Summer Research Opportunities

Molecular modeling, or computational chemistry, is a broadly applicable research pursuit without a required association to experiment. Molecular modeling encompasses all theoretical and computational methodologies used to model or mimic the behavior of molecules. Modeling techniques are routinely used in the fields of drug design, computational biology and materials science to investigate the structure, dynamics, surface properties, and thermodynamics of inorganic, biological, and polymeric systems.

Molecular modeling is a predictive technique but most predictions are validated by experiment. On the other hand, experimental data is prone to error and misinterpretation. Molecular modeling provides additional, often not experimentally attainable, data to solve scientific problems more completely and can explain unusual experimental results. The combination of both experimental and computational techniques provide an excellent toolkit to probe the atomic structure and behavior of materials, new and known. In short, experiment tells us what the molecules are doing and modelling helps us understand why.

In this SIR, we will
* Become familiar with molecular modeling programs, databases, and online resources.
* Understand the factors to consider in creating and validating a structural model of a chemical compound.
* Apply Molecular Modeling to predict the physical properties of a chemical compound, e.g., geometric structure, molecular energy, dipole moment, reaction energies, molecular orbital energy differences, etc.
* Compare experimental data with calculational data, e.g., the IR spectrum characterizing the molecular structure, the predicted Heat of Formation (H°f) using an Isodesmic reaction, and the predicted Heat of Reaction (ΔHrxn) for a practical chemical reaction.
* Prepare scientific publications both oral and written.

Prerequisites: IMSA “Scientific Inquiry - Chemistry” level knowledge of chemistry; Basic use of laptop computer including ability to download software
Category of Study: Chemistry
Organization: IMSA, Aurora Campus
Dates + Times: July 7 - 18, 2025
Housing/Transportation: Students provide transportation to the IMSA Aurora campus. Students will reside in the IMSA residence halls and receive all meals.
Positions Available: 20
Primary Mentor: Dr. Joe Golab, Chemistry faculty

Note: The IMSA programs will be fee-based this summer at a rate of $1200/wk for the on-campus portions of the program. Scholarships are available for eligible students.

Students will identify the effects of natural compounds such as turmeric and cinnamon on diabetic blood and urine. Hyperglycemic blood and urine will be created by adding different amounts of glucose to lab-created, simulated blood and urine. Students will study the effects of natural compounds in reducing glucose concentration k. Both blood and urine, and then project their knowledge through experimentation. Students will use the same concentrations of 4 spices known to reduce glucose levels ( more can be added after discussion with students). The students will identify the effects of turmeric, ginger, curcumin and cinnamon on simulated diabetic blood and urine by measuring the concentration of glucose in blood and urine will to see what effect these compounds have in reducing glucose concentration. Differences between the effects of the individual compounds on simulated blood and urine will also be studied and conclusions drawn based on evidence. Once the best candidate for reducing glucose concentration has been identified for both blood and urine (they might be different), students will proceed to further study these compounds by testing the effect of different concentrations on blood and urine and draw conclusions based on evidence from their project. Students will also be responsible for providing suggestions for further research. This project will give students an overall idea of diabetes ( a rising concern among youth) and how ingesting natural compounds can help prevent or manage this condition.
Prerequisites: A basic knowledge of biology.
Category of Study: Chemistry
Organization: IMSA, Aurora Campus
Dates + Times: July 7 - 25, 2025
Housing/Transportation: Students provide transportation to the IMSA Aurora campus. Students will reside in the IMSA residence halls and receive all meals.
Positions Available: 20
Primary Mentor: Dr. Sowmya Anjur, Former IMSA Biology Faculty

Note: The IMSA programs will be fee-based this summer at a rate of $1200/wk for the on-campus portions of the program. Scholarships are available for eligible students.

This project would involve generating Monte Carlo events that simulate events that could occur at the Large Hadron Collider. We would then analyze them by comparing histograms of various quantities to see which ones would do a good job of separating signal from background, and then construct a series of cuts that are designed to do just that. If there is time, which I doubt but is a possibility, we can look at Monte Carlo that has been processed by a detector simulation and talk about the messiness of real-world physics and calculate some efficiencies and systematic uncertainties. While my research group’s work is in C++, I think I would do this in Python as much as possible to reduce the overhead for the students.
Prerequisites: Basic knowledge of Python
Category of Study: Physics
Organization: IMSA, Aurora Campus
Dates + Times: June 30 - July 11, 2025
Housing/Transportation: Students provide transportation to the IMSA Aurora campus. Students will reside in the IMSA residence halls and receive all meals.
Positions Available: 20
Primary Mentor: Dr. Peter Dong, Physics faculty

Note: The IMSA programs will be fee-based this summer at a rate of $1200/wk for the on-campus portions of the program. Scholarships are available for eligible students.

There are two continuously broadband seismic stations on Carbondale campus. The data for both are used for routinely locating moderate to large earthquakes regionally and globally, but are largely unused beyond that. I'd like to do a pilot survey of the data to find determine the fidelity of local signals in the data such as lightning strikes.

Work Student(s) will Complete: The student(s) would be using seismic data from the Carbondale campus to find lightning strikes or other local signals in a 2-3 week window known to have thunderstorms. Waveforms and duration coupled with estimates of location may tell us about both the fidelity of recording these signals but will also show the range of variability in lightning waveforms and potentially whether there is measurable energy that travels in the ground (far faster) to the stations in addition to the air.

Prerequisites: None
Category of Study: Geology
Organization: Southern Illinois University Carbondale
Dates + Times: June 8 - 21, 2025
Housing/Transportation: Students requiring transportation will be provided with round-trip service from IMSA's Aurora campus. Students will reside on the campus of SIUC and receive all meals.
Positions Available: 1-2
Primary Mentor: James Conder, Professor of Geology

Coal mining creates significant environmental challenges. One critical problem is acid mine drainage (AMD), which is the formation of highly acidic wastewater containing high levels of metal ions. AMD pollutes surface and groundwater, harming humans, plants, animals, and entire ecosystems. Cleaning up AMD is expensive and difficult. A promising solution is using algae to treat AMD, a process called phycoremediation. This approach is cheaper and cleaner than traditional methods, and it even produces useful algae that can be converted into biofuel. Our research will investigate the optimal conditions for growing algae in mine-polluted water, how effectively it removes metals over time, and how the polluted water affects the algae's biofuel production. This research could lead to a cost-effective and environmentally friendly way to clean up pollution and simultaneously produce biofuel.

Work Student(s) will Complete: Students will conduct hands-on lab experiments, growing algae in simulated mine drainage solutions, monitoring algal growth, measuring how effectively the algae remove metals, and determining how much oil (lipids) the algae produce. They will also learn how to analyze water quality, collect and interpret data, and write scientific reports.

Prerequisites: None
Category of Study: Geology
Organization: Southern Illinois University Carbondale
Dates + Times: June 8 - 21, 2025
Housing/Transportation: Students requiring transportation will be provided with round-trip service from IMSA's Aurora campus. Students will reside on the campus of SIUC and receive all meals.
Positions Available: 1
Primary Mentor: Himali Delanka-Pedige, Assistant Professor of the School of Civil, Environmental, and Infrastructure Engineering

Biostimulants is a general broad category given to chemicals that upregulates the biochemical activities of living systems. For our interests we want to understand how biostimulants cause soil and digestate microorganisms to accelerate their biochemical process. First we need to understand the conditions by which microbe and biostimulants are beneficial.

Work Student(s) will Complete: Standard microbiology techniques will be used culture, count, and assess under which biostimulant application causes microbes to increase diversity, chemical output, and population number.

Prerequisites: None
Category of Study: Microbiology
Organization: Southern Illinois University Carbondale
Dates + Times: June 8 - 21, 2025
Housing/Transportation: Students requiring transportation will be provided with round-trip service from IMSA's Aurora campus. Students will reside on the campus of SIUC and receive all meals.
Positions Available: 1-2
Primary Mentor: Scott Hamilton-Brehm, Associate Professor of Microbiology

The covalent functionalization of transition metal dichalcogenides for biosensing applications is an underexplored area. We want to leverage the large bandgap of TMD materials to develop highly sensitive biosensing platforms for the detection of more than sixty neurodegenerative diseases.

Work Student(s) will Complete: The high school students will be funtionalizing TMD surfaces by a electrochemical simple method. They will help optimize the functionalization by varying experimental conditions.

Prerequisites: None
Category of Study: Chemistry
Organization: Southern Illinois University Carbondale
Dates + Times: June 8 - 21, 2025
Housing/Transportation: Students requiring transportation will be provided with round-trip service from IMSA's Aurora campus. Students will reside on the campus of SIUC and receive all meals.
Positions Available: 1-2
Primary Mentor: Mohtashim Shamsi, Associate Professor of Chemistry

This project aims to explore molecular structures and visualize them using Python programming. By leveraging Python libraries such as Py3Dmol and PyMOL, students will create 3D models of molecules, providing a deeper understanding of their geometric properties and atomic interactions. The goal is to load molecular data (e.g., from .pdb or .mol files), generate 3D representations, and visualize how atoms and bonds are arranged in a molecule. The project begins with an introduction to Python programming and the basic concepts of molecular chemistry. Students will learn how to load molecular data files, manipulate the data, and visualize structures using 3D models.

Work Student(s) will Complete: This project is primarily designed for high school students, providing them with an opportunity to explore how these concepts can be applied in advanced research studies.

Prerequisites: None
Category of Study: Physics
Organization: Southern Illinois University Carbondale
Dates + Times: June 8 - 21, 2025
Housing/Transportation: Students requiring transportation will be provided with round-trip service from IMSA's Aurora campus. Students will reside on the campus of SIUC and receive all meals.
Positions Available: 1
Primary Mentor: Thushari Jayasekera, Associate Professor of Physics

The Sun is currently in a very active phase, with many sunspots, prominences, and solar flares. This project is monitoring the Sun daily with a white light telescope to observe solar activity. Detected flares can then be analyzed to study their ejection speeds, energy levels, and particle fluxes.

Work Student(s) will Complete: The student will learn to set up a telescope each day to image the sun. When solar flares are detected, they will input the images into a computer program. They will also analyze images that contain previous solar flares to make measurements and collect data.

Prerequisites: None
Category of Study: Physics
Organization: Southern Illinois University Carbondale
Dates + Times: June 8 - 21, 2025
Housing/Transportation: Students requiring transportation will be provided with round-trip service from IMSA's Aurora campus. Students will reside on the campus of SIUC and receive all meals.
Positions Available: 1
Primary Mentor: Corinne Brevik, Associate Professor of Physics and Applied Physics

A better understanding of the interplay between wild-type p53 (wt-p53) and mutant p53 (mut-p53) is crucial for advancing our knowledge of cancer biology and developing novel therapeutic strategies. While the role of wt-p53 as a tumor suppressor is well-established, the functions of mut-p53 in tumorigenesis are multifaceted and still under investigation. Direct in vivo monitoring of p53 status in real-time presents significant challenges due to limitations in current imaging and detection techniques. This research project employs a multidisciplinary approach, integrating in silico modeling, aptamer-based Raman label affinity purification, and data-driven experimental techniques, to investigate the roles of wt-p53 and mut-p53 in epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC).

Work Student(s) will Complete: High school students will engage in a hands-on project exploring the intersection of computational biology, laser spectroscopy, and bioconjugation. Students will have the opportunity to focus on one of these areas: (i) Computational biology: Using computational tools for in silico modeling of biological processes. (ii) Spectroscopy: Applying laser spectroscopy techniques for molecular analysis. (iii) Bioconjugation: Exploring bioconjugation techniques for modifying biomolecules. This project aims to equip students with practical skills in these fields and foster an understanding of scientific research.

Prerequisites: None
Category of Study: Physics
Organization: Southern Illinois University Carbondale
Dates + Times: June 8 - 21, 2025
Housing/Transportation: Students requiring transportation will be provided with round-trip service from IMSA's Aurora campus. Students will reside on the campus of SIUC and receive all meals.
Positions Available: 1-2
Primary Mentor: Poopalasingam Sivakumar, Associate Professor of Physics

Large Language Models (LLMs) have shown remarkable capabilities in natural language understanding tasks, but their vulnerability to toxic content generation remains a critical concern. Building on the GLUE benchmark methodology and recent advances in safety alignment, we propose a comprehensive framework for evaluating LLM robustness against adversarial inputs. Using the Poison-Texts dataset and established adversarial prompt patterns, we develop metrics and testing protocols to assess model responses under various attack conditions. Our framework provides quantitative measures of model resilience and practical insights for improving LLM safety mechanisms.

Work Student(s) will Complete:
Data Processing: Adapt Poison-Texts dataset for systematic testing Create paired benign/adversarial prompt sets Develop classification scheme for toxic content types

Evaluation Framework: Design multi-task evaluation protocol inspired by GLUE Create scoring metrics for different safety aspects Implement automated testing pipeline Analysis Pipeline: Track model responses across prompt types Measure resistance to known attack patterns Calculate robustness scores.

Prerequisites: None
Category of Study: Physics
Organization: Southern Illinois University Carbondale
Dates + Times: June 8 - 21, 2025
Housing/Transportation: Students requiring transportation will be provided with round-trip service from IMSA's Aurora campus. Students will reside on the campus of SIUC and receive all meals.
Positions Available: 2
Primary Mentor: Anas AlSobeh, Assistant Professor of Information Technology

There are several possibilities; it depends in part on the interests of the student. The
overarching theme is finding ways to limit nutrient movement in agricultural systems.

Work Student(s) will Complete: Sample collection (field work), sample analysis (lab work), analysis of data.

Prerequisites: None
Category of Study: Geology
Organization: Southern Illinois University Carbondale
Dates + Times: June 8 - 21, 2025
Housing/Transportation: Students requiring transportation will be provided with round-trip service from IMSA's Aurora campus. Students will reside on the campus of SIUC and receive all meals.
Positions Available: 1
Primary Mentor: Eric Brevik, Professor of Soils and Geology

Ground-penetrating Radar (GPR) is a non-intrusive method of geophysical surveying to investigate a variety of subsurface objects and structures. For example archaeological sites, gravesites, caverns, groundwater, bedrock geology, and manmade infrastructure have been studied. This pioneering research explores using GPR to image subsurface crayfish burrows without inflicting any harm or damage. Ongoing SIU research is attempting to further improve these strategies and to develop 3D imaging to learn more about elusive crayfish burrowing and ecology below the surface.

Work Student(s) will Complete: Student(s) will join the IUS Ground-penetrating radar (GPR) research team during the spring semester and receive training. Afterwards and during the summer, student(s) will collect Ground-penetrating radar (GPR) data above endangered crayfish habitats. Students will then process, analyze, and interpret the GPR results. Students will present their results at a student symposium, and submit an abstract or summary for conference presentation and possible publication.

Prerequisites: None
Category of Study: Geology
Organization: Southern Illinois University Carbondale
Dates + Times: June 8 - 21, 2025
Housing/Transportation: Students requiring transportation will be provided with round-trip service from IMSA's Aurora campus. Students will reside on the campus of SIUC and receive all meals.
Positions Available: 1-3
Primary Mentor: Harvey Henson, Associate Professor of Geology

Cu(II)-containing surfaces are electrically-polarized, which form in-situ reactive oxygen and reactive chlorine species. These species deactivate a broad-range of microbes and viruses.

Work Student(s) will Complete: The student(s) will do literature search, fabricate devices, perform microbiology experiments, and written his/her work.

Prerequisites: None
Category of Study: Chemistry
Organization: Southern Illinois University Carbondale
Dates + Times: June 8 - 21, 2025
Housing/Transportation: Students requiring transportation will be provided with round-trip service from IMSA's Aurora campus. Students will reside on the campus of SIUC and receive all meals.
Positions Available: 1-2
Primary Mentor: Puni Kohli, Professor of Chemistry

Molecules that emit light are beginning to be seen as promising candidates for quantum information and communication. In our lab, we prepare samples of organic chromophores and investigate the spectra of light emitted by these molecules using a spectroscopy technique. Furthermore, we will study how these emission properties change when a magnetic field is applied, which is a very important factor in enabling the control of quantum light in quantum communication applications.

Work Student(s) will Complete: The student will perform the preparation of light emitting chromophore samples from isolated organic semiconductor molecules by a physical vapor transport technique. And then, optical spectroscopy techinique will be applied by our advanced micro-optics low temperature spectroscopy so that the student can learn and collect the emission (fluorescence) spectra of these molecules at different temperatures. In addition, the student will investigate the magneto-optical properties of this system by operating an electromagnet system coupled to our optical spectroscopy setup.

Prerequisites: None
Category of Study: Physics
Organization: Southern Illinois University Carbondale
Dates + Times: June 8 - 21, 2025
Housing/Transportation: Students requiring transportation will be provided with round-trip service from IMSA's Aurora campus. Students will reside on the campus of SIUC and receive all meals.
Positions Available: 1
Primary Mentor: Bumsu Lee, Assistant Professor of Physics and Applied Physics

One of our current project involves studies of photon-induced electron excitation and transfer in organic small molecule-based materials for applications in luminescence sensing, solar cells, and photodynamic therapy.

Work Student(s) will Complete: Students will perform computer simulations to calculate the optical and electric properties of various organic molecules and select the appropriate candidates for use as materials in solar cell devices. If time permits, students may also carry out some organic synthesis and solar cell device testing.

Prerequisites: None
Category of Study: Chemistry
Organization: Southern Illinois University Carbondale
Dates + Times: June 8 - 21, 2025
Housing/Transportation: Students requiring transportation will be provided with round-trip service from IMSA's Aurora campus. Students will reside on the campus of SIUC and receive all meals.
Positions Available: 1-2
Primary Mentor: Lichang Wang, Professor

We developed the µBites system to meet the daily nutritional needs of astronauts by transforming carbon from waste biomass and plastic into food ingredients through a chemo-bio process. Our approach utilizes engineered yeast consortia to produce protein from corn stover and polyethylene terephthalate (PET). We then 3D-printed µBites protein cookies, which are the first-ever safe-to-eat edible cookies made from repurposed waste biomass and plastic, receiving a hedonic scale score of over 6.5. This project aims to design a probiotic yeast strain that can produce flavor compounds, such as 4-Vinyl Guaiacol (4VG) or vanillin, using ethylene glycol derived from waste plastic. These flavor compounds will be incorporated into the 3D-printed nutritious and aromatic µBites cookies. Read the article for more information on µBites system Jayakody et al., Trends in Biotechnology, 2024, 42: p799-800 Next-generation 3D-printed nutritious food derived from waste plastic and biomass: Trends in Biotechnology.

Prerequisites: None
Category of Study: Biological Science
Organization: Southern Illinois University Carbondale
Dates + Times: June 8 - 21, 2025
Housing/Transportation: Students requiring transportation will be provided with round-trip service from IMSA's Aurora campus. Students will reside on the campus of SIUC and receive all meals.
Positions Available: 1
Primary Mentor: Lahiru Jayakody, Associate Professor

The creation and production of an artistic performance video that explores a specific research subject within the umbrella of STEM.

Work Student(s) will Complete: Artistic planning, designing, writing, story-boarding, model-building, video production planning and execution, and performance of a musically-based three to four-minute video that both entertains and educates. "Edutainment" at its best.

Prerequisites: None
Category of Study: Theater
Organization: Southern Illinois University Carbondale
Dates + Times: June 8 - 21, 2025
Housing/Transportation: Students requiring transportation will be provided with round-trip service from IMSA's Aurora campus. Students will reside on the campus of SIUC and receive all meals.
Positions Available: 1-4
Primary Mentor: Matthew Williams, Assistant Professor of Theater & Dance

Polarized light and specially prepared states of light polarization are useful for field of quantum networking where single photons are used for information transfer. In this project the students will study experimental techniques for manipulation and measurement of the polarization of light for future applications to quantum networking using optical and electronic instrumentation.

Prerequisites: N/A
Category of Study: Physics
Organization: Western Illinois University
Dates + Times:July 6 - July 18, 2025
Housing/Transportation: Students will reside in an on-campus residence hall under the supervision of the WIU Residence Life staff. All meals will be provided.
Positions Available:1-2
Primary Mentor: Kishor Kapale, Chair and Professor of Physics

Polarized light and specially prepared states of light polarization are useful for field of quantum networking where single photons are used for information transfer. In this project the students will study how the polarization of light changes as it transmits through optical fiber. The goal is to apply this understanding for the development of protocols for quantum networking using optical and electronic instrumentation.

Prerequisites: N/A
Category of Study: Physics
Organization: Western Illinois University
Dates + Times: July 6 - July 18, 2025
Housing/Transportation: Students will reside in an on-campus residence hall under the supervision of the WIU Residence Life staff. All meals will be provided.
Positions Available: 1-2
Primary Mentor: Aparna Kapale, Instructor and Laboratory Manager

Prerequisites: AP chemistry
Category of Study: Physics
Organization: Western Illinois University
Dates + Times: July 6 - July 18, 2025
Housing/Transportation: Students will reside in an on-campus residence hall under the supervision of the WIU Residence Life staff. All meals will be provided.
Positions Available: 1-2
Primary Mentor: Liguo Song, Associate Professor

Synthesis of small molecule drugs.

Prerequisites: Some basic chemistry knowledge
Category of Study: Chemistry
Organization: Western Illinois University
Dates + Times: July 6 - July 18, 2025
Housing/Transportation: Students will reside in an on-campus residence hall under the supervision of the WIU Residence Life staff. All meals will be provided.
Positions Available: 1-2
Primary Mentor: Jin Jin, Professor

Organic synthesis of analgesic drugs.

Prerequisites: General and organic chemistry
Category of Study: Chemistry
Organization: Western Illinois University
Dates + Times: July 6 - July 18, 2025
Housing/Transportation: Students will reside in an on-campus residence hall under the supervision of the WIU Residence Life staff. All meals will be provided.
Positions Available: 1-2
Primary Mentor: Shaozhong Zhang, Assistant Professor

Weapon system components—such as aircraft guns, ejector bomb racks, missile launchers, and ammunition handling systems—accumulate contaminants over time, including oil, grease, dirt, carbon residue, firing gas deposits, and copper remnants from projectile rotating bands. To ensure optimal performance, regular field-level cleaning by soldiers is essential. However, traditional cleaning solvents are often environmentally hazardous.

This summer research project will explore graphene-based solvent systems as eco-friendly alternatives for cleaning and maintaining Department of Defense (DoD) assets.

Work Student(s) will Complete: High school students will synthesize graphene-based nanocomposites designed to function as "nano sponges" for cleaning metal military components. Participants will gain hands-on experience in nanosynthesis and advanced material characterization techniques, including:

• Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) for structural analysis
• Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) for molecular composition studies
• UV-Vis Spectroscopy for optical property assessment

Through this research, students will develop valuable skills in nanotechnology and materials science while contributing to sustainable defense solutions.

Prerequisites: None
Category of Study: Chemistry
Organization: Chicago State University
Dates + Times: July 30 - July 11, 2025
Housing/Transportation: Students are responsible for transportation.
Positions Available: 2-3
Primary Mentor: Dr. Robert Richter, Professor of Chemistry

The District has worked to study and strengthen populations of the state endangered Blanding’s Turtle in Kane County since 2009. The goal of these efforts is to create resilient populations that contribute to local and statewide species recovery. District staff have collaborated with staff at Lake County Forest Preserve District, Preserve District of DuPage County, and the University of Illinois Wildlife Epidemiology Lab to bolster Blanding’s Turtle populations and study their health. Students will have the opportunity to work with our Wildlife Biologist on tasks including trapping, radio telemetry, egg incubation and hatchling release. Students will learn about turtle biology and conservation efforts while gaining exposure to field work. Equipment: This project will require extensive time in and around wetlands. The student will be required to have chest waders to participate in this research. This project is intended for a student with an interest in outdoors, biology, wildlife and natural resources, no background in these areas is required. This project is considered extremely physically demanding spending extensive time wading through marshes, creeks and streams.

Prerequisites: None
Category of Study: Biology
Organization: Kane County Forest Preserve
Dates + Times: June and July 2025, Dates to be determined by mentor and student.
Housing/Transportation: Students are responsible for transportation.
Positions Available: 1
Primary Mentor: William Graser

The District uses a variety of methods to evaluate the ecological health of an area by analyzing its plant species. This allows the prioritization of vegetation communities for protection, restoration, or management along with monitoring the effectiveness of protection, restoration, or management efforts. Students will assist in identifying, quantifying blooms, gauging expansion/contraction of species and their local threats while monitoring the impressive array of local flora in the preserves including monitoring rare plant populations. Exploring for historically known but not recently seen species, finding new species occurrences in new locations while collecting, inputting and analyzing data collected. Utilize Floristic Quality Assessment methods to assess the ecological condition of District vegetation communities and prairie recreations, compare historical trends and management with current populations, recommend management intervention and best practices.

Equipment: Hiking boots for visits to often-remote locations for monitoring. This project will require extensive time in and around prairies, woodlands and wetlands. District staff will provide necessary tools for monitoring protocol. This project is intended for a student with an interest in outdoors, biology, botany and natural resources, no background in these areas is required.

Prerequisites: None
Category of Study: Biology
Organization: Kane County Forest Preserve
Dates + Times: June and July 2025, Dates to be determined by mentor and student.
Housing/Transportation: Students are responsible for transportation.
Positions Available: 1
Primary Mentor: Monika Kastle

For over a decade the District has monitored American Kestrels using nest boxes throughout the county. Kestrel adults and chicks are banded with a combination of color bands and aluminum bands each with a uniquely identifiable number series. The bands help us to track specific individuals, understand their site fidelity, migration and breeding success. We work alongside Cook County staff to take samples and morphometric measurements. These samples are used to test for various pathogens and to gauge the physical health of individuals within a local population. Equipment: Safety toed boots to work with ladders required to access nest boxes. Ladders and monitoring supplies will be provided by District. This project is intended for a student with an interest in outdoors, biology, wildlife, veterinary heath, and natural resources. No background in these areas is required.

Prerequisites: None
Category of Study: Biology
Organization: Kane County Forest Preserve
Dates + Times: June and July 2025, Dates to be determined by mentor and student.
Housing/Transportation: Students are responsible for transportation.
Positions Available: 1
Primary Mentor: Sadio Dainko

We work on characterizing inner ear hair cell mitochondria. These are important for hearing and balance. Disorders lead to deafness and dizziness.

Prerequisites: An interest in biology, with possible pre-med interests. Graphic or animation skills would be useful to try to produce some animations for us.
Category of Study: Anatomy and Cell Biology
Organization: University of Illinois (UIC)
Dates + Times: TBD
Housing/Transportation: Students are responsible for transportation.
Positions Available: 1
Primary Mentor: Anna Lysakowski, Professor

We are focused on understanding the fundamentals of fluid-surface interactions that can lead to new solutions to broad range of existing challenges related with energy efficiency, water security and human health. To solve problems in these areas, we are looking into fundamentals of phase change (boiling, condensation, icing/frost etc); liquid-liquid interactions (e.g. oil/water); solid-liquid interactions (e.g. wettability). Our work spans from investigating above-mentioned phenomenon at macro scales to nano scales. Additionally, we seek to develop new techniques & materials that can influence the fluid-surface interactions to favorable outcomes.

In order to satisfy our need to understand+solve problems, we use experimental approaches involving advanced visualization and characterization tools, but at the same time we also do modeling/simulations to get a sense of the underlying physics behind the phenomenon.

Finally, we are strong believers of pursuing science for the sake of understanding the beauty of nature, and developing a deeper appreciation of the machinery of life.

Prerequisites: Good Math skills and some hands-on experience with handyman work
Category of Study: Mechanical and Industrial Engineering
Organization: University of Illinois (UIC)
Dates + Times: May, June, and July
Housing/Transportation: Students are responsible for transportation.
Positions Available: 1-2
Primary Mentor: Sushant Anand, Associate Professor

Humans are influencing the water cycle in numerous ways; one significant way humans alter the natural flow of rivers and streams is through the construction of dams and reservoirs. As a result, the water we observe flowing in our rivers today may not reflect its natural state. These regulated flows can obscure important information about how environmental and climatic changes affect water systems. One method used to address this is streamflow naturalization, a process that helps isolate the impacts of management and regulations, allowing us to better understand changes in water flow over time. In this project, students will learn key techniques to naturalize streamflow and analyze their results in the context of water resource management. As part of the study, they will conduct a case study focusing on a watershed in Illinois.

Student Responsibilities and Expectations: Students are expected to actively engage in both the online and in-person components of the program. This includes completing all assigned preparatory readings, literature review, and exercises to ensure a solid foundation for the research. Participants will collect, process, and analyze publicly available hydrological data, applying the techniques they have learned throughout the project. At the end of the program, students will present their findings in a final research report or presentation, demonstrating their understanding and interpretation of the research project. The following are some specific expectations for students:

• A strong commitment to learning hydrological concepts, including the impacts of dam infrastructure.
• Basic understanding of data analysis and the willingness to engage with tools like GIS.
• Professional conduct during the entire phase of the project.
• Complete all assignments on time and attend all probable program activities.

Prerequisites: N/A
Category of Study: Computer Science
Organization: Southern Illinois University Edwardsville
Dates + Times: July 6 - July 25, 2025, 2 weeks remote and 3 weeks at SIUE/lab/field setting
Housing/Transportation: Students requiring transportation will be provided with round-trip service from IMSA's Aurora campus. Students will reside on the campus of SIUE and receive all meals.
Positions Available: 1-2
Primary Mentor: Sanoar Rahman, Assistant Professor

Computer vision, a field of Artificial Intelligence, enables computers to interpret and analyze visual data, such as images and videos, to extract meaningful information. In agriculture, a significant challenge is accurately monitoring plant health and traits (phenotyping) to improve crop yield and resilience. Traditional phenotyping methods rely on manual measurements, which are time-consuming, labor-intensive, and prone to error. This project proposes using computer vision techniques, including image segmentation, to automate the extraction of phenotypic traits—such as leaf count, area, and disease presence—from plant images, providing a faster, more accurate, and scalable solution. Students will use MATLAB for data analysis and deep learning model development, focusing on distinguishing plant parts from the background for precise measurement. The project will involve handling high-dimensional datasets (Figure 1), allowing students to learn data preprocessing and analysis techniques crucial for large-scale research. By the end, students will gain hands-on experience in building models that enhance decision-making and optimize crop management, benefiting researchers, farmers, and breeders.

Student Responsibilities and Expectations: Students will engage in a hands-on research experience that combines learning computer vision techniques with practical applications in plant phenotyping. They will be expected to actively participate in all project phases, from data handling to model development.

• Learn the basics of computer vision and image processing using MATLAB, focusing on techniques such as image segmentation to identify plant traits.
• Preprocess and analyze high-dimensional datasets, including resizing, normalizing, and augmenting plant images to prepare them for model training.
• Develop and train simple deep learning models to extract phenotypic traits such as leaf count, area, and disease detection from images.
• Document progress and results by maintaining organized notes, code, and data,
  contributing to a final report that summarizes the research findings.
• Present the final outcomes of the project through a brief presentation, demonstrating their understanding of computer vision applications in agriculture.

Prerequisites: N/A
Category of Study: Computer Science
Organization: Southern Illinois University Edwardsville
Dates + Times: July 6 - July 25, 2025, 2 weeks remote and 3 weeks at SIUE/lab/field setting
Housing/Transportation: Students requiring transportation will be provided with round-trip service from IMSA's Aurora campus. Students will reside on the campus of SIUE and receive all meals.
Positions Available: 1-2
Primary Mentor: Dr. Rubi Quiñones, Computer Science Assistant Professor

Students will have the opportunity to participate in a (spatial) data science project,
including data engineering, spatial, temporal and statistical analysis, and visualization, using the Illinois Department of Public Health’s Vital Statistics data set.

Public health agencies, such as the Illinois Department of Public Health, collect vast
amounts of data at the county level over time, often stored in formats like CSV or PDF, making it difficult to grasp spatial and temporal patterns. These datasets are critical for health professionals and policymakers, who rely on data-driven intelligence to make informed decisions. The process of transforming raw data into actionable insights requires the use of spatial data science techniques, including data engineering, spatial analysis, temporal analysis, statistical analysis, visualization tools, and geospatial technology.

Student Responsibilities and Expectations: Students will participate in scheduled daily activities and complete the required tasks for the two-week remote online precursor; Students will need to be able to come to the SIUE campus for the three-week in-person research project.

Prerequisites: N/A
Category of Study: Computer Science
Organization: Southern Illinois University Edwardsville
Dates + Times: July 6 - July 25, 2025, 2 weeks remote and 3 weeks at SIUE/lab/field setting
Housing/Transportation: Students requiring transportation will be provided with round-trip service from IMSA's Aurora campus. Students will reside on the campus of SIUE and receive all meals.
Positions Available: 1-2
Primary Mentor: Dr. Shunfu Hu, Professor of Geography

Computer vision, a field of Artificial Intelligence, enables computers to interpret and analyze visual data, such as images and videos, to extract meaningful information. In agriculture, a significant challenge is accurately monitoring plant health and traits (phenotyping) to improve crop yield and resilience. Traditional phenotyping methods rely on manual measurements, which are time-consuming, labor-intensive, and prone to error. This project proposes using computer vision techniques, including image segmentation, to automate the extraction of phenotypic traits—such as leaf count, area, and disease presence—from plant images, providing a faster, more accurate, and scalable solution. Students will use MATLAB for data analysis and deep learning model development, focusing on distinguishing plant parts from the background for precise measurement. The project will involve handling high-dimensional datasets (Figure 1), allowing students to learn data preprocessing and analysis techniques crucial for large-scale research. By the end, students will gain hands-on experience in building models that enhance decision-making and optimize crop management, benefiting researchers, farmers, and breeders.

Duties and Expectations
Students will engage in a hands-on research experience that combines learning computer vision techniques with practical applications in plant phenotyping. They will be expected to actively participate in all project phases, from data handling to model development.

• Learn the basics of computer vision and image processing using MATLAB, focusing on techniques such as image segmentation to identify plant traits.
• Preprocess and analyze high-dimensional datasets, including resizing, normalizing, and augmenting plant images to prepare them for model training.
• Develop and train simple deep learning models to extract phenotypic traits such as leaf count, area, and disease detection from images.
• Document progress and results by maintaining organized notes, code, and data, contributing to a final report that summarizes the research findings.
• Present the final outcomes of the project through a brief presentation, demonstrating their understanding of computer vision applications in agriculture.

Student Responsibilities and Expectations: Students will participate in scheduled daily activities and complete the required tasks for the two-week remote online precursor; Students will need to be able to come to the SIUE campus for the three-week in-person research project.

Prerequisites: N/A
Category of Study: Computer Science
Organization: Southern Illinois University Edwardsville
Dates + Times: July 6 - July 25, 2025, 2 weeks remote and 3 weeks at SIUE/lab/field setting
Housing/Transportation: Students requiring transportation will be provided with round-trip service from IMSA's Aurora campus. Students will reside on the campus of SIUE and receive all meals.
Positions Available: 1-2
Primary Mentor: Dr. Rubi Quiñones, Computer Science Assistant Professor

Students will have the opportunity to participate in a (spatial) data science project, including data engineering, spatial, temporal and statistical analysis, and visualization, using the Illinois Department of Public Health’s Vital Statistics data set.

Rationale:
Public health agencies, such as the Illinois Department of Public Health, collect vast amounts of data at the county level over time, often stored in formats like CSV or PDF, making it difficult to grasp spatial and temporal patterns. These datasets are critical for health professionals and policymakers, who rely on data-driven intelligence to make informed decisions. The process of transforming raw data into actionable insights requires the use of spatial data science techniques, including data engineering, spatial analysis, temporal analysis, statistical analysis, visualization tools, and geospatial technology.

Student Responsibilities and Expectations: Students will participate in scheduled daily activities and complete the required tasks for the two-week remote online precursor; Students will need to be able to come to the SIUE campus for the three-week in-person research project.

Prerequisites: N/A
Category of Study: Data Analytics
Organization: Southern Illinois University Edwardsville
Dates + Times: July 6 - July 25, 2025, 2 weeks remote and 3 weeks at SIUE/lab/field setting
Housing/Transportation: Students requiring transportation will be provided with round-trip service from IMSA's Aurora campus. Students will reside on the campus of SIUE and receive all meals.
Positions Available: 1-2
Primary Mentor: Dr. Shunfu Hu, Professor of Geography

The General Data Protection Regulation mandates that websites utilizing cookies not only display a conspicuous notice to users but also grant them the choice to decline information collection. Nevertheless, the efficacy of such informed notices in genuinely benefiting users remains a subject of controversy.

COMMUTER

Prerequisites: 1) Web Scraping - experience with web scraping libraries like BeautifulSoup, Scrapy, or Selenium is desired; 2) Familiarity with programming languages, such as Python; 3) Proficiency in multiple languages, especially for non-English languages, is preferred.
Category of Study: Computer Science
Organization: Discovery Partners Institute (DPI)
Dates + Times: June, July, and August with weekly on-site sessions
Housing/Transportation: Students are responsible for transportation.
Positions Available: 1-2
Primary Mentor: Yuanye Ma

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is rapidly impacting many aspects of work, and how people perceive and perform in their workplace. While AI adoption and implementation in various industries has been met with both reluctance and enthusiasm from employees, having varying degrees of knowledge, attitudes, and experiences with AI can hinder effective use of AI. With the increase in multiple AI applications curated to different purposes, organizations are exploring ways to use AI that support the productivity of their workforce. However, this brings forth a constellation of challenges and risks that threaten to compromise the integrity and efficiency of the workforce itself. This project will implement several measures to address the challenges in responsible design, development and deployment of AI safety in the workforce. The project will perform AI safety and workforce development research, conduct stakeholder meetings, develop qualitative and quantitative instruments, conduct data analysis on data from surveys, perform experiments, and evaluate a prototype of a workforce development module for AI safety.

Prerequisites: 1) Python for coding the Responsible AI framework, 2) Docker for deploying software package to run the framework, 3) Statistical analysis for analyzing the surveys and data, 4) Qualitative analysis for analyzing the surveys, 5) Web development for distributing to others to use
Category of Study: Computer Science
Organization: Discovery Partners Institute (DPI)
Dates + Times: June, July, and August with weekly on-site sessions
Housing/Transportation: Students are responsible for transportation.
Positions Available: 1-2
Primary Mentor: Alvin Chin

Analysis of smart phone apps to check if they violate privacy properties specified by their lables. We will employ existing tools and build on them for analysis. The Apps analyzed may be Android apps written in Java or iphone Apps written in swift. May also use LLMs for this purpose.

Prerequisites: Good mathematical and logical skills, Good programming and systems skills
Category of Study: Computer Science
Organization: Discovery Partners Institute (DPI)
Dates + Times: June, July, and August with weekly on-site sessions
Housing/Transportation: Students are responsible for transportation.
Positions Available: 1
Primary Mentor: Prasad Sistla

Developing a web application that validates and standardizes wastewater-based epidemiology data across multiple laboratories. It includes analyzing data to define validation requirements and ensuring data consistency and accuracy in automated wastewater surveillance pipelines. By enhancing data reliability, the project supports scalable and effective public health monitoring.

Prerequisites: Familiarity with Python, and some data analysis skills
Category of Study: Computer Science
Organization: Discovery Partners Institute (DPI)
Dates + Times: June, July, and August with weekly on-site sessions
Housing/Transportation: Students are responsible for transportation.
Positions Available: 1-2
Primary Mentor: Anuj Gautam

This summer project is for students interested in environmental science and data analytics. The project involves developing a model to predict water quality at Chicago's beaches using historical data on E. coli levels, weather patterns, and beach usage. This hands-on experience will provide valuable technical skills and insights into real-world environmental challenges.

Prerequisites: Familiarity with statistical analysis. Desirable familiarity with programming languages, such as Python.
Category of Study: Computer Science
Organization: Discovery Partners Institute (DPI)
Dates + Times: June, July, and August with weekly on-site sessions
Housing/Transportation: Students are responsible for transportation.
Positions Available: 1-2
Primary Mentor: Marcia Silva

This project will develop a Python-based tool that analyzes how migratory bird movements change across different local climate zones (e.g., dense urban, sparse urban, forest, water bodies, agricultural land) under different seasonal and extreme weather conditions. By collecting real-world bird sighting data and overlaying it with local land classification and climate conditions, this project will explore how urbanization and climate fluctuations impact bird migration routes.

Prerequisites: Students participating in this project should have familiarity with Python, including basic programming concepts like loops, functions, and reading data files. Some data analysis skills using Pandas will be helpful for filtering and processing bird migration and climate datasets. Basic data visualization skills with Matplotlib will be needed to create simple graphs and charts to analyze trends. While prior experience with climate or wildlife studies is not required, an interest in nature, conservation, and data-driven insights will make the project more engaging and meaningful.

Category of Study: Computer Science
Organization: Discovery Partners Institute (DPI)
Dates + Times: June, July, and August with weekly on-site sessions
Housing/Transportation: Students are responsible for transportation.
Positions Available: 1-2
Primary Mentor: Anuj Tiwari

Develop a plaform with multimodal bioinformatics methods spanning DNA/RNA sequence to protein structure analysis. The workflows will be designed specific to cannabis related research including, but not limited to, sequence analysis, multiple sequence alignments, transcripton, translation, protein structure prediction, structure analysis, and more.

Prerequisites: 1) Python, 2) (web) application development, 3) interest in biophysics and bioinformatcis!
Category of Study: Computer Science
Organization: Discovery Partners Institute (DPI)
Dates + Times: June, July, and August with weekly on-site sessions
Housing/Transportation: Students are responsible for transportation.
Positions Available: 1-2
Primary Mentor: Sugy

Learners will join one or both ongoing research projects in moral distress in health professions education. Project one involves integration of a moral distress intervention in the UIC College of Medicine. This project will be in data analysis, and student researchers will be needed for transcription, literature review, and citation management. Project two involves the revision of my survey instrument for use in undergraduate populations for use in the creation of interventions at the baccalaureate-level. That project will be working to prepare for near-peer interventions scheduled to take place fall 2025, and student research assistants will be needed for a wide variety of activities, including data analysis, literature review, citation management, event planning, and participating in methods that ensure Investigator screening during an interventional randomized control trial.

Prerequisites: Curiosity and self-motivation to learn and do new things. If possible, it would be great if learners had CITI training, but that may require parental consent and I don't want that to be a bar on inclusion.
Category of Study: BHIS and Medical Education
Organization: University of Illinois (UIC)
Dates + Times: TBD
Housing/Transportation: Students are responsible for transportation.
Positions Available: 2
Primary Mentor: Eric Swirsky, Clinical Associate Professor & Associate Director GPPA Medicine

Students will participate in our Community Health Needs Assessment (CHNA), which includes survey and focus group research to understand community needs, resources, and priorities regarding cancer health and cancer research. Surveys and focus groups are conducted in community settings on West and South Sides of Chicago and related municipalities, offered in Spanish and English, and allow for hands-on experience in engagement and outreach. Students will participate in preparing materials, preparing for community events (e.g., health fairs), human subjects activities (e.g., consent, survey data collection, data management), dissemination products, and other activities (as needed).

Prerequisites: Ideally, all students will have basic computer skills and at least 1 student will speak / write / read in Spanish.
Category of Study: Cancer Center
Organization: University of Illinois (UIC)
Dates + Times: May 2025 - December 2025
Housing/Transportation: Students are responsible for transportation.
Positions Available: 3
Primary Mentor: Dr. Yamile Molina

Prerequisites: Solid math foundations through calculus, comfort with programming in at least one language (these projects typically require students to learn new languages suited to high-performance computing).
Category of Study: Computational Science
Organization: Velexi Corporation
Dates + Times: Dates and times are flexible.
Positions Available: 1-2
Primary Mentor: Kevin Chu, Consultant / Researcher / CEO

Prerequisites: A strong foundation in mathematical reasoning and interest in learning math outside of the typical calculus sequence (for instance, linear algebra, probability/statistics, etc.), interest in applying math to problems of interest to scientific/engineering/industry. Note: the math level requirements vary from project to project.
Category of Study: Mathematics
Organization: Velexi Corporation
Dates + Times: Dates and times are flexible.
Positions Available: 1-2
Primary Mentor: Kevin Chu, Consultant / Researcher / CEO

Prerequisites: Comfortable programming in Python. Nice to have: interest in learning math/statistics that support analysis of the ML/AI results and/or algorithm.
Category of Study: Computer Science
Organization: Velexi Corporation
Dates + Times: Dates and times are flexible.
Positions Available: 1-2
Primary Mentor: Kevin Chu, Consultant / Researcher / CEO

Prerequisites: Comfortable programming in Python and experience with software design principles (for instance, object-oriented design).
Category of Study: Computer Science
Organization: Velexi Corporation
Dates + Times: Dates and times are flexible.
Positions Available: 1-2
Primary Mentor: Kevin Chu, Consultant / Researcher / CEO

Artificial intelligence (AI) is a technology that enables computers and machines to simulate human learning, comprehension, problem-solving, decision-making, creativity, and autonomy. This definition of AI is supported by IBM (https://www.ibm.com/think/topics/artificial-intelligence). Businesses have shown significant interest in adopting AI technology, and its adoption is expected to grow in the coming years. Similarly, AI has gained traction among educators and students in academia.

It is crucial to investigate the accuracy of information provided by various AI tools. Additionally, when students use AI tools to generate text for assignments, it is important to ensure that educators have reliable tools to detect this usage. However, plagiarism detection tools may produce false positive reports, and advanced technology can manipulate AI-generated text in ways that make it difficult for these tools to determine whether the text was written by a human or a machine.
This project will involve conducting experiments to address the following questions:

• Do different artificial intelligence tools provide consistent information on the same topic?
• Can plagiarism detection tools, such as Turnitin (https://www.turnitin.com/), identify text generated by AI tools like ChatGPT, Gemini, and others available at https://poe.com/?
• Are there strategies or tools that can be used to mimic human writing, even when the text is generated by an AI tool, to make it more challenging for plagiarism detection tools to identify it?

Prerequisites: An understanding of using various artificial intelligence tools, such as Gemini and ChatGPT.
Category of Study: Computer Science
Organization: Western Illinois University
Dates + Times:July 6 - July 18, 2025
Positions Available: 2
Primary Mentor: Tahir Khan, Associate Professor

Hey, high schoolers! Ever dreamed of making your own video game? Now's your chance!
Join our 4-Week Game Design Internship using Python ! No Python experience? No worries! We'll teach you from the ground up-no confusing nerd-speak, just fun and games (literally).

Your Game-Dev Journey:
Week 1: Learn Python (without rage-quitting).
Week 2: Take a classic Pong game and make it your own.
Weeks 3 & 4: Build your own game from scratch and become a legend.

You'll be using Pygame (the secret sauce of indie game devs) and a scaffolded learning approach to make sure you level up fast.

Who Should Apply?
You love video games. (Obviously.)
You want to create your own but don't know where to start.
You have an open mind and can handle a few epic coding fails before the big win.

Prerequisites: None
Category of Study: Mechanical and Industrial Engineering
Organization: University of Illinois (UIC)
Dates + Times: TBD
Positions Available: 2-4
Primary Mentor: Pranav Bhounsule, Assistant Professor

This internship covers the study of principles and techniques associated with ergonomic problems to explain and apply human factors engineering concepts in both evaluation of existing systems and design of new systems. The goal is to specify designs that avoid occupation related injuries to identify the basic human sensory, cognitive, and physical capabilities and limitations with respect to human-machine system performance. The course will be based on training and use of the human cad software Santos® as a virtual human model to design and predict human performance while engaged in various processes, thus helping manufacturers design more effective products and systems.

Prerequisites: computers, design if possible (AutoCad, Solidworks, useful but prior knowledge not required)
Category of Study: Mechanical and Industrial Engineering
Organization: University of Illinois (UIC)
Dates + Times: June 16, 2025 to August 8, 2025
Positions Available: 4+
Primary Mentor: Dr. Quintin L. Williams Jr., Clinical Associate Professor