Physicists have long theorized that our universe may not be limited to what we can see. By observing gravitational forces on other galaxies, they’ve hypothesized the existence of “dark matter,” which would be invisible to conventional forms of observation.

Pran Nath, the Matthews Distinguished University Professor of physics at Northeastern University, says that “95% of the universe is dark, is invisible to the eye.”

“However, we know that the dark universe is there by [its] gravitational pull on stars,” he says. Other than its gravity, dark matter has never seemed to have much effect on the visible universe.

Yet the relationship between these visible and invisible domains, especially as the universe first formed, has remained an open question.

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A record number of Northeastern undergraduates are pursuing PEAK project experiences this spring, including several motivated students within the Marine and Environmental Sciences department, including Grace Marnon, Kiran Bajaj, Nicole Mongillo, and Mark Teh. We caught up with each of these talented young scientists to learn more about their research! 

Grace Marnon received a Summit award for her research in the Kimbro Lab investigating the “Impact of Predator Range Shifts on Parasite Behavior in the Marine Snail.” Grace is pursuing an Honors Thesis as a continuation of her MSC Summer Research Internship, focusing on the host-parasite dynamic between snails and their trematode parasites and how this is influenced by the presence of predatory crabs.   

Grace, a third year Biology and Pre-Med student, got involved with the project after taking Disease Ecology as an elective with Dr. Kimbro. She is utilizing the PEAK award to continue her work, and plans to apply this research experience to her broader interests in human parasitology and neglected tropical diseases.  

Kiran Bajaj (left), a third year Marine Biology major, and Nicole Mongillo (right), a fourth year Ecology and Evolutionary Biology major, were also awarded a Summit award for their research on the “Characterization of Morphological Differences in Locally Adapted Juvenile Oysters” with Dr. Katie Lotterhos. Kiran and Nicole got started in the Lotterhos lab as co-ops in Spring 2023, and subsequently applied for a PEAK award to be able to get more deeply involved with the research.  

Kiran and Nicole are both interested in academia and pursuing graduate school, with a focus in ecology, conservation genomics, and sustainable aquaculture. Kiran was recently accepted into Northeastern’s Three Seas Program, a field-intensive Master’s program in marine biology, where she will continue her research journey. Nicole plans to expand on their research experience as a lab technician post-graduation and then apply for doctoral programs in ecology and evolutionary biology.

Mark Teh, a second year Biochemistry major, was granted a Base Camp award for his research with Dr. Justin Ries on “Optimization of Brucite Precipitation through Seawater Electrolysis in a Flow-through System.”   

Mark has been involved in a variety of research experiences and is particularly passionate about the development of biologically-inspired approaches for addressing climate-related concerns. His future plans include attending graduate school, inspiring the next generation as a professor, and pursuing an entrepreneurial career focused on biotechnology-based climate solutions.   

Professor of chemistry and chemical biology Eugene Smotkin has been named a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS).

A forerunner in the techniques of operando spectroscopy, Smotkin was the first to examine the behavior of chemical catalysts in fuel cells while they actively underwent chemical reactions.

Using various spectroscopic techniques, Smotkin’s work opened “windows” onto how the catalysts in these fuels function. Eventually, this work led him to repurpose commercial automotive batteries, specifically the large traction batteries found in Toyota hybrids.

When one of these batteries starts to fail, there are both “irreversible capacity losses and reversible capacity losses,” Smotkin says. “My equipment actually recovered the reversible capacity lost, and it enabled us to put these reconditioned batteries back into the aftermarket.”

This means that these batteries, which before were likely going to landfills, could now be inexpensively repurposed, both for cars and for other purposes.

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Photo by Adam Glanzman

Luke Bagdonas is a chemistry major who researches salt marshes as a nature-based solution to climate change.

Kaitlyn Ramesh is a bioengineering major who develops computational tools and examines genomics data.

Both are third-year students at Northeastern University and recipients of prestigious Goldwater Scholarships.

Goldwater Scholarships recognize ambition and excellence in undergraduate STEM research. Bagdonas and Ramesh were selected from among approximately 5,000 applicants from across the country.

Even though he’s a chemistry major, Bagdonas knew early on that he wanted to focus his studies and research on the environment.

“There are not many environmental science people who like chemistry,” he says. “And there are not many chemists who like environmental science, so I like being right in the middle — where I can take chemistry knowledge and apply it to environmental science or microbiology or ecology and thread that needle to better understand how our planet’s working so that we can better understand how to fix it.”

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Photo by Matthew Modooono