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Office of Research and Sponsored Programs Scholarships

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Supporting student researchers

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1. Kell Container Corporation Scholarship

The Kell Container Corporation Scholarship for Student-Faculty Collaborative Research was created and is endowed through the generosity of Kell Container Corporation of Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin, to offer a premier award for an undergraduate student who is involved in student-faculty research at UW-Eau Claire.

The student awardee receives a $2,800 scholarship, a Summer Research Experience for Undergraduates student stipend and project expense funds. The faculty mentor also receives a summer stipend during the project period (if not already awarded one).

The recipient will be an enrolled undergraduate student with junior or senior standing at UW-Eau Claire during the award period. The recipient will have conducted outstanding collaborative research or demonstrated the potential for outstanding undergraduate research. Students from all disciplines may apply.

Maddie Mueller

Maddie Mueller was the recipient of the 2024-25 Kell Corporation Scholarship for her work entitled “Linking Human Activity to Behavioral and Stress Reactivity in Social Mammals” alongside Dr. Jennifer Smith. This research collaboration seeks to understand the impact of human disturbance on wildlife and what behaviors are correlated with increased human tolerance.

Janeè Schrader

Janeè Schrader was the recipient of the 2023-24 Kell Corporation Scholarship for her work entitled “A Combinatorial Approach to Constructing 3-Manifolds” alongside Dr. Carolyn Otto. Her research aimed to classify families of manifolds based on their unique characteristics. The research explored different combinatoric methodologies, including permutations, graph theory, and discrete geometry in order to create distinct properties and dimensions.

2. James R. Larson + Vicki Lord Larson Undergraduate Research Fellowship

The James R. Larson and Vicki Lord Larson Undergraduate Research Fellowships were created and endowed through the generosity of Vicki Lord Larson, UW-Eau Claire Chancellor Emerita. A scholar herself, Dr. Larson's goal is to support student researchers and their faculty mentors through these awards.

The student awardee receives a $2,500 scholarship, a Summer Research Experience for Undergraduates student stipend and project expense funds. The faculty mentor also receives a summer stipend during the project period (if not already awarded one).

The recipient will be an enrolled undergraduate student with junior or senior standing at UW-Eau Claire during the award period. The recipient will have conducted outstanding collaborative research or demonstrated the potential for outstanding undergraduate research. Students from all disciplines may apply. A secondary goal of the donor is to expand the disciplinary background of those receiving research awards. Therefore, the five awards will be made to one science/math student and one non-science student in the College of Arts and Sciences, and one student in each of the other three colleges.

Alexander Jensen

Alexander Jensen was the recipient of the 2024-25 James R. Larson and Vicki Lord Larson College of Arts and Sciences: Non-STEM fellowship for his research “Exploratory Analysis of Sexual Assault Wrongful Convictions” with his mentor Dr. Mia Kelly. His research uses data from the National Registry of Exonerations (NRE) to examine intersections of race and wrongful convictions of sexual assault. Contributing factors include the way race impacts narratives as well as the relationship between the victim and offender.

Luke Plagens

Luke Plagens was the recipient of the 2024-25 James R. Larson and Vicki Lord Larson College of Business fellowship for their research entitled “In Search of Authentic Corporate Dress: A Multimodal Analysis of Goldman Sachs’ Corporate Image Construction on Instagram.” Working alongside Dr. Jane Strong, their study explores how the Goldman Sachs company uses clothing to shape its corporate identity through an analysis of its Instagram posts. The decision came in 2019 to move away from traditional business attire, favoring a more relaxed office environment.

Madi Berndt

Madi Berndt was the recipient of the 2024-25 James R. Larson and Vicki Lord Larson College of Education and Human Sciences fellowship for her research entitled “Supporting Science-Based Reading Instruction in the Home” alongside her mentor Dr. Angela Jones. Working with the L.E. Philips Memorial Library in Eau Claire, the goal of this research is to pinpoint reading strategies to help develop a workshop for caregivers in the community to aid in developing the reading skills of children ages three to six.

Marty Williams

Marty Williams was the recipient of the 2024-25 James R. Larson and Vicki Lord Larson College of Nursing fellowship for his work entitled “Breast Cancer Screening: Awareness, Attitudes, and Barriers in a Midwest Campus” alongside Dr. Dalete Mota. Utilizing survey data, his research aims to analyze awareness and barriers related to breast cancer screenings and self-examinations in the context of the UWEC campus amidst the rise of breast cancer cases globally.

Paige Keller

Paige Keller was the recipient of the 2024-25 James R. Larson and Vicki Lord Larson College of Arts and Sciences: STEM fellowship for her research “Using Deep Learning for Analysis of Methylation Markers Associated with Pancreatic Cancer” with faculty mentor Dr. Rahul Gomes. Her research is making strides to aid in the early detection of pancreatic cancer, a type of cancer that remains asymptomatic in the initial stages. This research combines analysis of DNA methylation and RNA sequencing to create a learning model that can classify cancerous data.

3. Outstanding Undergraduate Research Project Award

This scholarship was created and is endowed through the generosity of Marilyn Ohm-Smith.

The student awardee receives a $2,500 scholarship, a Summer Research Experience for Undergraduates student stipend and project expense funds. The faculty mentor also receives a summer stipend during the project period (if not already awarded one).

The recipient will be an enrolled undergraduate student with junior or senior standing at UW-Eau Claire during the award period. The recipient will have conducted outstanding collaborative research or demonstrated the potential for outstanding undergraduate research. Only open to students majoring in chemistry, biology, or nursing.

Rachel Horejsi

Rachel Horejsi was awarded the 2024-25 Outstanding Undergraduate Research Project Award for her research entitled “The Necessity and Sufficiency of the Snail Peptide P12 in Host-Seeking by Schistosome Miracidia” with faculty mentor Dr. Nicolas Wheeler. Her research is making efforts to identify a molecular pathway that parasitic flatworms called schistosomes use to find compatible snail hosts essential to their life cycle. Schistosomes infect hundreds of millions of people globally every year and this research could help reveal critical moments in the parasite life cycle to help eliminate their spread.

Jenna Trzebiatowski

Jenna Trzebiatowski was awarded the 2023-24 Outstanding Undergraduate Research Project Award for her research entitled “Molecular Spectroscopy and Organic Synthesis Collaboration” alongside faculty mentors Dr. Stephen Drucker and Dr. Jennifer Dahl. Jenna explored the synthesis of an organometallic-mediated α-pyrone, which enabled the Drucker research team to examine the distinct responses of γ-pyrone and g-pyrone molecules to photoexcitation. This strategy also facilitated the testing of computational bonding models and the investigation of unexpected outcomes from previous research.

Application Deadline for all ORSP Scholarships: February 10.

*If the deadline falls on a weekend or holiday, the due date will be extended to the following Monday.

Application Process for all ORSP Student Scholarships

The scholarship application is integrated into the Summer Research Experience for Undergraduates eform (since each scholarship comes with an SREU). In addition to the materials needed for the Summer Research Experience for Undergraduates application, scholarship applicants will also need to submit:

Student statement of the impact or expected impact of their undergraduate research experiences (max. 3 double-spaced pages)
Student resume, including expected date of graduation
Faculty mentor letter of recommendation

Faculty mentors are strongly encouraged to mentor students in preparing these materials. For students, the Center for Writing Excellence can help at any stage of the writing process, from brainstorming and outlining to organizing arguments and polishing claims.

Apply Here

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