The Office of Student Research (OSR) at Illinois State University announces the winners of the Summer 2025 FIREBird and BirdFEEDER research grants.

These grants provide funding to support student research, scholarly inquiry, and innovation at Illinois State. The FIREbird Awards provide undergraduate students with funds for Faculty-mentored Independent Research Experiences (FIREbird). Up to $1500 may be used for student hourly wages, research incentives, supplies, or travel.

The BirdFEEDER Awards (Fund for Experimentation, Enquiry and the DEvelopment of Student Research) provide graduate and undergraduate students with up to $500 to use for research supplies, materials, or travel to conduct research.

The Summer 2025 grant recipients include:

FIREBird Grant Winners

Anabella Chlada, Department of Special Education, “Promoting Student Success through Policy: Applying Culturally Responsive Principles to Teacher Advocacy.” Faculty Mentor: Debbie Sheldon

Kara Fowler, Department of Geography, Geology and the Environment, “Paleomagnetic and geochronologic analysis of the Saganaga Tonalite Minnesota, US: Constraining the timing and nature of deformation.” Faculty Mentor: David Malone

Clo Mayback, Department of Philosophy, “Towards a Comprehensive Solution to the Mind-Body Problem: Integrating Panpsychism and Dual Aspect Theory.” Faculty Mentor: Tom Buller

Jacob Scalf, School of Biological Sciences, “Characterizing the effects of reactive chlorine species on the lifestyle of uropathogenic Escherichia coli.“ Faculty Mentor: Jan Dahl

Lillian Drager, Department of Geography, Geology and the Environment, “Understanding Mantle Xenolith Origin at Habri, Morocco.” Faculty Mentor: Tenley Banik

Eyan James, Department of Physics, “Neural Network Approach to Dirac’s Quantum Field Theory.” Faculty Mentor: Q. Charles Su

Amira Harris-Bommarito, Department of Geography, Geology and the Environment, “Detrital Zircon Geochronology of the Knife Lake Group (Ogishkemuncie Sequence), Minnesota, USA.” Faculty Mentor: David Malone

Megan Grobe, Department of Geography, Geology and the Environment, “Detrital Zircon Geochronology of the Upper White River Group, South Dakota and Wyoming, USA.” Faculty Mentor: David Malone

Kate Stanley, School of Biological Sciences, “Investigating Context Dependence of a Critical Life History Trade-off between Male Aggression and Immunity.” Faculty Mentor: Benjamin Sadd.

Preston Kietzman, Department of Geography, Geology and the Environment, “Defining the Extent of the Rubys Inn Thrust Fault.” Faculty Mentor: David Malone

Calvin Putterlik, Department of Psychology, “The Intersection of Socioeconomic Status and Attribution Biases: Unpacking How Systemic Inequality Shapes Perceptions of Behavior.” Faculty Mentor: Kelly Clemens

Paul Emmert, School of Biological Sciences, “The Effect of Exposure to Novel Pathogens on Bumblebee Host Health.” Faculty Mentor: Benjamin Sadd.

BirdFEEDER Winners

Alia Coleman, Department of Psychology, “Racial Socialization’s Impact on Perceptions of Microaggressions and the Role of Theory of Mind.” Faculty Mentor: Brea Banks

Hannah Hogue, Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders, “Coaching Children’s Museum Staff to Implement AAC Communication Partner Strategies: A Single Case Design Study.” Faculty Mentor: Ciera Lorio

Connor Kingsley, Department of Health Sciences, “From Odor to Exposure: Investigating Microbial Contributions to Lead Release in Tap Water Systems in Bloomington, IL.” Faculty Mentor: Yeunook Bae

Lauri Klump, Department of Sociology and Anthropology, “Education in the Age of Censorship: Educator Insights into the New Sociopolitical Environment in Education.” Faculty Mentor: Mike Dougherty

Matthew Lampa, Department of Health Sciences, “How Water Usage Habits can affect Lead Release from Lead Service Lines (LSLs).“ Faculty Mentor: Yeunook Bae

Kristiana Mininger, Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders, “Developing Materials for Caregivers of Senegalese Children with Disabilities to Support Their Communication Development.” Faculty Mentor: Ciera Lorio

For more information and for application dates for the 2025-26 academic year, visit Office of Student Research.