Undergraduates Spend a Summer Conducting Research, Exploring Opportunities 

By Elyse Boldizar and Maggie McCullough

While conducting research in college is intriguing, it can also feel elusive and even intimidating to those who have no prior experience in a lab.

The Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) summer program helps make research more accessible to those who are new to the process. Over the course of 10 weeks, undergraduate students in the Wilson College of Textiles’ Department of Textile Engineering, Chemistry and Science conduct research projects based on their interests. Students are paired with faculty and graduate students who guide them through the research process. At the end of the program, they share what they worked on during a university-wide undergraduate research symposium.

This year, 38 students participated in the program, with six visiting students from other universities. 

“The idea is to provide an opportunity for undergraduate students to try research,” Amanda Mills, an assistant professor who co-directs REU alongside associate dean Jeff Joines, says ”We want to give students a chance to apply what they’re learning in class in a laboratory setting. Give them a chance to see if a career in research really appeals to them.”

Unlike REU programs at other universities, REU at the Wilson College only requires that students work half-time. This gives students time to take classes while participating in the program. 

Additionally, REU offers professional development workshops throughout the summer. The workshops cover topics that might not be explicitly taught during the program such as how to write a research paper or tips for presenting research findings. 

Below, hear from participants of this summer’s REU program in their own words and read what they took away from the experience. 

Simon Belz

• Program: Textile and Fibers (ENSISA) ’24
• Research Lab: Conducted research with The Nonwovens Institute.
• Advisor: Associate Professor Eunkyoung Shim

What did you work on this summer? 

I worked on meltblown nonwovens stopping water penetrations but letting moisture pass through. The aim of this study was to observe the impact of Vistamaxx (elastomer) on nonwovens properties. We wanted to see if we could improve meltblown nonwovens by adding elastomer to polypropylene. As expected, the meltblown process is a hard process to control but adding Vistamaxx increased barrier properties.

Did the program change your knowledge of the research process? Was there anything that surprised you that you learned during the program? 

I learned a lot about nonwovens, extrusion and meltblown processes. I was surprised by the waiting time when scheduling a test. I felt very comfortable doing research because of the support from my mentor.

Did REU change/influence your idea of what you would like to pursue as a career? Are you interested in further research opportunities later down the line?

I learned that I like research more than I expected to. It has inspired me to look into Ph.D. programs. 

What was your biggest takeaway from the program? 

Discovering a new culture and having my first professional experience in a new country.

Joshua Bermudez

• Program: B.S. Polymer and Color Chemistry ’25
• Research Lab: Budhathoki Research Group
• Advisor: Assistant Professor Januka Budhathoki-Uprety

What did you work on this summer? 

I had the opportunity to research dye purification using synthetic polymer! The goal of the project was to determine if the synthetic polymer, polycarbodiimide (PCD) polymer, can be used to purify impure anionic textile dye solutions. The focus of experimentation in this project was to test the absorption of acid dye using PCD polymer under specific reaction conditions and see what were the most optimal conditions for PCD polymer to work under. 

From the experimentation performed this summer, we were able to come to a few conclusions based on effects of pH, dye concentration and salt concentration. Our conclusions were that PCD polymer was most effective at absorbing acid dyes under acidic conditions,  absorbed the most dye under 0.5 mg/mL dye concentrations and was able to absorb more anionic dye (at higher dye concentrations) with higher salt concentrations.

Did the program change your knowledge of the research process? Was there anything that surprised you that you learned during the program? 

I think that this program has definitely shown me a lot that goes into the research process. Working with Dr. Budhathoki has taught me that research and the act of doing research is almost like a form of storytelling. Like what you’d encounter in a story, the topic of interest is challenged and performing research is a way of determining the outcome of your story. The procedure and analysis of your research provide the reason behind your story, it answers the question “why?” in many cases, which I found to be very important throughout this entire research process. 

If it wasn’t for this program, I wouldn’t have found a new opportunity to apply my knowledge of polymer chemistry into something that can help answer those “why?” questions.  

What was your biggest takeaway from the program? 

My biggest takeaway from this program was learning about lab etiquette and learning how the instrumentation around the lab works. Thinking professionally, I also enjoyed the professional development seminars that the REU program offered.

Kaleah Gaddy

• Program: B.S. Textile Technology ’24
• Research Lab: Biomedical Textiles Research Group
• Advisor: Assistant Professor Jessica Gluck

What did you work on this summer? 

I worked on a tissue engineering project differentiating induced pluripotent stem cells into cardiomyocytes. I also analyzed the differentiated cells using polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and immunostaining to determine if the cells had the markers indicating successful differentiation. The goal is to get successful beating of the cells to potentially seed them on scaffolds to be used as repair tissue for heart disease.

Following the analyses, we determined that using higher concentrations of Wnti (activates signaling needed for cardiac differentiation) showed increased presence of alpha actinin (protein present in beating heart cells). Through this, we can continue to differentiate cells and work on getting them to beat for longer periods of time to later be combined with the scaffolds.

Did the program change your knowledge of the research process? Was there anything that surprised you that you learned during the program? 

Yes. I learned so much about tissue engineering and research itself. I didn’t realize how tedious stem cell research was until this program.

Did REU change/influence your idea of what you would like to pursue as a career? Are you interested in further research opportunities later down the line?

I was only slightly interested in graduate school before REU but now I’ve come to understand it’s a very feasible option for me. I want to go into research and development (R&D) in the future as well.

What was your biggest takeaway from the program? 

It gave me insight into what grad school in this program would be like and how much time is required for research as a whole – and not just at the graduate level.

Bryson Proctor

• Program: B.S. Textile Technology ’26
• Research Lab: Biomedical Textiles Research Group 
• Advisor: Assistant Professor Jessica Gluck

What did you work on this summer?

The goal of my project was to decellularize a pig heart, which means to cleanse away the cells from the tissue. I also focused on keeping the protein structure, extracellular matrix, unharmed. This fall, I plan on continuing on with decellularization, so there are no final conclusions yet, just progress towards a goal!

Did the program change your knowledge of the research process? Was there anything that surprised you that you learned during the program? 

The REU program taught me that the textile industry is so much more than what people might think! The medical world is very involved with textiles and is constantly finding ways to integrate textiles studies in modern medicine.

Did REU change/influence your idea of what you would like to pursue as a career? Are you interested in further research opportunities later down the line?

REU further confirmed that I want to continue  pursuing my interest in the medical field. I’ve learned about many opportunities the Wilson College provides on my way to a dental school. I am 100% interested in continuing on with research within textiles and medical textiles! I look forward to the opportunity that Dr. Gluck and Dr. King have generously provided me with!

What was your biggest takeaway from the program? 

My biggest takeaway from the REU program was gaining some independence, but still keeping in mind my resources! I learned to be more self reliant and really dive deep into trying to solve problems that I might run into. I have the capability of taking on many challenges and I know to push myself beyond my believed limits. My mentors also taught me to not be afraid to ask questions if I might need help. 

Maddy Moore

• Program: B.S. Textile Technology ’24
• Research Lab: Knitting Lab
• Advisor: Jenna DeCandio and Director of Zeis Textiles Extension, Andre West

What did you work on this summer?

This summer I worked with an artificial intelligence (AI) imaging service called Midjourney to design images that could be transferred onto and knitted on the looms in the laboratory. The scope was to see if the future of fashion could potentially be slowly affected by AI, while also learning how to harness this technology and learn more about it. 

I spent so much time communicating with the Midjourney bot and learned a lot about how AI originated and where it is headed. It is definitely a new frontier that we should look into in terms of how AI could affect the fashion industry and design as a whole.

Did the program change your knowledge of the research process? Was there anything that surprised you that you learned during the program? 

I learned a lot about trend forecasting and how brands forecast what is to come in the future of fashion and how they can start preparing for these trends to stay up to date. There are many websites and analytical researchers that focus on fashion trend forecasting which is a career I find highly fascinating.

What was your biggest takeaway from the program? 

My biggest takeaways were how deliberate the fashion industry can be and that there are so many avenues and careers that exist or that can be created with the use of AI!

Jaden Stutts 

• Program: B.S. Chemical Engineering (Clemson University) ’24
• Research Lab: Sustainable Dye Chemistry Lab
• Advisor: Assistant Professor Tova Williams

What did you work on this summer? 

I worked on finding the colorfastness of sustainably dyed fabrics. We ultimately found that many fabrics experience similar, if not better, fastness of sustainable solvent, carbon dioxide, as compared to water.

Did the program change your knowledge of the research process? Was there anything that surprised you that you learned during the program? 

Yes, I learned what colorfastness is and why it’s important to understand when selling products.

What was your biggest takeaway from the program? 

The textile industry is in dire need of reformation and needs to act more sustainably for the future of the planet, and the research done in the Sustainable Dye Chemistry Lab can help with these goals.