Fifteen students selected as 2025 Lumen Scholars

Fifteen rising juniors at Elon have been selected to receive the 2025 Lumen Prize, the university’s premier undergraduate research award that includes a $20,000 scholarship to support and celebrate their academic achievements and research proposals.

Lumen Scholars will work closely with their mentors during the next two years to pursue and complete their projects. Efforts traditionally include coursework, study abroad, research both on and off campus, internships locally and overseas, program development, and creative productions and performances.

“It was a very competitive pool this year and we had to make more than a few difficult decisions on strong applications. Those that made it to the winners’ circle have truly exceptional project proposals that we are excited to support and watch unfold over the next two years,” said Michel Carignan, director of the Lumen Prize and professor of history.

The name for the Lumen Prize comes from Elon’s historic motto, “Numen Lumen,” which are Latin words meaning “spiritual light” and “intellectual light.” The words, which are found on the Elon University seal, signify the highest purposes of an Elon education.

2025 Lumen Prize winners

Nicolas Alvarez
Mechanical Engineering & Mathematics
“Learning to Walk: Applying Lessons from Infant Motor Development to a Reinforcement Learning Policy for Locomotion of Quadrupedal Robots”    Mentor: Blake Hament

Izzy Bennett
Public Health Studies
“Sexual Reproductive Health Knowledge and Counseling: Perspectives of Emerging Adult Women with Sickle Cell Disease and Healthcare Providers”
Mentor: Cindy Fair

Jonathan Berkson
Astrophysics
“Peering into Dust and Gas: Improving Environmental Modeling to Identify Intermediate-Mass Black Holes”
Mentor: Chris Richardson

Gage Brinker 
Exercise Science
“Evaluating Sleep and Recovery in Firefighters: A Comparative Analysis of Shift Scheduling Using WHOOP Wearable Technology to Optimize the Efficacy of the First Responders in Our Community”
Mentor: Madison Chandler

Elise Butterbach
Biomedical Engineering
“Mathematical Modeling of Viral Myocarditis to Investigate Excessive Inflammation in the Heart”
Mentors: Hwayeon Ryu and Efrain Rivera-Serrano

Jaylem Cheek
Astrophysics
“Unveiling Ancient Seeds: An Improved Physical Framework to Detect Relic Black Holes in the Local Universe”
Mentor: Chris Richardson

Jack DeLucco
Engineering & Computer Science
“Isolating RF Signals Subject to Electromagnetic Interference”
Mentor: Richard Blackmon

Makenna Grozis   
Biology and Public Health Studies
“The Hidden Link: Endocrine Disruptors, Autoimmunity, and the Oral-Gut Microbial Axis”
Mentor: Jen Uno                                                                 

Monika Jurevicius
Journalism & Public Health Studies
Soviet Legacy and EU Influence: Examining Lithuania’s Media Landscape from 1990 to Today
Mentor: Alex Luchsinger

Aubrey Koscis
Acting and Music in the Liberal Arts
“Fight Club or Boys Club? Examining Structural Inequality and Gendered Movement in Stage Combat Choreography”
Mentor: Lauren Kearns

Lola Moore
Creative Writing & Literature
“The Falling and the Fallen: Interconnected Short Stories on American Identity and the Restless Nature of Happiness in a Patchwork Narrative”
Mentor: Drew Perry

Adam Reisman
Exercise Science
“Menstrual Cycle-Based Periodized Training on Performance, Muscle Soreness and Rates of Recovery in Active Females”
Mentor: Titch Madzima

Sophie Remisio
Environmental Engineering and Applied Mathematics
“Filtering the Future: A Regenerable Approach to PFAS Filtration Using Non-Conventional Sorbents”
Mentor: Will Pluer

Aidan Spoerndle
Computer Science
“Design and Implementation of a Computer Vision-Based Robot to Assist Row-Intercropping Farming”
Mentor: Joel Hollingsworth

Muhammad Awal Tahiru
Physics and Applied Mathematics
“Decoherence and the Arrow of Time: Investigating the Quantum Origins of Temporal Asymmetry”
Mentor: Martin Kamela