Jonsson School Undergraduate Experience Research Awards

The Jonsson School Undergraduate Research Awards offer engineering majors financial support to work with a top Jonsson School faculty member on relevant research projects. These $800 awards ($500 to the student, $300 for supplies for mentor) provide students the opportunity to build practical experience that opens doors for graduate school, internships, and careers.

SPRING 2024

Ahad Jawaid  – Computer Science
Advisor: Berrak Sisman – Electrical & Computer Engineering
Title: Style Mixture of Experts for Expressive Text-To-Speech Synthesis

Jeongsik Park  – Computer Science
Advisor:  Vincent Ng – Computer Science
Title: MemeIntent: An Intent Generation Benchmark for Memes Leveraging Background Knowledge

Fall 2023

Sina Rezvani  – Electrical Engineering
Advisor: Joseph Friedman – Electrical & Computer Engineering
Title: Comparing the Decoder Performance of Decoding Algorithms on Various Syndromes in Quantum Error Correction

Aditya Guin  – Computer Science
Varin Sikand – Computer Science
Advisor: Vincent Ng – Computer Science
Title: Sarcasm Tones: Reverse Engineering Sarcasm in Twitter

Spring 2023

Daniel George  – Bioengineering
Advisor: Leonidas Bleris – Bioengineering
Title: Decomposition of Gene Expression Noise in Segmented Spheroids (ppxt)

Valentina Cespedes – Bioengineering
Advisor: Danieli Rodrigues – Bioengineering
Title: Investigating Various Detoxification Treatments Along with Ionic Liquid Application for Treatment of Peri-implantitis (pptx)

Tristan Linn – Mechanical Engineering
Advisor: Yonas Tadesse – Mechanical Engineering
Title: SMA Actuated Soft Gripper Social Assistive Robot for Hospice and Home Care (pptx)

Manish Samson – Bioengineering
Advisor: Shalini Prasad – Bioengineering
Title: Fabrication of a Portable Electrochemical Sensor for the Multiplexed Detection of Pesticide Contaminants in Food and Human Media (pptx)

Jonathan Yu – Computer Science
Advisor: Kangkook Jee – Computer Science
Title: All We Need is Data: A Systematic Study on System Provenance Datasets for ML-based Security Detectors (pptx)

SPring 2022

Jose Marquez – Mechanical Engineering
Advisor: Todd Griffith – Mechanical Engineering
Title: Evaluating Novel Offshore Wind Turbine Technologies (pptx)

Sathvik Datla – Electrical & Computer Engineering
Advisor: John Hansen – Electrical & Computer Engineering
Title: Visualizing Child-Adult Speech Engagement Using Chord Diagrams for Audio Recorded in Preschool Classrooms

Kristi Doleh & Leonard Humphrey – Joseph Friedman – Electrical & Computer Engineering
Advisor: Joseph Friedman – Electrical & Computer Engineering
Title: Kinematic Domain Wall Model for Large-Scale Neuromorphic Network Stimulation (pptx)

Davis John – Mechanical Engineering
Advisor: Zhenpeng Qin – Mechanical Engineering
Title: Neuropeptide Uncaging from Photosensitive Nanovesicles (pptx)

Evelin Rios – Bioengineering
Advisor: Danieli Rodrigues – Bioengineering
Title: Impact of Diabetes in the Recruitment of Stem Cells Towards Titanium Implant Osseointegration in Mice (pptx)

Manish Samson – Bioengineering
Advisor: Shalini Prasad – Bioengineering
Title: Fabrication of a CRISPR-Mediated Electrochemical Sensing Platform for the Detection of Plasmodium Falciparum (pptx)

Ted Shi – Computer Science
Advisor: Baowei Fei – Bioengineering
Title: Semi-automated three-dimensional cardiac computed tomography segmentation using a fixed number of randomly distributed points (pptx)

Fall 2021

Aashay Kothari – Bioengineering
Advisor: Shalini Prasad – Bioengineering
Title: Biosensor for Monitoring of IFN-γ in Eccrine Sweat (pptx)

Summer 2021

Dan Bouzolin – Mechanical Engineering
Advisor: Todd Griffith – Mechanical Engineering
Title: An Investigation on the Flexural Properties of Fusion Joining of Segmented Wind Turbine Blades (pdf)

Luz M. Martinez-Lucas – Electrical Engineering
Advisor: Carlos Busso – Electrical & Computer Engineering
Title: Creating an Attention Based Network for Speech Emotion Recognition in Conversations (pdf)

John Nguyen – Biomedical Engineering
Advisor: Leonidas Bleris – Bioengineering
Title: Tracking Cultured Cell Growth Time Using Synthetic Gene Circuits (pptx)

Nathaniel Tjahjono – Biomedical Engineering
Advisor: David Schmidtke – Bioengineering
Title: Fabrication of Crisscross Patterns of Aligned Collagen Fibrils to study Keratocyte Migration and Differentiation (pptx)

David Wank – Computer Science
Advisor: Kangkook Jee – Computer Science
Title: DearleyPY- Augmentation of Python Decompilation (pdf)

Fall 2020

Kenan Wright – Mechanical Engineering
Advisor: Stefano Leonardi – Mechanical Engineering
Title: Conjugate Heat Transfer in Turbulent Flows Inside Rough Ducts (pdf)

Summer 2020

Napat Dawkrajai – Mechanical Engineering
Advisor: Zhenpeng Qin – Mechanical Engineering
Title: Determining the Mechanism of the Optical Opening of the Blood Brain Barrier Using Gold Nanospheres in Mice (pdf)

Spring 2020

Scott Burlison – Mechanical Engineering
Advisor: Majid Minary – Mechanical Engineering
Title: Freeform 3D Printing of Pure Ceramics (pdf)

Siddartha Devic – Computer Science
Advisor: Jason Jue – Computer Science
Title: Online Progressive Recovery of Interdependent Networks (pdf)

Tiancheng Hu – Electrical Engineering
Advisor: Carlos Busso – Electrical Engineering
Title: Robust Driver Head Pose Estimation with Temporal Modeling (pdf)

Michael Kasman – Computer Engineering
Advisor: Ann Majewicz Fey – Mechanical Engineering
Title: Robotic Surgical Training: A Comparative Human-centric Analysis of Virtual Reality Simulation and Physical Dry Lab Exercises (pdf)

Aadi Kothari – Mechanical Engineering
Advisor: Todd Griffith – Mechanical Engineering
Title: Cost Analysis and Design of Wind Turbine Blades (pdf)

Jiayi Qu – Healthcare Studies
Advisor: : Danieli Rodrigues – Bioengineering
Title: Surface Morphology Characterization of Retrieved Orthopedic Titanium Alloy and Stainless-Steel Implants (pdf)

Summer 2019

Amol Mavuduru – Computer Science
Advisor: Baowei Fei – Bioengineering
Title: Using Deep Convolutional Neural Networks to Perform Cancer Segmentation on Head and Neck Histological Images (pdf)

Dat Quoc Ngo – Computer Science
Advisor: Chin-Tuan Tan – Electrical & Computer Engineering
Title: Neutral Entrainment to Speech Envelope in Response to Perceived Sound Quality (pdf)

Jacob Awkal – Biomedical Engineering
Advisor: David Schmidtke – Bioengineering
Title: The Development of a Methodology to Fabricate Collagen Patches of Known Dimensions to Analyze Keratocyte Behavior (pdf)

Jaehyeong An – Mechanical Engineering
Advisor: Stefano Leonardi – Mechanical Engineering
Title: Dependence of Drag Over Super Hydrophobic and Liquid Infused Surfaces on Substrate Asperities (pdf)

Kayla Shepodd – Bioengineering
Advisor: Robert Gregg – Bioengineering
Title: Development of Universally Adjustable Human-Robot Interfaces for Powered Lower Limb Exoskeletons (pdf)

Megan Zachariah – Biomedical Engineering
Advisor: Victor Varner – Bioengineering
Title: Microfluidic Patterning of Aligned Type I Collagen Fibers on Compliant Polyacrylamide Gels (pdf)

Samantha Smith – Mechanical Engineering
Advisor: Majid Minary – Mechanical Engineering
Title: Additive Manufacturing of Polymer Derived Ceramics (pdf)

Spring 2019

Amol Mavuduru
Advisor: Baowei Fei
Title: Using Deep Convolutional Neural Networks to Perform Cancer Segmentation on Head and Neck Histological Images

Dat Ngo
Advisor: Chin-Tuan Tan
Title: Neutral Entrainment to Speech Envelope in Response to Perceived Sound Quality

Jacob Awkal
Advisor: David Schmidtke
Title: The Development of a Methodology to Fabricate Collagen Patches of Known Dimensions to Analyze Keratocyte Behavior

Jaehyeong An
Advisor: Stefano Leonardi
Title: Dependence of Drag Over Super Hydrophobic and Liquid Infused Surfaces on Substrate Asperities

Jonathan Kamgue
Advisor: Joseph Pancrazio
Title: Solution-Dependent Outcomes on Accelerated Aging of Intraneural Electrode Arrays

Kayla Shepodd
Advisor: Robert Gregg
Title: Development of Universally Adjustable Human-Robot Interfaces for Powered Lower Limb Exoskeletons

Lidia Guida
Advisor: Danieli Rodrigues
Title: In Vitro Evaluation of Ionic Liquid Coatings: Effects on Proliferation and Polarization of Primary Human Macrophages

Megan Zachariah
Advisor: Victor Varner
Title: Microfluidic Patterning of Aligned Type I Collagen Fibers on Compliant Polyacrylamide Gels

Nathan Churcher
Advisor: Shalini Prasad
Title: Development of a Sensor to Monitor Major Depression Disorder (MDD) by Detecting Neuropeptide-Y(NPY)

Samantha Smith
Advisor: Majid Minary
Title: Additive Manufacturing Of Polymer Derived Ceramics

Sleiman Safaoui
Advisor: Tyler Summers
Title: Distributionally Robust Sampling-Based Motion Planning Under Uncertainty for Multi-Agent Systems

Fall 2016

Jeanie Ann Aird
Title: Dynamic Prescribed-Wake Vortex Method for Analyzing the Aerodynamics of Offshore Floating Wind Turbines
Department: Mechanical Engineering
Advisor: Arif Malik
Amount: $500.00

Michelle Bancroft
Title: MSP-Podcast – Retrieving Emotional Samples from Target Subjects
Department: Electrical and Computer Engineering
Advisor: Carlos Busso
Amount: $500.00

Lucas K. Chur
Title: PEDOT: PSS Nanofiber Smart Textile
Department: Mechanical Engineering
Advisor: Majid Minary
Amount: $500.00

Mark Ditsworth
Title: Charge Balancing in Grid-Connected Battery Packs
Department: Systems Engineering
Advisor: Steve Yurkovich
Amount: $500.00

Emily Fine
Title: Quantification of Macrophage to Foam Cell Transformation
Department: Bioengineering
Advisor: Heather Hayenga
Amount: $500.00

Christopher Janusa
Title: Smart Agriculture System
Department: Computer Science
Advisor: Subbarayan Venkatesan
Amount: $500.00

Daniel Lambert
Title: Clinician Control Interface for Powered Knee-and-Ankle Prosthesis
Department: Bioengineering/Mechanical Engineering
Advisor: Robert Gregg
Amount: $500.00

Bassam Smadi
Title: Multi-Electrode Splaying Array Study
Department: Bioengineering
Advisor: Stuart Cogan
Amount: $500.00

Sonia Guadalupe Torres
Title: Next Generation of Hardened Control Systems
Department: Computer Science
Advisor: Alvaro Cardenas
Amount: $500.00

Tarunesh Verma
Title: Security Verification of Integrated Circuits
Department: Electrical and Computer Engineering
Advisor: Jeyavijayan Rajendran
Amount: $500.00

Frederick Wang
Title: Evaluation of the Effect of Bacteria and Mechanical Wear on the Surface of Dental Implants
Department: Bioengineering
Advisor: Danieli Rodrigues
Amount: $500.00

Fall 2015

Muhammad Akram
Title: 3D printing of MoS2 Substrates
Department: Mechanical Engineering
Advisor: Majid Manary
Amount: $500.00

Bonhyun Ku
Title: Compact 5-10W AC-DC Converter for Adapter Applications
Department: Electrical Engineering
Advisor: Babak Fahimi
Amount: $500.00

Melanie Mauerer
Title: Macrophage Traction Force Exertion in Response to Substrate Stiffness (pdf)
Department: Bioengineering
Advisor: Heather Hayenga
Amount: $500.00

Calvin Stence
Title: Optimization of Power Transmission Design for Locomotion Assistance
Department: Bioengineering / Mechanical Engineering
Advisor: Robert Gregg
Amount: $500.00

Michael T. Tran
Title: Neural Regeneration Specificity
Department: Bioengineering
Advisor: Mario Romero-Ortega
Amount: $500.00

Victoria Lynn Wobser
Title: Synthesis of Biocompatible Hydrophobic Adhesive for Use in Nerve Cuff Electrodes
Department: Material Science Engineering
Advisor: Walter Voit
Amount: $500.00

Spring 2015

Diana Alatalo
Title: Solar Evacuated Tube Collectors
Department: Mechanical Engineering
Advisor: Fatemeh Hassanipour
Amount: $500.00

Pavel Bolshakov Barrett
Title: Electrical Characterization of MoS2 Interface Functionalization
with High-k Dielectrics
Department: Material Science Engineering
Advisor: Chadwin Young
Amount: $500.00

Stephen Badger
Title: Nano-CMOS Sensor for pH Test and Gene Sequencing
Department: Electrical Engineering
Advisor: Walter Hu
Amount: $500.00

William Bartlett
Title: Nano-CMOS Sensor for pH Test and Gene Sequencing
Department: Electrical Engineering
Advisor: Walter Hu
Amount: $500.00

Steven Baxter
Title: Automated Algorithmic Error Resilience
Department: Electrical Engineering
Advisor: Joseph Sloan
Amount: $500.00

Joseph McFarland
Title: A Wide-Bandwith Transmission Line Resistance Compression
Department: Electrical Engineering
Advisor: Taylor Barton
Amount: $500.00

Arri Morris
Title: Atherosclerosis Research
Department: Bioengineering
Advisor: Heather Hayenga
Amount: $500.00

Dhurv Narayanan
Title: Aerogel Research
Department: Mechanical Engineering
Advisor: Hongbing Lu
Amount: $500.00

Young Sub Lee
Title: Haptic Glove for Blind People (pdf)
Department: Mechanical Engineering
Advisor: Wooram Park
Amount: $500.00

Sutton Wheelis
Title: Effects of Detoxification Solutions on Titanium Used in Dental Implants:
Electrochemical and Cell Adhesion Analysis
Department: Bioengineering
Advisor: Danieli Rodrigues
Amount: $500.00

Fall 2014

Alec Burmania
Title: Research in Multi-Modal Signal Processing (pdf)
Department: Electrical Engineering
Advisor: Carlos Busso
Amount: $500.00

Toby Elery
Title: Research on Mechanical Structure of the Exoskeleton
Department: Bioengineering
Advisor: Robert Gregg
Amount: $500.00

Gliberto Guerra
Title: Research in MEMS based RF and Circuits (pdf)
Department: Electrical Engineering
Advisor: Siavish Pourkamali
Amount: $500.00

Stephanie Kubecka
Title: Research on Computational Analysis for Biological Processes
Department: Bioengineering
Advisor: Heather Hayenga
Amount: $500.00

Tuan Anh Pham
Title: Research on Machine Learning for Big Data
Department: Computer Science
Advisor: Vibhav Gogate
Amount: $500.00

Shiva Sharma
Title: Research in Cyber Security, Cryptography, and Discrete Math
Department: Computer Science
Advisor: Murat Kantarcioglu
Amount: $500.00