Ten University of Nebraska–Lincoln students have moved from the waitlist and will participate in research with a faculty mentor during the spring semester.
Nebraska’s Undergraduate Creative Activities and Research Experiences Program supports undergraduates to work with faculty mentors in research or creative activities. These 10 students will receive stipends of $1,800 to engage in intensive research or creative activity for 10 hours per week. UCARE student projects span academic disciplines including engineering, chemistry, modern languages and literatures, psychology, art and art history, architecture, special education, and fisheries and wildlife.
Applications for the 2026-27 UCARE program are now open, with a deadline of Feb. 10. Learn more and apply. Husker faculty, postdoctoral researchers, graduate students and staff with a master’s degree or higher are eligible to review UCARE applications starting in early March and can sign up here.
Following is a list of the students newly receiving 2025-26 UCARE awards, with their year in school, academic major(s) and project title.
Nebraska
Blair:
- Ruby Gutzmann, junior, mathematics, data science and computer science (Raikes School), “Optimal Transport-Based Learning in Single-Cell Analysis.”
Lincoln:
- Wyatt Schnase, senior, mechanical engineering, “Developing Hybrid Additive Manufacturing Methods to Produce Polymer-Metal Composites.”
- Jacey Tran, senior, biological sciences, “Role of RNA-Dependent RNA Polymerase Genes RDR3a, RDR3b and RDR3c in Antiviral Defense and Plant Development.”
Omaha:
- Makenna Anderson, senior, fisheries and wildlife, and grassland systems, "How do Different Management Regimes Influence Avian Community Structure at Spring Creek Prairie?”
- Nathan Nienaber, senior, veterinary science and pre-veterinary medicine, “How Dogs Respond to Human Stress Odor.”
- Arjun Rishi, senior, biochemistry, “Investigating pH Effects on ss-DNA Single Walled Carbon Nanotube Sensors for Intracellular Detection.”
- Callan Schroder, senior, microbiology, “Characterization of Hyaluronan/Hyaluronic Acid Binding With the Rat Hyaluronic Acid Receptor for Endocytosis.”
Papillion:
- Brandon Blodgett, sophomore, electrical engineering, “Investigating the Growth Dynamics of van der Waals Magnets CrCl and Its Impact on Magnetic Tunnel Junction Performance.”
Rising City:
- Caroline Slama, junior, biological systems engineering, “In Vitro Study of Chemotherapy-Induced Senescence in Lymphatic Endothelial Cells: Implications for Regeneration and Lymphedema.”
ELSEWHERE IN THE U.S.:
New York, New York:
- Kiera Chan, junior, data science and mathematics, “A Novel Feature Engineering Approach for Enhanced Accuracy and Interpretability in Image Classification: Application to Handwritten Digits.”
