Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) 2024
2024 CIERA REU cohort
In 2024, CIERA received a record 618 applications from across the country for its Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) program.
“This was our 10 year anniversary, and we had the highest number of applications in our history!” shared REU Director and CIERA Professor Aaron Geller. “We were fortunate to host 13 REU amazing REU students this summer, who, with the help of their CIERA advisors, all completed excellent research projects. I also want to highlight Chase Kimball, our co-director this year; his mentorship and connection with the students, and the extra professional development workshops that he enabled, made this a very special summer for everyone.”
Sponsored by the National Science Foundation, the CIERA REU program provides students with the opportunity to pursue an astrophysics-based interdisciplinary research project in collaboration with Northwestern faculty. A full list of student projects can be found here, with more research details available on the research website each student developed during the REU program.
On top of research experience, the program also provides opportunities for professional development, networking, and community building. Such opportunities include computer programming tutorials, high performance computing workshops, access to Northwestern’s Quest Supercomputer, scientific journal article writing workshops, RCTP science communication workshops, research talks from faculty, graduate school and GRE-prep panel discussions, career panel discussions (including non-academic career paths), and organized field trips. This year, students visited Yerkes Observatory and the Adler Planetarium, and participated in the University of Notre Dame’s REU Physics Olympics for a second consecutive year. In the program’s final week, the REU students presented their research results with a conference-style poster presentation for family, friends and the CIERA community.
2024 cohort: Reon Allen, Maria Calderon-Marrero, Andres Chirino-Segura, Jessica Cotturone, Leah English, Alina Hussain, Maša Kilibarda, Farrah Molina, Elizabeth Moné, Jonah Mougoue, Amanda Newton, Sam Solod, Lillie Szemraj
Illinois Space Grand (ISG) 2023
2024 ISG Cohort, 5 not pictured
This summer, CIERA also hosted 9 undergraduate recipients of the Illinois Space Grant, a NASA-funded summer research program. Students worked with professors in one of several areas of space sciences and astrophysics, culminating in a verbal presentation of their research. The Northwestern ISG program is overseen by CIERA Professor Mel Ulmer.
2024 cohort: Daniel Campos, Connor Capoot, Audrey Clarendon, Cristian Casterjon, Leka Davis, Aiden Novick, Sarah Opoku, Maddox Wroblewski, Justyce Watson