Undergraduate Research

Undergraduate Research
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Summer Grants

Our Summer Undergraduate Research Experience (SURE) grant supports faculty-mentored undergraduate student projects during an 8-week summer period.

 

Funding

Supplemental Rising Sophomore Award

Most SURE applicants are advanced students (ex, rising seniors). Therefore, if funding permits, we will offer the Rising Sophomore Award to a rising sophomore (someone in between first and second years) who works on the project with the faculty mentor and the upperclass SURE student. This award provides up to $3,700 stipend (hourly rate) for 300 hours of work, and an additional $300 stipend to the mentor. The award is not a stand-alone award; it must be associated with a funded SURE project. See the application below for details and expectations.

We hope that an early opportunity like this will develop into a fruitful long-term collaboration with the faculty mentor or prepare the student for later grant opportunities.

 

Eligibility

These competitive grants are open to all undergraduate students and their full-time faculty mentors. 

Projects must satisfy these core criteria are:

  • Through one-on-one training from the faculty expert, the project extends the student’s learning and professional development beyond what is possible in the classroom.
  • Projects are also intensive, taking the 8-week summer period (or longer) to complete. Mentors should meet regularly each week with their students to discuss progress and problems that arise during the semester.
  • The student is involved at a high level in multiple phases of the project.

Most projects involve only one faculty mentor and one student. But we have occasionally supported larger projects with two faculty mentors and/or two students who split the award.

 

SURE Application Materials

Applications are due by 10am on Monday, March 18, 2024

 

You might find it useful to consult a recent rubric (SURE Proposal Evaluation Sheet) used by the review committee, these AYURE & SURE Application tips, and the samples below. 

*These samples use discontinued proposal forms. None should be viewed as a flawless model to imitate. Rather, they should be viewed as good models for clarity in particular.  

SURE 2023 Award Winners

 

Paula Abruzzo, Psychology with a concentration in Psychobiology, ‘25 

Mentor: Giordana Grossi, Psychology

An Electrophysiological Exploration of Orthographic Precision 

 
Michael Anderson, Mathematics, ‘24 

Mentor: Jaiung Jun, Mathematics

The Linear and Integer Programming and Their Applications 

 

Mireya Anthony, Biology, ‘24 

Mentors: Maureen Morrow, Biology & Pamela St. John, Chemistry 

Characterization of the New Bacterial Species: Bradyrhizobium NP1 

 

Matt Benson, Printmaking, ‘26

Mentor: Aurora De Armendi, Printmaking

Exploration in Lithography; Lo-Shu, Manière Noire, and Creating a Negative Image 

 

Briana Bonilla, Electrical Engineering, ‘25 

Mentor: Kevin Shanley, Engineering 

Diffusing CO2 Through Agilus-30 

 

Vic Bucci, Biology, ‘24 

Mentor: Kara Belinsky, Biology 

Conservation in the Face of Urbanization: What Nest Boxes and Bird Banding Can Tell Us About Ecosystem Health 

 

Jazmyne Daily-Simpson, Graphic Design, ‘25

Mentor: Keely Heuer, Art History

Before the Bauhaus: An Exploration of Branding in Ancient Greek Coinage

 

Mariah Day, Sculpture, ‘24 

Mentor: Michael Asbill, Studio Art/Sculpture 

Community Carbon 

 

Dylan Frawley, Geology, ‘24 

Mentor: Kaustubh Patwardhan, Geology 

Study of the 3D Geomorphology of Magma Mingling Structures Using Digital Image Analysis 

 

James Gordineer, Mechanical Engineering, ‘24 

Mentor: Ping-Chuan Wang, Engineering

Simulation of Degradation in Al(Cu) Interconnect in IC Chip 

 
Ryan Grodin, Chemistry, ‘24 

Mentor: Megan Ferguson, Chemistry

Characterizing Bacterial Predator-Prey Adhesion Using Atomic Force Microscopy 

 

Ezra Heller, Printmaking, ‘24 

Mentor: Aurora De Armendi, Printmaking

Printmaking Inks with Local and Accessibly Foraged Pigments and Colorants as an Educational Practice 

 

Emily Herbert, Physics, ‘24 

Mentor: Cheyne Glass, Mathematics 

A Category-Theoretic Approach to Language Processing 

 

Delaney Long, Biology, Environmental Concentration, ‘24 

Mentor: David Richardson, Biology

Understanding the Largest Daily Migration: Zooplankton Daily Migration in Mohonk Lake 

 

Claire O’Connor, Physics & Astronomy, ‘23

Mentor: Eric Myers, Physics & Astronomy

Investigating Gravitational Waves with Data from LIGO

 

Brian Ordonez, Computer Engineering, ‘25 

Mentor: Jiun-Hsin (Vincent) Liao, Engineering 

Establishment of Semiconductor Test and Characterization Capability in SUNY New Paltz 

 

Alessandra Papaleo, Art History, ‘25 

Mentor: Beth E. Wilson, Art History 

Cutting Critique: Dada Collage and Photomontage in Opposition to World War I  

 

Jennifer Poroye, Music, Concentration in Recording & Electronic Music, ‘24 

Mentors:  Mark Dziuba, Music & Roy Thompson, Music 

“In My Head”: EP Project 

 

Glenda Rodrigues Santos Giordani, Mechanical Engineering, ‘’24 

Mentor: Rachmadian Wulandana, Mechanical Engineering

Assessing the Thermal Conductivity and Moisture Transport of Hempcrete 

 

Oliver Similton, Psychological Science, ‘24 

Mentor: Matthew Wice, Psychology 

The Morality of Ghosting 

 

Katherina Szurnicki, Geography, ‘24 

Zoe Eagle, Geology, ‘24 

Mentor: Salvatore Engel-Di Mauro, Geography and Environmental Studies

Urban Soil Contamination in Kingston, NY 

 
EmmaJean Taylor, Psychology, ‘23 

Mentor: Tabitha Holmes, Psychology

How True Personal Stories Help Us Understand Ourselves and Others 

 

Brandon Torres, Mechanical Engineering, ‘24 

Mentor: Mahdi Farahikia, Mechanical Engineering 

Machine-Dynamic Visualization Software Development - An Engineering Education Approach 

 

Carolyn Weinstein, History/Geography/Political Science, ‘24 

Mentor: Stephen Pampinella, Political Science & International Relations

Racial Hierarchy during US Military Occupations, 1898-1952