Past REU Participants

2026 ARISE REU Cohort

Kansas State University Placements

Nithish Aravinthan, University of Kansas, A Data-Driven Neural Network Framework for Resilience Inference, Mentor: Bala Natarajan
Braden KrKosska, Wichita State University, Disaster Preparedness: Are We Ready and Factors Influencing Households' Ability to Be Prepared, Mentor: Jason Bergtold
Sophia McCann, University of Missouri-Columbia, Post-Disaster Recovery Priorities for Households and Communities in the Central Great Plains, Mentor: Jason Bergtold
Wyatt Nord, Kansas State University, From Risk to Resilience: A GIS-Based Vulnerability Index for Flood-Prone Brownfields in the Kansas City Metro, Mentor: Shakil Bin Kashem
Amaya Thompson, Kansas State University, The Influence of Natural Disasters on Displacement
Mentor: Jason Bergtold
Will Tongier, University of Kansas, Community Household Perceptions of Solar Energy in the United States, Mentor: Jason Bergtold

University of Kansas Placements

Davis Greenstreet, University of Kansas, Economic Spillover of Ogallala Aquifer Irrigation, Mentor: William Duncan
Jacinda Wood, Coffeyville Community College, Power to the People? Assessing the Social, Financial and Operational Impacts of Private Equity Investment in Electric Utilities, Mentor: Joel Mendez
Jonathan David Juarez, California State Polytechnic University, Humboldt, Judging the Book's Cover: Do Public Libraries Experience a Change in Funding After a Federal Disaster Declaration? Mentor: William Duncan
Lillian Clark, Wichita State University, Water Quality Monitoring in a Kansas Rural Water District, Mentors: Edward Peltier and Justin Hutchison
Makynzie Murray, Washburn University, Property Damage and Social Isolation as Correlates of Prolonged Displacement, Mentor: Chia-Fu Liu
Matthew Paulson, University of Kansas, Comparing Indoor Air Quality (PM2.5) Between Manufactured Houses and Single-Family Houses, Mentor: Yoonjung Ahn

Wichita State University Placements

Bryant Roberts, Wichita State University, Development of a Machine Learning Model for Second-Life Battery Chemistry Assessment, Mentor: Davi Soares
Caleb Hatch, Kansas State University, Evaluating Aisle Containment Strategies for Data Center Cooling Efficiency During Spiked IT Loads, Mentor: Aravinthan Visvakumar
Ken Shaffer, Fort Hays State University, Development of Free-Standing Carbon-Based Electrodes in Organic Lithium Electrolyte for Higher-Energy-Density Supercapacitors, Mentor: Davi Soares
Juweriah Shahzad, University of Kansas, Who Pays, Who Benefits? Mentor: Aravinthan Visvakumar
Saria Castillo, Wichita State University, Expanding Community Resilience: Integrating Cultural Heritage into City Climate Planning, Mentor: Matthew Howland
Victoria Diaz, California State Polytechnic University, Los Angeles, Powering the Internet with Sunshine, Mentor: Aravinthan Visvakumar

Nathan Bishtok, economics & political science at the University of Kansas; mentor: Prof. Joel Mendez
Joshua Burns, mechanical engineering at the University of Kansas; mentor: Dr. Ted Peltier
Hannah Gideon, geoscience at Fort Hays State University; mentor: Dr. Justin Hutchinson
Matthew Goodman, chemical engineering at the University of Kansas; mentor: Dr. Belinda Sturm
Monique Haynie, chemical engineering at the University of Kansas; mentor: Dr. Belinda Sturm
Nicholas Thompson, economics and statistics at Kansas State University; mentor: Dr. William Duncan

Emily Greer, electrical engineering at Kansas State University; mentor: Dr. Bala Natarajan
Aneesh Sivakumar, electronics at Kansas State University; mentor: Dr. Bala Natarajan
Ryan Corrigan, political science at the University of Kansas; mentor: Dr. Jason Bergtold
Camille Taylor, agribusiness at Mississippi State University; mentor: Dr. Jason Bergtold
David Hipp, urban studies and planning at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaig; mentor: Dr. Shakil Kashem
Joseph Schauwecker, environmental economics at Mississippi State University; mentor: Dr. Vaishali Sharda

King Nguyen, computer science at Wichita State University; mentor: Dr. Vivaskumar Aravinthan
Fayrouz Zeidan, computer science at Louisiana Tech University; mentor: Dr. Vivaskumar Aravinthan

Abe Pankratz, Chemical Engineering, University of Kansas, Household Social Vulnerability Data for Developing Community Resilience Testbeds
Mentor: Amin Enderami, University of Kansas
Crystal Reyes, Mechanical Nuclear Engineering, Kansas State University, Equitable and Resilient Water Distribution Networks from Available Resources & Data, Mentor: Edward Peltier, Ph.D., Justin M. Hutchison, Ph.D., University of Kansas
Maddie Souser, Political Science & Environmental Studies, University of Kansas, Equity in Snow and Ice Routes, Mentor: Joel Mendez, Ph.D., University of Kansas
Marah Sipes, Environmental Engineering, Kansas State University, Infrastructure Service and Disaster Readiness Study, Mentor: Elaina J. Sutley, Ph.D., University of Kansas
Tristan Ramsey, Biology & Psychology, University of Dubuque, The Influence of Sludge Settleability during Storm Events on Waste Water Treatment, Mentor: Belinda Sturm, Ph. D., University of Kansas

Anexi Gaucin, General Students (Science), Dodge City Community College, Defining Energy Insecurity in Kansas, Mentor: Jason Bergtold, Ph.D., Kansas State University
Dylan Holmes, Physics, Baker University, Comparing Transportation Insecurity in Kansas, Mentor: Husain Aziz, Ph.D., Kansas State University
Lily Bray, Electrical Engineering, University of Kansas, Resilience Quantification for Multi-Infrastructure Systems, Mentors: Bala Natarajan, Ph.D., Anil Pahwa, Ph.D., Rahul Madbhavi, Ph.D., K-State University
Patrick Riley Blitt, Biological Systems Engineering, Kansas State University, Identifying and Analyzing Weather Whiplash in Different Parts of Kansas, Mentor: Vaishali Sharda, Ph.D., Kansas State University
Rahul Amatapu, Computer Science, University of Kansas, Integrating Community Perspectives in Infrastructure Decision-Making, Mentor: George Amariucai, Ph.D., Kansas State University

Bryan Espinosa, Mechanical Engineering, Kansas State University, Evaluating Infrastructure Resilience in Public Sectors, Mentor: Xiaoheng Wang, Ph.D., Wichita State University
Julian Chavez, Computer Science, Dodge City Community College, A Study of Traffic Patterns in Mid-sized Towns in the State of Kansas, Mentor: Salari Ehsan, Ph.D., Kansas State University