Five Clark Undergraduates Awarded Fellowships for Summer Research Projects
Clark University has selected five undergraduates for Steinbrecher Fellowships to conduct original research across psychology, biology, public health, business, and music. The projects begin this summer and run through the 2026-27 academic year.
The fellowship program, funded since 2005 by friends and family of the late David C. Steinbrecher '81, supports Clark students pursuing creative research, public service, or enrichment projects. Fellows present their findings to faculty mentors and members of the Steinbrecher family.
The 2024-25 Fellows and Their Projects
Preeti Bachu '27 (Psychology) will examine how children who grew up during the COVID-19 pandemic express emotions through pretend play. Her research looks at connections between these expressions, peer aggression, and caregiver emotion regulation. She will work with 50 pairs of caregivers and children ages 4 to 8.
By summer's end, Bachu will produce preliminary findings and a parent-friendly infographic with practical strategies for supporting children's emotional development.
Gage Dexter '27 (Media, Culture, and the Arts + Health Science and Society) will advance social prescribing-a public health approach that connects people to non-clinical resources for health and well-being. Dexter will map community assets in Worcester, Massachusetts, and build networks between health organizations and community stakeholders.
His deliverables include a community asset map, visual materials for outreach, and analysis linking community engagement to health outcomes.
Fae Kitchens '27 (Biology) will test whether golden oyster mushrooms and pink oyster mushrooms can hybridize. The golden oyster mushroom, native to Asia, is now invasive in North America. The pink oyster mushroom is non-native. Their populations overlap in Massachusetts, and hybridization could affect how they compete with native species.
Kitchens will develop lab skills including microscopy and procedure design. He plans to present findings at ClarkFEST in the fall.
Michael Schiumo '27 (Finance) will investigate how small startups, nonprofits, and municipal offices oversee AI-assisted workflows when AI outputs affect public-facing decisions. Most research on AI governance focuses on large technology firms; Schiumo will study resource-constrained organizations where oversight happens under deadline pressure.
He will embed in a New York City AI startup, map workflows with a Worcester public institution, and interview leaders across sectors. His output includes a bounded autonomy casebook, a Human-AI authority map, and an evaluation rubric for small public-serving organizations.
Manny Torto '27 (Business Administration) will test how listeners perceive AI's role in music creation. He will produce multiple versions of a song using varying amounts of AI, paired with a structured marketing campaign and audience analytics.
The project examines ethical and artistic questions raised by AI in the music industry. Torto will release a single and video based on the most popular version selected by a test group.
For professionals in education and research, these projects illustrate how undergraduates are applying academic training to real-world problems. AI for Science & Research offers structured pathways for similar work.
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