{"id":88345,"date":"2021-02-02T08:21:48","date_gmt":"2021-02-02T14:21:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/uwm.edu\/news\/?p=88345"},"modified":"2023-05-10T15:43:43","modified_gmt":"2023-05-10T20:43:43","slug":"a-look-at-uwms-award-winning-undergraduate-researchers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/uwm.edu\/news\/a-look-at-uwms-award-winning-undergraduate-researchers\/","title":{"rendered":"A look at 51ÁÔÆæ\u2019s award-winning undergraduate researchers"},"content":{"rendered":"
51ÁÔÆæ\u2019s award winning undergraduate research program encourages and highlights the work of students all over campus.<\/p>\n
Every year a number of these researchers are chosen to receive the Senior Excellence in Research Award (SERA). Here are summaries of the accomplishments of the 2020-21 award winners.<\/p>\n
Jocelyn Jarvis, psychology<\/h3>\n
Jocelyn Jarvis, a psychology major, works with her mentor, Professor Krista Lisdahl, in the Brain Imaging and Neuropsychology laboratory, studying how such factors as socioeconomic status and gender identity affect adolescent brain development. She is part of the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development Study, a consortium that is the largest long-term study of brain development and child health in the U.S.<\/p>\nJocelyn Jarvis<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
Jarvis, who grew up in Sussex, became interested in psychology, particularly child psychology, while volunteering at a homeless shelter in Walker\u2019s Point.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve always been interested in working with kids. I saw how much work the counselors there were doing and how helpful it was.\u201d<\/p>\n
In addition to psychology, Jarvis is also majoring in philosophy and working toward a certificate in quantitative social data analysis.<\/p>\nKrista Lisdahl<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
51ÁÔÆæ\u2019s status as an R1 research university and the opportunity to do undergraduate research were among the factors that attracted her to 51ÁÔÆæ, she said.<\/p>\n
In addition to Lisdahl\u2019s lab, she has also worked in the Child Stress and Coping Laboratory and the Adult Neuropsychology Laboratory, getting perspectives on different areas of psychological research.<\/p>\n
\u201cResearch writing is a definitely a skill I didn\u2019t have before,\u201d Jarvis said. \u201cI learned how to convey research in an approachable way so that anyone in the general public would understand the research I am conducting.”<\/p>\n
Ismael Coello Ramirez in studying ways to improve the chemical process used to make plastics commonly used in water bottles and baby toys.<\/p>\nIsmael Coello Ramirez<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
That material, polyethylene, is made at high temperatures in stainless steel tubes, but after a while buildups can accumulate inside the tubes and contribute to process inefficiencies.<\/p>\n
Ramirez is working with his mentor, Associate Professor Benjamin Church, to research ways to prevent the buildup using a different type of steel and also cleaning the tubes more efficiently.<\/p>\n
\u201cCleaning out the tubes takes a lot of money and time away from making the polyethylene,\u201d Ramirez said. He and Church are comparing how the new methods they are researching compare with previous methods.<\/p>\nBenjamin Church<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
Ramirez, who was born in Mexico and came to the U.S. with his family at age 6, is a DACA (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals) student. He will be the first in his family to graduate from college.<\/p>\n
His high school chemistry teacher in his hometown of Delavan helped him develop an interest in science.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe teacher helped us connect the chemistry to what was happening in the world,\u201d he said. Although he decided chemistry itself was too theoretical, he liked the idea of combining it with materials engineering. \u201cMaterials engineering is where theory and actual use come together.\u201d<\/p>\n
He was attracted to 51ÁÔÆæ both for the materials engineering program, its R1 research status and its diversity. \u201cIt was very friendly and welcoming. I really like that about 51ÁÔÆæ \u2013 I felt there were people here who could understand me and my culture.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ramirez credits Church and graduate assistant Lizeth Ortiz in encouraging him in his research. \u201cThey have showed me the nooks and crannies of research, how to organize files and write.\u201d<\/p>\n
Anna Kaminski, atmospheric science<\/h3>\n
Anna Kaminski\u2019s interest in the science of weather started in her fifth-grade earth sciences class. In high school, she discovered that interest, along her with abilities in mathematics, might be a good fit for an atmospheric sciences major.<\/p>\nAnna Kaminski<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
She started doing research her first summer at 51ÁÔÆæ, working with her mentor Clark Evans, associate professor of atmospheric science, \u00a0as well as professors in New Hampshire and New York. Her research looks at \u201catmospheric rivers,\u201d which are corridors of water vapor that produce bouts of precipitation along their path. She is lead author on an article about that work, which is soon to be submitted to a research journal for publication.<\/p>\nClark Evans<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
Kaminski has explored various options for a career in the field. Working in broadcasting or as a weather forecaster is one possibility. She job shadowed weather forecasters at a couple local TV stations, but research is her main interest, she said.<\/p>\n
Evans, her mentor, has encouraged her all through her time at 51ÁÔÆæ. \u201cHe\u2019s just a very good and organized advisor. He\u2019s allowed me to get out of my comfort zone and apply for different internships. He\u2019s helped me make this the best experience I could have had.\u201d<\/p>\n
Louis Chapman, civil engineering<\/h3>\n
Filtering ammonia and other materials out of Lake Michigan and other bodies of water is an increasing concern.<\/p>\nLouis Chapman<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\u201cThere are serious areas of concern, including a big stretch of the lakefront in Milwaukee,\u201d said Louis Chapman.<\/p>\n
Chapman, a senior in civil engineering, is working with Marcia Silva, an adjunct professor of civil engineering and assistant scientist in the School of Freshwater Sciences, \u00a0to develop porous, inexpensive materials that can be used to filter these substances out of the water.<\/p>\n
A Milwaukee native, he graduated from high school in 2014 and started courses at UW-Madison, but then decided to take a few years off.\u00a0 He developed an interest in water technology while working in the water industry, and decided to return to school at 51ÁÔÆæ because it was local and had programs related to freshwater research.<\/p>\nMarcia Silva<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\u201cI wanted to be an engineer for a long time, Chapman said. \u201cMy dad was an engineer, so that was an influence.\u201d He chose civil engineering because he was interested in the physical sciences. \u201cI liked the idea of working on your design outside and in the real world.\u201d<\/p>\n
At 51ÁÔÆæ, he is part of the Engineers for Sustainable Design and Culture organization.<\/p>\n
A student internship at the Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewage District, funded through the Milwaukee Area Workforce Investment Board, inspired his interest in water research.<\/p>\n
Paul Newcomb, ethnic studies<\/h3>\n
When he took history classes in high school, Paul Newcomb always found himself wanting to know the rest of the story. The closest he came to really delving into history was an Advanced Placement history course that had a small unit about the role the U.S. played in overthrowing the queen of Hawaii and the legacy of imperialism. \u201cThat\u2019s what I wanted to know.\u201d<\/p>\nPaul Newcomb<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
At 51ÁÔÆæ, Newcomb is majoring in ethnic studies with minors in African and African Diaspora studies and history.<\/p>\n
His undergraduate research with mentor Rachel Ida Buff, professor of history, has taken him into high school classrooms, immigrant rights organizations and archives.<\/p>\n
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