2026 Summer Undergraduate Research Program (SURP) Symposium

The Summer Undergraduate Research Program (SURP) is a competitive program of the College of Humanities, Arts and Sciences STEM departments – Biology, Chemistry & Biochemistry, Computer Science, Earth & Environmental Sciences, Technology, and Physics. SURP allows undergraduate students to develop their research and problem solving skills over a 10-week period. Each student works closely with a faculty mentor and is compensated for their research work. The annual SURP Symposium provides a venue for the student/faculty teams to present their projects in poster form.

The 2026 SURP Symposium will be held on July 31, 2026. To view the collection of past SURP Symposium programs, click here.

Schedule
Friday, July 31st
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2026
11:00 AM	Analyzing the Effect of Physical and Chemical Properties on Spectral Absorption of Hemoglobin Anna N. Gregorsok, University of Northern Iowa Carl L. Thurman, University of Northern Iowa Open Access Poster Presentation Schindler Education Center, University of Northern Iowa 11:00 AM - 1:30 PM
11:00 AM	Biological Application of Strain Promoted Alkyne Azide Cycloaddition Reactions Taryn J. Rice, University of Northern Iowa Daniel Lee, University of Northern Iowa Justin Peters, University of Northern Iowa Poster Presentation (UNI Access Only) Schindler Education Center, University of Northern Iowa 11:00 AM - 1:30 PM
11:00 AM	Bird Habitat Selection in a Mosaic Restoration Sykora Smith, University of Northern Iowa Claire Newton, University of Northern Iowa Myah Sierens, University of Northern Iowa Mark C. Myers, University of Northern Iowa Open Access Poster Presentation Schindler Education Center, University of Northern Iowa 11:00 AM - 1:30 PM
11:00 AM	Comparison of Passive Acoustic Monitoring and Visual Surveys on Birds at Irvine Prairie Claire Newton, University of Northern Iowa Sykora Smith, University of Northern Iowa Myah Sierens, University of Northern Iowa Mark Myers, University of Northern Iowa Open Access Poster Presentation Schindler Education Center, University of Northern Iowa 11:00 AM - 1:30 PM
11:00 AM	Compositional Shifts of Sown and Unsown Flowering Species in CP-42 Habitats Greyson Brandt, University of Northern Iowa Alayna Whitson, University of Northern Iowa Grant Van Nieuwenhuyzen, University of Northern Iowa Ai Wen, University of Northern Iowa Open Access Poster Presentation Schindler Education Center, University of Northern Iowa 11:00 AM - 1:30 PM
11:00 AM	Deposition of Transition Metals on WS₂ and WSe₂ Marcus Schriever, University of Northern Iowa Denis Dabaev, University of Northern Iowa Audrey Hager, University of Northern Iowa Ryan Peck, University of Northern Iowa Paul Shand, University of Northern Iowa Andrew Stollenwerk, University of Northern Iowa Pavel Lukashev, University of Northern Iowa Open Access Poster Presentation Schindler Education Center, University of Northern Iowa 11:00 AM - 1:30 PM
11:00 AM	Development of A Speleological Synthetic Calcite Crystal Library with Organic Inclusions Aika Curiel, University of Northern Iowa Jarrin Robinson, University of Northern Iowa Joshua Sebree, University of Northern Iowa Poster Presentation (UNI Access Only) Schindler Education Center, University of Northern Iowa 11:00 AM - 1:30 PM
11:00 AM	Drama Programming Techniques and Inclusive Practices for School-Aged Children Corley Jewell, University of Northern Iowa Jennifer Garrett, University of Northern Iowa Poster Presentation (UNI Access Only) Schindler Education Center, University of Northern Iowa 11:00 AM - 1:30 PM
11:00 AM	Environmental Sensing with Wi-Fi Probe Requests on Robotic Platforms for Disaster Recovery Applications Lauren Smith, University of Northern Iowa Dheryta Jaisinghani, University of Northern Iowa Open Access Poster Presentation Schindler Education Center, University of Northern Iowa 11:00 AM - 1:30 PM
11:00 AM	Evaluating Floral Species Richness as a Predictor for Pollinator Diversity Across CRP Sites Alayna Whitson, University of Northern Iowa Ai Wen, University of Northern Iowa Kenneth Elgersma, University of Northern Iowa Morgan Sullivan, University of Northern Iowa Greyson Brandt, University of Northern Iowa Grant Van Nieuwenhuyzen, University of Northern Iowa Open Access Poster Presentation Schindler Education Center, University of Northern Iowa 11:00 AM - 1:30 PM
11:00 AM	Extracting Properties from 2D Cellular Images via Image Processing Techniques Mason Li, Cedar Falls High School Logan Witzenburg, University of Northern Iowa Ryan Peck, University of Nothern Iowa Hamoon Nouri, Iowa State University Nigel Reuel, Iowa State University Ali Tabei, University of Northern Iowa Poster Presentation (UNI Access Only) Schindler Education Center, University of Northern Iowa 11:00 AM - 1:30 PM
11:00 AM	Identifying Alternative Conceptions of Mass Extinctions in Undergraduate Students Xander J. Porath, University of Northern Iowa Kyle R. Gray, University of Northern Iowa Open Access Poster Presentation Schindler Education Center, University of Northern Iowa 11:00 AM - 1:30 PM
11:00 AM	Investigating Science Education Research Experiences for Preservice Teachers: What Do In-Service Teachers Say About Their Preservice Research Experiences? Diva Dodiya, Washington University Kadence Wigant, University of Northern Iowa Jesse Wilcox, University of Northern Iowa Kiran Willis, University of Northern Iowa Meghana Kota, University of Northern Iowa Jerrid Kruse, Drake University Open Access Poster Presentation Schindler Education Center, University of Northern Iowa 11:00 AM - 1:30 PM
11:00 AM	Investigating the Hydrological Factors that Impact Water Quality Within the Dry Run Creek Watershed Grace Mernone, University of Northern Iowa Emma Sherwood, University of Northern Iowa Mohammad Iqbal, University of Northern Iowa Poster Presentation (UNI Access Only) Schindler Education Center, University of Northern Iowa 11:00 AM - 1:30 PM
11:00 AM	Long-Term Changes in Ground-Level Ozone and Nitrogen Dioxide Blake Bixby, University of Northern Iowa Kevin Du, Cedar Falls High School Noah Teske, University of Northern Iowa Open Access Poster Presentation Schindler Education Center, University of Northern Iowa 11:00 AM - 1:30 PM
11:00 AM	Magnetic Coercivity and Exchange Bias of Mn2FeSn Heusler Alloy Emrah Ahmetasevic, University of Northern Iowa Phat N. Nguyen, University of Northern Iowa Pavel Lukashev, University of Northern Iowa Mohd Anas, South Dakota State University Parashu Kharel, South Dakota State University Paul M. Shand, University of Northern Iowa Poster Presentation (UNI Access Only) Schindler Education Center, University of Northern Iowa 11:00 AM - 1:30 PM
11:00 AM	Morphological Variation of Feeding Setae on the Second Maxilliped of 23 Atlantic Fiddler Crab Species Jaxx R. Lovell, University of Northern Iowa Carl L. Thurman, University of Northern Iowa Nathan C. Bird, University of Northern Iowa Poster Presentation (UNI Access Only) Schindler Education Center, University of Northern Iowa 11:00 AM - 1:30 PM
11:00 AM	Nanocellulose Production and its Modification with Silver Trey T. Druvenga, University of Northern Iowa Colin L. Weeks, University of Northern Iowa Presentation (UNI Access Only) Schindler Education Center, University of Northern Iowa 11:00 AM - 1:30 PM
11:00 AM	Prefrontal Cortex Activation During Vocal Pitch Perturbation: Effects of Lung Volume Measured with fNIRS Ashlyn Yu, University of Northern Iowa Terence Moriarty, University of Northern Iowa Todd A. Bohnenkamp, University of Northern Iowa Open Access Poster Presentation Schindler Education Center, University of Northern Iowa 11:00 AM - 1:30 PM
11:00 AM	Revised Restriction-site Associated DNA Sequencing Protocol and Bioinformatic Analysis Halle Hoefing, University of Northern Iowa Michael Mellett, University of Northern Iowa Ai Wen, University of Northern Iowa Open Access Poster Presentation Schindler Education Center, University of Northern Iowa 11:00 AM - 1:30 PM
11:00 AM	Science Teacher Retention: Comparing the Reasons Why Effective and Less Effective Science Teachers Stay Aila Anderson, University of Northern Iowa Meghana Kota, University of Northern Iowa Ava Johnson, University of Northern Iowa Jesse Wilcox, University of Northern Iowa Kiran Willis, University of Northern Iowa Kadence Wigant, University of Northern Iowa Diva Dodiya, Washington University in St. Louis Open Access Poster Presentation Schindler Education Center, University of Northern Iowa 11:00 AM - 1:30 PM
11:00 AM	Seasonal Morphological Growth Patterns of Cattail Taxa (Typha spp.) Grant P. Van Nieuwenhuyzen, University of Northern Iowa Greyson A. Brandt, University of Northern Iowa Alayna G. Whitson, University of Northern Iowa Kenneth J. Elgersma, University of Northern Iowa Open Access Poster Presentation Schindler Education Center, University of Northern Iowa 11:00 AM - 1:30 PM
11:00 AM	Spectroscopic Characteristics of Synthetic Calcite Crystals after Water Leaching Jarrin Robinson, University of Northern Iowa Aika Curiel, University of Northern Iowa Joshua Sebree, University of Northern Iowa Poster Presentation (UNI Access Only) Schindler Education Center, University of Northern Iowa 11:00 AM - 1:30 PM
11:00 AM	Stochastic Modeling of Mutant RAD51 Oligomerization: Parameter Estimation from Mass Photometry and FRET Data Clare Wright, University of Northern Iowa Addison Cunningham, University of Northern Iowa Logan Witzenburg, University of Northern Iowa Maria Spies, University of Northern Iowa Ali Tabei, University of Northern Iowa Presentation (UNI Access Only) Schindler Education Center, University of Northern Iowa 11:00 AM - 1:30 PM
11:00 AM	Super Molecular Crystallization to Create Non-Traditional Intrinsic Luminescence Sharon R. P. Ling, University of Northern Iowa Joshua Sebree, University of Northern Iowa Poster Presentation (UNI Access Only) Schindler Education Center, University of Northern Iowa 11:00 AM - 1:30 PM
11:00 AM	The App: A Self-Efficacy-Driven Platform for Empowering Student Success Danielle Jones, University of Northern Iowa Kate Wilken, University of Northern Iowa Open Access Poster Presentation Schindler Education Center, University of Northern Iowa 11:00 AM - 1:30 PM
11:00 AM	The Effects of A-tracts and Netropsin on DNA Shape and Structure Cole Hampton, University of Northern Iowa Justin Peters, University of Northern Iowa Open Access Poster Presentation Schindler Education Center, University of Northern Iowa 11:00 AM - 1:30 PM
11:00 AM	The Effects of Correlation on Surface Growth of Granular Material in 1+1-Dimensions Jope Krohn, University of Northern Iowa Maniya Maleki, University of Northern Iowa Poster Presentation (UNI Access Only) Schindler Education Center, University of Northern Iowa 11:00 AM - 1:30 PM
11:00 AM	Tooth Brushing Technique Detection With Deep Learning on the Edge Anthony Teal, University of Northern Iowa Dheryta Jaisinghani, University of Northern Iowa Open Access Poster Presentation Schindler Education Center, University of Northern Iowa 11:00 AM - 1:30 PM

2026 Summer Undergraduate Research Program (SURP) Symposium

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