INDIANA, Pa. – Isabella Johnson of New Bethlehem, a junior languages and systems major in Indiana University of Pennsylvania’s Cook Honors College, was selected to participate in IUP’s 2026 Undergraduate Summer Opportunities for Applying Research (U-SOAR) program.
U-SOAR is a 10-week summer program that offers selected undergraduate students, working with a faculty mentor, to engage in original, inquiry-based research, scholarship, or creative endeavors. Students also have the opportunity to attend professional development workshops and complete a number of enrichment programs related to research and career success.
The program is open to students in all disciplines who are academically qualified, but students are chosen through a competitive application process. IUP’s U-SOAR program is one of only a few summer university-wide research programs with participants from across all colleges and majors.
Johnson’s project is “Field and Value Extraction from Heterogeneous Paperwork Using a Large Language Model.” Her faculty mentor is Dr. Samuel Grieggs from the Department of Mathematical and Computer Sciences.
Her project explores the use of a large language model (LLM) to identify and extract key fields and corresponding values from documents of diverse formats, including forms, scans, and semi-structured text. This approach reduces the need for format-specific extraction rules and offers a flexible alternative for automating document processing workflows.
Johnson has been working with Dr. Grieggs on the project for the past semester and presented her work at the IUP Women in STEM Summit and the Scholars Forum.
“My research is designed to reduce data entry, making it easier for small to large businesses to handle various types of ever-changing paperwork without requiring a full software overhaul or changing templates for every small change in company formats,” Johnson said. “It will also be a tremendous tool for businesses still trying to switch from filing cabinets of documents to digital systems.”
“The record-breaking 2026 U-SOAR cohort demonstrates that undergraduate research is thriving at IUP,” Associate Vice Provost for Libraries and Research Support Services Dr. Kelly Heider said. “With 52 students representing disciplines across the university, this year’s program showcases the remarkable curiosity, talent, and dedication of our students. Their work, guided by outstanding faculty mentors, is preparing the next generation of researchers, professionals, and leaders.”
Johnson, daughter of Kevin and Shannon Johnson, is a 2021 graduate of Christ Dominion Academy. She is a dean’s list student and is a member of the IUP Competitive Programming Team.
In addition to their individual research projects, students in the U-SOAR program attend presentations and seminars, including “Library Research and Literature Reviews,” “Thinking about the Research Design Process: Logic and Alignment,” “Introduction to STEAMSHOP,” and workshops on poster presentations and public speaking. Students also participated in a research panel discussion with students and faculty mentors who completed U-SOAR projects during previous summers.
The culminating event for U-SOAR was the Research Symposium on Aug. 19 from 10 a.m. to noon in IUP’s Sutton Blue Room when students presented their research through a poster session.