Engineers Participate in 2014 Summer Research Symposium

Nearly 200 undergraduates gathered in Sayles Hall on August 7 and 8 to present the results of their research at the annual Summer Research Symposium sponsored by the Office of the Dean of the College. More than 20 of the posters were from undergraduate researchers from the School of Engineering or were conducted under the guidance of engineering faculty members. Many of the projects are supported by Brown's Karen T. Romer Undergraduate Teaching and Research Awards (UTRAs).

"It's so exciting to see the wide array of projects on display," said Maud Mandel, dean of the college, in her opening remarks. "Brown prides itself on supporting undergraduate student research. This commitment has been particularly evident this year with President Paxson's decision to support expanded research opportunities for undergraduate students. Now, UTRA funds about 300 student-faculty research and teaching collaborations each year."

Included among the engineering student presentations were:

Samantha Brady '15 (biomedical engineering) and Hayley McClintock '16 (biomedical engineering) worked with Professor Diane Hoffman-Kim and presented a poster entitled, "Investigating the Response of Fibroblasts to Environmental Forces: An in vitro Platform to Study Migration and Wound Healing." Brady received support from the National Science Foundation Research Experiences for Undergraduates (NSF REU) and McClintock received an Undergraduate Teaching and Research Award (UTRA).

Heidi Chang '16 and Professor Kareen Coulombe: Chang presents her poster at the Summer Research Symposium.Heidi Chang '16 and Professor Kareen Coulombe: Chang presents her poster at the Summer Research Symposium.Working with faculty mentor Kareen Coulombe, Heekyung Chang '16 (chemical and biochemical engineering) presented her research on "Developing a method to correlate cell area and volume in hypertrophically stimulated human embryonic stem cell-derived cardiomyoctyes (hESC-CMs). She received an UTRA.

Daniel DeCiccio '14.5 (biomedical engineering) presented a poster entitled, "Electrochemical Reduction of Carbon Dioxide in Clathrate Hydrates." He received an UTRA and worked with faculty mentor Christoph Rose-Petruck.

Samuel Friedman '15 (electrical engineering) received a C.R. Bard Summer Fellowship and conducted research with Professor Jacob Rosenstein and Professor Anubhav Tripathi. His poster was entitled, "Automation of Magnetic Bead Movement for Molecular Biology Platforms."

Marielena Gamboa Castro '15 (biomedical engineering), Mehrdad Kiani '15 (materials engineering), Evelyn Williams '15 (biomedical engineering), and Victoria Wu '15 (materials engineering) conducted research with faculty mentor Ian Wong and presented a poster entitled, "An Integrated Experimental and Computational Approach to Tumor Spheroid Dynamics." Castro, Williams, and Wu received Undergraduate Teaching and Research Awards (UTRA), while Kiani was supported by the DiMase Summer Internship.

Briana Garcia '15 (mechanical engineering) and Isabel Newton '17 (mechanical engineering) presented their poster, "Spira Engineering Camp: Infusing Engineering Into the Lives of Providence Youth." They worked under the guidance of faculty mentor Karen Haberstroh and received an Undergraduate Teaching and Research Award (UTRA).

Samantha Gates '15 (biomedical engineering) conducted independent research with Professor Anita Shukla. She presented her poster entitled, "Bacterial Stimuli-Responsive Antibiotic Delivery Coatings."

Joey Genfi '15 (computer engineering) worked with Professor Benjamin Kimia and received an UTRA. His poster was entitled, "BlindFind Maps – A Correspondence/Structure-based approach to Map Making."

Adam Gosselin '16 (computer engineering) presented his poster on "Enabling Autonomous Flight of Drones in Complex, Unpredictable Environments." He worked under the guidance of faculty mentor Professor Iris Bahar and received an UTRA.

Lucia Hernandez '16 (biomedical engineering) presented her poster, "Gap Junction in Chimeric Spheroids." She worked with Professor Jeffrey Morgan and received support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI).

Lev Litichevskiy '15 (biomedical engineering) worked with Professor Leigh Hochberg and Professor Beata Jarosiewicz and received an UTRA. His poster was entitled, "Determining the Optimal Data Periods to Use for Decoder Calibration in Brain-Computer Interfaces."

With support from an UTRA and faculty mentor Robert Hurt, Naser Mahfouz '15 (biomedical engineering) presented research on "Graphene Oxide-base Membranes Transport Properties."

Bella Okiddy '15 (biomedical engineering) worked with Professor Eric Darling and received an UTRA. She presented a poster entitled, "Micropatterning of proteins for cell organization."

With support from an UTRA, Iris Pak '15 (biomedical engineering) presented her research on "The Effects of Substrate Stiffness on Cell Behavior." Her faculty mentor was Professor Eric Darling.

Alexia Stylianou '15 (biomedical engineering) was granted an UTRA and worked under the guidance of faculty mentor Professor Joseph Crisco. She presented her poster entitled, "Bi-planar Videoradiography for Tracking Post-Arthroplasty Shoulder Joint Motion."

Andrew Tian '15 (computer engineering) presented his research on "A wireless system for alleviating freezing of gait in Parkinson's disease." He worked with Professor Jacob Rosenstein and received an UTRA.

Emily Toomey '15: Electrical engineering concentrator Emily Toomey '15 presents her poster at the Summer Research Symposium.Emily Toomey '15: Electrical engineering concentrator Emily Toomey '15 presents her poster at the Summer Research Symposium.Working with Professor Jimmy Xu, Emily Toomey '15 (electrical engineering) presented her poster on "Conductivity and Physical Characterization of Silver-Intercalated DNA." She received support from an UTRA.

Working with Professor Sherief Reda, Jie Ying Wu '15 (computer engineering) received support from an UTRA and presented a poster entitled, "Managing Power Consumption in Data Centers."

More than half of the students participating received support for their research through Undergraduate Teaching and Research Awards (UTRA). Generous support was also provided through several other programs including: APS Integrative & Organismal Physiology Undergraduate Summer Research Fellowship, CR Bard Fellowship, DiMase Summer Internship Program, Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI), Minority Access to Research Careers (MARC), National Science Foundation Research Experiences for Undergraduates (NSF REU), Royce Fellows (Swearer Center for Public Service), Sheridan Center Mentorship Program, Space Grant/NASA, Summer Research Assistantship in Biomedical Sciences, and Voss Environmental Fellows.