RISE: Summer Internships

Eligibility: U.S. citizen or permanent resident enrolled in degree-granting college/university. Completed two semesters of courseworks and have at least one semester remaining before obtaining bachelor’s degree.

Program Dates: 10 weeks from May 26 – July 31

Application Deadline: Feb. 15, 2026 at 11:59PM CST

References: RISE will contact the references of semi-finalists the week of Feb. 20, 2026 to complete a short recommendation form.

Stipend: $6,000

Housing & Travel Provided!

About RISE: This is a 10-week summer research opportunity targeting students interested in bioenergy research. Students seeking experience in plant biology, agronomy, synthetic biology, genetics, environmental sciences, chemical engineering, and civil & environmental engineering are encouraged to apply!

The Plan: Students will be paired with a CABBI or ASAP mentor, conduct research, attend career development seminars, learn about the graduate school application practice, and practice STEM communication by presenting research at a summer symposium.

Questions: Email Celine Young, chyoung@illinois.edu

Who should I put as my academic or professional reference?

Your reference can be a professor, work-study advisor, research mentor – anyone who knows you professionally. Don’t forget to inform them that you have listed them as a reference!

When will I know if I am selected as a semi-finalist?

We will email all applicants the week of Feb. 20, 2026.

When will I know if I am selected as a finalist?

Finalists will be contacted in early March for a short interview with potential mentor(s).

Can I select fewer than 4 projects?

Yes. Use the “N/A” option in the dropdown.

Will applicants only be conducting one project, or will it be the four choices like in the application?

Each RISE intern will conduct one research project and have one mentor. We ask for multiple project choices in case your first option isn’t available.

Are there any required courses that we must have taken to apply into the research program?

There are no coursework requirements to apply for RISE. This includes coursework or prior research experience. Some projects have indicated coursework or knowledge that is highly recommended for you to be successful, but they are not required.

My background is more focused on chemistry rather than biology. Would I be a good fit to apply for RISE?

Yes, the projects span multiple disciplines from the social sciences to engineering to plant biology.

How often would I be interacting with other students doing research?

Depending on the project, you will likely be interacting with other students on a daily basis. You’ll connect with the RISE interns (and other REU students on campus) on a weekly basis for professional development workshops and social activities. RISE interns will also have opportunities to connect with the whole CABBI/ASAP community, including attendance at the retreat.

Is RISE intended for students who want to go to graduate school?

One of the benefits of RISE is for you to explore various career options related to the bioenergy field. While we hope to increase the pipeline to graduate school for students, there are many careers that don’t require a Masters or PhD.

Project Descriptions for RISE 2026

1. Project: Chasing sunflecks! Measuring how quickly Miscanthus responds to light

Mentor: Sarah Chung

Faculty Member: Steven Burgess

Location: University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign

Prerequisites: None

Project Description: This project will focus on screening a large field population of Miscanthus × giganteus (a bioenergy crop) to see how quickly plants adjust photosynthesis when light levels fluctuate (sunflecks). The aim is to identify faster-responding plants that could lead to higher, more reliable bioenergy yields. 

Skills Overview: The student will gain experience in fieldwork and greenhouse care, plant physiology measurements using portable photosynthesis tools and chlorophyll fluorescence imaging, and data analysis. They will learn to collect and visualize datasets in R and connect plant traits to agricultural resilience. 

2. Project: Determining soil nitrogen losses using laboratory incubations of multiple sugarcane varieties

Mentor: Alana Herr

Faculty Member: Nuria Gomez-Casanovas

Location: Texas A&M University

Prerequisites: Coursework in soil science, environmental science, or biogeochemistry would be helpful.

Project Description: This project aims to investigate how litter amendments from multiple sugarcane varieties influence soil nitrogen losses, including nitrous oxide emissions and nitrogen leaching, through laboratory soil incubations.

Skills Overview: The student will gain experience in performing in-lab soil incubations with gas analyzers and will develop a fundamental understanding of soil nutrient dynamics. They will also be introduced to essential skills in scientific writing, presentation, and data analysis.

3. Project: Catalytic oxidation of 3-hydroxypropionic acid to malonic acid

Mentor: Seonyeong Kim

Faculty Member: George Huber

Location: University of Wisconsin – Madison

Prerequisites: Coursework in organic chemistry, kinetic/catalyst/reaction engineering, and/or thermodynamics would be helpful.

Project Description: This project aims to convert 3-hydroxypropionic acid (a DOE platform chemical) to malonic acid (a high-value product used in agriculture, flavors, polymers) using a metal catalyst.

Skills Overview: The student will gain experience in oxidation catalysis, catalyst synthesis, kinetic modeling, and oxidation mechanism.

4. Project: Linking microbial biomass to Miscanthus nutrient uptake

Mentor: Sören Eliot Weber

Faculty Member: Eddie Brzostek

Location: West Virginia University

Prerequisites: Coursework in agronomy, ecology, microbiology, and/or plant biology would be helpful. 

Project Description: This project aims to link the biomass of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (beneficial microbial symbionts) to nutrient uptake rates in the bioenergy crop Miscanthus × giganteus.

Skills Overview: The student will learn how to estimate arbuscular mycorrhizal fungal biomass, how to measure foliar nutrient contents, and how to think simultaneously at the micropore, root, plant, and ecosystem scale. The student will gain experience in microscopy, preparing samples for chemical analyses, collaborative science, and in using the R statistical language.

5. Project: Investigating soil enzymatic activity related to decomposition of plant materials from different cane varieties at varied temperature levels

Mentor: Khushboo

Faculty Member: Nuria Gomez-Casanovas

Location: Texas A&M University

Prerequisites: Coursework in microbiology would be helpful.

Project Description: This project aims to identify the soil enzymes involved in the decomposition and nutrient release of different sugarcane varieties under two temperature conditions. Cane material from each variety will be incubated in soil, and the resulting enzymatic activity will be measured to assess differences among the varieties.

Skills Overview: The student will learn how to perform soil enzyme analyses in the lab and gain hands-on experience with instruments like microplate analyzers. Additionally, they will build fundamental skills such as scientific writing, data analysis, and presenting research findings.

6. Project: Exploring how stomata are associated with internal leaf anatomy in key agricultural grass species

Mentors: Daniel Tejeda-Lunn

Faculty Member: Andrew Leakey

Location: University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign

Prerequisites: None

Project Description: This project will focus on how sub-stomatal air spaces contribute to stomatal function across various plant species. The intern will analyze how the structures of stomata, stomatal air spaces, and the internal anatomy relate to each other on the top and bottom leaf surfaces across a range of grass species important to agriculture.

Skills Overview: The student will gain skills in confocal microscopy and histology, enabling them to stain plant structures at the cellular level to determine how the leaf is constructed through plant development. The student will also learn to analyze images generated by the above techniques using Biodock-AI and ImageJ, and build detailed graphs using data science techniques in Python and R.

7. Project: Determining copy number variation and genomic position of transgene cassettes in high performing CABBI engineered sorghum lines

Mentor: Moira Rodriguez

Faculty Member: Nathan Butler

Location: University of Nebraska – Lincoln

Prerequisites: Coursework in genetics would be helpful.

Project Description: This project aims to correlate performance of CABBI sorghum engineered lines with copy number variation and genomic positioning of transgene cassettes. This information will be used to develop new sorghum transformation pipeline capacities for copy number variation assessment and transgene mapping and inform selection of future engineered lines and targeted transgene cassette integration projects (i.e. Trait Landing Pads, TLPs).

Skills Overview: The student will gain experience in PCR, ddPCR, DNA extraction from plant tissue, sequencing, and other molecular biology techniques. The student will learn about how these techniques are applicable in a plant transformation lab, and about different plant transformation techniques.

8. Project: Engineering transcription factor-based gene perturbation system in yeast

Mentor: Junyu Chen

Faculty Member: Huimin Zhao

Location: University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign

Prerequisites: Prior laboratory experience in molecular or synthetic biology is preferred. Students should understand basic cloning and DNA assembly workflows and have introductory knowledge of CRISPR mechanisms and genome engineering principles.

Project Description: This project aims to engineer a transcription factor (TF)–based gene perturbation system in Issatchenkia orientalis by integrating synthetic TF-binding motifs into endogenous promoter regions using CRISPR. By enabling TF-dependent activation or interference of target genes, this system will support precise, programmable regulation for CABBI metabolic engineering applications.

Skills Overview: The student will gain experience in yeast molecular biology, CRISPR promoter engineering, and transcription factor–mediated gene perturbation assays. They will also learn experimental optimization, strain validation workflows, and quantitative analysis of gene expression outputs.

9. Project: Multi-objective optimization of proteins using protein language models

Mentor: Vishal Kaushik Pillalamarri

Faculty Member: Huimin Zhao

Location: University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign

Prerequisites: None

Project Description: This project seeks to develop an algorithm that predicts beneficial protein mutations by integrating experimental assay data with protein language model representations to enable multi-objective optimization.

Skills Overview: The student will gain experience in Python programming and in designing ML algorithms suitable for protein sequence optimization. They will also be exposed to different Protein Language Models.

10. Project: Screening autonomously replicating sequences (ARS) for episomal plasmids development in non-model yeasts

Mentor: Hao Xu

Faculty Member: Huimin Zhao

Location: University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign

Prerequisites: Coursework in molecular and cellular biology, biochemistry would be helpful.

Project Description: This project aims to screen for genomic autonomously replicating sequences (ARS) for the development of episomal plasmids, an invaluable genetic tool, in non-model yeasts.

Skills Overview: The student will gain experience in basic molecular cloning and yeast genetic manipulation.

11. Project: Assessing metabolic pathway gene expression alterations in Rhodotorula toruloides IFO0880 under nitrogen limitation

Mentor: Alexandria Murphy

Faculty Member: Melanie R. McReynolds

Location: Penn State University

Prerequisites: Coursework in molecular biology and microbiology would be helpful.

Project Description: This project aims to understand how nitrogen starvation impacts the pentose phosphate pathway.

Skills Overview: The student will learn how design primers, micro-pipetting accuracy as well as qRT-PCR.

12. Project: How do sorghum varieties at key growth stages influence soil carbon and nutrient cycling?

Mentor: Rounak Patra

Faculty Member: Wendy Yang

Location: University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign

Prerequisites: Coursework that has an introduction to soil science would be helpful.

Project Description: This project investigates how different varieties of sorghum at key growth stages affect how carbon and nutrients move and are stored in the soil. We will focus on how soil carbon and important plant nutrients such as nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium change across the growing season.

Skills Overview: The student will gain experience in preparing and analyzing soil samples using modern laboratory instruments, including elemental analyzers and inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry. They will also develop critical thinking skills by reading scientific literature, asking research questions, forming hypotheses, and interpreting data.

13. Project: Exploring photosynthetic thermotolerance in bioenergy crops

Mentor: Ryan Boyd

Faculty Member: Steven Burgess

Location: University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign

Prerequisites: None

Project Description: This project will focus on the role of rubisco activase isoforms in maintaining photosynthesis at high temperatures in bioenergy crops.

Skills Overview: The student will gain experience in plant physiology and molecular biology techniques.

14. Project: Analyzing productivity tradeoffs in an oil-producing bioenergy grass

Mentor: Joe Colbert

Faculty Member: Lisa Ainsworth

Location: University of Illinois Urbana Champaign

Prerequisites: A basic understanding of photosynthesis would be helpful but is not necessary. Cursory knowledge from general biology courses should suffice. Lessons on genetics and molecular biology from similar courses should also suffice.

Project Description: This project is designed to study a novel oil-producing bioenergy grass in the replicated field trials. Experiments will test potential tradeoffs between enhanced quality and productivity. This interdisciplinary project will include direct measurements of photosynthesis, imaging of plant cells using powerful microscopes, and the real-time observation of genetic activity.

Skills Overview: The student will learn the basics of plant physiology, genetics, and field trial design and maintenance.

15. Project: Episomal plasmid development in Rhodotorula toruloides

Mentor: Longyuan Shi

Faculty Member: Huimin Zhao

Location: University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign

Prerequisites: General biology and basic knowledge of DNA, gene function, and microbial systems would be helpful.

Project Description: This project will focus on identifying key DNA sequences required for episomal plasmid replication in Rhodotorula toruloides by creating and testing small mutations within the functional 2v2 origin region. This work aims to define the minimal elements needed for stable plasmid maintenance and improved tool design.

Skills Overview: The student will learn basic lab skills such as PCR, plasmid assembly, yeast transformation, and fluorescence measurement. The student will also gain experience in analyzing results, planning experiments, and keeping good lab records.

16. Project: Identification of drought-tolerance genes in Miscanthus

Mentor: Liang Xiao

Faculty Member: Xianyan Kuang

Location: Alabama A&M University

Prerequisites: Introductory courses in biology, plant science, or basic genetics would be helpful, and students should be comfortable with learning simple data analysis and hands-on work in a greenhouse. However, all necessary skills will be taught during the internship.

Project Description: This project aims to identify the genes that help Miscanthus plants survive drought by combining greenhouse experiments with basic genetic analysis. The intern will learn how to measure plant stress responses and use simple data tools to connect trait differences with potential drought-tolerance genes.

Skills Overview: The student will gain experience in plant stress experiments, including measuring growth, water-use traits, and physiological responses under drought conditions. The student will also learn basic data analysis, record-keeping, and scientific communication skills.

17. Project: Optimizing nucleic acid extraction from the rhizosphere of deeply rooted Sorghum

Mentor: Katerina Estera-Molina & Megan Kan

Faculty Member: Jennifer Pett-Ridge

Location: Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory

Prerequisites: Two semesters of biology, one semester of inorganic chemistry, and one semester of organic chemistry are required.

Project Description: In this project we want to compare the extraction efficiency of different DNA and RNA extraction protocols on the rhizosphere of wild type and oil-enhanced sorghum roots obtained from the lower depths of a 13CO2 labeling oil enhanced sorghum experiment. With the best approach, we will extract RNA and DNA so that we can assess how oil-sorghum engineering and drought affect microbial community composition and gene expression in the sorghum rhizosphere.

Skills Overview: The student will learn wet lab skills such as pipetting, aseptic technique, nucleic acid extractions, nucleic acid quantification/quality assessment, and basic statistical analyses.

18. Project: Developing scalable metal carbide catalysts for sustainable aviation fuel production

Mentor: Runnan Gao

Faculty Member: Hong Yang

Location: University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign

Prerequisites: Knowledge and skills in general chemistry and chemistry labs would be helpful.

Project Description: This project aims to develop the proper catalysts and reaction conditions to convert biomass oils into candidates for jet fuels.

Skills Overview: The student will learn to synthesize nano-scale catalysts and characterize them using techniques such as X-Ray Diffraction. From the conversion experiment, the student can learn how to operate the reactor, as well as the characterization of the product oils (using elemental analysis, GC-MS, etc.).

19. Project: Screening a CRISPRi library of Issatchenkia orientalis under various stress conditions to identify relevant genes

Mentor: Thasneem Frousnoon and Ping-Hung Hsieh

Faculty Member: Yasuo Yoshikuni

Location: Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory

Prerequisites: Coursework in molecular biology would be helpful.

Project Description: Issatchenkia orientalis is a non-model yeast valuable for producing high-value products such as organic acids due to its tolerance to environmental stressors such as low pH. Besides low pH, I. orientalis can also thrive under other stress conditions, making it beneficial for industrial applications. However, the mechanisms these yeasts use to overcome stress conditions are not well understood. This study aims to subject a CRISPRi library-transformed SD108 to multiple stress conditions, assess the strain’s fitness, sequence samples at various time points, and analyze the sequencing data to uncover the pathways that enable I. orientalis to tolerate various stressors

Skills Overview: The student will learn to prepare different stress conditions such as osmotic stress, and presence of toxic compounds (HMF, furfural), transform CRISPRi library into I. orientalis, expose the subsequent culture to various stress conditions, measure yeast growth, extract DNA from yeast, run gels, amplify guide RNA regions, and map guides to target genes to identify candidates for various stress tolerance.

20. Project: Identifying novel gene relationships and networks in Nicotiana Benthamiana

Mentor: Ivan Wong

Faculty Member: Matthew Hudson

Location: University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign

Prerequisites: Basic cloning and PCR knowledge is preferred but not required.

Project Description: This project uses a high throughput pipeline and bioinformatic tools to identify new stomatal genes in N. Benth. This project also includes phenotyping skills to identify the physical change on the plants.

Skills Overview: The student will gain experience on leveraging several bioinformatic skills and CRISPR knockout pipeline. The student will also gain hands on experience phenotyping plants.