Research Day 2026 – RaySciences

2026 WiSys Quick Pitch @ UW-Stout

Reese Hufnagel presenting her quick pitch on carbon fiber space debris mitigation

WiSys Research Development Manager **Carla Molloy**, Executive Director for Corporate Relations and Economic Engagement **Seth Hudson**, UW-Stout Chancellor **Katherine Frank**, and Quick Pitch 2026 2nd Prize Winner **Reese Hufnagel**.

“Currently, more than 3 of these rocket bodies or satellites re-enter Earth’s atmosphere every day. With this number on the rise, falling space debris will likely become a daily occurrence within all of our lifetime.”

Reese Hufnagel was selected as the 2026 CSTEMM Outstanding Undergraduate Researcher

**Reese Hufnagel** was named the **Outstanding Undergraduate Researcher** from the College of Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics & Management (Nominated by Matthew Ray). UW-Stout Provost Glendalí Rodríguez and Associate Dean Kevin Drzakowski presented Reese with the award.

UW-Stout Research Day participants are asked what younger versions of themselves would have researched

Showcasing student, faculty, and staff research, creativity, and innovation and its impact on business, industry and the community

Join UW-Stout leadership to celebrate the work of students, faculty, and staff from all fields through research posters, exhibits, visual art and design displays, collaborative student-faculty presentations, a pitch competition, and an awards ceremony. Community members and business and industry partners are invited to learn more about how these projects are enhancing and revolutionizing the way we live, work and understand the world. This year, water-related research will be highlighted, and students from CVTC as well as FIRST Ambassadors high school robotics teams will be presenting as well.

Research Day is just one in a series of spectacular end-of-year events comprising a multidisciplinary schedule of events celebrating career-focused applied learning and collaboration from the past academic year.

Tuesday, MAY 5, 2026

11:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m. WiSys Quick Pitch Competition – Memorial Student Center Great Hall

1:00 p.m. – 2:30 p.m. Faculty-Student Collaborative Oral Presentations – Memorial Student Center Great Hall

3:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m. Posters and Exhibits – Memorial Student Center Great Hall and Ballrooms

3:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m. FIRST Ambassadors High School Teams Robotics Showcase – Memorial Student Center Ballrooms

5:15 p.m. – 6:00 p.m. Awards Ceremony – Memorial Student Center Great Hall

Outstanding Researchers of the Year

Faculty Outstanding Researchers

Senior Outstanding Researcher: Charles Matson Lume
Emerging Outstanding Researcher: Yuan Xing
Outstanding Research Mentor: Erik Evensen

Student Outstanding Researchers

Outstanding Undergraduate Researcher – College of Arts & Human Sciences: Ella Kemp (Nominated by Tina Lee)
Outstanding Undergraduate Researcher – College of Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics & Management: Reese Hufnagel (Nominated by Matthew Ray)
Outstanding Graduate Student Researcher – Graduate School: Desiah Melby (Nominated by Debbie Stanislawski)

Student Honorable Mention Awards

Outstanding Undergraduate Researcher: Michael Romero (Nominated by Keif Oss)
Graduate School: Bonnie Allen (Nominated by Greg Schneider-Bateman)

https://www.uwstout.edu/academics/research-sponsored-programs/research-day

Outstanding Researchers of the Year

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