On August 7, the Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) program organized by Purdue University’s College of Engineering held its annual research symposium. The symposium, which was open to the public, featured 50 oral presentations and 93 research posters. During the poster session, students presented the research they conducted over the 11-week program. Student presentations were evaluated by both undergraduate and graduate students; the ten highest-rated poster presentations were recognized as “Outstanding Research Posters”.

Two Materials Engineering students, Ben Helfrecht (Junior) and Elizabeth Andreasen (Senior), were recipients of this award. Elizabeth, who worked under Prof. Lia Stanciu, presented her work on “The Role of Metal Oxide Layers in the Sensitivity of Lactate Biosensor Subjected to Oxygen-Limited Conditions”. Ben, who worked with Prof. Kendra Erk, presented his poster titled “Rheo-PIV Investigation of Fracture and Self-Healing in a Triblock Copolymer Gel”. Ben also worked with Travis Thornell, an MSE PhD student. At the conclusion of the SURF program, Travis was recognized as one of the program’s most outstanding graduate mentors.