This week, the Boulder Solar Alliance Research Experience for Undergraduates (BSA REU) welcomed the 2026 summer cohort to Boulder. The program, funded by the National Science Foundation, offers students from a wide variety of backgrounds and home institutions the opportunity to collaborate with professional mentors on hands-on solar and space physics research.
The BSA REU is managed by the Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics (LASP) at the University of Colorado Boulder (CU Boulder) and involves several solar-science institutes in the region, including the National Solar Observatory (NSO), NCAR High Altitude Observatory (HAO), NOAA Space Weather Prediction Center (SWPC), NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI), and Southwest Research Institute (SwRI).
The students will spend the next 10 weeks developing skills and best practices that they will be able to use throughout their careers. This year’s cohort is excited to begin the program! Learn more below about the new students and their professional research projects.
Riley Amos: Riley is a rising senior at Smith College in Northampton, Massachusetts, where she is studying physics and astronomy and is on Smith’s NCAA Division III rowing team. This summer she will be working with Craig DeForest at the SwRI analyzing data from the PUNCH mission.
Kyra Bade: This summer,Kyra will be working on imaging solar flare reconnection regions with their mentor Chris Lowder at SwRI. Kyra attends the University of Wisconsin at Stevens Point and studies chemistry with a physics and astronomy minor, with an interest in pursuing astrochemistry after graduating. In their free time, they enjoy video games and practice mixed martial arts, in which they hold a black belt.
Debra Bradfield: Debra is joining the program from Daytona Beach, Florida, where she goes to Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University. Debra is working at NCAR HAO with Jonas Yu Hung this summer, studying how geomagnetic disturbances differ between the two hemispheres of Earth. Debra enjoys antiquing, yoga, and caring for her three reptiles.
Ben Condit: Ben is a physics major at Williams College in Williamstown, Massachusetts, and will be working at LASP on ultraviolet instrumentation with Joe Ajello. When Ben isn’t working, he enjoys skiing, biking, and being outside.
Mar Costacamps-Rivera: Mar is an upcoming second year physics and math double major at the University of Puerto Rico Mayaguez. Outside of class, Mar spends enjoys dancing on a company team and playing the violin and electric bass. This summer she will be studying solar activity in the chromosphere at NSO.
Julian Feiveson: Julian will be researching plasma irregularities in Earth’s ionosphere with Deepak Karan at LASP. Julian attends Whitman College in Walla Walla, Washington, and studies physics and astronomy. He has a background in optics research and is excited to explore different areas of physics this summer.
Normandy Filcek: Originally from Monterey, California, Normandy studies physics and soon engineering at Willamette University in Salem, Oregon. This summer she will be working with Delaney Farrell at NCAR HAO mapping thermospheric winds from space. When she’s not studying, Normandy enjoys crafting and listening to audiobooks.
Jason Gerke: Jason, originally from Seattle, Washington, is a rising senior studying physics at the Stevens Institute of Technology in Hoboken, New Jersey. Jason enjoys history, playing video and board games, and reading. This summer he will be working with Odelle Coddington at LASP on analyzing the TSIS-1 SIM observational record to better understand oscillations in the data.
Joe Harkess: Joe is a student at Saint John’s University in Collegeville, Minnesota, double majoring in math and physics. His project is studying signatures in solar active regions at NSO with Lekshmi Biji, in conjunction with the COFFIES Drive Center. Next spring, Joe will defend his undergraduate thesis on hypothetical perturbing exoplanets; he is also an active jazz musician.
Kaden Hunter: Kaden is an avid hiker and is very excited to be spending the summer in Boulder. His research will be at LASP with mentor Justin Deighan studying space weather at Mars with data from the MAVEN and EMM missions. Kaden is an upcoming fifth year at Millersville University in Millersville, Pennsylvania, studying applied math and physics.
Jessica Johnson: Jessica is a physics major with an astronomy concentration at the University of Northern Colorado in Greeley, Colorado. This summer she will be studying instabilities on the ionosphere-magnetosheath boundary at Mars at LASP with mentor Sergey Shuvalov. Jessica loves music, especially Twenty-One Pilots.
Sam Kidd: Sam is entering his senior year at the Wentworth Institute of Technology in Boston, Massachusetts studying physics. Sam’s favorite hobbies include hiking, rock climbing, and playing the viola. He will be working with Amir Caspi at SwRI on solar telescope observations from the 2024 total solar eclipse.
Madeline Lundberg: Madeline attends Calvin University in Grand Rapids, Michigan, and studies math and computer science. This summer she will be working at NSO with João da Silva Santos searching for early warning signs of solar flares using high-resolution spectroscopy. Madeline loves aurora, night sky, and cloud photography.
Caitlin Magdanz: This summer, Caitlin will be working at NOAA SWPC studying coronal mass ejections and how they can support space weather forecasting. Caitlin is a rising junior at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, studying meteorology. Caitlin is on the board of the university’s rocketry club and plays the mellophone in marching band.
Eghosa Otokiti: Eghosa is from the San Fransico Bay area, currently attending the University of California Los Angeles where they will be starting their third year in the Fall studying physics. They also hold membership in the campus science education club. This summer, Eghosa will be working at NOAA SWPC with Bri Muhlestein, validating a new tool used to measure sunspots to determine whether the tool is ready for operational use and if its measurements can contribute to the global record of solar activity.
Joshua Sendgikoski: Joshua is a graduate of Austin Community College, pursuing a bachelor’s degree in physics in the Fall. He will be working with Katelynn Greer at LASP on simulating observations of Joule heating at Earth to determine the best potential orbits for a future LASP-led satellite mission. This summer, Joshua is looking forward to exploring a new area of observational research and doing some backpacking in the mountains.
Hannah Smith: This summer, Hannah will be working with Paul Bryans at NCAR HAO, measuring sky brightness around the Sun to help determine potential locations for a future ground-based solar telescope. Hannah studies physics with a focus in astrophysics at the University of Alabama in Huntsville. Outside of work, Hannah loves baking and going to see live music.
Matthew Song: Matthew, originally from Pasadena, California, is a rising senior at Carleton College in Northfield, Minnesota, studying physics with a concentration in astrophysics. His project this summer with his mentor Yaxue Dong at LASP will focus on investigating the variability of the Martian upper ionosphere. Matthew enjoys teaching, and his future goal is to be a professor. When he’s not in class, Matthew plays in a rock/alternative band and cheers on his favorite football team, the Los Angeles Rams.
Molly Staudt: Molly is an upcoming junior at Arizona State University in Tempe, Arizona, studying astrophysics. She enjoys reading, hanging out with her family, and experimenting with making different lattes and teas at home. This summer, Molly will be working with Victoria Wilder on building a sonification database of Earth’s magnetosphere at LASP.
Peter Wu: Originally from Maine, Peter studies at Vassar College in Poughkeepsie, New York. Peter will be working at NSO with mentor Amr Hamada this summer on identifying solar filaments and active regions in GONG data. This past semester, Peter studied abroad in Taiwan and traveled to several countries in the region.
By Willow Reed, Sr. Communications Specialist and Principal Investigator of the Boulder Solar Alliance REU
