Featured Undergraduate Research Experiences

Ellen Purdy (‘19 in Chemistry) 

Ellen Purdy, a chemistry major and art history minor, found a way to combine her interests in the sciences and humanities by pursuing research opportunities in art conservation. While studying abroad in Madrid and Seville through the support of the FLAG program, Purdy first learned about the science of art conservation. In Chicago, she gained valuable research skills by working in a chemistry lab with Prof. Steven Sibener, where she was first exposed to spectroscopy (which she’s interested in applying to art conservation), and by participating in the Suzanne Deal Booth Seminar, a course in conservation science. These experiences contributed to Purdy’s successful application for the prestigious Gates Cambridge Scholarship, which she was awarded to pursue a master of philosophy in chemistry at the University of Cambridge.

Ade Ayoola (‘18 in Biological Chemistry) 

As a pre-med student majoring in biological chemistry, Ade Ayoola became interested in expanding her knowledge of medicine and health-care policy beyond what she was learning in the classroom. By working with the nonprofit BUILD Chicago, which supports the educational and career goals of at-risk youth on the south and west sides of Chicago, Ayoola was able to research the health issues of teenagers and young adults. As a fellow with the Center for Global Health, Ayoola researched diabetes, patient care, and health disparities in Nigeria, where she worked with a member of the faculty of UChicago Medicine. Ayoola pursued further research and volunteer opportunities at UChicago Medicine and through the Health Policy Scholars program. These experiences contributed to her successful application to be a Knight-Hennessy Scholar at Stanford University, where she is pursuing an MD at Stanford School of Medicine. 

Stephanie Reitzig (4th year in History) 

Stephanie Reitzig began her research trajectory as a Research Archives Volunteer at the Oriental Institute and as a research assistant for faculty in the Department of History. Reitzig then successfully applied to the CRASSH Scholars Program, becoming a CRASSH Scholar at the Newberry Library, where she assisted with preparations for three exhibitions and created online teaching and public history resources. More recently, Reitzig served as an Undergraduate Research Associate at the Smart Museum, where she worked on an exhibition on “Lust, Love, and Loss in Renaissance Europe,” conducted provenance research, and organized a student symposium on “The Lives and Afterlives of Objects.” Reitzig has also received an International Travel Grant to conduct archival research in Nuremberg and Frankfurt and has supplemented her coursework in Chicago through language study in France with the support of the FLAG program and by studying abroad at St. Catherine’s College at the University of Oxford. 

Serena Strecker (‘20 in Interdisciplinary Studies in the Humanities and Germanic Studies) 

In her coursework in Interdisciplinary Studies in the Humanities and in Germanic Studies, Serena Strecker pursued her interests in language study, close reading, and primary source research. Beyond the classroom, she worked as part of an undergraduate research team on the history of censorship, which was led by Prof. Ada Palmer in the Department of History. Strecker subsequently served as a research assistant for Prof. Christopher Wild in the Department of Germanic Studies. Utilizing the research skills she developed in Chicago, Strecker spent a summer in Wittenberg, Germany, where she researched metaphors of communication in Martin Luther’s postils at the Reformation History Research Library. This archival work served as the basis for her award-winning BA thesis. Strecker is currently pursuing a PhD in History at Yale University.