Sophia Hilleary Among KU Undergraduate Research Award Winners

2013 Jan 23

Fifty-eight University of Kansas students will work on research projects funded by the Undergraduate Research Award program this semester, including Sophia Hilleary, of Bonner Springs.

Hilleary, a graduate of Bonner Springs High School, is a senior in industrial design. Her project is "Designing for an Unstructured Play Experience," an exploration of the dynamics of unstructured play experiences in order to design children's play environments that encourage such skills as problem solving, cooperation, imagination, empathy, and emotional regulation.

"The Undergraduate Research Award, or UGRA, program has been around KU for over 20 years," said John Augusto, director of the Center for Undergraduate Research. "This class of recipients will be the first class awarded by the Center for Undergraduate Research. As impressive as the students' research proposals are, what is as equally impressive is the number of outstanding mentors involved with these projects."

The research awards are funded by a partnership between the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, Research and Graduate Studies, and the Office of the Provost. Proposals were selected on the merit of the applicant's proposal, the applicant's academic record, and the recommendation from a faculty member who is familiar with the applicant and the proposed project.