Program Overview

Research Opportunities for Undergraduates at the Calder Center

Calder Summer Undergraduate Research (CSUR) Program

The CSUR program is designed to provide undergraduates with an opportunity to conduct an independent research project within one of the Calder Center's research labs. Under the guidance of a strong mentorship community of faculty and graduate students, the student will conduct research that connects with the larger research goal of the lab.

Program Details

• Undergraduates receive a $5,000 stipend and free on-site housing.
• The program typically runs for 10 weeks, early-June through mid-August.
• Students will gain experience in all aspects of a research project, including:
  • Literature review
  • Experimental design & proposal writing
  • Collecting and analyzing data
  • Presenting results
• In addition, students will attend short courses on conducting ecological field studies and data analysis.

Recent CSUR Student Projects

• The Effects of transient heat stress on reproductive development in Brassica rapa fast plants.
• Invertebrate grazing on diatoms in contrasting river zones on the Colorado River.
• Effect of Japanese barberry, Berberis thunbergii , on tick abundance in the Louis Calder forest.
• The effect of temperature and drought stress on resource allocation of Tomato plants (Solanum lycopersicum).
• How land use history affects forest carbon stocks.
• Determining if active mycorrhizal fungal species differ between Oak/Hickory Forests and Beech Forests.
• Deer density estimation through novel trail camera methodology.

Research Areas of Faculty Mentors

• Vector ecology, Lyme disease Thomas J. Daniels, Calder Center Director, Associate Research Scientist
• Medical entomology, West Nile Virus ecology Richard C. Falco, Associate Research Scientist
• Behavioral, Physiological and Biochemical Adaptations of Mammals Craig Frank, Associate Professor
• Plant Ecology and Evolution Steven Franks, Professor
• Plant and Microbial Community and Ecosystem Ecology J.D. Lewis, Professor
• Aquatic Ecology, Ecology and Physiology of Algae John D. Wehr, Professor

Application Instructions

The CSUR 2026 Application is available, with an application deadline of March 27, 2026.

Graduate Education

The Louis Calder Center also offers a Freshwater Algae Identification Intensive Summer Workshop for graduate students.