{"id":58135,"date":"2018-04-12T15:11:29","date_gmt":"2018-04-12T20:11:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/uwm.edu\/news\/?p=58135"},"modified":"2018-08-09T14:32:21","modified_gmt":"2018-08-09T19:32:21","slug":"uwm-student-researcher-heads-to-d-c","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/uwm.edu\/news\/uwm-student-researcher-heads-to-d-c\/","title":{"rendered":"51ÁÔÆæ student researcher heads to D.C."},"content":{"rendered":"

A University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee student is one of 60 undergraduate researchers from across the country who have been invited to Washington, D.C., for the annual Posters on the Hill<\/a>\u00a0event April 17 and 18.<\/p>\n

Kirill Shmilovich is a senior majoring in mathematics and physics with a minor in chemistry. He is the first undergraduate researcher from the university to be invited to the national event, which gives students a chance to talk to legislators about their work. More than 400 student researchers applied for the event, sponsored by the national organization the Council on Undergraduate Research<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"A
Kirill Shmilovich has been working in the lab of Ionel Popa, assistant professor of physics at 51ÁÔÆæ, helping create the tools to study proteins. (51ÁÔÆæ Photo\/Pete Amland)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

51ÁÔÆæ\u2019s undergraduate research program is celebrating its 10th\u00a0<\/sup>anniversary, and has given thousands of students like Shmilovich the opportunity to do hands-on research, working with faculty mentors, said Nigel Rothfels, director of the university\u2019s Office of Undergraduate Research.<\/p>\n

\u201cBecause our campus is committed to both promoting research excellence and student success, it is natural that we have a vibrant culture of undergraduate research at 51ÁÔÆæ,\u201d Rothfels said. \u201cOur faculty have worked hard to bring the campus to the R-1 level and want our undergraduates to be collaborators in their research.\u201d (The R-1 designation recognizes 51ÁÔÆæ as one of the nation\u2019s top 115 research universities.)<\/p>\n

Shmilovich, who was one of five 51ÁÔÆæ students to win a Senior Excellence in Research Award this year, works with Ionel Popa, assistant professor of physics, studying how protein hydrogels respond to force.<\/p>\n

Shmilovich\u2019s help hasbeen vital in helping develop mathematical models and to establish the instrumentation needed to study the protein hydrogels, said Popa.<\/p>\n

Working with Popa in the Laboratory for Advanced Biopolymers and Nanomechanics of Proteins<\/a>, Shmilovich is investigating the mechanical properties of protein hydrogels from modeling the nanoscale response to force of their constituent proteins. A better understanding of protein hydrogels could help expedite the development of custom-engineered artificial tissues and smart drug delivery systems.<\/p>\n

Shmilovich, who is from Whitefish Bay, has also interned at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and notes on his personal website<\/a> that, for fun, he can solve a Rubik\u2019s Cube in an average of 22 seconds. He started the website, he said, to share his research and ideas with others in down-to-earth terms.<\/p>\n

51ÁÔÆæ\u2019s proximity to home was a factor in choosing the university, said Shmilovich. \u201cI had initially planned to transfer elsewhere eventually, but after getting involved in research I realized all these opportunities available at 51ÁÔÆæ that wouldn\u2019t be available elsewhere because it\u2019s not so easy to get involved in undergraduate research.<\/p>\n

\u201cI chose to stay here because I felt like I could become more involved in research and have a larger impact in my undergraduate career, opportunities I would otherwise not have had.\u201d<\/p>\n

In addition to the D.C. presentation, 51ÁÔÆæ\u2019s undergraduate student researchers will be presenting their work at a number of other upcoming events:<\/p>\n