and Satellite Measurements”

Major and Minor: Physics with minor in Math

Project Advisor: Keith Wood, assistant professor of physics

Rosina Symia ’23

Project Title: “Parents’ Self-Efficacy and Involvement in Early Intervention for Families of Young Children with Hearing Loss: A Mixed Study Design”

Major: Early Childhood Special Education

Project Advisor: Jean DesJardin, education department chair, associate professor, director of early childhood education, director of early childhood special education

Gianna Tully ’24

Project Title: “Unveiling the Masks of the Women Artists of Second Wave Feminism”

Major and Minor: English with minor in Art History

Project Advisor: Elizabeth Gray, associate professor of English and writing arts