Summer Science Institute
The University of Mary Washington Irene Piscopo Rodgers ’59 Summer Science Institute is a program that offers UMW science majors an opportunity to participate in a summer-long, research project supervised by a faculty member. This year, 30 students in STEM disciplines conducted research on campus, as well as field research from Florida, to West Virginia, to the Chesapeake Bay, and one team traveled to Norway for the first part of the summer for lab work there.
Students wrapped up the 10-week program with a special luncheon, where SSI Alumni Dr. Kristen Lewis Lawson ’12, Ryan Meeks ’23, Maddie Killian ’23, and Adrian Coello ’24 spoke about their own SSI experiences and their career paths since leaving UMW. Then on July 23, 2025, students presented the results of their research through poster and oral presentations at our 26th annual Summer Science Symposium.
2025 project titles included:
Optimizing Japanese Rice Fish (Oryzias latipes) Pituitary Organ Culture
Student: Ashlynn Peszko
Faculty: Dianne Baker
Developing a Method to Analyze the Effect of Proton Pump Inhibitors on Cancer Cells
Student: Franco Truijillo
Faculty: Randall Reif
Machine Learning for Block Preconditioners
Student: Kassi Williams
Faculty: Evan Coleman
Spatial, temporal, and ecological impact analysis of trace metals enrichment in a Central Appalachian coal mining watershed
Student: Eric Torres
Faculty: Ben Kisila
Mutual Information as a Measure of Association: Application on Florida Lakes
Student: Delaney Thomas
Faculty: Debra Hydorn
The Universe Sings: An Investigation of Gravitational Wave Cosmology
Student: Sophie Jenson
Faculty: Desmond Villalba