WKU News

Eighteen WKU undergraduate students have been awarded Fall 2026 Faculty-Undergraduate Student Engagement (FUSE) awards, which support original research and creative projects conducted in collaboration with faculty mentors. Awardees were eligible to begin their work as of the grant's start date, August 14, 2026, and have up to 17 months or until graduation to complete their projects.

This semester's awardees represent a range of disciplines, from psychological sciences and physics to political science, history, and the arts. Projects include production of a short film, research on wavelength shifting materials, a string instrument pedagogy workshop, optimization of soil hydraulic function, and many others.

Recipients include:

Bir Altabbaa, mentored by Dr. Matthew Woodward, Associate Professor of Psychological Sciences

Ella Bryant, mentored by Shaina Feldman, Assistant Professor of the School of Media & Communication

Emma Childress, mentored by Dr. Jessi Thomsen, Assistant Professor of the English department

Cain Del Savio, mentored by Dr. Farley Norman, University Distinguished Professor of Psychological Sciences

Brennan Edwards, mentored by Dr. Ivan Novikov, Associate Professor of Physics & Astronomy

Lily Haynes, mentored by Dr. Diane Lickenbrock, Professor of Psychological Sciences

Matthew Hunter, mentored by Dr. Steven R. Wininger, Professor of Psychology

Noah Jennings, mentored by Dr. Jason Polk, Professor of Earth, Environmental, & Atmospheric Sciences

Mary Grace Johnson, mentored by Dr. Amy Brausch, Professor of Psychological Sciences

Campbell Lahman, mentored by Dr. Timothy Rich, Professor of Political Science

Derek Markus, mentored by Dr. Ching-Yi Lin, Professor of the Music department

Jodie Meiser, mentored by Dr. Katlyn Hettinger, Assistant Professor of Economics

Elaina Oakes, mentored by Dr. Timothy Rich, Professor of Political Science

Nik Schintgen, mentored by Dr. Giliane Rasbold, Assistant Professor of Earth, Environmental, & Atmospheric Sciences

Malleshwar Jayaraman Suresh, mentored by Dr. Kevin Williams, Professor of Chemistry & Biochemistry

Matthew Taylor, mentored by Dr. Katherine Lennard, Associate Professor of the History department

Ashten Tignor, mentored by Dr. Navdeep Singh, Assistant Professor of Agriculture & Food Science

Jagger Tomes, mentored by Dr. John Hostetter, Assistant Professor of Analytics & Information Systems

ORCA congratulates the students on their achievement and extends its thanks to the faculty mentors whose guidance made their projects possible.

The Spring 2027 FUSE application portal opens on September 4, 2026, for students wishing to apply.

Additional information about the FUSE program is available at wku.edu/research/fuse.php or by emailing fuse@wku.edu.