2026 REU Cohort

University: Southern Methodist University
Area of Study: Statistics

University: University of Texas at Austin
Area of Study: Mathematics and Economics

Hi! My name is Fiona Harris, and I am a rising junior at the University of Texas at Austin. I am majoring in Mathematics and minoring in Economics. I grew up in Dallas, just a few minutes from SMU. Outside of classes, I am the captain of the UT Women’s Club Soccer team and a member of the Association for Women in Mathematics. I love to spend my free time running, lifting, baking, and tanning at Barton Springs. I am super excited to be part of this REU and hope to gain data science skills and apply analytical methods to address disparities that directly affect the community I have lived in all my life.

University: West Liberty University
Area of Study: Data Science and Pre-Law

Hello! My name is Gwen Horzempa, and I am from Pittsburgh, PA. I am a rising senior at West Liberty University where I major in Data Science on a Pre-Law track. At West Liberty, I tutor for all lower-division math and computer science courses, and I am a Math Lab mentor. I am also an active member of my school’s Sigma Tau Delta chapter, which is a national English Honors Society. In terms of research, I have participated in a REU program located at the University of California, Riverside where I helped develop an AI tutoring chatbot for computer science courses at the university. Since then, I have worked to adapt the chatbot for statistics courses at my home institution. Additionally, I have conducted and presented research in gun violence, where I used data science techniques to find the most relevant features contributing to America’s gun violence rate. In my free time, I love to read, try new coffee shops, and explore local shops. Because I one day want to become a data scientist for the government, I am so excited to participate in SMU’s REU program, as the research conducted during this program will give me real experience using data science to serve the public.

University: Claremont McKenna College
Area of Study: International Relations

I'm Brandon Kung, a rising senior at Claremont McKenna College studying international relations. I am passionate about leveraging data science and statistics to understand how history and inequality impact socioeconomic development in low- and middle-income countries. Previously, I have worked on political science research projects on US asylum policy and conditional cash transfers in Mexico. This REU is a fantastic opportunity to build my coding, geospatial analysis, and collaborative skills, making me a stronger researcher in graduate school and beyond. In my free time, I enjoy reading history and philosophy and playing music with friends.

University: Duke University
Area of Study: Mathematics and Psychology

Hi! My name is Charlotte Lin, and I am a rising junior at Duke University, where I am double majoring in Mathematics and Psychology with a minor in Chinese. Outside of academics, I enjoy playing Ultimate Frisbee, baking sourdough bread, and going on runs. At Duke University, I am a member of the Culture Lab, where we use computational methods such as natural language processing and word embeddings to study cross-cultural attitudes toward love and forgiveness. Through this work, I have developed a strong interest in applying data-driven approaches to psychological research. This summer, I am excited to deepen my knowledge of data science and explore how modern technologies and analytical methods can advance our understanding of human behavior.

University: Ohio Wesleyan University
Area of Study: Computer Science and French

University: Northwestern University
Area of Study: Mathematical Methods in the Social Sciences

Hello! I'm Maia Pietraho, and I'm a rising junior at Northwestern University. There, I study Mathematics and Mathematical Methods in the Social Sciences (which is essentially just a combination of economics and statistics). On campus, I help run the Northwestern undergraduate chapter of the Association for Women in Mathematics, where we hold academic and non-academic events to help build community among gender minorities in math. When I'm not in class, I love taking long walks (weather permitting or not), reading while under a fuzzy blanket, and painting portraits of my friends. At SMU this summer, I'm excited to get my hands wet and apply the ideas I've learned in the classroom to real-world problems.

University: The University of Texas at Dallas
Area of Study: Data Science, History and Geography

University: Smith College
Area of Study: Mathematics and Statistics & Data Science

Hi, my name is Rae Traver-Fallick (he/him), and I’m a rising senior at Smith College double majoring in Mathematics and Statistics & Data Science. Previously, I’ve worked on interdisciplinary research projects spanning pedagogy and political science—tracking LGBTQ+ state policy diffusion and analyzing disability-inclusive pedagogy interventions. I also earned the Posse Foundation’s competitive Jeff Ubben Fellowship, through which I interned at the educational technology company Duolingo and shadowed its CEO. In the future, I’m interested in further exploring research around policy adoption and learning more about the impact of emerging technologies on governance, democracy, and civic participation. Outside of class, I enjoy drawing, reading history books, and serving as the vice president of the Smith College Club Fencing Team.

University: University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
Area of Study: Economics and Statistics

Hi! My name is Sara Zarea. I am a rising junior at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign majoring in Economics and Statistics and minoring in Data Science. Outside of classes, I am involved in research regarding substance use among youth in Chicago.  In my free time I love reading, writing, going outside, listening to music, and spending time with friends. This summer, I am excited to apply methods of data science in meaningful, impactful, and practical ways.