UR Ambassadors

Undergraduate Research Ambassadors support the Undergraduate Research Program in its efforts to provide critical research opportunities to students at Iowa State. Ambassadors speak to campus organizations and classes about undergraduate research events and initiatives, represent undergraduate research at major campus events such as WelcomeFest or Orientation, assist with undergraduate research events such as the Symposium on Undergraduate Research and Creative expression, manage undergraduate research social media accounts, and serve as a liaison for students interested in getting involved in undergraduate research.

Sound like something you're interested in joining?

The eligibility requirements for UR Ambassadors are:

  • Full-time Iowa State student
  • GPA of at least 3.00
  • Have been involved with research for at least 2 semesters including a summer semester
  • Able to commit to a full academic year term
  • Demonstrate a willingness to learn more about undergraduate research programs and events
  • Effective public speaking and communication skills
  • Preferred: participation in an REU

If you're interested in developing your presentation and leadership skills, expanding your professional network, and helping support an undergraduate research initative at a Research One institution, UR Ambassadors are for you! Fill out the application below:

 

Online Application to join the group of Undergraduate Research Ambassadors



Current Undergraduate Research Ambassadors

 

Daniel

 

Daniel Howell

Daniel is a junior majoring in Chemistry and Horticulture with a minor in Spanish. During the spring of his freshman year, he began undergraduate research with Dr. Wenyu Huang’s group in the Chemistry department, where he worked with inorganic catalysts for industrially important gas-phase reactions. He then had a summer R&D internship with Kemin Industries, in which he worked with antioxidants for pet food. He has since been involved in research with the Huang group during the school year where he is part of a Plastic Upcycling project associated with the Department of Energy. During the summer of 2022, as part of a study abroad experience, he worked in a plant biology laboratory under Dr. Roc Ros at the University of Valencia in Valencia, Spain. Daniel plans to attend graduate school, earn a PhD in either Chemistry or Biochemistry, and have a career in research.  

Have a question about undergraduate research in Chemistry? Ask Daniel!

 

 

V
 

 

Victoria Kyveryga

Victoria is a third-year chemical engineering and chemistry student. She is currently involved in materials chemistry research in Dr. Kirill Kovnir’s group (Department of Chemistry and Ames Laboratory) and has had previous research experiences in biorenewable chemical optimization (Iowa State University), optical property characterization of nanocubes (University of Texas at Austin), and aggregation studies of quantum dots in liquid crystals (University of Pennsylvania). Victoria’s plans after graduation include attending a chemical or materials engineering graduate program, and she hopes to find herself in a career that allows her to synthesize and characterize materials for efficient storage, transmittance, and conversion of energy.

Have a question about undergraduate research in Chemical Engineering or Chemistry?

Ask Victoria!

 

 

h
 

Henry Thomas

Henry is a junior majoring in Chemistry and Physics. He began his research with the first-year honors mentor program under Dr. Wenyu Huang and has been working in the Huang lab since then for two semesters. He does research on the synthesis of novel nanomaterials such as crystalline organic catalysts known as covalent organic frameworks (COFs). He plans on attending graduate school, eventually earning a PhD in chemistry and going into a career in research. He has also done a summer research program through the department of chemistry at ISU during the summer of 2022. 

Have a question about undergraduate research in Chemistry or Physics? Ask Henry!

 

 

 

Michael Miller

Michael is a junior in Aerospace Engineering and minoring in Psychology and Computer Science at Iowa State University. He began research during his freshman year through the First-Year Honors Mentor Program (FHMP). Here he worked under the mentorship of Dr. Hui Hu in the Aircraft Icing Laboratory. This research focuses on studying aircraft icing phenomena and mitigation strategies through field-testing as well as Icing Research Tunnel experiments. Currently, Michael is working on the AABL Balance Project, which entails designing, manufacturing, and implementing a new and improved stability balance for the senior design wind tunnel at Iowa State. Michael has also participated in an REU in Consumer Networking through the University of Missouri, where he built a custom network framework tailored for emergency routing services. Michael is currently deciding between attending graduate school after he obtains his Bachelor’s degree in Aerospace Engineering or going directly into industry after graduation. 

Have a question about undergraduate research in Aerospace Engineering? Ask Michael!

 

 

 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Zoë Dekruif

Zoë is a junior majoring in Linguistics with minors in Anthropology and Classical Studies. She is currently working under Dr. Evgeny Chukharev-Hudilainen as an undergraduate research assistant, and aids in the study of process-focused advice to improve college students’ writing. Additionally, she has done past research in the reconstruction of dead languages, in second language acquisition, and in linguistic corpus analysis (see: https://youngscholarsinwriting.org/index.php/ysiw/article/view/355/371). Zoë plans to continue her involvement with this research and attend graduate school to further explore the field of applied linguistics.

Have a question about undergraduate research in Linguistics? Ask Zoë!

 

Benjamin Pellizzari

Hailing from Boston, Massachusetts, Benjamin Pellizzari is a Sophomore at the Ivy College of Business, majoring in Business Analytics with an emphasis in mass-marketing and entrepreneurship. Besides representing the undergraduate research program, Ben serves as President for Iowa State and Historian for the state of Iowa as a member of Future Business Leaders of America, an organization which focusses on competing in academic business and technical-career competitions on both a state and national level, participating in community philanthropy, practicing parliamentary procedure, and leadership development. Following graduation at Iowa State, Ben hopes to obtain his MBA and join the corporate financial world as a market analyst while maintaining his own creative passions in entrepreneurship.”

Have a question about undergraduate research in Business? Ask Benjamin!

 

 

 

Morgan Simms

Morgan Simms is a sophomore in Interior Design with a minor in Sustainability. She has been doing research with Dr. Rachel Eike since her freshmen year through the First Year Honors Mentor Program. Morgan presented at the symposium in the spring of 2022 and plans to keep presenting her work through its completion. Her research follows her sustainability minor and consists of collecting recycled textiles and breaking them down to create new materials for further use. After completing her Undergraduate, Morgan plans on joining a commercial design firm where she will implement sustainable practices learned in her research. 

Have a question about undergraduate research in Sustainability? Ask Morgan!