Bidstrup Foundation and Barrett Research Undergraduate Fellowship supports honors student research with faculty

The Bidstrup Foundation and Barrett Research Undergraduate Fellowship supports the research interests, academic pursuits and professional aspirations of students in Barrett, The Honors College at Arizona State University.

The fellowship is tailored for Barrett students engaged in thesis or major studies research alongside any ASU faculty member.

Through the fellowship program, Barrett students with financial need who want to carry out scholarly work under the tutelage of faculty members are paid an hourly salary for their work. Funding of up to $2,000 is available.

Applications for the 2024-25 scholarship are now open and will be accepted until funding is exhausted. More information and the application are here.

Ayomide Laguda, a junior in Barrett Honors College pursuing a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering was awarded the 2023-24 fellowship to engage in a research project focused on setting up software for simulating models of gene regulatory network dynamics, which is genes interacting with each other to control cell function.

Laguda’s research was directed by Bryan Daniels, assistant professor in the ASU College of Global Futures School of Complex Adaptive Systems.

Laguda said he was grateful for being selected to receive the fellowship and saw the support as “a catalyst on my journey to pursue my degree in electrical engineering and to focus on getting more engrossed in the honors curriculum and ASU student life.”

The fellowship also helped move Laguda closer to his goal of becoming an electrical engineer with the skills of a computer scientist, meaning he will know the art of coding with various programming languages as well as the manufacturing and design of electrical systems.

Jayden Lynch, a junior environmental engineering major in Barrett, received funds from the fellowship in 2023-24 for his research on the Martian Regolith Project with Anca Delgado, associate professor in the Ira A. Fulton School of Engineering’s School of Sustainable Engineering and the Built Environment.

Lynch’s work, a major part of his honors thesis, focused on the properties of soil on Mars and its possible uses for future missions to the Red Planet.

“The funding from the fellowship makes a huge difference, allowing me to focus fully on this important work without financial stress. It’s encouraging to have the Bidstrup Foundation behind this project, and I believe we can make significant contributions to our understanding of Martian soil,” he said.

Another fellowship recipient, Sabrina Garcia-Arias, a Barrett Online student double majoring in neuroscience and psychology, worked with Barrett Honors College teaching professor Abby Loebenberg on creating an accessible hybrid online course setup for the Honors 171-272 class sequence for student-athletes and students with disabilities.

Garcia-Arias said that with support from the fellowship she was able to “continue my passion for research in a way that will directly affect the community at ASU, which I have grown to consider my family” and “further fortify my interest in research that also impacts students and educators within Barrett.”