Discovery Grants fund summer summer research and projects. Applications typically open in December the previous year. Credit: Michelle Bixby / Penn State.
Discovery Grants awarded to seven engineering students for research support
July 13, 2026
Editor's Note: This article was originally published on Penn State News.
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Thirty-one Penn State students, including seven College of Engineering students, earned Discovery Grants to help fund their summer research and projects, gaining the opportunity for valuable experience in the field, in the lab and abroad.
Discovery Grant applications are open to all current undergraduate Penn State students at all campuses, regardless of major. Applications typically open in December and close in February. For 2026, grant recipients were awarded up to $5,000 each.
The following is a list of engineering students who earned 2026 Discovery Grants and their projects titles:
- Fabian Gonzalez Gomez, aerospace engineering — “Optimization of Vertical-Axis Wind Turbines Through Active Flow Control Using the Venturi Principle”
- Penelope Leming, chemical engineering — “Navigating Enzyme-Coated Microparticles in Multiple Chemical Gradients”
- Jonathan Mwangi, biomedical engineering — “An Investigation into Aquaculture Extension Services and Education Systems within Kenya”
- Jacqueline Negron, engineeringscience and mechanics — “Investigation of Ethylene-Forming Enzyme Homologs for Applications in Sustainable 3-Hydroxypropionate Production”
- Abbie Preston, biomedical engineering — “Strengthening Detection of Female Genital Schistosomiasis in Kenya”
- Conrad Street, engineering science — “Effect of patient-derived mutations on the motor properties of the neuronal kinesin KIF1C”
- Calvin Yoder, mechanical engineering — “Engineering aTranswell Insert Using Melt Electrowritten Polycaprolactone membrane for Air-Liquid Culture”
The Discovery Grant Program is administered by Penn State Undergraduate Education and Undergraduate Research and Fellowships Mentoring.
For the full list of winners, read the Penn State News article.
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