Richter Scholar Program

The Richter Scholar Summer Research Program provides students with the opportunity to conduct independent, individual research with Lake Forest College faculty early in their academic careers.

The ultimate goal of this program is to foster a strong commitment to the intellectual life, and to encourage participating students to consider careers in research and teaching.

Academically excellent students with an interest in research are invited to apply for the Richter Scholar Summer Research program in the early spring of their first year. During this time, they work one-on-one with a faculty member, doing independent research in one of a wide variety of fields. As the Richter Scholars live and work together and participate in a weekly colloquium, they become a community of peers, providing encouragement and support for one another’s research endeavors. The result is a group of scholars motivated to continue their intellectual achievement in the future.

Both symposia will be livestreamed on this page.

The Richter Scholar Symposium for Option I will be held on Friday, June 5, 9 a.m.–5:30 p.m. in McCormick Auditorium.

Richter Scholar Program

Richter Policies

2026 Summer Program Dates

Option I (four weeks)
May 12 through June 5
Symposium held on Friday, June 5

Option II (eight weeks)
May 19 through July 10
Symposium held on Friday, July 10

Richter Scholar Option I Symposium

Session 1
9–10:20 a.m.

Arts Machina Vitae: Where Stories Become Systems by Tra Nguyen
Mentor: Tracy Taylor

Research on AI in Art and Art History by Grayson Quinn Goan
Mentor: Kimiko Matsumura

Session 2
10:30–11:50 a.m.

Building a Dataset for Assessing LLM Response Styles by Natalie Eva Meler
Mentor: Sara Jamsidi

Molecular structure: Crystallography visualization and 3D printing by Leo Pedemonte Alluchon
Mentor: Jason Cody

Counting Conflict-Free Assignments: DP-Coloring on Trees by Emily Aria Psyhogios and Illia Siutkin
Mentor: Gunjan Sharma

Session 3
1:10–2:30 p.m.

When Do International Development Programs Succeed or Fail? (Literature Review) by Mubashra Iftikhar, Samriddhi Maharjan, and Valery Angisha Mutula Mutula
Mentor: Ajar Chekirova

Understanding Multiple Dimensions of Policy Generosity in Unemployment Insurance across the U.S. by Yahya Hussein and Lyla Thompson Montano
Mentor: Elizabeth Llanes

Reading History with Decolonial Lens by Teona Sophie Wambui Njoroge and Maria Edig Charlet
Mentor: Desmond Odugu

Session 4
2:40–4 p.m.

Graphic Audio Book Production by Ludiene Filipe Mateus Pilarte
Mentor: Donald Meyer

Gaining Insights from Eye Movements by Kanade Osuga and Noa M Helmer
Mentor: Naomi Wentworth

Brain wave studies by Mariana Rincon and Luie Gomez
Mentor: Naomi Wentworth

Session 5
4:10-5:30 p.m.

Magical Mathematics by Trevor Michael Madden and Jacsyn Rose Disrud
Mentor: Enrique Trevino

What triggers oil market jumps? By Owen Dornan, Soham Prakash, Arno Martirosyan and, Lidziya Vasina
Mentors: Linh Pham & Dimitra Papadovasilaki

The early research experience students obtain through the Richter Scholars Program sets students on an upward trajectory that leads to academic honors and graduate school completion at much higher rates.

Richter outcome data