SIUE Graduate School Presents Research Grants to Outstanding Students

SIUE Graduate School Presents Research Grants to Outstanding Students

The Southern Illinois University Edwardsville Graduate School is pleased to announce fall 2026Research Grants for Graduate Students (RGGS) award recipients.

The awards, valued at up to $500 each, support the research and creative activities of 29 graduate students studying in the College of Arts and Sciences and Schools of Education, Health and Human Behavior, Pharmacy, and Engineering.

"SIUE's Graduate School is proud to support our master's students as they pursue research that deepens knowledge and creates real-world impact," said Christopher Slaten, PhD, Associate Provost for Research and Dean of the Graduate School. "The RGGS awards reflect our commitment to providing resources and mentorship that help students move their ideas forward and contribute meaningfully to their fields. We celebrate the creativity and dedication of our awardees and look forward to seeing the outcomes of their work."

Faculty advisors oversee the students' individual research or creative activity. The primary purpose of the RGGS program is to support the graduate students' work, particularly as it relates to their thesis or final project.

A sampling of awarded projects is listed below.

• Build, Break, Mend: Ceramic Stones, Morality, and the Cycle of Becoming (Dallas Shields, Studio Art, Faculty Advisor: Joseph Page, MFA)
• Modifications of Ugi-Smiles Reactions via Microwave and Solid-Phase Synthesis (Abigail Lewis, Chemistry, Faculty Advisor: Sarah Luesse, PhD)
• Development and Numerical Evaluation of a Proposed Extended End-Plate Steel Connection under Biaxial Bending (Seyedehyasamin Seyedalizadeh, Civil Engineering, Faculty Advisor: Alaaeldin Elsisi, PhD, PE)
• Hardware-Level Optimization of YOLO Object Detection on an FPGA Deep Learning Processor and an Embedded GPU for Drone Imagery (Md Jobayer Rahman, Electrical & Computer Engineering, Faculty Advisor: Mousam Hossain, PhD)
• Design and Synthesis of 4-Aminopiperidine derivative as Sigma Receptor Ligands: Biological Evaluation and SPR-Based Affinity Profiling (Santosh Dhungana, Pharmaceutical Sciences, Faculty Advisor: Marcelo Nieto, PhD)
• Effect of Problematic Internet Use on Self and Interpersonal Functioning (Jessica Stroup, Clinical Psychology, Faculty Advisor: Eunyoe Ro, PhD)

PHOTO: Claire Korte, former RGGS recipient from Chemistry, presenting her research at the 2026 Graduate School Student Symposium