Category: SRS Round 2 (January 2026)

CLOSED: Developing safer therapeutics (Sarah Kim)

On campus: this project is scheduled to begin on 6/08/2026 and run for 8 weeks, finishing on 7/31/2026.

Project Description

The goal of the Kim lab is to prolong patient survival and decrease risks associated with cancer treatment by developing safer and more effective chemotherapeutics. We have two projects underway, both of which are available to summer students: Project 1: Pediatric brain tumors. For adult patients with cancer, chemotherapeutics can cause undesirable side effects such as hair loss, nausea, and vomiting. However, when chemotherapeutics are given to children, the side-effects can be more severe. Children may experience lifelong hearing loss, vision loss, or learning disabilities. SRS students will learn about current challenges and promising new therapies for pediatric brain tumors. In the lab, students will formulate chemotherapeutics that are targeted to tumor cells. This project is done in collaboration with a physician at Duke University. Project 2: Medication allergies. You may remember that after we received our COVID vaccines, we were asked to wait 15 minutes before leaving. This was due to the possibility that the vaccine could cause life-threatening allergic reactions requiring hospitalization. Which component of the vaccine could be the culprit of these severe allergic reactions? One leading candidate is a synthetic material called polyethylene glycol (PEG). PEG is derived from petroleum. Unsurprisingly, some people’s bodies identify PEG as an unnatural toxin. Consequently, their immune system launches a severe allergic reaction in response to PEG. Unfortunately, several chemotherapeutics are made with PEG, which could induce allergic responses in cancer patients. SRS students will develop safer, natural alternatives to PEG based on elastin, a protein that is found in our bodies.

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Prerequisites

Fundamentals of Biology (BIOL 111), General Chemistry (CHEM 110), and Introduction to Undergraduate Research in Nanomedicine (CHEM 401, by invitation only) by spring.

Special Comments

Students will be required to take CHEM 401 in the winter term. A meeting with Dr. Kim is required for consideration for the position.

Project Information (subject to change)

Estimated Start Date: 6/08/2026

Estimated End Date: 7/31/2026

Estimated Project Duration: 8 weeks

Maximum Number of Students Sought: 4

Research Location: On campus

Travel Required? No (If “yes”: )

Contact Information: Sarah Kim (email: skim2@wlu.edu)

CLOSED: Building an automated polarized light microscope for rock crystallographic texture analysis (Mengying Liu)

On campus: this project is scheduled to begin on 6/01/2026 and run for 9 weeks, finishing on 7/31/2026.

Project Description

This project aims to build a customized polarized light microscope system for automated rock texture analysis, advancing beyond traditional methods that are either labor-intensive (U-stage microscopy) or time-consuming (EBSD). Building on our preliminary findings that crystal optical axis orientation can be determined through intensity variations under polarized reflective light during 360-degree rotation, students will develop a fully integrated measurement system. The research objectives include designing and fabricating an automated sample stage with precise tilt and rotation control, design and implementing accurate automated positioning mechanisms for polarizer, analyzer and light source components, as well as developing the control electronics and software interface. Students will engage in hands-on engineering through mechanical design using CAD software, circuit design for stepper motor control and sensor integration, optical system alignment and calibration, and programming automated measurement sequences. Students will work from component selection through system integration and validation testing. The successful development of this automated microscope could transform geological texture analysis, reducing measurement time from days to minutes while maintaining spatial resolution advantages over current methods.

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Prerequisites

Preferred but not required: Experience with machine design or circuits design, or experience with MATLAB or Python

Special Comments

Student will have the opportunity to start research as early as winter or spring.

Project Information (subject to change)

Estimated Start Date: 6/01/2026

Estimated End Date: 7/31/2026

Estimated Project Duration: 9 weeks

Maximum Number of Students Sought: 3

Research Location: On campus

Travel Required? No (If “yes”: )

Contact Information: Mengying Liu (email: mliu@wlu.edu)

Critical mineral extraction paired with acid mine drainage bioremediation (Margaret Anne Hinkle)

Hybrid: this project is scheduled to begin on 6/22/2026 and run for 8 weeks, finishing on 8/14/2026.

Project Description

The research for 2026 will be focused on our collaborative NSF grant with University of Pittsburgh and Hedin Environmental. Rare earth elements, also known as “critical minerals” are those we need for the upcoming energy transition as we move away from carbon-based energy to renewables. You may have heard of a lot of interest in deep sea ocean nodule mining for these REEs – and of the unknown impact that may have on that important ecosystem. These deep sea ocean nodules bind REEs because they are comprised of Mn oxides, known as “the scavengers of the sea.” As it turns out, acid mine drainage contains a lot of rare earth elements, and a by product of acid mine drainage remediation is the precipitation of manganese oxides thanks to the help of manganese oxidizing fungi. We are investigating whether we can take these Mn oxide mineral byproducts of AMD remediation and put them upstream where the water has high concentrations of REEs and extract these REEs in economically viable amounts. We are pairing these field experiments with lab-based experiments, growing the same fungi in our lab that are responsible for manganese oxide biomineralization, and reacting them with REEs to see a) how much of the REEs are removed from solution and b) how? Are they binding to the Mn oxides or to the fungal biomass? The work this summer will better our understanding of whether remediating REEs and Mn from AMD in this way can address the need for domestic sources of critical minerals by enhancing reclamation from AMD discharges rather than creating additional environmental degradation by mining REE ores or seafloor dredging of deep-sea nodules, ideally providing economic incentive for the treatment of AMD-impacted waters, resulting in cleaner, more ecologically diverse streams and rivers.

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Prerequisites

None

Special Comments

Project Information (subject to change)

Estimated Start Date: 6/22/2026

Estimated End Date: 8/14/2026

Estimated Project Duration: 8 weeks

Maximum Number of Students Sought: 5

Research Location: Hybrid

Travel Required? Yes (If “yes”: Pittsburgh, PA to acid mine drainage field sites, toward the end of the summer. )

Contact Information: Margaret Anne Hinkle (email: hinklem@wlu.edu)

CLOSED: Scouting for Sierpiński and rummaging for Riesel (Carrie Finch-Smith)

On campus: this project is scheduled to begin on 6/08/2026 and run for 8 weeks, finishing on 7/31/2026.

Project Description

My favorite number is 509203; it’s the smallest known Riesel number. Riesel numbers are found in many other integer sequences, such as the Fibonacci numbers, the sequence of triangular numbers, the set of Ruth-Aaron pairs, and many others… My research group looks for new results in the intersection of interesting integer sequences and the set of Riesel numbers and Sierpiński numbers.

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Prerequisites

Successful applicants must know how to add, subtract, and mutiply, and more importantly, they must be curious, persistant, and willing to fail over and over again!

Special Comments

Project Information (subject to change)

Estimated Start Date: 6/08/2026

Estimated End Date: 7/31/2026

Estimated Project Duration: 8 weeks

Maximum Number of Students Sought: 6

Research Location: On campus

Travel Required? No (If “yes”: )

Contact Information: Carrie Finch-Smith (email: finchc@wlu.edu)

CLOSED: Virginia Terroir and Wine Chemistry (Connell Cunningham)

On campus: this project is scheduled to begin on 6/08/2026 and run for 8 weeks, finishing on 7/31/2026.

Project Description

This project explores how Virginia’s unique terroir, including its climate, soils, and vineyard practices, shapes the chemical composition of regional wines. Students will analyze key components such as sugars, organic acids, tannins, phenolics, and aroma-active compounds using Gas Chromatography Mass Spectrometry (GCMS), Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) spectroscopy, and various wet-chemical methods. Students will gain hands-on experience with sample preparation, derivatization, quantitative analysis, and the interpretation of real analytical data. The work connects directly to questions faced by local vineyards and contributes to a growing scientific understanding of Virginia wine chemistry.

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Prerequisites

Organic Chemistry I (CHEM 241) is preferred but not required.

Special Comments

Students should expect to work alongside the Cunningham research group during the Winter Term.

Project Information (subject to change)

Estimated Start Date: 6/08/2026

Estimated End Date: 7/31/2026

Estimated Project Duration: 8 weeks

Maximum Number of Students Sought: 3

Research Location: On campus

Travel Required? No (If “yes”: )

Contact Information: Connell Cunningham (email: ccunningham@wlu.edu)