205-REU site activities

Elizabeth Varughese

Elizabeth Varughese is currently attending the University of Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV) and is majoring in biology with a minor in chemistry. She is also a pre-med student who is preparing to enter medical school in the future. Native to Mcallen Texas, Elizabeth graduated from UTRGV’s Mathematics and Science Academy (MSA), earning her high school diploma. During her time at the Academy, she was able to gain research experience in Dr. Uddin’s Photonics and Energy Research Laboratory. Her research focused on the study of triboelectric nanogenerators, by enhancing certain materials using copper delafossites to optimize voltage output with the goal of powering medical devices such as glucose monitors – a research project which reflects her passion for innovation in the healthcare field. Her dedication towards her work has reflected significant achievements, presenting her research at several research conferences at UTRGV and earning second place at the Texas Science and Engineering Fair, where she advanced to the state level.

Elizabeth’s long term-professional goal is to become a compassionate and skilled physician who advocates for others. Her drive for medicine stems from her scientific curiosity in the research laboratory and exposure to clinical experiences. In addition to her academic and professional pursuits, Elizabeth enjoys dancing, singing, creating intricate Mendhi (henna) designs, engaging in community service, and discovering new places through travel and exploration. With a commitment to lifelong learning and service, she continues to seek opportunities that blend science and medicine with hopes of making an impact on those around her.

Emylee Carrillo

Emylee Carrillo is a senior undergraduate student at The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley majoring in chemistry and biology. She’s been working under Dr. Julie Vanegas for almost a year and will be continuing working with her in Nanoworld Vanegas lab. She will be continuing her ongoing work focusing on determining the adsorption capacity of high-energy ball-milled fish scales for heavy metal removal from wastewater, as well as working on a new project focusing on determining a more cost and energy efficient way to capture and convert CO2 for CO2 mitigation applications. She is experienced in using analytical techniques such as UV-Vis, PL, FT-IR, and NMR.

Gerardo Zapata

Gerardo Isai Zapata was born in Hidalgo, Texas. He completed his education from elementary school through high school in Rio Bravo, Tamaulipas. After graduating from high school, he pursued an associate degree at South Texas College (STC). Upon completing his associate degree, he transferred to the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV) to continue his studies toward a bachelor's degree. In October 2024, Gerardo began conducting research under the guidance of Dr. Refatul at the BioMnM Lab. He is currently in his third year at UTRGV and is set to begin his senior design project in the upcoming semester. He expects to graduate in May 2026. His long-term goal is to look for a master’s degree to have better preparation. His main hobbies include watch TV and play sports.

Hannah Garcia

Hannah Garcia is a rising senior at Rice University majoring in Biosciences with a concentration in Biochemistry. Originally from McAllen, Texas, she previously attended UTRGV’s Math and Science Academy, where she studied Computer Engineering. She has previously conducted research at Baylor College of Medicine under Dr. Lilei Zhang, where she cultured and differentiated human induced pluripotent stem cell cardiomyocytes to investigate infantile ventricular fibrillation, a rare cause of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS). At Rice, she works in Dr. Natasha Kirienko’s lab, creating deletion mutants in Pseudomonas aeruginosa to explore the role of R-pyocins in interspecies competition, with a focus on its implications as a multidrug-resistant nosocomial pathogen. Hannah also has experience purifying the enzyme glutathione synthetase 1 (GST1) as part of a biochemistry research project. Her academic and professional goals include pursuing a career in biomedical research or medicine, with a focus on improving treatment for genetic and infectious diseases. She is particularly interested in the biomedical applications of nanofibers, especially in areas such as tissue engineering and targeted drug delivery.

Josiah Mendoza

Josiah N. Mendoza is an undergraduate student pursuing a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering at the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley, with an expected graduation in Fall 2025. He plans to continue at UTRGV to earn a Master of Science in Mechanical Engineering. Josiah has served as an undergraduate research assistant at UTRGV’s Center for Aerospace Engineering for over a year. During this time, he has contributed to two significant projects: the development of a heavy-lift, multi-role agricultural drone, and a classified project funded by a half-million-dollar grant from the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL). After completing his education, Josiah intends to pursue a career in the aerospace or aeronautical industry, applying the knowledge and experience gained through his coursework and research at the center.

Juan Sanchez

Juan Sanchez is 23 years- old and was born in Brownsville, Tx. Since he was a child, he developed a passion for airplanes and dreamt of one day becoming a pilot. When he was 20 years old, he decided to get enrolled in college to pursue an associate’s degree in mechanical engineering. He worked different jobs in order to pay for flight training and tried to be prepared for flight school ahead of time as much as possible while pursuing his mechanical engineering degree. After 3 years and many setbacks, he graduated from South Texas College with an associate’s degree in science. During this time, he had the opportunity to learn from many instructors of his, he also had the opportunity of participating in a summer project for NASA and Texas A&M for two consecutive summers. One of his goals is to become an engineer and work for an aerospace company. He would like to work on projects aiming at the advancement of aviation and aerospace. He is a hard worker, highly ambitious and self-driven individual, who is willing to become better every year to the point of exhaustion. After graduating South Texas College, he got enrolled into UTRGV, where he had successfully completed his first semester and landed a paid research experience that will help him a lot in terms of practical experience and eventually will help him pay for his flight training.

Lusi Sotelo

Luis Sotelo is a student attending Rice University and studying mechanical engineering in the George R. Brown School of Engineering and Computing. Born in Leon, Guanajuato, Mexico, he moved to the Rio Grande Valley at a young age and attended IDEA San Juan before transferring to the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV) Mathematics and Science Academy (MSA). After gaining invaluable academic and research experience during the MSA high school program at UTRGV by working in the Center for Nanotechnology as part of UTRGV Partnership for Research and Education in Materials Science (PREM), he has completed his first year at Rice University as an undergraduate and is continuing research this summer at UTRGV as part of the Research Experience for Undergraduate (REU) in Materials Science and Engineering.

Luis’ research in PREM focused on two projects where nanofibers were fabricated through centrifugal spinning for biomedical applications by optimizing polymer formulations for high yield and efficacy. One project fabricated nanofibers for antimicrobial applications. The other fabricated nanofibers for hemostatic applications and continued to be worked on by fellow researchers at UTRGV throughout the past year, resulting in its publication. He will continue to be involved in research to broaden his knowledge, improve his skills, and contribute to scientific developments, and he plans to attend graduate school in the future. Outside of academia, he enjoys spending time with others, watching shows, listening to music, going outside, and playing games.

Robert Rosario Gonzalez

Robert Rosario González was born in the small town of Guayama, located in the southern region of Puerto Rico. After graduating from high school in 2021, he moved to the eastern part of the island to begin his university studies at the University of Puerto Rico at Humacao (UPRH). He initially enrolled as a Computational Mathematics major, drawn by his interest in mathematics and its applications. However, during his junior year, as his passion for computational modeling and applied data analytics grew, he decided to switch his major to Data Science. This change allowed him to better align with his growing interest in computational modeling and applied analytics.

In 2023, as an undergraduate researcher and part of the Partnership for Research and Education in Materials (PREM) program, he worked on optimizing microfluidic devices using machine learning techniques under the supervision of Dr. Jose Sotero Esteva. That same year, he was also elected as the Student Representative of the Department of Mathematics at UPRH, where he advocated for student engagement and academic advancement.

In the summer of 2024, Robert was accepted into the highly competitive LRSM REU program at the University of Pennsylvania. Under the mentorship of Dr. Chinedum Osuji, he contributed to research focused on developing autonomous algorithms for liquid crystal structure control. This experience allowed him to further strengthen his skills in integrating machine learning with contemporary challenges in materials science.

In the summer of 2025, Robert was honored to be selected for the prestigious REU program in Materials Science and Engineering at the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV). He will work under the mentorship of Dr. Victoria Padilla on a project focused on a dual-polymer emulsion approach for tunable porosity in carbon fibers for energy applications. This opportunity will allow him to further bridge the gap between data science and materials engineering related with fiber technology while also exploring new areas within the field of materials science.

Robert is on track to complete his bachelor’s degree in Data Science in the summer of 2026. He plans to pursue a Ph.D. in Materials Science and Engineering, where he aspires to contribute to solving global challenges through collaborative, technology-driven research in the evolving field of materials science.

Valeria

Valeria graduated from high school with an Associate degree in Engineering and is currently pursuing her bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering at the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley. Originally from Weslaco, she enjoys spending her free time baking and gardening. Her favorite treats to bake are chocolate chip cookies, but she also makes cakes and a variety of other cookies. In her garden, she grows a colorful assortment of flowers along with seasonal fruits and vegetables. Valeria has already gained valuable experience through an internship with the Texas A&M AgriLife Extension, where she studied tomato and bell pepper cultivation. She also completed a short research project with Texas A&M Kingsville, where she helped reverse engineer a helicopter rotor and successfully 3D printed the final design.

Zimara Walker

Zimra Walker was born and raised in the small town of Ludowici, GA, and is currently a rising junior at Georgia Southern University pursuing a Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering. She has distinguished herself academically, earning a place on the Dean’s List during her first year and securing multiple scholarships to support her journey through college. After completing a bachelor's degree in electrical engineering, she plans to pursue her master's in a biomed-related field and work on research and development projects that combine electronics and biomedicine. In addition to her professional goals, she has set a personal goal of creating video content that documents her experiences as a Black woman in engineering, with the hope of inspiring others to explore STEM fields. Outside of her studies, Zimra enjoys creative writing, reading fantasy novels, and playing basketball.

Graduate Assistant - Pritu Sarkar

Pritu Parna Sarkar is currently pursuing a Master’s degree in Biomedical Engineering at the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV), where she also serves as a Graduate Research Assistant. Her research focuses on developing electrochemical biosensors for the detection of various stress-related biomolecules like cortisol. The outcomes of her work have been published in several renowned journals, and she has presented her findings at multiple academic conferences. In addition to her research, Pritu has collaborated with senior design teams and actively mentors undergraduate students participating in the NSF Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) program. She also participated in the NSF I-Corps program, gaining valuable experience in innovation and commercialization. Pritu earned her Bachelor’s degree in Electrical and Electronic Engineering from Rajshahi University of Engineering and Technology (RUET), where she conducted research in optoelectronics and designed various metamaterial absorbers. Pritu will soon begin her Ph.D. studies, with a long-term goal of pursuing a career in industry where she can apply her research to develop practical biomedical technologies.