Bio Club’s REU Night

This year, Biology Club hosted their second annual REU Night. Honors seniors Logan Anderson, Anna Bauer, Morgan Fimreite, Kayla Koenig, and Gracie Rohr along with Honors sophomore Tyler Blom shared their research experience with underclassmen and answered their questions.

Tyler, a Theoretical Mathematics major with a minor in Philosophy, is on the Executive Board of Math Club. He proved a result of a number theory problem from a high school research project and shared it with mathematics professors when he was a first-year at St. Norbert. After presenting at the Pi Mu Epsilon conference, he knew he wanted to continue doing research. He was awarded the Poss-Wroble scholarship, which funded his research on a combinatorial game this past summer. This was the research he discussed at the REU night: the Game of Cycles, the results he proved, and how to play. After learning about the game, the audience participated in a tournament, competing against each other. He hoped audience members would take away the amount of depth in the game and how many questions are still unanswered regarding the game. He recently presented this research at the 2025 Joint Mathematics Meeting in Seattle, WA.

Gracie, a Chemistry major with minors in Spanish and Women’s and Gender Studies, is President of the Chemistry Club and began doing chemistry research in the spring of her sophomore year. In her Research Emphasis Organic Chemistry course, she found the techniques exciting, which sparked her interest in materials research. She discussed her REU experience with the NSF’s Center for Sustainable Polymers at the University of Minnesota, where she processed her own plastic. This experience was unique as Gracie worked in two departments: Chemistry and Chemical Engineering and Materials Science. While she was nervous at first, at a new university in an impressive yet unfamiliar program, her worries were quickly eased. She hoped that by sharing her story it would help lessen the stress of others interested in pursuing REUs. 

Anna, a Biomedical Sciences and Mathematics double major with a minor in Chemistry, is the President of the Biology Club, which hosted the event, and Vice President of Women in STEM. She began doing research in her second semester of undergrad with Dr. Brandt (Biology) on Chronic Wasting Disease in White-Tailed Deer. Her interests were further sparked by Genetics courses while she continued research projects with both Dr. Brandt and Dr. Friedlander. These projects involved developing an RShiny app for the Green Bay DNR and exploring the demographics of African elephants. For her REU night presentation, Anna discussed her summer REU at the Medical University of South Carolina, where she worked to create a new model for kidney cancer survival outcomes in a Black patient population. She hoped students learned about the rise of research dedicated to creating an individualized approach to medical treatment and diagnosis. 

Logan, a Biomedical Sciences major with a minor in Communication, is an SGA Representative and Founder of the SNC Rock Climbing Club. His research first began as an updated video tutorial of how to use a compound microscope for Biology professor, Dr. Brandt. He presented his research on interactive educational videos and their effectiveness when compared with their passive counterparts. This research was conducted through SNC’s SURF (Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship), which allows eight weeks of research on campus and a presentation with the entire cohort at the end of the summer. By presenting, he hoped to encourage students to pursue research by sharing what it’s really like.

Every student who presented has a large passion for research and discovery, wanting to inspire the next generation of scientists and researchers. Tyler and Logan love the freedom and flexibility of research. Students are able to learn at their own pace. Working in the lab also allows hands-on learners to apply what they learn in class firsthand and enables a team to learn together, which Gracie appreciates. Anna emphasized how valuable undergraduate research projects are, allowing academic exploration and potential connections for the future. This REU night is a testament and celebration of the collaboration in the scientific community and we hope it continues to spread the opportunities and excitement that come with research.