Several Hope College research projects have received grants from the .
A total of 11 projects from Hope received funding from the consortium through its 2024-25 grant period. The awards to Hope projects, which total $48,000, include seven undergraduate fellowships for students conducting collaborative research with faculty, and four seed grants for faculty research.
Hope will provide additional funding, including stipends for students as they conduct research during the summer, and support for the faculty and institutional projects.
The students receiving fellowships are:
Valen Feldmann, a sophomore from Wayzata, Minnesota, for ɫɜDeveloping a novel variant of k-means for dividing massive data into many clusters with well-spread centroids,ɫɝ with Dr. Gabriel Chen, associate professor of statistics and data science;
Joseph Fogt, a sophomore from Hudsonville, for ɫɜEffect of Radiation Damage on TI-Ba-Ca-Cu-O (2212) thin film superconductors,ɫɝ with Dr. Kyuil Cho, assistant professor of physics;
Trevor Harrison, a freshman from Lapeer, for ɫɜCalibration of Fluence of High-Energy Particles using a Rutherford Backscattering Method,ɫɝ with Dr. Kyuil Cho;
Benjamin Jackson, a junior from Fort Wayne, Indiana, for ɫɜInfluence of Surface Roughness on Mechanochem Competition of Wear vs. Growth for Metal Oxide Nanoparticle Antiwear Films,ɫɝ with Dr. Meagan Elinski, assistant professor of chemistry;
Christopher Klaver, a sophomore from Holland, for ɫɜAnalysis of the temperature sensitivity of peat decomposition using carbohydrate analysis across a climate transect of Michigan,ɫɝ with Dr. Michael Philben, assistant professor of geological and environmental science;
Natalie Leake-Jara, a sophomore from Highlands Ranch, Colorado, for ɫɜEffects of Urbanization on Stress Levels, Auditory and Visual Processing of the House Sparrow (Passer domesticus),ɫɝ with Dr. Kelly Ronald, assistant professor of biology; and
John Wenderski, a sophomore from Livonia, for ɫɜThe impacts of iron oxide nanoparticle exposure on antipredator behavior of house sparrows (Passer domesticus),ɫɝ with Dr. Kelly Ronald.
The faculty members who received seed grants are:
Dr. Kyuil Cho, assistant professor of physics, for ɫɜEffects of Radiation Damage on Thin-Film Superconductorsɫɝ;
Dr. Sarah Dean, assistant professor of geological and environmental sciences, for ɫɜLunar Anorthite Chemical Extractionɫɝ;
Dr. Gina Garza-Kling, assistant professor of mathematics, for ɫɜDeveloping Intuitive Multiplication Facts Strategies with Young Studentsɫɝ; and
Dr. Jeff Martin, assistant professor of mathematics instruction, for ɫɜMachine Learning to Advance Nondestructive Inspection and Evaluation with Compton Scattering Tomography.ɫɝ
The Michigan Space Grant Consortium is part of the National Space Grant College and Fellowship Program initiated by NASA in 1989, and seeks to foster awareness of, education in, and research on space-related science and technology in Michigan. The MSGCɫəs mission is to create, develop and promote programs that reflect NASAɫəs strategic interests and support cooperation between academia, industry, state and local government in science and technology in Michigan. In addition to Hope, the consortium includes Calvin University, Central Michigan University, Eastern Michigan University, Grand Valley State University, Michigan State University, Michigan Technological University, Oakland University, Saginaw Valley State University, Wayne State University, Western Michigan University, the University of Michigan and the Ann Arbor Public Schools.