Fifty-four students at the Showcase for Undergraduate Research and Creative Activities (SURCA) 2025 were the recipients of 44 awards totaling $10,200. The system-wide event on March 24 at WSU Pullman was hosted by the Office of Undergraduate Research (OUR).
“We enjoyed 220 exceptional posters this year from undergraduates who study and research at all six WSU campuses, and those who received awards were judged to have delivered the very top presentations on their mentored research, scholarship, and creative activities,” said Jeremy Lessmann, OUR director. OUR is part of the Division of Academic Engagement and Student Achievement in the provost’s office.
Awardees are from four campuses: WSU Pullman, WSU Vancouver, WSU Tri-Cities, and the Global Campus. A video of the awards ceremony is on YouTube.
Held since 2012, SURCA is the only WSU-wide venue for undergraduates in every major and year in college to share their research. The number of 2025 accepted abstracts from presenters and the number of volunteer judges set new records at 273 and 240, respectively. Individuals, pairs, and groups were among the presenters.
The award ceremony following the afternoon showcase was led by WSU Provost and Executive Vice President Chris Riley-Tillman; Assistant Vice Provost Mary Sánchez Lanier; Vice Provost for Academic Engagement and Student Achievement Bill Davis, and Lessmann.
Abstracts and information about each SURCA presenter are available online.
Awards are available at four levels, with crimson being the highest, gray the second-highest, early career for first-year students and sophomores, and novice for new researchers. No novice awards were given this year. By the nine SURCA categories in alphabetical order, the 2025 undergraduate awardees’ names, campuses, majors, mentors, and project titles are:
Applied Sciences
Crimson
- Alexander Aiken
WSU Pullman
Earth Sciences
Mentor: Johannes Haemmerli, Shane Scoggin
“Deep and Hot — Reconstructing the History of Deep Crust in Orofino”
Gray
- Niamh Berry
WSU Pullman, Honors College
Biochemistry
Mentor: Ryan Driskell
Georgia Bohm
WSU Pullman, Honors College
Pharmaceutical and Medical Sciences
Mentor: Ryan Driskell
Olivia Christense
WSU Pullman, Honors College
Biochemistry
Mentor: Ryan Driskell
Edward Naumann
WSU Pullman
Genetics and Cell Biology
Mentor: Ryan Driskell
Fernando Pimienta Echeagaray
WSU Pullman
Neuroscience
Mentor: Ryan Driskell
“Differential Tissue Staining: Observing the Affinity of Dyes in Herovici Tissue Stains
Through Isolation”
Early Career
- Olivia McGrew
WSU Pullman, Honors College
Mathematics, Physics
Mentor: Daryl Deford
“Characterizing Candidate Similarity in Ranked Choice Voting Based Systems”
Arts and Design
Crimson
- James Lesperance
WSU Vancouver
Digital Technology and Culture
Mentor: Dene Grigar
“Programming a Method for Documenting NetProv”
Gray
- Lindsay Carlos
WSU Pullman
Architectural Studies
Mentor: Maryam Mansoori
Yvette Colmenares
WSU Pullman
Architectural Studies
Mentor: Maryam Mansoori
Kai Schonborn
WSU Pullman
Architectural Studies
Mentor: Maryam Mansoori
“Cascara”
Computer Science, Mathematics, Statistics, and Information Sciences
Crimson
- Jaehong Lee
WSU Pullman
Computer Science
Mentor: Shenghai Dai
“Examining Consistency and Accuracy of Machine Learning Methods for Predicting Cognition using N-back Measures” - Diego Rangel Monroy
WSU Tri-Cities
Computer Science, Mathematics, Mechanical Engineering
Mentor: Ryan Learn
“Formally Correct Radial Averaging for Cartesian-Polar Mesh Mapping”
Engineering and Physical Sciences
Crimson
- Aaren Smith
WSU Pullman
Biochemistry, Chemistry
Mentor: Zachariah Heiden
“Examination of Sharpie Markers as Alternatives for Irradiation Labels” - Dylan DuBois-Killoy
WSU Tri-Cities
Mechanical Engineering
Mentor: Changki Mo
Sarah Ellis
WSU Tri-Cities
Mechanical Engineering
Mentor: Changki Mo
Kristopher Hahn
WSU Tri-Cities
Mechanical Engineering
Mentor: Changki Mo
Joe Hawkins
WSU Tri-Cities
Mechanical Engineering
Mentor: Changki Mo
John Lindquist
WSU Tri-Cities
Mechanical Engineering
Mentor: Changki Mo
“Design of a Cost Effective Vectored Remote Operated Vehicle for Water Sampling”
Gray
- Elijah Blankenship
WSU Pullman
Mechanical Engineering
Mentor: Conor Trygstad
“Locomotion and Control of Swimming Microrobots” - Suzanne Gelston
WSU Pullman, Honors College
Chemical Engineering
Mentor: Haluk Beyenal
“Electrode Size Impact on Electrochemical Signals from Soil” - Simon Scheel
WSU Pullman
Chemistry
Mentor: Jeff Vervoort, Peter Baker, Charles Knaack
“Searching for Earth’s Oldes Zircons” - Valike Tamakloe
WSU Pullman, Honors College
Bioengineering
Mentor: David Lin
“Comparative Analysis of Kangaroo Rat Muscle Forces On Sand and Solid Surfaces”
Humanities
Crimson
- Katherine Tower
WSU Pullman
Anthropology
Mentor: Rachel Horowitz
“Preserving Knowledge: A Case Study on the Cariguela Cave Archival Collection and Its Significance
Gray
- Mackenzie Phelps
WSU Pullman, Honors College
Human Development, Psychology
Mentor: Jennifer Putney
“The Complex Understanding of Disruptive Mood Dysregulation Disorder: A Systematic Scoping Review”
Molecular, Cellular, and Chemical Biology
Crimson
- Sahil Ganjyal
WSU Pullman and Running Start Student from Pullman High School
Biochemistry
Mentor: Ryan Driskell
“Computational Re-analysis Between Organoid and Developing Tissue” - Ori Naveh
WSU Pullman
Bioengineering
Mentor: Alla Kostyukova
“From Bacteria to Breasts: The Emergence of An Unlikely Hero in the Fight Against Breast Cancer”
Gray
- Riana Abeshima
WSU Pullman
Neuroscience
Mentor: Ryan McLaughlin
“Adolescent Vaporized Cannabis-induced Medial Prefrontal Cortex Dysfunction in Adult Rats” - Lauren Benjamin
WSU Pullman, Honors College
Neuroscience
Mentor: Emily Qualls-Creekmore
“Establishing a Rodent Model with Characteristics of Inflammatory Bowel Disease” - Tyler Boies
WSU Pullman, Honors College
Bioengineering
Mentor: Michael Phelps
“CRISPR Fish to Go: A Rapid eDNA Protocol for Field Detection in Water and Air” - Taylor Christopherson
WSU Pullman
Neuroscience
Mentor: Bertrand Tanner
“Characterization of Sarcomeric Protein Mutations Related to the Development of Cardiac Hypertrophy and Cellular Disarray in Transgenic Mice” - Michael Fasci
WSU Pullman, Honors College
Bioengineering
Mentor: Ryan Driskell
“Creating the World’s Largest Mammalian Hair Database to Create a New Health Diagnostic Tool” - Kaitlyn Ipsen
WSU Pullman, Honors College
Genetics and Cell Biology
Mentor: Laura Bartley
“Analysis of Hydroxycinnamic Acid Concentrations in Polished and Unpolished Quinoa Seeds” - Tiana LaFollette
WSU Pullman, Honors College
Neuroscience, Psychology
Mentor: Gary Wayman
“Insulin’s Actions on Glutamatergic Synaptogenisis in the Developing Hippocampus” - Gabriella “GiGi” Searle
WSU Pullman, Honors College
Genetics and Cell Biology
Mentor: Ryan Driskell
“Investigating the Role of Hair Follicle Density in Controlling Dermal Architecture Development of Mouse Back Skin” - Geselle Sotelo
WSU Pullman
Microbiology
Mentor: Anders Omsland
“Analyzing the Role of Pyruvate Kinase in the Reformation of the Human Pathogen Chlamydia trachomatis Elementary Body Cell Form”
Early Career
- Ryan Rigos
WSU Pullman
Biology
Mentor: Alla Kostyukova
“Optimizing the Purification of Recombinant Leiomodin-2 C-Terminal Fragment”
Organismal, Population, Ecological, and Evolutionary Biology
Crimson
- Nathaniel Cooley
WSU Pullman
Wildlife Ecology and Conservation Sciences
Mentor: Caren Goldberg, Erica Crespi
“Exposure to Predators During the Larval Stage Induces Turbo-Tadpole Tail Morphology and Differences in Behavior After Metamorphosis in the Northern Leopard Frog (Lithobates pipiens)” - Elizabeth Heilman
WSU Pullman
Wildlife Ecology and Conservation Sciences
Mentor: Jennifer Phillips
“Anthropogenic Effects on Nestling Growth and Survival in Cavity Nesting Birds”
Gray
- Pedro Mendoza-Zamora
WSU Pullman
Wildlife Ecology and Conservation Sciences
Mentor: Lisa Shipley
“Habitat Characteristics Predicting Occupancy of Black-Tailed and White-Tailed Jackrabbits in Eastern Washington” - Braeden Stiffler
WSU Pullman, Honors College
Biochemistry, Chemistry
Mentor: Janice Parks
“How Soil Inorganic Nitrogen Content is Changed by Use of Pea-Canola Intercropping (Peaola)” - Chris Waylett
WSU Pullman
Biology
Mentor: Meredith Johnson
“Too Hot To Handle: Effects of Temperature on Water Balance in the Alfalfa Leafcutting Bee (Megachile rotundata)”
Research Proposal
Crimson
- Emily Eddy
WSU Pullman, Honors College
Psychology
Mentor: Kristen Delevich
“Influence of Adolescent Social Isolation + Cannabis Exposure on Dopamine Innervation and Adverse Behavior: Implications for Adolescent Stressors Effect on Psychiatric Onset” - Camdyn Hamilton
WSU Global
Psychology, Sociology
Mentor: Kimberly Meidenbauer, Tiara Freeman
“Is It Hot in Here? I Hadn’t Noticed: Investigating Psychological Coping Mechanisms for Dealing with Heat” - Mackenzie Potter
WSU Pullman
Animal Sciences
Mentor: Caio Figueiredo
“Evaluating Differences in Liver Metabolism, Inflammation, and Behavior Associated with Vaginal Discharge Characteristics in Peripartum Dairy Cows”
Gray
- Emiltze Cervantes-Contreras
WSU Pullman
Anthropology
Mentor: Rachel Horowitz
“Mirant Farmworker Culture and Its Effects” - Karlye Ebberson
WSU Pullman, Honors College
Biology
Mentor: Jesse Brunner
“Investigating the Thermal Performance and Viral Replication Rates of Ranavirus Strains at Ecologically Relevant Temperature Ranges” - JoJo Maestas
WSU Pullman
Public Relations, Sociology
Mentor: Monica Johnson
“Examining the Navigation of Higher Education as First-Generation, Low-Income College Students” - Jackeline Serrano Rodriguez
WSU Pullman
Agricultural Education
Mentor: Anna Warner
“Perspectives of Washington FFA Members on Belonging and Engagement” - Lesly Valdovinos-Arevalo
WSU Pullman
Human Nutrition and Food Systems
Mentor: Anna Warner
“How Students with a Migrant Background Perceive Agriculture and the Influence It Has on Their Career Paths”
Social Sciences
Crimson
- Kyra Donohoo
WSU Global
Psychology
Mentor: Amanda Stueber
“Aphantasia, Neurodivergence, and Effects on Working Memory” - Alexander Watt
WSU Pullman, Honors College
History, Psychology
Mentor: Hsin-Ya Liao, Katherine Craig
“Perceptions of Academic Success”
Gray
- Kel Ashcraft
WSU Global
Psychology, Sociology
Mentor: Remington Swensson
“Impact of Media Representations on Gender Identity Perceptions” - Travis Hale
WSU Pullman
Neuroscience, Psychology
Mentor: Maureen Schmitter-Edgecombe
“Cognitive Strategy Types Predict Performance on Real World Prospective Memory Tasks in Older Adults”
